Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Supreme Court Rules Against EPA Gestapo

Obama's EPA Gestapo has been using Clean Air and Water Acts in an attempt to regulate everything we buy, do, eat, touch, etc in an attempt to destroy carbon based industries and in particular the coal industry, without any regard to the cost in jobs, or money to comply with their regulations.  In Michigan versus the EPA, in a 5 - 4 Decision with presumed Conservatives voting against the EPA and the 4 Socialists on the Court voting for the EPA, the Court said that the EPA cannot just issue regulations without a proper cost benefits analysis. 

Of course, none of this will stop the EPA Gestapo from killing jobs and whole industries, only now they will have to come up with a fictitious numerical justification.  This will just result in years of court cases, challenging the EPA's assumptions and aside from the millions of dollars it will cost fighting the EPA, it could at least slow down Obamanistas in the next 18 months and later Socialist governments in power.  And, that is a good thing. 

The Obama EPA Gestapo is out of control.  While everyone wants clean and and water, we don't want the federal government controlling a mud puddle on someone's land as is happening now.    We also don't want the EPA destroying jobs and whole industries in the pursuit of various environmental standards that are impossible to meet.  And, finally, we need clean, safe, cheap energy to maintain a high standard of living in the United States.  We must have an all of the above Energy Strategy that includes Clean Coal, Natural Gas, Oil, Oil and Gas Shale and Nuclear Energy, along with renewables like Solar, Wind and Bio Fuels when they are economically feasible.  This is about common sense not Radical Environmental Socialist Schemes that are destroying our economy. 

Monday, June 29, 2015

Puerto Rico Is Bankrupt

Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States, is bankrupt.  The current Debt of Puerto Rico, a series of islands, with 3.6 million residents, is $70 Billion.  Officials have reported that within three months there will be a government shut down in Puerto Rico because they cannot meet their Debt Payments.  The government in Puerto Rico, with about 150,000 employees is the largest employer.  Their bonds, the means they have been using to fund operating expenses, are rated as junk by the Hedge Funds that have been financing their government. 

The balloon has burst.   The credit markets will soon say NO MORE.  Puerto Rico will request that the US Congress provide a bail out, which is impossible.  Even though the US can print money, which it has already been doing to fund the US National Debt at $18 Trillion, with no end in sight,  the Congress and the President can't say Yes to a bail out of Puerto Rico because there are numerous US states and cities also facing bankruptcy, watching to see what happens and waiting in line. 

Ultimately, Puerto Rico will either default on its debt and or its creditors, including government employees on pensions, will have to take a huge hair cut and we are talking pennies on the dollar, in order for Puerto Rico to maintain any level of government services.   Of course, thousands of government employees will have to be laid off.  There is no way the 3.6 million people of Puerto Rico can pay off this Debt.  Neither can they raise taxes on their citizens, many of whom are poor, or on Tourists, their primary industry, sufficiently to make a dent in this Debt.  

So shortly, we will see the economic collapse of Puerto Rico, which means runs on the banks, bankruptcies since Puerto Rico cannot pay its suppliers, civil strife on their streets and probably many Puerto Ricans leaving Puerto Rico to come to the United States, which they can do as US citizens.  These episodes, as is happening in Greece, are showing us what will happen to the United States if we don't get our fiscal house in order.  

It is true that the United States government can and will print money to deal with our National Debt and promises made for government pensions and Entitlements; but all that will do is lead to very high inflation and interest rates.  Either way, we face fiscal calamity if local, state and federal governments don't stop all the wasteful spending and  borrowing to fund current operating expenses.  It is what it is.   The day of reckoning is coming. 

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Unskilled Blue Collar Men In America - No Future

Many of the millions of unemployed in the United States, often on Welfare and or Food Stamps, or Disability Benefits are Unskilled Blue Collar Men with little or no education, or job skills.  The days of being paid a Union Middle Class income to screw in a bolt on a factory floor are long gone.  A little thing called global competition came along to kill those jobs.  Today, those jobs are either in China, Mexico or other countries, or eliminated by robotics.   While women have adapted better to the new economy, many Unskilled Blue Collar Men are stuck in a time warp.  And, many of them are single because women are not about to carry dead weight, avoiding Men that have no future. 

What to do?  One thing is for sure, we need Workfare instead of Welfare to get these able bodied men off their butts, either into community clean up programs, or better yet into two year vocational education programs as a requirement for receiving Welfare.   We do Men, with nothing to offer society no favor by allowing them, or anyone else, that is able bodied the ability to collect Welfare, or even Disability Benefits without a Community Service, or Education Requirement.  Without a marketable Trade, these Men are going nowhere at our expense.  While many of these Unskilled Blue Collar Men have no education, or a high school diploma at best, there is no reason they can't learn to be a chef, cable installer, electrician, plumber, or carpenter.  And, if and when they do, they will have meaningful work, which will provide purpose and dignity.

All of this is leading to dysfunctional families, when these Men are married, since they are not a role model for children.  And so, the vicious cycle of poverty continues because our government refuses to actually deal with the problems we face in society.   Socialists just propose higher and higher taxes to fund more Socialist Schemes and hand-outs without any strings.   We get same old same old and in this case it is millions of able bodied Unskilled Blue Collar Men with no future. 

Saturday, June 27, 2015

China Or Russia - Happy To Bail Out Greece

Greece will soon experience complete financial collapse, which will result in civil strife and chaos on their streets.  Years of Socialist spending on public employee compensation and benefits and the typical waste, fraud, and corruption that comes with all Socialist Schemes will soon result in Greece defaulting on its National Debt.  There are already runs on the banks as Greeks seek to get out of Greek banks whatever Euros are left.  Americans should notice what is happening in Greece because it will be the American story if we don't bring an end to our deficit spending and begin to pay off our $18 Trillion National Debt. 

Matter of fact, it may already be too late for the United States because there is more than $150 Trillion in unfunded liability sitting out there for local, state and federal pensions, Social Security, ObamaCare, Medicaid etc. etc.  If all the wealth in our country was confiscated, which US Socialists would love to do, not just a percentage, it still would not be enough to cover all this US Debt. 

In any case, Greece will soon lose control over its own destiny, which is what always happens to any entity that cannot pay its Debt.  The Europeans will write them off and European governments will no doubt do whatever they have to do to bail out the banks in their countries that are exposed.  But that will still leave Greece penniless.  Guess what, both the Russians, or more importantly the Chinese will be happy to step in.  The price will be ending Greece's relationship with the Euro Zone and NATO and Navel Bases in the Mediterranean going to the highest bidder, which is likely to be China. 

Since Russia already has a Naval Base in Syria and nearby in the Crimea, it might not be as interested in this option, however, since the situation in Syria is tenuous at best, Russia may still attempt to gain this presence in Greece giving it another warm water port.  Most likely, the bigger player here will be China.  China would jump at the chance to weaken NATO and to gain a foot hold in the Mediterranean.  What better way to do it that to make Greece a client state.  Just wait and see.  This story is far from over. 

Gay Marriage Issues & Religious Freedom

The Socialist Supreme Court, by a 5 - 4 decision has ruled that Gay Marriage now is the law of the land.  OK fine, marriage is really just a contract between two people.  This Conservative Blogger is not emotional about this issue, the way I am about Abortion; the murder of innocent babies.  In fact, I see some humor in the Gay Marriage issue.  Of course, with Gay Marriage will also come Gay Divorce, which means alimony, child support, child custody issues and often miserable court proceedings that heterosexual couples have experienced for years.   The LGBT community should be careful what they asked for because with Gay Marriage comes Gay Divorce, which is often a miserable experience for all concerned.

In any case, this now means that companies that provided Partner Benefits before this ruling will no doubt modify their HR policies to state that only Gay officially married couples will now qualify for benefits, the same as heterosexual married employees.  So, now Gays will have to choose Marriage, rather than their looser affiliation, to get benefits.  What other position can company's take?  This means that "Partners" that got company paid benefits will now be cut off, since it is impossible to make the argument any longer that these benefits were provided because Marriage was denied to Gays.  So, there will be some losers in this ruling. 

Most important in all of this is the question of religious freedom.  Various Christian denominations, the Catholic Church, Orthodox Jews and all of Islam does not recognize Gay Marriage.  As such, many Christian Ministers, all Catholic priests, some Jewish Rabbi's and all Immans presumably will not bless, nor preside over Gay Marriages.  Since this will not prevent Gay Marriage, there should be no question of their right not to participate in Gay Marriage ceremonies under the First Amendment right related to religious freedom. 

However, as we have recently seen, there will also be business owners because of their religious convictions that will not participate in Gay Weddings.  This is not to be confused with someone who is Gay walking into their stores and buying flowers, or cakes.  No doubt, rather than just move on to another business owner to buy goods and services, the Gay Community will press this issue in Court and win or lose further alienate millions of Americans.  That would be dumb.  Gays won the war, they should stop fighting the battles and just have a happy life.

