Our illustrious Arkansas State Legislature, in all of their infinite wisdom, have decided to discuss the possibility of linking the funding provided to State colleges and Universities to the graduation rates of the individual schools. What they are saying is that the schools who have the highest grad rates, get the most money.
Now, that being said, the University of AR at Fayetteville is the most exclusive State University in Arkansas. It is in the area of the state that also has the Walton Family (Wal-mart headquarters), the Tyson Family (Tyson Chicken), JB Hunt Trucking, and has been the only Republican area of Arkansas for the last 150 years. They have the highest graduation rate in the state because you have to have a higher GPA and test scores to even be accepted.
But there are also 2 Universities in the Delta region of the state, aka the poor folks. These are Arkansas State University in Jonesboro (where DD goes) and University of AR at Pine Bluff.
ASUJ( Northeastern region) has a history of being a "regional" college but they have recently been focusing on helping students stay in school and graduate with a useful degree. They also have a network of "feeder" schools, aka junior colleges, that offer 2 year degrees and let the students transfer into ASUJ after the first 2 years.
UAPB on the other hand, is a 4 year college that focuses on giving minorities a chance to get an education. They are in the poorest(Southeastern) section of the state, and in Arkansas that means the least educated. Their graduation rates have a tendency to correspond to the general education of the region.
This legislation is specifically designed to keep the rich, well educated area of the state, well educated and rich, and keep the poor, uneducated areas, poor and uneducated.
This is absolutely not what the legislature is supposed to do. They are supposed to educate the poor, economically depressed areas so they are not so poor and economically depressed. This is a classic example of the rich getting richer while the poor get poorer. The Democrats want to keep that minority voting block on the public dole.
It is just so counter-intuitive.
Showing posts with label government. Show all posts
Showing posts with label government. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
What ever happened to ...
What ever happened to the freedoms guaranteed to U.S. citizens in the Constitution? Lets take a look.
Free Speech-- We are finding ourselves controlled more and more by Political Correctness and Homeland Security. Our media is telling us what the Powers That Be want us to know and nothing else. And if you do not subscribe to those beliefs, you are subject to investigation and possible arrest. If you do not believe me, look up the WikiLeaks scandal. An Australian citizen is being harassed by the U.S. government because he gathered information (in a legal way, even) that is embarrassing to the government and told everyone about it on the internet. Now the government is putting pressure on foreign agencies and governments to shut him up. Today he was arrested for some absurd sex charge (rape due to a broken condom?) because it was the only thing they could find to charge him with. His assets have been globally seized, and U.S. contractors have been told that if any of their employees access his web page, either at work or at home, they will be fired. Kinda makes you wonder just how far the government will go to protect their dirty little secrets?
Right to Bear Arms-- No, I am not talking about the forelimbs of a woodland creature here. In the U.S., every citizen has a Constitutional right to own firearms. Gun control has been a hot button topic for 30 years. It seems like every time there is an election, the media starts spouting non-sense about crime being on the rise because of the number of guns available. They want to scare people into believing that guns are the cause of crime. Trust me, there are a lot of easier ways to kill someone than to shoot them. The government wants people to be afraid of guns so we cannot protect ourselves, either from criminals or from an oppressive government. They actually remember that the American Revolution happened because a bunch of American colonists with squirrel rifles got fed up with an oppressive government and demanded to be free. Not just once, but twice, we defended ourselves against the British for the right to rule ourselves. The Powers That Be do not want that to happen again, so they are limiting our right to even possess weapons. They demonize anyone who will fight to protect themselves by calling them "radicals" or "gun-toting lunatics".
Unreasonable Search and Seizure-- This one is essentially gone from memory. The Department of Homeland Security has conveniently forgotten that this right exists. For those who are interested, it is #4 in the Bill of Rights. It says, and I quote, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." In the name of Security, the government has managed to violate this right in so many ways it might as well not exist. All it takes for DHS to decide you are a risk is one single tip. They can tap your cell phone, search your garbage, use infrared detectors on your home, X-ray your vehicle while you are driving, monitor your habits, prevent you from getting on an airplane, look at your credit report to see what you are buying, all without a search warrant. Although, these days, getting a probable cause warrant is absurdly easy because judges are willing to grant them in hopes of being promoted up the food chain into the Federal Court system. If they think you have a gun, and you are known to disagree with governmental policies, they can claim probable cause for weapons charges and arrest you. Just the threat of governmental harassment is enough to make most people cower and comply. Does this feel like Freedom to anyone?
Amendment 9-- "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." This statement, in and of itself, states that the people have rights that are not enumerated in the Constitution. But the Government doesn't want us to think we have any rights unless they give them to us. We are much easier to control if we can only do what the government wants us to do. Let's all be good little slaves, mindlessly handing over our wages to the Tax Authority, for the good of all Americans. We are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights, the right to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Regardless to what the government thinks.
Amendment 10-- "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." This is just an extension of #9. We the People have RIGHTS! If we do not exercise them, and exercise them regularly, they will be taken away from us. One, by one, until we are nothing less than a police state run by those who do not have our best interests at heart.
Free Speech-- We are finding ourselves controlled more and more by Political Correctness and Homeland Security. Our media is telling us what the Powers That Be want us to know and nothing else. And if you do not subscribe to those beliefs, you are subject to investigation and possible arrest. If you do not believe me, look up the WikiLeaks scandal. An Australian citizen is being harassed by the U.S. government because he gathered information (in a legal way, even) that is embarrassing to the government and told everyone about it on the internet. Now the government is putting pressure on foreign agencies and governments to shut him up. Today he was arrested for some absurd sex charge (rape due to a broken condom?) because it was the only thing they could find to charge him with. His assets have been globally seized, and U.S. contractors have been told that if any of their employees access his web page, either at work or at home, they will be fired. Kinda makes you wonder just how far the government will go to protect their dirty little secrets?
Right to Bear Arms-- No, I am not talking about the forelimbs of a woodland creature here. In the U.S., every citizen has a Constitutional right to own firearms. Gun control has been a hot button topic for 30 years. It seems like every time there is an election, the media starts spouting non-sense about crime being on the rise because of the number of guns available. They want to scare people into believing that guns are the cause of crime. Trust me, there are a lot of easier ways to kill someone than to shoot them. The government wants people to be afraid of guns so we cannot protect ourselves, either from criminals or from an oppressive government. They actually remember that the American Revolution happened because a bunch of American colonists with squirrel rifles got fed up with an oppressive government and demanded to be free. Not just once, but twice, we defended ourselves against the British for the right to rule ourselves. The Powers That Be do not want that to happen again, so they are limiting our right to even possess weapons. They demonize anyone who will fight to protect themselves by calling them "radicals" or "gun-toting lunatics".
