More election questions

I really didn’t want this blog to be just political. There is so much more to life than politics. In our travels we get to see some rather amazing sights. The scenery at our Winter hideout is outstanding and we will have to write about that some day. And, the stories about some of the people we meet along the way would make a lifetime of good stories. But, with the current turn of events, political commentary is the way it seems to be going. The winds of change seem to be blowing a bad direction. I am not talking about having a Black man for our President. That is something for which I was ready. I had often thought that the RIGHT Black man (or woman) would be acceptable. However, Obama isn’t the right man for the job. If someone were to be able to show me incontrovertible proof that Obama is a White, Southern Baptist I still would not think him to be the right man for the job.

The main reason that Obama won the election was because of the army of supporters chanting the “we can’t afford four more years of Bush”. And, I’ll have to agree with them. However, Bush served more as a Democrat rather than a Republican. The giveaways of his administration rivaled those of any Democrat president. We can’t afford four more years of that. I am going to stand by and watch our new president. I don’t think he is the right man for the job. But I have not based this opinion on the wild Republican accusations of the campaign. I have based them on his own words, and the words of his supporters.

It is his ideas that I have a problem with:

I don’t agree with the concept of “Spreading the wealth”.

Taking from the rich and giving to the poor is the story of Robin Hood. This concept works fairly well in fair tales. But, the last time I checked, this is real life. However, Robin Hood is not what has been proposed. With all the tax shelters available to the rich, do not think for an instant that the truly rich are going to pay more in taxes. Think about it, do you really think that Oprah going to have to give up 30% or more of her income as a result of his new program? What about Tom Cruze, Sean Penn, and all those others who make millions per movie? I know that some of them are living overseas, but they work for American production companies. And, when the income is earned in the United States, isn’t it supposed to be taxed as income in the United States? What about the other entertainers and sports figures? Are they all for giving their earnings to those who don’t work?

What about the likes of Bill Gates, the Walton family and the Kennedy clan? Are they going to have to pay these tax increases? Or do they have loopholes they can use? The tax code is so complicated that I am certain they will be able to avoid these new taxes. It will be interesting to see exactly who gets taxed and who doesn’t. It is my opinion that the $250,000 floor is going to be lowered. In fact, Obama has mentioned $200,000, and Biden mentioned $150,000. Who knows what the real figure is going to be.

When the Bush “tax cuts on the rich” (I was making $30,000 a year when these were imposed and I got a cut – I didn’t think of myself as rich though) are eliminated in 2010, all those “rich” are going to get an automatic tax increase. Unless there is something I am not aware of, I am going to get that tax increase as well, and I am nowhere near that $250,000 that Obama has spoken of.

And the Corporate tax increases that are being proposed just will not work the way they are laid out for us. Increasing taxes on corporations will make it more expensive for them to operate in the United States. When this happens, some of them will leave for more favorable (that is spelled “less taxation”) climates. We can see this on a smaller, more local level when we watch Corporations move from high tax states such as California for places like Tennessee and South Carolina.

It is his morality that I have a problem with.

For Obama to claim to be pro life, but against saving the life of a baby born the result of a late term abortion is confusion. Is he saying that it is wrong to kill a baby in the womb, but OK to let it die outside the womb? Following that logic, would it also be OK for a parent to kill a child that they just don’t want for some reason? I can hear the conversation now!

“You know Darlin’, if didn’t have these three kids, we could afford that trip to Florida next year.”

I really don’t see much difference between abortion and killing a baby. I don’t understand the mentality that we must treat prisoners, including terrorist, better than our children. Both are wrong. It is that simple. For a Nation to have more laws against mistreatment of pets, more laws against killing wild animals, more laws against abusing terrorist prisoner of war than we have laws against killing an infant just terrifies me. I fear there will be Holy retribution to pay for this attitude.

It is him talking about me and my kind clinging to our religion and our guns that bother me.

The United States was created by a group of people who came to this land to escape from religious persecution. Our Constitution and the Declaration of Independence guarantees the right to religious freedom. But, this guarantee has been perverted. In this climate of “political correctness” we have reached a point where only some religions are protected. It is against the law for a Baptist child to lead a prayer in a public school. It is against the law for a group of students to come together and read the Holy Bible in school. However, should a Muslim student want to do these things, then it is wrong to deny them. This is wrong. If prayer is not allowed in school, then prayer of all kinds should be prohibited. But, I feel that when prayer and patriotism were taken out of the school (it happened at the same time) the education of our young declined. And soon after, the decline of the Nation began.

However, as a nation, we should have the right to cling to religion. It is sad that when Baptists, Catholics and other Western Religions want to pray in public, we are “clinging to our religion”. But a Muslim can file charges against their employer if they are allowed to pray five times a day. There is something wrong about that. I fear our “clinging to religion” is the only thing that keeps it from being taken away from us. And, “clinging to our guns” is necessary as well. When they come to tell us not to pray, we may need the guns to protect our rights.

