A Simple Request

I only have a few simple requests of our politicians:

1. Please explain to me how you are going to pay for your policies and spending proposals and have a balanced budget without counting the social security surplus.

2. Please justify deficit spending with more than $10 trillion in debt and $54 trillion in unfunded liabilities.

3. Please justify the burden you are putting on my children and their children with reckless policies and spending habits.

4. Please look into my children's eyes and tell them what you just told me.

Welcome President, er, Chairman Obama

Senator and future President of the United States of America Barack Obama promises a change from the last 8 years of Bush. I believe he will deliver that change. It is just not the type of change that you and I are really expecting. It is not the type of leadership this country needs in the face of an unprecedented economic turmoil. Not that that old guy would be any better. We basically have a leadership and intellectual vacuum in D.C.; unfortunately I am ninety percent certain that Obama will be elected because cultural change is more important than substantive issues like debt, deficits, and fiscal responsibility.

The last 8 years of Bush were all about tax cut and spend. How will Obama change that? Will he cut spending? No. He will increase spending by billions taking the nearly $500 billion budget deficit for fiscal year 2008 and increase it at a time we need to be cutting spending across the board including the military. Neither candidate does not take into account the trillions spent trying to “save” the system (oh wait, that was “printed” money – my mistake that doesn't count).

Will he increase taxes? Yes and No and Yes. Those making more than $250,000 a year or the top 5% of income earners (those making more than $150,000) will pay more, (not sure which number he means) but those making next to nothing will get money. However, Obama will make plant food (CO2) a major pollutant and likely enact cap-and-trade of plant food (CO2). The dirty, little secret on that is that all our energy prices will sky rocket hitting every income class. Obama giveth with one hand and taketh with the other.

Another change under an Obama administration will be reverting to Woodrow Wilson era politics where those critical of the administration will be silenced. We already have seen the beginnings of that with the handling of Joe the Plumber. An innocent question about Obama's tax policies by "one of us" leads the press to investigate Joe's taxes and licensing. It turns out that all of a sudden Joe needs to be silenced and discredited. Wouldn't you know it, Joe owes back taxes. Never mind that a member of the United States senate, Senator Rangel (D), owed back taxes recently too, but then again he did not have the audacity to question Obama’s policies. Obama had the arrogance to say that he never heard of any plumbers making $250,000. I suppose only elitists with degrees from Harvard and Presidents of the United States are allowed to make that much. How out of touch can he possibly get? He obviously has never run a business or knows anything about running a business based on a comment like that.

Now Obama by himself with a republican controlled house and senate may be held in check and things like the Fairness Doctrine would never see the light of day. Unfortunately, we have the dumb leading the dumber. The combination of Pelosi and Reid will make a nasty three-headed monster that should keep any child from getting a good nights rest. The Obalosied tax monster is coming for your pocket book. Oh, it is a nice monster to poor people, but you rich people better watch out. The Obalosied monster will have the audacity to steal from your pocketbook in the middle of the day. Wow, I really am looking forward to the next 2 to 4 years. If you thought things were rough now, just wait, worse is around the corner.

We are so screwed. Thanks for nothing democrats and republicans. You both have put us in an untenable position. Instead of being so self-absorbed in your party’s power you should have been looking out for America. You should have been leading and not pandering. I hope you can look in your children and grandchildren in the eyes and know that you had a chance to turn the tide, but you chose to be selfish. Thanks for nothing, now go to hell.

Undecided; Leaning Towards Ambivalence

I can’t take it anymore. Listening to the presidential debate makes my head want to explode. First, McCain needs to shut his pie hole and stop sounding like a broken record. He used the same washed up arguments from the other debates tonight. Can’t you come up with anything new and better, McCain? One thing is for certain, and that is that McCain lost the election tonight.

Those of us in the undecided category were listening tonight to maybe help us make up our minds on which of these morons would be the lesser of two evils. I bet Obama sounds like a good choice to many undecided voters after tonight’s performance. He even sounded reasonable to me at times.

Before you utter your disbelief that there are people that actually have not made up their minds yet in this election, let me tell you that those of us that are undecided are probably more thoughtful about our vote than the rest of you. There is a lot riding on this election. We won’t just vote for someone that has a D or R behind their name and we won’t just support a candidate based on one favorite hot-button issue. I personally have been weighing the issues and pluses and minuses of the candidates. Even right now, after McCain’s mind numbing performance I am sitting here with absolutely no clue on how to vote. If Obama gets in and has Pelosi and Reid and democratic house and senate there is no telling what will happen – look how bad it got when the republicans controlled everything for six years. If McCain gets in there is no telling what he will do because I am not sure what the guy stands for – look who we will have waiting to take the reigns if he kicks the bucket. My third option is a write-in candidate by the name of Mr. None of the Above. That third option is looking better and better the closer we get to the election.