Unreasonable Search and Seizure-- This one is essentially gone from memory. The Department of Homeland Security has conveniently forgotten that this right exists. For those who are interested, it is #4 in the Bill of Rights. It says, and I quote, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." In the name of Security, the government has managed to violate this right in so many ways it might as well not exist. All it takes for DHS to decide you are a risk is one single tip. They can tap your cell phone, search your garbage, use infrared detectors on your home, X-ray your vehicle while you are driving, monitor your habits, prevent you from getting on an airplane, look at your credit report to see what you are buying, all without a search warrant. Although, these days, getting a probable cause warrant is absurdly easy because judges are willing to grant them in hopes of being promoted up the food chain into the Federal Court system. If they think you have a gun, and you are known to disagree with governmental policies, they can claim probable cause for weapons charges and arrest you. Just the threat of governmental harassment is enough to make most people cower and comply. Does this feel like Freedom to anyone?
Amendment 9-- "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." This statement, in and of itself, states that the people have rights that are not enumerated in the Constitution. But the Government doesn't want us to think we have any rights unless they give them to us. We are much easier to control if we can only do what the government wants us to do. Let's all be good little slaves, mindlessly handing over our wages to the Tax Authority, for the good of all Americans. We are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights, the right to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Regardless to what the government thinks.
Amendment 10-- "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." This is just an extension of #9. We the People have RIGHTS! If we do not exercise them, and exercise them regularly, they will be taken away from us. One, by one, until we are nothing less than a police state run by those who do not have our best interests at heart.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Will gardening be illegal?
There is a certain amount of idiocy you expect from city governments. And it seems, the larger the city, the more idiocy there is. Backing up heavily traveled streets for months to put in bicycle lanes, poorly timed traffic lights, ordinances on how often you must mow your yard, etc. Most of these do have some sort of reason behind them.
But when city governments start placing heavy fines on otherwise law-abiding citizens for having a food producing back yard garden, you are crossing over to the realm of the absurd. A gentleman in Atlanta has been fined almost $5000 for planting part of the 2 acres he owns in vegetables. These food crops are for his own personal use, he gives some to his friends, and any extra he will take to the farmer's market to sell. He isn't using his yard to grow cash crops, it isn't a business, and he isn't annoying his neighbors with heavy farm equipment. He has a garden as a hobby for his own enjoyment and just happens to have a bounty to share.
The City's stance on the issue is that his property is not zoned for agriculture. So this past Spring, after getting the citations in January and February, He applied to the city to have his property re-zoned. It was approved. The Code Enforcement officials are saying that he still owes the fines, and now the penalties for not having paid them, because there were food crops growing while the rezoning was still under consideration. And they are suing to get their money.
I am not sure exactly what their problem with this gentleman actually is. Did someone complain? Is the zoning commissioner some sort of Nazi who wants complete control over what the citizens do on their own property? Is this just a way for the city to collect money they otherwise are not entitled to? Or is it something bigger?
It is bad enough that the Big Three agri corporations (Monsanto, Cargill, and ADM) are trying to control the food supply through genetically modified food and the availability of heirloom seeds, but trying to prevent individual citizens from having a backyard garden is going too far. The vast majority of people who do have a backyard garden only do so to either have fresh produce during the summer months or maybe to can, or because they just enjoy gardening. They don't do it for money, because there just isn't enough money in it to justify the costs. They do it for the food and the love of getting dirty.
I worry about what this means for all of us in the long run. I guess I will have to get a fancy trellis for my tomatoes and call them landscaping.
But when city governments start placing heavy fines on otherwise law-abiding citizens for having a food producing back yard garden, you are crossing over to the realm of the absurd. A gentleman in Atlanta has been fined almost $5000 for planting part of the 2 acres he owns in vegetables. These food crops are for his own personal use, he gives some to his friends, and any extra he will take to the farmer's market to sell. He isn't using his yard to grow cash crops, it isn't a business, and he isn't annoying his neighbors with heavy farm equipment. He has a garden as a hobby for his own enjoyment and just happens to have a bounty to share.
The City's stance on the issue is that his property is not zoned for agriculture. So this past Spring, after getting the citations in January and February, He applied to the city to have his property re-zoned. It was approved. The Code Enforcement officials are saying that he still owes the fines, and now the penalties for not having paid them, because there were food crops growing while the rezoning was still under consideration. And they are suing to get their money.
I am not sure exactly what their problem with this gentleman actually is. Did someone complain? Is the zoning commissioner some sort of Nazi who wants complete control over what the citizens do on their own property? Is this just a way for the city to collect money they otherwise are not entitled to? Or is it something bigger?
It is bad enough that the Big Three agri corporations (Monsanto, Cargill, and ADM) are trying to control the food supply through genetically modified food and the availability of heirloom seeds, but trying to prevent individual citizens from having a backyard garden is going too far. The vast majority of people who do have a backyard garden only do so to either have fresh produce during the summer months or maybe to can, or because they just enjoy gardening. They don't do it for money, because there just isn't enough money in it to justify the costs. They do it for the food and the love of getting dirty.
I worry about what this means for all of us in the long run. I guess I will have to get a fancy trellis for my tomatoes and call them landscaping.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Morality and the Constitution
I am not by any means a Constitutional attorney nor am I a theologian. But I am a moderately intelligent individual who reads and knows how to listen. So here goes...
Morality can mean different things to different people. It generally depends on the values you were raised with. Compassion is another one of those things that has to be taught, you aren't born with it. When you have a government, or any other type of "leader" be it a CEO, President, Congress, Pastor, or Parent, that does not place any value on morality or compassion, they will corrupt the values of every person "under" them simply by communal morality. If it isn't seen as wrong for a business to overcharge for a product or service simply because they can, every employee learns how to get that extra dollar from the customer. Other businesses see that company making money, so they implement the same doctrine. Pretty soon, the entire industry is overcharging for their products.
It is the same for all aspects of our lives. If it is permissible for teens to dress in a provocative manner and behave in certain ways, then ALL teens will do so due to peer pressure.
On the other side of that coin, if we encourage our children to be modest, kind, caring and helpful of others, it too will have a ripple effect.
The problem is that the media does not help us to encourage family values and is actually counter-productive of our efforts to raise our children. We are encouraged to buy things we do not need, therefore reinforcing the "need" for more money. How do we make more money? By working for companies that are not as concerned with the morality of their actions, just the bottom line. We are told that it "takes a village" so parents do not take the time to raise their children (they are too busy working to make enough money for the things they are told they need) because the teachers at school will raise their kids for them. Corporal Punishment hurts a child's self-esteem so we cannot teach our children that actions have consequences or some "well meaning" busy-body neighbor will report us to Child Services.
When you have an entire generation of kids who see the rich getting richer off of the backs of others, of course they will want to be the ones getting money. And they will teach that same morality to their kids.
