Posts
So here we are, the United States of America, the economic pillar of the world...well maybe more like the economic porch to the world...ok fine! we are the freak'n welcome mat that screams to the dog to scoot his tiny little poopie butt across our already worn out fabric of a mat. I get it! Our economy really is in turmoil. People are freak'n out while eating their "fettuccine alfredo" from the Olive Garden. As they are driving their hummers, they are really starting to think, "man, this is starting to look like the 'Great Depression'." Just the other day you could see fear in the water skiers eyes as he was water skiing across the glass like lake. I hear you, I've been there done that. I've been freak'n out too watching all the news on my big screen tv, all the while having picture and picture watching the 49ers on the NFL network which cost me $50 more on top of my cable bill just for the network, I know, its scary (how many commas did I have in that last sentence...? Good thing my college writing professor isn't reading this). The question though, should we really be that worried? Come on now, we haven't had a 'Great Depression' since like the 1930's and we all know that anything that hasn't happened for over 30 years has no chance of repeating itself right? Well the answer is yes, we should be that worried. However, is the bailout the only answer? I don't think it is and even if it is, is it worth the long term cost?
I've told you before that I am against bailouts period because I'm a capitalist. I think if you were so stupid to give people without identification, if you were so stupid to give people without verifying their income $10, you're too stupid to be a global bank. I think you should fail. If you actually thought it would be better to open up branches in other markets and the only way you could do that was to play the game that the government was trying to play with you by accusing you of being racist for not asking for identification, you're not worthy of being a global leader in finance because I think you need to have some credibility. However, with all of this being said, I told you for the last how long, that this was coming. And you know what? Most people saw pieces of it but they didn't see how bad it was going to get. Everybody, who didn't really? Do you have a single friend that didn't say, "Wait a minute, they're giving you a 125% mortgage? Man, how does that work? And you don't have to have any money down? You didn't have to have any identification? And wait a minute. You also don't pay on the principal for four years? You're kidding me, right?
The President said that this could be a bad recession." Bad recession? I'll take a bad recession. We've had bad recessions before. We don't need a program that is twice the size of the prescription drug program for a bad recession. Bullcrap! You are trying to avoid the Great Depression.
What happens to that small business owner who goes outside his mean and bad times hits him? Does he go Uncle Sam and asks for a bailout? Nope. This is not about how big or small a company is, it's about principles. If we don't go through with the bailout, are we going to see some nasty things happen? You betcha! Will we get through it? You betcha! If you have read my blogs you know how I feel about FDR. People are comparing this to back then and saying that this is what needs to happen to avoid a depression. Ok if so, at what cost? Since FDR started the New Deal, (let's not forget that 1/3 of the proposed programs where found to be unconstitutional) the type of labor out there and welfare has dramatically increased (if you want to see my beef with the New Deal, read my "New Deal Crippled America" blog). I digress.
Bottom line is that this bailout is flirting with Socialism and I don't like it at all. I also don't like the hasty nature of the banks pushing this on us saying that if we don't do this then we will have Armageddon tomorrow. The last time I was pushed into doing something, it turned out to be a raw deal. So the short answer to whether or not we should have a bailout is "no." The long answer is "Heeeeeeck no."
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Gov. Palin, the worst pick EVER! (for the Dems)
I think every strong right winged conservative is estatic over the new pick. What's not to like. She has five kids, comes from a regular middle class family, roots out corruption in the Republican and Democratic parties, and pretty much is a perfect VP canidate. This is really going to be a problem for the Dems come Novemeber. The first thing, is that she has the image of being a regular mom of a large family with a child with Downs Syndrome. If Biden (known for going over board at times as pertaining to race and sexism) tries too demolish Palin in their debates, it may be viewed as a greedy senator beating up a poor little mother of five. If he backs off too much then Palin is going to wipe the floor with him. Essentially with this pick, McCain has defanged the old dog Biden. Then you have all of the attacks against her coming from the Obama campaign. Most of the attacks are just stupid. "She's formerly the mayor of a town of 9,000." ---- Well, Barack Obama was formerly an infant. Who cares? She's currently running a state. A state that happens to supply a lot of our energy. She's more knowledgeable on oil and energy than 125,000 Obama/Biden tickets. And I love how we're supposed to believe that running a state of 600,000 people is nothing, but being 1 of 2 votes in a 100 vote senate, from a state with 700,000 people is impressive.
"She's the most inexperienced vp ever." Well, Obama is the least experienced presidential candidate ever. She's been a governor for 2 years, he's been senator for 4 years. I suppose we're supposed to believe that its those 2 extra years is what makes you fully qualified? Besides, almost all of those extra 2 years Obama was running for president, not being a senator. Plus, she has executive experience, he has none. And--she's actually run a business.
