Brinksmanship.

Brinksmanship. That's what our government has become. It's no longer a group of elected officials that work together to solve problems, it's a group of people that practice brinkmanship. Brinkmanship is the ability to create deadlines and crisis only to get to the point and create a new deadline for a new crisis. And We The People are allowing it to happen.

Our Congress, Senate and even our President have become superstars in the game of 'Kick the Can'. Instead of addressing problems with real solutions they instead put band-aids and a patchwork of 'fixes' that move the actual consequences of the problem to a different point in time. These individuals that ran an election in which they preached they were part of the solution are in fact the problem. Our elected officials have been given a pass for too long.

I believe we need to create a different compensatory system for the people that run the government. Congressional, Senatorial and Executive Branch staff members have put themselves on a higher plane than the rest of us. Let's knock 'em down a peg or two. I've outlined in a previous post some details on how to reign in our elected officials. I'd like to expand that a little bit.

My original post:

• Tie congressional compensation (pay) to the median income level of that congressman's home district. 
• Tie senatorial compensation (pay) to the median income level of that senator's home district. 
• Take control of the office budget from the offices of elected officials and create a board of CITIZENS from that elected officials home district that oversee that budget. 
• Realign the benefits packages that congressmen and senators receive to be on par with the benefits of normal government workers.

My additions to this list:

•  All elected officials INCLUDING THE PRESIDENT AND HIS CABINET are subject to ALL laws and rules pertaining to the people of the United States. ALL elected officials shall make no law or rule excluding them from the governing laws and rules of the United states. Effective immediately and retroactively. 
• No elected official should be allowed to profit from investments directly tied to his or her position. If an elected official is found to have broken this rule, he or she is subject to immediate dismissal, possible criminal proccedings and/or forfeiture of any/all monies made over the course of that elected official's terms. 
• Any elected official accused of infractions will be judged by a citizen jury and a legal team that shall be called by lottery. All elected/appointed legal official's shall be excluded from said lottery. Only unelected/appointed citizens shall serve in this capacity. 

And stole this one from Warren Buffet:

• If at any time the deficit is equal or greater than 3% of  GDP all sitting members of Congress, (and I added) the Senate and the President are ineligible for re-election.

I would be willing to bet that our elected officials would begin to drop like flies. Only people truly interested in fixing our nation's problems would become elected officials. No more 'Brinksmanship'. Kicking the can down the road would be a tough pill to swallow for people that have morals. What we have now is a nation run by liars, cheats and thieves. They make law and regulations that they directly profit from.

Maybe a citizen's initiative to effect change. We need to come together as a nation.

That's my two cents, spend 'em or put 'em in the dish for the next person.   

Thanksgiving

In this post I'd like to take the time to all of you that read my posts. This blog is a wonderful outlet for my feelings as pertains to current events. Thank you all for sharing in my mental musings. Hopefully I can continue to entertain and enlighten you in years to come.

With that, I ask the more fortunate ones out there to give. Give to charities that truly need it. Try to steer clear of the big commercial ones, I won't name names. Give to your local food bank, small churches, local clothing drives and local people you know that need it. I don't believe in giving to the 'super markets' of charity. The amount you give them is used to run their bloated system. I believe they play on our charitable feelings to profit. One well known charity organization runs big box size retail buildings. I'm not sure that the running cost to charitable giving ratio is so good on that one.

Now for my more conservative friends...

I know with my ideals I give what I can and I give to whom I think will benefit. I also give to the Federal Government which they dole out as THEY see fit. My charitable giving is on a much smaller level, but I bet my meager giving (as compared to the bloated government) has more impact dollar for dollar then the Fed can even come close to.

On this Thanksgiving, be thankful. No matter your place in life.

So Long Twinkie!

This week we learned of the soon to be demise of Hostess food brands. A union strike protesting cuts from a company in bankruptcy forced that company to call it quits. About 6700 employees represented by the union will lose their jobs and another 12,300 not represented will also be on the wrong side of the door. In this economic climate...do we really believe labor is a rare commodity?


Hostess isn't the only one making large cuts in workforce to survive the perceived regulatory onslaught by the current administration. There are dozens of others currently announcing cuts and soon will be dozens more. (A more comprehensive list can be found here) Now, can this be attributed directly to Obama? No, but...He has surrounded himself with a group that is ideologically opposed to a capitalist societal structure that demonize the rich. Unless of course those rich are supporters of their cause.