Please, Mr. Obama, instead of using the word “fair” just say what you mean – “redistribution”. Obama says that the Buffets of the world can afford a tax increase. Of course the Buffets of the world can afford a tax increase, but there are less than 500 billionaires in this country (500 out of 300 million – do the math). Tax those guys all you want; they probably won’t miss it (By the way, do you ever wonder why they just don’t “donate” their money to the government? Instead they set up their own charities. Seems to me they know how inefficient and ineffective the government is). He says that he will increase taxes on the top 5% - the income split for the top 5% is $153,542. The top 5% pay 60% of the income taxes in this country. The top 10% pay 70% of the income taxes – the income split at that level is $108,904. What is fair in that? I am going to be punished for working hard because you feel the need to fund worthless, bloated government programs and have a vastly different idea of what “fair” means. If someone makes $150,000 they likely have a mortgage and expenses that reflects that $150,000. You take money out of their pockets you take money out of the economy and especially from charities. And believe me charities do a whole lot more than any government program has done or will ever do.

Instead of increasing our taxes (and asking us to be “patriotic”) or borrowing money from our children and grandchildren start by shrinking government spending first. You could get me on board with a tax increase if you cut spending and produced a balanced budget (how about a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution) and then you came back to me and said that now we need to increase taxes and that tax increase will solely go to pay down the debt in 10 years, for example, and make sure that social security and Medicare are solvent. Once that 10-year plan is accomplished we will remove the tax increase. But you can’t promise me anything like that because you have such disdain for the taxpayer and quite frankly I can’t trust you. You say one thing one week and then something else the next. You move to one end of the spectrum to placate some moronic voting block and then just as fast swing the other way. I simply cannot take your word. Once we start giving to you, you take and take and take. Plain and simple; you, Mr. Obama, and you, Mr. McCain have lost my trust. I did not hear anything tonight that makes me think I can trust either of you with the top job. Where is the talk of balanced budgets, fiscal responsibility, and solving the unsexy problems of Medicare and Social Security? By not talking about the really vexing issues I tend to think that you 1) don't care, 2) don't know, or 3) know but don't want to tarnish your precious political backside by making the necessary but unpopular reforms. I know AARP votes and children don't.

VOTE
NONE OF THE ABOVE

FOR PRESIDENT 2008

Photo by KCThinker, Beach near La Romana, Dominican Republic - a little tranquility in an otherwise turbulent and uncertain world.

Poison is still poison no matter how much sugar you add…

Despite a large majority of American people telling them that they opposed the bail out (oh sorry, McCain, I meant rescue plan), Congress passed and President Bush signed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 into law. Our two presidential candidates both voted for it. Obama and McCain voted for perhaps the worst legislation ever, maybe even worse than that wonderfully crafted piece of crap Prescription Drug Plan. Despite the alarm and speedy passage of the bill the DOW continues to drop. Everyone with common sense knows we need a correction. Common sense left Washington, D.C. long ago.

The details of this bill are coming out and they literally pulled the wool tax credits over our eyes. For someone opposed to pork, McCain had no objections to voting for this bill laden with tens of billions dollars in giveaways. For someone opposed to tax loopholes for businesses, Obama had no problems forking over more than $700 billion in debt for a dubious fix and the same tax credits for businesses he is always railing against. I wonder if he could even look his daughters in the eye that night. I wonder if he sees the same dark and cloudy future that I see when I look at my children. But then again when has any candidate really truly cared about the children, after all they can’t vote, but they sure do make for good political spin. Every day the clueless at the helm of this country enslave our children and grandchildren more and more by adding more and more debt.

Oh by the way, the stock market still tanked after the being signed into law and continues its slide. Makes one wonder what the rush was Mr. Chicken Little Bush? The fact remains is that the bubble needs to burst. The stock market housing bubble and its paper value need to deflate. It will probably tank until hits its below 7000 points.

One thing is for certain and that is that both parties are guilty as hell in allowing this to happen. But you will not see them pointing the finger at themselves. You will see Congress trot financial scapegoat after scapegoat out to be grilled to make themselves look good. In the end nothing will change. Saturday Night Live had it right with this sketch. There are actual truths to the sketch that actually also blamed the democrats for the crap sandwich we all have to take a big bite from so I am surprised that they even allowed it to be aired.

What is coming? More rescue packages that will do nothing. Once Obama is elected we can expect to see a big, fat New New Deal that will hasten our demise and prolong any recover (read the real history of the great depression in The Forgotten Man by Amity Shlaes - history does not repeat, but it rhymes awfully well). Congress is clueless and thinks that pumping more money into the system will solve the problem. Both candidates are highly unprepared and will not do the right thing. They are pumping bad money in to prop up a system that needs to fall. This has large and imminent failure written all over it. We need to start working on our representatives and senators and let them know that this is not a road we can afford to go down. Tell them “NO. HELL NO.”