Shut Up or Pay Up

If you want a say in the debate over the largesse of the Federal Government then you have to pay to play. Why should the takers be able to vote to take more from the makers? The makers need to be thanked for all they give to keep this country’s coffers afloat.

How can we allow people to vote on policies that ultimately line their pockets? Should we make it a requirement to pay taxes to vote? I don’t want to hear how that discriminates against any given group. Fifty percent, that’s right FIFTY percent of people pay no federal income tax and they get to vote to make the rest of us pay more. I for one am done!

“Only half of U.S. citizens pay federal income tax, according to the latest available figures.

In 2009, just 50.5 per cent of Americans paid any income tax to the federal government - the lowest proportion in at least half a century.

And the number of people outside the tax system could have climbed even higher since as the economic downturn has continued to bite and unemployment has remained high.

The decreasing number of taxpayers threatens government revenues, and could also cause resentment from those who believe that welfare recipients are taking money out of the economy.

151.7million U.S. citizens paid no federal income tax in 2009, according to figures compiled by the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think tank.

In 1984, the middle of the Reagan era, 85 per cent of Americans paid federal income tax, meaning just 34.8million people did not. “

Cause resentment? You think? Why not tie federal voting rights to paying taxes? Either way the system is going to collapse because we working stiffs are starting to look at ways we too can get away with paying nothing to the federal government. Maybe we cut back in hours. Maybe we sell everything and live off of our savings until it runs out and then jump on the gravy train with everyone else.

The only thing stopping us from stopping work is we are engrained with work ethic. We take nothing and give everything. We are the makers, the volunteers that keep the world going, we are the creators, and we are the hopelessly optimistic patriots believing it has to change. But will it ever change?

I challenge you to look around and ask yourself: what has happened to America? Oblivious to the fact that their way of life is being stolen by rat politicians. At least half of them aren’t paying for it…

Temporary: Maybe it’s Our Turn…

The Congress and the president have come up with yet another temporary “fix” to the latest funding extension to a budget that hasn’t been passed in over two years plus. It seems we are always scrambling to avoid another federal government shutdown. Well I say let the place shut down. Then at least we will know we are saving some money. The problem with the shutdown for government types is as long as Social Security checks go out, no one will notice the shutdown!

Here is my proposal for these incompetent lawmakers: if all you can pass is temporary measures then we will pay you temporary wages. How about you come to congress for two months a year, do the business of the people and go home. This way we can eliminate the high pay, fabulous benefits and permanent pensions. I think it’s a win for the American people.

The less time these representatives spend in DC and the more time they spend at home will give them a better understanding of the impact of their lawmaking. There is no set provision in the constitution for the time lawmakers must spend working on government. All of the rules of congress are made by the congress. What are the chances these current representatives will vote to reduce their influence in our lives? Slim to none on both sides of the aisle.

The Federal Government is too big, too intrusive, and has taken on many unconstitutional activities which is why we are on the decline. For every government employee we hire, private sector opportunities are reduced. The money we spend on useless activities in every department of government, we reduce the number of potential small businesses in this country. It is a fact that the federal government payroll could be reduced 50% and the average American wouldn’t even notice beyond the peaceful solitude of knowing some useless bureaucrat isn’t waiting in the bushes to shut down their lemonade stand.

So let’s support representatives that want to reduce the influence of the Federal Government in this next election. The more temporary every federal worker is (minus our soldiers) the better America will be…

Better Than Expected But Not Enough…

John Boehner did better than I expected but I am very concerned about the 2012 “budget.” Here’s why I am giving the GOP some slack. If the Democrats would have produced a budget in the 2010-2011 fiscal year, the opportunity to cut would not have been an option. So from the democrat’s inability to pass a budget, the republicans were able to get a few incidental cuts that normally would not have been the case.


The republicans campaigned on larger cuts but in the end it what they settled on could have been worse. I have to disclose that I am from the school that wants to see a budget produced that balances in five years not ten. It can be done but from the whining we have seen over these meager reductions highlights how deceitful the democrats truly are. I addition, the fact that democrats can point to so many programs the federal government provides to so many people only makes this fight all the more important.

Too many people are getting some portion of their income from some sort of federal subsidy. That is dangerous and an undermining of our founding principles. The next budget must eliminate and reduce every federal program. No exceptions that includes the military. I am a conservative that supports the military but the waste is just as rampant in the DOD as anywhere else in the federal government.

Paul Ryan is being touted as this great conservative thinker but he has voted for TARP and other programs that make me uncomfortable and we can do better than his first draft.

