The Republican Candidates

I haven’t heard much of the Republican debates and the number of potential nominees is growing. I’ll go over what I think about the top runners from the beginning of the race.

Michelle Bachmann is new to Congress and is one of two Republicans to sign the Family Leader’s Marriage Vow document which contains language saying a marriage is between a man and a woman. She strongly wants to reduce the deficit without consideration for jobs. Her potential nomination has dwindled with others coming into the race. And on October 29, 2011 Good Morning America (GMA) reported that a Tea Party leader asked her to drop out of race (earlier some of her campaign staffers quit) which she’s not planning on doing.

Mitt Romney has proven his ability to implement health care and keep his religious (Mormon) views out of politics. He was running a clean, unprejudiced campaign at least until Rick Perry came into the picture. On October 27^th GMA reported that Mitt Romney’s popularity is rising in the states that will vote first: 40% in New Hampshire, 24% in Iowa, 25% in South Caroline and 30% in Florida. However, fellow Republicans feel he flip-flops on the issues and it’s coming back at him. For example in 1994 he was pro choice on the abortion issue and in 2011 he’s pro life. And on October 26^th he wouldn’t take a position on an initiative by the Governor of Ohio and the next day he supports it 110%. This is the same problem he had when running against John McCain. On October 30, 2011 it was reported that Herman Cain edged out Mitt in an Iowa poll.

Texan Rick Perry according to Matthew Dowd, an ABC Consultant, is a guy that puts his boot on his opponent’s neck and doesn’t let off. I heard that in his efforts to make Texas financially stable he cut the firefighters’ budget by 75%; I’m reasonably sure that this was a reason that the wildfires took so long to put out. On October 25, 2011 Perry came up with a tax plan (Steve Forbes plan used in the 1996 election he lost) – 20% flat tax with the first $12,500 income deductible, mortgage interest and charitable contributions would be deductable for households earning under $500,000 and he’d eliminate all other loopholes. His plan would be optional – you could stay in the current plan if you want; I believe this would be an IRS nightmare. The more Perry talks the more he gets in trouble; he’s showing his prejudice against non Christians and Blacks. On October 29, 2011 it was reported that after a poor showing in recent debates, he will not be attending some upcoming debates; he is planning on attending at least 5 more debates. 

Herman Cain is the pizza CEO with the 9/9/9 tax plan that I and everyone else attacked. Cain is said to be a pleasant man who ran for the Senate once and did not win. On October 22, 2011, it was announced that Cain is amending his 9/9/9 tax proposal to include no income tax for people living at or below the poverty line; he’s finally admitting that his plan is faulty. On October 25^th, ABC News reported that people don’t like his policies (59%) but they like him (has 25% support/32% with Tea Party) in the polls. He has no political background and this is working in his favor. On October 28^th, I heard Cain while speaking at a Texas dog track say “we can out vote the stupid people”. It sounds to me that the stupid people are the ones supporting him.  

There’s not much attention given to Jon Huntsman (he’s worked for 3 Republican Presidents and for Obama). He feels there’s too much drama and theater in politics. There’s also Newt Gingrich who could be in the running if the other nominees keep picking on each other. Gingrich has been in politics for many years and I believe that he has contributed to the way the country is today. Heck, the Republicans don’t like their own candidates; the Bushes tried to get New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to run.

I don’t like that the Republicans deny responsibility for their part in the country’s credit rating being downgraded, have a strong position against working out a compromise that would be in the best interest of the country (not just the rich) and have many prejudices. I haven’t heard a single nominee say they’ll increase taxes on the rich and not one has come up with a viable Jobs Plan to improve our economy.  

Cost of College Education

Earlier this month, Fox News host John Stossil was heard saying college is a scam; pushing your child to go only leaves with them with large loans to repay on blue collar wages; anyone suited for college is smart enough to make it without college. I think some of what he said is right. People like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and other billionaires had imagination and a dream and their line of work wouldn’t physically or mentally harm someone. Professions such as doctors, teachers, scientists and more should require college.

On October 19, 2011 Good Morning America (GMA) reported that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said outstanding student loan debt is at $1 trillion. A survey by the College Board found that tuition at public colleges and universities went up an average of 8% since last year while private institutions rose 4.5%. ABC News reported the cost of college has risen 900% in the last 30 years. The latest statistics show 80,000 bartenders and 17% of baggage porters and bellhops have degrees. Barbara Walters said she has friends in their 40s still paying off student loans.

The amount of undergraduate borrowing has increased 57% over the last 10 years; with two-thirds of graduates owing an average $28,100 when they leave private colleges. Because of this, per the Census Bureau, 5.9 million 25 – 34 year old college graduates (85%) have moved home with their parents, up 25% in just 4 years.

On October 26^th, GMA reported that the President is proposing a plan via Executive Order (as Congress is not moving on the Jobs Act) to cap student loan payments at 10% of discretionary income beginning January 1, 2012. The plan will allow some borrowers to consolidate loans. As student loans cannot be excused in bankruptcy, the President’s plan will allow a teacher making $30,000 and owing $60,000 to pay $113 a month instead of $690. Unfortunately the plan can only apply to federal loans; it does not reign in the rates on private loans.

The President’s plan is not perfect but it is a step in the right direction.  

Protest Purpose

Yesterday, in support of the 99% protesters (started out as Occupy Wall Street), I did not publish a message.

The New York Occupy Wall Street protesters started their movement a little over a month ago (it has gone both nation and worldwide) because 1% of the US population holds 36% of the nation’s wealth and pays less of a percentage of their income to taxes than 99% of the population. Warren Buffet used himself as an example. In 2010 he paid 17.4% of his income in taxes while his secretaries paid 33%; this is almost a 16% difference. Additionally, the average American does not have the tax loopholes given to the corporations to reduce their income so the gap of taxes paid in relationship to actual income earned becomes even greater.

Only a few of the Wall Street rich got arrested (Bernie Madoff for his Ponzi scheme, Raj Rajaratnam a hedge fund titan for insider trading, and an unnamed former Goldman Sachs Director for insider trading) for sending our economy down the drain. Since reporting some bank fraud actions in previous blogs ABC News reported on October 4, 2011 that a watchdog group found that Fannie Mae knew about improper foreclosure practices by law firms back in 2003. Yet, on October 13^th it was reported that home foreclosures rose 14% in the third quarter of 2011 and on October 20^th CitiGroup was fined $285 million for the FCC fraud related to their part in the housing downfall. An example of other fraudulent activity by business is the October 24^th Boston Globe report that found 50% of the fish they tested at local area markets and restaurants was mislabeled, white tuna was often Escobar and flounder was cat fish. The point here is that even with tax loopholes, big business chose to make their profits by taking from the average American.

On October 21^st a federal report said 50% of workers earned less than $26,364 last year. On October 26, 2011 the Congressional Budget Office reported that the income of the households of the top 1% grew 275% between 1979 and 2007 while the middle income household grew 40% and the poor only 18%.

