I feel like the American tax payer is under constant assault from their government. There is always a crisis of some kind that we are supposed to empathize with and then without question open our pocketbooks; again. I wish in my private life I could just tell my customers that in order for me to survive and live the life I want to, they have to pay more for my products and services.
But most of us live in the real world where the market and our customer’s ability to choose companies make it impossible to make such requests. I had to lay people off last year as many in the private sector have done and continue to do. The private sector and American families are cutting back and making the necessary adjustments to our budgets to survive this economic downturn but what about the government?
Sure there have been some layoffs, furloughs, and pay freezes at the state and local level but just look at the federal government. Do you believe the federal government will ever be happy with the amount of money they take from you and your family? When is enough, enough?
The last four days has seen the largest snow falls in history in our nation’s capital. Federal workers have been at home for the last four days and my life has not changed one iota. Has yours? I would suggest we could reduce the federal workforce by 50% and we wouldn’t even see a blip on the screen. The IRS is hiring thousands more employees, the census bureau is hiring thousands more workers but in a world of technology, why do we need so many census workers? If we reduced our federal government to its constitutional responsibilities how many people can we release to conduct productive activities that generate real economy?
I am not saying these federal workers are bad people, but bad policy has created useless bureaucracy and the government has become an industry in itself. That must change by electing people that are not part of the government “industry.”
Too many people are at the trough of government and have a self interest in perpetuating the industry. Government was never intended to be an industry. Read the constitution and get involved. You will come to the obvious conclusion; this government will never get enough of your money and freedom until both are all gone…
True knowledge of American history is necessary to insure the future of the America we love… This is an important time in our country's history. We must be wise and measured as we choose our leaders going forward.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Jefferson, the Fed, and the Tenth Amendment…
In one of the many arguments Thomas Jefferson had with Alexander Hamilton in the first administration of the newly found republic, under President George Washington, Jefferson used these words to describe why Hamilton’s plan for a federal bank under private management was a bad and unconstitutional idea:
“I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground”: that “all powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited to it by the states, are reserved to the states or to the people.”…
Jefferson went on to argue: “The incorporation of a bank, and the powers assumed by this bill, have not, in my opinion, been delegated to the United States by the Constitution. They are not among the powers specially enumerated…” “If such latitude of construction be allowed to this phrase as to give any non-enumerated power, it will go to every one, for there is not one which ingenuity may not torture into a convenience in some instance or another.” Simply stated; Ignore the enumerated powers and there are no enumerated powers, the sky is the limit to expanded federal government.
This is the foundation of the “implied powers” argument used throughout history to ignore the true intent of the constitution.
How prophetic Jefferson was, and how we see over the years the federal government’s quest for power has given us a government that Hamilton always wanted, a government of an elite class of men with the power over the common man. My words, not his; his sentiment, not mine.
Jefferson fought desperately to stop what today is the Federal Reserve System. If Jefferson were alive today he would want to end the fed. Giving up the federal treasury to be run by “independent and private” interests in his eyes was a recipe for disaster. And the disaster is now upon us.
Jefferson accused Hamilton of “excluding popular understanding and inquiry.” He argued the system of banking and credit devised by Hamilton was so confusing no man including the “president or congress should be able to understand it, or control it.” Which he believed gave Hamilton a scheme to enrich himself and his cohorts within the system Hamilton devised.
These arguments between the two founders were the foundation of a two party system. Not the one we have today but it put people in two “camps”; federalists and republicans with a small r. The Republican Party of yesterday is in modern times what became the Democratic Party. The federalists were the big central government supporters that had the rich, wealthy, and British sympathizers behind it.
How times change but one thing remains true; the principles of our constitution are the key to our recovery and a prosperous future. If we listen and learn about our history and great men like Thomas Jefferson we can consider the paths ahead by using the great understanding that he had of government, to build our future.
He loved the constitution and it was he and Madison that promised the Bill of Rights to encourage the states to ratify our Constitution. It is time to revisit our constitution and our Tenth Amendment in particular. That is, if we want a prosperous future and one that restrains the federal government from intruding on out state and individual rights.
“I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground”: that “all powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited to it by the states, are reserved to the states or to the people.”…
Jefferson went on to argue: “The incorporation of a bank, and the powers assumed by this bill, have not, in my opinion, been delegated to the United States by the Constitution. They are not among the powers specially enumerated…” “If such latitude of construction be allowed to this phrase as to give any non-enumerated power, it will go to every one, for there is not one which ingenuity may not torture into a convenience in some instance or another.” Simply stated; Ignore the enumerated powers and there are no enumerated powers, the sky is the limit to expanded federal government.
