So the Republicans presented their budget to the President over the weekend with all of the pomp and circumstance. They cut a few million from here and a few million from there. On paper, it all looked good. Of course, the cuts were in areas that are sure to raise the ire of the voters - construction projects, food stamps, medical for the elderly - the hot button issues. If you have not figured it out by now, this is a strategy our lawmakers use to present cuts that give the appearance that Congress is serious about reducing waste, but they know will never pass. It is also called window dressing.
To add insult to injury, the President came out and said the cuts are not deep enough and added more cuts - adding his own cuts which he knows will never see the light of day. Then he threw in a some spending - high speed rail, for example. The President used this strategy to show that he is moving toward the center - he is for ALL people.
Now here is what will happen...
The high speed rail will probably pass because, well, it costs money and Congress loves to spend money. This will give all of these lawmakers something to go home with and say, "I brought jobs to the state." But these are government jobs and government jobs do not grow an economy. They simply take money from one taxpayers pocket and "redistribute" it.
The spending cuts? Who is willing to stand up and say they will pass? Who can name one person in Congress that will be willing to go home and say, "I am the reason you do not have food stamps". Good luck with that.
Now, if I am right, that will mean, much more government spending, period! Oh, there may be a token cut here and there, but nothing near the level discussed on the weekend talk circus. The problem is, until we propose and enact serious cuts, the problem will continue to worsen. I admit, a high speed rail would be a great benefit to the country, but we just cannot afford it! I would like to have a landscaping service take care of my lawn, but just because I want it, does not mean I should have it. Like the high speed rail, I know if I have a landscaping company take care of my lawn, it will put people to work, it will benefit the neighborhood and it will make my life more convenient.
It is time for this President, this Congress and frankly, this media to get serious about the budget and stop "working" the American people. When we talk about spending freezes, let's talk about freezing ALL spending! The job of the U.S. government is to keep us safe. Provide for our military, keep them stocked and keep them safe so they can keep us safe. Everyone else should have their budget cut absolute necessities and nothing more - no private jets, no first class tickets, no cell phones, no extravagances at all! Heck, Jarod lost a lot of weight eating at Subway and you can eat there for $10/day. Cut the per deim to $10/day. Nobody in Washington will starve. If they need staples or paperclips, bring some from home. After every penny has been cut, and only after every penny has been cut; then should Washington look at cutting other programs.
The media can help by emphasising the non-emotional cuts a little more and the emotional cuts, such as social programs, a little less. I know they are just reporting the news, but all of us share the responsibility to bring this country out of our financial mess and as long as the media is working against our progress, we will never be able to move forward. It is not about suppressing the media, it is about shared responsibility.
As for the rest of us, listen carefully to what is being reported, but be careful to read between the lines. Rest assured, whether Republican or Democrat, they all have their agenda. Regardless of what is said on talk shows or campaign trails, the proof is in the pudding. These people are in it for themselves.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Deny, Deny, Deny!
As a follow up to my most recent post, the news continues to usher in more of the same uncertainty that leads me to believe we are heading for one of the most eye-opening wake up calls of our time.
It started this week with news out of Egypt that protesters are jubilant about the decision by Hosni Mobarak to vacate his position and turn the country over to a new, yet to be named, leadership. The media is touting this as a victory for democracy and a chance for freedom in Egypt. I am all for the spread of democracy throughout the world, but we are talking about Egypt here, the neighbor of Israel - Islam's greatest enemy! Anyone who believes there is not a group of radicals preparing this very minute to make their move on Egypt is simply dillusional. With Palastine on one side and Egypt on the other, what chance would Israel have?
In this case, who will be the one to come to Israel's defense? Ordinarily, it would be the U.S., but with the standing President, I am not so sure. If we defend Israel if such an offensive should occur, it would cost even more money that we do not have. If we fail to defend Israel, what option would Israel have to push back the enemy? Israel has nuclear capabilities and who would blame them for using them when forced into a corner? The Mobarak government may not have been the ideal form of government, but it worked in that part of the world and say what you will, he continued to honor the Egypt - Israel Peace Treaty, which brought an end to a war between Egypt and Israel.
The news of last week brings an uncomfortable level of uncertainty to this region and may hasten changes in the U.S. as well. This is definitely one to watch.