To make matters worse on the average American, on October 21^st the Census Bureau reported that 28 million Americans (14 million full-time) have jobs but no health insurance. And things are expected to get worse as WalMart is cutting back due to the increase in health care; they’re not offering a health plan to part-time employees and the plan they offer will cost full-time employees 36% more. On October 25^th GMA reported that Delta, US Airways and American have matched United and Continental’s 10% fare hike. Compared to last year most flights will be up 10% and popular flights will be up 30%. It’s being said that airlines will make $32 billion on the bag fees and other items they used to give free. On October 24^th ABC News reported that in response to banks charging monthly fees to use debit cards, thousands of people are taking their money out of the big banks and putting it into credit unions and community banks that don’t make such charges. Banks are saying it’s not the poor but those making $75,000+ that they depend on for profits. Like I should care that they lose some of their billions. On October 26^th while banks got bailouts and CEOs get multi-million dollar bonuses, the expenses for the middle class has risen: health insurance has gone up 155%, housing 56% and education 43%.

The protesters are trying to make the point that the rich peoples’ income grew 275% through illegal actions, taking health insurance and houses away from the people, charging more for their products and using loopholes to pay about 17% of their income in taxes. This means the rich now have 258% more in their pocket.

The middle class whose income went up 40% are paying 254% more for health insurance, housing and education, about 33% of their income in taxes and now have 247% less in their pocket. This unfairness has driven some of the middle class into poverty.

The poor whose income went up 18% can’t afford health insurance or education but are paying 56% more for housing and about 5% in taxes now have 43% less in their pocket. The current level of poverty in the US is 15% of the population.

The bottom line is that the situation is morally wrong and they want the government to correct it.    

Airline Surcharges

I’m remembering the foolishness regarding the new tax on airline tickets that occurred during the budget negotiations. The following will refresh your memory.

The airlines said they’re barely keeping their heads above water. And although we don’t like the increases in ticket prices, a company must make money to survive so there should be some profit (however I don’t believe they have to be huge). The FAA was to charge airlines new fees/taxes (non-commercial jet fuel, aviation gasoline, flights between Alaska & Hawaii, take-off segment tax on a round trip connecting flight, international departure/arrival, domestic transportation, and purchase of air miles). These new taxes were to amount to $200 million a week or $30 million in a day at the peak of the travel season (not continuous).

Rick Seaney of FareCompare.Com told GMA, within less than a week, that the part of the FAA charged with collecting the new fees was shut down since July 22^nd because of the government’s dysfunction. The airlines increased tickets prices and the tax savings from the FAA shutdown was not being passed on to the consumer. I do understand the airlines programming their system to include the new taxes. We all know the government would not be forgiving if the collections occurred as scheduled and the airlines weren’t ready to collect. I wasn’t sure this was an atrocity or not. I did not know if the airlines would be subject to retroactive payment of the taxes once the government got its act together. Yes, I heard Ray LaHood, US Secretary of Transportation, say – if they can’t collect the tax, those charges should not be on an airline ticket; it’s not fair to the flying public. The Secretary did not say the airlines would not have to pay said taxes in the future so I still didn’t know if the airlines would or would not be responsible for paying the tax money they were collecting and pocketing. Senator Jay Rockefeller, Chair of the Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee, said he was offended and thought it was shameful on their part. The Secretary, Mr. Seaney, Mr. Rockefeller nor the news media confirmed the final outcome of the taxes being collected prior to putting the people in an uproar. Until the government got its act together I therefore would not know whether or not to agree with Mr. Seaney and find that the airlines took a ‘cheap shot’. Steven Lott, the Spokesman for the Air Transport Association, told Lisa Stark of ABC that airlines regularly raise fares and adjust their pricing, that’s just the way the market works.

My issue is with the lawmakers; they got a budget and walked away. They left 4,000 FAA and 70,000 contractors hanging, many projects undone and most of all denied the government $30 million a day in revenue because they didn’t want to spend $16 million in a year to fund rural airports. This obviously made no sense to me or anyone else. If it wasn’t for the media pushing this issue the bill reinstating the FAA collections would have gone on past August 5^th and the loss of $420 million in revenue would have been more than a billion dollars.

I decided I shouldn’t be angry with the airlines for being prepared to give the government the fee/tax money as the government could have required them to pay it retroactively. I say do the math before you stand so strong and leave something so ridiculous hanging just to prove a point; the only atrocity I found was with the government’s behavior. 

FYI – There will be no message tomorrow. In support of the 99% protesters a message has gone worldwide for a communications blackout for one day – October 28, 2011. This blackout includes no TV, radio, any phone, or internet use. The complete blackout actually asks for people to refrain from doing any kind of business. Protesters would like you to Occupy Yourself, read a book, do a puzzle, play with your children, meditate, etc.; anything that does not put money into the hands of business or the government.    

Power Plays

I don’t believe the failure to readily resolve the 2011 Federal budget had anything to do with the President being Black. I think it really was about Democrat versus Republican and the same thing would have happened even if a woman was elected.

In the final weekend before the debt crisis deadline, Speaker of the House, John Boehner, couldn’t get enough Republicans together to pass his own bill raising the debt limit. His co-workers said they supported him but not his bill (they thought he was giving too much away). If this was the case they wouldn’t have hindered his efforts to get the budget passed. They should have been honest with him, themselves and us and said they weren’t supporting his ideas (maybe they don’t know the meaning of support). Because of the Republican power plays within their own party there could be no focus on the final negotiations because bills pass from the House to the Senate which is controlled by Democrats. Boehner finally got his bill passed knowing that by adding a Constitutional amendment for a balanced budget that the Democrats would reject it. Right after his bill passed in the House he was loudly saying that the House did their job and now it’s time for the Democrats to put their issues on the table in order to resolve the budget crisis. I wonder what he did not hear the first time and why he was angry because they want their turn.

As the world watched months of bickering, the budget got passed and the President signed it with 10 hours and 10 minutes remaining to a meltdown. Legislators came up with: raising the debt ceiling $2.4 trillion, cuts up to $1.2 trillion over a 10 year period (includes defense and health care), and a caveat saying a new 12 person Congressional Committee would be formed to recommend an additional $1.5 trillion in cuts in cuts by November 23; Congress would vote on the recommendations by December 23, and if not passed by said date it will trigger cuts in the Pentagon and domestic programs. Timothy Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury, said it was a good result with a terrible process; it allows us to put this behind us and go back to getting more people back to work and continued growth. On October 25^th the government said going to dollar coins instead of using paper would save $5.6 billion over 30 years (coins aren’t replaced like paper) and the Congressional Committee is to consider this in its recommendations. I think it’s a way of getting rid of those Presidential coins they have stored.

I don’t think the President caved in. Knowing when to fold is a good gambler’s action and if he made no effort to compromise it would have definitely put us in a worse situation. In my opinion, allowing a crash or meltdown of the US economy is never the right thing to do. It affects all people, not just those in this country. If a default did occur, we would be spending more money to borrow what we need; thus wasting more funds we don’t have. This is going to happen with the credit rating downgrade we received but it would have been worse if the default occurred.  

After the budget was passed the US House discontinued the page program due to cost cutting and increased reliance on electronic communication. I wonder if this was part of the reduction earmarked in the budget and/or it makes them feel a little bit better about themselves. 

