ivancacpa

As a continuation from my last blog whereby I believe that if America falls off the “Fiscal Cliff”, this will result in international pain which will be stiff, I would like to continue my focus today on facilitating communications between the Democrats and Republicans who have moved forward from their initial perception of the resolution of the “Fiscal Cliff” as two polar views as opposed to one concentrated, balanced and mixed financial brew. Now that the Democrats and Republicans have commenced “effective communication”, the next step is to seal the deal in order to reduce the mounting stress as December 31, 2012 could potentially result in financial duress. In order to seal the deal, both sides need to cease “penny pinching” and focus on the “big dollars” like sharp business men and women and not overly educated technocratic scholars. Both the Democrats and Republicans need to stop playing a game of “tug of war” and start playing the game of “dodge ball”. That is, in the game of “tug of war”, there is a one-time winner and a one-time loser as opposed to the game of “dodge ball” where there are multiple winners over time culminating with an end to the game of defend. In the game of “dodge ball”, when both teams are of comparable strength, skills and abilities, both sides will tend to stay alive until the final end when there is a slightly stronger side on defence. Thus, the Democrats and Republicans need to knock off issues one by one, back and forth, until the final issue is reached whereby one party agrees to concede for the sake of speed, need and lead. That is, speed to avert the December 31, 2012 deadline; need to avoid falling off the fiscal cliff; and lead for the global economy to be able to recover contemporaneously with the U.S.A. from extremely difficult times. From my perspective, both the Democrats and Republicans need to concede due to the constraint on time and the world frozen in limbo to see what the future holds for recovery. Therefore, it still seems that the best framework to move forward is based on a “$0.50 of cost cuts for every $1 of tax increases”. This framework is in line with my view that it is not the time to “squeeze blood out of a rock” which I define as middleclass America which is the heart and soul of the great American economy. Therefore, the tax rates on the fortunate, hard-working, leaders and pillars of American society, the wealthy, will need to rise in line with the Democrats’ view. However, in line with the Republicans’ view cost cutting measures are contemporaneously required. Once again, all Americans (Democrats and Republicans) need to unite for the common goal of eliminating the “Fiscal Cliff” and get back that American “Eye of The Tiger” spirit. God protect America from falling off the “Fiscal Cliff” which will result in international pain which will be stiff!

In summary, I refer to “American Fiscal Cliff Rocky Ivan Style” as the belief that negotiations should be like a game of dodge ball to seal the deal before the global economy spins off the reels.

ROCKY TRIBUTE – INSPIRATIONAL SPEECH:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z5OookwOoY

As a continuation from my last blog whereby I believe that if America falls off the “Fiscal Cliff”, this will result in international pain which will be stiff, I would like to continue my focus today on facilitating communications between the Democrats and Republicans who continue to see the resolution of the “Fiscal Cliff” as two polar views as opposed to one concentrated, balanced and mixed financial brew. I would thus like both Parties to accept my opinions as constructive criticism as I am not forcing thoughts or ideas but rather I am exercising effective thinking which is most fertile when one is outside the dominant circles of influence. I believe that wisdom transcends traditional intelligence in the sense that it best flourishes  when one is disassociated from the day-to-day chaos surrounding sensitive, high-stake and critical decisions. Under such circumstances, one can remain cool, calm and collective and analyze a situation without bias, pre-dispositions or any form of propagandised sub-conscious information bastardized. Thus, I believe the key is for both the Democrats and Republicans to diversify their hard core views by genuinely becoming more interested in the oppositions’ views by looking for reasons why they make sense as opposed to blasting the oppositions’ ideas as nonsense. Both the Democrats and Republicans need to become more open minded to their oppositions’ views in order to reduce the mounting stress as December 31, 2012 could potentially result in financial duress. Both the Democrats and Republicans need to realize that their decisions are so much bigger than the USA alone as with the globalization of the world, no man, woman or transvestite can stand alone. Therefore, I truly hope that both the Democrats and Republicans can open their minds and experiment with something new which I call “effective listening”. In my opinion, “effective listening” will lead to a surprise on all sides when they realize that part of what the opposition says actually makes sense as they would not have been elected to power if all they spoke of was nonsense. Therefore, it seems that the best framework to move forward is based on a “$0.50 of cost cuts for every $1 of tax increases”. This framework is in line with my view that it is not the time to “squeeze blood out of a rock” which I define as middleclass America which is the heart and soul of the great American economy. Therefore, the tax rates on the fortunate, hard-working, leaders and pillars of American society, the wealthy, will need to rise in line with the Democrats’ view. However, in line with the Republicans’ view cost cutting measures are contemporaneously required. Once again, all Americans (Democrats and Republicans) need to unite for the common goal of eliminating the “Fiscal Cliff” and get back that American “Eye of The Tiger” spirit. God protect America from falling off the “Fiscal Cliff” which will result in international pain which will be stiff!

