Ya - its illegal, and probably immoral...that doesn't seem to matter...

I don't typically just copy blog posts in verbatim, but Tad has an informative one here that you should think about. For those of you that don't visit the Cato blog...

Originally Posted by Tad DeHaven on cato-at-liberty.org

Another Government Employee Bailout

President Obama is proposing giving the states another $50 billion. However, this would amount to another bailout for state and local government employees and their unions. The president claims that more deficit spending is necessary to sustain the nascent economic recovery. But the only thing the money would sustain is the excessive wages and benefits government employees enjoy at the expense of the private sector.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average state and local government employee receives 45 percent more in total compensation per hour worked than the average private-sector employee. Perhaps we should cut generous government wages and benefits rather than putting the federal government further into debt?

Total compensation for state and local workers is more than $1.1 trillion a year. So loosely speaking we could simply cut compensation by less than five percent for state and local governments to save the $50 billion they (say) they are in need of.

Of more fundamental concern is the continued relegation of the states to being administrative outposts of the federal government. The employment of firefighters, teachers, and police officers is an issue for the states to be concerned with. However, so long as the federal government continues to overstep its constitutional bounds, the states will have little incentive to tackle issues like excessive employee compensation. State and local policymakers can avoid the hassle of taking on the government employee unions by cashing Uncle Sam’s checks instead.

As the following chart shows, federal aid to state and local governments has almost doubled in real terms over the past decade:



It’s not a coincidence that the states find themselves in a fiscal bind. The increasing dependency on the federal government has contributed to the states’ dereliction of duty when it comes to keeping their fiscal houses in order. As this essay argues, reviving fiscal federalism is critical to getting governments at all levels in the United States to clean up their fiscal messes.

Death....and Taxes

Here's something as sure as death and taxes...

People will do everything in their power to avoid BOTH!

According to the Cato Institute:

In recent years, most major nations have reduced their
statutory corporate income tax rates. Of the 30 nations in
the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development, 27 cut their general corporate income tax
rates since 2000, with an average cut of more than 7
percentage points. Among the 50 other nations examined
here, 28 reduced their corporate tax rates, with an average
cut also of about 7 percentage points.

And in a more recent story...

Taiwan Cuts Corporate Taxes
Posted by Chris Edwards

From the subscription magazine Tax Notes today:

Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan (parliament), in an attempt to attract foreign investors, on May 28 passed legislation cutting the island’s corporate tax rate from 20 percent to 17 percent, retroactive to January 1…

The lower corporate tax rate will make Taiwan more competitive with its East Asian rivals Singapore, whose rate is also 17 percent, and Hong Kong, whose rate remains slightly lower at 16.5 percent.

The reduced rate ‘will make us even more competitive and will help attract international businesses to set up their headquarters in Taiwan. We believe we’ll see the positive results in the next several years,’ lawmaker Alex Fei of the ruling Kuomintang.

If you were the CEO of an international company that made semiconductor chips, laptops, or other manufactured products, would you locate your next plant in the United States — where the corporate rate is about 40% — or Taiwan where it is less than half of that?

Kinda makes a guy go 'duh', doesn't it.

Also makes a guy wonder what our current administration is thinking in RAISING the effective tax rates in the midst of a debt crisis, sky-high unemployment, and the most significant recession since the Great Depression...How does THAT translate into more jobs, opportunities, and revenue?? Seems the rest of the world is pretty convinced it does not...

You can get a look at other countries' tax rates at: "http://www.cato.org/pubs/tbb/tbb_62.pdf">

Sharing the debt...

Have you been following the Greece debaucle?

This seems truly amazing to me, and probably to all of us that see personal responsibility as part of the commitment to being a contributing member of a society...

For those of you not following along, there is a large, vocal, and violent contingent in Greece basically protesting that their government is unable to extract enough money from its citizens to give them the things they are 'entitled' to. They have burnt buildings. People have been killed. And the mayhem continues.

