Awaking the Giant

What seems apparent is that the American people want something better than what has historically been available to them in politics. Washington is viewed by most as being broken, and for a long time. There is little doubt that in 2008, voters wanted and voted for change. Change was so badly sought after that we may have over reached. What resulted? We elected the most inexperienced person ever to the highest office and allowed two of the most liberal socialist leaning individuals ever to lead the House and Senate. Some began to awaken to the realities of government and the change began again in 2012 must continue if we are ever to recover from the poor politics of the past.


With the left socialist agenda in control for the first years of the current administration, socialists and liberals have been exposed for what they really are and the American people are not having any of it. Socialism is not what the American people want and now that they have had a taste of it, they are retracting from it in droves. Once the people became fully aware of just how irresponsible the liberal agenda really is, the majority of hard working Americans have rejected their policy’s. The health care issue and “cap and trade” are but two examples of how they think the country should be governed. Imagine the same philosophy in other areas. They want the government to control, your doctor, what type of car you drive, how much electricity you use, what you eat and the list goes on and on.


Growing the government and taking control of entire industries using tax dollars to fund the programs is a recipe for the devastations of the American economy. It is not the government that through capital risk management and innovation grew the largest economy ever to exist. It is not government that will bring us through this. It is the American people who start and run private companies that will provide the jobs and economic stimulus necessary to pull us up from the ashes of economic ruin.


Class warfare had been the weapon used to polarize the public and in 2008, it worked. We are one nation under God and all opportunities should be available to all who are willing to do what is necessary to succeed without excessive government intervention or intrusion. We are a government of the people. We are not people for the government.

 

Let us all hope that the majority will finally get it and get rid of as many of the politicians as we can at every election cycle that orchestrated the tax, spend and control government that we currently have.

VOTE NEW!

The whole of the American People are the Giant being awakened.

Woman President in Cards?? Not likely!

On a radio talk show, the topic was: would you vote for a women President? And, are women as qualified to be President? I thought about that for a minute. You see Presidents are rare, very rare. The first criteria for becoming President are that you must have been born in the United States. Now, I don’t know how many people have been born in the US, perhaps a billion or two or three or ten for all I know. Of the billions born on US soil, only 44 of them have been a United States President.

With the chances of becoming President 1 in billions, no matter what your gender, race or religion may be, I would say statistically, your chances are slim no matter what. In fact, you probably stand a much better chance at winning the lottery. There are many elements that must be aligned properly for your chances to be improved. Over the next 200 years, there will be billions more people born in the US, but there are not likely to be more than another 40 or so who become President.

So, when you look at the subject from such a large perspective, who could know the limits on Presidential qualifications? The constitution of United States provides for the only limits to which I am aware, you must be born in the United States and have obtained the age of 35. Once born here, what you do with the rest of your life, and the example of leadership and experience are what determines your qualifications to be President.

Many suggest that Hillary Clinton will run. Other than being born here, I am not aware of anything she has done that qualifies her to be President. Many do not appreciate the way she got her senate seat and her time as Secretary of State was unremarkable except for the Benghazi debacle in which she clearly failed to perform. Others suggest Condoleezza Rice should be a presidential candidate. Again, other than being born here, I am not aware of her being responsible to voters and budgets which would be important to me. Her knowledge of national security and foreign policy, particularly related to Russia, would be helpful, but I think you must demonstrate experience in the real world outside politics or academia. We already elected a President who did not meet these challenges and look where that got us.

The bottom line is: The timing for when the US will send a woman to the Whitehouse is when a woman makes herself the best candidate without regard to gender, race or religion. When that happens, we will have a woman President. Will either of the women most mentioned today be the first female President? Mrs. Clinton does not process all of the Presidential criteria and that is not likely to change. Ms. Rice does not process all of the Presidential criteria, but that could change.

One thing is certain, we don't need another president that is as unqualified as the current.

Only In America

10. Only in America ... Could politicians talk about the greed of the rich at a $35,000.00 a plate campaign fund-raising event.

 

9. Only in America ... Could people claim that the government still discriminates against black Americans when they have a black President, a black Attorney General and roughly 20% of the federal workforce is black while only 14% of the population is black. 40+% of all federal entitlements goes to black Americans 3X the rate that go to whites, 5X the rate that go to Hispanics!