The Tea Party is not extreme and everyone that considers themselves a patriot must get back in the game and not fall prey to the demonizing the democrats have put on display. They are using the Tea Party as a weapon to stop cuts and we must be proud to stand for constitutional government. Chuck Schumer, Harry Reid, Dick Durbin, Obama, and the main stream media will lie with no conscience about this upcoming battle and we must expose them and hold tight to our principles. It is our principles that are mainstream and are the reason for America’s success, not theirs.

Caps and reforms of entitlements, transition from government retirement programs to the private sector model, the end of duplicative programs, an end to Afghanistan and Libyan theatres, a continued reduction of troops in Iraq, end of Obama care, and a balanced budget amendment all need to be on the table.

And finally, we should not agree to a debt Ceiling adjustment unless a balanced budget and budget amendment are part of the deal. This is a war for our future. We need to fight it like one and if these are not the representatives willing to do it then we will fight to change it in 2012.

GOP Failure; Again…

The Grand Old Party is anything but grand. The freshman republicans that were sent to congress with a mandate to cut, cut, and cut the budget until it bled are being stifled by the Republican Party. Hugh Hewitt would say it is a leadership failure, I say it is a party failure. You see, party politics is about power. The power to control the process and purse of government where the purse is what is used to pay the supporters and voters for votes. Principle be damned.


In some ways the leadership is a problem but all too often party trumps principle. The GOP leadership has failed to deliver in the short term because they are strategizing to win a majority in both houses and the presidency in 2012. That strategy is a party first strategy. I am not sure the GOP will ever be able to act on principle. What is bound to happen is a rejection of the GOP because even though the party leaders think it is all about 2012, the voters that put them there are all about today.

We are at war with an ideology that is bankrupting this nation both financially and morally. The GOP has had two opportunities to slash the budget and they have failed. The debt accrues at a pace ten times the speed and amount the GOP is proposing to cut. The 54 GOP representatives that voted against these meager measures have shown principle but in the end they will be blamed for the mess the longer it takes to make the necessary cuts. There is no time to waste with the amount of waste that needs to be slashed at the federal level.

The total percentage of cuts is about 1% of the federal budget and is only focusing on the discretionary spending. If the GOP can’t even muster the courage to cut programs like NPR and Planned Parenthood and the $100 billion hidden in the bureaucracy of Obamacare, we are in for trouble.

I can’t even explain my anger at the GOP that considers we the people lacking in understanding the art of governing but I beg to differ. We the people understand what the ramifications of over spending have done to this country. We are living it and the folks in the beltway are living in some parallel universe.

They have a very short leash to do the right thing. Principled people will again in 2012 send conservatives to DC but none of this current leadership group will be among them. That I guarantee unless there is an immediate come to Jesus about the needs for deep spending cuts…

Trains; Budget Boondoggle…

We are racing out of control heading straight down the tracks toward bankruptcy and we are talking about $50 billion in funding for high speed rail? What has happened to spending cuts? The only conversation about high speed rail we should be engaged in is the fact that Amtrak runs at a $2 billion yearly deficit that should be cut. The tax payers should not be subsidizing Joe Biden’s 7000 roundtrips from Delaware to DC.


Michael Medved recently interviewed a rail expert about the economics of trains, and in particular high speed rail. The reality is the United States infrastructure is not conducive to trains being economically viable. Trains rarely pay for themselves. That is evident by the lack of private sector companies willing to invest in rail without a commitment from government to pay for it.

The republican budget committee has just announced a meager $ 32 Billion dollar cut in the federal budget which needs to be $1.4 trillion. The deficit is $1.4 trillion and that is what the goal should be. Throwing money at high speed rail is the same as flushing it down the federal toilet; high “efficiency” toilet that is! I can’t understand the move toward a system of transportation that will never be able to sustain itself.

The green folks and Prius crowd have a love affair with the train and often site Europe as the example. Even in Europe the train systems run at a deficit with the exception of a few specific lines. If the Europeans can’t even sustain rail with a much more condensed infrastructure what makes these people think that rail will work here? And that doesn’t even take into account the argument that will be made for subsidies for car companies as people abandon their automobiles. Even if that pipe dream was to come true.

Giving up the automobile will never happen, and it is unrealistic to expect Americans to give up the convenience and luxury no matter what the price of gas is. If gas prices get too high the American voter will demand increased drilling here in the states. They will never abandon the car when oil is so readily available and the answer is simply to increase our political will to drill. That is a matter of an election cycle or two.

