Let's face it. Washington, DC, our governmental seat is full of first class liars. In fact, in my opinion, the primary prerequisite to be a politician is if you can tell a lie, remember enough of it to embellish it well enough to heap another lie upon it and keep it going long enough, so the people eventually become confused about how many total lies you actually told and forget the first big lie.
Sound complicated? Take the current batch of liars in the seat of our government. They have amnesia when it comes to programs they themselves oversee or control. They assign underlings to programs that they know are illegal or at least wrong, and let the underlings fall like dominoes when it becomes public knowledge, and then claim total oblivion to the entire mess.
Does anyone with half a brain think that the Attorney General or the head of the IRS does not know what goes on under their nose? They would have to be fecking eejits not to know. Yet they go before congress and the senate and profess that they had no idea these things were happening, and send the underling sheep to slaughter. Just like Obama disavowed knowledge of ACORN, these liars are right in the same crib with him.
We have little to no chance of ever having a decent government in this country until every one of the current group of politicians is voted out. EVERY ONE needs to be replaced by a new person. We need to cut their terms to two years and reduce their benefits to the same as we the citizens receive. No huge retirement system for one or two terms in office. You get Blue Cross or Blue Shield and it gets taken out of your pay, then you get Medicare just like us, no fancy special medical insurance system. The President gets one term and he's out. He does NOT get to spend half his second term campaigning to get back in office for a second term. What a helluva waste of our tax money! And his family should not go on lavish vacations that cost hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars. Remember the old Chevrolet commercial.."See the USA" Get your ass out and see the sights in your own country while you serve the people who elected you. And that goes for the Congress and Senate too. No vacations and recesses. Get the job done or stay until its complete.
Finally, as Ann Coulter said, When the hell did we vote for the US to become part of Mexico? Get a grip on immigration reform. Quit pandering to every damned group so you can get some votes like a cheap prostitute looking for a date. What is it about illegal that you don't comprehend. What is it about our services and medical systems, welfare, and undue burden on taxpaying Americans that you can't see is paying for the millions who live here illegally. And you want to make them all legal so we can pay even more? Like the dimwit governor here in California who opens up his own dream plan (maybe he toked too much in the 70's with girlfriend Linda Ronstadt..who knows) so the illegals get in-state resident tuition fees at our universities and colleges. Sure, while the American kid from another American state can't get it. Pander to the illegals like a pimp, Jerry! Get those votes! Because that's what it's all about anyway.
If people want to come here legally, welcome. My ancestors did and helped build this country from dirt. I expect no less from anyone else.
Showing posts with label politicians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politicians. Show all posts
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Is it Really Time for Unity in Washington?
Talk around the water cooler, scuttlebutt it was called in the service, is that there will be more unity in Washington between the opposing parties. This allegedly due to the recent shootings in Tucson, Arizona.
Far be it from me to take lightly any hope of some sort of unity and forward movement by our elected officials, but it's so hard to believe they are taking such an outrageous act and using it as some sort of blanket truce, to tell us they are making an effort to be civil, and actually work together.
Washington thrives on division and derision, each side making the other look like fools and buffoons. Not to say that the current administration doesn't frequently look that way without any help from across the aisle. And not to say that the other side of the aisle doesn't also smack themselves with the stupid stick occasionally, and make us wonder why the hell they even open their mouths.
Unity? Actually moving forward to solve the issues that will make this country prosperous and productive again? Put people back to work and reduce the unemployment to near zero? Reduce the deficit, both at home and the trade deficit with other countries? Cut dependence on foreign countries products and energy, with a reasonable, not "knee-jerk" energy policy, that doesn't penalize ordinary Americans in favor of big business? Stop favoring splinter groups, and start listening to the majority of the American people on important issues? Cut welfare in favor of workfare, where people actually must work for money, and don't get paid for sitting at home having more children than they, or we, can afford? Stop paying for all benefits for illegal aliens, and tighten the borders so we have a secure America? Eliminate the so called "anchor baby" issue so babies born here to non-citizens do not automatically become US citizens?
No, this just isn't going to happen. Maybe I'm dreaming, but there is a left and a right in Washington and there is no centrist attitude that will allow them to meet in the center of the aisle. Unless there is a huge Pork Barrel there where all the politicians can heap their special interests in it along with a few things that really help the country along. And those special interests will offset and cost more than the good that the bills passed will do.
Finally, trying to pass off this new "unity" as a result of Congresswoman Giffords tragedy is shameful. The politicians didn't seem to want to be any more united for the twelve soldiers killed in the massacre at Fort Hood Texas in 2009. Nor for the killings of the four Lakewood, Washington police officers the same year, or for any of the other horrible incidents involving public servants or our service men and women. This is just a symbolic gesture to snow the public once again.
Sad, but with tragedy sometimes does come unity. Even more tragic is that I don't believe it comes in Washington political circles.