And, clinging to our guns is something guaranteed to us by our Constitution. We have the right to bear arms. We have the right to protect our homes and our communities. This is not only a right, this is an obligation. Look at time in history when people have lost this right. Hitler was one of the leaders who took the right of gun ownership away from the people, as did Stalin, and others. Look at the end result of those instances. Obama claims to be for “sensible gun ownership”. But, what is that? If all I am allowed to keep is a single shot 410 shotgun, and the criminal element has a 9mm Glock with a 20 shot clip, how am I to protect my home?

Now, I am for keeping guns out of the hands of the criminal element. And, I am for stiff penalties for those who us a firearm to commit a crime. But, for most of us, we do not abuse the right to own a firearm. And because of the abuse of this right by a few, I feel that the masses should not lose this right.

Let’s look at it from a different perspective. When you compare the number of people killed by drunk drivers to the number of people killed by fire arms, you will find that more are killed on the road. Yet, no one is proposing elimination the automobile. I agree that we need the automobile to maintain the way we live. But, we don’t need alcohol. And no one is proposing taking that away. How many lives are lost to tobacco, but that isn’t being taken away (yes, it is being restricted so that non-users can avoid inhaling the smoke should they desire – but the right to smoke is not being infringed upon).

We have in this country as well armed criminal element. It has been shown that when a town allows gun ownership, crime goes down. It has also been shown that criminals prefer areas where gun ownership is not allowed (as in the shootings at Virginia Tech for example). Should We, the People, not be allowed to own guns, and to carry them, we are subject to the criminal element. And, we are subject to the Government.

“A Government afraid of its citizens is democracy. Citizens afraid of the Government is tyranny."

Thomas Jefferson

It is his shifting opinions that bother me.

Obama has said that he is not a socialist. However, take a look at the Global Poverty Act, a piece of legislature that he sponsored in the Senate. America can not afford, especially in the current economic climate, to give an additional 0.7% of our Gross National Product to help Nigeria, Kenya and other countries to climb out of poverty.

Now, I do have pity for those who live in these poor countries. But, I have been watching this situation for a long time. Even when I was in Grade School, we were asked to save our loose change to help feed those poor, starving people. And, we students gave. And still the people are starving. We have been helping them for decades. And as we have, the leading class and the military in these countries have gotten richer, and stronger. And the people continue to starve. Giving to them does not work. Socialism does not work. The only thing that will bring any society out of poverty is capitalism. Allow the people to work. Allow them to enjoy the fruits of their labors. Allow them to prosper.

And, this is best done with minimal Government assistance. I have observed that when the Government gets involved with any activity, the end result is a decline in the profitability of the activity. Government got involved with the housing industry, and look at the mess we are in now. Government dictated automobile standards (mileage and other factors), and look where the automobile industry is now. Competition is what drives success. If Ford comes out with a better, safer, more fuel efficient car (that meets the public’s expectation) then GM’s sales will suffer. And then GM and Chrysler will have to follow if they are to maintain competitiveness.

We need more work from the individual and less help from the Government.

His party’s plan for the environment scares me. Yes, this is a large part concerning Al Gore.

Last year we were told that Mankind’s activities were responsible for global warming. A few decades before that, we were warned that a new ice age was coming. Now, we are again told that we may be approaching an ice age. The amount of our effort and resources that we are spending to comply with the regulations to “save the planet” are bankrupting the world.

We are being told that if we don’t change our ways, the world as we know it is going to end. We are being told that we must drive electric little cracker boxes instead of pickup trucks to help save the planet. The thing is, though, those who are preaching this doom and gloom are zipping around the planet in their private jets in order to preach us their message. The King of these preachers is Al Gore. Take a look at his background. Look at where his family got their money. See if you can find some old pictures of the areas of Tennessee where the Gore Family mines were. There was total devastation. It is interesting that it was OK for his family to devastate the area and generate their wealth, but not OK for the rest of us to drive our SUV to take the kids to soccer practice, or to drive our pickup truck to the construction site. That is the way it is with these people. They amass their wealth while raping the environment. And after they have theirs, they want the door closed to others.

A Gore family property has been mined for zinc and germanium for decades. The Vice-President and his dad, the late Senator Albert Gore, Sr., obtained the land in a very favorable deal with the late Armand Hammer of Occidental Petroleum. Gore, Sr. was heavily supported by Hammer financially, and carried his water in the U.S. Senate.

Back in 1972, when zinc was discovered across the river from the Gore family land in Carthage, TN, Hammer sent engineers out and offered $20,000 per year for a mineral rights lease on some property owned by a church that had been willed the land. Instead, they wanted to sell and Hammer won a bidding war to buy the land for $160,000. He then sold it to Gore Jr. and Sr. for the same amount, and immediately started leasing the land back from him for the same $20,000. Lynwood Burkhalter, who in the 70s was president of the company that assumed this lease from Occidental Petroleum, called the payments "extraordinarily large."