As for the Constitution, it was written to protect the citizens FROM the government. Read the Bill of Rights. That is what the Founding Fathers wanted to emphasize.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
We have the right to say what we want, worship how we wish, gather in groups, and tell the government they are wrong.
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed
We have the right to protect ourselves, even from the government, if we feel threatened.
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
We do not have to let the military into our homes without our consent. Not that big of an issue now, but at the time, it was a major issue. The British government forced landowners to house and feed military units at their own cost instead of the government having to pay for it. It bankrupted and starved many families.
No person shall be held to answer for any capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
This one is abused a lot these days, all in the name of public security.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district where in the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.
Speedy trials are a joke with the overburdened justice system, and Public Defenders are the least knowledgeable and least effective of all criminal trial attorneys. But we do have a right to them.
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Trial by jury, even when the jury is stacked, doesn't really seem like a good deal, but compared to the trials in good old England at the time, where all trials were before a panel of the ruling class and the poor were punished simply for being poor, was a major step up for justice.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
What! No torture in the jails? No fines designed to put you in debtors prison? But I digress....
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
The government only has the rights the people give it. Those rights the people do not turn over to the government cannot be infringed upon by the government. It says so right there on #9 of the Bill of Rights. It also says that you have any right that doesn't infringe on anyone else's rights.
and finally..
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
The States have rights too, that the Federal government cannot, by Law, infringe upon. And the people of those states also have rights that the federal and state governments cannot infringe upon.
None of these articles in the Bill of Rights are really, truly valid any more because we as a people have turned over most of our rights to the government. Subsequent amendments and precedents established by interpreting judges have severely limited the rights of normal citizens, but the fact remains that the Founding Fathers were trying to limit the amount of interference the government could inflict in our daily lives.
My personal take on the whole thing was that the federal government was designed to be a regulating body for the states, not the other way around. As it stands now, the States are subservient to the Federal Government, and the people have become dependent on a strong centralized government that was not designed to be be that way. It creates waste, abuses, and wide loopholes for corruption.
OK, enough soapbox preaching. This is too long as it is.
Again, these are just my opinions. Take them as such.
Morality can mean different things to different people. It generally depends on the values you were raised with. Compassion is another one of those things that has to be taught, you aren't born with it. When you have a government, or any other type of "leader" be it a CEO, President, Congress, Pastor, or Parent, that does not place any value on morality or compassion, they will corrupt the values of every person "under" them simply by communal morality. If it isn't seen as wrong for a business to overcharge for a product or service simply because they can, every employee learns how to get that extra dollar from the customer. Other businesses see that company making money, so they implement the same doctrine. Pretty soon, the entire industry is overcharging for their products.
It is the same for all aspects of our lives. If it is permissible for teens to dress in a provocative manner and behave in certain ways, then ALL teens will do so due to peer pressure.
On the other side of that coin, if we encourage our children to be modest, kind, caring and helpful of others, it too will have a ripple effect.
The problem is that the media does not help us to encourage family values and is actually counter-productive of our efforts to raise our children. We are encouraged to buy things we do not need, therefore reinforcing the "need" for more money. How do we make more money? By working for companies that are not as concerned with the morality of their actions, just the bottom line. We are told that it "takes a village" so parents do not take the time to raise their children (they are too busy working to make enough money for the things they are told they need) because the teachers at school will raise their kids for them. Corporal Punishment hurts a child's self-esteem so we cannot teach our children that actions have consequences or some "well meaning" busy-body neighbor will report us to Child Services.
When you have an entire generation of kids who see the rich getting richer off of the backs of others, of course they will want to be the ones getting money. And they will teach that same morality to their kids.
As for the Constitution, it was written to protect the citizens FROM the government. Read the Bill of Rights. That is what the Founding Fathers wanted to emphasize.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
We have the right to say what we want, worship how we wish, gather in groups, and tell the government they are wrong.
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed
We have the right to protect ourselves, even from the government, if we feel threatened.
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
We do not have to let the military into our homes without our consent. Not that big of an issue now, but at the time, it was a major issue. The British government forced landowners to house and feed military units at their own cost instead of the government having to pay for it. It bankrupted and starved many families.
No person shall be held to answer for any capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
This one is abused a lot these days, all in the name of public security.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district where in the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.
Speedy trials are a joke with the overburdened justice system, and Public Defenders are the least knowledgeable and least effective of all criminal trial attorneys. But we do have a right to them.
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Trial by jury, even when the jury is stacked, doesn't really seem like a good deal, but compared to the trials in good old England at the time, where all trials were before a panel of the ruling class and the poor were punished simply for being poor, was a major step up for justice.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
What! No torture in the jails? No fines designed to put you in debtors prison? But I digress....
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
The government only has the rights the people give it. Those rights the people do not turn over to the government cannot be infringed upon by the government. It says so right there on #9 of the Bill of Rights. It also says that you have any right that doesn't infringe on anyone else's rights.
and finally..
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
The States have rights too, that the Federal government cannot, by Law, infringe upon. And the people of those states also have rights that the federal and state governments cannot infringe upon.
None of these articles in the Bill of Rights are really, truly valid any more because we as a people have turned over most of our rights to the government. Subsequent amendments and precedents established by interpreting judges have severely limited the rights of normal citizens, but the fact remains that the Founding Fathers were trying to limit the amount of interference the government could inflict in our daily lives.
My personal take on the whole thing was that the federal government was designed to be a regulating body for the states, not the other way around. As it stands now, the States are subservient to the Federal Government, and the people have become dependent on a strong centralized government that was not designed to be be that way. It creates waste, abuses, and wide loopholes for corruption.
OK, enough soapbox preaching. This is too long as it is.
Again, these are just my opinions. Take them as such.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Just my opinion
I get so incredibly frustrated at times with our government. Instead of having the best interests of the country in mind, it is just an agenda pushing minority that forces legislation that the vast majority of the population doesn't want.
The proposed healthcare bill has some minor amount of good ideas buried under a steaming pile of pork and unnecessary regulation. And not only will it bankrupt the country, it will destroy any chance of economic recovery. Small businesses cannot afford to provide healthcare to their employees so most people will have no choice, legally, but to go with the "public option". Even some larger businesses will opt to not provide healthcare plans to save money, forcing their workers to purchase their own plans or go on the government role. The idea of penalizing citizens with massive fines if they are not able to afford insurance it just simply stupid. You can't get blood from a turnip.