This is the foundation of the “implied powers” argument used throughout history to ignore the true intent of the constitution.
How prophetic Jefferson was, and how we see over the years the federal government’s quest for power has given us a government that Hamilton always wanted, a government of an elite class of men with the power over the common man. My words, not his; his sentiment, not mine.
Jefferson fought desperately to stop what today is the Federal Reserve System. If Jefferson were alive today he would want to end the fed. Giving up the federal treasury to be run by “independent and private” interests in his eyes was a recipe for disaster. And the disaster is now upon us.
Jefferson accused Hamilton of “excluding popular understanding and inquiry.” He argued the system of banking and credit devised by Hamilton was so confusing no man including the “president or congress should be able to understand it, or control it.” Which he believed gave Hamilton a scheme to enrich himself and his cohorts within the system Hamilton devised.
These arguments between the two founders were the foundation of a two party system. Not the one we have today but it put people in two “camps”; federalists and republicans with a small r. The Republican Party of yesterday is in modern times what became the Democratic Party. The federalists were the big central government supporters that had the rich, wealthy, and British sympathizers behind it.
How times change but one thing remains true; the principles of our constitution are the key to our recovery and a prosperous future. If we listen and learn about our history and great men like Thomas Jefferson we can consider the paths ahead by using the great understanding that he had of government, to build our future.
He loved the constitution and it was he and Madison that promised the Bill of Rights to encourage the states to ratify our Constitution. It is time to revisit our constitution and our Tenth Amendment in particular. That is, if we want a prosperous future and one that restrains the federal government from intruding on out state and individual rights.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Don’t Get Fooled Again!
I was listening to Bill Bennett’s radio show this morning with guest host, former Republican Senator from PA Rick Santorum; described why he believed term limits was bad with a caller. He actually said term limits of 12 or 20 years were fine, but really, why have them at that point. His logic was that if you have term limits the only people that will know what is going on, will be the staff of the politicians not the politicians. Here is the problem with that logic; government should not be so involved with our lives that politicians can’t figure out what is going on within a four, eight, or 12 year time frame.
I wish every American paid attention to politics, then there would be no need for term limits but unfortunately that is not the case. I am not going to make an argument here for or against but the fundamental problem with the two parties is they want to keep power. It is not about limited government, it is about what new and expanded government program can be delivered by each party. Republicans have their pet supporters and democrats have another set of supporters. Both parties foster special interest politics over constitutional government.
The Republican Party can’t be trusted. There are some republican candidates that have conservative principles but neither party even talk about constitutional government. Constitutional government is not “sexy” but it is the law.
So as you review your choices in 2010, remember the line from that great song by the rock group the “Who”; don’t get fooled again! I guarantee that if you simply vote republican you will be disappointed. And when you are considering the Governor races around the country, support the candidates that are talking about the Tenth Amendment and stopping the federal government at the state level.
If you do that, term limits will be less important at the federal level and you will not be fooled again. The parties have lost sight of the founding principles of our government. A party that has lost their principles can’t be trusted…
I wish every American paid attention to politics, then there would be no need for term limits but unfortunately that is not the case. I am not going to make an argument here for or against but the fundamental problem with the two parties is they want to keep power. It is not about limited government, it is about what new and expanded government program can be delivered by each party. Republicans have their pet supporters and democrats have another set of supporters. Both parties foster special interest politics over constitutional government.
The Republican Party can’t be trusted. There are some republican candidates that have conservative principles but neither party even talk about constitutional government. Constitutional government is not “sexy” but it is the law.
So as you review your choices in 2010, remember the line from that great song by the rock group the “Who”; don’t get fooled again! I guarantee that if you simply vote republican you will be disappointed. And when you are considering the Governor races around the country, support the candidates that are talking about the Tenth Amendment and stopping the federal government at the state level.
If you do that, term limits will be less important at the federal level and you will not be fooled again. The parties have lost sight of the founding principles of our government. A party that has lost their principles can’t be trusted…
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
News Flash; Democrat wins the Democratic Primary!
In the Illinois primaries yesterday for senate and governor a democrat won the democratic primary. This is great news for the democrats that have been struggling in the last three special elections to gain any momentum. This new found hope is encouraging democrats to continue to push through healthcare even if 70% of Americans don’t want it!
This is all you need to know about government run healthcare; Canadian Premier Danny Wilson comes to the United States for heat surgery. Enough said.