The other interesting, yet troubling bit of news was from the budget talks in D.C. The Republicans proposed $61B in cuts to the budget. I guess we can call it a start, but hardly enough to pay down a $1.5T deficit. It is like paying $10 toward your credit card debt when the minimum payment due is $75. We continue to pay interest on the interest and the debt.
With the proposed cuts in place, there will be very noticeable changes across many sectors - state and federal - construction projects will stop which means people will be put out of work; government assistance will end or be reduced to some people and programs will shut down. If the proposed cuts are passed, they will be noticed. The problems are: 1. I do not believe Congress will allow them to pass - again, they do not want to upset their constituency. 2. As difficult as they are, they are not deep enough to save the country.
This is exactly what my last post talked about. The changes this nation will require to save us from ourselves are going to be so devastating, so drastic and so earth shaking that they will never happen. At least not until we have no other choice - when we hit rock bottom! What the people do not realize is that we can tighten our collective belts now, help each other through a period of very difficult times - 5, 10 years and come out much better on the other side, but we are all too selfish; all too greedy! Instead, by fighting to keep the luxuries we all feel we deserve, we will all collectively destroy the economy of the nation and bring the country to it's knees. This recovery will take much longer and the nation that rises out of the ashes will be a much different nation than the one we destroyed and that is not necessarily a good thing.
The news is coming at us very quickly today. Events are happening at a pace that is difficult to maintain. You can look at history and justify everything that is happening today with comparisons of similar times in the past, but the variable today is that people are taxed at a level much higher than at any time in the past. Whereas in the past there was always more to take, the same cannot be said for today. The only solution to the problems today is deep, painful cuts in government spending like nothing we have ever seen before; deep cuts in taxes to drive the economy and bring business back to the nation; and a no-nonsense approach to defense - if we are going to fight, do it hard, do it cheap, do it fast and come home, or don't do it at all!
It started this week with news out of Egypt that protesters are jubilant about the decision by Hosni Mobarak to vacate his position and turn the country over to a new, yet to be named, leadership. The media is touting this as a victory for democracy and a chance for freedom in Egypt. I am all for the spread of democracy throughout the world, but we are talking about Egypt here, the neighbor of Israel - Islam's greatest enemy! Anyone who believes there is not a group of radicals preparing this very minute to make their move on Egypt is simply dillusional. With Palastine on one side and Egypt on the other, what chance would Israel have?
In this case, who will be the one to come to Israel's defense? Ordinarily, it would be the U.S., but with the standing President, I am not so sure. If we defend Israel if such an offensive should occur, it would cost even more money that we do not have. If we fail to defend Israel, what option would Israel have to push back the enemy? Israel has nuclear capabilities and who would blame them for using them when forced into a corner? The Mobarak government may not have been the ideal form of government, but it worked in that part of the world and say what you will, he continued to honor the Egypt - Israel Peace Treaty, which brought an end to a war between Egypt and Israel.
The news of last week brings an uncomfortable level of uncertainty to this region and may hasten changes in the U.S. as well. This is definitely one to watch.
The other interesting, yet troubling bit of news was from the budget talks in D.C. The Republicans proposed $61B in cuts to the budget. I guess we can call it a start, but hardly enough to pay down a $1.5T deficit. It is like paying $10 toward your credit card debt when the minimum payment due is $75. We continue to pay interest on the interest and the debt.
With the proposed cuts in place, there will be very noticeable changes across many sectors - state and federal - construction projects will stop which means people will be put out of work; government assistance will end or be reduced to some people and programs will shut down. If the proposed cuts are passed, they will be noticed. The problems are: 1. I do not believe Congress will allow them to pass - again, they do not want to upset their constituency. 2. As difficult as they are, they are not deep enough to save the country.
This is exactly what my last post talked about. The changes this nation will require to save us from ourselves are going to be so devastating, so drastic and so earth shaking that they will never happen. At least not until we have no other choice - when we hit rock bottom! What the people do not realize is that we can tighten our collective belts now, help each other through a period of very difficult times - 5, 10 years and come out much better on the other side, but we are all too selfish; all too greedy! Instead, by fighting to keep the luxuries we all feel we deserve, we will all collectively destroy the economy of the nation and bring the country to it's knees. This recovery will take much longer and the nation that rises out of the ashes will be a much different nation than the one we destroyed and that is not necessarily a good thing.