As for the self-employed, or those businesses that only have a handful of employees, they will have no choice but to close up shop and go out of business. Individual businesses who are struggling to make it in this harsh business climate, will close down in favor of mega-chains who can afford to sell a small portion of their inventory at or below cost in order to attract customers. The American ideal that if you work hard and make good decisions, you can make it in this country is over. The Walmarts and McDonalds of the world have seen to it that the little guy is so over regulated that it is impossible to stay in business. You can look at the Main Streets in every small town in America to see the truth of that. Doors are locked and windows blacked out in stores that have been in business for 100 years. There will be no more "mom and pop" stores in the US anymore. Even if you can get a small business loan to start a new business, the cost to operate in licensing fees, taxes, accounting, sales tax regulations, required safety equipment and security systems would drive most people out in the first year. And that is assuming you can attract enough customers away from the major chains to stay open even that long. It is sad. Small businesses are what built this country.
It used to be that each person worked to make their community a little better, a little more prosperous. Now, it is every person for themselves. From the Federal government all the way down to the individual. We are all so paranoid that someone might have something better, that we forget that working together will make everyone's lives better. We don't help our neighbors when they are struggling. Most of us don't even know our neighbor's names. When someone is sick, we don't take food to their families. We don't look out for the neighborhood kids that hang out after school because their parents are still at work. We are all too busy trying to hang on to what we have that we can't stop and actually see what is happening around us.
And our government and the media is encouraging that process. They tell us about all the crime in our neighborhoods, so we must lock our doors and windows and never trust anyone. They tell us that children and teens who hang out in the park after dark must be dealing drugs or guns or be in gangs, so we should be afraid of them. If someone is sick, it is probably contagious so we should stay away so we don't get sick too. There are government programs out there for those who need them, so why should we give of ourselves when the government will do it for us?
I could go on and on about this. We are being led down a rosy path by our elected officials. We are being made so dependent on our government, slowly but surely, that most people just could not survive without government aid. And this is in their favor. If they can tell us what to do and how to do it, and we fall for it every time, they will never lose the power they have over our lives and they can slowly tighten the rope.
If you drop a frog in a pot of boiling water he will jump out. But if you put that same frog in a pot of cold water that is heated slowly, he will stay in the pot until he is cooked. Well my friends, we are almost to the boiling point.
The proposed healthcare bill has some minor amount of good ideas buried under a steaming pile of pork and unnecessary regulation. And not only will it bankrupt the country, it will destroy any chance of economic recovery. Small businesses cannot afford to provide healthcare to their employees so most people will have no choice, legally, but to go with the "public option". Even some larger businesses will opt to not provide healthcare plans to save money, forcing their workers to purchase their own plans or go on the government role. The idea of penalizing citizens with massive fines if they are not able to afford insurance it just simply stupid. You can't get blood from a turnip.
As for the self-employed, or those businesses that only have a handful of employees, they will have no choice but to close up shop and go out of business. Individual businesses who are struggling to make it in this harsh business climate, will close down in favor of mega-chains who can afford to sell a small portion of their inventory at or below cost in order to attract customers. The American ideal that if you work hard and make good decisions, you can make it in this country is over. The Walmarts and McDonalds of the world have seen to it that the little guy is so over regulated that it is impossible to stay in business. You can look at the Main Streets in every small town in America to see the truth of that. Doors are locked and windows blacked out in stores that have been in business for 100 years. There will be no more "mom and pop" stores in the US anymore. Even if you can get a small business loan to start a new business, the cost to operate in licensing fees, taxes, accounting, sales tax regulations, required safety equipment and security systems would drive most people out in the first year. And that is assuming you can attract enough customers away from the major chains to stay open even that long. It is sad. Small businesses are what built this country.
It used to be that each person worked to make their community a little better, a little more prosperous. Now, it is every person for themselves. From the Federal government all the way down to the individual. We are all so paranoid that someone might have something better, that we forget that working together will make everyone's lives better. We don't help our neighbors when they are struggling. Most of us don't even know our neighbor's names. When someone is sick, we don't take food to their families. We don't look out for the neighborhood kids that hang out after school because their parents are still at work. We are all too busy trying to hang on to what we have that we can't stop and actually see what is happening around us.
And our government and the media is encouraging that process. They tell us about all the crime in our neighborhoods, so we must lock our doors and windows and never trust anyone. They tell us that children and teens who hang out in the park after dark must be dealing drugs or guns or be in gangs, so we should be afraid of them. If someone is sick, it is probably contagious so we should stay away so we don't get sick too. There are government programs out there for those who need them, so why should we give of ourselves when the government will do it for us?
I could go on and on about this. We are being led down a rosy path by our elected officials. We are being made so dependent on our government, slowly but surely, that most people just could not survive without government aid. And this is in their favor. If they can tell us what to do and how to do it, and we fall for it every time, they will never lose the power they have over our lives and they can slowly tighten the rope.
If you drop a frog in a pot of boiling water he will jump out. But if you put that same frog in a pot of cold water that is heated slowly, he will stay in the pot until he is cooked. Well my friends, we are almost to the boiling point.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Taxes, taxes everywhere...
Well, things are getting out of hand... again. Nation wide today a new tax went into effect. One that raises the price of tobacco products by 60-some-odd cents a pack. But apparently, because little cigars were not considered cigarettes, they were not taxed the same. And they fixed that little loop-hole with this tax. A pack of little cigars went from 89 cents a pack up to $4.00 at midnight last night. Loose tobacco, such as pipe tobacco was set to go up to something like $80 a pound.
And what is our government going to use all of that new tax revenue for, you ask? My guess would be to bail out all of the failing businesses. After all, that money has to come from somewhere. Or they might use it as foreign aid to countries that don't like us. Or...Congress might give themselves a raise for all of the hard work they are doing for us. OR...It will go to pay all of the corporate executives to stay in this country after we told them that they cannot have the bonuses they were contracted to get.
Anyway, with all of the new spending the current government is doing, the money has to come from somewhere. And just how many times can the Federal Reserve print up $6Billion and buy treasury bills with it? Yes, folks, the government just printed $6 Billion in new paper with nothing to back it up. That is inflation in the making.
The current government makes Jimmy Carter's "Tax and Spend" policies look like bargain day at the thrift store. This year's budget alone will cost us more that all of World War II. And that isn't counting all of the bailouts and handouts Congress has been tossing around like confetti.
I am just waiting for the time when they start taxing us on food consumption. Not a sales tax, but a tax on how much food we actually eat. After all, those who eat a lot are a big drain on the healthcare system because of all of the health issues related to obesity. So if they tax the foods that aren't good for us (of course this is anything that corporate farms say it is), we will all eat healthier, right?
I'm thinking it is time for a Tea Party.
And what is our government going to use all of that new tax revenue for, you ask? My guess would be to bail out all of the failing businesses. After all, that money has to come from somewhere. Or they might use it as foreign aid to countries that don't like us. Or...Congress might give themselves a raise for all of the hard work they are doing for us. OR...It will go to pay all of the corporate executives to stay in this country after we told them that they cannot have the bonuses they were contracted to get.
