Student Loan Crisis

     The silly season has begun. With Obama going on The View and Romney back peddling from his statements about the 47% of Americans, you know not much real debate will go on about whats happening to our country. We here at the Robertson/Falls 2012 campaign will continue to talk about the real issues.
     The next part of our platform covers the next great bubble: The Student Loan debt bubble. Do you know Americans now owe more in student loan debt than credit card debt. As a country we have 37% more student loan debt than car debt. The sad part of this is all of this is sanctioned by the federal government and cannot be wiped away by bankruptcy. They can tap into tax refunds and social security payments to get their money. We as tax payers are basically guaranteeing profits for the banks that make these loans. The feds back more than 85% of the student loans. Tragically, 56% of graduates with loan debt can't find a job a year after college. I am sure the banksters on Wall St. like though.
     Under my administration we would no longer federally guarantee student loans and the loans taken out now will be classified the same as credit cards or other debt. I know your probably saying, "whoa!! don't you want kids to get a college education?" What the system is giving us now is more like certification and not education. And if its certification we're getting, then we can do it a lot better than this. If the massive amount of government backed money is drained out of the system, I bet you'll find cost will go down quite a bit. The development of more vocational schools would be nice. This idea that every kid should go to college is a little far fetched. There are thousands of student that go to college for a couple of years and rack up lots of debt with nothing to show for it is crazy. That student could go to a Vo-Tech for a year or so and pick up a usable skill and at a cost that wouldn't cause them to go into debt. At the end of the day, self education is better than formal education. Check out the videos

Platt Robertson
Write-in Candidate for President

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RWYzyZtYhg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXouicynsmk

Financial Derivatives

     While Obama and Romney are both on 60 Minutes reminding us why most people hate elections, I'll be talking about how to actually fix things in this country. My next platform point is about regulating financial derivatives, something that has yet to happen.
     You might remember the crisis of 2008 was in part caused by the mortgage industry. This was made worse by derivative instruments like CDO's and MBS' that magnified the defaulted loans. The worst part is that derivatives are not regulated and usually are even hidden from the stock holders of the banks that issue them. Most Americans probably don't realize just how large the financial derivative market is. Its estimated to be well over $1 Quadrillion. The amount of derivatives held by US banks is estimated to be over 15 times the GDP of the United States.
     I would force the bank to list on each of their quarterly 10Q reports their derivatives exposure and to whom they are exposed to. Credit default swaps would be limited to prevent multiple winners in a loan default situation. We would also have the banks put in a "force majeure" clause in the contracts. That way if all hell breaks loose, we can stop all the dominoes from falling. Below are some videos that go into the subject more and I would also advise you to do your own research on this complicated topic.

Platt Robertson
Write-in Presidential candidate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIruCBopmfo&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXD3QD-CE9E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjlw7ZpZVK4&feature=related

Net Neutrality

     Unlike my competition, who are worried about seeing the others tax returns. I will stick to the topics that are important to America. The next point on my agenda is Net Neutrality. The Internet has been one of the greatest breakthroughs in our lifetime. The flow of information has brought new ideas and interactivity like we have never seen. That is why it is important not to let the big communication companies tweak the system in anyway.
     So what is Net Neutrality? Think of a major highway in your town. The speed limit on that highway is the same if your driving a BMW or a 1973 Pinto. That highway is for everyone to share equally. Some major corporations are wanting to create basically a "high rollers" lane of traffic. This is not someone paying for higher speed Internet at their house. That is you making a personal decision. What big communication companies are wanting to do is tell small web sites that they can't have the same access as the "high rollers" do.
     Why is this important? With all major TV, radio, and newspapers outlets bought up by major media companies, the Internet is the only way to allow independent voices to be heard. Think of all of the blogs and alternative news sites out there giving us great content. Our Founding Fathers didn't give us free speech so we can watch The View or Dr. OZ. It was to express our views freely and interact with others on a higher plain of thought.

Platt Robertson
Write-in Candidate for President

The National Defense Authorization Act

The next of the laws we would pass under my administration would be to repeal previsions of the NDAA 2012. Basically, it allows the indefinite detention of US citizens by military police. Between this and the Patriot Act the government has gone too far in its efforts to "protect" us. Since 9/11 we have been sold that the boogie man will get us unless we allow the Federal Government more access into our lives. Besides the NDAA and Patriot Act, there have been numerous presidential directives and federal agencies formed that very few of us know about. NSA, FBI, and CIA have been given access to all kinds of information from the likes of AT&T, Verizon, and Google.
     I know most of you think that this will only be directed at the terrorist but what happens when they change the definition of a terrorist? Recently, the Missouri FBI office was told that Tea Party members and Ron Paul supporters should be watched. Ron Paul supporters??? Really?? Remember the old Hall and Oates song, "Private Eyes" well they are watching you. Check out the links below for more info on the NDAA.