On September 1, 2011 it was reported that it took all day for Congress to tell the President what day he could have his speech on the economy; he agreed to September 8. I’ve never heard of such a waste of time or the need to control a speech. After the President’s speech, the Republicans came out with their version of the American Jobs Act and it calls for fewer regulations and lower business taxes. I wonder what part of businesses getting too much they don’t understand. And they were at it again. The federal fiscal year runs October – September. The House passed a fiscal bill and left for a week recess. The Senate rejected the bill saying there wasn’t enough money to cover the weather related disasters. No one should be going anywhere until the job is done and all this last minute passing of bills is ridiculous. If they can’t get their job done within 30 days prior to a critical due date, I say we stop paying them until the job is done. These so called intelligent people should be able to prioritize our (and therefore their) workload. The House did come back and resolve the issue so we now have funds at least until mid-November. This redundant budget handling is wasting time and money and causing undue stress on the American people.   

More on the Jobs Act

The President on September 8, 2011 said his administration will: pay businesses faster, cut the red tape that prevents start-up companies from raising capital and going public, and help more people refinance their mortgages at the now lower rate which can put more than $2,000 a year in a family’s pocket. He said Congress passed a bill that will speed up the outdated patent process and now it’s time to clear the way for trade agreements that allow American companies to sell their products in other countries. (On October 13^th, it was reported that Congress passed free trade deals with South Korea, Columbia and Panama.) He said he’s brought together a jobs council with leaders from different industries to develop new ideas and help companies grow; already mobilized businesses to train 10,000 engineers a year through company internships and other businesses are covering tuitions for workers to learn more skills at community colleges. We’ll make sure the next generation of manufacturing takes roots here not in other countries. If we make the right incentives, the right support and make sure our trading partners play by the rules we’ll be number one.

I’m happy to hear things will be made easier for start-up companies as laws are usually implemented that put small businesses out of business while corporations seem to get breaks. If the cuts in payroll taxes that the President was talking about are directed at unemployment payments then I’m okay with that. (Effective July 1, 2011 employers will pay the government 6.0% of their gross employees’ payroll for unemployment (dropped from 6.2%). This will reduce business costs and the government should only be in trouble when unemployment is high. (Now, I understand why the Democrats think it’s important to create jobs; more revenue and less expense for entitlements.) 

With easier start-ups for businesses, an option to finding a job is to start your own business but only if it really appeals to you that you don’t want to work for someone else and have the enthusiasm and work ethics it takes to make it. Kathy Ireland said if you’re not being rejected regularly maybe you’re not trying hard enough and people can sense if you have a passion for what you do. She also says whatever material things you have to give up to live your dream is not a sacrifice but a bold investment. And someone else said - Have the courage to use failure as a tool to pick you up and move forward to something better. And, I remember Oprah saying -Keep your eye on the prize.

Steps to starting your own business according to Ms. Johnson on GMA are:

1.   Choose your business. A service business based on your expertise is easier to start than a product business. Competition is okay because it means there’s a market for your business. You need to do what it is you want to do really well.

2.     Create a one-page business plan that is very fluid. ABC has a template on their web site.

3.   Keep starting costs low. Fund your growth through sales. Be creative, for example find a church or community center that will let you work out of their building.

4.    Know your customer. Look at pricing, packaging and ingredients and where you’ll sell your service or product.

5.  Price your product or service for profit and sales. Value your time and talent. There’s a formula on the web site (abcnews.com/gma).

6.    Sell, sell, sell - You can’t be in business if you don’t sell your product or service. You can get active in the social media, make a list of 50 prospects and get on the phone.

Bob and Danielle Rosenberg of Long Island didn’t exactly follow Ms. Johnson’s plan but they did start their own business. After not being able to get a job in the area of his expertise; they opened up Moolala. They knew there were self-serve yogurt shops in California and not on the east coast. So they tapped their savings, home equity and their relations and got a $150,000 government guaranteed loan. They’ve been open for a year and employ 15 people, sponsor a little league team and will be making more this year than he did before being laid off from his job.  

My Issues With The Jobs Act

The President said the American Jobs Act would be paid by the already agreed upon trillion dollar decrease (in a decade) in spending and the additional $1.5 trillion to be found by Christmas that was passed with the August budget. The President said he would be proposing a more ambitious deficit plan (more aggressive spending cuts) to fully cover the Act and stabilize our debt in the long run. He specifically stated that there would be modest cuts in Medicare and Medicaid and tax reform for the wealthy to pay their fair share which included eliminating the write-off for corporate jets.    

Prior to the President’s speech ABC got a panel of 6 experts (Chad Stone, Dean Baker, Diane Swonk, Martin Regalia, Mohamed El-Erian, and Susan Wachter) together to say what they think needs to be done to fix things. The panel said: 1 – end partisan bickering, 2 – retrain our workers, 3 – allow drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, 4 – extend unemployment benefits, and 5 – hire extra entry level workers. 

The President was in line with the ABC panel on retraining workers and extending unemployment benefits. I heard nothing about allowing drilling in the Gulf of Mexico which would create jobs but that doesn’t mean it isn’t part of the plan. The President has no control over ending partisan bickering or companies hiring extra entry level workers.

I do think that paying for the Jobs Act via the already earmarked reduction money negates the reduction in the budget so to keep the commitment and pay for the plan a tax increase is necessary. I also think corporate jets, since they can be used for business and pleasure, should be treated like farm equipment and vehicles used by delivery companies or people for medical purchases. They should get a write-off based on the percentage used for business versus pleasure. And if we are going to become more self reliant then we need to expand on manufacturing and skilled jobs like plumbers so we need to utilize trade schools more. We don’t need more Wall Street people pushing other people’s money around the world; we do need more doctors, nurses, and trade people.

I’m not in favor of reducing payroll taxes for Social Security (SS) and Medicare as employees’ investment in these programs will be reduced and thus reduce their benefits when it’s time for them. Additionally it will, as money was never set aside to earn interest, reduce the funds available to those currently collecting. This needs to be corrected not eliminated; the government needs to find a way for interest to be earned to the funds collected. I do realize this cannot be immediately done but putting even 10% of the money collected aside would be a step in the right direction. During the August budget crisis I heard that raising the age of SS to 68 would save $70 billion and raising the Medicare age would save $124 billion. I also heard that reducing annual SS increases would save $70 billion but when it was reported that a SS cost of living would be coming in January 2012 it would cost $26 billion; quite a difference.

To address the modest cuts in Medicare, the President came out with a Deficit Reduction Plan calling for $248 billion in Medicare cuts, mostly directed at higher income seniors; he said either reduced benefits or more costs. This is probably fair for now because rich people haven’t been paying their fair share of taxes for quite a while. Once the tax rates are fair then I think this is no longer necessary. IRS said that if millionaires and billionaires paid the highest tax rate of 35% that we would raise $37 billion a year; the White House is not making such a proposal right now which I agree with; but I’d like to see increases used to make SS self-sufficient. A Congressional report recently came out saying drug abusers are exploiting Medicare prescription benefits to score pain killers. I think this is a doctor issue that should be looked at along with all the fraud that’s been reported.

