THE PARABLE OF THE OLIVE JAR

“Democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those willing to work and give to those who would not”

THOMAS JEFFERSON

I heard this supposedly true story many years ago in graduate school. Please bear with me as I try to tell it as I remember it – I am sure I will massacre it handily I, but I will welcome anyone who knows the facts and can verify its authenticity. As I said, it has been a long time since I heard it, but I think I can accurately convey the spirit of it and it really does have a point relative to our current financial crisis.

It seems that the largest purveyor of jars of green olives in the nation was concerned about their decreasing sales profit margin. Although they enjoyed a healthy lead over their competitors and enjoyed the lion’s share of the green olive market they wanted to improve profits so they decided to bring in an “expert” to advise them. The expert consultant set up an office with a small support staff in their corporate headquarters and proceeded to study the situation. He toured the orchards that grew the olives and studied the planting, cultivating and harvesting procedures. Next he examined the storage and ripening process. He spent time with their transportation division noting how the olives were moved from the farm to storage and from storage to the plant. He carefully observed the bottling, packaging and shipping to the markets. Finally he looked at the marketing and sales procedures. After months of study he and his staff considered the mountain of data they had compiled and suggested a course of action.

He complemented the company first on a very well run and efficient operation. There were some minor operational procedures that could be adjusted to cut costs, but overall he recommended few changes. After evaluating everything he said there was one thing they could do to reach the profit level they wanted. Because of their huge market share and the large volume of units sold daily all they needed to do was reduce the volume of the contents of each jar by one olive. The cost savings of one olive per unit multiplied by the millions of units sold would result in increasing the overall profit margin above their target level. The company’s senior management went over the projections and exclaimed their unanimous approval. It was a simple plan, but absolutely brilliant. In fact, by following his advice they got just the results he had predicted. They promptly proclaimed him a genius and happily paid him his large fee.

The profit from the sales of the jars of olives was substantial enough that it was used to offset costs in other divisions of the company. They were able to even to subsidize the introduction of new products with the profits from the olives. As time passed they began to depend on those profits to compensate for other less profitable divisions in the company. Meanwhile their orchards were infiltrated by disease, their equipment aged, labor costs increased and shipping became more expensive. When faced with rising costs after a difficult overall sales quarter senior management got together and decided to compensate by reducing the contents of their olive jars by another olive. They were elated when it resulted in raising the profit margin once again.

Realizing nobody would notice one less olive they resorted to reducing costs and increasing profits by decreasing the content of the olive jars whenever they needed to boost their bottom line. Just one olive less multiplied by millions of jars and the profit magically went up. They didn’t even need to spend money on consultants – they could do it themselves whenever it was necessary. It was so easy it became almost automatic.

But then a funny thing happened. The profits began to decline. Sales started to fall. Suddenly they were losing market share. Since their profit model was based on volume revenues were decreasing. The sales of green olives were no longer sufficient to cover shortfalls in other areas. They called in the expert again. This time after months of study he evaluated the data and told them that the consumers noted that their competitors offered a better value by selling a comparable product containing many more olives at virtually the same price, so they were switching brands. He told them that by continually reducing the numbers of olives in their jars they had ceased to provide a good product and lost their market share. They were astonished. It was only one olive here and another olive there. Who noticed such things?

This story reminds me of the attitude of our elected representatives in Washington, D.C. Unfortunately our legislators have not only reduced the product they deliver to their constituents, they have compounded the situation by incrementally raising the price we pay for it. They have raised taxes a little here and a little there, until the burden has become almost unsustainable. Each little increase is just another olive out of the jar. Who notices? It is what our politicians have always done and it always worked trick before. Like the myopic olive merchants they can’t seem to see very far down the road. They are far too preoccupied with other things like obsessing on getting re-elected to worry about the quality of life of the common people.

They are first and foremost professional politicians. They are not businessmen or businesswomen. The majority of them have never had a real job. They don’t understand the concept of a ‘bottom line because they don’t have one. All of their expenses are paid for by their constituents. Their office overhead, support staff, rent, supplies, transportation, meals, gifts, telephone, mailing and travel are all paid for by the taxpayers. No wonder they can’t pass a budget that doesn’t spend more than it takes in. They have never had to. Of course their answer to every issue is to raise taxes and spend like drunken sailors. They are tax addicts with an unshakable faith in our ability to provide them with their next fix. All they know is when they need revenue they only need to take it from the people. It is easy and so simple. They look at the American worker as their personal golden goose. Squeeze it a little and out pops a golden egg. Squeeze it again and out pops another. It works every time – just another olive here and there. Talk about a ‘status quo’ – they don’t know any other way.

Unfortunately our economy is reaching the ‘tipping point’. Our nation is split almost right down the middle – between those who pay taxes and those who do not – 47 percent of Americans do not pay any taxes. Allow me to repeat that – 47 percent of Americans do not pay any income tax. That means just over half of working Americans pay 100 percent of the tax burden for their brothers an sisters. Did you get that? One half pays for the other. To further compound this disparity, a significant portion of those who pay zero taxes receive “tax rebates” on taxes they never even paid! (As John Stossell put it, “They pay less than zero”). Undaunted, our feckless political aristocracy propose to increase the burdens on the already overburdened taxpaying half. The intrepid Stossell said in his recent article, When have gives and half takes, “The view from the top shows the lopsidedness of the tax system. The top twenty percent of earners makes about 53 percent of the income in America, but pays 91 percent of the income tax. The top I percent pays 36 percent. The IRS says the bottom half of earners pays less than 3 percent”. Yet somehow in their convoluted politician’s logic the beltway gangstas have been able to foist the blame for their fiscal irresponsibility on the very heads of those paying all the bills. All to justify their shrill cries for ever more. And of course they can rely on the votes of the 47 percent exonerated from the burden of income tax. As George Bernard Shaw said, “The government who robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul”. This is what it is really all about – their perpetual re-election and engorgement at the public trough.

Our political leaders can’t stop themselves. They seem oblivious to the ramifications. They are going to squeeze and squeeze until the goose dies in their hands. Even then I am not sure they will get it. They will more likely pass harsher laws to try to force compliance from its lifeless body. They will call press conferences and jostle for position in front of the microphones to threaten our future, our children’s future and our children’s children’s future if we don’t keep popping out those eggs. Their answer to every issue is to appropriate more of the working peoples hard earned money. Raising taxes is painless for them because their taxes are paid for with taxpayer dollars. Even if they do feel a personal financial squeeze they simply vote themselves another pay increase (as they did earlier this year while millions of working Americans continued to lose jobs and have their homes foreclosed on). It is just another olive or two out of the jar – who notices such things?

That is precisely why we need term limits – the time has come for us to break this cycle. Our current DC gang of “professional politicians” needs to be sent packing regardless of their party affiliation. We need to replace them with people who have had real jobs in the real world, who don’t look at taxpayers as a government ATM – people who will serve their terms and go home.

Too many olives have already been taken out of the jar. It doesn’t matter if you look at it as half empty or half full. It certainly is not worth what we are paying for it. Next election vote against the incumbents – from both parties. Vote the parasites out of office! Replace them with citizens who know we don’t work for the government – it works for us.

TWO AND TWO DO MAKE FOUR! (or even “progressives” can count)

Obama’s approval ratings drop to 45% as more and more of the progressive grape kool-aid drinkers put down their glasses and pick up a hot cup of reality – What took ‘em so long?