Far be it from me to take lightly any hope of some sort of unity and forward movement by our elected officials, but it's so hard to believe they are taking such an outrageous act and using it as some sort of blanket truce, to tell us they are making an effort to be civil, and actually work together.
Washington thrives on division and derision, each side making the other look like fools and buffoons. Not to say that the current administration doesn't frequently look that way without any help from across the aisle. And not to say that the other side of the aisle doesn't also smack themselves with the stupid stick occasionally, and make us wonder why the hell they even open their mouths.
Unity? Actually moving forward to solve the issues that will make this country prosperous and productive again? Put people back to work and reduce the unemployment to near zero? Reduce the deficit, both at home and the trade deficit with other countries? Cut dependence on foreign countries products and energy, with a reasonable, not "knee-jerk" energy policy, that doesn't penalize ordinary Americans in favor of big business? Stop favoring splinter groups, and start listening to the majority of the American people on important issues? Cut welfare in favor of workfare, where people actually must work for money, and don't get paid for sitting at home having more children than they, or we, can afford? Stop paying for all benefits for illegal aliens, and tighten the borders so we have a secure America? Eliminate the so called "anchor baby" issue so babies born here to non-citizens do not automatically become US citizens?
No, this just isn't going to happen. Maybe I'm dreaming, but there is a left and a right in Washington and there is no centrist attitude that will allow them to meet in the center of the aisle. Unless there is a huge Pork Barrel there where all the politicians can heap their special interests in it along with a few things that really help the country along. And those special interests will offset and cost more than the good that the bills passed will do.
Finally, trying to pass off this new "unity" as a result of Congresswoman Giffords tragedy is shameful. The politicians didn't seem to want to be any more united for the twelve soldiers killed in the massacre at Fort Hood Texas in 2009. Nor for the killings of the four Lakewood, Washington police officers the same year, or for any of the other horrible incidents involving public servants or our service men and women. This is just a symbolic gesture to snow the public once again.
Sad, but with tragedy sometimes does come unity. Even more tragic is that I don't believe it comes in Washington political circles.
Monday, May 25, 2009
The People Have Spoken in California
The voters of California have finally come to their senses. How this could have happened is way beyond my mortal powers of comprehension, but they have. They defeated all but one of the six propositions that the state legislators tried to have passed on the May 19 special election, and passed just one...the proposition that says no pay raises to state politicians when they don't balance the budget. Good for you, voters!
Now how about placing a proposition on the ballot that says NO PAY AT ALL IF THE POLITICIANS DON'T PASS A BALANCED BUDGET ON TIME? Bet that would get them off their dime and political oriented butts to pass the budget in a heartbeat! Or maybe get some of the dead wood out of office once and for all.
Or, maybe, California voters are going to dump the politicians who have been draining this state so long when the next elections come around? Or will they forget how bad things are and simply vote along the same old party lines and place the same old useless politicos back in their seats for another round of what could be bankruptcy and tax hikes?
Car taxes went up, sales taxes went up, counties are complaining they don't collect enough taxes because property values plummeted, people have asked for revaluations to reduce taxes on lower valued homes; many homes have been foreclosed, and taxes are not being paid.
Employment is the worst in about 40 years so income tax revenue is way down, so they raise the income tax rate..how about that for brilliance? Tax the crap out of the remaining working people to make up some of the lost income so the state can continue to pay for welfare and Medi-Cal for the illegals and the welfare recipients and the will-not works? Cut education, teachers and services for the understandably medically needy, but still be sure to throw that money at the services for those who won't ever contribute anything to society due to a lack of work ethic and/or pure laziness? How much can the working people of California accept before they realize how bad they're getting screwed? Year after year, ad nauseum?
Time to dump the surfer dude image, folks and get involved with changing the way Sacramento does business. If you don't, your children and grandchildren will bear the huge burden that the politicians keep piling up. The fastest and best way is to vote, and tell them you're not happy with them. Get them out of office, and make them get a real job for a change. Let them see what the working class sees, a dwindling paycheck and increasing bills and taxes. It isn't a pretty sight!
Now how about placing a proposition on the ballot that says NO PAY AT ALL IF THE POLITICIANS DON'T PASS A BALANCED BUDGET ON TIME? Bet that would get them off their dime and political oriented butts to pass the budget in a heartbeat! Or maybe get some of the dead wood out of office once and for all.
Or, maybe, California voters are going to dump the politicians who have been draining this state so long when the next elections come around? Or will they forget how bad things are and simply vote along the same old party lines and place the same old useless politicos back in their seats for another round of what could be bankruptcy and tax hikes?
Car taxes went up, sales taxes went up, counties are complaining they don't collect enough taxes because property values plummeted, people have asked for revaluations to reduce taxes on lower valued homes; many homes have been foreclosed, and taxes are not being paid.