 

8. Only in America ... Could they have had the two people most responsible for our tax code, Timothy Geithner (the head of the Treasury Department) and Charles Rangel (who once ran the Ways and Means Committee), BOTH turn out to be tax cheats who are in favor of higher taxes.

 

7. Only in America ... Can they have terrorists kill people in the name of Allah and have the media primarily react by fretting that Muslims might be harmed by the backlash.

 

6. Only in America ... Would they make people who want to legally become American citizens wait for years in their home countries and pay tens of thousands of dollars for the privilege, while they discuss letting anyone who sneaks into the country illegally just 'magically' become American citizens.

 

5. Only in America ... Could the people who believe in balancing the budget and sticking by the country's Constitution be thought of as "extremists."

 

4. Only in America ... Could you need to present a driver's license to cash a check or buy alcohol, but not to vote.

 

3. Only in America ... Could people demand the government investigate whether oil companies are gouging the public because the price of gas went up when the return on equity invested in a major U.S. Oil company (Marathon Oil) is less than half of a company making tennis shoes (Nike).

 

2. Only in America ... Could the government collect more tax dollars from the people than any nation in recorded history, still spend a Trillion dollars more than it has per year - for total spending of $7 Million PER MINUTE, and complain that it doesn't have nearly enough money.

 

1. Only in America ... Could the rich people - who pay 86% of all income taxes - be accused of not paying their "fair share" by people who don't pay any income taxes at all.

 

 

 

"If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years there would be a shortage of sand." 

– Nobel prize-winning economist Milton Friedman (1912-2006)

Just The Facts About National Debt

The U.S. Treasury manages the U.S. debt through its Bureau of the Public Debt. The Bureau has broken out the debt into two main categories: Intragovernmental Holdings, at $5 trillion, and Debt Held by the Public, at $12 trillion (as of October 24, 2013).

Let’s look a little deeper into who we owe.

Intragovernmental Holdings – Approximately $5 Trillion of the Federal debt is held by some 230 government agencies. The largest of which is the Social Security Trust Fund which is owed $2.8 Trillion or 16 percent of the total U.S. debt. What this means is that taxpayers provided the funds necessary to fund all of these agencies including Social Security and these agencies loaned the money to our government and they spent it. All of it. This does not include more than $1.4 Trillion of the total load provided by the Federal Reserve which Treasury classifies as Public Debt.

Debt Held by the Public – The other $12 Trillion of U.S. debt is held by Foreign governments, investors, banks, mutual funds, pension funds, and treasury notes. Approximately one-fifth is held by other governmental entities, like the Federal Reserve and state and local governments. China for example is owed $1.3 Trillion or 8 percent of the total debt and Japan is owed $1.1 Trillion. Compare that to the Federal reserve who is owed $1.4 trillion. They loaned money that was printed out of thin air.

The bottom line here is that taxpayer’s  paid their taxes. The various agencies were funded from those taxpayer dollars. So much so that the agencies had the resources remaining that enabled them to loan the money to the government so they could spend more. Now that nearly all of the agencies are tapped out and facing budget cuts and the Public has lost confidence, there is nowhere else for them to borrow. That is where the Federal  Reserve comes in and prints money to buy U.S. Treasuries or debt.

We have to recognize that the vast majority of the National Debt is owed to U.S. federal government agencies and private U.S. investors. Again, other than the Federal Reserve, the agency funds which are provided to the government in the form of debt were paid or provided by taxpayers once and will now have to be paid again in some way.  The government borrowed money you already paid in taxes and now it is in the position that they will need taxpayers to pay for all of that again.  The media and others would have you believe that China and other foreign entities own America. Nothing could be further from the truth. The two largest foreign holders of debt, China and Japan only represent about 15% of the total debt load.

So, if the government defaults, it’s not foreign governments that stand to lose the most. It’s you and me baby. Taxpayer’s are on the hook for all of this and why we keep electing the idiots that put us in this position is crazy.  We have to vote for new people to breakdown the power structure. Vote NEW!

When Capitalism Meets Politics

Many of us wonder why an idea such as the Keystone Pipeline that seems to make sense gets so much political push back from the Whitehouse. Others wonder why the renowned investor Warren Buffet would seem to support the President and the many ideas coming from the inept government he controls.  Since most well informed people are puzzled by both conundrums, perhaps we should consider whether there is a connection, a common element or even quid-pro-quo.