But that won't happen because there are many in the Gay movement that are very radical.  So as was the case after Roe V Wade, that pretty much allowed for unrestricted abortion, we will see years of court cases as the left wing Gay community, Socialists and the left wing lame stream media attempt to force their agenda on Americans that for religious reasons will never accept Gay Marriage.  Once again, this Supreme Court ruling like so many others will do nothing to bring our nation together as the cultural divide and battles will just continue for years to come. 

Friday, June 26, 2015

Socialist Supreme Court Upholds ObamaCare

Socialists on the Supreme Court led by RINO Turn Coat Chief Justice John Roberts again upheld ObamaCare.  Apparently, words don't matter any more in our legal system.  Even though the law is very clear that only people getting subsidies through State Exchanges are eligible for those subsidies.  Since 36 States chose not to implement State Exchanges, most of the people getting ObamaCare subsidies are getting them through the Federal Exchange in clear violation of the law.

However, RINO Turn Coat Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority Socialist opinion saying that the words don't matter, it is the intent that counts.  If that is so, then all written laws don't matter.  The President, who ever he or she happens to be can just interpret the laws of the land anyway they choose.  This precedent will come back to haunt Socialists in the future as Republican Presidents will also interpret written laws as they choose, ignoring the actual words in the law. 

We continue moving closer and closer to Dictatorship.  Why even bother with the legislative branch of government.  Many of the members of Congress are incompetent crooks anyway so we might as well do away with them and just have the Executive and Judicial Branches of government to run the country.  Judges, appointed by the President for life can simply rubber stamp the President's actions and we can pretend that we have a democracy. 

Specific to ObamaCare, Republicans and RINOS in particular have been missing in action.  Yes, they all want to repeal and replace ObamaCare, or so they say, but they have put no specific plan on the table.  And, when the gutless Republican controlled Congress had the chance to defund ObamaCare, they failed to do so.  ObamaCare will be a big issue in the Presidential election in 2016.  All Republican candidates will say they want to repeal and replace ObamaCare.  But unless we see a specific plan, it will never happen. 

We have been lied to so many times by RINOS that many Republicans want nothing to do with the Republican Party any more.  That is really true in the State of Nevada where this Blogger lives.  Many Republicans in Nevada, that now control our state, are all RINOS that just voted for the highest tax and spending increase in Nevada history.  These RINOS, including Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval (BS for short), are LIARS. 

Many of us can't stand John Boehner, Republican Speaker of the House, or Mitch McConnell, the Republican Majority Leader of the Senate.  Both of them are RINOS and incompetent.  These Establishment Republicans have to go if we are going to take back our country.  Same old same old just gets us same old waste, fraud, abuse, corruption, redundancy and government failure.  Without the base of the Republican Party, that is disgusted by what we see in our leaders, no Republican Presidential candidate can win.  It is really that simple. 

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Making America Great Again - Taking Our Country Back

Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump has adopted the adage, Making America Great Again" as his slogan.  There is no doubt that America has been in decline for many years, thanks to elected officials in both political parties; but accelerated by Socialist Emperor Pinocchio Obama, one of the worst Presidents in American history and all of his failed Socialist Schemes and policies.  Let's face facts shall we. 

Our economy is not growing because the government beast has made it nearly impossible for the private sector to grow jobs as a result of high taxes and burdensome regulations.  50 million Americans are on Welfare and Food Stamps.  10 million Americans are collecting Disability Benefits.  Another 20 million or more Americans are either unemployed, under employed working part time that want full time work, or they have just given up looking for work altogether because their jobs are in China and other countries.  Social Security and Medicare are heading toward bankruptcy. 

We have an $18 Trillion National Debt, with no end in sight, because corrupt politicians of both political parties have used deficit spending, that is bankrupting our county, to buy votes in order to stay in power feeding at the trough.   The waste, fraud, abuse, redundency, corruption and failure in government grows by the day.  What we have today is Crony Capitalism as certain companies and politicians work together to benefit themselves at the expense of the American people.

Though we are still a Super Power, under Obama we have become a Paper Tiger because this President is gutting our military, leads from behind and draws lines in the sand that he does not enforce.  The end result is a resurgent and aggressive Russia that has taken over another country's territory in Europe for the first time since World War II.  We face China, growing in military power, that steals our technology and hacks into both our government and American companies computers, without any response from our nation.   In the not to distant future Iran, the world's greatest sponsor of Terrorism, will have nuclear weapons that can reach the United States, thanks to Obama's feckless foreign policy and negotiations. 

Government at all levels intrudes into all aspects of daily life, threatening our freedoms. Big Brother in the form of the IRS Gestapo, EPA Gestapo, and Justice Department Gestapo spies on all Americans and violates our 1st, 2nd and 4th Amendment Constitutional Rights.   We must fear government today as badly as any foreign enemy we have ever faced. 

In order to make America Great Again, WE THE PEOPLE must stand up and say NO MORE and ENOUGH.  We must insist on a Balanced Budget Constitutional Amendment to get our fiscal house in order.   We must also insist on a Terms Limits Amendment to insure that we have citizen politicians, that must live under the laws that they enact, instead of a power elite that lives under no laws.  We have to starve the government beast by cutting taxes so that Americans keep more of their hard earned money and to create limited Constitutional Government as was intended by our Founders.  We have to roll back the thousands of regulations that are killing jobs.  We must secure our border and make certain that we have the strongest military on earth to protect our freedoms. 

We must again become one nation and one people under God, rather than allowing Socialists and the left wing left wing media to divide us.   We have to get back to hard work, faith in God and the family values that made our country great.  We can Make America Great Again; but only if WE THE PEOPLE take back our country.   It will not happen with same old, same old.  We have to throw the bums out of office that have made such a mess of our country.  It will not happen any other way.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Free Trade & Fair Trade

There is no doubt that Free Trade has cost the United States millions of manufacturing and other related jobs.  Part of this has occurred because Unions in the US have driven up compensation and benefits to a level that is uncompetitive in the world.  Additionally, the US tax system and burdensome regulations sometimes make it impossible to manufacture products in the US.  Currently, we have 50 million Americans on Welfare, 10 million Americans collecting Disability Benefits, about 9 million officially unemployed and probably another 10 million, either under employed, or that have just stopped looking for work altogether and as a result they are not counted. 

So that means there are about 79 million, or more Americans, many of whom that are able bodied that have no jobs because there are no good paying jobs for them.   Of course, some of these people are legitimately disabled and some are just lazy and would not work even if there were jobs available, but certainly there are a good percentage that were once working that have been displaced by Free Trade. 

Socialists and even Republican Donald Trump are calling for Tariffs (taxes on imported goods) presumably to keep those goods out of the country, or to equalize their cost with potential production in the United States that would result from higher labor cost, taxes and regulations in the US.  However, these people have not learned the lessons of history.  Tariffs caused trade wars that contributed to the Great Depression as all countries attempted to protect their manufacturers and even farmers from outside competition.  It is not the answer.   Besides, American have a higher standard of living because of goods produced overseas that are more affordable than would be the case if they were produced in the United States.  Tariffs would hurt the very people they are intended to protect. 

The problem is that we have opened our markets to goods produced overseas; but other countries have made it difficult to do business in their countries and or people in countries like Japan just won't buy American products, considering them inferior to products produced in Japan.  This Blogger was recently in Japan.  And, aside from American fast food and some other consumer products I saw,  there are few American products in Japanese stores and almost no American cars on Japanese streets. 

The reason is that Japan is a collective society.  It is all about Team Japan for the Japanese people.  They will actually spend more money to buy a product made in Japan than to buy a cheaper product imported from the US, even if it is of the same, or better quality.  That is just not the American psyche.  We shop price and quality, no matter where the product was made because we don't function as Team America.  Americans act as individuals, not as a collective society.  It has ultimately been the basis of our success as a nation and perhaps one of the reasons that Japan has fallen behind in the last 20 years. 

Tariffs would just result in trade wars.   Instead, we must push for truly open markets in those countries that artificially control their currencies to make their products cheap overseas, i.e. the Chinese and removal of barriers that make it impossible to compete in these countries.  In addition, the Chinese often require American companies to share their proprietary technologies, as a condition of doing business in China, so that 5 or 10 years later, the Chinese are manufacturing the very same products competing around the world.  This is wrong and should be an illegal practice.   We need Free Trade; but it must also be Fair Trade.  We are not there today. 

Monday, June 22, 2015

Out Of Evil In Charleston, South Carolina Comes Good

A young White Racist recently walked into a Black Church in Charleston, South Carolina and murdered nine innocent Christians participating in Bible Study, including the very well respected Minister of the Church, who is also a State Legislator.  Whether this 21 year old murderer was possessed by the devil, or just deranged, whenever we see these acts of senseless violence, we are seeing the face of evil.  No doubt, this tragic incident could have turned into another riot as Blacks in the community, rightly so, could have expressed their grief in anger in the streets.    