I would like to see some of the infrastructure money going to rural roads as in some areas they’re not put in unless you’re in some way connected with the local commission or board. Many rural Americans damage their cars mostly in winter and can’t get to work or afford to get them fixed. 

The Jobs Act

The poll before the President’s speech on September 8, 2011 showed that 75% of the long-term unemployed believed the economy has changed for the worse. The Former Labor Secretary said the potential danger is that we will lose the American spirit of optimism that is so central to our national character. If we lose that, we lose more than economic growth, we lose something that is essential to what America is fundamentally about. He and most mainstream economists believe that what is needed is what Washington won’t do. He says a misguided emphasis on the national debt is preventing recovery. “The problem is jobs not debt”.

I listened to the President’s speech and believe him to be right in that hard work and responsibility used to pay off; everyone got a fair shake and did their fair share. Good work and loyalty were rewarded with a decent salary and good benefits. If you did the right thing, anybody in America could succeed and for decades we watched that compact erode. The question is whether or not we can restore some of the fairness and security that has defined this nation since the beginning.

The President also said if we want companies to start here, stay here and hire here, we have to be able to out build, out educate and out innovate every other country. The President proposed, the following as his Plan for Recovery, The American Jobs Act (cost: $245 billion in tax cuts and $202 billion in spending = $447 billion total):

·       Tax Credits for companies hiring new workers – this gets people in the door, trains them to be competitive for the job and lowers the cost to companies. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said a $10,000 tax credit would create 6 million jobs. So the President’s $4,000 credit should per Moody’s Analytics create 1.9 million jobs. The Act would cut payroll taxes for the company and employee in half which should put $1500 in the pocket of the average middle class worker in a year. 

·    Infrastructure Investment – Providing funding for transportation, schools and clean energy projects. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says a $200 billion a year investment would create 2 million jobs and reduce unemployment by 1%. Economists say the government has to do it; nobody else will.

·     Unemployment will be extended for another year. And, at no additional cost to Americans, provide targeted assistance for the long term unemployed. There are over 6 million Americans that have been unemployed for 6 months or longer (Rutgers University reported that 8 out of 10 have been out of work for 6 months or more, half for more than 2 years; half of those finding a job got less money and a third saw a drop in benefits). An example of this proposal is Georgia’s Work Program. It gives 8 weeks of training to an employee at no cost to the participating company (unemployed volunteer for a job to find out if the job fits). They say 24% of participating workers were ultimately hired by the companies and 60% found work elsewhere.

This Act is being broken down into smaller bites so we’ll have a better understanding of what the money will be used for. I heard on October 21, 2011 that the portion ($35 billion) for teachers, police and firefighters to be paid for by ½ % tax increase on millionaires did not pass.  

Years ago our tax dollars paid for police, fire and ambulance services. Now you pay for 911. In some places people pay for fire control while others have volunteer fire departments (I heard on a Duracell commercial that over 70% of our country’s fire departments are voluntary; sure hope your neighbors like you. Some places are charging you fees for fire services. Unfortunately, if you haven’t paid the fees the fire personnel will stand around and watch your place burn) and most are paying for ambulances. Whoopi Goldberg got a bill for the ambulance that took her mother less than one mile away. The bill showed $1700 to get to the house and $76 for mileage. Yes, we all know that a medical team is in the ambulance and it’s not just a limousine to the hospital. Although this is a reason why health care costs so much, my point is that our tax dollars no longer pay for things it used to and I’d sure like to see more paid firefighters.

It’s ridiculous, a lousy ½% on 300,000 people and it didn’t pass.  

Our Military

According to the 2009 budget information, combat operations and all military benefits are only 9.8% of the budget and this includes the hospitals that Congress gets treated at. I heard cutting defense and reducing the stock pile of nuclear weapons costs about the same as the tax loopholes ($1 trillion). I would rather defend the country than continue to allow corporate greed.

I agree with Sharon Osbourne in that our military families should be taken care of for life if a loved one is killed in battle. I also agree that our ex-military should not go homeless or hungry. At any time they don’t have funds from other employment, they should continue to earn their military pay. I would like to add that every service man and woman should be treated for Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSS) upon each return from a violent tour of duty. According to Tim Daly there are about 18 attempted suicides a day by our military. And now they’re saying the drug being given for PTSS is ineffective; I wonder what the psychiatrists and drug companies will do now to help our military.

In addition to our military not being taken care of, here’s an example of how else they are treated. After spending 29 years in the Army, Sgt. Major Rob Dickerson of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was injured in Iraq while training Iraqi troops. He suffered major injuries and all his Iraqi troops were killed in a bombing. The Purple Heart was not issued because he didn’t have a Casualty Feeder Card that is issued by a medic when US troops are injured while working with American troops. As the medal was deserved he pursued getting and did receive the Purple Heart through the peace time chain of command. The medal was shipped COD and the Sgt. Major had to pay $21 for it. The Army tried to make this right by issuing a letter of apology and a money order to pay for the COD charges. Unfortunately, the money order was sent in the wrong name and after 2 years no new money order has been received. This is no way to treat our military. The medal should have been issued without his pursuing it, it should not have come to him COD and if it hadn’t, he wouldn’t be waiting more than 2 years to receive the money owed to him.  

I see JR Martinez who was injured in war. He was burning while conscious, had 33 surgeries and still has a sense of humor and a good outlook on life. And he’s not alone, the lives and limbs of 1,000s of our soldiers are taken from them. In the Iraqi war alone, as of October 21^st, it was reported more than 1 million troops served, 4,482 died and 32,213 were wounded. On October 19^th on The View, Elisabeth stated 11.7% of veterans and 16.7% of blacks are unemployed (I don’t know how a black veteran is counted.) So, I’m tired of hearing about the money that will be taken away from the rich if there is a tax increase when most of them give no consideration to the people fighting for them.  

On October 13^th, GMA reported that home foreclosures rose 14% in third quarter of 2011 and on October 18^th they reported that for the first time since February, credit card late payments rose while major banks reported profits; CitiGroup went up 74% ($3.7 billion) and Bank of America  $6.2 billion (it lost its #1 status to JP Morgan Chase). I don’t know why the rich can’t or won’t understand that without our military they would not have the freedoms and opportunities they have that allow them to be rich and live, not a good life but, a better life than 99% of the people.

If being in the military was a crime, our military would be fed, clothed, housed, educated, and have medical care and exercise equipment for life. It’s time we show them at least as much respect as we show to our criminals. Of course I’d like us to show them more than that. 

Social Security and the Budget

Thirdway.org shows a US taxpayer earning the 2009 median income of $34,140 paid $5,400 in federal income tax and Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA for SS & Medicare); this equals 15.8% or two months of their income. I’m guessing that this wage earner was most likely married and/or with children which reduces his/her debt when compared to a single person. (I don’t have the 2010 information.)