The country is, by most measures, bankrupt. The EU and IMF are about to bail them out (and yes, some of our money is in there too), but they require in return that the Greece government reduce their rampant spending. This is the basis for the protests...apparently the good people of Greece believe the remainder of the EU should pay for their spending...sound vaguely familiar from your experience here? Health Care? Record deficits? Stimulus Frenzy? Cash for Clunkers? Wall Street Bailouts? NONE of these have been paid for with money we have. ALL of it is borrowed. EVERY PENNY!

Here's an interesting bit from WSJ contributor John Cohchrane:

"The only way to solve the underlying euro-zone fiscal mess (and our own) is to slash government spending and to focus on growth. Countries only pay off debts by growing out of them. And no, growth does not come from spending, especially on generous pensions and padded government payrolls. Greece’s spending (on goverment programs) of over 50% of GDP did not result in robust growth and full coffers. At least the looming worldwide sovereign debt crisis is heaving “fiscal stimulus” on the ash heap of bad ideas." (we hope).

parenthetical comments and emphasis added by yours truly :)

Are we smart enough as a people to vote for fiscal responsibility or do we spend ourselves into the riots we are watching in Greece? How is it possible that people believe that they can riot their way into someone elses pocketbooks? Or vote themselves there?

You can choose to share in the creation of wealth today, OR your children can pay back YOUR debt tomorrow.

We MUST stop the expansion of government. Isn't it obvious?

Changing Times

Here's an interesting report that I failed to share with you: "The biggest political news last week you probably never heard was that according to a new Rasmussen poll, a 2012 presidential race between Republican Congressman Ron Paul and Barack Obama would be a dead heat."

And an interesting accompanying commentary on the TAC blog: "God Bless Ron Paul, the closest man we have today to Thomas Jefferson."

For those of you that are reading along, I'd highly recommend that you do a little review of both individuals. Ron Paul's book "The Revolution" is available from my personal library and I am happy to lend it out should you wish to start there...

As an aside, any comment as to why we failed to see this poll well covered in the main stream media? Surely the "irrelevant" Republican (libertarian) Paul garnishing support of the American people equal to that of the president suggests a significant shift in our two party system. Paul and the ideals of limited government, without the name recognition, and without the constant media barrage...neck and neck? Sounds like more than a subtle shift in public perception and attitude to me. Are free Americans waking up?

Tax #1,280,124....and counting

Associated Press, April 19, 2010: (Wisconsin) Governor Jim Doyle has signed a bill into law that imposes a tax on rural hospitals in order to generate more federal money...

Surprise, Surprise...

Couched under the premise of obtaining matching federal funds and maintaining rural care in the current environment of medicare reimbursement cuts, Wisconsin is the proud owner of yet another tax on her citizens.

I know - Obama-care is 'free' and a boon to both workers and non-contributors alike...but somehow, here is yet another example of a 'hidden' tax - one which funds yet anothern entitlement and for which the working class (as always) must pay.

"there will be no, additional taxes, on families earning less, than $250,000, a year" - in the now well know Obama staccato-like speech.

Last I knew, there were a plenty of rural Wisconsin citizens that earn substantially less than $250K/yr.

Here's a novel thought...how about cutting state and federal spending, eliminating the redistribution of state and personal income, and allowing the good people of Wisconsin to choose how they spend their hard-earned money? Including, if they so desire, for rural (or urban) health care.

The real underlying question is why is the sovereign State of Wisconsin and her citizens sending money to Washington, while the state then turns around and again taxes its citizens directly, so it can subsequently apply to the federal gov't to receive SOME of it's money back to be distributed to rural hospitals making up for a medicare and state budget shortfall? Are you confused yet? Better yet, pissed off?

You should be.

A little Pursuit of Happiness :)

We interrupt this discussion of life and liberty for a little Pursit of Happiness :)


My daughter Leah and I just returned from our very first father/daughter trip - Hawaii. Yes, its as beautiful as they say...but for those of you who are parents, you will likely agree - its not the destination, the scenery, or the activities - its the all too rare opportunity to spend a little uninterrupted time with one's progeny that was the real joy of the trip.