But unlike Baltimore, Maryland. or Ferguson, Missouri where the race hustlers and incompetent elected officials took control of the situation and violence ensued, in beautiful and historic Charleston, South Carolina, dubbed the Holy City because of its many churches, leaders of the city and state came together in a wonderful show of unity that really does preserve and sanctify the memory of the nine people who were murdered.   People of all races, faiths and political parties marched together in the streets of Charleston to share their grief and sorrow.   What we saw was the best of American Traditions, when we really do act as one people and one nation under God and best of all it happened in the Deep South, where slavery and segregation prevailed for more than 200 years. 

In addition, Republican Governor Nikki Haley correctly called for removing the Confederate Flag from a state building, since many Americans see it as a symbol of slavery and oppression.  That flag belongs in a Civil War museum because it is part of the history of the period; but it should not be flying over any building in the United States.

Yet, there are Socialist politicians, including President Obama, that want to make this tragic event about gun control, when South Carolina already has strict gun laws and the gun that was used to murder was purchased legally.  And, there are some, including the President, that recently used the N word in an interview to say that Americans are inherently racist.  Mr. President, there may be Racists in the United States; people who hate others because of their skin color, but to speak in broad terms does a disservice to our nation and our people.   Further, it seeks to divide us when we need our leaders to bring us together as one people.

A majority of mostly White Voters elected our first Black President twice.  And, those that did not vote for Obama, did not vote for him because of his skin color; but rather because Obama is a radical Socialist.   Be assured that if Ben Carson, also Black, is the Republican nominee for President, he will be embraced by all Republicans and many other Americans because of his thinking not his skin color.  In any case, out of Evil in South Carolina has come Good.   In a previous Blog Posting, I asked the question, when praising Dr. Martin Luther King, where are the Black Leaders we need today, when the Black Community is in crisis.  We saw them in Charleston, South Carolina.  There is hope.    

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Time To Starve The Government Beast

Local, State and Federal Government is responsible for 40% of our annual Gross Domestic Product.  That is, government spending comprises about 40% of all the goods and services bought in the United States; about 25% Federal and 15% Local and State.   The government Beast has grown so big that our freedoms are threatened as government intrudes on all facets of daily life.  The only way to stop this from happening is to stop feeding the Beast by cutting Taxes and spending, including borrowing and deficit spending, so that government represents a smaller portion of our GDP. 

This Blogger is not a Libertarian.  I believe there is a role for the Federal government related to National Defense,  Foreign Affairs, Immigration, Securing Our Border, Health and Safety, Interstate Commerce, Transportation, Interstate Highways and our Banking and Monetary system.   Notice that I did not list Education because that is clearly a state function.  Everything else should be left to the states because government that governs closest and least, governs best and that includes control of lands within states.   What we have now is tremendous waste, fraud, abuse, corruption, redundancy, Crony Capitalism and government failures that are in the news every day because there are so many layers of bureaucracy that we have created not only tyrannical government out of control, but government that is unmanageable.   

This Blogger opposes all tax increases, at all levels of government, because all we are doing is feeding the Beast, rather than limiting the size of government and eliminating all the waste, fraud, abuse, corruption, redundancy, Crony Capitalism and government failures.  Besides, government representing 40% of GDP is ridiculous because it happens at the expense of the private sector where real job creation occurs.  This is the reason we have extremely high unemployment with the real number being well above 15%, if everyone was counted.  Big Government ultimately is a job killer.  We need to get Government GDP spending down to about 17% Federal and perhaps 15% for Local and State spending; so 32% of GDP total, instead of 40%.   That may even be too much, but at least it would create a better balance than what we have now.

Government is clearly not the solution for every problem.  If Government was smaller, we would see other private sector solutions to deal with many of the things government touches today and much more efficiently and cost effectively.  Many Government Services, i.e. Veterans Hospitals, could be privatized.   We need Workfare, not Welfare to get people off the dole.  Americans should be able to choose between private investment funds for pensions and Social Security.   And of course, School Choice should be the law of the land so that parents could choose between public and private schools for their children, with a government voucher paid to the selected school.  Same Old Same Old Socialist Schemes are not only failing, they are bankrupting our country.  It is time to starve the Beast to get our nation's financial house in order.  It will not happen any other way.

Friday, June 19, 2015

RINOS Are Bad For The Republican Party & America

Republicans In Name Only (RINOS) are bad for the Republican Party and America.  RINOS are nothing more than Socialists Lite willing to raise taxes, increase regulations and add to Local, State and National Debt by borrowing to fund Socialist Schemes.  We just saw this is the state of Nevada where for the first time in decades a Republican controlled legislature was elected, Republican Governor Brian Sandoval (BS for short) was reelected and all state wide offices are now held by Republicans. 

Nevada turned into a Red State, or so we thought, in spite of the fact that retiring Socialist Senator Dirty Harry Reid is one of our Senators.  Republican voters, that made this happen, were thrilled on election night last November when all this came to be; but then RINOS, led by Governor BS, enacted the largest tax and spending increase in Nevada state history.  These RINOS ignored their reelection promises not to raise taxes and further ignored the will of the people, that on the very same election day rejected a Corporate Margins Tax, by almost 80%.  

It was just a few months later that Liar Governor BS, proposed a Margin Tax, now called a Commerce Tax, in his State of the State Address, which BS pushed through the State Legislature.   One thing is for sure, if BS were somehow to end up on the Republican ticket as Vice President, this Blogger will not vote for the Republican candidate for President no matter who that may turn out to be because Sandoval is not a Republican.  Instead, Brian Sandoval is a tax and spend, pro choice Socialist that should come out of the closet and switch political parties. 

As you might imagine there is a Recall Movement in the works to remove from office Republican State Senators that are not up for reelection in 2016, as well as, a movement to put a Referendum on the Ballot in 2016 to repeal the $1.5 Billion in new taxes enacted by Governor BS and the RINO State Legislature.  However, all of this is very bad for the Republican Party in Nevada and even nationally.  When RINOS, really Socialists Lite, ignore the tenets of the Republican Party and our beliefs in smaller, limited Constitutional government, lower taxes, less regulations, a strong national defense, securing our borders, the right to life and the protection of 1st, 2nd and 4th Amendment rights, they turn off the base of the Republican Party, going forward, that will not show up to vote on election nights in the future.  And, if the Conservative base of the  Republican Party does not show up to vote for our Presidential candidate, as a result of these constant RINO betrayals, we lose. 

Further, when RINOS get duped by Socialists, without getting any real reforms in return, into supporting their Socialist Schemes, which happens all the time, we end up with higher taxes, more spending and bigger government, as is now happening in Nevada, which is both bankrupting our nation and a threat to our very freedoms.  This Blogger will never, never support or vote for a RINO again, no matter who the opposition Socialist candidate may be because there is no difference I can see between them.  I would rather love to hate a Socialist in office, than hate to love a RINO that is no different. 

Finally, reaching across the aisle is fine if it means limiting the size of government, lowering taxes and cutting regulations.   Compromise is not fine if it means more Socialist Schemes that grow government, increase taxes and add job killer regulations that harm businesses.   The Republican Party better get the message and purge these RINOS from the Party.   We are either the Conservative Party of America, to achieve a real choice between the two parties, or the Republican Party will go the way of the Whigs and be no more.    

Socialist Pope Francis Should Focus on Preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ

It is becoming clearer by the day with the recent Encyclical published by Pope Francis concerning Climate Change that this Pope is a Socialist.  Pope John Paul II had lived under both Fascism and Communism in Poland so he often scolded and punished radical priests, particularly in South America for preaching "Liberation Theology", translation, Communist Doctrine.   John Paul knew first hand the evils of Socialism and Communism that led to misery, poverty and the murder of millions of people.   

As a Roman Catholic,  I encourage Pope Francis to focus on Preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and render on to Caesar what is Caesar's as Jesus taught.  By issuing this Encyclical on Climate Change, that goes way beyond dealing with this topic, right into Socialist ideology related to redistribution of wealth and the power and relationship between government and its citizens, Francis has entered the political realm in a way that is not productive, nor beneficial to the Catholic Church.  For this Blogger in particular, it means shifting our charitable contributions from the Church to other organizations that change lives. 

And, somehow connecting Climate Change to the plight of the poor as an excuse for bigger, more intrusive government, higher taxes and more regulations that kill jobs, putting more people on the dole, is right out of the Socialist Playbook.   Socialist Catholics, if there is such a thing, ignore the teachings of the Church related to Abortion and Gay Marriage; but will now use Pope Francis's words as justification for all their big government failed Socialist Schemes that have led to massive global debt and the loss of our freedoms.  