Running a business breaks down easily. Money coming in must be greater or equal to that going out. Preferably greater than. No one will invest in a company that does not make them a reasonable return. There is only one entity that decidedly operates this way...the government. The only reason they get away with it is because they need not ask for investment..they merely take it.

Let's take a brief look at the day to day dealings of a business and break it down so the morons can understand it. Say we make computers, No..scratch that, let's make it even simpler than that. Say we make paperclips. If we look at a quick business model, it'll illustrate the costs associated with running a business.


First you need a plant. Say that plant costs $100 million. Your going to need capital investment and those people are going to want a dividend. let's say 6%. So $100 Million X 6% = $6 Million in interest, that's if someone is willing to give you $100 Million @ 6%! So, that loan (capital investment) for 40yrs would have a payment of $550,210.36 a year or $45,850.86 a month. Add energy costs, which by the way have been fluctuating wildly, and we'll see another $50-100 Thousand a year. For the sake of being frugal, let's make it $50,000 a year or $4166 a month. Here comes the raw material we need to make those paperclips! Steel coils, that have to be pulled (resized) down to paperclip size. Raw steel right now is going for about $400 ton. Finished steel coiled rod goes about twice that or $800 a ton. There are about 1000 paperclips in 1 pound so, by my rudimentary math, that's 2,000,000 paperclips per ton, to put this in perspective..this is about 1/2 a pallet of paperclips. Most companies are going to expect a large first order, so let's get 10 tons of steel coil for $8000.

Before we've even made one paperclip, we've already incurred a monthly bill of $58,016.86!

Ok...now to get those paperclips made, we're going to need labor. Every added cost is a commodity, so we'll try to get this as cheap as we can too. Machine tenders, machine mechanics, office staff, general labor...most successful businesses try to keep labor to about 25% of overall monthly costs. Using this model we can expect a number of $14,504.22 for labor. Still ain't made a paperclip yet...all those people still have to be trained. We're currently looking at $72521.08 per month...and we've yet to make a dime back.

Ok...now we bring in the government. At least they are nice enough to expect their taxes quarterly...but...regulatory costs kick in immediately. Workers comp insurance, Unemployment insurance, Social Security employer percentages..not to mention costs to have people come in and make sure that the handrails are the right height, all guards are in place on machines, government MANDATORY energy saving measures are in place and all employees have been hired per government standards. These cost are currently unmanageable because of this current administration's failure to lead. By law, Obama and his ilk were to put out a list of intended regulatory agenda, which it did not. So, investment in American business will be put on hold until the unknown is known.

Now..fast forward 20 years. People have retired...now the company also incurs legacy costs. Fast forward 50 years and now the retired outnumber the employed. The company paid good benefits when it was the other way around, but now carry unproductive costs. Labor costs go from 25% to 50%. Current union officials decry cuts..stating the rich investors have the cash to carry a company even if that company fails to produce a dividend. The investors see it differently, no dividend, no investment...no investment, machines become antiquated and break down, no capital to fix and the company withers and dies.

This is easy. Why is this so hard to understand? I'm sure that all the wonderful liberals out there have a pink and rosey outlook on how capitalism works..but it's really cut and dried.

Money coming in must be greater or equal to that going out. Preferably greater than. No one will invest in a company that does not make them a reasonable return.

That's my two cents, spend 'em or put 'em in the dish for the next person.

"Fiscal Cuts A Love Story"

Catchy title huh? Looking at the looming fiscal cuts gets me thinking, where could we make some cuts where it would hurt the least? I've got some ideas that may be unpopular but I bet it would be wicked productive! Even the ideas wouldn't generate all that much in actual fiscal cuts but the political implications would be huge!! I'm going to put this to the people across the nation. WE NEED A CHANGE AND IT WILL START WITH US.

Who gives two shits about the fiscal cliff? I say let her go! What we are going to get is instead of these politicians turning the car around, they are going to just turn it and ride along the edge of the cliff until someone grows some balls and grabs the friggin' wheel! LET GRAB THE WHEEL PEOPLE, WE HAVE FORGOTTEN THAT IT IS OUR FRIGGIN' CAR!


So, let's all get off our collective lazy asses and get the word out. This idea has the potential to shake up our government and return it to the hands of the people in DAYS. To fundamentally change the way Washington works in the first few hours it would be enacted. We need to do this. They won't work on their own, we need to make them do it. They are a bunch of children that won't mind.