The news is coming at us very quickly today. Events are happening at a pace that is difficult to maintain. You can look at history and justify everything that is happening today with comparisons of similar times in the past, but the variable today is that people are taxed at a level much higher than at any time in the past. Whereas in the past there was always more to take, the same cannot be said for today. The only solution to the problems today is deep, painful cuts in government spending like nothing we have ever seen before; deep cuts in taxes to drive the economy and bring business back to the nation; and a no-nonsense approach to defense - if we are going to fight, do it hard, do it cheap, do it fast and come home, or don't do it at all!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
A State of Denial
Denial is a very tragic thing and the consequences of denial are equally tragic. Have you ever known a person who had a very sick relative? You knew the person was dying, but their close loved ones or spouse insisted they would recover? It tore you up inside to think of the pain that person would endure when they finally realized the truth, probably too late to prepare themselves for the loss. Some would say that it is good to remain positive, which I agree is true - to a point, but it is also true to prepare for the inevitable.
Such is the case with the state of our state and our nation. Many, many people are walking around assuming things will get better. It will soon be like the good old days when everyone was working and money was growing in accounts like dandelions in a field. The "haves" had everything they wanted and the "have nots" were given what they wanted by the government.
Fast forward to 2011 when the "haves" are struggling to keep what they have earned and the "have nots" are not going to be able to look to the government much longer for the luxuries they feel they deserve, or the necessities the need, like food or a home. My point is simple. It is time we realize that the country is simply not the thriving bounty it once was. The government does not have the cash it once had, borrowed or otherwise. Our state (and many others) has driven itself into bankruptcy and is looking to the taxpayer to bail it out. We are taxing our residents to death and it will not help bring us out of trouble.
Add to this, the fact that our nation is placed itself into a debt, the like of which we have never seen and we can never pay. What are we going to do about it? Tax people and tax corporations! As a nation, we now have the largest corporate tax of any nation in the world! What effect do you suppose this will have on business growth in the U.S.? The worst part is that the problem has only begun and will only get worse and nobody seems to notice or care. Not yet anyway.
Just in the past 24 hours, I purchased a gallon of milk on sale for $2.88 at the local grocery store. This same gallon of milk was only $1.99 one year ago. I purchased gas for the car at $3.29/gallon today, in February - a time of year when gasoline is usually the lowest price. What does this say about the price of gasoline in peak driving season, $4.50? $5.00? What will happen to the economy when people have to pay $5.00 for a gallon of gas? That gallon of milk will be $3.50 or $4.00. This would be a 100% increase since one year ago. Now, imagine if everything delivered by truck to market increases by 100%, what would that do to an already fragile economy? Okay, let's call it extreme, but if we look at only 20% which is not only realistic, but very likely, the economy will fail. The reality is if the inflation rate climbs to 20%, it can easily go to 100%. Of course there are always government price caps if the inflation rate climbs too fast, but we know what that did in the 70's. Farmers dumped milk rather than sell to market and let crops rot in fields. That will happen again.
Some people may think I am an alarmist, but nothing I am saying here is dreamt up out of a science fiction novel. This has happened before at some level in this country or other countries. The difference is, as a nation, our citizens have never been taxed so much and our government has never been so deep in dept when it occured in the past. During the 70's, the tax burden was not so high that the citizens could not afford to pay a little more. Today, taxpayers are paying 50% or more of their earned wages on some form of taxes or government fees. The government cannot take much more without depleting the fuel that keeps the econony rolling. The fact is, the well has run dry and the piper must be paid.
At a time when government, both national and state, should be cutting spending as much as possible - not just feel good, window dressing cuts, but real deep, painful cuts. Our lawmakers continue to spend, continue to try to win the favor of the voters by handing out more money for programs we cannot afford. The way I see it we only have one option though it may be too late already to save us from total economic disaster in this country. Our state and federal governments MUST begin to act as if they were a business in bankruptcy, spending only the money that is absolutely necessary to maintain operations. Where there is an opportunity to save a buck, take it. This is not about trillions anymore, it is about every single penny. This means government paid cell phones - gone! Government paid vehicles - gone! Government paid events of all kinds - gone! And don't forget to turn off the lights at the capitol building when the last lawmaker leaves at 4PM either. As Benjamin Franklin said, "A penny saved is a penny earned". Let's take a lesson from the past!