The fact is that Free Market Capitalism, with all its warts and boom and bust cycles has led to more wealth for more people than any other system on earth.  Free Market Capitalism is the only and best way to deal with poverty in the world because only through wealth creation can there be job creation. Unfortunately, since Pope Francis came from Argentina, where Dictatorships, Crony Capitalism and control by a small number of oligarchs has been common, Francis has never really experienced the Free Market Capitalism, now under threat, that built America into the greatest nation on earth.   So the Pope has no point of reference; nor apparently does he understand basic economics.

Pope Francis, who wears the shoes of the fisherman, as the direct line to St. Peter, the rock designated by Jesus Christ to create the foundation of  Christianity, has lost his way.   The Pope was not elected to be the head of the United Nations; but rather to be the Shepard showing all peoples of the world the way to Jesus Christ and God.   Somehow becoming involved in the whole Climate Change debate, which is very political and offensive to many would seem to be a detour and road to no where.   Most important,  Pope Francis embracing Socialist Ideology, when Socialism has failed to create prosperity everywhere on earth it has been tried, leading instead to misery and murder, is folly at best and the devil's work at worst. 

John in Revelations predicted the coming of an Anti-Christ.  While Pinocchio Obama fits the description perfectly, let us hope we are not seeing this prediction come true in Pope Francis.  It is time for the Pope to focus on minding his flock and leave politics to the politicians because otherwise, many and particularly donors, will turn away from the Catholic Church and that can't be a good thing. 

Thursday, June 18, 2015

The Devil Alive & Well In America - The Case For The Right To Own Guns

The devil is alive and well in America.  This time we see the mass killing of 9 Black people praying in a Christian Church in Charleston, South Carolina by a deranged, or perhaps hate filled White 22 year old male.   Details and motives yet to be determined as I post this Blogl but any time we see these crimes, it is the devil in action.  Murders happen in the United States on a regular basis usually because of Domestic Violence, Gang Related Drug Deals, Other Crimes and or just random killings often by someone that is on drugs, or otherwise deranged.  This Blogger believes that this is the Devil's work.

Every time we see one of these tragic events, Secular Socialists, in particular and others call for limits on the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution, the right to own a gun.   Some even call for eliminating the right to own a gun altogether citing these violent murders.  The fact is that law abiding citizens that own guns do not commit these murders.  And, further, what is often lost in this discussion is the number of murders that are prevented because law abiding citizens are in a position to defend themselves against the deranged and criminals.

Further, the real reason the Founders of our nation included the 2nd Amendment in the Bill of Rights was because they feared tyrannical government, having just fought a Revolutionary War to get rid of a dictator tyrant.  Socialists, Fascists and Communists have murdered millions of their own citizens that were defenseless against them.   Does anyone really believe that if the Jews murdered in the Holocaust and the millions of others killed by Socialists and Communist could have protected themselves that these deaths would have occurred.   So, whenever we see or hear the calls for limiting, or eliminating our 2nd Amendment Rights, it is important that we learn the lessons of history.  Never Again, Never Again. 

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Obama Justice Department - IRS Playing Out The Clock

Guess what, suddenly 6,400 Lois Lerner emails have turned up that supposedly disappeared when hard drives crashed, or were purposely destroyed.  Remember, Lerner, she was the IRS Director who ordered the targeting of Conservative and Religious Groups that opposed Obama's Socialist Schemes.   This woman needs to go to jail rather than be allowed to collect her exorbitant pension.  The appropriate Committee of Congress, investigating this Scandal, has demanded that those emails be turned over; but instead the Obama Justice Department and IRS are stalling saying that they must go through the emails to eliminate duplicates.  Who cares about duplicates.  This is just a bunch of baloney. 

Of course, that will probably take the remainder of the Obama Presidency as the corrupt Justice Department and IRS play out the clock.  Honestly, the Obama Administration has been the most corrupt and least transparent since Richard Nixon was forced to resign over Watergate.   Obama makes Nixon look like a choir boy.   We don't refer to Obama as Pinocchio for nothing.  This President and the Obamanistas that surround him are all LIARS. 

So, the only recourse for Congress is to cut Justice Department and IRS funding.   Republicans that control both Houses of Congress need to starve these corrupt beasts to stop the bonuses going to these LIARS and CROOKS.   And, those that were targeted must go to court under the Freedom of Information Act to get these emails.   The lawyers need to demand punitive fines levied against the individuals that control the IRS, in particular, if not jail time, if they don't turn the email over to them and the Congress.  It is time to play hard ball with these LIARS and CROOKS. 

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Donald Trump Is Running For President

Billionaire Donald Trump announced that he is seeking the Republican nomination for President.   Trumps slogan should be the old Forest Gump adage that "Stupid Is As Stupid Does" because Trump is saying that our elected officials of both political parties have been really stupid related to our trade policy, border security, economic issues, government bureaucracy, taxes, deficit spending etc. etc. and he is absolutely right.  This Blogger often does my radio show in Nevada on Stupid In America because we see so much waste, fraud, abuse, redundancy and out right failure in government programs and spending, that it can only be called really stupid.

The Donald says he is the guy that can make "America Great Again".  We do need that guy; but unfortunately the corruption that exists in government is so great that no one President alone can fix all the nation's problems.   To start with we need both Balanced Budget and Term Limits Constitutional Amendments added to our Constitution.  Without these tools in place, it would be next to impossible to stop deficit spending on crazy programs, commissions, departments etc.  Further Crony Capitalism is alive and well and both political parties play the game.  Very big companies and unions donate to both parties to get what they want out of government at taxpayer expense.  Even the US Chamber of Commerce has gone over to the dark side advocating higher gasoline taxes, when so much of the money we already give the federal government is wasted and Free Trade that has destroyed manufacturing jobs in the US.    We need Fair Trade not Free Trade.   Instead of focusing on more money to deal with displaced US workers from Free Trade, we should be focusing on bringing manufacturing jobs back to the US.  Trump is absolutely right on this issue. 

Donald Trump would be better off running as an Independent than as a Republican, since he will not get the Republican nomination for the Presidency.  The powers that be will never allow it because Trump is too big a threat to their empires.  If he did so, he could just start now and focus on winning the Presidency, rather than the Republican nomination.   It would be a smarter strategy and his only hope of becoming the next President of the United States. 

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Greece - Watching A Socialist Country Collapse

Greece owes creditors billions of Euros that it cannot pay.  This is a Socialist country that for years paid public employees significantly higher compensation and benefits than their economy could support.  After all, Greece manufacturers and exports practically nothing worth buying.  Bloated government spending has resulted in perpetual borrowing, rather than biting the bullet and either laying off public employees and or reducing their pensions and other benefits, which always led to riots.   Creditors have said Enough by refusing to restructure Greece's debt because Greece's newly elected Socialist government refuses to make the cuts in government spending necessary to get Greece back on a track toward fiscal sanity. 

At some point soon, Greece will default and be thrown out of the European Union.  That means no more Euro and back to a Greek currency that will be worthless.  No doubt, European governments will have to bail out their banks that are very exposed to this Greek Debt.  Fortunately, on this one, American banks are not too exposed; though since we live in a global economy, whenever any economic block, in this case the EU is negatively impacted, there will be a ripple effect that is difficult to predict.

Most important, though Greece is a relatively small economy, as this Socialist country collapses, we will see what can happen when the balloon burst.  Expect Civil Strife on their streets, a rush on the banks, very high inflation and interest rates, the potential for Marshal Law and probable food lines.   History is our teacher.   We have seen this story before in Weimar Germany before Hitler and more recently with the break up of the Soviet Union. 

Don't think it can't happen in the United States.  Our National Debt, now at $18 Trillion and growing with no end in sight, is about 120% of our GDP.  That means we owe more than we are producing every year.  We too are reaching an unsustainable Debt Level, yet Socialists in government and Hillary Clinton, running for the Presidency, keep calling for more entitlements, when the current ones are not even sustainable.  Providing for the 50% of Americans that pay no income taxes at all may help Socialists win elections, but one day the balloon will burst because the Makers in society, those of us that pay the 50% of all income taxes in our country and most other fees and taxes to local, state and federal government, cannot carry the load any longer.  There isn't enough wealth in the country, even if all of it was confiscated, to cover all the unfunded liabilities that currently exist, let alone new ones.  Watch Greece to see our story in the making.  As goes a bankrupt Greece, will go a bankrupt United States, only worse. 

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Hillary Clinton - Just Another Big Government Socialist

Hillary Clinton had to reboot her Presidential campaign that was going no where.  Hilly is the candidate from Yesterday, talking about Yesterday, who wants to take us back to Yesterday.  To tell her story again, she went to Roosevelt Island, off Manhattan in New York, to channel Socialist President Franklin Roosevelt who brought us Welfare, Food Stamps and a Social Security system that is headed toward bankruptcy.   Roosevelt's New Deal also prolonged the Great Depression because Roosevelt enacted punitive income taxes that seriously stifled economic growth and job creation.  It was only World War II that finally brought the United States out of the Depression; but then you will never hear any of this from current Socialists, or the left wing lame stream media see Roosevelt as a God.