Does she have big foreign policy chops? Other than some foreign trade experience, no. But neither does Obama. It's amazing to me how you can complain about Palin being a heartbeat away from the presidency, when Obama would be ZERO heartbeats away from the presidency.
Bottom line is that usually, in my opinion, a VP really doesn't do too much as for bringing too many additional voters that may not have been on board prior to them being selected as the VP running mate. However, in this case, I think it made a world of difference, from getting potentially more from the Hillary supporters, to firing up the conservative base to potentially giving McCain that added push that he will need to overcome the Obama/Biden express train to nowhere.
"She's the most inexperienced vp ever." Well, Obama is the least experienced presidential candidate ever. She's been a governor for 2 years, he's been senator for 4 years. I suppose we're supposed to believe that its those 2 extra years is what makes you fully qualified? Besides, almost all of those extra 2 years Obama was running for president, not being a senator. Plus, she has executive experience, he has none. And--she's actually run a business.
Does she have big foreign policy chops? Other than some foreign trade experience, no. But neither does Obama. It's amazing to me how you can complain about Palin being a heartbeat away from the presidency, when Obama would be ZERO heartbeats away from the presidency.
Bottom line is that usually, in my opinion, a VP really doesn't do too much as for bringing too many additional voters that may not have been on board prior to them being selected as the VP running mate. However, in this case, I think it made a world of difference, from getting potentially more from the Hillary supporters, to firing up the conservative base to potentially giving McCain that added push that he will need to overcome the Obama/Biden express train to nowhere.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
The real problem with illegal immigration
It's funny when you talk about illegal immigration, you almost always get someone saying that the illegal immigrants will "Do the Jobs Americans just won't do." What? What jobs are those? I've worked as a telemarketer (yea I know, just shoot me know), I've scooped cow poop for 8 hours a day, I clean bathrooms and scrubbed down nasty Baskin Robbins floors. It bugs me more when I hear people say that.
Americans spend months at a time at sea fishing for crab or drilling for oil; which by the way are two of the most dangerous jobs in the world. Americans clean bathrooms, subway stations and crime scenes. Americans man toll booths, pave roads, embalm bodies and inspect sewers. Yet people really expect us to believe that they won't pick strawberries or oranges? Is this making any sense to anyone else? I'm pretty good with numbers that this just doesn't add up to me.
About a month ago The Wall Street Journal published a story about a shortage of H-2B visas, which are issued twice a year to nonagricultural seasonal employees. Because our government can't get out of its own way, they recently let an important "returning workers" provision expire resulting in thousands of foreign workers being shut out of the country this summer.
That's inexcusable. I know this will come as a huge shock to those who only like to hurl insults, but I think we should be issuing more work visas, more student visas, and more green cards. And I think we should cut the red tape and bureaucracy that's constantly blocking the front door.
But until that happens people are left looking for loopholes and excuses, and "jobs Americans won't do" is the gold standard.
The Journal article offered an example of a couple that sells food at fairs around California each summer. They say that because of the H-2B visa shortage most of their seasonal employees aren't able to enter the country.
So why don't they just hire Americans instead? Good question. Her answer? "This is a hard job."
I find it pretty hard to believe that there aren't a few college students who wouldn't want to drive around California and work outdoors all summer, but let's assume that's true. Let's even assume that none of the other 1.1 million Californians who were unemployed as of April are interested in the job either. Isn't anyone wondering why?
The problem with this is not that the "job is too hard" it's just that the wages are "too low." Seriously, are you telling me if you were to pay someone $15 an hour, they would sign up for that job in a heartbeat. (I know that wage would be too high but I'm just tryin to make the point of the reason why Americans are doing these type of jobs).
No one paints the undersides of bridges for fun, they do it for the money. That's how capitalism works.
How capitalism does NOT work is when we collectively look the other way as companies exploit illegal labor for their own benefit.
The unspoken truth is that these businesses don't hire illegal aliens because they can't find American workers, they hire illegal aliens because they don't want American workers. Besides the fact the fact their pay is insanely low don't forget the mounds of other things that hiring illegal immigrants will allow employers not to do. Illegal aliens mean no workers' comp claims, no age, race or sex discrimination lawsuits, no healthcare premiums, no unions, and no demands for raises, vacations or bigger offices. In fact, illegal immigrants are the perfect employees because they're not employees at all; they're corporate slaves.
Economist Dr. Thomas Sowell once said, "Blacks were not enslaved because they were black, but because they were available." Can't the exact same thing be said for illegal aliens? They're available and we're allowing them to be exploited in the name of cheap groceries.
Is the price of fruit really the standard we want to live up to as a country? Is that really who we've become?
Many Americans believe that cracking down on the businesses that hire illegal aliens (the current maximum federal fine was recently raised to a laughable $16,000) would hurt these hardworking people too much. A bad job is better than no job, we tell ourselves. But that's catalogue compassion. If you want to understand the real impact of these decisions you've got to get off the couch and go see it for yourself.