My idea is simple. It only would take up one or two pages in an actual bill and have positive ramifications across the board. It would strip the power from the people in Washington and return it to the people. This is actually an idea that anyone, Black, White, Hispanic, Liberal, Conservative or Independent could get behind. Everyone could support this...except the politicians. They will ALL fight against this with a fervor never seen before in any political issue.

Here it is:

• Tie congressional compensation (pay) to the median income level of that congressman's home district. 
• Tie senatorial compensation (pay) to the median income level of that senator's home district. 
• Take control of the office budget from the offices of elected officials and create a board of CITIZENS from that elected officials home district that oversee that budget. 
• Realign the benefits packages that congressmen and senators receive to be on par with the benefits of normal government workers.

That's it. Easy enough. In a hundred words or less. I could tweet this for crying out loud. How in the hell did we end up with a greater than a THOUSAND page health care bill? Because the monkeys are running the zoo.

Now let's look at these points. The first two would instantly see some savings. There are 435 Congressmen and 100 Senators getting a salary of $174,000 plus benefits. More for the leaders of the two. That's $93,090,000. Just in income! If we were to tie that to congressional/senatorial district median income that across America hovers right around $50,000 then that number shrinks to $26,750,000! Not only does it get their income inline with the people they represent, it lights a fire under their asses to help spur economic growth in his or her district!! Talk about motivation! The fiscal savings of $66,340,000 is a drop in the well compared to the money spent by the government a year..but the political implications would be GIGANTIC! The way I see it this is something we as Americans can collectively agree on across the board. These bastards make too friggin' much money for way too little work!

Next point. A Congressman/Senator's budget includes staff expenses which average $1,014,443.11 across the board which adds up to $542,727,063.85 a year. Over half a billion dollars a year. For a group of individuals that can't play nice together. Bunch of friggin' children. We The People (parents) need to take their (children) toys away. Some of these budgets range from $1.5 Million up to $5 million. We should make them ask for everything. Right down to a friggin' box of staples. Even though this is a very minor fraction of the national budget..worry about the pennies and the dollars come off. I'm a gear-head and a racers mantra is worry about ounces and pounds come off..a leaner car is a faster car. I'd bet a leaner government would be a more efficient one.

I've been to Washington D.C. several times and these people have lost their minds! After only 5 or 6 days in that city you get sucked up in it and completely forget where you came from. If these elected officials had to ask the people that elected them to authorize a $100 steak meal or a bottle of liquor...they'd think twice. It's that thought that will draw them back to where they came from. Every successful business has a bean counter. I say we become the bean counter for the people that work for US. An elected board of individuals right here at home..at home across the USA..making decisions that will drive those in Washington to act. Imagine Joe Public struggling to feed his kids being asked to OK an expenditure for a $100 steak...yeah..that's not going to happen.


Finally, the benefits. Do any of us really think that a Congressman/Senator is really worth being FULLY VESTED in their retirement at 5 years?  At the age of 62 a Congressman/Senator that was elected to 3 terms would take home about $84,000 a year for life. Plus healthcare. Is there anyone out there in the private sector that has this kind of golden parachute regardless of performance? More like a lead balloon. We need to reign in this bullshit. They talk about an election as if it gives us power. We have none! There is no repercussions from us the people...they merely need to feed us bullshit for 3 terms then they are set for life. Our elected officials go into office broke and come out millionaires...I wonder why?

We are letting this happen. The monkeys are truly running the zoo and we need to wrest control from the poop throwing animals. It's not going to be easy...imagine trying to take away this monetary power from the very people we entrust to be stewards of it. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Now, back to the title.."Fiscal Cuts..A Love Story" It's become clear that politicians feed on controversy. I believe it's because it keeps us from looking at their direct fiscal house. They have lived high on the hog for a long time...and it's high time to put 'em on a diet!

Share this with your friends and family. We need to affect change and I believe this would hammer that message into Washington.


That's my two cents, spend 'em or put 'em in the dish for the next person.

 

Meltdown

I apologize for my lack of posts after the election. I've been out of sorts and completely dumbfounded by the choices made by the country I've come to know, or at least thought I knew. The people of these United States have spoken loud and clear. They want more from their government. For me, more was a performance issue, for the majority it's things. They want more stuff and this is the administration that they believe will get them it.