God bless the American healthcare system and Mr. Wilson. We wish him well and know he is going to get the best treatment in the world!
Let's keep it that way!
This is all you need to know about government run healthcare; Canadian Premier Danny Wilson comes to the United States for heat surgery. Enough said.
God bless the American healthcare system and Mr. Wilson. We wish him well and know he is going to get the best treatment in the world!
Let's keep it that way!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Capitalism; The fuel of Compassion and Freedom…
Too many politicians demonize the capitalist system as greedy and ruthless but that characterization is stereotypical and dangerous. It is stereotypical in nature due to the overexposure greedy executives get in movies, in particular “Wall Street”. It is dangerous to demonize capitalism because it is the engine of freedom, and without the profits and charity of successful businesses and individuals, we don’t have the funds necessary to protect our country or fund our benevolence.
The simple reason capitalism is successful is it harnesses the power of individual human nature to survive and compete. When this quality of human nature is incentivized within a framework of laws it unleashes unbridled dreams and passions that individuals have to provide a prosperous life for them and their families. It is only when the laws of this system are broken do we see the greedy aspect of capitalism. Greed is the exception not the rule. The ability to make and keep profits is the reason we work so hard and are so compassionate. If we were not able to keep the reward of our labor there would be no reason to work. You could be forced to work to eat and have a roof over your head as many a socialist system has, but this is counter to human nature. It fails everywhere it is tried. We as individuals do everything for our own benefit. Now this may seem counter intuitive to compassion but compassion cannot exist without first satisfying our basic needs. And capitalism satisfies those basic needs quickly and fully which fuels our ability to be benevolent.
In my mind it is simple so why do politicians continue to bash the system that feeds so much benevolence? Envy is the answer. Capitalism is an objective system that doesn’t care what demographic group you come from; it simply rewards and punishes behavior. It rewards people that work hard, create needs in a market, fulfill that need, and have the ability to change when the market does. It punishes laziness, bad ideas, and businesses that stagnate and become obsolete in the marketplace. It is the fairest system in the world. Although politicians claim to support fairness they actually thrive on creating a false sense of envy. They harvest the emotion of envy to fuel their own interests most often to get and stay in elected office. They take the fairest economic system in the world and claim it favors certain groups more than others. They ignore the hard work it takes to be successful and suggest that these people are only successful because they have an unfair advantage over others. It is completely false but for many people that don’t want to do the work or haven’t been as successful they embrace that argument and support programs that punish success; including their own.
If we want to remain the most benevolent, prosperous, and free nation in the world we must support capitalism. We must work as hard as we can to make as much money as we can so we can share our success with the causes close to our heart. The government has no heart and the more programs government creates to be “benevolent” the less benevolent people become and the more people are destroyed by these government programs.
Don’t be fooled by the stereotypes and mis-characterizations of people that are successful. It is a ploy that must be recognized and ignored. We are compassionate because we are successful. We should be proud of that in America. And it is only possible because of capitalism…
The simple reason capitalism is successful is it harnesses the power of individual human nature to survive and compete. When this quality of human nature is incentivized within a framework of laws it unleashes unbridled dreams and passions that individuals have to provide a prosperous life for them and their families. It is only when the laws of this system are broken do we see the greedy aspect of capitalism. Greed is the exception not the rule. The ability to make and keep profits is the reason we work so hard and are so compassionate. If we were not able to keep the reward of our labor there would be no reason to work. You could be forced to work to eat and have a roof over your head as many a socialist system has, but this is counter to human nature. It fails everywhere it is tried. We as individuals do everything for our own benefit. Now this may seem counter intuitive to compassion but compassion cannot exist without first satisfying our basic needs. And capitalism satisfies those basic needs quickly and fully which fuels our ability to be benevolent.
In my mind it is simple so why do politicians continue to bash the system that feeds so much benevolence? Envy is the answer. Capitalism is an objective system that doesn’t care what demographic group you come from; it simply rewards and punishes behavior. It rewards people that work hard, create needs in a market, fulfill that need, and have the ability to change when the market does. It punishes laziness, bad ideas, and businesses that stagnate and become obsolete in the marketplace. It is the fairest system in the world. Although politicians claim to support fairness they actually thrive on creating a false sense of envy. They harvest the emotion of envy to fuel their own interests most often to get and stay in elected office. They take the fairest economic system in the world and claim it favors certain groups more than others. They ignore the hard work it takes to be successful and suggest that these people are only successful because they have an unfair advantage over others. It is completely false but for many people that don’t want to do the work or haven’t been as successful they embrace that argument and support programs that punish success; including their own.