Mining is, of course, a very messy business environmentally. The mine itself hasn't been that bad. Republicans have claimed that it's polluting the local drinking water, but according to the Wall Street Journal those problems "are actually very minor." However, the Journal notes that the plant in Clarksville TN, which processes the Gore minerals, is a federal Superfund site contaminated with cadmium and mercury, posing "a threat to the human food chain."
http://www.realchange.org/gore.htm

I wonder how many people have been killed by environmental feel good regulations. I wonder how long it will take the population to finally see that nothing we have done has made a change toward the goals that Gore has set. I wonder how much longer the environmental fringe will be able to hide the fact that the Earth has going through cycles for thousands of years.

Think about it. When I was in school, they taught us about the several ice ages that came and killed many of the dinosaurs. The ice would descend. Then, the ice would retreat. The ice would descend (global cooling). Then, the ice would retreat (global warming). Humans have not been keeping records long enough to know if we are actually making any difference in climate.

We are told that the pollution from our cars is ruining the world. However, compare old pictures of New York City or Los Angeles from the 1960’s to pictures of these cities today. We have more cars, more industry and more people now than before. But, the pollution is less. But we are being told that America must make the change. America must bear the expense of changing, because America is the problem.

Now, take a look at China. Chinese officials closed down factories and motor vehicle traffic before the Olympics in order to clean up the air. Pollution there is horrendous. And China is not the only one. India and other places of industrialization are creating much more pollution per vehicle than us. I am not suggesting that they bear the responsibility of cleaning the environment there. We should offer them access to the technology. We should offer incentives for them to clean their countries up.

But, I am not saying that we need to pay them to clean up their own countries. We can tell them, “China, we will no longer buy products from you until you get your part of the atmosphere cleaned. And, India, we are going to provide our own technical support if you can’t keep your country clean.” That is incentive at no cost. As a side note, we must also tell those countries that we will no longer accept products that are not made to our specifications. The very fact that China and other countries would ship us pet food that is deadly, infant formula that is deadly, tainted toothpaste, children’s toys with lead in the paint, medication with tainted ingredients. I could go on, but you get the picture. IF, I repeat, IF we buy imported products, we should insist that they be made under the same controls we demand of America companies. This would be an incentive for companies to keep jobs here in America.

He is not clear on his stance of protecting the border, and that scares me.

Protecting the border means more than just keeping people from crossing the border illegally. Yes, that is important. It is important to the American worker that we keep the illegal workers out of the country. More on this in a moment. The main importance in protecting the border is that we have unknown people coming across the border. And, in the world we have unknown people who want to do harm to America. We need to keep those people out.

With all the talk about weapons of mass destruction, we are overlooking many different scenarios. Given the willingness of our enemies to die for their cause, it is not outside the realm of possibility for a few of these people to load a bed of a pickup truck with biological agents in open containers and drive through the downtown areas of large cities just after 5PM when the bulk of the people are leaving work. Any place where large groups of people gather could be infected with chemical or biological agents. This is a true danger.

His stance on Socialism scares me.

Now back to the American worker. America is in the midst of an economic crisis. It is not that people are out of work because of a bad economy. The economy is bad because people are out of work. According to the Bureau of Labor statistics for November 11, 2008, there are 10.1 million people out of work. If these people were put to work at only $7 per hour the result would be an additional $147 billion dollars pumped into our economy. And, most of these people could be earning more than $7 per hour. The median wage, according to the same report, is $720 a week. At this rate, these workers would pump $378 billion a year into the economy.

Why don’t these people get to work? There are some who are looking. But there are many who don’t want to work. They are being paid the same amount not to work. Free food, free housing, free medical all add up. Now, look at the true cost on the system for these people to not work. Suppose we are paying them about $147 billion to not work. If they did work, they would be earning $147 billion (at $7 per hour). This would be a net gain to the American Economy of $294 billion dollars.

For those who say there are not enough jobs for these people, I would say “wrong”. Perhaps there is not enough right now. But, as these people are put to work and as they spend to raise their standard of living, the demand for products will increase. And, as those of us who are funding the welfare system have more money to spend, the demand for products will increase. As the demand for products increases, the need for more workers will also increase. Also, eliminating the illegal immigrant workers would open up jobs for more American.


Welfare Benefits

I have been trying to find out the actual current amount of dollars spent of the welfare system and the number of people receiving the benefits. But it seems the Government doesn’t want us to know this. The figures I have come up with are very discouraging. According to one source, the Federal Government spent $271.4 billion dollars on welfare. According to another source, there were 3.8 million people receiving benefits. (If anyone finds that these figures are wrong, please let me know, and give me source of your information). If these figures are accurate, we are spending $71,400 per welfare recipient. That seems a lot to me. This comes to $285,000 for a family of four. As Ronald Reagan once said about welfare, “It seems we have some overhead here.” However, other sources are even worse. One quoted that 20% of the Gross National Product goes to welfare. We can’t afford this to continue.

One thing I found, according to the Government source book web site, out of the 3,866,581 welfare recipients in the nation 1,157,566 were in the state of California. This is nearly a third of American welfare recipients living in the state of California. And, now we hear that California is facing bankruptcy if they can’t get a bailout. This alone should show us that socialism doesn’t work.