Employment is the worst in about 40 years so income tax revenue is way down, so they raise the income tax rate..how about that for brilliance? Tax the crap out of the remaining working people to make up some of the lost income so the state can continue to pay for welfare and Medi-Cal for the illegals and the welfare recipients and the will-not works? Cut education, teachers and services for the understandably medically needy, but still be sure to throw that money at the services for those who won't ever contribute anything to society due to a lack of work ethic and/or pure laziness? How much can the working people of California accept before they realize how bad they're getting screwed? Year after year, ad nauseum?
Time to dump the surfer dude image, folks and get involved with changing the way Sacramento does business. If you don't, your children and grandchildren will bear the huge burden that the politicians keep piling up. The fastest and best way is to vote, and tell them you're not happy with them. Get them out of office, and make them get a real job for a change. Let them see what the working class sees, a dwindling paycheck and increasing bills and taxes. It isn't a pretty sight!
Sunday, February 1, 2009
California Taxpayers - Screwed Again
Once again, the infantile mentality and downright lack of conscience of our state legislators leads the news in California. It's small wonder this state is known the world over as a bunch of freaks and assholes, judging by it's government. When you're governed by what is assuredly the greatest collection of buffoons and idiots ever placed in office, even worse than Washington DC, granted placed there by the votes of people in the highly populous counties who have not a clue what's happening in the real world, (read Proposition 103 that passed among others for a clue about how they vote!), you know you're in trouble. Add to that the 9th District Circuit Court and their outright crazy decisions, and it's small wonder this is known as the Granola State...Fruits, Nuts and Flakes. Don't blame me, I didn't coin the expression, nor did I create the aura that surrounds the state and makes people think of it as another planet!
The latest move by these bureaucrats, who have not been able to agree on a budget in seven months, is to withhold paying income tax refunds to the people who have them coming. They're now holding the refunds for at least 30 days and state they will issue IOU's to taxpayers, as they don't have the funds to return your money and meet other state obligations. But in the interim, the legislators and the Governor are getting their paychecks and their other perks. Now ain't that sweet!
The middle class taxpayer who supports all the welfare recipients, illegals, Medi-CAL recipients and lazy asses, including the politicians, all year can't get their tax refund money back so they can pay their own bills!
Then the State has the balls to tell you that no, you can't pay your income taxes with the IOU, nor can you stop paying your income taxes because you don't have the money, because they didn't refund it!
And, to kick you again, they won't give you interest unless they don't refund until after 45 days beyond April 15, even if you filed on January 25. But They want interest if you owe them tax, and didn't pay your estimated tax on time!
California taxpayers, you have my sympathy. You live in a place where the only perk is the weather, and if Sacramento could possibly screw that up, they sure would. Oh wait, that's coming too. As a measure to shore up the economy, some "brilliant" politician will figure out how to tax you on the number of sunny days in your region, multiplied by the number of average breaths you take and charge a "Life Tax" for living here. Of course, it only applies to the employed, and those who are on the dole, illegal or otherwise screwing the taxpayer will not be charged. You, the workling class will pay their share, so breathe deeply and enjoy the sunshine! What's that you say, the air has a putrid odor? That's politics you smell, my friend and in California it always smells rotten.
The latest move by these bureaucrats, who have not been able to agree on a budget in seven months, is to withhold paying income tax refunds to the people who have them coming. They're now holding the refunds for at least 30 days and state they will issue IOU's to taxpayers, as they don't have the funds to return your money and meet other state obligations. But in the interim, the legislators and the Governor are getting their paychecks and their other perks. Now ain't that sweet!
The middle class taxpayer who supports all the welfare recipients, illegals, Medi-CAL recipients and lazy asses, including the politicians, all year can't get their tax refund money back so they can pay their own bills!
Then the State has the balls to tell you that no, you can't pay your income taxes with the IOU, nor can you stop paying your income taxes because you don't have the money, because they didn't refund it!
And, to kick you again, they won't give you interest unless they don't refund until after 45 days beyond April 15, even if you filed on January 25. But They want interest if you owe them tax, and didn't pay your estimated tax on time!
California taxpayers, you have my sympathy. You live in a place where the only perk is the weather, and if Sacramento could possibly screw that up, they sure would. Oh wait, that's coming too. As a measure to shore up the economy, some "brilliant" politician will figure out how to tax you on the number of sunny days in your region, multiplied by the number of average breaths you take and charge a "Life Tax" for living here. Of course, it only applies to the employed, and those who are on the dole, illegal or otherwise screwing the taxpayer will not be charged. You, the workling class will pay their share, so breathe deeply and enjoy the sunshine! What's that you say, the air has a putrid odor? That's politics you smell, my friend and in California it always smells rotten.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Idiots, Politicians, and No Brainers...One and the Same!
Wow..I must be on some other freaking planet. This just can't possibly be earth nor the USA. We're in a recession like we've not seen for decades. millions are unemployed, losing houses left and right, house values tumbling faster than AIG stock, gas prices more volatile than the hydrocarbons they're composed of. Food prices are astronomical, homelessness is at all all time high, uninsured people with no health insurance is epidemic.