For the past few days I've been watching the goings on around the world to see a pattern. Some patterns are becoming apparent quite quickly. The DOW JONES falls 500 point in the 2 days following the election. Mass lay-offs across all employment sectors. CEO's of companies talking strategies to deal with climbing costs of this administrations regulatory agenda and Obamacare that include cutting hours of staff and closing plants. Even his own cabinet members are jumping ship at an alarming rate. I believe we're going to see some toxic shit come from the next four years of Obama. It's quickly careening out of control. This country is poised to go over the fiscal cliff and I really believe that the majority could care less.

Why would I make such a bold assertion that the majority could care less? How can I speak for the people I believe voted blindly for continuation of the status quo when I didn't? Because I care. Because I've researched the facts and crunched the numbers. Because I can see what the 'entitlement attitude' is doing to our country and pillaging our children's future. Because I have personally been told by someone that voted for Obama that "why should I care, I'll be dead and gone when the debt needs to be payed back". Another exchange was "It's all about me, it should be about us, the rich are all me's and us's suffer". I charge that without the 'me me me' people the 'us us us' people are going to fall apart. All this 'free' stuff comes at a price that we all will pay.

People voted for the rock star. We have elevated our public servants to rock star levels. They have become power hungry monsters that serve only themselves and special interests. The left would charge that only the Republicans do this..but get on this computer and dig around. THEY ARE ALL ON THE TAKE. Every last politician has been corrupted by the system.

Chance favors the prepared soul. I will stay prepared and leave little to chance. Our country is on the precipice of a new age. One marked an entitled electorate that can't get enough. It's kind of poignant that the consumerism that most liberals abhor is the only thing that keeps them in power. They only need to keep them in the dark for a little while longer. Collapse our monetary system, seize control of our financial systems and then dictate compensation across the board. The ultimate system of redistribution. WE WILL STILL FIGHT AGAINST IT. Bartering is already making a huge comeback.

I heard a woman on a radio program talking about a socialist country she left. She described socialism as everyone being equally miserable except for the politicians and criminals. This is a woman that came to America because everyone has an equal shot at greatness with hard work and perseverance. Now she is ashamed that the people that she wanted to become a part of are reverting to the system she fled. It's a pipe dream. History has shown us the way and we continue to repeat it. Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing something over and over and expecting a different outcome. What we have here is the majority of Americans are insane by definition.

I will continue to, as Obama put it "cling to my guns and bible" even tho I'm not in the least bit religious. I can't help but think that I've been part of the problem all along. My divisive rhetoric may have soured a few conservative folks. I've gone back over my posts and always felt I've been inclusive in my ideals. I try not to exclude any person and make a point to try and build common ground. I've come to realize there is no common ground for the selfish. The left would have us believe that a rich man that works super hard for his wealth is more selfish than a man that sits on his fat ass and expects to be taken care of. I'm going to continue to work hard and be proud of my success and be ashamed of the person that feels entitled to a piece of my success. 

I'm still going to be critical of the government in my blogs, at least until they tell me to stop. I would have been no less critical of a Romney presidency. There is bad and good but modern political wrangling has blurred those lines. We're headed for a meltdown and it's going to be an interesting four years...

That's my two cent's. Don't spend them or put them in the dish for the next person...you may be needing them soon.

We have taken the first steps to socialism.

Today we celebrate (mourn?) the results of another American Presidential election. The American people stepped up and resoundingly sided with Barack Obama and his lack luster, partisan failure. Our future has been fiscally raped, our present blinded by idealism. Hindsight is 20/20, foresight is blurred by ideals. I truly hope my foresight is blurred by my ideals.

A majority of our people voted for our government to take a greater role in our care. From foodstamps to healthcare our people have needs (wants?). This administrations and the administrations before have solidified their voting base with handouts. Not just the poor or middle class, but the rich as well. Huge bailouts, no risk government loans and friendly regulatory changes to base friendly groups. We have no sense of cost anymore. Billions and Trillions do not register in the minds of people that will never see that kind of money. A person close to me put it quite eloquently when asked how he felt about the debt forced on the future: "What do I care, I'll be dead by then and it won't effect me". Greed and arrogance.

This election has turned the tide to a more dependent electorate. More and more of our family and friends will rely on government handouts to get by. More and more will vote with their own ego instead of the greater good. What will I get from my vote? Free phone? More foodstamps? Maybe a little raise in social security benefits? The majority has their handout for more, should I just join them?