Anyway, with all of the new spending the current government is doing, the money has to come from somewhere. And just how many times can the Federal Reserve print up $6Billion and buy treasury bills with it? Yes, folks, the government just printed $6 Billion in new paper with nothing to back it up. That is inflation in the making.
The current government makes Jimmy Carter's "Tax and Spend" policies look like bargain day at the thrift store. This year's budget alone will cost us more that all of World War II. And that isn't counting all of the bailouts and handouts Congress has been tossing around like confetti.
I am just waiting for the time when they start taxing us on food consumption. Not a sales tax, but a tax on how much food we actually eat. After all, those who eat a lot are a big drain on the healthcare system because of all of the health issues related to obesity. So if they tax the foods that aren't good for us (of course this is anything that corporate farms say it is), we will all eat healthier, right?
I'm thinking it is time for a Tea Party.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
25 Random Things About Me
1) I have so much useless knowledge in my brain that I sometimes forget what I am doing.
2) I sometimes think I would be much happier if I never had to go to a store ever again.
3) My husband really is my best friend.
4) I would love to have a smoke house, root cellar, berry patch, chickens, and a big garden just like my grandparents did.
5) I know how to build a house, dig a well, plumb a bathroom, butcher a pig, and pluck a chicken. But I can't physically do any or it. And that makes me sad sometimes.
6) I like eggs
7) I like standing in the woods while it is snowing and just listening to the silence.
8) My first job was stuffing envelopes for $4.00 an hour while all of my friends were flipping burgers for $3.15.
9) I don't tell my kids how proud of them I am nearly often enough
10) I am not afraid to try new things even if I often fail at it.
11) The only "stuff" I need to be happy really just belongs in the kitchen. If I couldn't cook, I think I would go crazy. I don't know how people live without cooking their own food. I just get so much satisfaction from getting elbow deep in a bread bowl. I think we would all be healthier and happier if we would all just take the time to cook a big meal for family and friends at least once a month.
12) I make my own soap, laundry detergent, bread, and ham. I can make butter (when I have access to extra milk) salami, and sausage. I sew, crochet, can our food, and make jelly. I think I am living in the wrong century.
13) I get more joy from watching the birds in the yard than from watching TV.
14) I sometimes think that getting sick and not being able to work was actually a blessing. If I hadn't gotten sick, I would have missed so many chances to be with my family.
15) I want a homestead so badly I can taste it.
16) I am tired of the government telling me what I can eat, what I can do or not do, where I can put a chicken coop, what i am supposed to believe, and how to raise my kids. After all, they have done such a great job with the banks and manufacturing sector. I don't know why everyone doesn't adopt the morals the government employs. It has worked so well for them, after all.
17) I think that greed is over-riding common sense. That is why we are in such an economic mess.
18) Learning to be still was very hard to master, but very worth the effort.
19) I think I would be much harder to live with if I didn't have chocolate.
20) Bureaucrats make my teeth hurt.
21) I don't kill things, except ants.
22) I think the two most important phrases in the English language are " thank you" and "I'm sorry".
23) I would like to lose weight, but I just like food too much. If I could lose weight without giving up good food, that is a diet I can stick with.
24) I believe in knowledge for knowledge's sake. If you stop learning, you might as well just give up.
25) I enjoy being silly sometimes. I think that if we take everything too seriously, we forget to take joy in the moment.
2) I sometimes think I would be much happier if I never had to go to a store ever again.
3) My husband really is my best friend.
4) I would love to have a smoke house, root cellar, berry patch, chickens, and a big garden just like my grandparents did.
5) I know how to build a house, dig a well, plumb a bathroom, butcher a pig, and pluck a chicken. But I can't physically do any or it. And that makes me sad sometimes.
6) I like eggs
7) I like standing in the woods while it is snowing and just listening to the silence.
8) My first job was stuffing envelopes for $4.00 an hour while all of my friends were flipping burgers for $3.15.
9) I don't tell my kids how proud of them I am nearly often enough
10) I am not afraid to try new things even if I often fail at it.
11) The only "stuff" I need to be happy really just belongs in the kitchen. If I couldn't cook, I think I would go crazy. I don't know how people live without cooking their own food. I just get so much satisfaction from getting elbow deep in a bread bowl. I think we would all be healthier and happier if we would all just take the time to cook a big meal for family and friends at least once a month.
12) I make my own soap, laundry detergent, bread, and ham. I can make butter (when I have access to extra milk) salami, and sausage. I sew, crochet, can our food, and make jelly. I think I am living in the wrong century.
13) I get more joy from watching the birds in the yard than from watching TV.
14) I sometimes think that getting sick and not being able to work was actually a blessing. If I hadn't gotten sick, I would have missed so many chances to be with my family.
15) I want a homestead so badly I can taste it.
16) I am tired of the government telling me what I can eat, what I can do or not do, where I can put a chicken coop, what i am supposed to believe, and how to raise my kids. After all, they have done such a great job with the banks and manufacturing sector. I don't know why everyone doesn't adopt the morals the government employs. It has worked so well for them, after all.
17) I think that greed is over-riding common sense. That is why we are in such an economic mess.
18) Learning to be still was very hard to master, but very worth the effort.
19) I think I would be much harder to live with if I didn't have chocolate.
20) Bureaucrats make my teeth hurt.
21) I don't kill things, except ants.
22) I think the two most important phrases in the English language are " thank you" and "I'm sorry".
23) I would like to lose weight, but I just like food too much. If I could lose weight without giving up good food, that is a diet I can stick with.
24) I believe in knowledge for knowledge's sake. If you stop learning, you might as well just give up.
25) I enjoy being silly sometimes. I think that if we take everything too seriously, we forget to take joy in the moment.
Friday, January 9, 2009
This Bailout Thing Has Got To Stop!
There are a few things that just really set me off. Government getting in my business, someone telling me how to raise my kids, and people begging for my tax money that don't deserve it.
This morning I heard of some people who are asking for Federal Bailout money. There is a small town in Georgia, a village really, with less than 200 people, who are asking for millions of dollars of MY tax money so they can put in Solar traffic lights, plug in stations for electric golf carts, and an EcoMuseum among other things. Now my question to them is...Why? Does this town have such a high electric bill from their one traffic light that they are having trouble paying it? Is there a large number of golf carts in this little hamlet in Georgia? And would a museum even generate enough income to pay the one employee it would take to run the thing?
Or maybe it is just the prospect of free money that caused them to stick out their hand? I find it almost absurd that the Bank Bailout Package, which started out as an obscene $900 Billion is going to be used by every group of 3 or more people as an excuse to do stupid things. I was opposed to the original bailout to begin with. It is time for the greedy folks to pay the piper. They have been bilking the common joe for decades, and now that they have gotten "caught", they are whining about how it wasn't their fault. If any of these companies had a shred of common sense to begin with they would not have employed the business practices that lead to their downfall. It is their own danged fault they are going under. Have none of these people ever taken an economics class? Interest rates that border on usury, giving loans and credit to people who don't have jobs, giving multiple mortgage loans to people without verifiable income, robbing Peter to pay Paul, shipping jobs overseas and keeping Americans either underemployed or overpaid. None of these things are good business practices. When the average American Adult is more than $10,000 in debt, not counting their mortgages, you should know that there is a problem.
