Most Popular Video on Freedom and How Banking Regulations Affect Our Individual Choices

Freedom is an important word not just to Americans, but to people around the world. Freedom means something a little bit different to each person and each nation. Yet, the word freedom is apart of our very being.

To me, the word freedom means choices.

I want to make my own decisions. I want to be able to make my own mistakes. I have changed my views over the years, I have seen great men change their views and I respect their ability to rationalize and turn course.

The single most popular video on freedom is linked for your viewing enjoyment below. This video may be meant to be a political statement, it is better taken as a guidance for every citizen of the world, every politician, every voter, every independent thinker to ponder and consider what freedom is and how we can protect our freedom.

"Illinois is ranked:
• 50th for fiscal policy
• 47th in job creation
• 1st in unfunded pension liabilities
• 2nd largest budget deficit
• 1st in failing schools
• 1st in bonded indebtedness
• Highest sales tax in the nation
• Most judges indicted (Operations Greylord and Gambat)

Five of our last 9 elected governors have been indicted. That is more than the other 49 states added together! Then add 32 Chicago Aldermen and (according to the Chicago Tribune) over 1,000 state and municipal employees indicted."

Many years ago, I had to re-evaluate my career. When Jim Edgar left politics, I was on the advisory board for the State of Illinois, I was working on defined benefit pensions and investments. I loved my job but I sat back and pondered where I really wanted my career to take me.

I actively choose to leave Illinois, I actively closed the chapter on municipal finance (kept my own defined benefit pension in place but of course) and sought out new opportunities.

The most lucrative opportunities were stressed filled - investment banking.

I wanted to make a contribution and yet I wanted balance and a life with less stress.

The second major choice I made was to leave Illinois, my home state. This was a difficult decision that I have since wondered why I didn't do it many years before.

Here are some interesting statistics from a fellow retiree now living in Florida. He sent these to me via email. I have not checked them out on Snopes because I have felt these statistics when I visit Illinois.

For my senior thesis I wrote about the banking deregulation and the possible demise of the small banks. That was in 1983. Yesterday, I heard one of the most prestigioussmall banks in my hometown was shopping the market - meaning they will most likely sell to a larger bank.

The demise of the small bank is a major shift in our freedom. Finance is about freedom and knowing the choices. The big banks are in love with the arms length transactions because they are paper decisions.

Life is not about black and white profit, it is about communities. The safeguards for the small banks have been taken away and along with those safeguards have gone the community feel that has made this nation great.

Banking and finance is pivotal to our society, likewise, it is finance that sets the foundation for freedom.

Greece is struggling with Germany holding their notes. Shortly, America will be struggling with China holding our notes.

The choices our politicians make are a direct result of our American voice.

Speak up and tell the world what you consider freedom to be. Tell the world via the Internet that you will vote for freedom. Tell the world that finance is important to you, your family, your community, your nation.

This is not an American problem alone - this is a global problem. Shifting loans to the foreign neighbor albeit another state within the same nation or another culture such as Greece and Germany are major red flags that we will undermine ourselves.

The fall of Rome was internal - they allowed it. The fall of our finances - both Greece and America are simply repeating history.

Know the red flags, speak up today to turn the tide to the return of community debt.

We cannot do this alone, we cannot do this overnight. We can recognize the problem and speak up - this is the first course of action needed.

Remember, this demise has taken 30 years, we will not fix it over night because we didn't break it overnight.

Regulations that return the duty of a bank to be a bank that were set in place prior to the banking de-regulations in the early 1980s need to be reinstated.

Banks are now public entities and should be treated as such with public disclosure of all salaries over $50,000 with conflict of interest statements.

We must treat the financial institutions for what they have really become - public entities. If we bail them out, the same disclosures of government must be made and published documents must be mandated.

The cloak of secrecy must be taken away when a financial institution or a car manufacturer is bailed out. If it is public money, it deserves a public disclosure.