What I gathered from the web site is: 30.9% of the tax money went to Social Security (SS) and Medicare; 9.8% went to combat operations, military personnel, veteran benefits and military retirement; 7.1% went to Medicaid; 5.3% to interest on the national debt; 1.5% to education, including Head Start and Pell College grants; 1.2% to federal highways; .09% to health research (NIH), .09% to foreign aid and the remaining 42.4% went to various agencies (Congress, NASA, IRS, EPA, FBI, DEA, and National Parks) as well as subsidizing Amtrak, the Smithsonian Museum, the arts, etc.). Please remember that the website and I cannot give an accurate picture of how money is really spent because all expenses are intermingled just like the gyms for our elected officials are. In case you’ve forgotten we were told that for national security reasons we taxpayers were not privy to the complete cost of the 2 gyms and 1 pool. The House Appropriations Committee then came around and said the gyms’ costs are hidden: maintenance staff paid out of House Office Building fund, electricity/heating out of Power Plant Fund, membership fees pays for equipment, and the rest is funded by taxpayers but they were unable to determine the full cost as Congress has fought efforts at transparency.

When it came to passing the current budget the biggest problems were SS/Medicare and raising the debt limit. Ann Coulter and others said if the debt goes up taxes must go up. She also said that although Reagan made cuts and brought in more money, the government spent $3 for every $1 brought in. She says the $3 was spent on Medicare, social security and other benefits. Records show that the gross debt declined after WWII, declined from 28% to 26% during the 1970s, and it quadrupled during the Reagan and Bush era (1980 to 1992). Reagan raised the debt limit 18 times. George W. Bush raised the limit 7 times which is understandable with the wars against Al Qaeda.  

I don’t believe that when SS was implemented in 1935 that it was intended to be the Ponzi scheme that Rick Perry claimed. This temporary measure turned into a permanent expense because the government knew people wouldn’t save for retirement. The problem, as I see it, is that SS and Medicare money was not placed somewhere to gain interest, it was included in annual revenue and used for other things. The government continues to collect SS and Medicare money and this money is not subtracted from the cost. What I mean is: if the government is collecting $40 billion and paying out $45 billion the actual expense is $5 billion. Additionally, SS is being paid to people who have not complied with the 40 quarters requirement. In my opinion, such a payment, whether for disability or another reason, should come from welfare or some other subsidy, not SS. In looking at my SS statement and based on what I will soon receive ($18,000 a year), I would have to be on SS for over 8 years before breaking even with my contributions and those of my employer (almost $150,000). If my funds were placed somewhere to earn interest for the 38 years I did put into the system and on the balance as I collect, I would be able to support myself (based on $1000 over a 25 year period earning over $5000) for another 35 - 40 years. There are people who die before collecting 20 years of SS. If they have no spouse or dependents to collect their money and it earned interest, the pot would be bigger for the rest of us. This same logic would apply to the Medicare paid ($34,402) which I can’t use yet. It doesn’t help the budget when it’s said that Medicare overpaid nursing homes and hospice care rose 70%. I was happy to hear that a 3.5% cost of living raise (total $26 billion a year) is coming for SS recipients but rising health costs need to be looked at, especially since Medicare benefits are to be reduced.

Balancing the budget on the backs of people who worked and defended this country is ludicrous. A government not supporting its people (reducing SS and Medicare) because of poor bureaucratic decisions made years ago should be unacceptable; they need to work harder to find a way to avoid such an action.  

Government Waste

Good people are tired of both parties as neither has a handle on what’s really wanted – equality, sanity, and justice. As of August 26, 2011, the Associated Press reported that only 12% of Americans approve of the job that congressional lawmakers are doing. We have to remember that most of the people in the Legislature are part of the problem we have today; there are very few new legislators that can exempt themselves from the mess we’re in. This means that those running in the last campaign as well as the majority of those running in the next helped create our current situation. But, don’t be fooled by the newbie; he/she may be over zealous and create new problems like what we saw in July/August when we almost didn’t get the budget passed because the Republicans couldn’t pass their bill in the Republican House. I do think that there would be less of a burden to the budget if the government didn’t spend money on things such as the following:

Illegal immigrants - Various web sites (http://tinyurl.com/zob77 and tinyurl.com/t9sht,  http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html, www.drdsk.com/articleshtml, www.rense.com/general75/niht.htm,

www.nationalpolicyinstitute.org/pdf/deportation.pdf, http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.0.html, transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/12/ldt.01.html, and premium.cnn.com/TRANSCIPTS/0610/29/ldt.01.html) give the US tax dollars being spent on illegal immigrants; after totaling 14 issues it turns out that we are spending $338.3 billion a year on them. This money is as hidden as the gym costs we heard about. They are scattered in Education, including Head Start, Pell Grants, Medicaid, etc. A FL teacher reported that these students have programs such as WAIT which gives students a credit card for gas to come to school and CARIBE which pays their child care and all sorts of other things while they go to school or training. All this free money does not assure that the people will stay in the US and be productive citizens. I don’t believe our children are given the same opportunities.

Paying people not to farm - As an example, per the Environmental Working Group the government paid the following for farm subsidiaries: $2.2 million in Chicago for 734 farms, $2.5 million for 203 in Miami, $1.1 million for 179 in SF, and there were 290 farms in NYC for an undisclosed amount mostly going to wealthy absentee landlords padding their bottom line.

Foolish trips - More than $12 million in the last decade for legislators to take a trip to other countries to look at billboards and roads. They stayed in lavish hotels, ate the best food and sprung for parties with foreign diplomats. The result of the trip was a 76 page report that almost no-one saw. Secretary of Transportation, Raymond LaHood, said the program was suspended (not discontinued) because President Obama said waste had to stop.

Presidential coins - In 2005 Congress ordered the US Mint to make presidential coins. These so-called collectible coins cost $576,000 to make per day. Since nobody wants them, they’re being stored in a vault. It’s going to cost $3 million to ship the coins to a new vault in Dallas that is costing $650,000. As of July 2011, the mint had 1.252 billion coins (up to the 18^th president) at a cost of $.32 each. The mint is scheduled to make these coins until 2016, going through all the presidents. The cost for this endeavor is over a billion dollars. If they were good businessmen they would have started with a small number to see if interest exists before wasting all that money. And, if that’s not enough, a US Mint officer admits to stealing $2.4 million in coins.

Erroneous unemployment benefits - Nearly $17 billion in unemployment given to people who shouldn’t have collected; those incarcerated and those employed. They say it’s harder to monitor as people can call in or file over the internet. I almost understand the people taking the money but I thought taking something that is not yours was illegal. I’m not saying these people should go to jail but they should have to pay the money back either in currency or community service.

A bus - $1.1 million (Secret Service purchase) on a bus from Canada that the President and other dignitaries are to travel in. The President has a plane and motor cars so I believe the only time a bus is needed is when he is campaigning and he can do that on his own dime. I know the bus is being used to promote the Jobs Act but I wonder what mode of transportation was used to take the South Korean diplomat to Detroit.  