And now the same people who have killed us as a nation are wanting the taxpayer to pay them for being stupid? Just where do they think all of this money is going to come from? Can we just pull BILLIONS or TRILLIONS of dollars out of the air and say, "Here ya go. We are sorry it isn't more?"
There are only a couple of ways the government can get enough money to pay these people off. One is to raise taxes. Americans are already under such a tax burden that the average worker only sees maybe 60-70% of their paycheck. And if we add more taxes to pay for the bailout, it will suck even more out of our paychecks. The major problem with that idea is that most people are living paycheck to paycheck as it is. So people can't afford to buy anything, including food. Or they default on their loans and credit cards and file bankruptcy. Less people buying things means less being sold. That is bad, very bad, for retailers and manufacturers, Then they go bankrupt and lay off or fire employees. That causes more people to not be able to pay their bills. See the cycle here?
Or, the federal reserve can just print more money. Yeah, lets do that! Big mistake. Our money isn't really worth anything anymore since it isn't backed by anything but the good name of the United States. All of that gold sitting in Fort Knox is just sitting there useless. Used to be a time when the Fed would only have enough currency floating around the US equal to the value of the gold in the Federal Reserve. That kept our dollar worth something. We knew that each and every US dollar anywhere on earth was equal to a piece of the gold bars in Kentucky. That isn't the case anymore. We dropped the gold standard sometime back in the 80's, I think. Since then we have just been printing money to be printing money. It isn't really worth anything except in it's rarity. If we print more for the sake of the buyout, each piece of currency will be worth less and less. So it will take more of them to mean anything. That is called inflation. And if we actually print enough for the bailout, that will be called runaway inflation. Yes, boys and girls, if we inject $900 Billion new dollars into the economy just to pay people for being stupid, it will cost $10 for a loaf of bread, if you can find a bakery that is still in business. Hamburger, which is already $3.00 a pound will probably be over $15. And for people who are already out of work, and behind on their bills, how will they live?
All of this just burns my tail feathers. If corporations hadn't gotten greedy and made bad decisions, and if people in general hadn't taken on more debt than they could pay and banks encouraging them to take on more, none of this would be an issue.
And maybe, just maybe, we wouldn't be lambasted all over the world for being the largest consumer on the planet.
It just makes my teeth hurt.
This morning I heard of some people who are asking for Federal Bailout money. There is a small town in Georgia, a village really, with less than 200 people, who are asking for millions of dollars of MY tax money so they can put in Solar traffic lights, plug in stations for electric golf carts, and an EcoMuseum among other things. Now my question to them is...Why? Does this town have such a high electric bill from their one traffic light that they are having trouble paying it? Is there a large number of golf carts in this little hamlet in Georgia? And would a museum even generate enough income to pay the one employee it would take to run the thing?
Or maybe it is just the prospect of free money that caused them to stick out their hand? I find it almost absurd that the Bank Bailout Package, which started out as an obscene $900 Billion is going to be used by every group of 3 or more people as an excuse to do stupid things. I was opposed to the original bailout to begin with. It is time for the greedy folks to pay the piper. They have been bilking the common joe for decades, and now that they have gotten "caught", they are whining about how it wasn't their fault. If any of these companies had a shred of common sense to begin with they would not have employed the business practices that lead to their downfall. It is their own danged fault they are going under. Have none of these people ever taken an economics class? Interest rates that border on usury, giving loans and credit to people who don't have jobs, giving multiple mortgage loans to people without verifiable income, robbing Peter to pay Paul, shipping jobs overseas and keeping Americans either underemployed or overpaid. None of these things are good business practices. When the average American Adult is more than $10,000 in debt, not counting their mortgages, you should know that there is a problem.
And now the same people who have killed us as a nation are wanting the taxpayer to pay them for being stupid? Just where do they think all of this money is going to come from? Can we just pull BILLIONS or TRILLIONS of dollars out of the air and say, "Here ya go. We are sorry it isn't more?"
There are only a couple of ways the government can get enough money to pay these people off. One is to raise taxes. Americans are already under such a tax burden that the average worker only sees maybe 60-70% of their paycheck. And if we add more taxes to pay for the bailout, it will suck even more out of our paychecks. The major problem with that idea is that most people are living paycheck to paycheck as it is. So people can't afford to buy anything, including food. Or they default on their loans and credit cards and file bankruptcy. Less people buying things means less being sold. That is bad, very bad, for retailers and manufacturers, Then they go bankrupt and lay off or fire employees. That causes more people to not be able to pay their bills. See the cycle here?
Or, the federal reserve can just print more money. Yeah, lets do that! Big mistake. Our money isn't really worth anything anymore since it isn't backed by anything but the good name of the United States. All of that gold sitting in Fort Knox is just sitting there useless. Used to be a time when the Fed would only have enough currency floating around the US equal to the value of the gold in the Federal Reserve. That kept our dollar worth something. We knew that each and every US dollar anywhere on earth was equal to a piece of the gold bars in Kentucky. That isn't the case anymore. We dropped the gold standard sometime back in the 80's, I think. Since then we have just been printing money to be printing money. It isn't really worth anything except in it's rarity. If we print more for the sake of the buyout, each piece of currency will be worth less and less. So it will take more of them to mean anything. That is called inflation. And if we actually print enough for the bailout, that will be called runaway inflation. Yes, boys and girls, if we inject $900 Billion new dollars into the economy just to pay people for being stupid, it will cost $10 for a loaf of bread, if you can find a bakery that is still in business. Hamburger, which is already $3.00 a pound will probably be over $15. And for people who are already out of work, and behind on their bills, how will they live?
All of this just burns my tail feathers. If corporations hadn't gotten greedy and made bad decisions, and if people in general hadn't taken on more debt than they could pay and banks encouraging them to take on more, none of this would be an issue.
And maybe, just maybe, we wouldn't be lambasted all over the world for being the largest consumer on the planet.
It just makes my teeth hurt.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Disability News
I had my disability hearing yesterday and I think it went well. We are back in wait and see mode now. I don't really expect to hear anything until February or so but it would be a very nice Christmas present if the Judge is on the ball and gets his opinion in. But even if he wrote his decision last night and submitted it to SSD, it will take them at least a month if not longer to get the paperwork done. Our government moves at the speed of racing snails.