Could it be that the EPA is nothing more than an instrument used to keep the Keystone pipeline from being developed. What if the real reason the pipeline is being met with such resistance has nothing to do with the environment.

Let’s consider a few important elements and then try to put the puzzle together. Who would benefit the most from the construction of the Keystone Pipeline? Answer; domestic oil production and imports from Canada rather the OPEC along with American consumers who would reap benefits resulting from lower energy cost.  What about the environmental impact? Well there you go. Which is safer for the environment, a pipeline or thousands of rail cars and trucks moving the oil.  The oil is going to move as long as there is demand so why not move it by pipeline since pipelines are by far the safest and most economic and environmentally friendly means of transportation when all factors are considered. There is no plausible argument to the contrary. Pipelines are safer overall.

Now, if this whole argument is really not about the environment, then what else could it be.  Well, let’s contemplate who benefits the most if the pipeline is not built. Hmmm, let see. Well you have the railroad, tank car manufacturers, trucking companies and the refiners who are processing the oil currently once transported to them by rail or truck.  Since the pipeline would move  the oil further south toward the gulf, then it seems clear that railroads, tank car manufacturers and refineries would suffer some economic harm if the pipeline were built.

So if we believe that this really is not an environmental issue, that it is more about political clout and economics for certain political benefactor’s, then we have to identify who is using the EPA as the tool to protect its political and economic interests.

Here is where the intrigue unfolds and the puzzle starts to take form. You see, the convergence of capitalism and politics often makes for strange bedfellows. Either can elicit uncharacteristic behavior in even the most accomplished and revered among us.  With all of this under consideration, add a couple more facts and you will start to see the picture. You see Warren Buffet and/or Berkshire Hathaway own Burlington Northern Railroad, Union Tank Car Company,  has a big stake in Exxon which refines much of the oil being transported and GE who builds trains. So when you wonder how a guy like Warren Buffet could ever espouse support for some of the most ridiculous policy maneuvers of the current administration, perhaps the picture becomes more clear. Buffet, like the rest of us is only protecting his interests. There are other heavyweight investors playing the game too. For example, Carl Icahn now owns American Rail Car company and there are other examples.  

While the EPA is charged by many to be the scoundrel that inhibits growth in the economy in certain sectors, did it ever occur to you that the EPA may be nothing more than a political tool used by some to protect their political and economic interests.   If you doubt that, look at what the EPA is doing to the coal industry. Is that really about the environment or more about helping the renewable energy companies that produce solar and wind energy that cannot survive without taxpayer subsidies. Now you know.

In Who Does Your Future Lie

I think it is time to ask ourselves some very important questions. There was a time when nearly  your entire future was determined predominantly by your own accomplishments. The choices you make throughout life set the tone for what your future could achieve. If you set goals and worked to achieve them with only a reasonable amount of dedication, you were likely to succeed in many ways.  If you got back up after being knocked down, if you did the right things even when nobody was looking, if you cared for others, loved your dog and stayed true to yourself, then success was yours to be had.

Now it seems that government is taking an ever increasing role in our daily lives and I for one am not comfortable with those in leadership who think they can guide my life better than I.  Do we really want people who cannot balance a budget, spend nearly 50 percent more than they bring in, lie, cheat and steal from hard working Americans to be in charge of our future? Never in the history of our great nation has government been more intrusive into our daily lives. This phenomenon appears to be growing at an exponential rate toward what seems to have moved beyond socialism and heading for a Marxist style communist government takeover.

For nearly two hundred years, the engine that drove the American economy and provided the single greatest economic superpower ever to be known, was the American people and the companies in which we all worked. Not government. Government was nothing more than a tolerable annoyance that did provide one very important service, national defense. Our military and the many who served are the reason we live in a free society.

Other than national defense, government has done little to improve the lives of the majority of the people and continues to stand in the way of economic progress. The reason seems simple. Government now has become an entity within which a life of it’s own has emerged.  It sees itself as the ultimate authority that must guide every segment of the population and economy. That is not the recipe that created the greatest society ever to exist.  The quality of life in this nation and around the world has improved at a far greater pace since the existence of the United States than at any time in history.  This is a result of American ingenuity where the American dream could be achieved if you held yourself to some very basic principles.  Get an education, work hard, be honest and take care of your family.

