Let me set the stage first by saying that I’m primarily a conservative person, but I am in full support of the Occupy Movement. I’ve had several discussions with people surrounding this topic and unfortunately most think we’re dealing with a bunch of ungrateful and entitled hippies, but that couldn’t any further from the truth. Let me sum it up by saying this, these people are fighting for the return of the “Level Playing Field”, and I’d bet that they win.

Most people are oblivious as to what’s happened over the last decade or more. If you’ve been paying attention you’ll realize that the influence of corporate America have been spending massive resources to establish laws and relationships that will allow them to sidestep due process. On top of that these goliath corporations have found a way to transfer their problems into the treasury, and if we don’t act swiftly these entities will certainly bankrupt our natural born right to the pursuit of happiness.

 So if you ask… What is this “Level Playing Field”? It means that the rules that apply to the common guy do not apply to corporations and other wealthy people with deep campaign support. The same exact corporations that were spending an unfathomable amount of resources to modify our bankrupty laws should have died by the same sword they created, but instead our government decided that it was best for us to bail them out. Then again, when those same corporations were busted for one of the most unethical out-right criminal schemes our nations AG’s have decide to slap them on the wrist and provide them with Immunity in exchange of a cash settlement without conducting an investigation to really determine the damage. Nor will these banks admit any wrong doing. I could go on for days, but I think we’re getting the picture right? So remember corporations can get away with this stuff, but if you or I were to do this crap we’d be bunking with Bernie Madoff. AND to be honest, Bernie Madoff was a small fish compared to what these banks did! Anyways, moving on…

This is what I would demand:

1. All campaign dollars need to go into a single pot. Then distributed equally to each nominated candidate. That way each candidate has a fair chance, and that the election is based on their principals, not promises in exchange for dollars. 
   
   
2. Term limits need to be established in public service. No person should be in office for more than two terms. The same goes for lobbyists. Remember public service is just that, and people shouldn't be making a career of it.
   
   
3. Audit the Fed, and if some doesn’t add up then we should unwind it. It’s totally unconstitutional and a conflict of interest to the American people. We should have never allowed a bank to control the issue of currency. This is history repeating its self and one of the main reasons our nation parted from England’s rule.
   
   
4. Bailouts need to be repaid. If an institution needs to fail, then by all means it should. All were doing is preventing the inevitable.
   
   
5. Our economy will not recover unless we address the housing and foreclosure problem. This is a very complicated issue that I’ve been following closely and I’ll write a blog post on it at some point. We need to protect the value of our household assets for many reasons other than personal, and if we continue to let banks foreclose our neighbors without due process then the values of our property will continue to decline, and sooner than later all of us will no longer be able to refinance because our obligation will exceed the value of the asset. These banks are getting away with murder. They’ve screwed up REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts), our land title systems, unethically sold junk bonds that they positioned as AAA rated, and now they are illegally foreclosing on people. They are criminals, and by no means have any intention to helping struggling home owners like they said they would when they accepted TARP dollars. It isn’t totally the banks fault, our government failed us.
   
   
6. Transparency is the next big demand. I can donate $10 to a cause and I can see the exact classroom and project that benefitted from my donation. Government needs this kind of transparency and it boggles me that we get to that level of detail, but a charity website can.
   
   
7. Taxation is too complicated. The rules need to be modernized and less complicated. I don’t have a solution that doesn’t impact low income people yet. I have a few ideas, but this requires its own blog post.
   
   
8. Health Insurance needs more competition and these companies need to be allowed or rather forced to sell insurance across state lines. The reason we paying out the butt for health insurance is because the competition is low. Increase competition and you see price compression. I guarantee it.

So anyways, I think we can all see that the “Level Playing Field” is all but that. Those people who are out at this exact moment pursuing the Occupy Movement are looking for something that gives Americans a fair chance to prosper. Our government is failing us, our courts are broken, our education system is primitive, and we as Americans can do better. Those people, aka hippies, who are protesting their asses off are good people who are demanding a fair chance. We’re not talking handouts or anything free. What they are demanding is the separation of our governing body from corporate influence. Nothing will improve unless we stop this madness. Whether your pro right or pro left it doesn’t matter, those things only matter when you have a functioning government, and clearly we don’t. The squeaky wheel gets the oil. So in other words… Occupy. 

I read a couple of posts recently that elude to the idea that a start-up is commiting suicide by starting-up outside of the Valley; New York's Silicon Alley in particular. Now I know most of us will call BS on that, but reading that post (which I cant seem to locate) prompted me to think about Chicago's tech scene. Ironically, I've noticed a pattern that I think will challenge Chicago as a landmark city for tech entrepreneurship. I know what you're thinking, don't hate, just hear me out...

I've noticed that Chicago has an excitement cycle within our tech community. The cycle begins in April and seems to end in mid to late November. Year after year I've noticed his pattern. By the end of October Chi-town is jacked, but that changes soon after. Perhaps the change in excitement is influenced by the combination of a seasonal change in weather and its relationship to the holidays. Our community is clearly suffering from an annual break in momentum. I think we can all agree that momentum is imperative for any business or movement. Losing momentum is brutal, and I think our entire community is falling victim to this detail. We all know how hard it is to get back into the swing of things once we've checked out. 

Lets not state the obvious though, I know people are eager to wrap up Q4. Most of us are closing out the year and gearing up for quality time with family. My concern is that our break is too long and without even recognizing it were gearing up for some kind of hibernation.

Does anyone else see this? Or am I the only one hibernating? ;)

What can we do as a community to prevent this?

I'm totally interested in your thoughts. 

I'm an entrepreneur, I don't believe in the 4 hour work week; nothing against Tim Ferris. 

My quest as an entrepreneur has been rather wild to say the least; I've seen it all, good and bad. I absolutely love start-up life. I'm on my second tour as a pioneer in mobile/web consumer way-finding and interior mapping World. My latest gig has me working as the founder of NeuStep, and I'm primarily focused on our flagship product WebWalk.

I spend most of my time in Chicago. I'm not cut out for the burbs.

I'm a husband to a wonderful wife, and a father to two amazing boys, ages 3 & 1. Living the dream, building a start-up, and growing a family at the same time isn't easy, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Somehow, someway, we find a way to get it done. 

You'll find me writing about a few topics that are dear to me. Those topics are:

1. My life as an entrepreneur
2. Living up to the "Worlds Best Dad" 
3. Cancer & our experience in helping our 1 year old (now almost 4) survive
4. Boot strapping business
5. Building a family the "lean start-up" way
6. Tech gadgetry & code
7. Music & Culture
8. Education and its inefficiencies 
9. Healthcare & patient experience
10. Finance & Securitization (I know, random)