Back a few years ago there was an investigation done on the living conditions of immigrants in the New York area. In the city of Westbury (median income: $83,000/year) officials found twelve immigrants living in a basement flooded with sewage.
In Southampton (median income: $64,000/year) officials found immigrants living in sheds with no plumbing or heat.
In New Cassel (median income: $62,000/year) officials estimated there were dozens of "shift-bed houses" where immigrants literally rent mattresses for a few hours a day to catch some sleep.
Is compassion looking the other way while immigrants who come here for the dream end up living a nightmare smack dab in the middle of some of our wealthiest communities?
Is compassion ignoring stories that reveal the truth, like the recent raid of a squalid "drop house" in Los Angeles where 57 illegal aliens were being held against their will?
Is compassion not wanting to hear that a woman was raped in that drop house, or that many more would have been if not for the screams of their children disrupting the attackers?
If that's compassion, then I guess I'm happy to be accused of having none.
The problem with the debate over illegal immigration right now is that special interests have been successful in making us think with our hearts instead of our brains. We've been persuaded to believe that real compassion can only be achieved by following their agenda. But look where that's gotten us. And more importantly, look where that's gotten the people they're supposedly trying to help.
If you really want to be compassionate, then help immigrants get jobs here the right way. Help put crippling fines on the employers who knowingly hire illegal workers, help expand and simplify the visa process, and, most importantly, help get people to start thinking with their brains again.
After all, compassion without common sense may feel good but it doesn't achieve anything. You don't believe this saying? Well try doing this. Try going out and give $1,000 to every homeless person who asks you for change. I bet your heart would be full, but your wallet would soon be empty. And all those people would probably still be homeless. I'm just saying...
Americans spend months at a time at sea fishing for crab or drilling for oil; which by the way are two of the most dangerous jobs in the world. Americans clean bathrooms, subway stations and crime scenes. Americans man toll booths, pave roads, embalm bodies and inspect sewers. Yet people really expect us to believe that they won't pick strawberries or oranges? Is this making any sense to anyone else? I'm pretty good with numbers that this just doesn't add up to me.
About a month ago The Wall Street Journal published a story about a shortage of H-2B visas, which are issued twice a year to nonagricultural seasonal employees. Because our government can't get out of its own way, they recently let an important "returning workers" provision expire resulting in thousands of foreign workers being shut out of the country this summer.
That's inexcusable. I know this will come as a huge shock to those who only like to hurl insults, but I think we should be issuing more work visas, more student visas, and more green cards. And I think we should cut the red tape and bureaucracy that's constantly blocking the front door.
But until that happens people are left looking for loopholes and excuses, and "jobs Americans won't do" is the gold standard.
The Journal article offered an example of a couple that sells food at fairs around California each summer. They say that because of the H-2B visa shortage most of their seasonal employees aren't able to enter the country.
So why don't they just hire Americans instead? Good question. Her answer? "This is a hard job."
I find it pretty hard to believe that there aren't a few college students who wouldn't want to drive around California and work outdoors all summer, but let's assume that's true. Let's even assume that none of the other 1.1 million Californians who were unemployed as of April are interested in the job either. Isn't anyone wondering why?
The problem with this is not that the "job is too hard" it's just that the wages are "too low." Seriously, are you telling me if you were to pay someone $15 an hour, they would sign up for that job in a heartbeat. (I know that wage would be too high but I'm just tryin to make the point of the reason why Americans are doing these type of jobs).
No one paints the undersides of bridges for fun, they do it for the money. That's how capitalism works.
How capitalism does NOT work is when we collectively look the other way as companies exploit illegal labor for their own benefit.
The unspoken truth is that these businesses don't hire illegal aliens because they can't find American workers, they hire illegal aliens because they don't want American workers. Besides the fact the fact their pay is insanely low don't forget the mounds of other things that hiring illegal immigrants will allow employers not to do. Illegal aliens mean no workers' comp claims, no age, race or sex discrimination lawsuits, no healthcare premiums, no unions, and no demands for raises, vacations or bigger offices. In fact, illegal immigrants are the perfect employees because they're not employees at all; they're corporate slaves.
Economist Dr. Thomas Sowell once said, "Blacks were not enslaved because they were black, but because they were available." Can't the exact same thing be said for illegal aliens? They're available and we're allowing them to be exploited in the name of cheap groceries.
Is the price of fruit really the standard we want to live up to as a country? Is that really who we've become?
Many Americans believe that cracking down on the businesses that hire illegal aliens (the current maximum federal fine was recently raised to a laughable $16,000) would hurt these hardworking people too much. A bad job is better than no job, we tell ourselves. But that's catalogue compassion. If you want to understand the real impact of these decisions you've got to get off the couch and go see it for yourself.
