Q. Why are you running now? You know that whoever wins in 2012 is going to face major problems.
A. Because I am not seeing any other candidate that can do this job of facing down the biggest Depression in world history. You really don't have an election to waste. 2012 is the last stop on this train before the cliff. Whoever wins goes over the trestle way before 2016-and if you elect anyone else you take your chances on them being literate in what to do in an economic crisis.
Simple business expertise in normal times does NOT qualify you for riding the rapids of a panic and service in Congress means they don't even know anything about normal hard times vs the killer depression we are headed for with business as usual.
To be blunt, we are in hard times now but not a crisis. The crisis comes when the Treasury can't sell bonds anymore and the choice is between $10 a gallon gasoline or letting Social Security checks bounce..
Your choice folks, 2 bad years if I am elected or 2 bad decades if Obama or his clones are But, it is precisely because of these impending problems that there is a once in a lifetime real chance of a campaign of national liberation from the networks of lobbies and big corporate rent-seekers who have a lock on the American political scene. There is so much inertia in government that until things get impossible it is impossible to change it. Its like the summer breakup of a great icecap on a polar sea. We need to get to where we need to go before the new governmental structure gets frozen in place for another 70 years. It has caused us enormous uncompetitiveness to have a government suited for the 1930s in the 2010s. If we don't fix it, the job situation in the USA will become like that of a Third World nation. http://www.declineoftheempire.com/2011/05/what-is-that-giant-sucking-sound.html
Q. I am unemployed. What is your position on jobs?
A. The jobs are not coming back until dishonesty and inside games are thrown out from both Wall Street and Washington. (see the tab, "Lies Destroy The Economy") That will be my first priority, resolving ALL banks that are insolvent, marking assets to market-- it will be a catastrophic few months--but until then there is NO hope of a jobs recovery. Once the insolvent big players are gone-- a lot of market vacuums will open up-- and large scale hiring will begin. This could be months, but let no one fool themselves. We are in for a bad couple of years--or decades depending on who wins the election. (If the banks' candidates win, its a bad couple decades because they will need that long to rebuild their balance sheets at your expense-- never mind that throws away half your worknig lifetime.)
There are other candidates out there. If you ask me I can tell you their virtues.
But their sponsors are not your friends. See the next question.
Q. Why aren't you organizing meetings with lobbyists, large contributors, people of wealth? Make money, contacts, ask for contributions, get your people lucrative second jobs and leaves of absence rotating in an out of Wall Street and large corporations...
A. If I ran for office the usual way, I would BECOME like them. And be unable to act decisively exactly as they are. Any candidate you see going about things in the conventional way will yield conventional results. Which is what has got us into this perfect economic storm in the first place. Every wealthy supporter, every ex-employer or contributor becomes someone who has your ear, and the Treasury is drained even as laws are written favoring political supporters. (How do you think the trillion dollar TARP bailout and other corporate welfare became law?) Elect an honest outsider, and the whole rigged game falls apart. (See on the main page the tab, "No One In The System Can Change It".) I will listen to every citizen's approach of course-- but a lobbyist will have to get in line with the other citizens, AS a citizen. Otherwise we have a bought government which should outrage people.
Q. Isn't that impractical, considering that Obama raised over 700 million, McCain over 300 millionhttp://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/index.php from precisely those big corporate and individual contributors?
A.
On the contrary it is the one move the corporate lobbyists cannot defend against.These corrupt billion dollar election cycles should be repulsive to every American. It really comes down to what kind of country you want to live in--one in which mail runs 600 to 1 against trillion dollar bank bailouts and in which they still get bailed out at your expense, or one in which no means no and financial violation and mortgage fraud are punishable by rule of law. If you are getting sick of what the USA is becoming, join us, go to the Volunteer tab and email us your skill set and where you live. Even if you can't do anything but sit at your computer, you can be of enormous help. With your help on Twitter and Facebook there is no need to spend millions on a campaign of national liberation from the people who have ruined your life.
That means you can actually have your country back without spending money.
But there is a need for your help. I need you to volunteer.
It could be blogging, campaign work, videos, voiceovers for podcasts.