In summary, I refer to “American Fiscal Cliff Rocky Ivan Style” as the belief that the politicians need to realize that part of what the opposition says actually makes sense as they would not have been elected to power if all they spoke of was nonsense.

ROCKY TRIBUTE – HEARTS ON FIRE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SUzcDUERLo

As a continuation from my last blog whereby I believe that if America falls off the “Fiscal Cliff”, this will result in international pain which will be stiff, I would like to continue my focus today on facilitating communications between the Democrats and Republicans who continue to see the resolution of the “Fiscal Cliff” as two polar views as opposed to one concentrated, balanced and mixed financial brew. In summary, the Democrats in line with their campaign promise desire to raise tax rates on the richest Americans while the Republicans vehemently oppose any tax rate increases on the rich. Obama's plan would continue the Bush-era tax cuts for everyone except individuals earning more than $200,000 and couples making more than $250,000. The highest rates on top-paid Americans would rise from 33% and 35% to 36% and 39.6%, respectively. However, if the Republicans agree to Obama's plan to increase tax rates on the top 2% of Americans, the focus then shifts to entitlements which will allow the Republicans to put in place cost cutting measures such as trimming annual increases in Social Security payments and raising the eligibility age for Medicare from 65 to 67. From my point-of-view, both sides are choosing to plant their feet in the sand on opposing sides of the tax rate increases debate as opposed to the Republicans accepting the Democrats’ tax rate increases contingent upon the Democrats accepting the Republicans’ cost cutting measures. Therefore, from my perspective it seems that the bottleneck in this process is whether raising taxes on the rich results in less motivation on the rich to excel and more motivation on the poor to procrastinate and become lazy under achievers. From my point-of-view, the majority of middleclass Americans are not lazy and are working their buts off just to get by in this struggling economy such that they are not lazy nor will they become lazy if their tax rates stay the same. Furthermore, tax rate increases of 3% to 4.6% on incomes in excess of $200,000 to $250,000 should not result in less motivation on the rich to excel because this will only apply to about 2% of Americans who will still be less taxed than most other parts of the developed world. Thus, the wealthiest 2% of Americans still will still not have any better alternative from a tax perspective then to remain in the USA. I would suggest that the wealthy 2% of Americans analyze how much more taxes they would pay if they lived in Canada, where I am from, such that they may easily conclude that the USA is still quite tax advantageous for the rich even after the proposed tax rate increases. Therefore, it seems that the best framework to move forward is based on a “$0.50 of cost cuts for every $1 of tax increases”. This framework is in line with my view that it is not the time to “squeeze blood out of a rock” which I define as middleclass America which is the heart and soul of the great American economy. Therefore, the tax rates on the fortunate, hard-working, leaders and pillars of American society, the wealthy, will need to rise in line with the Democrats’ view. However, in line with the Republicans’ view cost cutting measures are contemporaneously required. Once again, all Americans (Democrats and Republicans) need to unite for the common goal of eliminating the “Fiscal Cliff” and get back that American “Eye of The Tiger” spirit. God protect America from falling off the “Fiscal Cliff” which will result in international pain which will be stiff!

In summary, I refer to “American Fiscal Cliff Rocky Ivan Style” as the belief that the politicians need a divine intervention to pull their feet out from the sand and start to work together to restore their great land.