Back a few years ago there was an investigation done on the living conditions of immigrants in the New York area. In the city of Westbury (median income: $83,000/year) officials found twelve immigrants living in a basement flooded with sewage.
In Southampton (median income: $64,000/year) officials found immigrants living in sheds with no plumbing or heat.
In New Cassel (median income: $62,000/year) officials estimated there were dozens of "shift-bed houses" where immigrants literally rent mattresses for a few hours a day to catch some sleep.
Is compassion looking the other way while immigrants who come here for the dream end up living a nightmare smack dab in the middle of some of our wealthiest communities?
Is compassion ignoring stories that reveal the truth, like the recent raid of a squalid "drop house" in Los Angeles where 57 illegal aliens were being held against their will?
Is compassion not wanting to hear that a woman was raped in that drop house, or that many more would have been if not for the screams of their children disrupting the attackers?
If that's compassion, then I guess I'm happy to be accused of having none.
The problem with the debate over illegal immigration right now is that special interests have been successful in making us think with our hearts instead of our brains. We've been persuaded to believe that real compassion can only be achieved by following their agenda. But look where that's gotten us. And more importantly, look where that's gotten the people they're supposedly trying to help.
If you really want to be compassionate, then help immigrants get jobs here the right way. Help put crippling fines on the employers who knowingly hire illegal workers, help expand and simplify the visa process, and, most importantly, help get people to start thinking with their brains again.
After all, compassion without common sense may feel good but it doesn't achieve anything. You don't believe this saying? Well try doing this. Try going out and give $1,000 to every homeless person who asks you for change. I bet your heart would be full, but your wallet would soon be empty. And all those people would probably still be homeless. I'm just saying...
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Where the Republicans have Gone Wrong
Say WHAT?!!! Yea I know I know, the ultra conservative bashing on "our" party? Who would have ever thunk it? Now before I go off about the problems with the GOP, I want to point out that, for all it's fallacies, it could be much worse. We could have been the ones supporting this ethanol push that not only didn't help the fuel crisis, but also added the new burden of the food shortage. (yea, and people thought that other countries hated us before, just wait until we start starving them.) Or we could have been the ones who continue to spread this global warming nonsense down everyones throat making everyone believe that even though only 2% of the greenhouse gases are caused by us, if we don't stop everything we do, the Earth is going to melt like the deodorant down my side on a hot summer West Valley afternoon. (Too much detail? Probably...but now you know huh?) Or even worse than all that we could be P.E.T.A? Sorry, couldn't miss that opportunity. The problem with the concept of the republican party being "our party" is that it's not "our" party anymore. Everyone talks about how the new strategy for the Republicans is to go more moderate, more independent, more John McCain. By the looks at the polls, you actually might fall into this trap of thinking that in a horrible year for any Republican running for President of the United States, that John McCain isn't doing too shabby; McCain being tied in many of the polls. Well we shall see in November. I still believe that if...ahem...I mean when Obama wins the nominations, you could have a McCain/Jesus ticket and well...you would probably have people still talk about how old McCain is and don't get me started on how old Jesus is. Basically, I don't see how McCain wins and even if he does win, the house and senate will still be democratically controlled and we are put in the same situation as we are now.
People think that the only way republicans can win the house and senate seats again is for us to reach across the aisle and scoot towards that middle ground. The problem is that when we have reached across the aisle, the other sides usually pulls us over. If we are going to reach across the aisle, we need to reach like Reagan did, by knowing what we stand for and not shaking with every passing wind. What happened to fiscal responsibility? What happened to making government smaller and letting people have more say in their daily lives. What happened to not targeting certain industries and allowing the market...well be free? There are so many areas that republicans are their own worst enemies. Had they remembered these things and really followed through with it, you wouldn't have had the fall out you did in 04. Speaking of 04, what happened to all the great changes that Nancy Peloski promised. That's right, food shortage, higher gas prices, inflation skyrocketing (OK, this isn't all their fault), and the economy tanking...hmmmm...if these are the changes that she meant and if these are the types of change that Obama will bring, well send me to Canada because at least that way, I can sit in the sunny beaches in Vancouver, while I wait for 8 months to see a doctor.
My point is that if the GOP wants to draw in a great crowd, really get the party's based to really get energized, then they need to go back to what made the party successful. They have to go back to those principles that work and as they do so, the same excitement you see with Democratic party, you will surely see here. I'm just saying...