Trains are only viable for freight. If the federal budget contains more than $1 in 2011 it will be $1 too much. Can we please get off the train track and start addressing the third rail issues like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Defense; please?

Government Intrusion Making us Sick…

Pfizer recently announced reducing its budget for the research and development of new life saving drugs by a whopping $2 billion dollars. Even if the money and jobs doesn’t concern you because you hate big “Pharma”, evil corporate executives, and capitalism in general, the new drugs that may have been developed to save your life one day are on life support.


Capitalism is simple; investment is made when rewards can be realized. The rewards are profits that can be used to pay people to develop more products to make more profits. The outcome is jobs, investment, charity, and overall economic growth. The reason the company has made this decision is based on the reality of the FDA’s over bearing regulations that will most likely make any of these investments into new drugs a total waste of time. The company does not believe any drugs in the future will be approved by the FDA. So the investment being made is unlikely to be realized. In the real world what that means is an assault on our system; capitalism.

Obama talks about innovation and corporate “responsibility” as he enters campaign mode, but what he has created behind the scenes is a bureaucratic nightmare. Obama talks about a “partnership” between the private sector and government. There is no such thing. The only responsibility of the government is to insure commerce moves between the states in a regular fashion. The federal bureaucracy is out of control and now trying to regulate us to prosperity. You can’t regulate the economic prosperity by being the gate keeper of new drugs into the market place. The process to get drugs to market has become so burdensome that it is no longer worth it to make those drugs. That is what the government has done as a “partner”.

The rule of law needs to be enforced in a free market place. That is the role of government. It is not the role of the federal government to micro manage as a “partner” in the private sector. That is a complete distortion of the free market economy. This president has NEVER created a job in the private sector. He has never worked in an industry that had to innovate and develop a product to survive. He is completely ignorant of the free market and is creating an atmosphere that is stifling American ingenuity. Why do you think companies are moving offshore? It is not simply lower wages; it is because they are looking for places that still respect the free market.

Companies do not exist for the sake of creating jobs and investing in communities although that is the result of successful companies. Companies exist to make a profit. If they can’t make a profit here in America they will go where they need to or go out of business. The government’s role is to stay out of the way unless laws are broken in the process. Less regulation and intrusion will fuel economic prosperity.

Pfizer is just the beginning and the effects will be felt for years to come if we don’t reign in this out of control federal bureaucracy. The future drugs that may have prevented or cured common diseases of today have been stopped by the FDA. One day we will look back and wonder why our mortality rate has rescinded. This administration and philosophy is making America sick…

Debt Ceiling…

Does anyone really believe that the “concessions” Speaker Boehner is talking about will be realized? What confidence should we have with the republican leadership that has shown that they lack the fortitude to manage a budget by their past actions? They were very happy garnering the Tea Party vote to get another chance at the helm but the Tea Party has little patience for more budget shenanigans.


We just added a Trillion dollars to the budget deficit in the last year. We should cut a Trillion dollars this year. I agree we need to pay our bills but there are bills that if reduced now would make paying the debt service doable.

I am having a hard time understanding how we add a Trillion in debt but the answer is to cut a $100 billion? I am no mathematician but we added a thousand billion and we are cutting 100 billion and we are good? Something is not adding up on my calculator.

The federal “budget” is $3.5 trillion give or take a billion. First, a budget in the private sector usually bases its spending and investment on the revenue coming in the door. But the federal government doesn’t really care that taking in $2.5 trillion and spending $3.5 trillion doesn’t add up. They have our credit card to borrow the deficit so balance be damned. The math is easy so why can’t we just balance the budget?

The biggest problem is that about 60% of the budget is redistribution of wealth. That means that the federal government is taking dollars from some of us and giving it to others through Medicare, Medicaid, Welfare, both personal and corporate, Education, Social Security (even though some have paid in - the way it is run is wealth transfer), and a million little programs that would take a thousand pages to list. What does it all mean? That 60% of the budget battle will pit one group against another.

Even if we balanced the budget in 2011, the debt that has been created by the federal government (yes under both republicans and democrats) has to be paid with the promised interest. But raising the debt ceiling is yet another temporary measure. It puts off a few more years the inevitable fact that we are spending too much on federal largesse.

The debt ceiling is being used as another tool by politicians unwilling to make the hard decisions they need to make. If the politicians offered up a balanced budget by making the necessary cuts, the debt ceiling would no longer be the argument, we would be able to pay the debt. The debt has an exponential effect and we need to get the deficit to 0 before we can dent our debt obligation.