We, the people will survive. It may take many, many years to reverse the damage done but we will make it happen. The only thing we can do is stay prepared. Look and read at the economic problems going on in Europe. Take the lessons learned from that and prepare. Then we need to take an active roll in their idea of a new republic. Starve the beast by taking part in all the handouts they provide. Facilitate the collapse. If we speed up the inevitable corruption of the system, it may change the tide of power. People may wake up and take notice. Then again...maybe we're just another Greece.

This vote illustrates the ignorance in which people vote. Instead of researching the individuals we're charged with voting for, we rely on the opinions of others. Willful ignorance. We will reap the crop of the seeds we sow. Right now the President is laying down a hell of a layer of bullshit...let's hope something grows in it.

That's my two cents, spend 'em or put 'em in the dish for the next person. 

ELECTION DAY 2012!!!

Today we choose hope and change or four more years of hopeless changing. This blogger is excited but reserved. I really don't know which way this vote will go. While it feels like the people in the Romney camp are way more excited than the Obama camp, the vote lies with the entire country. Will we as a country choose right? Or will we as a country be lazy and let the media choose our next President? It is our right to vote, it is our duty to know who we are voting for.

Read my other posts, I have done some of the leg work on answering some of the questions on both candidates. Note that I said some. Some of you have questions of these candidates that I did not answer. This is where the research comes in. Do it for yourself. Don't take my words as the final authority. Don't trust CNN, ABC, NBC or FOXNEWS. They all put a spin on it. Find out where the spin stops.

Today we will either be known as the people that chose to continue the American way of life, or that we want as a nation to adopt the European style of governance. Today we either choose to turn the debt in the right direction or continue to spend our futures money to the tune of $12 per person per day just on that debt. Today we will choose to suffer a little now to create a better future, or live high on the hog til there ain't no hog for our future. Today we will choose individual liberties and rights or collective rights and limited liberties.

Both men have proved themselves in the public arena. The choice for me is clear. Obama isn't running on his record and why is that? Answer it for yourself.

GET OUT AND VOTE!!

That's my two cents spend 'em or put 'em in the dish for the next person.

TOMORROW....WE VOTE!

 

Tomorrow November 6th, 2012 will go down in history as the day the country continued down into regulatory purgatory or the day we voted for real change. Four years ago, President Obama ran on hope and change. Today, four years later there is little hope and the only change we've seen is higher gas prices, smaller paychecks, crushing debt and a healthcare bill we didn't ask for nor 56% of America approves of.

I really don't care who you vote for. I believe that people who actually know something about our country, specifically where we came from and where potentially it can go, will vote for the more conservative candidate. Why would I make this assertion? Because I believe that people don't trust the government. Who in their right mind would trust a big, bloated machine that eats money and regurgitates regulation? Not this blogger.

Tomorrow will highlight to our future citizens that we chose to work hard, suffer a little and make a better tomorrow for them. Or it will cement into history our greed and laziness, that we collectively decided to finance our today at the cost of their future. We will collectively vote to change the course of government, to return to a government that oversees the states and supports their decisions. Or we will decide to hand over sovereignty to that big, bloated, money eating machine. Our future is our legacy. We are the greatest nation on the planet and in one day of voting we could throw that away.

Why would our current administration allow the United Nations monitor the vote? Is this an administration that believes in individual rights and sovereignty of states? Why no budget in this administration's entire term of Presidency? Why does this administration shirk the law and not make public it's regulatory agenda, cutting out on the last two due dates? Why, after touting the most transparent administration in history, has this administration chosen to be the most opaque? Do you have a better choice than the status quo? If you research and answer these questions for your self, then the choice will be clear. 

Please, whom ever you decide to vote for, vote informed. READ UP ON THE CANDIDATES. This is the most important election for our future.

My vote will go to Willard Mitt Romney. I don't think he is the best choice for but it's the only choice I'm given. If I choose to vote for Gary Johnson I believe it's a vote for no one. He hasn't the chance in hell to win and my vote is better given to a possible challenger to the status quo.

I would like to thank everyone that reads my blog. I will continue to post after the election and will hold either administration's feet to the fire for any decisions that threaten our future. The subject material may change a little, more posts about life and my interests, but I'll try to stay entertaining. Again, thank you.

That's my two cent's, spend 'em or put 'em in the dish for the next person.