He was wrong about unemployment. He said six months ago that the ‘stimulus’ package would prevent unemployment from reaching 8%, but now the prediction is 10% by the end of the year. He said it would create 4-5 million jobs (later he would alter that to “save or create 3.5 million jobs”), but instead, we have lost an additional two million jobs so far this year – and still counting.

He was wrong about the deficit. According to PeterOrzag, Whitehouse Budget Chief, the deficit projected by the Obama Administration for next year is off by more than $1.5 trillion dollars. But the Office of Management & Budget told ABC News that it was worse than that. They said the Whitehouse is planning on revising the deficit estimate upward by two billion dollars! The new total cumulative budget projection expected out his week will be in excess of nine billion dollars. This from an administration that continues to deride George Bush for passing on a $1.2 trillion dollar deficit.

How incompetent do you have to be to be off two trillion dollars in a matter of months? Perhaps the fact that they are still criticizing the Bush deficit without ever acknowledging that their own projections increase it by 500% – putting a financial burden on the American worker that exceeds the total of every administrations deficits from George Washington through George W. Bush – combined - it is a fair indication that ideology rather than economic analysis drives their decision making. Consider the frustrating way they announced their little “mistake” – like it was a minor miscalculation.

He was wrong when he claimed the ‘stimulus’ was working. We are still losing jobs. The credit crunch is continuing unabated. Foreclosures are increasing again. Companies across the nation continue to cut employee benefits. Banks failures are ongoing. Small businesses are closing their doors. The promised jobs and credit never materialized for most Americans in spite of trillions of dollars being spent. The true believers say the stimulus is working and point out some successes in the banking idustry as evidence. It’s true Goldman, Lehman and Morgan all boasted about their profits last quarter – but as recipients of billions of taxpayer dollars it’s no wonder they are now in the money. Their hubris at announcing their “profits” in the face of the “forgotten man” walking the streets across America looking for work in increasing numbers is particularly galling. They say home sale are ‘up’ without mentioning those cheap properties being snapped up by investors used to be someone esle’s American dream. Whoopy-doo! What about the average working man or woman? Trust me, when the “stimulus” is working the people will be the beneficiaries and they won’t need any press conferences to convince them.

He was wrong when he said he would not to raise taxes. President Obama and his loyal minions were self-righteously indignant when challenged about the new administration’s plans to raise taxes. They wagged their fingers at the cameras and told all of us over and over that taxes would not be increased or raised on American workers earning less than $250,000 per year. They howled at those who contrasted his plans with the costs and said it couldn’t be done. They admonished all challengers by repeatedly quoting Obama’s assertion. For the kool-aid drinkers it was an open and shut case. Obama said he would not raise taxes on anyone earning less than $250,000 per year – end of discussion.

So much for that promise. Where are all of the talking heads now? What happened to the condescending true believers who lectured those who questioned this campaign promise? Where are the liberal pundits who talked down to critics like they were talking to a bunch of five year olds? Now that the consensus from all sides agrees that taxes are going up on everybody Obama’s cheerleaders just shrugged their shoulders and melted away and the silence is deafening.

He was wrong when he promised “new transparency”. Obama promised a new era of ‘transparency’ from his administration. Remember his promise to post all new legislation on the internet five days before the legislature voted on it? What a great idea. This would allow all citizens access to proposed legislation prior to the vote. This was a plan hailed from both sides of the aisle. The people would actually be able to peruse bills before they got to the floor. Then they would be able to knowledgably engage their political representatives so they could accurately serve their constituents. Too bad it ain’t happening. The bills, some over a thousand pages long, are still being released hours before the scheduled votes making it certain that no legislators could possibly read them before voting on them let alone posting them in time for the people to see what is in them. Still, it sounded good when he said it….

He was wrong about the cost and efficiency of his healthcare plan. When questioned about the “healthcare’ plan at a recent townhall meeting even President Obama admitted he had not read the healthcare bill and he did not understand everything in it, yet he insisted it would cost $800 billion dollars and it must be passed in two weeks. So regardless of his promises to the contrary legislation is still being rammed through without anybody knowing what they are voting on. The really scary thing is it appears that our government is rushing through legislation – written by lobbyists – based on sound-bites and catch-phrases instead of thoughtful consideration or voter input.

Touring his staged townhall meetings (stacked with true believers feeding him “questions”) he is still touting his ‘healthplan’ even though the people don’t want it. Poll after poll shows the majority of Americans are happy with their health plan. He stands there with a straight face saying his plan will be more “affordable” – even after the (Democratically led) Congressional Budget Office has clearly stated that Obama’s proposed healthcare plan will cost more and deliver less.

Even now as reported by Politco.com, the Whitehouse is claiming the cost of the Obama plan would be ‘neutral’ and would come “not from tax dollars” (Wow, I thought all of the government money was derived from ‘tax dollars’. Evidently, the Obama administration has a secret bank account somewhere of ‘other money’ that allows them to increase spending while simultaneously reducing costs). Or maybe just a printing press?

He was wrong when he claimed support for his healthcare plan. This is nothing new. Our President has the astonishing capability to say things directly contradicting what his own supporters say without batting an eye as he did when he claimed support for his healthcare plan from the AARP. He said it and they issued a statement denying his claim the very same day. But it didn’t phase our intrepid President he made the exact same false statement a few days later at another townhall!

He was wrong when he claimed success for the cash for clunkers program. He has been touting the results of the “cash for clunkers” program, calling it a “success” because of the undeniable surge in auto sales. The lure of ‘free money’ drew thousands of buyers making it a big success for them, but what about the dealerships it was supposed to stimulate? Listening to the Whitehouse it sounds like two billion dollars has been spent stimulating the automotive industry, but once again the truth is found wanting. The real truth is dealerships all across the country are suspending the cash for clunkers program until the government actually comes through on their promise.

According to Dave Billion of Billion Automotive, he has had to suspend the program until the government keeps their word to reimburse his company for the sales already consummated. He estimates the government owes him over three million dollars in reimbursements! To close the sale, the dealers have to put up the ‘cash’ contribution and then get reimbursed. The government plan promised reimbursement within 10 days. Dave billion says it has been more than 30 days and he is owed for over 700 vehicles. So what happened? Where is the money? What is keeping the government from getting it to the dealers? Aren’t government bureaucrats known for zipping things right along?

The polls say that people from left, right and center aren’t so sure. But the surprise is the recent spike in defections from the Obama camp. Could it be that the kool-aid drinkers are finally realizing that the government is by nature an inefficient bureaucracy? Could it be that they are acknowledging the tedious over regulation and time consuming government red tape? Is it a begrudging admission that all government programs incur cost overruns rendering most projections specious at best? Are they figuring out that the same outfit that runs the IRS, public schools, the EPA and administers government defense contracts wants to control their healthcare, too? Even Obama in an unguarded moment without his teleprompter used the U.S. Post Office as an example of inefficiency and high cost juxtaposing it against the better run and profitable Federal Express and UPS – twice. And don’t forget our organizationally challenged government ‘erroneously’ sent out a portion of the ‘stimulus’ in the form of checks to something like two thousand convicts in prison just last week (just another ‘minor mistake’). Add it all up and even the staunchest Obamanites are coming up with the same answer. Every tax dollar fed into the government machine only pops out pennies for the purpose intended. The rest is siphoned off and absorbed by the beltway bureaucracy and never reaches its purported target – the people.