The debt ceiling offers the politicians another escape hatch. It is time to face this crisis head on. Our children deserve a real solution and a balanced budget. We created this mess; we need to fix it…

Our Children Need Us…

We are watching our government at every level justify increased spending, borrowing, and expansion for programs that our kids will end up paying for but have no say in approving. We had a 1.4 trillion dollar deficit for fiscal 2009, and we have an 11.9 trillion dollar federal debt (we will be leaving for our kids to pay), and the states are crying more, more, more funding to “balance” local budgets.

When does it end? When is enough, enough? It is totally irresponsible to take our children’s future from them. We are reducing not only their economic future but their freedom as well. Every dollar we borrow, print, and send to a government program is undermining the foundational principles this country has grown on; constitutional government, individual opportunity, small business opportunity, free markets, and individual freedom. When are we going to stand up and fight for their future?

I know many of you feel helpless because the problem seems so big but like “eating an elephant” we take one small bite at a time. We start by supporting candidates that want to end the fiscal gluttony at the federal level of government. The federal largesse is making it difficult for state and municipalities to provide the services people truly need. People lump all taxes into the wasteful bucket because we see the gargantuan waste going on at the federal level.

Do we need to send $90 billion dollars to the Department of Education to tell us how to run our schools? Or could we use that $90 billion to buy books and support great teacher initiatives? Do we need to send $76 billion dollars to keep the GM car company afloat? Or should we keep that $76 billion dollars at the state and local level supporting Colorado business initiatives? The list of federal spending and waste is endless.

The federal government is over stepping all constitutional barriers with little resistance until now. We are going to stop this out of control government not just because it is unconstitutional, not just because it is crushing our freedom, not just because we need to pay for local services like education, fire, and police, not just because it is the right thing to do, but because we are parents and we care about our kids.

I am asking you and your kids to get involved, and join me to take back the future for our kids. It’s not just political, it’s personal…

This Headline Says it All…

“We Have to Spend Money to Keep From Going Bankrupt”. Can you believe this? This is our Vice President speaking to members of AARP, the association that represents the elderly but unfortunately could care less about their member’s grandchildren.

Tell me this; if you borrowed money to pay your bills every week because you borrowed too much to begin with, is it better to stop spending and pay off the bills or continue to spend money? Do you buy another house and car when you can’t even pay for the house and car you own? As a family the decision is made for you because no one will lend you money if you can’t afford to pay it back. Why does this administration and politicians in general think borrowing and spending beyond our means is good for anyone?

We are in big trouble here folks. We need to all pay attention. We are losing our country to a bunch of imbeciles and ingrates…

Just leave it alone…

This period of slower economic activity is an adjustment that needs to happen. As people tighten their belts what they are doing is paying their bills, putting money away for future needs in case of job loss, and being more careful on how they spend their money. The result is the debt and equity bubble is being paid off which is what must happen to free up money for future purchases.

It is simple and necessary. This cry for people to just keep spending is irresponsible. It is the free markets at work resetting itself. The government’s meddling is only going to lengthen the process that it will take to create liquidity again. Even if the money is made available to borrow (which it is there for credit worthy people) many people are choosing not to spend. And that is their choice that is the market.

What the government spending bill is doing is adding to people’s debt even though they are not willingly taking that debt on. In other words they are working against the market by forcing more borrowing on the taxpaying consumers. It’s like giving the government your credit card for a spending spree. It’s that simple and that concerning.

That is why Wall Street reacted the way they did today; negatively. They know what’s going on here and they don’t like it. Neither should you…

Where did the first round go?

Obama has asked GW Bush to ask the congress to release the next $350,000,000,000 BILLION of the $700,000,000,000 BILLION dollar “bailout” passed last year that we were told; if it didn’t pass we would all be eating out of barrels on the street or die of something. Nothing has changed with the economy so the excuse now is we need the next $350,000,000,000 BILLION!

The problem is that no one knows where the first $350,000,000,000 BILLION went??? Not one politician can point to where our hard earned tax dollars have gone and what they are doing. So based on this information, should we be giving more?

If you gave your teenager $50 to go out on Friday night because he had to go to this school function that everybody was going to, and if he didn’t go he would be nobody, and then he came back to you on Saturday and asked you for another $50, for the same school function what would you do? Ask how they spent the first $50? If they told you I don’t know where it went, would you give them $50 more?

I bet if you are like most Americans you would not release any funds without a full accounting from your teen. Why is this any different? It’s your hard earned money. The people that you have given the money to can’t tell you how they spent it? So why give them more?
I would be very suspicious of my teen that could not account for the $50. I don’t see a difference with our tax dollars, besides the amount of 000,000,000,000 do you?