Platt Robertson
Write-in Candidate for President

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWlajbUCz8Y

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Defense_Authorization_Act_for_Fiscal_Year_2012

So Government is the answer????

     I recently had to go renew my health card for work. You have to have all kinds of cards to work in the casinos here in Vegas, health cards, liquor cards, sheriff's cards, etc. That is for a different rant. What got me was when I went to the health department location. Besides health cards, they perform other services like flu shots for the kids. It was a sea of humanity in there. First, I had to do something online then print out a form to take to the health office. Once I was there I had to wait an hour to go thru a series of three different lines that would eventually give me my health card so I can work to pay taxes to keep the whole process working.
    The employees were rude and not motivated at all. You can tell there was very little organization of the process and less motivation to make it more streamline. The reality was I had no other choose but to set there and take it. They have a monopoly on health cards.
     So why is it that the folks that bring us the health department, the IRS, and the DMV are the ones we turn to when we want our problems fixed. I mean do we really think the process that gave us that grumpy lady at the DMV counter is going to properly educate our kids? Polls tell us that most Americans don't like the IRS and don't trust our politicians. So why is it we keep waiting on them to save us from our own problems. I hate to say it but they aren't going to stop the wars, fix the economy, or clean up your cities. If you don't believe just head down to the health department and see.

Platt Robertson
Write-in Candidate for President.

Reflection of a post 9/11 world

     Wow, has it been 11 years already? I can still remember that day. I was glued to my TV, trying to figure out what was happening to the world around me. The moment filled me with fear and anger then finally a deep sadness. I knew the world had changed but looking back now, I didn't know that it would change the way it did.
     My grandparents generation had a similar day to deal with, Pearl Harbor Day. That generation faced their nightmare with great sacrifice and determination. They had already gone through the Great Depression but were ready for the challenge that laid ahead. Within four years, America had not only defeated Japan but had also saved Europe from Hitler. By 1952, 11 years after Pearl Harbor, the United States might have been in another war but was also living in the Golden Years of the 50's. We were the great economic super power in the world and things were only getting better.
     So what happened to us?? After 9/11, I do remember people coming together. You remember congress sing "God Bless America"? I still get chills thinking about it. The local grocery stores where I lived sent supplies to the rescue workers in New York. We were actually united as a nation. My roommate at the time did ask, "how long is this going to last?" The answer was not long enough. The neo-cons that were running the White House at the time decided to take the ball and run with it. With the country supporting the president, the republicans starting pushing their agenda down our necks. The money junkies on Wall St thought this would be a good reason to start a real estate bubble since we needed to save the economy after this tragedy. Liberals could only hold the tongues so long but in the end had to maintain their war with conservatives. Both parties had no problem creating more government bureaucracy to invade our lives while keeping us "safe." They both voted for the Patriot Act and gave more power to agencies like the NSA and CIA.
     Here we are today in worse shape than ever. We are still in the Middle East with troops dying nearly everyday. We have lost more Americans avenging 9/11 than those who died that day.The politics of America is more bitter than ever and we can't even be polite to each other. The TSA gropes young kids and tells us its for our safety. Our economy has been shipped to China and we are 16 trillion in debt. What maybe the tragedy of 9/11 is not that day but how we have lived our lives since that day. God Bless America...... because we need it.

Platt Robertson
Write-in Candidate for President

The Death Tax

     While the other presidential candidates are at the Conventions or Hollywood fundraisers, I am working on my platform to save America. The next part of the platform is...... the elimination of the Death Tax. I know this mainly effects the rich but right is right. The idea that you can't die without the IRS getting one more shot at you is just horrible.
     This effects the average person more than you think. Lets say you have a farm or some form of family business, now most of you know that if you have one of these it doesn't make you rich. According to the IRS though these are valuable assets and you could pay 35% of their value in taxes. This doesn't even include a state inheritance tax. This a lot of times forces people to sell the family farm or business.
     I know nowadays we in America hate the 1%, unless its Oprah, Brad Pitt, or Jay Z. However, I believe if you want to leave something to your kids or whoever, that's your prerogative. We need to realize that person's wealth is theirs and not the government's to share.


Platt Robertson
Write-In Candidate for President