Perhaps the new approval numbers are indicative of the budding realization that President Obama really was just a community organizer and although he is a great orator and is deeply passionate about his ideology – half a term as a Senator isn’t enough experience to expect proficient administration of the most powerful political office in the world.

Welcome aboard progressives – we were afraid you were never going to catch on. Now if only the establishment media will wake up……..

THE PEOPLE’S TOWNHALL SURPRISE

The largest grassroots movement in fifty years is sweeping the country and our professional politicians are frantically ignoring it and insulting their own constituents. Why can’t they hear the people?

It started about six months ago. Frustrated with political representation increasingly detached from their constituency, a small group of citizens banded together to combine their voices in order to be heard. Their complaint? Runaway government veering away from the Constitution and usurping individual freedoms in favor of government administered social programs. They feared that Washington was no longer listening to them, but was pursuing its own interests.

Somebody called it a “Tea Party” after the original Boston Tea Party. They complained of “taxation without representation” and it struck a chord with other Americans. Suddenly similar groups began to organize spontanenously around the Country. Although the establishment media did its best to pan the movement within three months it had grown to something like two thousand “tea parties” (many with thousands of attendants) celebrated on the fouth of July. Not since the civil rights era has America seen a nationwide groundswell like this.

In spite of a concerted effort to dismiss it the movement continued to catch on around the Country. When the establishment media could no longer ignore it they went on the offensive. They snickered their ugly inside joke calling the participants “tea baggers” referencing a homosexual sex act. They thought themselves hilarious. They tried to pigeon hole the movement by comparing the people attending to Timothy Mcveigh and the KKK. Then they claimed it was only rich white republicans. Jeneanne Garafolo and Bill Mahr called the tea partiers racist claiming they really – as Bill Mahr put it – didn’t want ” a colored guy running things”. The usual crew of talking heads piled it on describing them as stupid, ignorant, angry and hateful – but really mostly just anti-Obama.

They did their best to dismiss the unrest as a fringe movement of idiots and racists. But the tea party movement only increased popping up across the country. Videos from the gatherings began posting on YouTube. In fact, the people speaking up said they were republicans, democrats and independents. They came from across the socio-economic spectrum. They were white, they were black, they were brown and every other color. The one common thread they shared was a love of their country and a fear that the government was out of control. Unfortunately, this message is one our lawmakers on both sides of the aisle do not want to hear.

To counter it the politicans intiated a series of Town Hall Meetings. Last week they finally fanned out from both parties to “talk to the people”. Their goal was to define the argument and confine it to healthcare reform. But the pesky people wouldn’t cooperate. They went to the town hall meetings and spoke up. We have all seen the videos – The politicans were caught totally by surprise. Essentially the democrats just wanted to convince the rabble to support Obama’s healthcare plan – the republicans wanted the opposite. For them it was business as usual. But the people wanted something else – they wanted to be heard.

The more the politicans tried to define and control the argument, the people more demanded to be heard. The politicans were shocked and angry. They wanted to do what they do best – talk. They discounted the people’s attempts to be heard. They called them names and accused them of being “hateful”. Even the President, just a couple of days ago in what was obviously a staged townhall meeting, said the problem was the disruption of the meetings by emotional people and that the people needed stop being angry and “listen”. According to Nancy Pelosi all of the emotion and dissent was “un-American”. The message was loud and clear from Washington – they know what’s best for the rest of us and we need to sit down, shut up and don’t argue.

They claimed the townhall meetings were to “debate” the healthcare plan. But again, last week during Obama’s whirlwind talking tour he was caught without his teleprompter and admitted that he had not read the healthcare bill nor did he understand everything in it. He couldn’t explain the ‘plan’. All he could do was tell us we had to pass it. So the politicians are continuing trying to pathologically ram a plan down our throats that nobody understands and that the CBO has categorically stated will cost more and deliver less. They claim we are in “crisis” and have to act now regardless of poll after poll saying the vast majority of people are happy with their coverage. Still, they insist we have to act immediately (sounding suspiciously like they did with the Stimulus and Ominibus packages…).

Abraham Maslow once said that to a man good with a hammer the whole world is a nail. That is a pretty good description of the political aristocracy running our country. The only way they know is their two party tug of war. As always they want to define the issues for us and then tell us what to think and do. That is because they have forgotten why we put them in office. We did not vote for them so they could spend the rest of their lives enriching themselves on the taxpayer’s dollar. They have forgotten that we elected them to SERVE us, the people – not the other way around. Their collective amnesia is what makes it nearly impossible for them to understand what the people are shouting out in the townhall meetings, “Stop telling us what you are going to do and LISTEN to what WE want“.

NEWSFLASH to Washington: We don’t want to “debate” your ‘plans’. We want you tear yourselves away from your incessant re-election campaigns and listen to your constituents. We are in charge – not you. Our government is ” by the people and for the people” not by the politicians and for the politicians. It is time for you to close your prevaricating mouths and start listening to what we have to say. You are seeing the largest public display in fifty years and if you don’t listen we are going to send you home for good in 2010.

And all of you “progressive” kool-aid drinkers – stop telling the rest of the people how rude and un-American our dissent is – remember what your “side” said just a few short months ago:

Hillary Clinton – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJxmpTMGhU0

Nancy Pelosi – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5GuzruICwQ&NR=1&feature=fvwp

What is good for the goose is also good for the gander. Every citizen in this country has the SAME right to express themselves. So get used to it.

For the rest of us – Find a tea party or townhall meeting to attend. Whatever your political beliefs you have a right to be heard. Stand up and be counted. We can make them listen. Tell them this is way beyond party platforms. No matter how hard they try to morph this into a partisan battle – stand your ground. TAKE YOUR CAMERAS AND CONTINUE TO RECORD WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING THERE. Document the establishment media hacks attempting to “spin” and distort the people’s message. Don’t allow it. Post your videos on YouTube. Talk to your friends – We are going to win this one………..

LICKING THE SCAB

Another indictment of the conspicuous consumption and arrogant attitude of entitlement by the American political aristocracy in Washington, D. C.

I remember some classmates in grade school that had a very tough time dealing with chapped lips. For extended periods of time they walked around with horrible scabs surrounding their mouths. When I asked them what happened I was surprised to hear that the ugly crust formed as a result of continually licking around their lips to stop the pain and itching caused by chapping. What started out as simple chapped lips resulted over time into a much more painful and uncomfortable condition simply because they were unable to stop the licking. But the more they licked to avoid the pain the worse their condition became.

They even came to school with a disgusting goo smeared around their mouths. One classmate told me the salve was absolutely horrible tasting. It was applied specifically to deter the constant licking that was increasing the size of the scab and exacerbating healing. Unfortunately the pain caused by the dry cracking of the healing scab was so difficult to endure they just licked off the goo and continued to make their wound larger and even more difficult to heal.

A couple of these kids battled with it for as long as months at a time. Some of the scabs were huge and required non-stop licking to avoid discomfort. Even though they knew they had to stop in order to heal they were unwilling to face the pain. I had a tough time then understanding why they didn’t just tough it out and cut the whole process short. Just looking at them and the terrible cycle they were caught in cured me of ever licking my chapped lips, but they found licking the scab preferable to the cure.