If I were able to change the welfare laws I would create the following changes:

1. Benefits only to American Citizens. Anchor babies would maintain the citizenship of the parents, not American citizenship. The even one of the parents are in this country illegally, they get no benefits including free food, medical care, housing or any other benefit given by the federal or local governments, and they get expelled from the country. Yes, we should give lifesaving care, as needed. But, then they should be escorted to the airport or bus terminal and sent home.

2. No benefits without drug screening. And I would include tobacco and alcohol as well. For those who would think that this is wrong, think about it this way, with us paying for their food, housing and medical care, we should have the right to restrict what they spend their (spelled OUR) money on. And, when I had my regular job, I was required to submit to a drug screening, both on hiring and random. If being a welfare recipient is their job, we as employers, should have the right to expect them to follow the same rule many of us have to follow to keep our jobs.

3. There would be a limit on the foods that welfare recipients can buy. We working people have to follow a budget. There are things we can’t afford – often because we are paying for their support.

4. There would be no more unlimited visits to the emergency room. Those who take their child to the ER with a cold, rather than taking the child to the local health department, would be subject to losing medical benefits. Remember, we are paying for their abuse of the system.

5. If, and I repeat IF, housing is given as a part of welfare, then having “visitors” dropping in to live would result in the cancellation of the housing benefit. When a woman, with her kids is being housed because of our generosity, we should have the right to expect her to not have her boyfriend living with her. This is not moral based decision. This decision is based on the fact that we should not pay for a house for the man to live in as well. Many times the man is able to work. The man doesn’t qualify for the benefits. The man is there because it suits his needs. Free house and sexual favors too! What a deal. Again, I am not basing my idea on morality. I just don’t want to pay for it.

6. Those receiving welfare should be expected to do some sort of community service. They can pick up trash along the highways, help at homeless shelters, help build houses for Habitat for Humanity, paint the houses for the elderly, work in community farms that would help supply food for the hungry, work in soup kitchens or any other job that the community needs done. If we are going to be supporting them, they can contribute back to the community. If it is too much trouble for them to work for the benefit, then they don’t really need it. They just want it. I have found that in most cases, those who are really in need of help will work. And, I have found that those who are just out for a free ride are opposed to working for benefits. Those who are able, but not willing to work would be cut off.

Welfare is killing America’s financial growth. I am not opposed to helping the truly helpless. There are those who can not do anything to contribute. But these are the minority. Most are able to contribute something to the system. Many would welcome the chance to contribute to the system, but fear being penalized for doing so.

The purpose of welfare was to prevent those who find themselves out of temporarily out of work from starving and living on the street. However, through the years the purpose has been changed to give those who are not working for whatever reason the same lifestyle as those who are working. This takes away the incentive to work.

The following is an anonymous letter in response to the question “Should recipients of Welfare be screened for drugs.

I agree with the notion that everyone who is able should work for their money and not depend on taxpayers to support their families. The problem is not drug abuse. A small portion of my caseload has a drug problem. And in most cases, those who have drug convictions are not eligbile for foodstamps anyway. The problem is simply laziness fueled by an enabling society. Every recipient who is a US citizen is required to participate in a work or edcuational program in order to receive aid or they are penalized 25% of their grant. Currently only about 22% participate. The rest are content to stay home and take the 25% penalty. There is no incentive to participate as long as we are giving them enough money to pay their rent and enough foodstamps to buy their groceries. Persons who are not legal citizens are not required to participate and are eligible to recieve a full grant for all their citizen children. I think every able body should be required to contribute to the community that supports them in some way. They should at least be required to give 4 hours of their day to some community service. Everyone has a talent to contribute. They can help out a shelter or read to our youth. If they refuse, then they receive no aid. This should be applied to all people receiving aid. Citizens and non Citizens. I think this will encourage a lot of people to get off welfare and find a job because they are working 4 hours a day anyway and only receiving a small welfare check. This will weed out the ones who really don't need it vs the ones that really can’t find a job.

I wonder why it is that the illegal alien population gets a pass on the search for a job penalty for benefits. It bothers me that we, ho have paid into the system, have stricter rules to follow than those who have never paid into the system. As I have staed, I am against the paying of ANY benefits to illegals at all. We do not owe these people anything.

Another thing, unrelated, that bothers me is that immigrants get an income tax break (5 years I have been told) when it comes to building businesses. This is why you see so many of Indian and Pakistanian heritage owning motels and gas stations. If Americans could have the same tax exempt period, perhaps we could have more American owned businesses. Tax incentives should be reserved for Americans.

According to Dictionary.com, poverty is, among other things, "The state of being poor; lack of the means of providing material needs or comforts." In America, the means to provide food and comfort exists. But so many people choose not to explore these means. They blame racial barriers, be they Black, White, Native, Asian. They blame sexual barriers, be they Male, Female or undecided. They blame physical barriers. The reality is, everyone feels discriminated against. Yet, the reality is, opportunity for success exists for all. When was the last time somebody literally starved to death in the United States? It does happen. But we do have mechanisms in place to prevent it.

We have won the war on poverty. There is still income inequality. Many Americans have less wealth than many other Americans. This will always be the case. But even the poorest American is richer than the Middle Class of most Third World nations.