Sooo, what do the politicians in Washingtom, DC and Sacramento, CA want to do? Raise the damned taxes! In California, Governor Schwarzenegger, who has never had to be without, wants to increase the sales tax, increase the tax on oil production ( a real incentive to produce our own oil there, right Arnie?), increase the automobile registration fee (tax), add sales tax to your pets veterinary visits and other presently non-taxable services (watch out...soon it will be your hospital and doctor visits too), and reduce the dependent care exemption on State income tax returns by two-thirds! Then the Democrats want to increase your income tax as well. All this in a year when many are struggling to survive.
Oh yeah, Schwarzenegger wants to add a 5 cent a drink tax on alcoholic beverages. Hmm...why not a buck a drink and we'd maybe be able to clean up the drunks off the streets of Oceanside and San Diego, fund the hospitals better and curb underage drinking and DWI? Oh wait, that's too logical for the Terminator and the lame brains in the legislature to figure out.
Then we have Washington DC who wants to add a 50% increase on the Federal Fuel Tax, which is already 18.4 cents per gallon. So this proposal would raise it to over 27 cents. And why? Because we did the right thing. We're conserving fuel and not driving as much. We did as they asked and suggested, and coupled with the high price of fuel, we cut our miles driven and consumption. And now we're going to get screwed, because the greedy bastards aren't getting enough tax money for roads and infrastructure, so their logic is to tax some more.
Want to read some sickening statistics and "think tank" crap, read this:
http://www.heritage.org/research/smartgrowth/bg2103.cfm
Those who hold positions in public transit are all for screwing the motorist to hold on to their highly paid jobs, and I'm not talking about bus drivers here. But the truth is they haven't figured out how to move the population from Point A to Point B effectively andd economically since they tore down the old trolley lines and interrurbans in the 1950's and 1960's. And you know who was responsible for that? The automakers, the rubber companies and Big Oil. They conspired to shut down the most effective, efficient rail services in the country and we'll never have that again, even though we now spend billions rebuilding many of the same routes.
Some info on that: http://www.trainweb.org/mts/ctc/ctc06.html
Why not simply cut off the free medical care for all the 14 and 15 year olds who have babies in our local hospitals time and again! Why not cut back on the Medi-CAL program and make the people pony up for some of the care. The poor elderly on Medi-CAL have to agree to sign over their home to get this coverage but what about the illegals and other immigrants who get it for free and contribute ZERO! We pay for all the losers time and again and I don't see our illustrious governor cutting these programs. Nor welfare and telling these losers to get off their butts and get a job. Jobs are scarce? Sure..but dump all the illegals working at the fast food places, car washes, construction and landscape companies and ship them back to wherever they came from, and there would be plenty of "entry level" jobs for the welfare recipients to do.
No work, no pay, no eat. Emergency medical care only. Getting pregnant doesn't entitle you to thousands of dollars of free medical care just because you laid your ass down. You need to work and pay for your bills like the rest of the DECENT Americans who are supporting the country. We're TIRED of going without because you won't work and are sucking the lifeblood out of America.
Worse yet, the politicians are pandering to you like a bunch of butt kissers. Even Arnold is looking more like a Girly-Man to his constituents with his proposals. Hey Arnie..get a budget passed so you don't have to give out IOU's. Or will you be able to give the welfare recipients IOU's for their food stamps and housing too? Right...I thought so. No, only the taxpayers and real workers who support the State.
Politicians..get it through your heads. Quit giving the money away and cut where it matters. Tax booze, cigarettes, and other non-essential items and spend that money on medical programs. Close the border and ship illegals back home. If a person has a baby and they're illegal...bill the foreign country and then cut all aid until they pay. That's not part of a free trade agreement!
If you keep going down this track, the derailment and consequences will be catastrophic, more than any of us ever thought. And we'll all be seated right in the "coffin car" as it runs head-on into disaster!
Sooo, what do the politicians in Washingtom, DC and Sacramento, CA want to do? Raise the damned taxes! In California, Governor Schwarzenegger, who has never had to be without, wants to increase the sales tax, increase the tax on oil production ( a real incentive to produce our own oil there, right Arnie?), increase the automobile registration fee (tax), add sales tax to your pets veterinary visits and other presently non-taxable services (watch out...soon it will be your hospital and doctor visits too), and reduce the dependent care exemption on State income tax returns by two-thirds! Then the Democrats want to increase your income tax as well. All this in a year when many are struggling to survive.
Oh yeah, Schwarzenegger wants to add a 5 cent a drink tax on alcoholic beverages. Hmm...why not a buck a drink and we'd maybe be able to clean up the drunks off the streets of Oceanside and San Diego, fund the hospitals better and curb underage drinking and DWI? Oh wait, that's too logical for the Terminator and the lame brains in the legislature to figure out.