People think that the only way republicans can win the house and senate seats again is for us to reach across the aisle and scoot towards that middle ground. The problem is that when we have reached across the aisle, the other sides usually pulls us over. If we are going to reach across the aisle, we need to reach like Reagan did, by knowing what we stand for and not shaking with every passing wind. What happened to fiscal responsibility? What happened to making government smaller and letting people have more say in their daily lives. What happened to not targeting certain industries and allowing the market...well be free? There are so many areas that republicans are their own worst enemies. Had they remembered these things and really followed through with it, you wouldn't have had the fall out you did in 04. Speaking of 04, what happened to all the great changes that Nancy Peloski promised. That's right, food shortage, higher gas prices, inflation skyrocketing (OK, this isn't all their fault), and the economy tanking...hmmmm...if these are the changes that she meant and if these are the types of change that Obama will bring, well send me to Canada because at least that way, I can sit in the sunny beaches in Vancouver, while I wait for 8 months to see a doctor.
My point is that if the GOP wants to draw in a great crowd, really get the party's based to really get energized, then they need to go back to what made the party successful. They have to go back to those principles that work and as they do so, the same excitement you see with Democratic party, you will surely see here. I'm just saying...
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Obama, the New Hitler?
Ok now that I have everyone's attention let's clear some things up now. Do I think that Obama is the reincarnation of Hilter? Of course not. Actually the biggest problem for me about Obama is the fact that I disagree with almost all of his positions yet at the same time I just really like the guy. I mean honestly, how could you not? Seriously I heard his speech the other day and I was like sign me up (even though he really didn't address the main concern that people have). He however still has not distance himself away from the messages that were delivered over the pulpit and he needs to condem this type of sermons.
His main focus on the speech was that even though what Rev. Wright said was wrong, we need to listen to it from a black perspective? WHAT! We have to what? This is why people are still making such a big deal about it. He excuses the pastor on what he has said so in essences he hasn't denounced what the pastor said. I know I know in the speech he told us about how he disagrees 100% with what the pastor has said but of course he has to say that. Does he really feel that way? Why has he continued to go the same church for 20 years? I believe Obama when he says he wasn't there during some of the most radical sermons but honestly, can you really tell me that one week Rev. Wright is yelling "God damn America" and "America's chickens are coming home to roost", just to follow up the next week with a sermon telling us how we need to unite together as as Americans or how much Jesus really loves us? Even though Obama may have not been there at that particular service, I'll guarentee you that he has sat through similar sermons concerning similar issues.
Wait wait wait! Hold on one moment. Ok, the pastor has said some really crazy stuff but John, are you telling me that you really believe Obama believes this? He's repeatedly denounced it and you can't play the whole "guilt by association" card, come on you have to be fair. Ok first, Mitt Romney didn't get a pass for not belonging to a mainstream church. He was grilled so much so, that he ended up having to give a speech concerning it. So why should Obama get a pass? On top of that, Mitt Romney's religion only disagreed with doctrinal issues concerning particulars within the various churches whereas Obama's church is preaching hate, divisivness, and so forth. I thought that the point of going to church was to go somewhere that inspires us, makes us better and brings us together as a human family. If any white preacher were to preach anti-black sermons you better believe there would be public outrage and Rev. Jackson and Al Sharpton would both be demanding a public apology and resignation. Do you hear Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton harping on Rev. Wrights doorsteps? Of course not, but I diagress. Getting back to my point, I don't go to church just to go nor do I go just because I want to propel my personal career or just because I have nothing else to do. I go because I believe in what is being taught. I go because I have similar views pertaining to religion as do most of those in the congregation. Why would Obama go to this kind of church? Only Obama really knows the real answer to that question but not only is it fun to talk about it, it's actually vital for us as Americans to know how he really feels.
The issue I'm most concerned with is how much influence the Rev. Wright has had on Obama. I just don't understand how you go to a church for twenty years and not have it have any influence on your life. I haven't gone to my church for that many years and yet it has had a profound influence not only on my life but also in my way of thinking. Even though he may not have the same radical views on certain issues that the Rev. Wright has, he has to have a lot of the same views and desires of the pastor otherwise why would he join the church in the first place. I'm just saying. So even though I'm sure Obama is a nice guy, I think he does share a lot of the same passions and desires of the Reverend and that frankly scares me. Goodnight everyone and remember to save trees and conserve poop!
His main focus on the speech was that even though what Rev. Wright said was wrong, we need to listen to it from a black perspective? WHAT! We have to what? This is why people are still making such a big deal about it. He excuses the pastor on what he has said so in essences he hasn't denounced what the pastor said. I know I know in the speech he told us about how he disagrees 100% with what the pastor has said but of course he has to say that. Does he really feel that way? Why has he continued to go the same church for 20 years? I believe Obama when he says he wasn't there during some of the most radical sermons but honestly, can you really tell me that one week Rev. Wright is yelling "God damn America" and "America's chickens are coming home to roost", just to follow up the next week with a sermon telling us how we need to unite together as as Americans or how much Jesus really loves us? Even though Obama may have not been there at that particular service, I'll guarentee you that he has sat through similar sermons concerning similar issues.