But the bureaucracy, the “Overhead” that Ronald Reagan spoke about, goes on forever. And this overhead is nothing but Governmental waste. McCain and Palin said that they were going to go through each department of the Government and trim the fat. Obama has said that he will do the same. I hope he has the strength and wisdom to do so,

Well, these are the things that bother me about our new president. I hope he proves me wrong. I hope he does have the right answers to bring us out of our economic slump. I hope his ideas on national security are better than I believe them to be. I hope that his health plan is sound. I wish him well. Our lives, as well as the lives of our children and great children depend on him doing well.

God Bless America

The Bailout

I am certain that I am going to step on some toes with this post. But there are times when toes must be stepped on. There are times when silent protest just isn’t enough to get the message across. There are times when we must speak up to those who are wrong and try to make them see the light.

Benjamin Franklin once said, “When people find they can vote themselves money, this will herald the end of the republic.” He had foresight to realize the potential of what the American public is now doing. Our leaders have voted massive amounts of money, money that must be borrowed, to bail out businesses that have followed lavish and unsound business practices. We, the People, were told that if these bailouts were not approved then the economy would tank. The bailouts were approved. And the economy continues its rapid decline. And, in part, some of the businesses are continuing the same lavish and unsound business practices that created their problems in the first place.

AIG, for example, has received billions in bailout money. But, they have been caught throwing lavish parties, golfing trips, and hunting trips for their top employees – on our money, after the bailout. Their excuse is that training seminars are needed in order to conduct business. That may be true. But training seminars can be held in corporate meeting rooms rather than five star resorts. And, they don’t have to include golfing and hunting or any other such activity. In fact, seminars can be held long distance with computer technology and web cams. AIG has been wasting OUR money. Others have been as well.

The $700 billion bailout has been approved. But there are no restraints on how the money is to be spent. It was approved on the basis of the Government taking on the bad loans that bank are holding due to the real estate decline. But, now it is said that this is not going to happen. We, the People have been lied to. Those in charge have the access to this huge piggy bank with no supervision. And, they have the right to ask for more. In fact, this has already happened. We, the People have been told about the $700 billion. But, the AIG funding is outside the $700 billion. And, what else have they done? It seems that We, the People are not given the right to know how OUR money is spent.

Now, the auto industry needs a hand. GM claims to be on the verge of bankruptcy. They say that it is just a matter of months before they fold. Ford and Chrysler are not far behind. Well, look at the way they conduct business. They continue to create cars that are not of the same standard as the foreign competition. Toyota, use they make them here but the profits go overseas, makes a better car than Ford, GM and Chrysler do. We have, and have had for a long time, the ability to make the same quality. But, they have not. Also, the big three have continued to make big, powerful cars of the 1970’s style, when more people have wanted the more efficient models. I am not advocating just making the little cracker box cars. But, to ignore the trends of the marketplace is a sure way for a business to fail. And, should We, the People have to pay for companies that do not pay attention to the marketplace? Should We, the People have to pay for the lavish contracts that have been offered to the workers of these companies? I say no, not with no restraints. These companies must be responsible for their actions. And, if they are allowed to go under, it will be a blow to the economy. But, if they are allowed to continue the way they are, it also will be a blow to the economy.

Corporate welfare, and this is what the bailout is, just does not work. Corporate welfare encourages the same bad behavior that got them into trouble in the first place. Corporate welfare eliminates fair competition. Companies who don’t get the bailout may be tempted to follow the bad practices as those who do get the bailout – just to get the bailout themselves. Corporate welfare is a waste of our money. Letting business with bad business fail, and allowing businesses with good business practices succeed is the American way. This is what has made America great. And returning to this practice is what it will take to return America to greatness.

We have just elected a President who has openly claimed that his administration would “Spread the wealth.” His own words are that he is going to tax the rich and give to the poor. He bought his presidency with his massive amount of funding (from unknown, questionable and perhaps illegal sources) and with his promises to cut the taxes of 95% of the people.

The problem with this statement is that the bottom 40% of the population does not pay any income tax at all. So, if they do not pay any taxes, how do they get a tax cut? It is simple. All we have to do is redefine the programs that are being given. There will be an increase in the number of people who are eligible for Federal aid. Food stamps, section 8 housing and free medical care will be defined as tax cuts. Offering this increased benefits bought Obama some votes.

But, remember that nothing is free. The funding for these programs is to come from taxing the rich. However, the bulk of the taxation is going to come from the middle class. You see, the rich can change their investment strategies and shift to tax free bonds and such. For the rich, these bonds will provide ample income for them. Also, there are other loopholes that the rich can use to shelter their assets and income. These loopholes will always be available. You don’t think the rich left is going to allow their funds to be taxed, do you. Remember, there are many rich liberals. The entertainment industry is filled with the ultra rich liberals, Oprah for one, but there are many others in the film industry. Do you think these people are going to get a big tax increase?