US Tax Code

President Taft authorized income taxes with the 16^th Amendment to the Constitution in 1913. Muhtar Kent, CEO of Coca Cola, said the US owes itself a 21^st century tax code that doesn’t have 1,000s of exceptions. Yesterday, I said Cain and Huntsman are the only 2 Republicans offering tax code revisions. On October 4, 2011 on the View, Herman Cain said he proposes a 9/9/9 plan for jump starting the economy; 9% federal sales tax and 9% business and 9% personal income tax. Mr. Cain said such a plan is not regressive on the poor and everyone has a lower rate. A long time ago (in my twenties), I used to think a flat tax was a good idea but I’ve changed my mind. The average American is paying 15 or more percent in income tax now so a lowered tax rate as a standalone change would not resolve our deficit; I’m assuming that’s why he proposed a national sales tax. The flat income tax for business and people may allow some tax realignment. However, the people do not have the opportunity to hide their paycheck money as a business can inflate expenses or hide revenue. As I mentioned earlier, families with more children need to buy more and thus would be paying a larger percentage of their income with a sales tax. Therefore, I believe the income tax along with the sales tax would be a move backwards in realigning the taxes of the rich with the lower 2 classes. In the October 10^th New Hampshire debate Cain’s fellow Republicans attacked his plan. ABC News also said that independent analysts have looked at his plan and agree that it would give the rich a huge break, give the poor and middle class a real increase and increase the deficit.

Jon Huntsman is a Republican moderate from Utah that I heard speak on the View on October 6, 2011. Huntsman says we have a 1950s dilapidated tax code. He says he would phase out all the loopholes and deductions for everybody (I heard this will reduce the budget by $1 trillion), all the corporate welfare and subsidies. He says he would raise the revenue and buy down the (tax) rate and this would make our tax code lower, broadened and simpler. He also said that creating a flat tax would lower the rate in 3 different categories (he didn’t specify which ones). Huntsman said he was guessing that most corporations aren’t paying the higher 35% tax rate and thought by eliminating the loopholes we could lower their rate to 25% and it would make us more competitive in the world market.   

I liked what Huntsman said about getting rid of corporate welfare and phasing out loopholes. I think certain so-called loopholes should remain as long as they’re across the board. Charitable contributions encourage people to help one another and casualty and theft losses as well as job expenses are pertinent to all. College and medical expenses (includes vehicle use) encourage people to better themselves. Along this same line are the deductions for mortgage interest, property taxes and energy credits (I think this gets people to reduce global warming). As all states do not have a sales tax, sales and other tax deductions would give a better picture as to actual spending money available. I don’t think a deduction for a safety deposit box is a valid as it’s geared to someone with more money. And, I’m not sure but I believe boarding school, which includes food and more, is a write off as an education expense. The cost of raising a child until age 17 without college in 1960 was $25,000; in 2010 it was $227,000. This is an increase of $4,040 per year (18.2%) or 908% in 50 years. And, there was a study that found day care costs exceed public college tuition is 36 states. The average American cannot afford such luxuries and do not get to write off the money spent on clothes, food, school supplies, transportation, etc. that are included in boarding school or day care expenses. Perhaps the exemption for each dependent should be increased and eliminate the deductions. Because of the way we treat subsidies, I believe subsidies to be a form of Welfare. However, I don’t think it’s in the public’s interest to eliminate them all. We have a history of providing subsidies to transportation and that’s not necessarily bad. The problem today is that the government gives subsidies as a gift instead of a loan; I’ll go into this further at a later date. I agree that the tax code needs to be revised and made simpler. But I do not like the approach represented by either candidate as I do not find them to realign the taxes paid with the expenses incurred by the government; businesses need to pony up for the costs associated with the oversight created by irresponsible business practices.    

The Tax System

I used to think the tax system was backwards lending itself to pork barrel laws allocating federal funds to personal interests in states and the federal government withholding money from the states when they needed it. If the state had higher taxes and the federal government less, it would leave the states to fund themselves and the federal government to be more selective on its spending. For example, if CA kept the $15 billion that was its share of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, it would have eliminated its 2011 deficit. In rethinking this I don’t think it wouldn’t resolve our overall problem as state and local governments are going bankrupt and relying on the federal government to cover them. The perfect example of this is Central Falls, Rhode Island. They want to take away half of the pension of retirees. The City is saying it may have to go bankrupt and the entire retirement system is in jeopardy if it doesn’t make the cuts. The Police Commander said he put 7% of his salary every month into his retirement fund for 27 years. The City opted out of Social Security for its municipal workers so the workers don’t have that to go back on. Workers say they’ll have to go on Welfare. The federal government in one way or the other ends up compensating when lower governments are not responsible for functioning properly. As no governmental agency can be trusted, there should be no opting out of SS. I do believe that all governments need to balance their budgets or at least do better. We can’t judge what catastrophes will occur and require unanticipated money.

At first, when I heard Donny Osmond say - we should be taxed on what we buy and not on what we earn; I thought he might be right so, I gave this idea some thought. Originally, I considered that our purchases are taxed by most states and cities and a higher tax on purchases that is split among the governments might be a better way to go. Generally, the rich buy more and bigger expensive things than the average American. Then I remembered that the rich also have more places to put their money and normally don’t spend more than they earn like the average American. Yes, some like Willie Nelson went bankrupt but I’m pretty sure it was because of bad choices and not necessitated by purchasing things that are needed for everyday life. I moved on to thinking that this approach might assist people in saving money which would come in handy if there was an emergency or encourage them to have fewer children but this is not going to happen. People with more children would need to buy more stuff. My conclusion is: the lower and middle class, not the rich, would end up paying a larger percentage of their income in taxes.

Cain and Huntsman are both offering tax code revisions which I will discuss tomorrow. I heard Ron Paul say that America is being run by the corporations. However, Republicans continue to say they will not consider a tax increase in spite of what happened with America’s credit rating. In Matthew, Luke and Mark when Jesus was asked by the Herodians if it is lawful to give tribute to Caesar he replies – Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s. This is where we get the saying give Caesar his due. While the budget was being negotiated in August, GMA got representatives from various parties together to come up with a solution. I heard one of the 5 people say he didn’t like imposing a higher tax on those making $250,000 or more because it affected him; he wasn’t a Democrat.

We should decrease government waste and subsidies and close loopholes; not use hard working people to assist in balancing the budget. Each of us must tear down the walls that have been built by every ruling faction on the planet. It seems the people of the Middle East and others are attempting to change their countries. As others struggle to become more like the USA we are becoming more like a third-world country. Donald Trump said if we raise taxes on the rich they’ll take their business elsewhere. I say you’re sounding like the dictators that the Middle Easterners are tired of; they live in luxury while the people starve. If that’s what you think then I say you and others with the same attitude need to live and do business elsewhere. There are good Americans that can take your place.    

The Protest Continues

The Real Estate Company that owns the park where the protesters have been camping out in New York (NY) City demanded that the property be cleaned; protesters were given a deadline to get out before police action. The protesters, thinking that this was a move to squelch their movement, spent the night cleaning up and didn’t have to leave. 

On October 16, 2011 it was reported that there was a clash in Berlin, Germany and protesters in Rome, Italy turned violent, smashing windows and burning cars. Rome says it will cost about $1.4 million to clean up the mess. Participants need to understand that the property destroyed along the way belongs to their neighbors, friends, and family and not that of a multi-million dollar company. Causing any government to have to clean or rebuild an area takes away money that could have been spent on you, the people.