Wait wait wait! Hold on one moment. Ok, the pastor has said some really crazy stuff but John, are you telling me that you really believe Obama believes this? He's repeatedly denounced it and you can't play the whole "guilt by association" card, come on you have to be fair. Ok first, Mitt Romney didn't get a pass for not belonging to a mainstream church. He was grilled so much so, that he ended up having to give a speech concerning it. So why should Obama get a pass? On top of that, Mitt Romney's religion only disagreed with doctrinal issues concerning particulars within the various churches whereas Obama's church is preaching hate, divisivness, and so forth. I thought that the point of going to church was to go somewhere that inspires us, makes us better and brings us together as a human family. If any white preacher were to preach anti-black sermons you better believe there would be public outrage and Rev. Jackson and Al Sharpton would both be demanding a public apology and resignation. Do you hear Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton harping on Rev. Wrights doorsteps? Of course not, but I diagress. Getting back to my point, I don't go to church just to go nor do I go just because I want to propel my personal career or just because I have nothing else to do. I go because I believe in what is being taught. I go because I have similar views pertaining to religion as do most of those in the congregation. Why would Obama go to this kind of church? Only Obama really knows the real answer to that question but not only is it fun to talk about it, it's actually vital for us as Americans to know how he really feels.
The issue I'm most concerned with is how much influence the Rev. Wright has had on Obama. I just don't understand how you go to a church for twenty years and not have it have any influence on your life. I haven't gone to my church for that many years and yet it has had a profound influence not only on my life but also in my way of thinking. Even though he may not have the same radical views on certain issues that the Rev. Wright has, he has to have a lot of the same views and desires of the pastor otherwise why would he join the church in the first place. I'm just saying. So even though I'm sure Obama is a nice guy, I think he does share a lot of the same passions and desires of the Reverend and that frankly scares me. Goodnight everyone and remember to save trees and conserve poop!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
How the New Deal Crippled America
It’s a funny thing how you go through school and always believe in one particular way only because there were no other view points that were presented. I remember hearing the wonderful story of George Washington and the cherry tree or how Columbus was the first one to discover the Americas. My childhood, like many others, is filled with these dramatized stories that come at either from a teacher’s bias or just plain ignorance. One of the greatest dramatizations in my opinion is how wonderful “The New Deal” was. I remember growing up and hearing about how FDR single handedly pulled the nation out from the brink of despair and saved us from the Great Depression. I remember thinking of how great of a president FDR must have been in order for just one person to be able to save an entire country. I mean he was president for FOUR TERMS!!! Crazy, how can a president be elected FOUR TIMES without being the best president ever? If he would have come back from the dead, well I would have to vote for him. However, as is often the case, we grow older and usually a little bit wiser. The New Deal (ND), has often been viewed by many as one of the most innovated strings of government programs ever to have been created. To this I’ll agree, it may have been one of the most innovated strings of GOVERNMENT programs ever to have been created but honestly, is that really saying anything?
Now, I could point out how the ND actually extended the depression as opposed to bringing it out of it or how many of the ND programs were later found to be unconstitutional. However, you can look all of these topics online and you’ll find recent research that covers these topics quite well. The point of today’s discussion will to be focus on how the ND has crippled America.
Crippled America? What? How could you say such a blasphemous sentence? All FDR did was bring us out of the Great Depression, and this is how you want to repay him, by saying the ND crippled America? Well…it did. I don’t know how else to put it. Let’s just say for a moment that the ND actually helped America to get out of the depression. Even if it did, from that point forward, the ND has made many of Americans forever enslaved to welfare. On top of that, it has given almost all Americans the sense of entitlement that the government “owed them” something; whether it be a retirement program, housing, food, or clothing. People need to realize that all of this money is not free, it comes from someone else who is working hard for their wages. This money that you are getting through these government programs doesn’t come from the All Compassionate Big Brother Government, it comes from the regular working class (obviously this includes the rich). So not only has the government hooked many of the poorer Americans on this “welfare cocaine” it has infused in the minds of many more Americans this sense of entitlement.