I moved away from that school in fifth grade and I no longer remember their names, but I am pretty sure most of the scab-lickers ended up in Washington D.C. as Congressmen and Senators. Nowhere else have I seen such childish attempts to avoid the pain and discomfort of dealing forthrightly with our national financial wounds. Our professional politicians don’t appear to have the fortitude to tackle the fiscal wounds they have inflicted on the American people.

In fact, they are licking away at warp speed trying to keep the inevitable at bay. Our national fiscal scab is already torturously large and growing daily. Our politicians know the day is coming when our nation will have to pay the piper for their antics. There is no way to avoid the terrible pain of dealing with the debt they are piling up. In the first six months of this year the debt incurred and proposed is larger than the debt accumulated by every congress since the birth of our nation – put together. But the present plan seems to be just ‘keep on licking’ and pass the gory wounds on to the next generation.

As long as they can put off the unavoidable financial reckoning they will. Our feckless career politicians are more interested in retaining their cush, fat-cat, voter-subsidized lifestyles than healing our nation. Even in the midst of the biggest financial crisis since the great depression, while their constituents face unemployment, loss of benefits and even bankruptcy, our political representatives merrily continue to heap burden after financial burden on our heads mortgaging our future and the future of our children. Why? Because they aren’t feeling any pain.

Unfortunately they have built themselves a self perpetuating empire that is insulated from the pain and duress they continue to inflict on the American worker. Congress isn’t facing any layoffs. The Senate isn’t in any danger of losing their benefits. None of them have to worry about taking a cut in pay. They’ve made certain they are covered. They have all kinds of back-up. They have their own private very inclusive healthcare plan. They don’t even have any concerns about their retirement if Social Security tanks because they have their exclusive super generous retirement plan funded by the taxpayers. And their posh plans aren’t in any danger. They are fully protected – by their own design – from the results of their irresponsible actions.

They live like royalty compared to the rest of us. All of their overhead and expenses are paid for by the American people. They have scores of Aids to do their bidding. They get driven around in limos and dine daily in expensive restaurants. They fly for free. All of their mailing is paid for. They even voted themselves a daily per Diem to provide funds for entertaining and guess what – if they don’t use it they get to pocket it anyway. Add all of the other percs and sweetheart deals that keep them in luxurious comfort regardless of the state of the rest of the Country and it is no wonder parasites like Robert Byrd, Ted Kennedy, Orin Hatch, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Lindsay Graham, Arlen Specter and so many others are PERMANENT fixtures in Washington.

How much have YOU benefited from the ‘bailouts’. What positive impact have the “stimulus” packages had on your life? How has the growing mountain of debt eased your financial burden? How is your 401k or your IRA doing? Ready for more of the same? Just last week another ‘stimulus’ package was proposed displaying our political leader’s unbelievable detachment from the American people. The national scab is in danger of morphing into a terminal condition and our fearless leaders can’t wait to make it worse because like children unable to deal with the pain they don’t know any other way.

Most of them have never had a real job. They have never had to deal with a ‘bottom line’. To them the American worker is the government’s ATM machine. And they know that by licking the scab and heaping on more and debt they can keep pushing the inevitable back. By continuous spending they intend to put off dealing with it as long as possible. But, they cannot risk allowing the people to face the pain without also risking being voted out of office. So no doubt the current D.C. gangstas on both sides of the aisle will continue to spend (to buy votes and influence at the expense of the American people) to retain their personal power. They will never stop of their own accord – they will have to be stopped by the people and the only way to do that is to send them home.

Our founding fathers never intended to create a privileged class of politicians permanently ensconced in Washington. They never intended for our political representatives to get rich off American workers. They set the example for us as working citizens with real jobs who served temporary offices within the government and returned home to resume their real occupations. Our current political leadership doesn’t get it. They have confused government service with personal gain. They don’t seem to grasp the concept of public service. They have developed a system to promote their own personal prosperity that acts like taxpayers work for them rather than them working for the taxpayers. And once they get in they never want to leave.

How bad does the national scab have to get before we put an end to their self indulgent madness? Sure, it’s going to hurt to stop it, but sooner or later it has to be done. We can start by voting out the incumbents responsible for this mess – regardless of their party affiliation. Boot them all out and replace them with citizens who know what it is like to work in the real world. Replace them with real patriots who will go to Washington D.C., serve their terms and go home. Send new representation that understand they are there to serve the people – not themselves. Let’s send the scab-licking pretenders who made this mess home and begin the healing process. The longer we put it off the more painful and longer our recovery will take.

DUPLICITY AT DUKE

The OTHER Rape Scandal at DUKE University

Remember the Duke Lacrosse team rape scandal? How about the unbelievably pompous letter displayed as a full page ad in the Chronicle signed by 88 Duke professors and administrators condemning the alleged rape of a black stripper committed by the lacrosse team? Who can forget the “Gang of 88’s” leap to judgment “something happened to that woman” as they fanned the flames of anger toward the white players? They didn’t have any evidence, but they just knew in their little progressive hearts those rich white yuppies were guilty.

In their haste, not only were they unwilling to wait until the facts were in, they publicly thanked Duke students and campus organizations for “not waiting” to attack the lacrosse players – even confronting them on campus. They self-righteously egged on the mob to jump to conclusions and rush to judgment ostensibly because they were so concerned about the terrible racism and sexual abuse perpetrated by white males on campus. Evidently it was extremely important for them to let everybody know how outraged they were when it came to the rampant racism and sexual assaults flourishing within the Duke community.

One faculty showboater issued his own scathing public letter demanding the entire team be dismissed. English professor Houston Baker denounced the “abhorrent sexual assaults, verbal racial violence, and drunken white male privilege loosed among us” among other accusations in an apparent effort to distinguish him self as really, really caring! His letter made it very clear how upset he was.

Like Dan Rather before them, the accusation fit the attacker’s social agenda so they never bothered to weigh the evidence before rushing to condemn. As KC Johnson noted in his blog on Volokh – the propriety of the ad was unquestioned by the signers. KC said, ”..statement author Wahneema Lubiano unintentionally testified to the groupthink evident in many Duke departments: ‘In the moment when the ad came out, I did not hear from one colleague that there was something wrong with the ad”. What was to think about? It was a perfect opportunity to showcase their moral superiority.

Unfortunately the charges were proved false, all charges against the players were dropped and disgraced Prosecutor Ray Nifong was fired and disbarred. The wronged players are finally pursuing civil remedies against him. The whole disgraceful affair left the Duke faculty and administration drenched with the stench of rotten self-aggrandizement at the expense of their own students.

But, the establishment media was right in there with the Gang of 88 fueling their fire and giving the accusers a platform to attack from. Condemnation and rank speculation was rife in print and on television. Most of the big players jumped on the bandwagon adding their outrage to the avalanche piling on the Duke players. The one common thread through all of the acrimony was the tendency for the attackers to assume a high air of moral turpitude. They made it clear that this kind of heinous behavior was unacceptable and all perpetrators must be held accountable.

But did they really mean it or were they just preening for the cameras and microphones? You decide, but first consider the facts of the new Duke rape scandal. What? You haven’t heard about it? Any day now the media is going to start shining a light on it. The Gang of 88 is surely putting together another missive of outrage. The campus activists are surely organizing – right? Don’t get your hopes up.

