Can I Just Share Something?

I work hard. Sure I play a lot too, but I work very long days, and when I get home after 9PM I ask myself why I do it. The clear answers are 2. First, I hate being poor. Second, I love what I do.

But these days, with Mom-in-law having to waste as much savings as possible to comply with the state's medical care for her husband, it seems that no matter how much you work, not matter how successful you are, the nanny state will just collect it all the minute you get terminally ill. You see, Mom was wise with her money all her life - denying herself every pleasure, and carefully putting aside for this time of life. Now, when she needs help, she turns to the nanny state, and like a good lifelong Democrat expects to receive help. But the first thing they told her is that she must waste all her money down to zero before they will help.

With the help of a lawyer, she got them to agree she only has to waste half of everything down to zero, as this is her second husband and they had meticulously kept everything separate. You see, to the government - this is called "help". Here's another kicker... If I or any of the other siblings had decided to help Mom out - the nanny state would have seized that too!

Then there is the porkulus law. This is the giant giveaway where the government seeks out the stupidest businesses and most financially illiterate citizens and throws open the doors of the treasury to them. "Taste and see that the State is good!"

This sounds great until you realize that the treasury is full of IOUs. There is no value there. So where will it all come from? Me. And my kids. and my grandkids. The government is going to raise taxes on a suffering economy and make it suffer more. For generations.

Incidentally, this is the fundamental difference I see between conservative and liberal. Liberals see government as a giant pile of cash and sit up nights trying to figure out who needs it most. Conservatives see the government as a tax man, stealing the blood, sweat and tears of it's people and spending it to ruin their lives.

As for me. I think we need to trash the tax code and add a new provisions to the next one.

1. The base tax rate is 0%, anything above that is a grievance to the workers and must be regularly justified by Congress with a vote
All taxes should expire
2. All taxes should automatically reduce over time, rather than increase
3. Those who earn the money should have the right to say how it's spent
4. There should be one tax rate
5. Congress should not be allowed to spend what money it does not have
6. Congress should not be allowed to mandate that States do anything or spend one dime

If you haven't guessed, I feel that this government has acquired way too much power - probably 50 times as much as is healthy for this country. And every time they seize a working man's property, savings, and mandate that he support the stupid and the lazy, they are marching inexorably toward the next Boston Tea Party. You can only steal so much from hardworking people before they revolt. This country cannot have 100% taxes and 100% of the population living on Government Charity. It's just not doable.

Quotables

"I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on the objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents."

-- James Madison

Sex Offenders

There are 2 major things going on in the world of sex crimes that hurt public safety.

Exaggeration

The current legal system encourages people who receive unwanted sexual attention (formerly called "passes") to file complaints with the police, flooding the system with sexual complaints. This all stems from the notion that if you don't report it, these sexual predators, (formerly called guys who would like a date) will offend again and again.

Admittedly, guys wanting dates are annoying - and nothing will ever change that. But most of it doesn't rise anywhere near the level of a "Sexual Offense". Most of it is just dating gone wrong.

Until girls (mostly) see that what they are doing is ruining their chances of finding anything other than angry lesbian relationships, this will continue to get worse.

Leniency on Real Offenders

Why are there thousands of child molesters roaming the streets? Why is there a need for Megan's Law, requiring these maps of where all the offenders live in the community? These men (mostly), once convicted should never again see the light of day. There should be 0 blips on the Megan's Law map. Oh, and before the bleeding-hearts start whining about prisoner overcrowding, I have a solution for that too. Rather than releasing the least serious offenders, how about we execute the most serious offenders? That'll keep the crime rates down!

The California Debt Clock

Ah, Stimulus

Thank you Conservative Underground! Here is a list of fun facts from the stimulus package...

Provision	Who Wins	Who Gets Screwed
$1 billion for Amtrack	Amtrak, people without cars	Everyone else
$400 million to research global warming	Nobody - This will only hurt the economy.	Everybody. The myth of global warming is extended, we have to buy new cars, new light bulbs, pay new taxes, shut down non-green businesses, lose jobs, and cripple our economy. All over a lie.
$2.4 billion to study how to remove greenhouse gases from atmosphere	20 environmental wackos in a research institute	everyone else
$650 million for digital TV coupons	nobody - if you can't afford a tv upgrade box, you need to look for a job! Plus TV is crap, and only helps the economy in the entertainment business. Why aren't the big TV networks paying for this?	Everyone who pays taxes.
$600 million for new fleet of govt. cars	Car Makers, govt. employees. What is wrong with the normal method for justifying and acquiring cars?	Taxpayers, Everyone else.
$75 million to fund programs to quit smoking	government reasearchers	everyone else - so we hand 75mil to some lab somewhere and this helps the economy... how?
$21 million to re-sod DC mall damaged during inauguration	Gardeners in D.C.	Everyone else. Aren't there like millions of unemployed who could volunteer to do this, for say... $2000? There is no way this is economic stimulus. If it were, then shouldn't the bill have provisions for every damaged lawn in the US?
$2.25 billion for Natl Parks	Yogi Bear	Everyone else. Are you getting the picture that the groups that fed giant sums of cash to Washington for the last election are the ones getting the goodies here? Can you say "Public Employee Unions"?
$50 million for Natl Endowment of the arts	Deranged artists who have no market in sane society.	Those who know what pee is really for. How expensive is Artist Urine these days?
$20 billion over 5 years to expand food stamp program	Government Dependants	Everyone who works hard to provide for themselves.