The one thing that people know, but just don’t really realize is the fact that the GOVERNMENT DOES NOT MAKE MONEY! It doesn’t. It doesn’t work at Subway on the weekends, nor does it greet people at Wal*Mart as they walk in. All of the money it receives is from us, the tax payer. If they don’t have that money, then they borrow from other countries or just make more of it (which, if you don’t know, shoots up inflation and lowers the power of the dollar). Why can’t people just go out, and work their tails off and be good? I can’t tell you the number of times I have heard the argument “some people are just put into a position which they can’t get out of.” This argument that people are born into a situation that is hopeless is just the kind of mentality the ND started. It’s like many Christian churches who state that we are born “either saved or damn.” Well, if I’m born damned, what motivation do I have to be good? None! The same thing applies to welfare. If you tell people that they are in a situation that they just can’t help, they lose that hope; the hope that inspires all of us for something better. Isn’t it funny that there are hundreds of thousands of refuges or immigrants who come from many of the Asian countries such as Cambodia, China, or Korea who come here, knowing very little English, find a way to make it? They don’t know how the government programs work so they skip it. They just go out and work their tails off. They don’t have any credit, so they only buy what they can pay for in cash (which isn’t a bad idea for those of us who do have credit). If they don’t have money for it, THEY DON’T BUY IT. These families end up raising up great kids who contribute greatly to our country. If people who can’t speak English at first and have NOTHING, no family, no credit, no money, no housing, no cars and so forth. If these people can make it, people who grow up poor, regardless of their situation, can also make it. We need to stop rewarding mediocrity.
The New Deal has crippled the mindset of Americans and in so doing, has crippled the very ideals that made this nation strong. Those poorer Americans, who refuse to let this mindset stick, end up having a great careers and a happy wonderful life. Everyone has problems, everyone has their down time but if everyone just bucked up and rose to those challenges; we wouldn’t need 95% of the government programs that exist today. Goodnight everyone and remember to save trees, conserve poop!
Now, I could point out how the ND actually extended the depression as opposed to bringing it out of it or how many of the ND programs were later found to be unconstitutional. However, you can look all of these topics online and you’ll find recent research that covers these topics quite well. The point of today’s discussion will to be focus on how the ND has crippled America.
Crippled America? What? How could you say such a blasphemous sentence? All FDR did was bring us out of the Great Depression, and this is how you want to repay him, by saying the ND crippled America? Well…it did. I don’t know how else to put it. Let’s just say for a moment that the ND actually helped America to get out of the depression. Even if it did, from that point forward, the ND has made many of Americans forever enslaved to welfare. On top of that, it has given almost all Americans the sense of entitlement that the government “owed them” something; whether it be a retirement program, housing, food, or clothing. People need to realize that all of this money is not free, it comes from someone else who is working hard for their wages. This money that you are getting through these government programs doesn’t come from the All Compassionate Big Brother Government, it comes from the regular working class (obviously this includes the rich). So not only has the government hooked many of the poorer Americans on this “welfare cocaine” it has infused in the minds of many more Americans this sense of entitlement.
The one thing that people know, but just don’t really realize is the fact that the GOVERNMENT DOES NOT MAKE MONEY! It doesn’t. It doesn’t work at Subway on the weekends, nor does it greet people at Wal*Mart as they walk in. All of the money it receives is from us, the tax payer. If they don’t have that money, then they borrow from other countries or just make more of it (which, if you don’t know, shoots up inflation and lowers the power of the dollar). Why can’t people just go out, and work their tails off and be good? I can’t tell you the number of times I have heard the argument “some people are just put into a position which they can’t get out of.” This argument that people are born into a situation that is hopeless is just the kind of mentality the ND started. It’s like many Christian churches who state that we are born “either saved or damn.” Well, if I’m born damned, what motivation do I have to be good? None! The same thing applies to welfare. If you tell people that they are in a situation that they just can’t help, they lose that hope; the hope that inspires all of us for something better. Isn’t it funny that there are hundreds of thousands of refuges or immigrants who come from many of the Asian countries such as Cambodia, China, or Korea who come here, knowing very little English, find a way to make it? They don’t know how the government programs work so they skip it. They just go out and work their tails off. They don’t have any credit, so they only buy what they can pay for in cash (which isn’t a bad idea for those of us who do have credit). If they don’t have money for it, THEY DON’T BUY IT. These families end up raising up great kids who contribute greatly to our country. If people who can’t speak English at first and have NOTHING, no family, no credit, no money, no housing, no cars and so forth. If these people can make it, people who grow up poor, regardless of their situation, can also make it. We need to stop rewarding mediocrity.
The New Deal has crippled the mindset of Americans and in so doing, has crippled the very ideals that made this nation strong. Those poorer Americans, who refuse to let this mindset stick, end up having a great careers and a happy wonderful life. Everyone has problems, everyone has their down time but if everyone just bucked up and rose to those challenges; we wouldn’t need 95% of the government programs that exist today. Goodnight everyone and remember to save trees, conserve poop!