Hilly spoke to all the Socialist constituencies in her speech; students who deserve free university, parents that should get free child care, radical feminists that want the right to have abortions right up until a baby is born,  radical environmental wackos that continue to kill jobs, big union cronies, the LGBT community seeking the right to marry, those that hate free market capitalism and of course the 65 million Americans on the dole collecting Welfare, Food Stamps and Disability benefits. 

Hilly claims the 50% of Americans that pay all the income taxes in the United States and most of the other taxes and fees to local, state and the federal government are not paying enough to support all the Takers in society, that pay little or nothing, you know namely Socialist voters.  It is not enough that many of us give up 50% of our hard earned money to fund failed government and all the Socialist Schemes that have been enacted into law in the last 60 years that have made a mess of our country.   What is really interesting is that when a Socialist is asked how much is enough, they will never answer the question because for Socialists higher taxes and bigger government are never enough. 

The problem is that there is not enough wealth in the entire country to fund all the Socialist Schemes promised every election.  $12 Trillion has already been spent on the War on Poverty and in addition to destroying the Black family, the poverty rate is higher today than three decades ago.  Ironically,  Blacks in particular are for worse off under our first Black President.  The United States spends more on public education than any other industrialized nation in the world; yet many of our public schools stink and in general American student achievement is lower than occurs in other countries.  Socialism has failed every where in the world it has been tried.  Yet, Hillary Clinton and all of her pals have not learned the lessons of history.  They want to double down on failed Socialist Schemes.  Higher taxes kills jobs and just puts more people on Welfare.  Cards talk and numbers don't lie.  65 million people on the dole tell the story better than anything this Blogger, or any Republican running for President, can ever tell it.  

Friday, June 12, 2015

Rino Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval Announces He Will Not Seek Dirty Harry's Senate Seat

RINO Governor Brian Sandoval (BS for short) announced that he will not seek the Republican nomination for the Senate seat that will be vacated by retiring Socialist Senator Dirty Harry Reid.  Frankly, this is no surprise to this Blogger because BS is seen as a liar by the base of the Republican Party for enacting a Margins Tax that just a few months ago, while running for reelection, BS said he opposed.  BS talks about remaining as Governor to create "a new Nevada".  If by "new" BS means a Socialist Nevada with high taxes, significantly more spending, more regulations, ObamaCare, expanded Medicaid that BS accepted, which will bankrupt the state of Nevada, implementation of Common Core and Obama's Executive Amnesty Program, which apparently BS supports, the base of the Republican Party is saying NO THANKS.  That is not the Nevada that we support and BS knows it, which is the reason he does not dare seek elected office again in Nevada; at least not as a Republican.

Governor BS is now so disliked by the base of the Republican Party for ignoring the voters and enacting his $1.5 Billion Tax increase and a corresponding increase in spending, that one of the county Republican Party Committees has excommunicated him along with the their states legislator that voted for BS's tax increase.   In the old days, these RINOS would have been tarred and feathered and sent packing out of state.  There was something to be said for the old days to deal with politicians that are LIARS.   Governor BS lied when running for election and reelection when he said repeatedly that he did not support tax increases and then enacted the largest tax and spending increase in Nevada history.

Here is the deal.  Governor BS is not a Republican at all.  BS is a Dirty Harry Reid Pro Choice Socialist.  This Blogger believes that the fix is in.  What Sandoval really wants, as the former Nevada Attorney General, is a Supreme Court appointment for life.  And, I would bet that Dirty Harry is prepared to get it for him to get Sandoval out of the way so Reid's sons can continue the family dynasty in Nevada.  After all, politics is the Reid family business and the basis for their family wealth.  Dirty Harry has run Nevada for years.   Reid wants Sandoval gone to make way for his sons in the future. 

And, why not.  If there is an opening on the Supreme Court before Obama leaves office, getting a declared Socialist through the Republican controlled Senate will be difficult, if not impossible.  But, if Obama appoints Sandoval, who on paper at least is a Republican, how can the Senate turn him down.  However, there is nothing really different about Sandoval than would be the case if Obama appointed any other Socialist.  Sandoval is Pro Choice, rare for a Republican.  Sandoval was one of few Republican Governors that accepted ObamaCare, setting up a state exchange that failed.  Sandoval also accepted expanded Medicaid.  Sandoval supports Common Core, the federalization of public education.  Sandoval was opposed to Nevada's Attorney General joining 26 other states to challenge Obama's Executive Amnesty Program.  Sandoval is a tax and spend left wing liberal that just enacted the highest tax increase in Nevada history to benefit the teacher's union.  

And, maybe most important Sandoval is a young Hispanic that if approved would be in office for 30 years supporting Obama's Socialist ideology.  Believe me the fix is in.  Now Ruth Bader Ginsburg, or one of the others on the Supreme Court must bite the dust before Obama leaves office to put Dirty Harry's plan in place.  You heard it here. 

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Obama's Incoherent Iraq ISIS Policy

Is anybody with a brain minding the store at the Obama White House.   Socialist Emperor Pinocchio Veto Obama just ordered an additional 450 American boots on the ground to create a fifth training base to train the Iraqi Army and Sunni's willing to fight ISIS, I guess.  So now we have about 3,500 American soldier, based in Iraq training the Iraqi Army.  However, we have been attempting to train the Iraqi Army for about 10 years.  Apparently, they are real slow learners because when confronted by the enemy they just drop their weapons and run.

And, much of the equipment ISIS is using to take over Iraq and Syria, including their recent acquisition of 2,300 Humvees that we gave the Iraqi Army, they have gained in the field when the Iraqi Army simply abandoned the equipment.  It would seem that there are some common sense lessons to be learned from all of this.  First, the Iraqi Army is no Army at all.  It is a rag tag group of militia fighters, when they show up, that is not trainable.  Further, we need to guard whatever equipment we give them because the next day it seems to end up ISIS hands. 

Commentator Bill O'Reily put forth a real plan to destroy ISIS.  Obama claims that there are 60 countries in the coalition he has put together to fight ISIS.  Of course, we have never seen the list of these countries.  But if they do exist, how about each country contributing 10,000 troops to put together a real army of 600,000 lead by American forces to go in and really destroy ISIS once and for all.  It is pretty obvious that we are wasting our time and money trying to turn the Iraqis into a fighting force.  How many times must Obama fail to get this right. 

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

American Foreign Policy Should Be Based On A Grand Strategy That Drives All Decisions

After World War II, successive Presidents of both political parties implemented Containment to prevent the spread of Communism in the world.  This meant Containing the old Soviet Union and to a lesser degree Red China.  Alliances were established and our Defense and Military capabilities were funded to do this job.  Containment was in place pretty much until the collapse of the Soviet Union.  It was then thought that we could take advantage of a "peace dividend", since at that point neither the new Russia or Red China were much of a threat, so there was a bit of a military draw down as relations with Russia and China improved. 

Then came 9/11 and the Islamic Fascist threat that we face today.  All of a sudden, there was a realization that though Russian Communism had been vanquished, we now face a new threat from fanatics that are perfectly happy to die for their ideology in the belief that they will become martyrs for their faith.  The old adage of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) that had been in place with the Russians, that presumably were at least sane and did not want to die by nuclear war, no longer applied in our dealings with these Islamic Fascists.  They are happy to die as long as they kill a lot of us in the process.  So, at least while George W Bush was President, this new threat was met with force, for better or worse.

And, that gets us to today with Socialist Emperor Pinocchio Obama in power.  Obama thought he could use his smooth talking skills and Muslim background to make friends with these Islamic Fascists.   Early in Obama's Presidency, he traveled to the Middle East to extend a hand to our enemies and they have since cut it off.  Obama apologized for all the transgressions of the United States and all other countries throughout history related to dealings in the Middle East,  which our enemies just saw as weakness and their green light to create an Islamic Caliphate in the Middle East and beyond. 

Instead of the "Peace Through Strength" that had been our driving force for more than 60 years, Obama  led from behind.  Obama further drew lines in the sand that were never enforced and began cutting our military.  Rather than having a Grand Strategy that drives all of our foreign policy decisions, Obama just manages from crisis to crisis on a daily basis, which has led to an incoherent foreign policy that has resulted in the Middle East on fire, Russia's attack on the Ukraine and China's aggressive claims in the South China Sea.   What has become really obvious is that the United States must again have a Grand Strategy first to defeat and destroy Islamic Fascism, the same way we destroyed Nazism and once again to contain an expansive Russia and China. 

This Grand Strategy should be articulated by the President of the United States, who ever he or she is and then all decisions that come down, including alliances and military defense funding should emanate from this clearly articulated strategy.  This will never happen while Obama is President because he is weak, incompetent and unable to take the long view of geo politics.  Hopefully, we will hear the articulation of a Grand Strategy to manage our foreign policy from the candidates running to replace Obama.  Without a Grand Strategy driving our foreign policy decisions, we are likely to go from crisis to crisis until we arrive at some horrible war.  It is what it is and we have seen this story before. 