The Government is Going to Kill the Market…

The reason we are in a financial mess is because the government and particularly the congress has been putting pressure on lenders to make the dream of home ownership a reality for “all”. Although this is a lofty goal, the bottom line is, home ownership needs to be tied to people’s ability to pay. Not everyone will want to own a home or have the financial capacity.

Over the years congress has made promises to constituents of “guaranteeing” home ownership, healthcare, a job, college education, etc… The problem is that all of these pursuits need to be accompanied by a responsibility on the individual to have a stake in the “game”. They are not things you can “guarantee”. These are things that need to be earned and/or paid for.

The reason Country Wide Mortgage failed is because the Chairman in an effort to garner privilege from the Banking Committee and the members of congress on the committee, decided long ago to relax mortgage requirements to give mortgages to people that under normal rules would not qualify. This action gave him many personal benefits as it did for Senator Dodd and others (special mortgage rates) benefits which went unnoticed during the housing “boom”. This helped fuel the housing boom which is currently coming under closer scrutiny by the same congress that caused the bust.

So now we have a tangled web of mortgages that were encouraged by congress, given out all too willingly by financial institutions to unqualified or marginally qualified individuals going bust, and what is the answer? A government bailout. So we no longer have a housing “market”, we have a “guarantee” of home ownership for individuals, and no consequences for bad lending practices for mortgage companies. What this is folks is socialism coming in the back door.

They could never take control of an entire industry without the guise of a crisis. Is it a crisis? You bet, but one that could have been avoided by allowing market conditions to dictate mortgage policy, not government requirements dictating mortgage policy. The beauty of the market is it is ruthless against improper activity. The market consequence for bad lending policy is you go out of business. The consequence of government run mortgage policy is business as “usual”. No losers except for we the idiot taxpayers that allow this to happen.

Impeach the entire congress for financial ignorance… That would be good market policy…

Our freedom and experiment in self rule has already failed…

If by some miracle, the founding fathers of our great nation were to rise from the dead, how would they rate our stewardship of the freedom from government oppression, and individual liberty they bestowed upon us some 230 years ago? I’m afraid we would get an F. A big fat F!

I believe they would be heartbroken that many of the protections they thought they outlined in the constitution have been ignored.

They would look at how big the Federal budget is and wonder how the states allowed the 10th amendment to be completely breached. They would wonder how the states went from fighting so hard against a central control, to a complete submission of federal mandates without a revolution.

They would affirm the 2nd amendment did include an individual right to bear arms, and wonder why we didn’t utilize it to stop the federal takeover of power.

They would wonder; where did God go?

They would affirm that Christian principles were intended as the foundation of the first amendment, and that the separation of church and state was only intended to stop the implementation of a National religion. Not to be used to exorcise our religious foundation out of the public square.

They would wonder why the Federal government would have any business in the tobacco we smoke, the healthcare we choose, the retirement we seek, the food we eat, the cars we drive, the schools we seek, and the happiness we pursue.

They would wonder; why don’t the congressmen leave government? You pay them for what and how much? Then they would understand it!

They would wonder why the federal and state governments were mandating curriculum at our schools - but mostly they would be scratching their heads about a mandated curriculum of Global Warming, but no reference to mandating the teaching of our constitution.

They would be puzzled, dismayed, and defeated by what they would continue to uncover. They would wonder where the next revolution would spawn from. They would have to believe there must be a movement afoot to change this oppressive use of government control. For what they would find would be disturbingly similar to what they revolted against.

How could the foundation they laid just 230 years ago be so different from what they died for? How could a nation bestow on a government what is best left up to individuals? How could a nation founded on the spirit of limited government accept unlimited government meddling?

We would receive an F for stewardship of personal freedom and liberty. They would see that compared to other nations in the world, we still speak about the value of freedom. But what we say and what we do are two completely different things.

In their eyes we would have failed simply because we lost the vision of what is truly valuable; our ability to live our lives with limited government interference.

If you don’t believe we would receive a failing grade for our stewardship, you do not understand the principle’s we were founded on. And for that you would get an F. Just a thought…

3.1 Trillion and it’s not enough…

If 3.1 trillion is not enough, what amount of our tax dollars will be sufficient to “run” our government? If you think I’m kidding read this…? Come on folks; what other proof do we need to throw all these bums out?

Giants defense was the key to the super bowl win. They were awesome! Congrats NY. A great night for my family in NY, but not so much for my friends in NE. Great 4th quarter finish…