Monday, March 3, 2008
Universal Healthcare
If there is one thing in life that I have learned it is this, the government NEVER makes things better. Actually, now that I think about it, all the government does is try to find solutions to problems that they themselves create. Seriously, look around. Tell me one program, across the board, that the government does better than any private organization. United States Postal Service? Psssh...please. So you are going to tell me that if you had a package that your life depended on whether or not it arrived on time, that you are going to trust the USPS over UPS or FedEx? Give me a freak'n break. There is no way I take that deal. What else do we have? IRS? Welfare programs? Government housing? Take a serious look at all these programs. Yea its true, government housing does help those who can't afford a place to live, to have some kind of shelter over there heads, but what if everyone were forced to live in government funded housing? People would be outraged. Then on top of that, not only do they get butt crappy housing, their taxes are raised! Do you think in any decade that flies? No bloody way!!! There would be million man marches, and boycotts from Washington to Florida. People would FREAK OUT! However, notice that when it comes to universal healthcare, no one seems to care. Once again you have the drive by liberal media just glazing over this issue. Everyone thinks that this universal health care package is the best thing to be presented since the "New Deal" (which by the way, in my opinion has crippled America, far outweighing any benefits reaped from it). Do people not realize how fast the American healthcare system will go down the drain if this gets going? Don't take my word for it, look at Canada or any other country that has a national healthcare plan. Not to mention the fact, where the is the money going to be coming from? It's not like the government works the graveyard shift or takes on a second job in order to make some more money. All of the money they get is either from us or is borrowed from China or Saudi Arabia. ALL of it. We pay for EVERYTHING. Not that we didn't have enough problems with Social Security, Medicaid, Military, and the other 9341231231 government programs to pay for. No one has given me a straight up answer as to how it would be paid without increases the snot out of the rich. (I'm not even close to being in that percentile but seriously, paying over 50% income tax in order to pay for a healthcare system that makes the elementary nurse look like a professional surgeon is just ludicrous).
I agree that insurance premiums are way too high and yes, we need to find a solution to this problem so that more of our children and our families can afford healthcare. That being said, universal healthcare is not the answer. Even making a law requiring that individuals have health insurance is a better idea. At least this way, because of the mandate, insurance companies would be competing with each just like car insurance companies do lowering premiums and deductibles that are required. At least this way the quality of healthcare doesn't decrease.
My biggest problem with universal healthcare simply put is that the quality of healthcare will DRAMATICALLY decrease. THIS IS A FACT. Think about it, if you have a national healthcare system you will have a dramatic decrease in pay for physicians. So if I was an exceptional college student who could either go to school for 4 years to a get a business degree to make six figures or go to college for 4 years to get a B.S. degree, medical school for 4 years, do an internship for 2 years, residency for 2-3 years just to get paid around $60,000....hmmm I don't know about you but if it were me, I definitely would go the business route. Not to mention the difference in student loans would be over $100,000 for physicians compared to about $10,000 for a business degree. If the best and brightest are going into other fields that will pay them accordingly, who does that leave for the medical field? Yep, you guessed it...Joe Schmo who barely got through college. Well that ought to be comforting in the O.R., knowing that your surgeon was just as dedicated to the Nintendo Wii and booze as he was to studying.
There is definitely a reason why the past two times Hillary tried to get this passed through congress it failed. People just need to open up their eyes and realize the potential impacts that all these "supposedly free/that cripple people from becoming anything in this world government programs" will have on our world. To quote the famous drink company Pepsi "WAKE UP PEOPLE!" Goodnight and remember to save trees by conserving poop!
I agree that insurance premiums are way too high and yes, we need to find a solution to this problem so that more of our children and our families can afford healthcare. That being said, universal healthcare is not the answer. Even making a law requiring that individuals have health insurance is a better idea. At least this way, because of the mandate, insurance companies would be competing with each just like car insurance companies do lowering premiums and deductibles that are required. At least this way the quality of healthcare doesn't decrease.
My biggest problem with universal healthcare simply put is that the quality of healthcare will DRAMATICALLY decrease. THIS IS A FACT. Think about it, if you have a national healthcare system you will have a dramatic decrease in pay for physicians. So if I was an exceptional college student who could either go to school for 4 years to a get a business degree to make six figures or go to college for 4 years to get a B.S. degree, medical school for 4 years, do an internship for 2 years, residency for 2-3 years just to get paid around $60,000....hmmm I don't know about you but if it were me, I definitely would go the business route. Not to mention the difference in student loans would be over $100,000 for physicians compared to about $10,000 for a business degree. If the best and brightest are going into other fields that will pay them accordingly, who does that leave for the medical field? Yep, you guessed it...Joe Schmo who barely got through college. Well that ought to be comforting in the O.R., knowing that your surgeon was just as dedicated to the Nintendo Wii and booze as he was to studying.
There is definitely a reason why the past two times Hillary tried to get this passed through congress it failed. People just need to open up their eyes and realize the potential impacts that all these "supposedly free/that cripple people from becoming anything in this world government programs" will have on our world. To quote the famous drink company Pepsi "WAKE UP PEOPLE!" Goodnight and remember to save trees by conserving poop!
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