There are those who say that the “Evil Corporations are going to be taxes on their “Obscene Profits”. But, this is a fallacy. Corporations do not pay taxes. Sure, they may write the check, but do not think for an instant that they do not build the cost of these taxes into the price of their products and services. When their tax rate is increased, they will raise the price of their products to cover that increase. And, then the middle class will again pay the bulk of the new tax. But the poor, who have bought into the “lower income tax” mantra will also have to pay these taxes as well. (Yes, the rich will too.) We, the consumers pay all the tax for the corporations.

Here is an example. Suppose the new administration applies a special tax (they call it a windfall tax) on Exxon, what is Exxon going to do? First, they will raise the price of gas, oil and all the other products they produce to cover this tax increase. Perhaps they will even raise it more than the actual cost. They may even cut production in this country and shift their focus to other countries. There is nothing to say that they have to sell products in America. What would happen should Exxon pull out of America completely? How many jobs would be lost in drilling, refining and distribution of gas? What would happen to the price of plastics and all the other products they produce? And how many jobs would be lost in these industries? Remember, everything we consume involves oil at some point. Everything contains oil, or uses oil in the distribution.

Increased taxation on corporations cost jobs. HOWEVER, I am against tax breaks going to businesses.

No matter what is being said, the bulk of any tax increase is always paid disproportionably by the middle class and the poor. And remember, the rich already pay the bulk of the taxes in this country. The poor have no tax shelters available to them. They use all their income just to get by. The middle class may have a few options, but there isn’t much they can do to shelter income. Sure, there is investing for retirement in a 401K, but the coming administration has tossed around the idea of taking those over and allowing the Social Security Administration handles them.

And, we know how good the Social Security Administration has done at handling the funds they already have. There is no Social Security account. Social Security has been raided to pay for the multitude of unfunded mandates and social services that the Government is handing out. Offering these services to the illegal aliens is further bankrupting the system, as well as the nation. The fact is, the Federal Government needs these 401K accounts that we have saved for our retirements to keep the current pyramid scheme afloat.

It is sad that many of those who voted for Obama did so because of his proclaimed race. I am not against having a Black President. Nor Am I against having a Woman President. But the times we are facing demand a Great President. Race doesn’t matter. Sex doesn’t matter. Greatness is all that matters. And, for all his smoothness, for all the slick packaging surrounding Obama, he is not great. He, like most of the other presidents we have ever had, is nothing more than a puppet. His strings will be pulled by those who have contributed financially to his campaign, whoever they may be. He will be just like all the presidents before him who allowed outside interest to buy his office.

For those who voted for him to make a statement for their race, I fear that you will be disappointed. He can not make good on his promises, there isn’t the money to fund these programs without driving up the National Debt even more than it has been. Excessive taxation on profit takes away the incentive, and often the ability, for these companies to prosper and create new jobs. Excessive taxation on businesses is one of the factors that drive businesses to take their jobs offshore. Is this what you voters wanted? You may get your welfare check for a while. But, when more jobs leave, and the working class can no longer find jobs, there may be a backlash.

Or perhaps we can call it a revolution. Do you think that the middle class, the working class Americans will stand for a welfare class who has a better lifestyle than themselves? We are already seeing the beginnings of this happening. There hasn’t been an uprising yet. But that may be because the working class is too busy keeping a roof over their heads and food on their tables to realize that many of the welfare class are sitting in their Government owned homes, eating Government supplied food (often steaks and other foods that we, the working class can not afford to eat), smoking their cigarettes and drinking their beer that they could afford out of their welfare checks (often for disabilities that have come to light in the last decade such as ADD, ADHD, “depression” and other things that didn’t stop people from working in the past).

We need a change in the way the welfare system is run – both in reference to the banking bailout and the family down the street. The main problem is the waste in the system. Of course, in that these are Government systems, there is always waste in them. I don’t know what the current figures are, but I do have something interesting that I recently hear. This is from a speech that Ronald Reagan made on October 27, 1964. Remember, the cost of living has changed since those days. But, I would not be surprised if the ratio is the same, or maybe even worse than it was then.

“Now we’re told that 9.3 million families in this country are poverty stricken on the basis of leaning less than $3,000 a year. Welfare spending is 10 times greater than in the dark depths of the Depression. We’re spending $45 billion dollars on Welfare. Now, do a little arithmetic, and you’ll find that if we divide the $45 billion equally among those 9.3 million poor families, we’d be able to give each family $4,600 a year. And, this added to their present income should eliminate poverty. Direct aid to the poor, however, is running only about $600 a year. It would seem that someplace there must be some overhead.”

I would have to agree. The fact that it took, at that time $4,000 a year to give each poor family $600 of aid is a ridiculous waste of American Taxpayer’s money.

In the same speech, he was talking about a refugee from Cuba who disagreed that we were lucky. The Cuban’s point of reference was that he had a place to escape to, where (should our system fail) do not have anywhere to go. What are we doing to the country that has become the refuge of the world?