Frank Lombard, Associate director of Duke’s Center for Health Policy and Aids researcher has been arrested for rape. More specifically for raping his own five year adopted child. Incredibly there hasn’t been a peep out the Gang of 88, the Duke administration or the establishment media. Considering the fact that the child is black and Frank Lombard is white one might assume the posers so quick to condemn racial and sexual assault would have jumped all over this. But so far this terrible act has been largely ignored by the same crowd who tried to crucify the lacrosse team.

There is plenty of evidence in this case. One of Duke administrator Lombard’s screen names was “Perv Dad for fun”. His arrest affidavit states the police have video of him performing oral sex on the child in front of his webcam. Another segment shows him sodomizing the child with his finger and tongue. Even more disgusting is the charge that he was ‘pimping’ the child online – offering sexual services to other adults!

Still, the silence around this case is deafening. Where are the champions for the victims of racism and rape? Where are the calls for his resignation? Could the fact that Frank Lombard is a homosexual have anything to do with our former activist heroes missing in action? Does the child’s male gender make a difference? Is the white on black issue relevant? Does it matter Frank and his life partner are a homosexual couple and this does not reflect well on gay couples adopting?

None of that matters to me, but it appears to matter to the Duke crowd and the establishment media. Apparently not only is bashing “rich white kids” a knee-jerk reaction, but so is doing the ‘ostrich’ when a controversial crime involves a homosexual.

C’mon Duke professors and administrators, student activists, and media weenies how about at least faking a little integrity and denouncing the same-sex rape and prostitution of a five year old black child by his adopted white “father” with the same enthusiasm you displayed against the lacrosse team. Does this kind of behavior really outrage you? Do you really want all perpetrators held accountable and prosecuted? Prove it – SAY SOMETHING NOW.

While you are at it you may want to finally apologize to the lacrosse players you demonized unjustly with such zealous vehemence.

HAVE YOU HEARD?

If you are one of the Lemmings who get their information from the old, establishment media like ABC, CBS, NBC or even CNN you have been bombarded with news about the disarray and decline of the Republican Party. Of course you know they are losing membership. The talking heads have been speculating that the GOP may not be able to recover from the current discontent of its Party members. The writing seems to be on the wall. The Republican Party is on its last legs and is fighting to survive. By all accounts their future looks pretty bleak.

On the other hand, following the election of President Obama, the Democrats seems to be gaining momentum. From what you see on the boobtube the whole Country is veering to the left. According to the establishment media the prognosis for the expansion of “progressive” social programs is excellent because people are flocking to the Democratic Party – right?

Wrong. A recent PEW Poll, out a few days go tells a different story. According to the new poll; from December 2008 to April 2009 the numbers show something else. Tracking the percentage of voters since President Obama has taken office the Republican Party has lost 4% of their voters – down from 26 to 22%. However, the Democrat Party has lost 7% (almost double the GOP loss) – down from 39 to 33%. But the really fascinating thing is that Independents have gained 9% – up from 30 to 39% during the same period of time.

So, both of the “Two Parties” are losing voting members at an alarming rate – the Democrats at nearly twice the rate of the Republicans. The big news is where the disenchanted members are going. Rather than defecting to either of the dominant “Two Parties”, voters are abandoning both archaic behemoths for Independent Parties. Contrary to the wisdom of the TV pundits Republicans are not forsaking the GOP to join the ranks of the Democrats – or vice versa – for the first time in recent history the real momentum is being gained by anti-mainstream parties offering real, distinct alternatives to both the GOP and DEMS.

Betcha’ had no idea.

ARLEN SPECTER PULLS THE BIG SWITCHEROO

After more than forty years as a Republican, Senator Arlen Specter has announced his intention to join the Democratic Party- What happened?

“On this state of the record, I am unwilling to have my twenty-nine year Senate record judged by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate. I have not represented the Republican Party. I have represented the people of Pennsylvania.”

Sen. Arlen Specter statement on party change

The venerable Senator Arlen Specter has just announced after almost a half century as a republican, he is leaving the GOP to become a member of the Democratic Party. He has long frustrated the core of the Republican Party by taking a more moderate stance on certain issues. But only a few weeks ago he was talking about himself as a loyal Republican. Why did he suddenly jump all the way across the political spectrum? Why not run as an Independent? Because this is not about a sudden epiphany of political principle – it is about self-preservation – pure and simple.

Follow the money!

Money is power when it comes to winning elections. And what do you think the Democrats are willing to give up to get that final cloture, to get the filibuster-busting, Senate controlling, final-nail-in-the-republican-coffin, 60th vote? What do you think it is worth to them to finally have the Whitehouse, the Judiciary and both Houses of Congress locked up? You can bet Specter has been promised support – financial and political – possibly more than he has ever had before. So much that he has even offered to return (upon request) Republican campaign contributions. How often do you hear of politicians offering to return campaign funds? Usually they have all kinds of excuses to keep donations from international criminals, Chi-Com Generals, or terrorists, but good old Arlen is offering to give it back. Let’s get real. Any time a politician says you can have your money back before anybody even asks for it, you know something is up. All this guy cares about is getting re-elected and that takes money. He is a forty year political veteran who knows it takes money and publicity to win. It is obvious the Democrats have promised plenty of both.

The Big Switcheroo

A month ago he was talking as a rock-solid Republican. Just two weeks ago he sat straight-faced in an interview and stated why he would always stay a Republican. Among other issues, he said it was most important to protect the bi-partisan process and keep the Democrats from having a filibuster-proof majority. Now he claims he has suddenly seen the light and jumped parties – for “philosophic’ reasons. In his ’statement’ he neglected to mention that in the interim two important things happened. He fell way behind his republican competitor, Pat Toomey in the polls – 51-30. Since he barely beat Toomey by less than 3% in the last election, all indicators were pointing to Specter losing badly in the Republican Primary. Next, a PA approval poll came out showing Specter with Republican approval ratings in the high 40s, but his approval ratings among Democrats was close to 70 per cent! Coincidence? Hardly. The writing was on the wall. Being a true “Professional Politician”, he had no choice if he wished to stay in office. And that is what being a “Professional Politician” is all about – staying in office. To do that he had to switch parties. He knew his constituents and the party that supported him for the past four decades would be disappointed, but what was that compared to the tremendous support the Democrats would shower on him and getting re-elected to another glorious term?

He addressed both points in his statement this morning. It wasn’t hard to read between the lines. He knew he could not win the Republican Primary. He said very plainly that he was, “disappointed that so many in the Party (Republican) I have worked for more than four decades do not want me to be their candidate”. Although he didn’t mention the recent poll he did say, “Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans”. That sounds like another way of saying that his only chance is to line up with Democratic votes and wallets. At least he is willing to acknowledge that he had to switch parties to preserve his chance to get re-elected. After all, as with so many of his Senate compadres – it’s really all about him.

I guess what he meant when he said toward the end of his statement he did “not represent the Republican Party he represented the people of Pennsylvania” was that he would be willing to switch sides for votes like an Afghan Warlord to stay in office. All elected officials should represent all of their constituents, but without comprimising their principles. Benedict Specter is essentially advertising self preservation as his guiding principle (At least he has one principle he won’t violate).