So although its the less important...for those enquiring minds - we split the time between Oahu and the Big Island. And 16 yr old daughter and 47 yr old dad agree - Oahu is nice, but we say: skip Waikiki in favor of the pace and diversity of the Big Island! We loved Kona, the crystal clear water, the surf of the north side, the visiting humpback whales, the black sand beaches and the surreal landscape created by the more recent lava flows. And for those looking for an amazing experience - try the night dive with the manta rays! "Dad - this is the coolest thing I have done in my entire life!"...and you know, even for an old guy with a few more miles (and inches ;) ) under the belt...she was right! Pretty cool stuff!

One more lesson...

A little more of the same...learn from history and the mistakes of others!

TOM RAUM, Associated Press Writer Tom Raum, Associated Press Writer –

WASHINGTON – Greece is a financial basket case, begging for international help. Is America heading down that same road?

Many of the same risky financial practices that now imperil the Greeks were at the center of the all-too-recent U.S. meltdown. As with Greece, America's national debt has been growing by leaps and bounds over the past decade, to the point where it threatens to swamp overall economic output. And in the U.S., as in Greece, a large portion of that debt is owed to foreign investors.
Not good, if these debt holders begin to wonder if they'll be paid back. A foreign flight from U.S. Treasury securities could sow financial chaos in the United States, as happened when many investors lost faith in Greek bonds.
It's something that could affect all Americans. The U.S. has never defaulted on a debt, and even the hint of such a possibility could send interest rates soaring and choke off a fragile recovery.
How long can the United States remain the world's largest economy as well as the world's largest debtor?
"Not indefinitely," suggests former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. "History tells us that great powers when they've gotten into very significant fiscal problems have ceased to be great powers."
After all, Spain dominated the 16th century world, France the 17th century and Great Britain much of the 18th and 19th before the United States rose to supremacy in the 20th century.
"Unless we do things dramatically different, including strengthening our investments in research and education, the 21st century will belong to China and India," suggests Norman Augustine, the former CEO of Lockheed Martin who chaired a 2009 bipartisan commission studying the nation's top challenges

First the Hockey Gold Medal...

I'm not going anti-American or pro-Canuck on y'all just yet...but here's a little more anecdotal evidence that our fiscal policy here in the U.S. is costing us buying power, and with it, another slice off our standard of living. Since we in Wisconsin are parked up here close to the border...I'm sure many of you remember crossing into Canada and enjoying the purchasing power that came along with the strength of our economy...

OTTAWA (AFP) – The Canadian dollar, or loonie as it is affectionately called here, is likely to soar above parity with the US greenback this year, experts at a Canadian bank said Wednesday.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Canada (CIBC) chief economist Avery Shenfeld said the Canadian dollar had already gained several cents in recent weeks as the market firms up expectations of an interest rate hike in July.
If as expected, the central bank "is out in front of the US Federal Reserve by a couple of quarters" in raising interest rates, the Canadian dollar could reach 1.02 dollars versus the US dollar by September...

I know, not significant...how often do you travel to Cananda, right? If that's your thought, I would like to suggest you re-think. Its not about buying Canadian Maple Syrup...its about what our habit is doing to the standard of living our children can expect to live.

I'm hardly an economist. I'm sure many Americans don't fully fathom terms like GDP or numbers the size of our national debt. (for reference....The Outstanding Public Debt as of 11 Mar 2010 at 03:15:09 PM GMT is: $12,559,536,523,726.87
The estimated population of the United States is 307,988,539, so each citizen's share of this debt is $40,779.20. THIS IS PER PERSON _ NOT PER WAGE EARNER!!
The National Debt has continued to increase an average of$3.97 billion per day since September 28, 2007.)

GDP isn't some economic term you need an MBA to understand. GDP is simply what we create. Its not a government thing... Its a people thing. A business thing. A job thing. We work hard. We create things other people want. They buy them. The greater number of people that work, the more we innovate, engineer, create, the greater collective success...the more GDP.

More GDP, more opportunity to pay back those we owe, and then create wealth for ALL OF US. We then have a strong dollar that buys more things for U.S. Citizens.

Somehow, it seems, our government would have you believe thats a bad thing. If we have 'more', someone has less. How crazy is that? We have more only means we DID more. We CREATED more. We HELPED more. Helped people all over the planet have things they want and need.

