A Time for …?

Today’s USA Today had a headline that read, “Now what?  Obama, Republicans face choices of compromise or conflict.”  That may be true for Obama but sadly, each time that Republicans have gotten any kind of power in recent times, they took another choice: Cave.

Mainline Republicans want so much to be loved by Democrats and the main stream media that they have been willing to sacrifice values and their political careers to get on their good side.

When will the learn that some people live to hate them?

This new crop of Republicans in congress seem to have heard the message that this election was not an embracing of Republicans but a repudiation of the Obama plan.  The Republicans seem to have heard this but I doubt the President has.

For once the people have had a chance to speak where Obama and Congress were forced to listen, and for many of them, the message was, “Good bye!”

President Obama in his address yesterday essentially said that he lost track of the voters but that we were not smart enough to understand his policies so he should have explained better.  Which pieces of his policies did the voters not understand?

Was it Cap and Trade, which promised to raise energy prices and put coal miners out of work?  This in a time when unemployment is still very high and most families don’t have a lot of extra money to spend on higher energy bills?

Was it treating the Christmas underwear bomber as a criminal which allowed him to “lawyer up” in place of treating him as the terrorist he is?

Was it the give away programs to the labor unions (Harry Reid owes them big time for his re-election)?

Was it the rising debt that will bankrupt our children and grandchildren as it races to $14 Trillion?

Was it the growing government?  During this time of unemployment, the federal payroll continued to grow.

Was it ObamaCare, the unprecedented takeover of the health system?  I don’t think it was just an unfortunate coincidence that the last big Republican take over of the House happened after HillaryCare was soundly rejected by society.

Every one of the problems that these “fixes” were designed to address have  fixes.  Many of the fixes don’t require rampant socialism.

It is doubtful that the new Congress can repeal ObamaCare outright.  Obama still has the veto pen.  They can, however, deny funding for the federal programs and enact legislation that address the real problems without sacrificing liberty and our futures.  If necessary, we can address some of the more rational fixes.

I sincerely hope the new Congress will follow the mandate given to them in this election.  Let’s break with tradition.  It will take some compromise and a lot of conflict.  Let’s not cave this time.  Maybe the Democrats and media won’t like them but “We the People” will.

Can Businesses Bailout the Government? – Part 3

In Part 1, I discussed the problem of overspending and how government cannot get us out of the mess it has gotten us into.  Part 2 discussed some of the signs that we may be at the point of no return and some of the consequences.  Here I’d like to discuss some of the solutions.

Follow the US Constitution.  If it’s not there, you can’t do it, even if you think it will “promote the general welfare”.  That phrase is a platitude, not a mandate.  The mandates are clearly spelled out.

Eliminate all programs not constitutionally mandated.  If the rationale is “it’s for the general good” without some justification from a Constitution’s specific Article and Section, it has to go.  Here are a few examples.

Welfare is not the responsibility of the government.  It is the responsibility of the Churches, Synagogues, Mosques, socially-conscious atheists and the states in which the people reside.

Bring our troops home.  Not necessarily right this instant from Iraq or Afghanistan since there is unfinished work there.  Rather bring them back from Germany, the UK, Korea, Japan, Iceland, and the dozens of other places that they are deployed.  Our troops exist to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States”, not the friends of the government.  They’re not there as the pawns of the UN when it doesn’t like something.  If some country wants our expertise and training, let them pay for it fully.

Cut the pay and the days that Congress is in session.  There was never an intent for professional politicians when the Constitution was created.  Make them work in the real world so they understand real world problems.  Congress onlyunderstands what it is spoon-fed through its taxpayer-provided boondoggles and junkets.  Let them see first hand in their own businesses what they’ve done to the American people.

Eliminate Congressional pensions.  They’re the servants of the people, not the employees.  They should serve and then get back to their outside jobs.  Entrenchment in government only brings contempt toward the people they are called to serve.

Make Congress subject to every law they impose on the rest of us.  This means that their private pension plan will be folded into Social Security and they’ll get the same benefits the rest of us get.

Dismantle Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.  This has to be done over time without pulling the rug out from under anyone but entitlements like this have got to stop.  I’ve not thought out how to do this completely yet, but when I do, I’ll write about it.  I’d like to hear your views.