  

Student Loans - Another Government Failure

There is over a trillion dollars in outstanding Student Loans, guaranteed by the federal government, much of which will never be repaid.  In fact, Socialist Emperor Pinocchio Veto Obama is going to make sure that the taxpayers of America, you know the 50% of us that pay all the income taxes in our country and most of the other taxes and fees as well, get stiffed.  Matter of fact, Obamanistas announced that they are forgiving billions of dollars of these loans for kids that went to fly by night schools because they either never got a degree, or got a worthless degree.  This is all going to get worse because Obama took over the Student Loan business when he became President taking it out of the private sector.  So now, students borrow directly from the federal government, rather than borrowing from banks or other institutions with a federal government guarantee.  This is just another redistribution of income Socialist Scheme.

The federal government has made it far too easy for kids to borrow thousands of dollars leaving them with loads of debt after graduation.  These loans should have been conditioned on work study programs and given only to students going to properly certified public or private institutions.  And, no loans should have been given to kids coming from families that could afford to pay for their schooling.  Apparently, there has been no certification program related to determining which community colleges, or universities would be eligible for student loan funding, which allowed for the development of fly by night schools attempting to get in on the gravy train.   Naturally, crooks will always go where the money is, right?  And, since federal government student loans are easy to get with little restrictions, naturally there would be waste, fraud and abuse.  And as usual, like in all Socialist Schemes that fail, the American taxpayer ends up footing the bill.

This is just one more reason, this Blogger opposes all tax increases at the local, state and federal level.  There is just so much waste, fraud, abuse, redundancy and failure at all levels of government, that to feed the beast any more of our hard earned money is just crazy.  Further, throwing all this free money at legitimate colleges and universities has allowed them to pay outrageous salaries and benefits to professors and others that teach very few classes.    This has all lead to tuition inflation way beyond real inflation.  And, who would care if the taxpayer was not on the hook; but we are on the hook.  Ultimately, there will be defaults and or forgiveness of many of these Student Loans at taxpayer expense.   This is just another example of good intentions turning into another Big Government Failure.  

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Obama Declares No Complete Strategy For Destroying ISIS

Though it should be no surprise to anyone, Socialist Emperor Pinocchio Veto Obama recently declared that he has no complete strategy for "degrading and destroying" ISIS, the Islamic Fascist Terrorists that are murdering Christians, Jews, other Muslims and anyone else that stands in their way in Iraq, Syria and other parts of the Middle East and North Africa.  Obama threw the Pentagon under the bus claiming that he is waiting for them to give him a Plan.   Really??  Officials at the Pentagon, refusing to be the fall guys on this deal have said that there are Plans that have been sitting on Obama's desk for months.  Perhaps if the President spent a little less time golfing and a little more time doing his job,  Obama would have a coherent strategy for destroying ISIS.

Clearly, ISIS is winning in Iraq and Syria.  Their Terrorist brothers have taken over Libya and other parts of the Middle East and North Africa and yet Obama fiddles while these regions are on fire.  Obama is just playing out the clock hoping to turn over the mess he will leave behind to the next President to take action; some action, any action to defeat the Terrorists that threaten our nation.  There needs to be a Grand Coalition of moderate Arab nations and NATO to take down ISIS once and for all and that means collective boots on the ground.  It is likely that Iraq must be divided into three separate countries, which by the way was Crazy Joe Biden's idea years ago; one Sunni, one Shite and one Kurdish, rather than sticking to artificial boundaries set up by the British.  Syria too may have to be partitioned.  Obviously, what we are doing now is not working. 

Most important, we need a President who does not lead from behind, or draw lines in the sand that he then ignores demonstrating Obama's weakness and incompetence.   Pinocchio Obama is a clear and present danger to our nation and the world.  Only peace through strength keeps the peace.  We have got to rebuild our military that Obama is degrading.  Unfortunately, none of this will happen until Obama is gone and we elect a strong President who understands the threats we face in the world and how to deal with them.  Let's just hope that there is not another tragic Terrorist attack on American soil before then that is the result of Obama's blunders.   

Monday, June 8, 2015

Social Security Over Payments - Another Big Government Failure

It was reported that the Social Security Administration paid out about $17 billion, over ten years in Disability Benefits, that were not owed.  Supposedly about $8 Billion were recovered, if that story is true.  Yet, as usual no one has been FIRED.  There are today 15 million Americans collecting Disability Benefits, many fraudulently.   So about $142 Billion a year goes out to pay these people for Disability claims.   Problem is that in 2016 the Disability Trust Fund will not be able to pay more than 80% of benefits owed because the fund is currently paying out more than it is taking in by Employee contributions.   But this is the same story related to Social Security that is headed toward insolvency, since 78 million Baby Boomers are turning 65 at a rate of 10,000 a day for the next 20 years.   Aside from the government failure that this Social Security Administration mismanagement represents, these Entitlement Programs are not sustainable; yet Pinocchio Obama and RINOS and Socialists at all levels of State and Federal government keep adding more Entitlements. 

The 50% of us that pay all the income taxes in our country and most of the other taxes and fees that are levied simply cannot carry the weight of this nation solely on our backs.  If all the wealth in the country were confiscated, something Socialists and RINOS would love to do, it would not be enough to pay for all of the unfunded liabilities that exist for Welfare, Food Stamps, Social Security, Medicare, Disability Benefits, Expanded Medicaid, ObamaCare and local, state and federal government employee pensions.   Believe me, RINOS and Socialists that continue to bleed the Makers in society dry through higher taxes are pushing our states and country toward bankruptcy and fiscal collapse.  The day of reckoning is coming.  It is only a matter of time. 

We just saw this close up in Nevada, as RINO/Socialist Governor Brian Sandoval (BS for short) pushed the RINO controlled state legislature to enact a $1.5 Billion job killer tax increase, the largest in Nevada history to fund more Socialist Big Government Schemes that continue to fail all over the country.  Sandoval is implementing about a 20% increase in year over year spending, which is unprecedented.  This is the same Governor that brought ObamaCare into Nevada, with a failed State Exchange and accepted Obama's expanded Medicaid that will bankrupt our state.   Sandoval claims to be a Republican; but to call him a RINO is even too generous.   Sandoval is a Pro-Choice Socialist, plain and simple, no different than Senator Dirty Harry Reid of Nevada, which is why this Blogger keeps encouraging BS to  come out of the closet and declare himself a Democrat/Socialist.  Clearly, Reid and Sandoval are both Big Government, tax and spend, left wing Socialists.  It is what it is. 

Daily we see government failure and mismanagement of tax payer hard earned money, including in Nevada where this Blogger lives.  As a result, this Blogger does not support tax increases of any kind to support Bigger, Bloated, Incompetent, Intrusive Government when proposed by Socialists or  RINOS.   We need to see the waste, fraud, abuse, redundancies and failures in government end before any tax increase for anything can be justified.  We also need to see government employees paid in keeping with what is common in the private sector, rather than earning 40% more in total compensation and benefits than the taxpayers paying their salaries.  Government is broken.  Giving more money to government is crazy and just feeds the beast that is killing hard working tax payers and destroying the Middle Class in America.   

Saturday, June 6, 2015

Time To Bring Government Employee Compensation & Benefits In Line With The Private Sector

Rather than raising taxes, as just occurred in Nevada, it is time to bring Government Employee Compensation and Benefits in line with what is common in the private sector for like work.  As it is now, public employees typically earn 40% more than what is common in total Compensation and Benefits than are paid in the private sector, mostly because of benefits and pensions.  And, the question is WHY?   Why should Government Employees, on our dime, be paid any better than I as a mid size business owner pay my employees.  Why should the 50% of us that pay all the income taxes in our country and most of the other taxes, fees etc., as well, give up our hard earned money to pay Government Employees more than we ourselves earn.   Hello, there is something very wrong with this picture, particularly since it is bankrupting our country. 

Local, State and the Federal Governments owe trillions of dollars in unfunded liability to cover hefty Government Employee pensions and retirement benefits that are just not available to private sector employees anymore.  So again, why should we, the taxpayers of this country, continue doing this especially since these Government Employee Benefits are unsustainable.  Most companies in the United States provide medical and dental benefits with a hefty employee co-pay.  In our company's case, we pay 70% of premiums for the employee and 50% for families.  That means that the employee pays 30% of the premium for him or herself and 50% for their families.  In addition, today there are fairly high deductibles and other co-pays.  ObamaCare has absolutely NOT brought down the cost of health care insurance in anyway; matter fact in many states it is gone up.   Government Union Employees complain if they have to pay 29 cents as their co-pay.  That is just too bad.  It is time that these benefits be indexed to what is common in the private sector.  Any Government Employee that does not like it is free to find a job in the private sector.