If we continue to live in this state of denial, we will soon wake up to a stock market that will make the crash of '29 look like a fender bender, $3.00/gallon gas, the good old days and change for a dollar, the punchline to a joke. If we continue to live in this state of denial, we will soon be staring at a much different country, a much different way of life and the day will come very soon when even the most blind of us will wake up one morning and ask, "what happened"?
Such is the case with the state of our state and our nation. Many, many people are walking around assuming things will get better. It will soon be like the good old days when everyone was working and money was growing in accounts like dandelions in a field. The "haves" had everything they wanted and the "have nots" were given what they wanted by the government.
Fast forward to 2011 when the "haves" are struggling to keep what they have earned and the "have nots" are not going to be able to look to the government much longer for the luxuries they feel they deserve, or the necessities the need, like food or a home. My point is simple. It is time we realize that the country is simply not the thriving bounty it once was. The government does not have the cash it once had, borrowed or otherwise. Our state (and many others) has driven itself into bankruptcy and is looking to the taxpayer to bail it out. We are taxing our residents to death and it will not help bring us out of trouble.
Add to this, the fact that our nation is placed itself into a debt, the like of which we have never seen and we can never pay. What are we going to do about it? Tax people and tax corporations! As a nation, we now have the largest corporate tax of any nation in the world! What effect do you suppose this will have on business growth in the U.S.? The worst part is that the problem has only begun and will only get worse and nobody seems to notice or care. Not yet anyway.
Just in the past 24 hours, I purchased a gallon of milk on sale for $2.88 at the local grocery store. This same gallon of milk was only $1.99 one year ago. I purchased gas for the car at $3.29/gallon today, in February - a time of year when gasoline is usually the lowest price. What does this say about the price of gasoline in peak driving season, $4.50? $5.00? What will happen to the economy when people have to pay $5.00 for a gallon of gas? That gallon of milk will be $3.50 or $4.00. This would be a 100% increase since one year ago. Now, imagine if everything delivered by truck to market increases by 100%, what would that do to an already fragile economy? Okay, let's call it extreme, but if we look at only 20% which is not only realistic, but very likely, the economy will fail. The reality is if the inflation rate climbs to 20%, it can easily go to 100%. Of course there are always government price caps if the inflation rate climbs too fast, but we know what that did in the 70's. Farmers dumped milk rather than sell to market and let crops rot in fields. That will happen again.
Some people may think I am an alarmist, but nothing I am saying here is dreamt up out of a science fiction novel. This has happened before at some level in this country or other countries. The difference is, as a nation, our citizens have never been taxed so much and our government has never been so deep in dept when it occured in the past. During the 70's, the tax burden was not so high that the citizens could not afford to pay a little more. Today, taxpayers are paying 50% or more of their earned wages on some form of taxes or government fees. The government cannot take much more without depleting the fuel that keeps the econony rolling. The fact is, the well has run dry and the piper must be paid.
At a time when government, both national and state, should be cutting spending as much as possible - not just feel good, window dressing cuts, but real deep, painful cuts. Our lawmakers continue to spend, continue to try to win the favor of the voters by handing out more money for programs we cannot afford. The way I see it we only have one option though it may be too late already to save us from total economic disaster in this country. Our state and federal governments MUST begin to act as if they were a business in bankruptcy, spending only the money that is absolutely necessary to maintain operations. Where there is an opportunity to save a buck, take it. This is not about trillions anymore, it is about every single penny. This means government paid cell phones - gone! Government paid vehicles - gone! Government paid events of all kinds - gone! And don't forget to turn off the lights at the capitol building when the last lawmaker leaves at 4PM either. As Benjamin Franklin said, "A penny saved is a penny earned". Let's take a lesson from the past!
If we continue to live in this state of denial, we will soon wake up to a stock market that will make the crash of '29 look like a fender bender, $3.00/gallon gas, the good old days and change for a dollar, the punchline to a joke. If we continue to live in this state of denial, we will soon be staring at a much different country, a much different way of life and the day will come very soon when even the most blind of us will wake up one morning and ask, "what happened"?
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