Pass an Amendment to give the President line-item veto authority.  Congress passes the bills it sends to the President and the President getst the blame because he is forced to sign bad legislation to get one small good item.  Let him cut out programs that he feels are wrong.  Congress can always override his veto if they disagree.  Right now the President gets blamed for a lot of bad legislation that is really Congress’ fault.  Give him (or her) line item veto authority and then the blame will squarely fall on the Oval Office.

Promote the arts through public service broadcasts and strong copyrights, not failed giveaway programs.  The Constitution has limited authority here which does not include the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, National Endowment for the Arts, or National Endowment for the Humianities, among other give-away programs.  Make these organizations not-for-profit or non-profit entities and let “we the people” support the ones we feel are worthy of our dollars.

Promote the sciences by having strong patent laws that are vigorously enforced.  Let Science and Society decide what to work on through corporate and private funding.  If Branson wants to build a rocket ship to go to the Moon, we should let him and let him reap the benefits.  Our space program should be limited to national security.  Granted that includes some research but I don’t think “the breeding habits of Belgian endive” ranks as a national security issue.

Article 1, Section 8 is not a sand box for faceless bureaucrats who mandate social programs in our schools.  Federal grants must be limited only to programs that directly support the Constitutional mandates for the Federal government.  “Oh, I’m sure there is a military benefit there someplace” is not sufficient.

Freedom of religion is not freedom from religion.  Let everyone (not) practice as he or she sees fit.  Nobody says you have to look at my Nativity scene or his Menorah.  What’s the matter?  Got a guilty conscience?  Allowing something is not promoting it.  After all, isn’t that the argument these same people use to justify giving out condoms in schools?

Strip the courts of their “legislation from the bench” rulings.  If it’s a good, constitutional idea, put it into law.  If not, nullify it through the judicial oversight powers granted in the Constitution.  The same goes for extra-constitutional Executive Orders from the White House.  If it’s your jurisdiction, then by gosh and by golly, step up and do your job!

I believe Congress does not nullify these judicial legislators and executive orders because (a) they like what they mandate but the elected representatives don’t have the honesty to go on record to put it into law, or (b) they’re so busy doing their own unconstitutional activities that they don’t have time to do their constitutionally-mandated responsibility of being the check and balance over the Presidency and the Judiciary.

Eliminate Labor Union welfare.  Congress is getting read for yet another labor union bailout.  All this does is attempt to buy the votes of the labor unions at the expense of the American people.  What did the Chrysler buyout gain the US citizens?  They’re still losing money and Fiat is struggling to get them profitable.

Eliminate “corporate welfare” by ending subsidies to farmers, manufacturers and businesses.  If they can’t stand on their own, they should fail.  This will immediately encourage competition that will make goods and services better and cheaper.  Small, family-owned farms can get tax breaks if necessary but let’s let food be cheaper for all of us.  Farmers know the benefit of crop rotation and letting soil rest.  If necessary, encourage that through a tax break but let them assume a lot of the responsibility themselves.  In no way should we ever pay a farmer (corporate or “little guy”) not to plant crops.  Remove quotas for tobacco, sugar and other crops as well.  If they want to grow it, let them compete like the rest of us have to.

Eliminate import quotas. Soft drinks use corn syrup because sugar is too expensive.  It’s too expensive because we have import quotas.  This same explanation holds for other foods and goods as well.  Quotas limit supply which drives up prices.

Ethanol from corn is a horrible idea.  It takes corn away from the food supply for both people and animals, thus driving up prices for food.  Ethanol or methanol from farm waste or other crops that rest the land is a much better idea.

Man-up on unfair trade.  Don’t waste years of hand wringing over countries undercutting their prices and currency.  If they violate a trade agreement, call them on it with sanctions immediately.  That’s one Constitutional mandate Congress seems to forget about until some country has destroyed some segment of the US economy.

Promote manufacturing here at home.  Cut taxes of companies that build or renovate manufacturing facilities.  Technology is wonderful.  Use it to automate factories and train workers to be the technicians that run the technology.  You’ll save the environment, too, by not having to ship raw goods overseas and finished goods back.