Then we have Washington DC who wants to add a 50% increase on the Federal Fuel Tax, which is already 18.4 cents per gallon. So this proposal would raise it to over 27 cents. And why? Because we did the right thing. We're conserving fuel and not driving as much. We did as they asked and suggested, and coupled with the high price of fuel, we cut our miles driven and consumption. And now we're going to get screwed, because the greedy bastards aren't getting enough tax money for roads and infrastructure, so their logic is to tax some more.
Want to read some sickening statistics and "think tank" crap, read this:
http://www.heritage.org/research/smartgrowth/bg2103.cfm
Those who hold positions in public transit are all for screwing the motorist to hold on to their highly paid jobs, and I'm not talking about bus drivers here. But the truth is they haven't figured out how to move the population from Point A to Point B effectively andd economically since they tore down the old trolley lines and interrurbans in the 1950's and 1960's. And you know who was responsible for that? The automakers, the rubber companies and Big Oil. They conspired to shut down the most effective, efficient rail services in the country and we'll never have that again, even though we now spend billions rebuilding many of the same routes.
Some info on that: http://www.trainweb.org/mts/ctc/ctc06.html
Why not simply cut off the free medical care for all the 14 and 15 year olds who have babies in our local hospitals time and again! Why not cut back on the Medi-CAL program and make the people pony up for some of the care. The poor elderly on Medi-CAL have to agree to sign over their home to get this coverage but what about the illegals and other immigrants who get it for free and contribute ZERO! We pay for all the losers time and again and I don't see our illustrious governor cutting these programs. Nor welfare and telling these losers to get off their butts and get a job. Jobs are scarce? Sure..but dump all the illegals working at the fast food places, car washes, construction and landscape companies and ship them back to wherever they came from, and there would be plenty of "entry level" jobs for the welfare recipients to do.
No work, no pay, no eat. Emergency medical care only. Getting pregnant doesn't entitle you to thousands of dollars of free medical care just because you laid your ass down. You need to work and pay for your bills like the rest of the DECENT Americans who are supporting the country. We're TIRED of going without because you won't work and are sucking the lifeblood out of America.
Worse yet, the politicians are pandering to you like a bunch of butt kissers. Even Arnold is looking more like a Girly-Man to his constituents with his proposals. Hey Arnie..get a budget passed so you don't have to give out IOU's. Or will you be able to give the welfare recipients IOU's for their food stamps and housing too? Right...I thought so. No, only the taxpayers and real workers who support the State.
Politicians..get it through your heads. Quit giving the money away and cut where it matters. Tax booze, cigarettes, and other non-essential items and spend that money on medical programs. Close the border and ship illegals back home. If a person has a baby and they're illegal...bill the foreign country and then cut all aid until they pay. That's not part of a free trade agreement!
If you keep going down this track, the derailment and consequences will be catastrophic, more than any of us ever thought. And we'll all be seated right in the "coffin car" as it runs head-on into disaster!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
When the Freight Train Takes a Dirt Road Detour...
When the Freight Train takes a dirt road detour, it's time to start believing that something is really wrong with the economy, and those running the railroad. And, friends and readers, this freight train we call our nation's economy has not only taken that dirt road detour, but has run through the swamp as well!
What was a well oiled locomotive, pulling our train through the hills and valleys of the economy, sometimes straining a bit uphill, and sometimes free-wheeling and getting a good ride on better days, has been derailed by the political machine that was designed to serve the nation, not bankrupt it. That and the giant corporations that keep bleeding us dry, and filling their pockets while ours have nothing but lint left in the bottom!
For those who believe in paying more taxes, be sure to vote democrat in November. Regardless of what you think of Bush, the war or anything else, remember who has been at stoking coal into the locomotive for the past two years...the democrat controlled house and senate, and not the republicans. Ol' Bush might be the throttle man, but the train doesn't run very well unless you have good backup fire, and he sure as hell hasn't. I don't agree with some of his decisions, but it takes a consensus and that he hasn't had. In-fighting and pork-barrel spending just hurts everyone. Just look back to the Clinton years and the tax tables to see how much more your taxes will be, and get ready.
The government thinks you're an endless source of money. You paid all that money into Social Security in preparation for retirement, if you can ever afford it, and then they tax at least part of it. They constantly entreat you to save for your retirement in a 401(k) or an IRA, and if you do, they tax it when you withdraw it, no matter how little it is, or how much you have left.
If you work hard and pay taxes, you pay for those who sit on their butts and collect welfare, or who are here illegally, and have baby after baby free on your dollar, yet you can't afford to pay your medical insurance co-pays when you get sick or have to be hospitalized! The hospital writes off the care for those people but do you think they will write yours off? No way! You'll go to collections and they'll put a lien on everything you own to try and collect. All while the illegals and welfare cases go merrily on their way for free! And, for those on welfare, every free baby gets them more welfare money, WIC money, food stamps, etc. And you're paying for it. They won't admit who the baby's father is because the State might actually make the father pay, unless he is in jail, as many are. Plus, they get more on welfare if they just claim they don't know. Some women have six, eight or ten children each with a different "baby daddy"! Sure makes a case for involuntary sterilization, doesn't it! Or at least cut off welfare after one! Work or no welfare works too!