I do realize that it’s been over a month since the Occupy Wall Street movement began and there is a lot of frustration. I give the American people credit for not rioting but do wish that the few acting poorly would stop. It’s too bad that NY City has so far had to pay $3.4 million in law enforcement overtime. If the Republicans would come out and show some understanding and/or be sympathetic to the fact that there is inequity when 1% of the population holds almost 36% of the nation’s wealth while 15% is in poverty (includes 9.1% unemployed) perhaps the protesters could stop.   

Protesters all over the world need to remember that they should not be doing anything illegal (no destroying property, blocking transportation or trespassing onto private property) if they want to continue to be taken seriously. The 99% all over the world has a reason to want more from corporations however poor behavior only gives more support to the corporate world and reduces the movement down to a mob without a purpose. Remember your purpose. You’re tired of being hungry and/or losing dreams because corporations do not share the wealth. You don’t want to feel like you live in a third world country where the rich live in luxury while others suffer. 

Not all corporate heads are as understanding as media mogul Rupert Murdoch who was heckled during a speech and said a little controversy was okay. I urge the participants in the movement to be nonviolent as anything other than that harms the movement. The peaceful demonstrations established have gotten you additional support (the first NY protest had 1,500 participants and the number rose to 6,000). In the US the support has grown to 250 cities while more than 1,000 cities participate around the world. Jailed supporters do nothing to help the cause. A change in your approach will only be to your detriment.

Only 37% of Americans support the protesters. This tells me that there are far too many people who do not understand that the way to get our country back on its feet is to ask for the government to close corporate loopholes and realign the tax system so that businesses pay for the government oversight that’s necessary to protect the people from bad business practices that result in an inequity of the people. 

The Political Parties

Ann Coulter said the Republicans are the party of peaceful order and the Democrats/Liberals are the party of noisy violent mobs. She also said Republicans follow the American Revolution while Democrats follow the French Revolution; meaning that Republicans have a tendency to make change through argument and doctrine while Democrats use mobs. Mob psychology she said is based on social psychologist Gustave LeBon, the father of group think, used by Hitler and Mussolini to gain insight and control mobs. Ann also said that the Klu Klux Klan were Democrats killing Blacks and Thurgood Marshall criticized Martin Luther King for his street protest as it gave mobs a halo. She said that if a Republican was in office in the sixties that there would not have been a need for a civil rights movement and that all protests do not result in a mob. All of this may have been the way it was but I don’t believe that is true today. I say that a peaceful demonstration is the American way of showing freedom of speech. We should not be hypocrites. Our law enforcement shouldn’t be harming our people if they are not interfering with transportation, splitting or fighting with anyone; see MoveOn.org.

Ann doesn’t tell you that Democrats and Republicans were one party until 1828. Yes Lincoln was a Republican but I believe if he were running today that he’d be a Democrat. In spite of knowing he’d be killed, Lincoln stood for his beliefs. His stand allowed our next president, Andrew Johnson, to abolish slavery and be the first to show a separation between the rich and poor by only pardoning the less wealthy Confederates. Ann doesn’t say that during early Republican rule we had 3 depressions (Grant due to failed banks, Teddy Roosevelt, & Hoover due to a stock market crash) and 3 charges of corruption (Grant, Harding, & Nixon). Republicans from Lincoln to Eisenhower created a lot of the bureaucracy as they knew businesses needed to be watched. And Republicans used to prosecute their own (Coolidge prosecuted Harding’s corrupt administration). From what I see, the Republican Party appeared to show a change in direction when Ford pardoned Nixon for the Watergate scandals. I find Ann’s statements interesting as it seems to me that the Republicans now support the minority with the money and the Democrats are the ones concerned with the masses. And, now it’s the Democrats, not the Republicans, that say to stimulate the economy, invest in infrastructure projects, put more money into education and research projects and raise taxes on the rich. I’ve noticed that since John Kennedy that when a Republican is in office and people think things are going bad – they vote for a Democrat and vice versa.

Republicans used to support the Constitution (Grant gave black men the right to vote with the 15^th Amendment and signed the first Civil Rights Act in 1875). A recent survey showed 20% of Republicans say they won’t vote for a Mormon for president, thus showing their prejudice along with their stand against Gay marriages/unions.

People have to get away from party affiliations. We’re acting like we’re voting for Prom King and Queen instead of our legislators. Vote according to the issues, not what or who is popular. Listen with your ears, not your anger, and read between the lines so you’re not swayed by the media. I recently heard Bill O’Reilly say that he doesn’t want to talk about party affiliations; he wants someone like Lincoln who put the country first. He also said that regular folks, those not in politics, couldn’t do any worse. I really agree with him because I believe the best and brightest got us into this recession. So I say we look for the sensitive and average instead (obviously this doesn’t include Herman Cain).

I heard Bill Weir say that arguments are the heartbeat of democracy and not since the Civil War have we had more to argue about. I believe in having these arguments we have to remember that truth brings enemies and cannot set free the dishonorable. And, people of character do the right thing, not because they think it will change the world but because they refuse to be changed by the world. As such, I believe that both the Democratic and Republican parties are not in touch with or are afraid of doing what is best for the majority of the people (recently I heard only 20% of us felt this way). Because most politicians have special interests that help get them elected, in my opinion if we got away from the money it costs to run for a government position then we could find people who would do what’s best for the country instead of their party. I urge everyone to stay away from primary elections in order to take a stand and show politicians how dissatisfied they really are. I hope such a stand will make Congress change the way campaigns are run.

The Watchdog is Sleeping

I repeat that the government can’t watch every business and provide public safety.

Sara Gilbert said there are 84,000 chemicals on the market and only 1% has been tested for safety. On The View it was pointed out that over 70% of the apple juice consumed in the US uses apples that come from China which uses an arsenic based pesticide according to Food and Water Watch and that less than 2% of the food imported was checked by the FDA. Per ABC, the FDA is reviewing the safety of antibacterial soaps and creams as several studies shows they could be harmful to your health or contribute to drug resistant bacteria. A consumer group says that they have altered the hormones in rats. The FDA is also looking at a link between tattoo ink and cancer.

One million Americans have hip or knee implant surgery a year. Ten thousand Americans already have implants (hip, heart, and knee); many have never been tested in humans prior to their widespread use. After talking with a representative from the National Research Center for Women and Families, GMA suggests that you find out if your doctor is getting paid to use the device he/she is suggesting, check the safety record of the manufacturer (FDA has a web site), and ask your doctor why a newer one is better than a time tested one. Apparently it’s legal for doctors to use untested devices.

I also hear that kids addicted to pain killers move on to illegal and more lethal drugs. Perhaps instead of giving kids Oxycodone they should get medical marijuana or something less dangerous.  

Per the Associated Press there are 104 nuclear plants in the US with 120 million people living within 50 miles of them and radioactive tritium has leaked from ¾ of the sites (supposedly below EPA levels). The number and severity of the leaks is increasing and the licenses have been extended by federal regulators. I realize that we don’t want the power shut down for repairs but I would think that it would be better to fix the leaks before they get out of hand; especially since the earthquakes on the east coast caused some scares. And, evacuation plans have gone unchanged in 30 years even though population has increased. The current plans require evacuation within a 10 mile radius and not the 50 miles the US recommended for Japan. Greg Jaczko, Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, says we have a very good system right now to protect public health and safety. I wonder if our trust is misplaced. If it is, it’ll be too late for those affected. And, remember (in Blog #1) I mentioned the gas explosions in California that were said to be from Pacific Gas & Electric repeatedly ignoring safety concerns.