On a better note, I should have almost 3 years of back pay when it finally comes through. Plus whatever I get for the kids. That will allow us to stay in the house for a while should something happen to my husband's job. It will at least pay the house payment and electric bill. So a part time job for my Hubby would cover the rest of it. Or we could use it to pay off the house completely and not have a house payment at all. And when we do decide to sell, it would be all profit. Or, we could just keep it in savings and add it to whatever profit we get from the house when we do sell, allowing us to get a nicer place, free and clear of debt. Decisions, decisions.
Any way you look at it, if it comes through, it will release a TON of stress off of our shoulders. Our biggest worry over the last couple of years has been him keeping his job long enough to get the kids out of school. It doesn't matter where we live while the kids are in college, since they won't be here anyway. But if we can find a decent house with at least 5 acres, we wouldn't need as much money to live on. Especially since it would just be the two of us with occasional guests.
I know that I have talked about this before, but I want a homestead. You know the kind of place, an older house with character but not falling down around us, a big garden, wood stove for heat, basement/root cellar, chickens, pigs, a milk cow or two, a nice shop or barn that I can turn into a commercial style kitchen for canning and entertaining, maybe even a small guesthouse out back.
I would like to have a market stand if we can find a place with highway frontage where I can sell some of my extra produce from the garden and maybe extra eggs. I will have to look into the laws before I do that though. I am pretty sure I can sell the produce without any problem, but the eggs might be different. We will just have to worry about that when it happens.
I don't want to go too overboard but I think that once everything is settled and I can get some perennials established, it might be a good way to supplement our income. After all, if our only income is my disability, any little extra can only be a good thing.
Either way, I am excited again.
On a better note, I should have almost 3 years of back pay when it finally comes through. Plus whatever I get for the kids. That will allow us to stay in the house for a while should something happen to my husband's job. It will at least pay the house payment and electric bill. So a part time job for my Hubby would cover the rest of it. Or we could use it to pay off the house completely and not have a house payment at all. And when we do decide to sell, it would be all profit. Or, we could just keep it in savings and add it to whatever profit we get from the house when we do sell, allowing us to get a nicer place, free and clear of debt. Decisions, decisions.
Any way you look at it, if it comes through, it will release a TON of stress off of our shoulders. Our biggest worry over the last couple of years has been him keeping his job long enough to get the kids out of school. It doesn't matter where we live while the kids are in college, since they won't be here anyway. But if we can find a decent house with at least 5 acres, we wouldn't need as much money to live on. Especially since it would just be the two of us with occasional guests.
I know that I have talked about this before, but I want a homestead. You know the kind of place, an older house with character but not falling down around us, a big garden, wood stove for heat, basement/root cellar, chickens, pigs, a milk cow or two, a nice shop or barn that I can turn into a commercial style kitchen for canning and entertaining, maybe even a small guesthouse out back.
I would like to have a market stand if we can find a place with highway frontage where I can sell some of my extra produce from the garden and maybe extra eggs. I will have to look into the laws before I do that though. I am pretty sure I can sell the produce without any problem, but the eggs might be different. We will just have to worry about that when it happens.
I don't want to go too overboard but I think that once everything is settled and I can get some perennials established, it might be a good way to supplement our income. After all, if our only income is my disability, any little extra can only be a good thing.
Either way, I am excited again.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
The Economy, the Election, and What it means for Us
Continued from yesterday...
So what does the upcoming election mean for us as Americans? I personally don't think it really means all that much. I know that people get passionate about their favorite candidate, and sometimes are very vocal, but I don't feel that either of the major party candidates will be a good choice.
We have allowed our leaders to destroy the Democratic process by our apathy. We just don't care what they do in Washington as long as they give us money every now and then and stay out of our way. We do not care that they are bought and paid for by lobbyists and special interests groups. On a local level, we do not care that lucrative state and county contracts go to good friends and relatives instead of the lowest bidder or the most qualified. We do not question where the campaign funds come from. We just don't care. And as a result, the only people who want to become politicians are those who are in the business for personal gain, not for the want to do good.
What it all boils down to is that politicians, as a species, are not politicians so that they can help the people. And that being the case, one is just as good as the other. Either way, the American people lose.
The US economy is in such bad shape from lack of oversite, that there will not be a good or easy way out. The economy will collapse. How far, and for how long, is really the only question. Home prices have been way, way over-valued for the last 10-15 years so the local governments could collect higher property taxes. Gasoline has been over-taxed so the DOT could collect more money to pay civil engineers to design new bridges and roads that we have nowhere to put. Income taxes have been raised time and again to pay for social programs that encourage people to not work and have more babies instead of training them for good paying jobs. The Social Security Program has been tapped into for decades to fund congressional pet projects instead of being used to keep healthcare costs for senior to a manageable level. Farmers are being paid to NOT grow certain crops to keep the prices artificially high instead of letting the market take care of itself. Factory farms are pushing traditional farmers out of the business through over regulation and higher production costs.
Every dollar you earn is taxed a minimum of 4 times. Yet we are going to pay $700 BILLION to bank CEOs for driving their businesses into the ground. Where is that money going to come from? You guessed it, higher taxes...again.
Higher taxes mean fewer jobs. Fewer jobs means higher unemployment. Higher unemployment means more people default on their loans and credit cards. More defaults means more banks will fail. See a cycle here?
My guess is that it will be a very lean Christmas season for retail sales. And come January, credit card companies will start failing. That will mean all the people who live on their credit cards will no longer have access to credit. It is very possible that the card companies will demand payment in full. That would mean that every card that you have a $2000-$10,000 balance on will say, "Pay it off now or we will sue." Blood from a turnip I know, but if they get a judgment against you in court, they can seize your assets to settle the debt. Like your house, your kid's college fund, your IRA. See the picture? And the government will be on their side because they do not want the banks and card companies to fail.
Your best bet is to do what every you have to do to pay those suckers off and never look at a credit card again. Pay cash. Or use a debit card. Or better yet, do without it if you can.
So what does the upcoming election mean for us as Americans? I personally don't think it really means all that much. I know that people get passionate about their favorite candidate, and sometimes are very vocal, but I don't feel that either of the major party candidates will be a good choice.
We have allowed our leaders to destroy the Democratic process by our apathy. We just don't care what they do in Washington as long as they give us money every now and then and stay out of our way. We do not care that they are bought and paid for by lobbyists and special interests groups. On a local level, we do not care that lucrative state and county contracts go to good friends and relatives instead of the lowest bidder or the most qualified. We do not question where the campaign funds come from. We just don't care. And as a result, the only people who want to become politicians are those who are in the business for personal gain, not for the want to do good.
What it all boils down to is that politicians, as a species, are not politicians so that they can help the people. And that being the case, one is just as good as the other. Either way, the American people lose.