The government simply increases taxes to cover any and all shortfalls. politicians have diarrhea of the mouth and promise no new taxes but then sneak them in the back door so you won't notice them. Or at least hope you won't. Increase the sales tax by one cent seems minuscule and they tell you it's also paid by all the tourists and transients so it's a good thing. But when do tourists and transients but cars and appliances and the big ticket items that costs the most where that extra cent really hurts? Nobody tells you that, do they? Plus, the tourists go away and you're stuck the rest of the year and for many years with the tax!
Same with taxes to cover hospital districts, such as the one that was defeated narrowly this week for Tri-City Medical Center. They spent 400K on the election, 400K on TV ads, God knows how much for consultants and newspaper ads (couldn't that money have gone to repairs and modernization?) and the bond measure failed. For the third time! Here's a hospital that can't govern itself effectively, and has been whining for years about the same issues. They constantly put a proposition before the people asking them to tax themselves, using scare tactics that the hospital will close if the people don't approve a new tax. Didn't work before, and didn't work this time either. People are saying No More Taxes! Especially when you want to tax people who don't use the hospital (their insurance requires they use other facilities), tax only part of the cities covered so most of the people who use the hospital don't get taxed, the high use by illegals who pay nothing and no taxes, etc, etc.
Big business is suffering in this country, and in some cases, rightfully so. Take the auto industry. I don't drive foreign cars, so let's go from there. We took too long to catch up to the quality of the foreign imports, and we let them get too great a foothold in the US. Their pricing was more attractive, they lasted longer and didn't have to be replaced every few years. Their fuel economy was better and during the first fuel crisis we learned absolutely nothing. The US automakers didn't downsize vehicles and the public didn't really seem to want smaller cars, so as soon as it was over, we went back to burning gas and diesel like it was never-ending, and here we are again in a worse situation than ever.
And now, like then, the gas companies are raking in monumental profits,while we're standing with empty pockets wondering how to fill the tank on the behemoth in the driveway! And the US automakers are in trouble, trying to figure out how to survive in the marketplace. They're losing billions, yes billions of dollars every quarter, trying to stay alive, closing plants and laying off workers, stopping production of some SUV and truck lines and minivans, etc. Did it take this long to learn that the time was coming that gasoline and diesel would run short or too costly to fuel everything? And that fighting higher fuel mileage standards wasn't a prudent thing to do?
And, maybe some introspect is in store for some workers themselves, to see where it's actually worth the price they are paid to fit nuts and bolts onto a vehicle. Here's some amazing information and it goes to show how our own unions and workers have priced their own companies right out of the market. Sure, the buyouts are fine for them, since an autoworker worker making 60K could receive 100K and up to 81 weeks of severance pay to accept the buyout. (This varies by company, time worked, etc. Some Ford workers are offered $140K after 10 years)
Per the Center for Automotive Research: " On average, active union members cost automakers $130,000 a year, whether they are working or not, according to the Center for Automotive Research. That cost drops to $50,000 a year when someone retires early or takes a buyout, and once that retiree is old enough to move onto Medicare and Social Security, the cost drops to $20,000 annually. " Any wonder the cost for an automobile is so high?
Regardless, we're on that freight train and taxes and big business have derailed us and only government and big business are going to get those rails back in place to a healthy economy. We need to stabilize jobs in sectors where people can make a reasonable wage, have healthcare benefits, reduce taxation that is based on giving away to everyone and every nation that won't do for themselves, and start being America again. Maybe we need to reinvent the railroad and lay the tracks ourselves to assure it's done right, and use the cowcatcher to fling off the politicians who stand in the way enroute to a strong and healthy economy!
What was a well oiled locomotive, pulling our train through the hills and valleys of the economy, sometimes straining a bit uphill, and sometimes free-wheeling and getting a good ride on better days, has been derailed by the political machine that was designed to serve the nation, not bankrupt it. That and the giant corporations that keep bleeding us dry, and filling their pockets while ours have nothing but lint left in the bottom!
For those who believe in paying more taxes, be sure to vote democrat in November. Regardless of what you think of Bush, the war or anything else, remember who has been at stoking coal into the locomotive for the past two years...the democrat controlled house and senate, and not the republicans. Ol' Bush might be the throttle man, but the train doesn't run very well unless you have good backup fire, and he sure as hell hasn't. I don't agree with some of his decisions, but it takes a consensus and that he hasn't had. In-fighting and pork-barrel spending just hurts everyone. Just look back to the Clinton years and the tax tables to see how much more your taxes will be, and get ready.
The government thinks you're an endless source of money. You paid all that money into Social Security in preparation for retirement, if you can ever afford it, and then they tax at least part of it. They constantly entreat you to save for your retirement in a 401(k) or an IRA, and if you do, they tax it when you withdraw it, no matter how little it is, or how much you have left.