If you have a talent or not really but you do have time,
Volunteer.
If you are unemployed, volunteer to get your future back.
Q. What is your view of the current financial crisis?
A. They have fixed nothing significant. Because they did not force insolvent banks into liquidation but instead legalized lying accounting to save them, a chance to stop the crisis was thrown away to please political supporters. But the crisis will come back with a vengeance: It will enter a new and sharper phase before the election, possibly as soon as September 2011.
A. We live in crazy times, and they are knocking on your door. I don't keep a record book, but http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Hoover Herbert Hoover certainly qualified as NOT being in the USA for 14 years before his 1929 inauguration. Like President Hoover I have lived outside the USA as an expat after the required 14 year stint inside.
It certainly is unusual to actually run as an expat, but
a) we live in more global times,
b) although I went to study in Israel for religious reasons, the Depression we are in is driving many Americans overseas for the sake of work (so it is a more common situation)
c) a change of perspective often brings clarity.
I believe I can see things that I would never have seen in the States. For example, I am more sensitive to international capital flows now. I believe a financial crash is imminent, anytime after September 2011. We'll see.
Q. I understand you are a member of the World Economics Association. Is it true you have no degree in economics?
A. Yes, I have no college degree in economics but I write about likely and speculative economic futures--my role model in this is Jane Jacobs , who wrote unspeakable truths about urban design that were frowned on by every degreed 'authority' of the time-- and were dead on accurate. (Those 'authorities' wrecked major parts of US downtowns under the name of "Urban Renewal" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_renewal#Renewal in the 50s and 60s without a clue as to what they were doing.)
The claim that credentials equal expertise would be far more compelling if the world were on the edge of a boom rather than one of the greatest crashes ever seen. In point of fact, the crash will occur because of the 'tunnel vision' of a self-selected group of people with a world view so closed to reality that they literally are unable to recognize it when the encounter it. This leads to disaster, whether in economics or in war--and without someone from outside the system of delusion at the helm, those disasters ARE coming. You can lie to the voters, but you can't lie to reality.
Q. Can you speak briefly of the upcoming financial dangers the USA states?
A. It is a crisis simultaneously of too much value-destroying bureaucractic structure (both governmental and corporate) with a huge cash burn yearly that returns almost nothing to the real wealth of the country.
John Mills in a speech given to the Manchester Statistical Society in 1867, “Panics do not destroy capital; they merely reveal the extent to which it has been previously destroyed by its betrayal into hopelessly unproductive works.”
We are headed for such a panic as the extent of the missing wealth (that we were counting on for tax revenues, pension funds, etc) rapidly becomes clear, see for example Karl Denninger (warning, opinionated!) http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=193560 or http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=193551
In addition to the actual waste, the Government has authorized fraudulent accounting and phony statistics in a staggering number of areas, making it almost impossible for a solvent, rational actor to take risks, not knowing the true uncertainty he ventures forth into. The site http://www.shadowstats.com/ exists only because of this systemic game playing and recalibration of data for convenience of the political masters.
Besides which lying statistics does huge harms to those in no position to do even protect themselves, for example lying unemployment statistics break the heart of those trying to find a job, lying inflation statistics take away cost of living increases in Social Security from the elderly and a hundred other cuts to the helpless every day.
In addition even to this, the Government penalizes thrift while rewarding waste, penalizes capital formation, business startups and has half subsidized huge corporate outsourcings and offshorings while making it legally impossible to start new small companies in the way it was done in the past. When small businesses and startups cannot legally start, neither can good jobs.
Wealth-destroying behaviors must stop and wealth generating behaviors begin. This on both a personal and national level. But before all we have to restore honesty in our financial life, and end the lies and stealing-- mark to market all toxic paper, feed those toxic debts back to those with plenty to hide, resolve every bank insolvent by these tough rules. Once the storm is over--possibly in a matter of months-- growth will be able to recur. When the dead old trees are gone, the little new trees finally get the healing light of day.
We need jobs-- not welfare -- not fake and unproductive government jobs or rigged corporate welfare jobs but real productive jobs grown organically by small businesses in response to real market demands. Once that is the only place for 'investment' to go-- instead of Ponzi schemes, bailouts and enabling overconsumption-- then we will truly begin to recover.