Further, many Government Employees get outrageous pensions, which could be equal to their full pay at retirement and often continuing medical benefits for life.  The rest of us saps usually get Social Security that maxes out around $2,600 a month at full retirement age; now 66.   And, most companies provide a 401K Contributory Plan to provide for additional pension benefits.  In our company case, we match 50 cents on the dollar up to 6% of salary.  And, many of us are paying more and more for Medicare.  Again, why should any Government Employee get any better a pension plan and other benefits for life than I provide my employees; particularly since there is so much failure in government and it is almost impossible to fire an incompetent employee.     

The United States National Debt is $18 Trillion with no end in sight.  Local and State governments also have trillions of dollars of debt.  These amounts do not include the unfunded liability sitting out there, waiting to explode on the American Taxpayer, for Government Pensions totally Trillions of dollars more.  Yet Socialists and RINOS in office keep adding new government programs and entitlements that are unsustainable like ObamaCare, expanded Medicaid, more and more money for public education and other public services.   We just saw this happen in Nevada, where this Blogger lives, as our RINO/Socialist Governor Brian Sandoval (BS for short) and RINO controlled State Legislature just increased spending and taxes by $1.5 Billion, about a 20% year over year increase and the highest in Nevada history.   These RINOS and Socialists are fiscally reckless and insane. 

In any case, now is the time to bring Government Employee Compensation and Benefits in line with the private sector for like work.  If nothing else, this should be happening for all new employees to stop the Government Pension Madness that we have now.  Any Government Employee that does not like it is welcome to find employment in the private sector where they will be fired if they are incompetent.  It is time for common sense to prevail.  If only we had elected officials that have any common sense, perhaps fiscal sanity would prevail.  But based on what we just experienced in Nevada at the hands of Governor BS and his RINO cronies in the legislature, I would not count on it.   

P.S.  The word on the street is that Governor BS promised his RINO cronies in the State Legislature, that voted for his huge Margins Tax and other Tax increases, cushy state govenment jobs if they are thrown out of office because they voted to support these unprecedented tax and spending increases, naturally with hefty pensions.  Corruption in government never ends.  Go figure. 

Time For Government Functions To Be Outsourced

Everyday, we hear of Big Government failure at the local, state and federal levels as taxes are raised to fund government spending.  Clearly, Big Government is broken, which is a good reason we need to get back to the limited Constitutional government that our Founders intended.  Government, led by Socialist and RINO politicians has bitten off more than it can chew.  Clearly, as President Ronald Reagan always said, Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem".  Big Government grows at the expense of the Makers in society, the 50% of us that pay all income taxes and most other government taxes and fees.  As Socialists and RINOS confiscate more of our money to fund their Socialist Schemes, we have less to invest in new ventures and or to expand existing ones, or to make purchases that would stimulate the economy.    This is just Economics 101.

But now, we must look at bloated local, state and the federal governments to really ascertain what are the valid functions of government.  This Blogger is not a Libertarian.  However, I do see a much diminished role for government because it is pretty obvious that Big Government has failed on so many levels and our freedoms are threatened by government over reach.  However, once government is scaled back, there is absolutely no reason why various government functions can't be outsourced to private industry.  Who says government functions must be implemented by government union employees that are bankrupting our country. 

We absolutely should start with School Choice for all parents.  As long as it does not cost the taxpayer more money, why shouldn't parents be able to choose between public and private schools, by being given a voucher, basically the same money being spent now on public education per pupil, going to a school chosen by parents for their children, whether public or private.   The goal is a well educated populace, which certainly is not happening in many public schools, particularly in our inner cities.  There is nothing sacred about public schools, especially since today they have become bastions of left wing ideology and politically correct Secular thinking.  In essence, School Choice is just another form of Outsourcing. 

But we need to go beyond School Choice.  There are all sorts of government administrative functions that could be Outsourced to private companies to cut costs, avoid public employee unions and taxpayer pension liabilities.   This Blogger owns a Human Resource Outsourcing Company.   We work with very large firms managing global relocation for them and in the process deal with hundreds of millions of dollars of supplier and employee payments every year.  There is no reason we could not be providing similar services for government; though perhaps with completely different applications.   Though it will cost more, if off shoring is prohibited, the federal government could require that all services be provided from offices in the United States.  States could do the same related to Outsourced State Services; both to preserve jobs in the US, or the particular state.  

What is most important about all of this is that most private sector service jobs are not unionized.  Though we provide typical medical and other benefits that are common in private industry, most companies implement a 401K plan, rather than a defined pension plan, so in Outsourcing government services, the taxpayer pension liability goes away.   There are thousands of companies in the United States experienced at Outsourcing all sorts of services.  Even if these companies were permitted to make a 6 - 8% profit margin, that will be taxed, no doubt the cost to the taxpayer would be less because companies implement efficiencies that never happen in government.  And, if private companies fail, they can be FIRED and replaced with other companies that will succeed, which again never happens in government. 

I am well aware that Socialists in office would fight the notion of Outsourcing tooth and nail because they are owned lock stock and barrel by the public employee unions; but real Republicans, should be pushing this concept at ever turn.  Local, State and the Federal Government face billions of dollars in unfunded liability for public employee pensions, which if they go on business us usual, will bankrupt our country.  Outsourcing Government Services is a way to stem the tide.  Now we need politicians with the guts to advance the concept with new out of the box thinking.   We will never see it from Socialists and RINOS; but just maybe there are enough real Republicans in office, that understand and support free market capitalism,  to get the job done.   Obviously, with all the failure we see in government today, we need radical change to improve government services, instead of more of the same tax, borrow and spend Big Government policies.   Outsourcing is the solution.    

Friday, June 5, 2015

RINOS & Socialists Are Both Job Killers

RINOS and Socialists actually think that bigger government is always the solution to the problems we face, even though there are so many examples of government failure that we see daily.  The fact is that government is the problem and rarely the solution.  Socialists always support higher taxes and bigger government to hire more public employee union members so that is business as usual.  One would hope that Republicans would be smarter, advancing private sector solutions, as a better way to deal with the many problems that we face.   But not so because RINOS always get duped by smarter Socialist professional politicians into accepting big government Socialist Schemes that ultimately result in higher taxes and more government employees at the expense of hard working taxpayers.   

And of course, higher taxes on business, or individuals is a job killer.  It really is pretty simple. The more money government confiscates from us one way or another, the less money we have to spend on private sector investments and or personal consumption.  Since businesses don't have this money to invest in new ventures, or expansion of existing ones, less people are hired and in some cases it results in lay off's.   If individuals must give up more of their hard earned money, in various taxes, they have less disposable income to buys things, take trips etc. which again means fewer jobs in our economy.  So the bigger government gets through higher taxes, the smaller the private sector.  And, everybody with a brain knows that government is not as a good a utilizer of resources as private individuals would be because government spending always results in waste, fraud and abuse.  So, we never get a dollar of output from government spending for the $1 we put in from various taxes.  The fact that is that any of us is always more careful spending our own money than government ever could be.  This is just common sense; but then RINOS and Socialists in office often have no common sense; nor have they taken and passed Economics 101. 

This Blogger is not a Libertarian.   I believe there is a legitimate place for limited Constitutional government as originally intended by our Founding Fathers.  The problem is that today, government intrudes on every facet of life.  Government has become the beast that taxpayers love to hate because they continue to take more of our money to fund failure.  Everything we do, eat, touch etc. is taxed, or regulated one way or another.  In fact, about 40% of our Gross Domestic Product now involves local, state and federal government spending.  The reality is that for the 50% of us that pay all the income taxes in the United States and a higher percentages of most other taxes, they already take too much of our blood to fund failed government programs, agencies, commissions, departments etc.   These RINOS and Socialists are killing the goose that laid the golden egg and we see the end result in higher poverty rates, lower workforce participation rates and a lousy economy.

Nevada is a case in point.  RINOS and Socialists got together in the most recent legislative session to raise taxes and spending by $1.5 Billion, which is the largest tax increase in Nevada history, supposedly to improve public education.  This will raise government spending by 20% in one year and require a Nevada Mini IRS to administer because the Margins Tax enacted is so complex that 26 more State Taxation Employees will be needed to deal with this new business tax.  The only problem with all of this is that RINO/Socialist Governor Brian Sandoval's Socialist Schemes to improve public education have all been tried before and failed.   So, we are throwing more money down a rat hole, instead of implementing the real reforms needed to improve our public schools.  And, just when Nevada was coming back from the Fiscal Meltdown, these new taxes will be a job killer.

The Nevada RINO controlled legislature did enact a School Choice bill that if properly administered might have been the only solution needed to improve education by providing some competition at no new cost to the people.  And, they already took care of the public school building problem by giving school districts bonding authority, without a vote of the people, which will automatically raise property taxes.  To spend more money on failed programs just made no sense.   Yet, here we are thanks to RINOS and Socialists that have grown Nevada state government even bigger at the expense of hard working tax payers. 