ROCKY TRIBUTE – BURNING HEART

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL3lJfpenAc

As a continuation from my last blog whereby I believe that if America falls off the “Fiscal Cliff”, this will result in international pain which will be stiff, I would like to focus today on facilitating communications between the Democrats and Republicans who continue to point the finger at each other with the fiscal blame which I find to be quite insane. In my opinion, both the Democrats and Republicans need to stop behaving like children as the “Fiscal Cliff” is not some sort of an amusement park but rather it is like a “Financial Tsunami” which will send shock waves across the world if it is not addressed in line with the December 31, 2012 deadline. Although I have seen a lot of great ideas flowing on both sides of the “Fiscal Cliff” debate, it seems that the communication between the Democrats and Republicans is quite poor as each side only seems to listen to themselves. In summary, I would say that the current communications between the Democrats and Republicans are superficial like a blind politician speaking to his deaf opposition, “I see said the blind politician to his deaf opposition”. Therefore, the Democrats and Republicans need to embrace the notion that the majority of the time any satisfaction each Party receives by convincing themselves that they are right far outweighs the effort it takes and the negative feelings and conflict it creates. Thus, the Democrats and Republicans need to emotionally detach from their current debate and focus on the business at hand logically, rationally and realistically. In simple English, the Democrats and Republicans need to utilize a “WIN/ WIN” strategy as opposed to a “WIN/ LOSE” strategy as the “Fiscal Cliff” is not some sort of high stakes “Poker” game. Now that I have covered the communication issues between the Democrats and Republicans, I would like to spell out the critical success factor in simple, non-political, non-technocratic and non-bureaucratic terms which is that both sides need to fit their ideas into a high-level plain-vanilla framework. From what I have seen thus far in the political debates, a compromise between the Democrats and Republicans is the only viable political line for the December 31, 2012 deadline. Therefore, it seems that the best framework to move forward is based on a “$0.50 of cost cuts for every $1 of tax increases”. This framework is in line with my view that it is not the time to “squeeze blood out of a rock” which I define as middleclass America which is the heart and soul of the great American economy. Therefore, the tax rates on the fortunate, hard-working, leaders and pillars of American society, the wealthy, will need to rise. Once again, all Americans (Democrats and Republicans) need to unite for the common goal of eliminating the “Fiscal Cliff” and get back that American “Eye of The Tiger” spirit. God protect America from falling off the “Fiscal Cliff” which will result in international pain which will be stiff!

In summary, I refer to “American Fiscal Cliff Rocky Ivan Style” as the belief that God needs to enlighten the politicians about two way communication skills before the entire world is forced to swallow American “Fiscal Drain” pills.

ROCKY TRIBUTE - NO EASY WAY OUT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IuueKw1m98

As a continuation from my last blog whereby I believe the root of “World Peace” is centered on peace in the Middle East with the first step being negotiated peace between Israel and the Palestinians, I would like to remain objective and independent in my views such that I would like to congratulate the Palestinians on their “moral victory” by being recognized in the UN as a non-member state. However, the Palestinians need to be “pragmatic realists” that this “moral victory” does not change anything on the ground which can only be negotiated with Israel such that I would like to reiterate my proposed new vision for Mr. Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian Hamas of “the tolerance of Israel because Hamas wishes to pursue the beneficial interests of the Palestinian people with the ultimate goal of a Palestinian state living in peace along side Israel”. In line with this vision, Hamas needs to convert its military strategy from one of “terrorist attacks” to one of “self-defence”. These are the required prefaces for Hamas (hand/ military movement) to be able to form a coalition with Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Authority President of Fatah (head/ political movement) to negotiate long-term sustainable peace with Israel. As previously stated, the goal of the negotiations between Israel and Palestine should result in Israel loosening the bolts and nuts on the cage in Gaza as Hamas converts from a “terrorist organization” to a legitimate Palestinian military organization supporting a legitimate Palestinian political organization (Fatah). Now I would like to focus on why Hamas (hand/ military movement) needs to form a coalition with Fatah (head/ political movement) to negotiate long-term sustainable peace with Israel. In today’s New World Order, the battlefield of war has moved from the ground to the political sphere in the sense that politics drives the military as opposed to the military driving politics. That is, unlike the olden days when countries were conquered by force, today countries can only be created or modified on a sustainable long-term permanent basis via democratic and political processes. Hamas (hand/ military movement) has military skills and abilities but is lacking the required political and negotiation skills which Fatah (head/ political movement) has. Therefore, who better to negotiate on the part of Hamas (hand/ military movement) than Fatah (head/ political movement) as Fatah understands the political game which is played every single day? In my opinion, if Palestinians cannot agree on a solution amongst themselves (Hamas and Fatah), then how can the Palestinians ever agree on a solution with Israel? The Palestinians need to believe that united (Hamas and Fatah) have all of the required skill sets to negotiate an independent Palestinian state with Israel while divided each side (Hamas and Fatah) only have half of what is required. In my opinion, it is better to have 50% of something than 100% of nothing such that it is in the best interests of the Palestinians to unite under one umbrella for their cause than to continue along the same path which has not brought them any meaningful success over the last forty plus years nor any peace for Palestine nor Israel.

In summary, I refer to “World Peace Lennon Ivan Style – Part IV” as the belief that to achieve sustainable peace things cannot stay the same but need to change like in a poker game.

John Lennon - Give Peace a Chance:

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