That is a brief summary of what the Friedlander Plan aims for, the details of course being too long for a brief FAQ.
Q. But should a native-born American citizen have the right to run for office while living overseas? Even if he also holds Israeli citizenship?
A. Should? That's philosophy. Does have the right? To my knowledge, yes. If I won a billion dollar lottery ticket living overseas, you bet I'd get a letter from the taxman-- Americans have to pay taxes even though living outside the USA. If I was still draft age and they called me up, wouldn't I have to come? Both responsibilities and rights follow you overseas. You can run for office as well but you must go to the States to take office if you win. Many Americans have taken money --through suitable legal cutouts--from foreign corporations (some with foreign government ownership) and done them favors, we call them "Congressmen" and "Presidents", yet they not only are eligible for office they are in it. If you ever wonder how someone can be worth a few hundred thousand before entering office, and tens of millions after it, visit this site often because I aim to tell some stories.
As for having dual citizenship, Vice-President Charles Curtis (Hoover's vp) is the proof. The quotes below are from an official publication of the Department of Justice.
http://www.justice.gov/otj/nafaqs.htm American Indian tribe members, though also citizens of independent sovereignities, ("The relationship between the Tribes and the United States is one of a government to a government") are also eligible to vote and run for office. ("Charles Curtis, a member of the Kaw Tribe of Kansas, served as Vice President of the United States under President Herbert Hoover") so one supposes he was Constitutionally entirely able to take office if Hoover had died mid term. ("American Indians and Alaska Natives are citizens of the United States and of the states in which they reside. They are also citizens of the Tribes according to the criteria established by each Tribe. ") So we see that there is legal precedent for such a thing. An interesting case for some background is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afroyim_v._Rusk Remember that I am a native-born American born in Chicago just as Curtis was born in Topeka so to my knowledge I am entirely Constitutionally eligible.
Q. Do you find the US or Israeli government structure superior?
A. The US, hands down. At least in the USA, the Constitution in theory puts limits on government power. In Israel, the secular Government of Israel has severe architectural issues that in time will result in a major reconfiguration of some sort--possibly before 2020. Although the USA faces many structural problems, the Constitution is sound-- if only the power players would listen to it. As I said, I live in Israel because of religious reasons, not political ones (Although obviously in the Middle East almost everything gets a political aspect to it!:)
Q. Have you ever served in the US or Israeli armed forces?
A. No. In high school I took the ASVAB http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armed_Services_Vocational_Aptitude_Battery and scored extremely highly. (If memory serves third highest in my area of northern Chicago. But talking with the recruiter I could not get an assurance of kosher food. Oh, well, the road not taken.) I registered for the US draft from 1980 on when the Soviets were in Afghanistan. I was on call till at 26 in 1986 I passed out of the active draft pool. I was ready to go if called. I have never volunteered or registered for the Israeli Defense Forces of where I live. (I pay an extra local tax because I am not helping with guard duty). I was willing to serve in the armed forces of the United States and I am now willing to serve in the role of their Commander-in-Chief. My reading of military history and industrial history--as well as the engineering history background of them both-- is extensive. I suspect my knowledge of these areas is the best since Eisenhower's.
Q. If you are religious, (an Orthodox Jew) why do you vote in elections in Israel?
A. Basically to me all politics is defensive. I am an Orthodox Jew and (believe it or not) not terribly political except when political mismanagement forces me to take notice and take countermeasures. In other words if things are fine, if it is possible to live without the government pressing you, why get involved in politics? For many years in the USA I voted as a civics class kind of duty of citizenship, but politics was not my focus. At the airport leaving Chicago in June 2000, I met a nice Hispanic-American official who asked why I was going, I said, 'religious reasons', which is true, of the 613 commandments in the Bible (relative to Jews) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/613_Mitzvot There are 26 commandments that apply only within the Land of Israel. In a certain sense to fufiil the Jewish religion there are things that can only be done where I live. (The original Biblical meaning of the second tithe, for example--of vegetables from our garden applies only in the Holy Land.) So I vote defensively in Israel, in actual elections for rabbinical candidates who will guard my religious freedoms to practice, and for candidates in primaries who will safeguard my right to live on the West Bank (my house is there). If the need for defensive politics went away, if my religious freedoms and home were secure, I probably would not bother to vote at all in Israel (but since they are not secure--there is no real Constitution in Israel, everything can change with every election--- various rabbis have urged such voting, and their arguments seemed compelling to me.)