If you work hard and pay taxes, you pay for those who sit on their butts and collect welfare, or who are here illegally, and have baby after baby free on your dollar, yet you can't afford to pay your medical insurance co-pays when you get sick or have to be hospitalized! The hospital writes off the care for those people but do you think they will write yours off? No way! You'll go to collections and they'll put a lien on everything you own to try and collect. All while the illegals and welfare cases go merrily on their way for free! And, for those on welfare, every free baby gets them more welfare money, WIC money, food stamps, etc. And you're paying for it. They won't admit who the baby's father is because the State might actually make the father pay, unless he is in jail, as many are. Plus, they get more on welfare if they just claim they don't know. Some women have six, eight or ten children each with a different "baby daddy"! Sure makes a case for involuntary sterilization, doesn't it! Or at least cut off welfare after one! Work or no welfare works too!
The government simply increases taxes to cover any and all shortfalls. politicians have diarrhea of the mouth and promise no new taxes but then sneak them in the back door so you won't notice them. Or at least hope you won't. Increase the sales tax by one cent seems minuscule and they tell you it's also paid by all the tourists and transients so it's a good thing. But when do tourists and transients but cars and appliances and the big ticket items that costs the most where that extra cent really hurts? Nobody tells you that, do they? Plus, the tourists go away and you're stuck the rest of the year and for many years with the tax!
Same with taxes to cover hospital districts, such as the one that was defeated narrowly this week for Tri-City Medical Center. They spent 400K on the election, 400K on TV ads, God knows how much for consultants and newspaper ads (couldn't that money have gone to repairs and modernization?) and the bond measure failed. For the third time! Here's a hospital that can't govern itself effectively, and has been whining for years about the same issues. They constantly put a proposition before the people asking them to tax themselves, using scare tactics that the hospital will close if the people don't approve a new tax. Didn't work before, and didn't work this time either. People are saying No More Taxes! Especially when you want to tax people who don't use the hospital (their insurance requires they use other facilities), tax only part of the cities covered so most of the people who use the hospital don't get taxed, the high use by illegals who pay nothing and no taxes, etc, etc.
Big business is suffering in this country, and in some cases, rightfully so. Take the auto industry. I don't drive foreign cars, so let's go from there. We took too long to catch up to the quality of the foreign imports, and we let them get too great a foothold in the US. Their pricing was more attractive, they lasted longer and didn't have to be replaced every few years. Their fuel economy was better and during the first fuel crisis we learned absolutely nothing. The US automakers didn't downsize vehicles and the public didn't really seem to want smaller cars, so as soon as it was over, we went back to burning gas and diesel like it was never-ending, and here we are again in a worse situation than ever.
And now, like then, the gas companies are raking in monumental profits,while we're standing with empty pockets wondering how to fill the tank on the behemoth in the driveway! And the US automakers are in trouble, trying to figure out how to survive in the marketplace. They're losing billions, yes billions of dollars every quarter, trying to stay alive, closing plants and laying off workers, stopping production of some SUV and truck lines and minivans, etc. Did it take this long to learn that the time was coming that gasoline and diesel would run short or too costly to fuel everything? And that fighting higher fuel mileage standards wasn't a prudent thing to do?
And, maybe some introspect is in store for some workers themselves, to see where it's actually worth the price they are paid to fit nuts and bolts onto a vehicle. Here's some amazing information and it goes to show how our own unions and workers have priced their own companies right out of the market. Sure, the buyouts are fine for them, since an autoworker worker making 60K could receive 100K and up to 81 weeks of severance pay to accept the buyout. (This varies by company, time worked, etc. Some Ford workers are offered $140K after 10 years)
Per the Center for Automotive Research: " On average, active union members cost automakers $130,000 a year, whether they are working or not, according to the Center for Automotive Research. That cost drops to $50,000 a year when someone retires early or takes a buyout, and once that retiree is old enough to move onto Medicare and Social Security, the cost drops to $20,000 annually. " Any wonder the cost for an automobile is so high?
Regardless, we're on that freight train and taxes and big business have derailed us and only government and big business are going to get those rails back in place to a healthy economy. We need to stabilize jobs in sectors where people can make a reasonable wage, have healthcare benefits, reduce taxation that is based on giving away to everyone and every nation that won't do for themselves, and start being America again. Maybe we need to reinvent the railroad and lay the tracks ourselves to assure it's done right, and use the cowcatcher to fling off the politicians who stand in the way enroute to a strong and healthy economy!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Social Security Going Broke?
Well, the Social Security system is telling it like it is, that it's going broke. It's been telling us this for years, but the politicians have been see-sawing between hopefully optimistic, and sticking their heads in the doo-doo created by their political manure in Washington, and basically ignoring the problem, while borrowing billions from the SSA to put into other programs.