But thinking outside the box, many government services should be privatized as a solution to local, state and federal government enormous unfunded pension liabilities.  Outsourcing government services can be done at lower cost, without public employee unions and without any pension liability for the hard working taxpayer.  It is about time that RINOS and Socialists in government stop killing jobs and start putting in place innovative ideas, rather than continuing to fund failed programs.  Oh well, there is always wishing and hoping that before they put this Blogger in the wall, we will see real hope and change in government, which means smaller, limited Constitutional government, instead of the Bloated Big Brother we have now. 

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Throwing More Tax Payer Hard Earned Money At Failed Government

The answer to government programs, departments, commissions, agencies etc. that fail in their mission is always raising taxes to throw more money at them, when they often should just go out of business.   We see it all the time.  In Washington DC, Veterans Affairs, charged with providing medical services to VETS failed to do so, so instead of privatizing the system, which is what should have happened, Republicans and Socialists in Congress and President Pinocchio Obama provided billions of dollars more to make a failed system even bigger.  The best thing a government agency can do to get a bigger budget is fail.  The same thing is now happening at the IRS.  

Education is another prime example.   The United States spends more money on public education than any other country in the world; yet many of our public schools stink.  The incremental new money always seems to end up in more layers of bureaucracy, rather than going into the classroom where teaching actually happens.  The answer to poor test scores and student achievement is always more money.   And, as a supporter of public education and a former public school teacher, I would be for it; but I know it is not the solution.  We just saw this in the state of Nevada, as a RINO Governor, RINO controlled State Legislature, along with Socialists in state government, just raised taxes and spending by an unprecedented $1.5 Billion, the largest tax and spending increase in Nevada history.  

This spending increase,which was justified to improve public education, amounts to about a 20% increase in state government spending year over year, which is outrageous.  If more money was the solution to improving public schools, we should have the best public schools and student achievement in the world, instead of the mediocre results that are prevalent and especially in many schools in Nevada.  The fact is that teacher unions often prevent the real reforms needed to improve public schools.  It just is what it is.  So once again government failure is rewarded with more money, rather than real change taking place that is badly needed, in this case to improve our public schools.  Obviously, what we have been doing for years is not working, so why on earth do we continue the same failed approaches.  This is really true related to the War on Poverty that has cost the American taxpayer about 12 trillion dollars in the last 50 years, adding to our $18 Trillion National Debt; yet the poverty rate today is higher than three decades ago. 

Government is broken at all levels.  As Ronald Reagan always said "government is not the solution to our problems, government is the problem".  And, the real problem with all of this is that RINOS and Socialists, in power, are bleeding the 50% of us that pay taxes dry.  At all levels of government, they all say, if we just had a little higher taxes, or business fees, life and government services would be wonderful, when in fact they make life miserable for many people.  None of them see the cumulative result of their handiwork, which for many can mean giving up 50% or more of our hard earning money in various income taxes, property taxes, business license fees, sales taxes, tolls and government taxes on everything including cigarettes, liquor, phone, cable, Internet, airline tickets and to buy various other goods and services, not to mention the cost to comply with all of this.   It just never ends.   Well as the taxpayer at the end of the line that sees the big picture and has to write the checks to various levels of government, I have had enough, which is why I oppose all tax increases.  

Before I could ever support higher taxes, I would have to see the fraud, waste, abuse and redundancy eliminated in government spending.   Feeding the government beast even more of our hard earned money, even for education, so it can grow bigger, at our expense, just creates a bigger monster that intrudes into all aspects of life, which even threatens our freedom.  It would also be nice to see the crooks that work in government FIRED for wrong doing, when it occurs, instead of being given early retirement with hefty pensions, or being transferred to other jobs.  This Blogger is mad as hell about government abuse, high taxes and regulations and I don't care who knows.  Both the Republicans and the Socialists are guilty of killing the goose that laid the golden egg.  I am just tired of being the hard working goose that never stops paying for poor results.     

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

The Californiacation Of Nevada - RINOS & Socialists Enact The Highest Spending and Tax Increase in Nevada History

In November, 2014, the voters of Nevada elected a Republican controlled legislature, along with Republicans in all state wide offices for the first time in decades.  At the same time, voters defeated a Margins Corporate Income Tax Initiative, put on the ballot by the Teachers Union, by around 80%, which was opposed by all Republicans running for office, including RINO Socialist Governor Brian Sandoval, whom we now just refer to as Governor BS for short.  It wasn't a few months later before Governor BS in his State of the State Address proposed a very similar Margins Tax that just a few months before he told voters that he opposed.  Of course, many politicians are LIARS; which is nothing new, but in Sandoval's case he is a Serial LIAR because he also told voters that other tax increases, previously enacted during the Financial Melt Down, that were supposed to Sunset, would do so.  After the November election, Sandoval announced that those tax increases were now baked into his budget and therefore could not be Sunseted. 

What is additionally evil is that Republicans running for the State Assembly and Senate also told their constituents that they opposed the Margins Tax and would vote to eliminate the taxes that were support to Sunset.  Instead, these very same Republicans who also LIED, that we now can clearly describe as RINOS, voted with their Socialist colleagues in the Legislature to enact Governor BS's tax and spend plan that constitutes the largest tax and spending increase in Nevada history.  So, as result of the $1.5 Billion Tax increase pushed by Governor BS, spending in Nevada will increase from about $6 Billion to $7.5 Billion annually.  And, while this is chump change in Washington DC, or a state like California, this spending increase amounts to a 20% increase in just one year, which is unprecedented, especially for a small state like Nevada.

All the new taxes imposed by Governor BS and the RINO/Socialist controlled Legislature will be particularly bad for small businesses in the state of Nevada, since RINOS and Socialists took care of the two largest industries in the state; Gaming and Mining at the expense of small businesses and even charities.  Governor BS's stated reason for this huge and unprecedented tax increase, which was resoundingly rejected by the voters just a few months ago,  was to provide more money to improve public education.  This Blogger as a former public school teacher with a Masters Degree in Education Administration supports public schools; but if more money was the solution to improving public schools, the United States should have the best public schools in the world because we spend more than any other industrialized country on our public education; yet US student achievement is poor compared to many other countries. 

The real solutions to improve public schools involve out of the box thinking, not higher taxes that continue to feed a failing and corrupt government beast controlled by teacher unions.   If people are serious about improving public schools, politicians need to enact School Choice, Higher Standards, Ways to Deal with Student Discipline Problems that waste teacher time, Merit Pay for Teachers, Eliminating Teacher Tenure so that poor teachers can more easily be fired, eliminating collective bargaining for public employees, including teachers, that is bankrupting our states and country and most importantly eliminating all the levels of overlaying education bureaucracy so that more money can actually reach the classroom to pay higher salaries and reduce class size.  Of course, most of these reform measures will ever be enacted as long as big government RINOS and Socialists control local, state and federal governments. 

So now what we see in Nevada, a state with about 3 million people, is the Californiacation of the state of Nevada, which will cause a predictable end result.   As someone who has worked in Business Mobility for 35 years, I have watched businesses leave California and other high tax states to avoid high taxes and over regulation.  Now that this new tax structure is in place, Nevada RINOS and Socialists will continue to raise taxes with every legislative session, in the name of improving public schools and to pay for Governor BS's ObamaCare Medicaid Expansion, if they get away with what they just did.   Ultimately the end result will be the same as has occurred in California.  Businesses will vote with their feet as happens every year in California as more companies leave the state.  Public Schools will remain lousy because there is nothing meaningful being done to improve them. 

The end result is an eroding tax base and the borrowing of billions of dollars every year to fund state welfare, Medicaid, other services and a huge state bureaucracy.   California has more than $134 billion dollars of unfunded liability for state public employee pensions sitting on the books and billions more in state debt, which is the reason California, like Illinois bonds, are rated as "Junk" requiring a very high interest rate to attract investors.  Governor BS, who really should come out of the closet and declare himself a Democrat/Socialist and the RINOS and other Socialists that control the state of Nevada will now do what the Socialists have done to California.  Just wait and see.   

This is another example of Stupid in America, or in this case, in the state of Nevada.  Governor BS is the Pinocchio Obama of the State of Nevada.  I just wish that Governor BS would come out of the closet and just declare himself a Democrat/Socialist because BS is certainly no Republican and neither are the RINOS that just voted for Sandoval's unprecedented tax increase and new wasteful spending.   

P.S.  The day of reckoning is coming for RINOS in the State Legislature that voted for this huge tax increase in 2016, come election time.  Many of them will be primaried out of office because the base of the Conservative Republican Party in Nevada is not big on LIARS and Crooks.  Recall Movements are also in the works for State Legislators, not up in 2016, to throw the bums out of office, as well.  Too bad nobody knows how to do tar and feathering anymore, which would be a great way to make these RINOS feel the heat and the anger of many voters.  But the time is not far off.