I'm done here for today...but think for a few moments - how do we help people to produce more? What is the incentive? How do we help them to want to work hard and be able to expect a decent standard of living for their children? Do we give them things like health care and expect nothing in return? ...or do we say 'work hard, and for the toils of your labor, you and yours have the benefit of a strong currency, good standard of living, and great health care...' Do we create a society that helps us all, or do we instead say 'hey - you don't have to help...someone else can do it...big government, greedy corporations'.

Will we ever realize that big government is us? That companies are the people that work in them, or invest in them? That creating is what we are SUPPOSED to do...for all of us and for future generations? The buck stops with you. Literally. Personal responsibility. Effort. Reward. Giving 30 million people more free stuff ain't gonna do it.

How Controlled Are We?

You may know John Stossel - thought provoking former 20/20 co-host, now a member of the Fox Business Channel. For those of you that know me, you will know me as someone not too keen on television as a medium for news, or entertainment - but a recent home addition has caused me to add some video entertainment, and that has brought with it the inclusion of satelite (Dish)TV (gasp!).

So, I'm flipping through a myriad of nothing when I get home last night and I catch a glimpse of Stossel. I didn't catch the entire piece, but in typical form, what I caught made sense. John was making a point on national television that I listened to and thought - duh - "and WHY is it that in this nation, we don't all see this perspective?" You know - the land of the free, the home of the brave...

John was explaining in a piece on 'prohibition', our governments' influence in our lives to control us (right down to our literal self) in ways that, in a free country, seem completely inexplicable. He used some very hot button issues to make his point (which, I must say, from an argument perspective, may be less than effective, but from an intellectually honest point of view, I certainly commend him).

I'll refrain from making his argument, but will link to one of his pieces here. If you are looking for someone to challenge your established way of thinking, I would highly recommend giving John a listen. He's not as incendiary as Beck, or the showman we see in the likes of Limbaugh - but for a wake up call for liberty, he's a breath of fresh air.

Have a great day!

http://www.creators.com/opinion/john-stossel/whose-body-is-it-2010-02-24.html

So then - Where to start...

So here's the first thing that I wanted to share with you as something we should all be thinking about...

It seems to me that our country is struggling. Badly. We are buried under a mountain of debt. We seem to have adopted the philosophy that personal responsibility is for someone else. Freedom is a only a word on a bumper sticker, or something the Iraqi's don't have.

Here is a chunk of some text from 545 PEOPLE By Charlie Reese. It can be found in its entirety on the Republicans for Obama.org website. It was emailed to me by a friend and I found it to be an interesting treatise on how we got where we are...which I will admit, I believe, is a very bad and dangerous place to be.


545 PEOPLE

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?
You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems we face in this country.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they WANT to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.

If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible. They, and they alone, have that power. They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people, who are their bosses

....provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.

What you do with the obvious truths of this article, now that you have read it...is up to you.

Since this is my blog, and my opportunity to opine...I would like to suggest that we stop voting for our own selfish interests (and these power grabbing individuals) and begin to put the collective good of this country and our children ahead of our immediate personal interests. These individuals are bankrupting what was once the most prosperous and successful country on the planet - not bankrupting you and me...we have a little time (on the backs of our parents and theirs, and yes, even the chinese...all of whom gave us a heck of a head start), but it is clear they are bankrupting our children. And we are letting them. We do so by continuing to vote them in to office despite clear evidence that they have created the mess we are in. We do it because they promise us another benefit, entitlement, or social program - and we wait for them to provide us with social security, or health insurance, with medicare, or cash for clunkers and a home tax credit bail out... When will we retake our country? When will we accept personal responsibility...for our own security, our own health care, our own car or a place for our family to live...and for our own country.

Please consider how you are complicit - and make a change.

Have to Start Somewhere...

And you should too!

Time to take control of our own destiny...I titled this Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness - a personal endeavor every bit as much as a profound passage in our Declaration of Independence...

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

I suppose these pages will find quotes, as well as personal rants and raves...but inevitably they will chronicle one man's pursuits to find happiness through freedom.

I hope you enjoy the posts ~ and I truly hope they provoke thought. Agree or disagree, an open mind is fertile ground for growth...something I wish for you, and me.

All the Best...

Mike