Gregory Lewis Web-Log

 An Off-Grid Paradise I am a descendant of the 1620 Mayflower voyage and Plymouth Plantation. My ancestors came to the New World wilderness to work the land as settlers and farmers, and to hunt and fish wild-game free from religious oppression and tyranny. My Seneca Native American ancestors controlled most of the Shenandoah Valley following the Beaver Wars, then later sold their land rights to the Virginia Colony. Land and property ownership has always been an important part of what it means to be an American. Today, the United States is experiencing a housing shortage and affordability crisis, forcing many would-be home owners to live in sub-par properties or stay with extended family members. The current housing market affordability crisis is a political result of the 2008-2009 housing market recession and crisis. Many politicians in Washington D.C. believed if housing unit supply was artificially kept low or tight, then they could avoid another 2008-style housing market crisis....

 Show Me the Budget! The 2024 U.S. General Election is 2 days from today. The U.S. Government has been functioning under partial budgets and continuing resolution for several years. The $35 trillion debt-load and budget problems of Washington D.C. have caused a recent credit-rating downgrade and the ouster of the Speaker of the House. Whatever the political organization of the State might be, the annual or regular budget demonstrates the values of its People. Some rightly argue that all government is is the collection and disbursement of tax revenues. More importantly, if the State has an inability to collect tax revenues, or disburses those tax revenues in an unfair or unequal way, there is the very real possibility of a failed State. Here, I define a failed State as a government or political organization that cannot effectively collect or disburse tax revenues in any meaningful way. I have recently heard and watched many politicians, pundits, and others say “if there is a governm...