Now the well is running dry, and the politicians are running around like Chicken Little screaming that the sky is falling. Good grief, does this surprise anyone? We've been told this was coming, yet the bureaucrats in Washington sat on their partisan hands, and did nothing to solve the problem, but yap about it, and blame the other party for the problems, as they always do.
Obama has this idiotic idea to change the basis for paying Social Security taxes and start collecting it when people make over $250,000 a year, but still stop collecting when your salary exceeds $102,000. That's ridiculous. I say place the Social Security tax on full income no matter what it is, with no gaps at all. If you make $175K, apply the tax. Then adjust the benefits accordingly. What's the logic of having a tax gap between $102K to $250K? That doesn't help the "true" middle class, or lower-class family with multiple income earners. Sounds more like pandering to some "phantom" class to me, than any sense of fairness.
If you want to balance the system, stop all the giveaways. Stop the Section 1011 free medical for illegals that is part of the Medicare Fund. Don't you think that drains your tax dollar and your future ability to get medical care through Medicare?
Check out the pdf below and look at the address...Direct to good ol' Social Security to pay for those illegals we can't stop at the border. It cost California $10.4 billion dollars in unreimbursed costs last year alone, so imagine the federal bill.
http://www.scha.org/documents/cms-10130A_aliens_determination_of_pmt_form_1.pdf
And, overhaul Medicare because that's going for broke before Social Security! Quit giving benefits to those who never put a damned thing into the system! For example, it's a welfare system for many; in addition to the Section 1011 already mentioned, many people presenting Medicare cards with the letter "M" following the number are usually alien residents who are collecting benefits under another family member, and frequently the recipient of an organ transplant or other costly medical procedure.
Since Medicare will ostensibly go broke before Social Security, this is even a bigger issue in my mind, as we attempt to salvage our old age safety net.
Getting older in America is not a such good thing anymore. Those who worked to bring us where we are today, who fought to guarantee freedom and hope are losing ground, and their legions are slowly fading from sight. The new warriors are sadly unappreciated after a flash-in-the-pan welcome home. Many young Americans are being abandoned by their parents in form of guidance, if not love, and have no semblance of familial unit to guide them, turning to gangs instead.
And our elected officials seem to be either ineffective, unwilling to correct the wrongs of the system, so entrenched in party politics that they don't know right from wrong, prone to corruption, or like so many we've seen over the past few years, in court or prison for their misdeeds.
America, it may not be too late to wake up and make a change, but soon it will be, because if you don't, history is destined to repeat itself all over again.
Now the well is running dry, and the politicians are running around like Chicken Little screaming that the sky is falling. Good grief, does this surprise anyone? We've been told this was coming, yet the bureaucrats in Washington sat on their partisan hands, and did nothing to solve the problem, but yap about it, and blame the other party for the problems, as they always do.
Obama has this idiotic idea to change the basis for paying Social Security taxes and start collecting it when people make over $250,000 a year, but still stop collecting when your salary exceeds $102,000. That's ridiculous. I say place the Social Security tax on full income no matter what it is, with no gaps at all. If you make $175K, apply the tax. Then adjust the benefits accordingly. What's the logic of having a tax gap between $102K to $250K? That doesn't help the "true" middle class, or lower-class family with multiple income earners. Sounds more like pandering to some "phantom" class to me, than any sense of fairness.
If you want to balance the system, stop all the giveaways. Stop the Section 1011 free medical for illegals that is part of the Medicare Fund. Don't you think that drains your tax dollar and your future ability to get medical care through Medicare?
Check out the pdf below and look at the address...Direct to good ol' Social Security to pay for those illegals we can't stop at the border. It cost California $10.4 billion dollars in unreimbursed costs last year alone, so imagine the federal bill.
http://www.scha.org/documents/cms-10130A_aliens_determination_of_pmt_form_1.pdf
And, overhaul Medicare because that's going for broke before Social Security! Quit giving benefits to those who never put a damned thing into the system! For example, it's a welfare system for many; in addition to the Section 1011 already mentioned, many people presenting Medicare cards with the letter "M" following the number are usually alien residents who are collecting benefits under another family member, and frequently the recipient of an organ transplant or other costly medical procedure.
Since Medicare will ostensibly go broke before Social Security, this is even a bigger issue in my mind, as we attempt to salvage our old age safety net.
Getting older in America is not a such good thing anymore. Those who worked to bring us where we are today, who fought to guarantee freedom and hope are losing ground, and their legions are slowly fading from sight. The new warriors are sadly unappreciated after a flash-in-the-pan welcome home. Many young Americans are being abandoned by their parents in form of guidance, if not love, and have no semblance of familial unit to guide them, turning to gangs instead.
And our elected officials seem to be either ineffective, unwilling to correct the wrongs of the system, so entrenched in party politics that they don't know right from wrong, prone to corruption, or like so many we've seen over the past few years, in court or prison for their misdeeds.
America, it may not be too late to wake up and make a change, but soon it will be, because if you don't, history is destined to repeat itself all over again.
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