The Financial Reform Act aimed at curbing bank fees on credit cards led to banks charge fees for debit cards. (Congress didn’t have foresight to consider banking industry’s workarounds. This is a common thing in our legislators not considering the ‘what if’ scenarios.) And, the banks acting like they had no part in the mortgage crash continue to foreclose on homes; foreclosures rose 14% in third quarter of 2011 per Reality Trac. Another example of banks getting your money or property is the Bank of America (BoA) who is approving mortgage modifications to lower payments. The problem is after months/years of paying the modified amount BofA threatens foreclosure. Bruce Boguslav of HIS Trust-HomeSavers is trying to help the 6 million people going into foreclosure. He said that the bank representatives and collection agencies are using the words mortgage modification when it’s actually an allowance for temporary partial payments. Bruce has been able to work with BoA to get people real modified mortgage plans and end foreclosures.

Koch Industries Inc. based out of Wichita, Kansas earns $100 billion a year via oil and energy. Bloomberg Markets reported that one Koch subsidiary was trading (key components of a state owned petro-chemical plant in Germany and Italy) with Iran while another in France was paying bribes to get business in 6 other countries. In a court document they admit their actions were violations of criminal law. However, it’s said those responsible for the bribes were fired back in 2008.

The corporate deceit is all over the board. But some deregulation could make life worse. 

To Regulate or Not

Economist Peter Ferrara preaches Reaganomics – cut taxes, cut regulations. (I have to point out that it was during the Reagan administration that major deregulation of business occurred and began the situation we have today.) The current Republicans say cut taxes and regulations and let the private sector lead. This would be good if the private sector focused on employment and fair play instead of greed. If businesses gave employees a wage equivalent to the cost of living for the area they live in then the government would not have had to implement a minimum wage. The companies have had their turn in running this country and it’s gotten us – poor schools, poor medical treatment, high unemployment, and poorer people. They’ve driven up the so called benefits (welfare) because they have not treated people fairly; the rich got richer while the poor got poorer. I’d like to hear a good argument for allowing this to go on.

The President in his September 8, 2011 Jobs Act speech said he agrees that we need to cut government waste and has ordered a review of regulations; they identified over 500 reforms that should save billions of dollars over the next few years. He went on to say that - what we cannot do is to allow this economic crisis to be used as an excuse to wipe out the basic protections that the American people have counted on for decades. (I can’t believe that New Zealand has stricter regulations regarding beef production than the US.) With the regulations we now have in place we still have food contamination, polluted air and waterways, drug – toy - vehicle recalls, and more.

ABC News reported that the recent Listeria outbreak occurred via waste contaminated soil or water, workers or tools during harvest, packing equipment, refrigeration during storage and the cutting of the rind spreading the bacteria to the flesh of the fruit via your kitchen knife. They let us know that although cantaloupes aren’t easy to clean because of the nooks and crannies, like all fresh fruit, cantaloupes should be washed. Once cut they should be eaten right away because Listeria can grow in the refrigerator and nearly 25% of all cases lead to death; per the CDC it can take up to 2 months before the symptoms show.

I want the American people to think of a world without regulations; more health problems due to salmonella, pesticides, smog and more. We would have more safety violations risking the lives of miners, production and office workers, patients and others. And there would be more faulty or hazardous products that harm not only your children but you. I don’t understand the Republican’s ignorance in knowing that without the regulations they too will get hurt or sick if products go unregulated. It’s because of our freedom of speech and regulations that unions and people like Dr. Oz are able to question issues.

I agree with the President that we do not want to wipe out the basic protections. I think people want the government to attempt to insure that products are non- hazardous. With the protections we already have in place, and the fact that the government cannot watch every company all of the time, companies take short cuts or fail to self test to ensure that the products they produce are safe for the people; the numerous lawsuits prove this.

If companies want regulations to be eliminated then they also need to be fair and responsible to their employees without government or union intervention. In my opinion, they haven’t proven very trustworthy. I do wonder if we deregulate if we would also throw out product liability lawsuits.  

Corporations and the Administration

The Wall Street protest has spread to more than 1,000 countries, every continent except Antarctica. On October 6, 2011, Professor Bill Black of the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law said this is the worst financial crisis in history, driven by the largest epidemic of elite fraud and none of the elite are going to prison. Apparently Vice President Biden says the Wall Street protesters are like the Tea Party and Nancy Pelosi supports them. Republican Herman Cain said they are protesting the wrong people. Wall Street did not put in these failed economic policies. Cain calls the protesters jealous Americans playing the victim card and has said don’t blame Wall Street, don’t blame the big banks, if you don’t have a job and you’re not rich, blame yourself. Other people are dismissing the protesters as an unlawful group with no coherent message. Apparently there is a Facebook site, it’s an ad called Down with Evil Corporations, that says – Join us as we organize against corporations using social networking by corporations, smart phones by corporations serviced by wireless carriers that are corporations, wearing clothes made by corporations, capturing it all by cameras made by corporations, and getting there via cars, buses, bicycles and shoes all made by corporations. We deserve more from these greedy corporations, meet us at Starbucks after. I think this is a perfectly good message.     

Per the University of California at Berkeley, the top 1% of Americans earn on average $1.1 million a year. The bottom 90% of Americans (one million households) average $31,000 per year. And, per the US Census Bureau, since the end of the recession the top 1%’s income went up 0.44% while 99% of the population’s income decreased 0.45%. It was also reported that from 1980 – 2008 the 1%’s income increased 11 times more than the rest of us. I think this is a perfectly good reason to have peaceful demonstrations that are allowed by our freedom of speech.

Cain is correct in that Wall Street did not implement the policies that allowed them to do what they did. However, they did provide the donations and lobbyists that got the previous administrations to pass the bills that allowed it all to happen and we cannot elect a political party that continues to think this is okay. Congress needs to tighten the laws that allowed big business to sabotage our economy. I want to remind Cain and others like him that everyone cannot be a CEO and that companies are no good without workers. The audacity of him thinking he’d be rich without the average person working for him or buying his products amazes me.

I heard Obama’s top economic advisor, Larry Summers who also worked for Reagan and Clinton, reportedly made over $5 million managing DE Shaw (one of the biggest hedge funds) and he was replaced by Gene Sperling (worked for Clinton) who made almost $900,000 working for Goldman Sachs. I agree that the administration is connected to Wall Street. But, it’s not just this administration; it’s been all of them and this is why I think the way campaigns are run needs to change. The difference I see is that this President, unlike others, is apparently not making exceptions for those connected to his administration or election campaign. ABC News reported on September 13^th that the President’s Plan for Recovery would: limit deductions for those making $200,000+, raise taxes on hedge fund managers, eliminate subsidies for oil and gas companies and eliminate write-offs for corporate jets.