This bill is pork. In fact, calling this bill pork is an insult to pigs.

Stimulus?

truths about the stimulus package.

1. There are two ways to pay for this massive pork bill: raise taxes, or print money.
2. The bill will come due, either through inflation or tax burdens. Either way, you are going to pay.
3. The fundamental thinking behind this package is flawed: it will not help to take from those who earn a living and spend wisely, and pass it to those who waste with monumental efficiency, expecting 7 figure incomes for their efforts.
4. Small business needs a break from government's stranglehold, not more access to loans.
5. You can't jump-start the auto business by handing cash to auto companies for doing nothing. You need to create an environment where people aren't afraid to buy a car because they might lose their jobs or have to deal with dramatically higher taxation and inflation.
6. You can't jump-start the lending business by handing them cash. Lenders need release from the requirement that they make bad loans.
7. 100% home ownership is not a good thing
8. Where are the caps on Union Boss income?
9. More money for Acorn (the group nailed for voter registration fraud)? How does that help?
10. You are being duped. Your kids and grandkids are going to be billed for this debacle for a very long time.

We're from the Government...

Mr. Smith sat in his small, functional office going over his bank statement and sales reports. He had to find more money somewhere in this mess: not to expand the business, but just to keep it going: this was not the Reagan 80's, it was 2009.

"If I can just keep coasting for another few months", he thought, "maybe the economy will turn around and we can stop living on the edge of destruction like this."

Suddenly, the door opened and two men stepped in. They looked like they had stepped right out of Men in Black, or the Blues Brothers. "Mr. Smith, I'm agent Schwartz, and this is agent 2243. We're from the government stimulus committee." They both simultaneously smiled the exact same smile at the exact same second.

"If you can provide us with your business financial records," Schwartz continued; "we can determine how much the government can help".

Mr. Smith had an inherent distrust of government help. Whenever he had turned to government in the past, their help had always been a gift that keeps on taking, not giving. "Agents, I didn't ask for your help. I don't want your help."

They glanced sideways at each other through the darkened shades they had not removed, even though they were inside. They had heard this answer before. "I'm afraid, Mr. Smith - that help is not optional in this case. We will require your records now."

Mr. Smith stood and backed away from his desk. The nameless agent put a small thumb drive in the USB port, and the terminal, though locked, sparked to life and filled the thumb disk with all the financial records it stored. The agent then unplugged the drive, placed it in a pre-labeled plastic cylinder, and then in a zip-lock plastic evidence bag.

"Thank you for your co-operation Mr. Smith. We'll be in touch."

A week later, four intimidating agents entered the office unannounced. "Mr. Smith, the Government has determined that you made money last year."

Mr. Smith pushed his chair back and looked for a way out of the room. There wasn't one. "A little, yes. We made a little money last year. It wasn't easy."

"Mr. Smith. The Stimulus Committee has determined that you owe a total of $2million to the US Treasury. It's your part of the stimulus package - your patriotic duty. Please sign here." The agent pushed a paper across the desk.

"This is the help the government offers? This company doesn't have $2 million? It never will! I can't pay! I won't! I filed my taxes and I paid every cent I owed. I refuse!" Mr. Smith folded his arms defiantly.

The agent took the paper back. "I'm sorry to hear that Mr. Smith. To fulfill your debt, the government has seized this business and all it's assets. We hoped it would not come to this, but in all honesty, it's a done deal."

As Mr. Smith walked out the door of the business he spent 35 years building, the agents began loading all the equipment and assets onto trucks. Before he had walked to the front gate the employees were being evicted from their jobs. By the time he reached the edge of the parking lot, the building was padlocked.

2009 Stimulus Package Explained

Here are the provisions of the 2009 stimulus package that:

1. that are actually designed to help the economy rather than just the government

2. that are not pork spending for Democrat fatcat lobbies
3. that might help individual taxpayers, workers, and the unemployed

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