Government creates nothing. It has nothing except that which it took from the people and companies that employ us.  It wastes our resources and demands more. It has created class warfare to keep the focus off of them. They are the culprits, they villainize corporations because they can’t vote. Whereas corporations are nothing more than groups of people that create, employ and drive the American economy.

It is time we ask the question. Which system is likely to create the best opportunities for our future. One where government continues to adopt Marxist principles that have failed every time it was employed over the last 100 years.  Or, the peoples government where government worked for the people as it was designed for more than 200 years.

In who would you rather your future be guided? Group A or Group B below: Group A is a list of entrepreneurs who collectively employed millions of Americans and helped to make this nation great. Group B is a list of life-time politicians and media types who have created nothing but debt, deficits and lined their own pockets at the expense of the people. In no particular order, review the names and decide where yours and your children’s best future lies.

Group A                                                                                                               Group B

 

Bill Gates                                                                                            Barack Obama

JP Morgan                                                                                          Nancy Pelosi     

Andrew Carnegie                                                                              Harry Reid

Henry Ford                                                                                         Al Gore

Steve Jobs                                                                                          Rahm Emanuel

Thomas Edison                                                                                  Hillary Clinton

John D. Rockefeller                                                                           Barney Frank

Charles Merrill                                                                                   John Kerry

Aaron Montgomery Ward                                                               Eric Holder

Levi Strauss                                                                                        Dick Durbin

William Harley                                                                                   Joe Biden

Arthur Davidson                                                                                Steny Hoyer

Sam Walton                                                                                        Paul Krugman

Jeff Bezos                                                                                            Chuck Shumer

JW Marriott                                                                                        Henry Waxman

Conrad Hilton                                                                                     Valarie Garrett

Adolphus Busch                                                                                 George Soros

Ray Croc                                                                                              Peter Lewis

Richard Sears                                                                                     Dennis Kucinich

WK Kellogg                                                                                         Howard Dean

Milton Hershey                                                                                  Charles Rangel 

Walt Disney                                                                                        Maureen Dowd

 

If you think your future will be better served by the type of people in group A, then you better start voting for folks that understand free markets, free society and limited government as supported by the constitution.  If you chose group B, then I suggest you re-consider after researching the facts.  Vote new! ALL NEW!~

Time To Cut Through The Bullshit!

Some might be offended by the use of such words in a title. I apologize for breaching your sensitivities if that is the case but Bullshit is about the only thing coming out of Washington these days. By the way, I am really not sorry and I am not politically correct either. Contrary to the bullshit artist’s in Washington’s belief, I am free to say whatever I want. To express my opinion in a manner of my choosing.

So let’s cut through the bullshit and examine a few issues that are on the minds of most of us:

Affordable Healthcare Act: Catastrophe. Need to start over. This is the most ill-conceived piece of legislation imaginable and how we can accept that certain of the politician continue to defend it is nothing more than political bullshit. No body without an hidden agenda can possibility support it  the way  it is written. To continue in the effort only exemplifies the continued arrogant incompetence that plagues our government. Oh, and by the way, they exempted themselves from it. Now that is Bullshit!

Immigration: Yes, we are all for the most part immigrants or descendants thereof. We have laws on the books now to address immigration. I suggest we stop the bullshit and enforce the laws we have before trying to create new ones simply to bolster political positions. Secure the boarders, stop bringing refugees into the country that can offer little to the American way. I know some will wave the humanitarian flag, but we have US citizens that we can help first. Laws duly passed by government should be indiscriminately enforced. The administration should be held to account for not doing so.

Budget Deficit: Politicians did not have the courage to raise taxes enough over the years to fund their outrageous spending level. That would have been political suicide and caused the people to scrutinize more closely all of the activities of government.  So, they devised a plan to deceive the people into allowing them to borrow the money from Social Security and other sources so they can spend spend spend unchecked. When more normal sources of funding started to run out, they started printing money which served only to devalue what you have.  What they did not tell you is that although they did not raise taxes yet, they will be forced to at some point or the debt can’t be paid. The thought was that by then, it would be too late to do anything about it and they have already spent the money.  In the meantime, they create a series of laws so they can control the people once they figure it all out. They know it’s coming, that’s why Homeland Security has purchased more weapons and ammunition than anyone expect the military.