Another point Reagan made was about the cases of people, mostly women, who were getting divorces just because being a single mother they would receive more than their husbands were earning. This behavior is tearing the fabric of the American family. I do not imply that this situation is a Black problem. The reality is, this is a societal problem. It involves Whites, Blacks, Asian, and Native Americans. Welfare destroys families. Welfare encourages more welfare. Be it corporate welfare or welfare for the masses, welfare does not work.

Now, for those African Americans, not all of you – just the ones who carry the animosity toward Whites because some of you have descended from slaves. My people, the Native American side of my family, were enslaved just as you. We lost our land. We were forced to accept a foreign culture, language and religion. We were forced to take submit to a new and foreign legal system that did not allow us to bring suit against a White, or to testify against a White in court. We were not allowed to vote, until you were. And, you know in those movies about the Wild West in the late 1800’s where the Native American went into the saloon for a drink and was told “We don’t serve your kind.” It was the law. In fact, until 1953 Native Americans could not legally drink or possess alcohol. In California, during the gold rush days, any unemployed Native American was subject to slavery. And, it was common for Whites to murder the parents of children so the children could be sold as slaves. And, in other parts of the country, Native Americans were subject to either being enslaved, or killed for a bounty (scalps were worth $100 at times). And, it is not often discussed, but Whites were also slaves. There are even cases where Whites had Black Masters. And, as for the matter of treatment during the slavery days, I’ll ask this question. In that a good Black slave would cost as much as $1,000, and a White slave could be bought for as little as $50, who do you think got the dangerous jobs?

And to those African Americans I would say: look around you. Look at the way you live. And then look at the African countries where your ancestors came from. Look at how they live there. I am not saying this to excuse slavery. There is no excuse for slavery. What I am saying is, even the most poverty stricken person in America has a better standard of living than the average person in those countries. The big difference is, in America we have the opportunity to bring ourselves out of poverty. In America we have to opportunity to succeed. All we have to do is WORK at it.

Now, I believe, and always have, that slavery is wrong. Those countries who continue to enable slavery should be shunned. But, in America, it is also in the past.. But, there is nothing we can do about the past other than hoping to avoid repeating it. Repeating the past must be avoided.

Continuing to hate for what happened in history doesn’t work. Continuing to use the past for present failure doesn’t work. Continuing to demand reparation for harms done in the past doesn’t work. What it will take to restore America is to not only allow personal intuitive to work, but to insist that people work.

The election and beyond

The election is over and we now have “our first Black president”. Actually we have our first half Black president. Barack Obama is half Black. And he is half White. The very fact that he, according to his words, turns his back on the White part of his heritage is a bad omen. He claims to want to reunite this country, but does not claim his White heritage. Also, the fact that he did not honor his commitment concerning campaign funding is another bad omen.


The changes Obama has in mind for our country, if we can believe the words he has said, are going to be disastrous. His record of voting and the bills that he has sponsored will drive this country into bankruptcy, not heal the country’s economy. The socialistic tendency Obama has demonstrated is something we just can not afford. Call it generosity if you want. Call it being helpful. No matter what you call taking from those who earn and give to those who do not earn is bad for the country. The key to economic recovery is to give an incentive to earning and saving.


What has all the welfare programs in the past achieved? In the 1960’s, the African American family structure was stronger, much stronger than it is today (I am talking about the welfare class, not the working class). However, the same is true for the White welfare class, and the Native American working class and all other working classes. Giving people free food, free housing, or free medical care takes away a part of their self-esteem. Personal honor declines. Look at these families today.


Broken families, both Black and White, are rising in number. The children of these families are being raised to believe that it is normal to sit and wait for the Government to take care of them. They believe that the Government owes them food and housing and medical care. But, just who is the Government? In the United States, we have a Government “of the people, by the people and for the people”. The funding for these programs comes from the rest of us, those who are working.


And, there will come a point where we, the working class lose too much of our earnings to support those who are draining the welfare system. Then where is our incentive to work? Why should we work to provide a standard of living that we can not afford to those who choose not to work? I can’t think of any reason at all to do so.


We need to curtail the handouts and provide those who are receiving them with work. Sure, there are some who can not work. My dear neighbor Pearl does good to take care of herself. The fact that she, at the age of 94 can fix her own meals is remarkable. But, she can not work. She needs a hand. There are those who claim to have ailments that make it impossible for them to work. “My right leg is shorter than my left leg, it hurts to walk. My friend Don, missing a leg, works every day. Yes, it is not comfortable for him to work, but he does. I have other friends, missing limbs, blind, or deaf who work every day. “I can’t concentrate” just isn’t an excuse to not work. It doesn’t take concentration to pick tomatoes. It doesn’t take concentration to sweep streets. These can work. “I won’t take a job like that!” Then find a better job. Just because you don’t want to take a job is no reason for me to support you and your family.


The more of our gross national product we spend on taking care of those who choose not to work, the less we have to expand the economy and provide more and better jobs. We need to insist that people work and earn their keep, both here and abroad. There is a reason some countries are poor. Kenya, Cuba, and other countries where dictators do not allow the citizens the freedom to better themselves are poor and will always be poor. Only when a population has the freedom to work, earn, save and invest can a country prosper. And, only when the vast majority of them do so will the country prosper. Providing money and food to countries where the leaders only allow their friends, and the military that keeps them in power, access to this donated wealth will do nothing to help the country. All this does is help the dictator continue to pay for those who keep them in power, while the population suffers. Often, giving aid helps provide a higher standard of living for the dictator and his army and a lower standard of living for the population. Is this the goal of the Global Poverty Act?