If we want to remain the most benevolent, prosperous, and free nation in the world we must support capitalism. We must work as hard as we can to make as much money as we can so we can share our success with the causes close to our heart. The government has no heart and the more programs government creates to be “benevolent” the less benevolent people become and the more people are destroyed by these government programs.
Don’t be fooled by the stereotypes and mis-characterizations of people that are successful. It is a ploy that must be recognized and ignored. We are compassionate because we are successful. We should be proud of that in America. And it is only possible because of capitalism…
Monday, February 1, 2010
Manufacturers Welcome in Colorado…
Manufacturing is not just about jobs, it is about national security, personal and organizational identity, and it is about moral responsibility. So why do we punish manufacturers with overwhelming regulation and taxes?
We as a country have forgotten why manufacturing is so important, and the role it plays in our ability to remain free and prosperous. If we give up our ability to produce heavy equipment, steel, rubber, and other products, we leave our destiny in the hands of people that may be friendly now, but what about the future? China comes to mind. If we no longer produce, or we are producing weapons, aircraft, and other sensitive technologies in countries like China, how vulnerable are we to the political tides in China? We need to produce our own products here, and continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
We have always been a country that values work and being connected to great products. Caterpillar, John Deere, Coca Cola, Levi Strauss, LL Bean, to name a few. As individuals we identify with the work we do and having products that the world loves is a great source of pride for those that are part of creating and building these great brands.
It is a moral obligation of the representatives of the people to support the citizens it represents by enabling and supporting policy that create economic opportunities for its citizens. The free trade proponents of which I am one have to balance economy and ethics. I believe in free trade but I do not believe in policies that favor nations that have communist regimes, using forced labor, and ignoring common sense environmental policies. The cost of doing business has to include all of these factors but our policy should put America first. Not with policy that forces people to buy American, it should be policies that free up American manufacturers to be able to compete in a global competition for human and capital resources. The United States has the second or third highest cost of doing business due to our tax and regulatory policy. That must change. Union and management must be brought back together to compete and support common sense policies to build up our manufacturing base again.
As Governor I will propose and support policy that welcomes manufacturers, supports free trade by reducing the cost to do business, and create incentives for unions and business to work together to improve our competitive position in the world. Corporate taxes, capital gains taxes, and burdensome regulations will be targeted for reform or elimination under my administration. I will fight the federal government as passionately as I would a foreign government trying to run our manufacturers out of the country. We need to make stuff again. We need to keep the manufacturers we currently have healthy and help them grow. There are economic groups talking about this right now in Colorado and they need to know they will have my support 100%.
Colorado is open for business; including manufacturers!
We as a country have forgotten why manufacturing is so important, and the role it plays in our ability to remain free and prosperous. If we give up our ability to produce heavy equipment, steel, rubber, and other products, we leave our destiny in the hands of people that may be friendly now, but what about the future? China comes to mind. If we no longer produce, or we are producing weapons, aircraft, and other sensitive technologies in countries like China, how vulnerable are we to the political tides in China? We need to produce our own products here, and continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
We have always been a country that values work and being connected to great products. Caterpillar, John Deere, Coca Cola, Levi Strauss, LL Bean, to name a few. As individuals we identify with the work we do and having products that the world loves is a great source of pride for those that are part of creating and building these great brands.
It is a moral obligation of the representatives of the people to support the citizens it represents by enabling and supporting policy that create economic opportunities for its citizens. The free trade proponents of which I am one have to balance economy and ethics. I believe in free trade but I do not believe in policies that favor nations that have communist regimes, using forced labor, and ignoring common sense environmental policies. The cost of doing business has to include all of these factors but our policy should put America first. Not with policy that forces people to buy American, it should be policies that free up American manufacturers to be able to compete in a global competition for human and capital resources. The United States has the second or third highest cost of doing business due to our tax and regulatory policy. That must change. Union and management must be brought back together to compete and support common sense policies to build up our manufacturing base again.
As Governor I will propose and support policy that welcomes manufacturers, supports free trade by reducing the cost to do business, and create incentives for unions and business to work together to improve our competitive position in the world. Corporate taxes, capital gains taxes, and burdensome regulations will be targeted for reform or elimination under my administration. I will fight the federal government as passionately as I would a foreign government trying to run our manufacturers out of the country. We need to make stuff again. We need to keep the manufacturers we currently have healthy and help them grow. There are economic groups talking about this right now in Colorado and they need to know they will have my support 100%.
Colorado is open for business; including manufacturers!
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