Unravel the health care mess Congress created. Congress created the health care “crisis” with its over-regulation in the 1960s and its foisting HMOs on the unsuspecting public in the 1970s.  Real health reform is when the individual, not an “insurance” company or HMO bureaucrat, along with the doctor decide what is needed.  Put in real medical tort reform to bring down costs and make people pay for “scheduled maintenance”, just like they have to do for their cars.  I don’t put in an insurance claim every time I change my oil.  Why should I do it for a runny nose?  Expand the use of tax-free medical Health Savings Accounts for normal visits and allow all people to set up one.  Save insurance for the truly catastrophic and expensive events.  That’s what you do for your house, right?  What’s your home insurance deductible?

Abortion is a medical and moral decision, not a political one.  It should be handled like every other medical procedure with states allowing and limiting how and when they can be performed, just like they limit who can perform an appendectomy or write a prescription.  On the moral side, let the debate be handled at the state level.  In addition, parents or legal guardians must be involved when minor children have this procedure.  The political cop-out here is that the courts can appoint some hack to approve the abortion for a young girl even when the parents are still “fit” to be parents.  Politics have made a complete mess of this (and other) situation.

I know that as we dismantle the unconstitutional programs that there will be a lot of bureaucrats and hard working people who will have to get real jobs in the real world.  Nevertheless, with all of the extra money people and companies will save through reduced taxes and reduced regulation, new opportunities will open up.  Many can become entrepreneurs and small business owners in their own right.  They can do it, that is, if they haven’t forgotten how to do an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. 

OK, maybe they can’t do it.  However, we should not eliminate Corporate Welfare only to replace it with Bureaucratic Welfare.  Oh, right, we already have Bureaucratic Welfare.  It’s called “Government Jobs”.

Can Businesses Bailout the Government? – Part 2

In Part 1 I discussed what I saw to be why the government cannot get itself out of the economic mess we are all in.  Here I would like to explore some of the warning signs that we are in a you-know-what-load of trouble.  I’ll examine solutions in Part 3.  The solutions are not new.How would your family get out of its debt problems short of declaring bankruptcy?    We talk about “the family of man”.  How will/should our national “family” solve this problem?

There is no way the government can tax its way out of this mess without destroying the very lives and liberties it is supposed to be securing.

The only way to overcome debt is first to stop overspending and then, second, to pay it off.  That having been said, no gutless politician has the you-know-whats to propose cutting spending to the point where we have real surpluses as measured by real revenues and not vaccuous projections.  Historically a surplus has been seen by the politicians simply as more money to spend.  This policy is not only inane but is a sure milestone on the road to national bankruptcy.

How will we as a nation know we are bankrupt?  You personally know when the bank won’t lend you money and your credit cards are suspended.  The Treasury will know it when countries like China stop buying our debt.

Just as you have to show the bank that you are a responsible borrower, government, too, must prove that it is responsible.  Other countries will continue to buy a country’s debt as long as they feel that it will honor its commitments to service that debt and not devalue the currency to wipe out that debt.  When those who buy government debt don’t buy it, regardless of the interest rate, governments have two choices.  They can either go into default or they can print more money.  The first leads to massive tax increases and the second leads to massive inflation.  The only question that remains is: Do you want the rock or the hard place?

The only real solution that won’t make matters worse in the long run is for our government to cut spending down to just the Constitutionally-mandated programs and create a climate where individuals and businesses can produce to grow the economy.  Growth alone won’t get us out of this financial mess.  We must also radically cut spending down to only the programs that the Constitution allows.

Government has stepped way out of bounds.  It’s time to call off-sides and bring it back in.

Broken Health Care, Broken Promises

Is health care fixed?  President Obama seems to think so.  He signed the bill.  Apparently the Senate didn’t think so, however.  Even before the ink was dry they were trying to “fix” some of the problems with the bill.  Remarkable.  If the bill was flawed, why did they pass it in the first place?

Apparently they didn’t think it was flawed until they found out that more than 50% of the American public wanted the bill to be killed and now the same more than 50% of the people want the bill repealed. When polled about the health care bill’s real costs, more people agreed that the bill was too costly than disagreed.

Do we need changes in health care? Most people think so, but there are some simple solutions.