Trade Deficit: Foreign Oil is the largest contributor to the trade deficit and we need and have the ability to change that if government would allow it. Jobs would be created, energy prices would be lowered. There should be a push to mine more coal, drill for more oil and natural gas. All of which can be funded privately and not with taxpayer dollars. 

Economy:  Nothing would help more people in this nation more than lowering energy cost to the American people and the companies who employ us.  Lower energy cost would bring back manufacturing jobs, and the people would have more disposable income if gasoline, and other energy were more abundant from domestic sources.  To boost this effort, government should provide a mechanism to allow the nearly 2 Trillion dollars setting in foreign banks to be repatriated back into the US economy to fund energy growth and job creation. It would be simple. Instead of taxing that money upon entry into the country (keep in mind that this money was earned somewhere else), allow it to come back tax free if invested in job creation or domestic energy development.  Companies could invest in anything they want from green or renewable energy sources to coal, oil, natural gas or any industry that relies on energy at an affordable price to survive.  The alternative is to continue the war on coal and other fossil fuels and watch exorbitant energy prices continue to shutter more and more business and consume even more of our income.

 

Foreign relations: What relations? In the last 5 years,  we have managed to piss off nearly every nation with our spying techniques, drone killings and cut backs in foreign aid (which I am ok with). This is not to mention the state department being guided by partisan hacks who have no idea what they are doing. Hide and watch Iran manipulate them long enough to secure nuclear weapon capabilities. The problem is we are kidding ourselves if we think there is a nation out there that gives a shit about us.  The only thing other nations are interested in from the US is what we can do for them. Whether it’s financial aid, military support or trade subsidies, that is all they care about.  This nation takes care of itself and should strengthen that position by reducing our dependence on foreign oil and barrowed money.  In addition, we should be happy to defend Saudi Arabia’s and other nations in the region’s oil empire in the Persian Gulf, but only if they pay for our aircraft carriers and warplanes to be there. Then once we become energy independent, the price for protection goes up.
 

Political Correctness:  Bullshit. If you hear something that you do not like. Get over it. Rub some dirt on it and move on. Do you really think people working hard to make ends meet care what we call the Washington Redskins? If they are going to change the name to be more fitting of the goofballs in Washington, perhaps they should consider: Washington Royals. After all , our leadership thinks we have a monarchial government within which they stand as Royalty and we are their subjects. The ruling class needs a lesson in constitutional limitation.  Ok, I digressed, moving on. Political Correctness is like a parasite roaming around inside and eating away at small pieces of our internal fortitude. Too many have become afraid to stand on principle and succumb to the wishes of fringe elements seeking only to further an agenda. Don’t be afraid to speak your mind. Just do so in manner that shows respect for your opposition, but stand your ground and don’t let words be manipulated to mean something other than that which you intended.

Taxes:  Harry Ried suggesting that everyone wants to pay more tax is, well bullshit. Nobody wants to pay more tax. Taxes can be considered in some ways as an investment in the country. When you make an investment, you rightfully expect something in return. It is your money not the government’s. You earned it and although taxes are compulsory, you should feel like you are getting something for your investment.  What you expect is military protection against enemies of the state, reasonable regulatory oversight of certain elements of commerce, roads and highways and reasonable programs that help those who are unable to help themselves. What Reid and other likeminded public officials don’t seem to get is that none of us would make a voluntary investment into any company that can’t balance a budget, spends nearly 50 percent more than it brings in, provides special rules and exemptions for the certain stockholders that support leadership but not to others and barrows money far in excess of what it will be able to repay in the foreseeable future.  If government were more efficient, less wasteful and not plagued with corruption and cronyism, the need to raise taxes would not be present. Instead of taking from the people more of their hard earned money, try creating efficiencies where they do not currently exist. Learn to prioritize spending and stop using taxpayer dollars to buy votes.  Apply all laws equally to all citizens including all branches of government. Streamline the tax code. Make certain everyone who enjoys the benefits of living in America (still the greatest country ever to exist) contributes something to the system.  Everyone should have skin in the game.  If you put nothing in, you should expect nothing in return.  Now Mr. Reid, if government were to become efficient, stop unnecessary and imprudent spending and empirical evidence suggested that leaders where doing all they can do to manage spending effectively, then the people should consider whether more tax should be paid or which service should not be provided. Not until then.