And, then there is the issue of the corporate taxes to consider. In that it has been established that corporations are going to be taxed at a higher rate, we may see more corporations moving overseas in order to avoid this tax hike. Sure, Obama has said that there will be a tax incentive to stay in America. But, is this tax break going to be enough to offset the higher corporate taxes?


To build a strong America, we need jobs, and we need those jobs to provide a livable wage. There is more to a livable wage than just being paid more per hour. There are companies out there, Walmart for one but there are many more, that restrict the hours that the employees can work. And, there are clauses in the hiring procedures where the employee is subject to be sent home before the shift is over, should the workload be low. BUT they are also required to come back in to work should the need arise. This is wrong. This restricts the worker to an unlivable wage. They are not able to work a second job because they never know when they are going to have to report to work. A livable wage can be achieved by offering a full 40 hour week for all employees (except for students who should be restricted in hours– but still be offered a stable and regular work week) and seniors who perhaps would rather not work full time. An unlivable wage also results in high turnover in the workplace – which often results in lower customer satisfaction.


Sure, offering a 40 hour week would perhaps require the need for these employers to provide benefits. But that is just one of the costs of doing business. Not providing a livable wage, and perhaps with benefits not only creates an unfair advantage but creates hidden corporate welfare. Again, I will pick on Walmart, and again there are other companies guilty of this as well. When Walmart works employees only part time, and does not provide profit sharing, insurance and other benefits they have a lower operating cost than a grocery store like Krogers. The employees of Walmart are often forced into a situation where they must rely on food stamps, medicare and other Government handouts to be able to survive. And, when possible they often leave for a better job as soon as possible. By letting the Government pickup the tab for the benefits that other companies pay then we the taxpayers are subsidizing these companies.


We need to create good jobs. We need to provide incentives for companies to stay in America, to grow, to thrive and create more good jobs. Taxing big business has become far too easy. With the proper wording of tax bills we can make it seem like these companies are receiving obscene profits. Take Exxon for example. Sure, Exxon makes a ton of money selling petroleum based products. But, remember there is a difference between profit and profit margin. They make such a large profit simply because they sell a large amount of product. Their profit margin is the true picture. The profit margin, the profit divided by the cost of doing business (research, drilling, refining, etc.) is around 4%. Banks do better. Pharmaceutical companies do better. Walmart does better. Fast food companies do better. Most other companies make a higher profit margin than Exxon. However, because Exxon sells such a volume of product, they make more profit.


If we tax a company too much, then it becomes less desirable to do business in America. What would happen should Exxon, or some other oil company, decide to take their business to China or India – and not sell any product in America? It could happen. And if it did, we simply would not have fuel to operate, not at any cost. I am not advocating giving these companies tax breaks. Just give them fair taxation. Big business provides the jobs we need as well as products we need.


Also, when jobs leave America, Americans have less to spend. With fewer jobs, there is less money to be spent. This creates a cycle, a downward spiral of diminishing revenue that can become a depression.


To build a strong America, we need to encourage saving. It is through the individuals who save for their future that America finances economic expansion. Saving accounts in banks provide funds to lend to home buyers. They also provide loans to small businesses for expansion. Workers, saving for retirement often put money into the stock market (either through direct investment, a 401 K, or mutual funds). The companies use this money to expand and provide more jobs. When we take away the incentive to save, we sap the growth out of the economy and America’s future suffers. And, when individuals do not save, their own future suffers.


Spreading the wealth just does not work, especially when the Federal Government is spreading. When you look at the costs involved in spreading the wealth, it becomes evident that there is a massive amount of overhead involved. I would like to find the figures on how much money the welfare system actually gives to the poor, and how much is spent in administration fees. I would not be surprised to hear that out of five dollars spent; only one dollar goes to those needing the assistance. The other four dollars are spent for administrative costs. I don’t know about you, but I think that a company that spends five dollars to create a product that is worth just one dollar is not doing a good job. But, we are talking about the federal Government here.


These are the people who have given a seven hundred billion dollar bailout to the financial institutions who are still entertaining clients at hunting lodges and golf courses. And, it seems that when the heads of these companies are finally taken to court, we are going to have to pay the attorneys for both sides? These are the people who want to give welfare and social security benefits to illegal workers who have never paid into the system. These are the people who make it hard for Americans to grow and prosper, but give preferential treatment to foreign business owners.


I am torn between wishing Obama well in his venture as President and giving him the same treatment that he and his party gave Bush. It is evident that the Financial Markets are not impressed with the election results. The first two days after the election has seen massive selling with a 10% drop in value. I would like to see Obama to do well. I would like to see the Government and the people to prosper. I would like to see America to enjoy a time of peace. It will be interesting to see what happens.