Obviously, the Congress knows more than the people who elected them, otherwise they would not have pushed through a bill that is so unpopular, costly, and detrimental to our economy.  But then again, maybe they’re a bit scared.  We’ll see how they spin this.

This bill, and probably its “fixes”, too, pushes the country further down the road deeper into government-run socialism and totalitarianism, the logical, but hopefully unintended, consequence of taking over yet one more segment of the economy.  (Don’t forget.  The feds have already co-opted the banking industry and are now on the way to controlling the insurance industry.)

So, what has happened since its passage?  AT&T, AK Steel, John Deere, and Caterpillar, to name a few companies, have already elected to take the one-time write-off for health care that the Obama plan allows.  This accounts for billions of dollars in expenses they’re claiming due to this bill.  It’s a provision allowed by the health care bill that Obama pushed and Congress pushed even harder.  The White House response?  Denigrate these companies as being “extremist” and trying to embarrass the President.

But this writing is not just about a broken health care bill.  It’s about broken promises as well.  Which ones did Obama break?  Here are two.

Candidate Obama promised so much transparency in government that we were encouraged to call his current residence “The Glass House”.  He said that before he signed any legislation, he would put each bill on his web site for at least 5 days.  This one didn’t even make 5 minutes.

As to the content of the bill, Obama vowed that this bill would not to raise taxes on individuals making less than 200,000 and families making less than 250,000.   Maybe he meant 200,000 lira or something because it can’t be US Dollars.  There are 12 new taxes.  Some may be called “fees” but if you have to pay it to the government, it’s a tax.

This year, Social Security will be upside down, meaning that it will have to pay out more than it takes in.  Ever since when the Social Security “trust fund” was folded into the general budget, Congress has been spending that money.  Now they have to start paying it out.

Social Security itself will, by necessity, increase deficit spending if only because it must pay out money that it does not have.  Why insist on increasing our national debt even more with costly overhauls that aren’t needed?

It’s the Economy, Sir

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has said that our $15 Trillion (with a “T”) is scheduled to double by 2020 if we continue on the same course.  So how do we fix this?

According to the White House, it’s to push health care through.  Why?  Well, of course it will create jobs.  Apparently people are losing their jobs because companies can’t afford health care.

Employees are not hired because a company can buy health care for that person.  Employees are hired because they provide more revenue for the company than they cost the company.  If I feel you’re not helping my bottom line, you’re out, regardless of the cost of health care.

Providing health care is a benefit companies provide.  It’s not an entitlement due a worker.  Of course providing health care is good but it alone is not the factor in deciding how many people a company will hire.  As proof, just look at the amount of the health care cost companies pass on to employees year after year.

If you want to improve the economy, you must provide an environment that in conducive to hiring.  More people on the payroll, the more tax money you collect, pure and simple.

The better indicator of how many people a company is willing to take on is the level of federal and state taxes.  There are payroll taxes paid by the employer and there are income taxes.  Those are the most obvious but let’s not forget sales taxes, fees and licenses, gasoline taxes and all the other “hidden” taxes folded into the cost of goods and services.

President Kennedy was right.  To bring prosperity we must decrease taxes, both personal and corporate.  No country has ever taxed itself into prosperity.  In fact, it can be seen that revenues to governments, whether state or federal, have increased every time taxes were cut.

That takes care of my thoughts today on the revenue side.  On the spending side, the Feds can do a lot here as well.  I’ll only outline my ideas.

First, cut earmarks and special interest spending to zero.  That, in itself, will save billions each year.  Next, eliminate automatic pay raises for Congress.  Make them specifically vote themselves more money.  Also, eliminate spending in the areas in which the federal government is not constitutionally required to be involved.  Lastly, for now at least, eliminate automatic cost of living increases for federal jobs.  The private sector sometimes goes years without pay increases.  Why should federal employees be special?  This is especially true in light of recent surveys that show government employees being paid more than their private sector counterparts.

Taxing people and businesses into oblivion just to throw that money away in bailouts for companies that cannot properly run themselves will never work and will only make the CBO’s estimate of 2020 look optimistic.

Cut spending, Mr. President, and cut taxes to increase tax revenues to the treasury.  That will bring your approval rating up and help put the nation’s economy back on track.