The US economy is in such bad shape from lack of oversite, that there will not be a good or easy way out. The economy will collapse. How far, and for how long, is really the only question. Home prices have been way, way over-valued for the last 10-15 years so the local governments could collect higher property taxes. Gasoline has been over-taxed so the DOT could collect more money to pay civil engineers to design new bridges and roads that we have nowhere to put. Income taxes have been raised time and again to pay for social programs that encourage people to not work and have more babies instead of training them for good paying jobs. The Social Security Program has been tapped into for decades to fund congressional pet projects instead of being used to keep healthcare costs for senior to a manageable level. Farmers are being paid to NOT grow certain crops to keep the prices artificially high instead of letting the market take care of itself. Factory farms are pushing traditional farmers out of the business through over regulation and higher production costs.
Every dollar you earn is taxed a minimum of 4 times. Yet we are going to pay $700 BILLION to bank CEOs for driving their businesses into the ground. Where is that money going to come from? You guessed it, higher taxes...again.
Higher taxes mean fewer jobs. Fewer jobs means higher unemployment. Higher unemployment means more people default on their loans and credit cards. More defaults means more banks will fail. See a cycle here?
My guess is that it will be a very lean Christmas season for retail sales. And come January, credit card companies will start failing. That will mean all the people who live on their credit cards will no longer have access to credit. It is very possible that the card companies will demand payment in full. That would mean that every card that you have a $2000-$10,000 balance on will say, "Pay it off now or we will sue." Blood from a turnip I know, but if they get a judgment against you in court, they can seize your assets to settle the debt. Like your house, your kid's college fund, your IRA. See the picture? And the government will be on their side because they do not want the banks and card companies to fail.
Your best bet is to do what every you have to do to pay those suckers off and never look at a credit card again. Pay cash. Or use a debit card. Or better yet, do without it if you can.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Going to Hell, and we are letting it
This country, and the principles it was founded on, are going to Hell and the citizens of this fine nation are just blindly letting it happen. We have policed and law suited our way into a virtual police state.
We have regulated all of our small businesses out of existence in favor of mega chains and McFood. It used to be where anyone with a couple of hundred dollars could open a store or a cafe and make a living. Now all of the major corporations have forced regulations thru Congress that make code enforcements, inspections, fees, licenses, and other money grabbing BS mandatory in the name of protecting the pubic. What they really do is limit the amount of competition in the market place and thus protect their own profits.
Our kids can't even be kids anymore. They can't play the games that we played as kids. Cowboys and Indians, Cops and Robbers, even Tag is off limits. Heaven forbid if someone's weenie ass kid gets tapped on the thigh. It would be sexual abuse in the grossest sense of the word.
It is bad enough that a child who is upset about getting in trouble with his parents can call SCAN and claim abuse, but the harassment that parents are put thru over it is just insane. A friend of ours had to discipline one of his kids while in a store waiting in the check out line. A lady that they knew was in the same line and saw the screaming child get a single swat to the behind. She felt it was her civic duty to sic the government on them. It took 6 months and a home visit from a child advocate to get it sorted out. But now they are on "the LIST!"
We are letting the government rule our lives. This is not what the founding fathers had in mind when they started this (once) great nation. The government was not designed to regulate our lives, it was designed to ease trade between states and foreign nations, and to enforce the Constitution. It was not meant to regulate, tax, educate our kids, tax our businesses or our paychecks, tell us what we can eat or feed our kids, or where we could build our homes, or what doctor we could go to, or subsidize drug companies, farmers, schools, or people who's job it is to have babies so they can get a bigger welfare checks.
100 years ago, if you didn't work, you didn't eat. You may not have worked a 9 to 5, but you worked growing your own food and hoped you had enough to sell so you could buy the kids an orange at Christmas. You made do with what you had and nothing went to waste. And the government stayed out of your business...unless your crop was moonshine.
Now we are taxed on the amount of money you make every paycheck, you pay sales tax on anything you buy, you pay property tax on any thing you own, you pay tax again on the money you don't spend (savings accounts, CDs, retirement accounts, stock dividends, college funds, etc) and when you die, if there is anything left by that time, a death tax is imposed. If your kids inherit, then they have to pay an inheritance tax. So that money that you worked so hard to get is actually taxed up to six times.
And we have done it to our selves. We voted for the idiots in congress who think that the government should pay for everything. Nice concept but it has to be paid for somehow. That somehow is taxes. And we voted them into office. We gave ourselves over to the government and now they are paying us back for our trust.
We have regulated all of our small businesses out of existence in favor of mega chains and McFood. It used to be where anyone with a couple of hundred dollars could open a store or a cafe and make a living. Now all of the major corporations have forced regulations thru Congress that make code enforcements, inspections, fees, licenses, and other money grabbing BS mandatory in the name of protecting the pubic. What they really do is limit the amount of competition in the market place and thus protect their own profits.
Our kids can't even be kids anymore. They can't play the games that we played as kids. Cowboys and Indians, Cops and Robbers, even Tag is off limits. Heaven forbid if someone's weenie ass kid gets tapped on the thigh. It would be sexual abuse in the grossest sense of the word.
It is bad enough that a child who is upset about getting in trouble with his parents can call SCAN and claim abuse, but the harassment that parents are put thru over it is just insane. A friend of ours had to discipline one of his kids while in a store waiting in the check out line. A lady that they knew was in the same line and saw the screaming child get a single swat to the behind. She felt it was her civic duty to sic the government on them. It took 6 months and a home visit from a child advocate to get it sorted out. But now they are on "the LIST!"
We are letting the government rule our lives. This is not what the founding fathers had in mind when they started this (once) great nation. The government was not designed to regulate our lives, it was designed to ease trade between states and foreign nations, and to enforce the Constitution. It was not meant to regulate, tax, educate our kids, tax our businesses or our paychecks, tell us what we can eat or feed our kids, or where we could build our homes, or what doctor we could go to, or subsidize drug companies, farmers, schools, or people who's job it is to have babies so they can get a bigger welfare checks.
100 years ago, if you didn't work, you didn't eat. You may not have worked a 9 to 5, but you worked growing your own food and hoped you had enough to sell so you could buy the kids an orange at Christmas. You made do with what you had and nothing went to waste. And the government stayed out of your business...unless your crop was moonshine.
Now we are taxed on the amount of money you make every paycheck, you pay sales tax on anything you buy, you pay property tax on any thing you own, you pay tax again on the money you don't spend (savings accounts, CDs, retirement accounts, stock dividends, college funds, etc) and when you die, if there is anything left by that time, a death tax is imposed. If your kids inherit, then they have to pay an inheritance tax. So that money that you worked so hard to get is actually taxed up to six times.
And we have done it to our selves. We voted for the idiots in congress who think that the government should pay for everything. Nice concept but it has to be paid for somehow. That somehow is taxes. And we voted them into office. We gave ourselves over to the government and now they are paying us back for our trust.
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