When the Founding Fathers set up our Democratic Republic they never intended to create a class of “Professional Politicians” who, once elected, would become permanent fixtures in our government. That is why they stipulated limited terms – they understood how difficult it is to withstand long exposure to great power without becoming corrupted. This possibility was one of the dangers they feared. And Arlen Specter is a perfect example of the metamorphosis they feared that occurs after too many years in public office. He is whatever he needs to be to get re-elected and re-elected and re-elected……

He is like so many of the hoary heads ensconced on Capitol Hill. Career politicians like Senator Specter are more interested in maintaining their personal power and status than anything else. Once elected they never want to leave their lives of luxury paid for by working Americans. They have created exclusively for themselves cushy-fat-cat pension plans, superior health care and automatic pay raises regardless of what the rest of America is going through. All of their transportation, mailing, office overhead, meals and entertainment is covered by taxpayer dollars. They are feted like celebrities wherever they go. After a while it seems they start to believe that they are entitled to live above their constituents. Too many of our politicians from both parties have become intoxicated by the combination of money, power and influence that come with political office. It is a powerful corrupting drug that seems to get to affect even the best intentioned after they have spent too much time in Washington D. C.

Senator Specter is a perfect example. He is one whose true allegiance is to him self. He was swept into office in 1980 as part of the Reagan revolution and gradually learned that his personal re-election was what really counted. Therefore switching parties after forty plus years is only a necessary minor nuisance. The Holy Grail is getting re-elected. He will do whatever is necessary to stay in office and preserve his personal fiefdom – even abandon his principles and betray his friends. The ultimate goal of the Professional Politician is to get elected, enrich them selves on the public dole and never – ever leave. Senator Arlen Specter just gave all of us a textbook example of political expediency and then tried to convince us that he did it out of principle. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

Please go gracefully

Nice try Senator Dinosaur, now go home and retire on the gold-plated lifetime pension you helped create for you and your Beltway Homies. You have made your fortune. You are almost eighty years old. You have stayed too long. Please let someone else serve – preferably someone who understands that our elected officials are there to ‘serve’ the American taxpayers – not there to be ‘served’ by them.

Specter update 5/6/09
In a recent Times interview sheduled for release on May 10, the venerable Senator, Arlen Spector forgot for a moment which side he was on. When asked about the Minnesota Senate struggle between comedian Al Franken and Senator Norm Coleman, Spector gushed his support for Republican Coleman, saying, “There’s still time for the Minnesota courts to do justice and declare Norm coleman the winner”. When questioned later, according to CQ Today, he flip-flopped yet again saying, “I have to get used to my new teamates” adding that he “conclusively mispoke”. More like conclusively contradicted himself, but the confused septugenarian should be given a little slack – it’s hard to keep your values straight when they are founded on momentary expediency.

A scathing indictment of the conspicuous consumption and arrogant attitude of entitlement by the new American aristocracy in Washington, D. C.

Do You really want change?     

 

 

 

“All men having power ought to be distrusted to a certain degree”

Thomas Jefferson

 

 

Congressional approval ratings are embarrassingly low. They are so bad it hurts to acknowledge them. President Bush’s rating was consistently about three times higher than that of Congress. To get whipped that bad by George W., takes some doing.

 

There is a reason. The people have lost confidence in their ability to work cohesively for our Nation. The cultural war between Liberals and Conservatives has morphed into an unending struggle for political power. Although the two sides never cease to call for “Bi-Partisanship”, vote after vote after vote gets counted right down the party lines – with almost no variation! When it comes to dealing with the problems of the people they cannot seem to work together. Endless finger pointing and name calling across both sides of the aisle mark most issues. Ideas from either side are immediately opposed and devalued, alternative plans extolled and finally the decision will be to allocate money and form a committee to study the problem. In the meantime, things get worse and nothing gets done.  

 

For the moment, perhaps the real arguments should not be about increasing or cutting taxes or whether government should be large or small – it should be focused on whether or not we have government representation that we can trust to serve the best interest of the people. Are the leaders we keep electing there to serve the people or themselves?

 

The biggest scam in American history has been the development of our political aristocracy – most notably our elected representatives in Washington, D.C… These ‘perfumed princes and princesses’ of government are ensconced atop of our society as “professional politicians” feeding from the public trough unaffected by the economic peaks and valleys their constituents have to cope with daily.

 

Last year when the price of gasoline skyrocketed most of the Country had to scramble to adjust or in some cases, just survive. But the boys and girls in Washington never felt the tiniest squeeze because they don’t have to worry about such things. When the price of a gallon of gas got up to almost five dollars it didn’t cramp their style a bit – why?

 

Because our Federal Politicians, regardless of party affiliation, get their fuel bills paid for by the taxpayers. In fact, all of their transportation costs are paid by, you guessed it, the taxpayers. All of their printing and mailing is paid for (consider the advantage this gives incumbents in an election!). Their food and entertainment is paid for. They have no office overhead like private businesses – their rent, office supplies, utilities, gifts, and even their staffs are paid by the taxpayers. But that isn’t enough for our ruling class. They have even voted themselves a per Diem on top of their salaries. That is a nice little daily cash bonus in case they have to do a little extra entertaining. If not, they get to pocket it anyway!

 

So while the rest of our Country is in a severe recession fighting to stave off another full-on depression, they eat out every night in expensive restaurants and ride around in limos talking on cell phones paid for by working Americans with real jobs. They are so busy enjoying themselves that most of the tasks the rest of us have to deal with daily are managed for them by their Aides. It is not uncommon for top Aides to command six figure salaries – and some members of the legislative branch have over a hundred Aides on the public payroll.  They have Aides on top of Aides paid for by you to do their bidding. Think about what your life would be like if all the tedious, mundane and unpleasant tasks were handled for you by an entourage of assistants paid for by someone else.

 

You have heard them time after time warn us about the danger of our Social Security system collapsing. They wag their fingers and tell us Social Security is nearly bankrupt and may not be around for the next generation.

A few claim its demise may come as soon as the next decade. Some blame it on the “Baby Boomers”. But do not be fooled by all of their hand wringing.

 

Their pretense of concern for us is just a smoke screen to hide their shenanigans.

 

They have been pretty diligent at taking SSI out of everybody’s paychecks for well over half a century yet they claim the fund is almost bankrupt. How did that happen? Are you ready? They borrowed it! This is absolutely true. Our political aristocracy actually borrowed your retirement (future) to fund their current pet projects and buy votes. Of course they claim it was necessary to change the law all by them selves so they could take our money. They insist they did it all for us – (and if you buy that I have a couple of bridges I’d like to sell you).

 

The truth is, our government collects over two hundred million dollars more per year than it pays out in Social Security checks, yet we are told the system is going bankrupt. The only reason Social Security is in trouble is because our stalwart legislators have continually spent every penney of surplus. The outrageous thing is they continue to spend every extra cent of even as they tell us the system is approaching collapse. The idea that perhaps they should stop spending our retirement on their personal pork doesn’t seem to have occurred to them. You see, to them, the Social Security surplus is a congressional ‘check guarantee’ to underwrite their personal re-elections.

 

The looming crisis they keep warning about is not as much about you losing your retirement as it is about them losing their cash cow. In three to five years, the changing demographics of our Nation will finally reverse the annual Social Security surplus and begin a deficit. For the first time the aging of our workforce will result in the system taking in less than it pays out. This means there will be no more surpluses available for congress to borrow. To our politicians – that is the real crisis – no more free money at the expense of your retirement. When whatever surpluses that still exist flip into deficits the payouts may cease altogether – leaving your generation holding the bag with no Social Security assistance. They have mortgaged your future to pay their bills.