Q. Where do you live?
A. I live about a mile away from the ruins of the ancient capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel on the mountain of Samaria. The biblical mountain of Samaria (Shomron) is mentioned inhttp://www.chabad.org/library/
Q. I am not religious. Why are you speaking so much of religion?
A. Because it is going to come up during the campaign, just as when JFK was the first Catholic candidate for President, so as the first Orthodox Jewish candidate for President I need to put the facts where people can see them and judge. To you, I would say that just as Article IV of the Constitution, prohibits you from banning me from running for office, so does the First Amendment prohibit me from forcing my religion down your throat. (In the hypothetical. Jews don't ordinarily proselytize. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proselytism#Judaism) The Constitution is a marvelous document that has enabled people of tolerance to get along with each other despite differences in views that would cause enormous strife in other parts of the world. All Americans should keep it that way. But JFK is my role model on this: I am not running as a Jewish candidate, I am running as a candidate for President of the United States who happens to be Jewish.
Q. Does your defensive politics theory apply in the USA as well?
A. You bet it does, and with the rise of super-regulation and zillions of new taxing authorities you need to vote defensively just to keep your taxes low enough to pay. I come from Chicago, where even a law abiding citizen can get in trouble unless he can say hi to the Alderman peaceably. This despite Constitutional assurances of liberty. It is not good that ordinary Americans regard their Government as something to have to defend against. This can only lead to trouble and if elected I intend to do something about it.
Q. I assume you are running as an independent?
A. Unknown as yet pending discussions. I'd very much like to become a nominee of a major party but obviously there's extreme competition. I have voted for candidates for both major parties, Ross Perot in '92, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rkgx1C_S6ls and some minor party candidates. Hopefully this will be updated soon.
Q. How old are you and are you married?
A. I will be 52 if elected and I have a loving wife (no kids). Knowing her great love of privacy and modesty and a quiet life, I will run for President but I am not asking her to do so!
Q. I understand you are handicapped. Are you able to handle the rigors of office?
A. I am more crippled than JFK but not so much as FDR (I can walk without a cane for short distances). Obviously those guys could do the job, and so can I, it's not digging ditches. All indications are I can handle the rigors of office with the kind of support system Presidents get. In a way it's really been a blessing, my mind has time to roam afar on the computer most of the day, suitably reclining. Thus my reading, thus the Friedlander Plan http://www.youtube.com/user/Friedlander2012 and other inventions. (During the BP Gulf of Mexico spill, I came up with a plan to stop the environmental within the first month; the government instead decided on business as usual. Sorry, Gulf fishermen, I tried... http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/06/suggestion-on-dealing-with-deepwater.html In fact my irritation at the incompetence of Bush under Katrina and Obama under the BP Gulf spill was a contributing factor in my decision to run. The government's bureaucratic structure is becoming so unmanageable that this alone would be a national crisis if our finances were fine. Kids are not getting educated, our oil wells are not safe, our national defenses cost about twice as much for what they deliver as they should)
Q. Who are your presidential role-models?
Eisenhower and Jefferson for their minds
Eisenhower for his crisis management
Jefferson for his visions of liberty-- Jefferson's quote "What farmer, what mechanic, what laborer ever sees a tax gatherer in the United States?" gives us a vision of what can be.
FDR for his ability to soothe people in hard times
TR and Polk for their mastery of ebullient times
Truman for his ability to ignore expert advice
George Washington for his bearing and sterling example
Andrew Jackson for his bravery
JFK for his ability to inspire
Clinton for his ability to charm
James Madison and John Adams for their mastery of Biblical Hebrew
Benjamin Harrison for being the last President till me with a full beard!!