 

The truly amazing thing is, that our political leadership stand there with a straight face and tell us they feel our pain. Although I am not sure how - since they have created their own private retirement plan separate from Social Security. No kidding, they have their own pension plan . Just for them– a much more generous plan than ours and guess who pays for it – us!

 

In fact, you and I have to work and contribute for many years to get a small monthly Social Security check when we retire, but our legislators qualify for a juicy pension after serving one term! That’s right, it takes the rest of us years to get a small check, but all they have to do is get elected once for one short term and Voila! -  They can live in comfort for the rest of their lives. And of course they have built in periodic raises. Guess which of the retirement plans has increased more over the years? (Hint: not Social Security).

 

Their exclusive plan is so generous that many of our former elected officials are making more from their pensions than they ever earned while in office. How they justify this double standard is beyond comprehension. And to add insult to injury they have the hubris to collect Social Security in addition to their fat cat, taxpayer-funded pension! So they are covered if Social Security fails, but they are perfectly content to collect it on top of their pension if it doesn’t.

 

Don’t bother trying to stick the blame on one political party. It doesn’t matter which party they hail from. They all indulge themselves at our expense. When and if they decide themselves, to depend on Social Security like the rest of us and abolish their golden plan, you can begin to believe they are sincere. If that miracle ever does happen you can bet they will find a way to fix Social Security and make sure the money is there pronto. Until that happens you can be sure where their priorities lie.

 

Do you see where this is going?

 

They don’t face the same pressures the rest of us face. They have created an elitist culture of entitlement with layer upon layer of security and endless perks. Whether the economy is up or down they are so detached and insulated from the pressures of real life that they never feel it. They just go on TV and act like they feel it. They tell us so, but it is not true. They live in luxury regardless of what the rest of America is going through. Right in the middle of our huge financial meltdown with unemployment skyrocketing they just voted themselves another pay raise!

 

Ross Perot was absolutely right when he said tax dollars are to Washington politicians what coke is to crackheads – no matter how much they get, it will never be enough. Look at their record. Each year our faithless leaders figure out more new ways to tax the American worker. That is what they do best. In fact, virtually all of their time is spent creating new taxes and they have become quite adept at it. Ignoring Winston Churchill’s famous admonition that, “A Nation trying to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket trying to lift himself up by the handle”, they crowd in front of the TV cameras to convince you to part with ever more of your hard earned income – for your own good.

 

And so it goes. From the moment you wake in the morning until you lay down to sleep at night you are working for the government. Most people are aware that the average American worker pays four to five months of their yearly wages to the government in income tax, but that is only a small part of their “contribution”. You are taxed nonstop on virtually everything you do. As soon as you flip the first light switch or flush the first toilet or hop in your car the tax meter starts spinning. Not only do we pay taxes on utilities, we pay taxes when we buy staples like food, clothing, gasoline, appliances, tools, airline tickets, CDs, DVDs – even telephone and cable bills! The list goes on and on and on and on. You can bet that if something is not being taxed they are working on it. Even now they are trying to come up with a way to tax the internet!

 

It doesn’t stop there, either. They tax some dollars more than once. If you invest your after-tax dollars and make a profit they take part of that, too. They love it when people work hard and save all their lives to leave an inheritance for their family – because they tax that and sweep a portion into the government coffers. No matter that the taxpayer has diligently put aside funds for their family’s future. Congress always wants “their” share. Even after you retire and begin to collect Social security they take their bite by taxing that. The truly tragic thing is they believe your tax dollars really belong to them and regardless of your life circumstances they expect you and every other American worker to cough it up.

 

Our political junkies need their fix so bad they will stop at almost nothing to get it. Consider for a moment how they have empowered the IRS to destroy your life if you do not (or cannot) comply. Even though most Americans fear an audit by the IRS more than being mugged, our politicians apparently do not. Charlie Rangel, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman, was recently busted for not paying taxes on one of his rental properties. Now, you would think that as Chairman of the chief tax-writing committee in Washington, D.C., that he would know the law –but, evidently not. He pled ignorance. No big deal though, when the IRS confronted Mr. Rangel with his bill for several years of unpaid taxes he simply agreed to a payment of $10,000 – no penalties or interest – just the single payment of $10,000 –pretty sweet deal, huh?

 

All Americans should share the same rights and benefits under the law regardless of wealth or status, but how do you think you would have fared in the same situation?  No doubt the process would have been significantly less simple, more time consuming and much more costly (and stressful). There should be no difference in how Citizens are treated by the ruthless pit bulls of the IRS, whether or not, they are members of our elitist Legislature, but once again our politicos seem to consider a separate standard their right.

 

Contrary to their long winded posturing, the primary concern of these hypocrites is not the welfare of their constituents – it is getting re-elected and keeping on the gravy train of taxpayer money. Let me emphasize that last point – Our current crop of politicians are less concerned with the quality of your life than they are getting themselves re-elected. Getting them selves re-elected becomes their life purpose as soon as they get elected. They start getting used to the taxpayer-subsidized-good-life and are not about to give it up. The fact is, our politicians spend more time trying to get re-elected than anything else.

 

We have some legislators, right now, that have been in office as long as fifty years! A half century! Once they get in and get a taste of it, they don’t ever seem to want to leave. They get on as many committees as they can, get cozy with the lobbyists, cultivate relationships with the press and start getting fat on the public dole. They tout their connections and their long ‘experience’ as ‘insiders’ as the reason for their necessary perpetual re-election, when in fact, it is just for this reason they need to be sent home to make way for new, fresh and innovative newcomers – real working Americans.

 

Beware: Our “Citizen government” – you know, the one created by our Founding Fathers – “of the people, by the people, for the people” has been usurped and transformed into a permanent paradise for “professional” politicians. Most of these posers get a job right out of college working on a campaign staff or as an Aide. Then they run for local public office, then State office and work their way up to the Federal level without ever having had a real job. They spend their entire adult lives living off the public dole. No wonder they act as though the working people are their own personal golden geese. They have never learned any better. The only paymaster they have ever known is the American worker. Any time they want anything all they have to do is raise taxes and take a little more of your hard earned money. And if they are afraid you might not like it, they will simply convene a vote in the middle of the night when working people are asleep and it will be a done deal by the time you hear about it in the morning.

 

There is only one solution to this problem.  The political system in place today must be replaced. The only way to really change it is to send the professional politicians home. We have to clean house and get rid of the lot of them – regardless of their political affiliation – and replace them with American citizens who have had real experience in the working world.

 

When our Founding Fathers created our democratic republic they designed the government to consist of Citizens who went to Washington D.C. to serve temporary terms of office. That was the whole idea of having defined terms for elected officials instead of lifetime appointments. It is the reason why Congressmen are elected for two years and Senators for four, Presidents for four and so on. Limited terms mandate regular elections ‘open to the people’. Citizen politicians are supposed to ‘serve’ a limited amount of time – not stay permanently accumulating wealth by taxing working people.

 

Unfortunately our State and local governments are typically just smaller versions of the Federal model. Many State politicians are just Federal politicians in training. Taxing and spending is all they know. Right now the State of California is operating without a State budget because the parasites in Sacramento refuse to understand that they can no longer spend more than the State takes in. The Governor is refusing to sign a budget unless the spending is correlated to what the State actually takes in. The politicos refuse to cut spending they want to raise taxes. The overtaxed workers there are fighting tax increases so the legislators want to place an additional financial burden on their (your?) future by borrowing money so they can continue to spend like drunken sailors by encumbering future generations (you). All they can think about is spending more and more.

 

Today’s political parasites can’t control their addiction to our money. They have to have it to buy power and influence. But what do they do for us, really? You cannot turn on the news without being subjected to news conferences with politicians endlessly pushing their bills and resolutions that do nothing for us. (Try to name the last piece of legislature passed that actually improved your life - Can’t do it, huh?) Our politicians sure seem busy doing a big bunch of nothing, but where are they when we really need them?

 

Take the Gasoline crisis last year – the price of oil went to $200 per barrel and prices at the pumps were getting close to five dollars. Everybody was screaming about the impact on the economy. The airlines, trucking and automotive industries were reeling, heating oil was up, food prices were increasing and consumers couldn’t afford to fill their tanks. Our political leaders immediately vaulted in front of the cameras to point the finger and blame speculators, the Saudis, Big Oil, Wall Street and anybody else they could think of. They were “outraged” and said it was “unacceptable” (political code meaning: “I want you to think I am upset, but I am not going to do anything but talk about it”). They convened committees and appropriated millions of dollars to “study” the problem, but again nothing got done.

 

Our politicians were helpless, but we were not. The people handled the crisis by themselves. We drove less and bought less gas. More important at the peak of the crisis, the people began to call for domestic drilling. As we, “the people”, modified our consumption and demanded the development of our own domestic oil and gas deposits something incredible happened – Sphincters started tightening all over the Middle East and the price of oil began to plummet. It dropped over 70% in four months! Let me repeat that – the price of oil dropped over 70% in four months! The price of a barrel of oil dropped to less than fifty dollars and prices at the pumps dropped to less than two dollars without any intervention whatsoever from our government. While the professional politicians posed for the TV cameras and burned tax dollars “studying” the problem – the people fixed it!

 

Right on the heels of the gasoline crisis, our Nation has experienced a financial meltdown rivaling anything that has occurred in the past. What did the boys and girls in Washington do about it? First, the ‘Chicken Littles’ ran around screaming that the sky was falling and that we were all going to die. Then they threw together giant “bailouts” in 2008 and 2009 of over a trillion dollars (by borrowing against our future – again)! They sold it to the American people as necessary to avoid a catastrophic blow to the national economy. We were told it had to be done to “ease the credit crunch” and get money flowing “back to the people”. So they got together and appropriated an obscene amount of capital and gave it to their buddies – the banks and big business. The “bailout” money sold as relief for “the people” was instantly used to pay off bank debt and acquire assets from their weaker competitors. In other words, they used the “bailout” money to strengthen their own financial positions!

 

What happened to the ‘benefits’ for working Americans? How much of the “bailout” money reached you? Have you noticed an increased availability of credit? Has it been easier for you to obtain financing? Has your personal financial situation been impacted positively in any way as a result of the “bailouts”? Probably not, but the big campaign contributors got theirs. After all, our feckless politicians had to save their friends in order to be able to keep filling their campaign coffers for the next election.

 

After the “bailouts” failed we began to hear about the “Stimulus Package”. We were told if it didn’t pass our future was in danger, the economy would go down in flames without it – It was our only hope (again). The problem was the ‘devil was in the details’. The first “stimulus” attempt died when the details of the Legislative “pork” (selected spending that taxes us all, but benefits only the constituents of specific Legislators) became public knowledge. In our time of economic crisis our intrepid leaders had blatantly taken advantage by rushing to stuff the bill with spending calculated to make them selves look good to the voters in their individual districts. It had been done on such a scale that it had to be scrapped and a new version pitched.

 

Now we are being presented a new “stimulus” package as a way to put Americans back to work. We are being sold another pile of rubbish claiming the Government is going to “Create jobs”. No ‘biggie’. Apparently it does not seem to matter that the Government cannot create jobs – especially by taxing working citizens. In fact, what was actually in the “Stimulus Package” (1075 pages) was irrelevant to our political aristocracy. The finished bill was posted at 11 pm the evening prior to the vote. In other words – Nobody in the Senate or the House had time to read it before the vote! They passed it anyway. Although both parties purported to represent the ‘people’, the passing of this bill was not for us – it for their own political expediency. They didn’t even seem to care what was in it. They just wanted the cash.

 

Even after passing the new Stimulus Package nobody seems overly optimistic. The stock market responded by taking a dive. Even Vice President Joe Biden only gives it a seventy per cent chance of working. The truth is most financial professionals have low expectations for its success.

 

I love the way Walter Williams, the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics at George Mason University, put it: 

 

“In stimulus package language, if Congress taxes to hand out money, one person is stimulated at the expense of another, who pays the tax, who is unstimulated. A visual representation of the stimulus package is: Imagine you see a person at work taking buckets of water from the deep end of a swimming pool and dumping them into the shallow end in an attempt to make it deeper. You would deem him stupid. That scenario is equivalent to what Congress and the new President proposes for the economy”.

 

After the “Bailouts” and the “Stimulus” came the “Omnibus”. This triple whammy will triple our National debt. During the first ninety days in office President Obama plans to increase our debt more than every President from George Washington to George W. Bush combined! He claims our Nation can spend it’s way to prosperity, but can you think of one instance in history where this has been successful?

 

Unfortunately, robbing Peter to pay Paul, encumbering future generations with huge debts, borrowing away our Social Security and living high on our tax dollars have become institutionalized among our political elite. Isn’t it ironic that although they seem pathologically impotent to solve the problems facing their constituents, they always seem to be able to take care of themselves and their friends?

 

Fortunately, American politicians have not always behaved this way (at least on this scale). The Founding Fathers all had real jobs. They actually worked for a living. They went to Washington, served their terms and then went back home to their real jobs and let someone else serve. That is how our government is supposed to work – “of the people, by the people, for the people” – real working Americans taking time out of their busy lives to act as public servants. There was never any intention of creating a political aristocracy of professional politicians whose fat lifetime income is derived from taxpayer dollars. If our Founding Fathers were around today they would bitch-slap these current Capitol Hill posers out into the street.

 

You want change? Get rid of the professional politicians.  

 

If this abuse of taxpayer dollars by our political “leaders” is news to you,  I suggest you start checking it out for yourself. What was mentioned here is just the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more. The Washington elite have structured freebies, perks and protections for themselves at our expense for decades and show no sign of slowing down. Believe me; they have perks on top of perks on top of perks and more planned for the future.

 

You want change? Get rid of the professional politicians.

 

It is up to you end this cycle of ever increasing abuse. Keep re-electing the same representatives and you can only expect more of the same. As long as this trend continues the only genuine change your generation can depend on is more regulation, higher taxation and less freedom.

 

TERM LIMITS, TERM LIMITS, TERM LIMITS!

 

Do you really want change? Get rid of the professional politicians – all of them! How? Vote the incumbents out and vote term limits in. Get representatives in there who have real world experience – men and women who know what it is like to work for a living at a real job – people who do not plan to stay forever. That will be a real change.

 

 

 

P.s.

 

You gotta love Will Rogers:

 

“The only difference between death and taxes is that death doesn’t get worse every time Congress meets”.