Before we get into the meat of this rant let me answer a question that probably each of you has: what is that fool doing up blogging at this hour (1:30 a.m. EST)? The short answer is insomnia. So its really not anything to worry about but a time of day when everyone except me is sleeping and I feel like expressing myself.
Back to the topic above. I am not going to give you an Amazing Kreskin prognostication but just an opinion of what I think will happen next year and why.
In the past couple of weeks there have been a number of politicians on the national scene that are giving me the distinct impression that they finally get it. They understand the root to our national financial crisis and what it is going to take to fix it. Granted these are the Republican version of today's maggot politician so they theoretically had a shorter distance to get there but, considering the way the GOP has been acting in the past 6 years, their epiphany is significant. As with most addicts the baseline for recovery is the self awareness of your problem. Just because they are addicted to spending it is nonetheless an addition. The most encouraging thing is that many of these same politicians are in leadership in the new congress and will be in a position to effect a change. Granted they will be going against a Democratically controlled Senate and Executive branch. So as I see it they worst case will be gridlock and the best case might mean that we can get some meaningful progress toward that long range goal of fiscal responsibility.
One of the big questions in the mix for 2011 is what will Obama do after the butt-whipping he and his fellow Democrats took in November? All of the pundits and his sycophants in the mainstream media expect him to move to the center in anticipation of his run for re-election in 2012. That would be the smart thing to do. The problem is that I just don't think he has it in him! He is the most liberal president we have ever had and it's hard to change that. Already he is taking steps to implement his agenda by executive order and bureaucratic regulation where it is obvious that he will not get it done legislatively. That might have worked 20 years ago before the 24 hour news cycle but not now. Bloggers and "alternative" news organizations will report this information and the mainstream press will be forced to as well. Otherwise they face the real prospects of losing what legitimacy they still have. So the long and short of it is that I believe the American electorate was fooled in 2008 but will send Obama home after one term.
On the opposite side of the table I expect a strong candidate for 2012 to emerge for the Republican nomination. One I really like is Senator Tom Coburn from Oklahoma. He just won re-election and has self-imposed a limit of two terms in office. He has been one of the leading voices over the years in sounding the alarms about our looming fiscal crisis. There are a couple of others like Mike Huckabee that may be attractive as populists candidates but I question their commitment to making the hard choices that will need to be made when dealing with the reforms of Social Security and Medicare. It is a sure thing that Obama will never touch those programs so it is crucial to elect someone in 2012 that can make the tough, unpopular decisions needed to reduce our spending. Someone has to be the adult in this national family and I pray such a candidate steps forward.
I am hoping that we start putting some people back to work in this country. It is appalling the number of able-bodied young people I see every day that are not working. Most of these are men that choose to stay home while they send their wives out to make a living. Or at least try. They rationalize it by saving on daycare costs by him taking care of the kids, which really means he is taking them to Grandma to take care of while he drinks or cheats on his wife. Meanwhile he draws unemployment on some job he got fired from two years ago. In many cases there is not a marriage but just a shack-up situation which allows for the multitude of government programs kicking in "for the children". It is past time for these "boys" to become men and get out there and get a job! If that means stopping unemployment benefits after 26 weeks, which was the limit for many years, then so be it! If it means throwing their sorry asses in jail for non-payment of child support that's okay too. Whatever will make taking responsibility for your actions, or inactions, the more attractive route I am in favor of it. Government programs are rewarding bad behavior and it's time to put an end to it! In our new austerity the federal funds backing these local and state programs will not be available and the states will need to cut these as well.
A final topic for this blog entry is health care reform. As we all know Obama's signature piece of legislation was passed and now we are reaping it's benefit. It is becoming increasingly apparent that it is going to cost much more than we were told and that many things in the bill are just now coming to light. While it is unlikely that Obama would every sign a bill to repeal what was passed it is crucial that all of the incremental program implementations going forward be fought aggressively at every chance. With Republicans being in charge of the House and that being where all budgetary funding begins they can refuse to fund these new programs in their appropriations bills. Of course the Senate and/or the President can disagree and nothing gets done. Gridlock! I anticipate at least one government shutdown due to budgetary disagreements in 2011. Great! I believe the Dems and the President will blink for the sake of their sacred government operations. They will trot out every senior citizen and unwed mother they can find to tell the woes brought down on them by those evil Republicans. The key factor is whether this new group taking over the House on Wednesday can take the heat.
These are just a few things I have been thinking about. I am on vacation for the next week so don't be surprised to see some more.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
And the Winner is?
In this day of competitive sports and politics it seems that the most important thing to anyone is winning. My beloved Longhorns have one losing season since 1997 and somebody has to get fired. Losing is not tolerated! A coach is only as good as his last game and if he has a few bad games those record good years are quickly forgotten and out he goes. I wonder how many of us could stand up to the same level of scrutiny in our own professions?
Politics is much the same. The last two election cycles are a perfect example of this. In 2008 the sentiment of the country was to throw the bums out, the bums being the Republicans. The Democrats were handed comfortable majorities in both houses of congress and the "Messiah" was elected as president. The Democrats immediately began working their magic giving us Obama Care, Stimulus I, and other wonderful programs. So we got mad and threw those bums out, this time being the Democrats. Seems a little schizophrenic, doesn't it?
This brings us to the present day. A lame duck Congress is like a pen of hogs trying to suck down that last drop of slop before they are taken to the slaughter house. They know this is their last opportunity and they are trying to play it for all it's worth. The mandate of the last election is being ignored by both parties and, like the New Year's dieter, they are going to binge between now and the end of the year and get "serious" on January 5th when the 112th Congress takes over. Both houses past the extension of the Bush tax cuts for two years, and extension of unemployment benefits to almost 3 years, and a reduction of the Social Security taxes for a year. They also want to pass much more liberal legislation between now and the end of the year at a cost only God can envision.
They just don't get it! This country is BROKE!!!!! We do not have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem. They all think we can spend our way out of this problem. Tax breaks for everything under the sun may stimulate economic growth but unless you couple that with significant cuts in government spending we will never balance the budget or reduce the debt. The way they want to deal with it is to do what is politically expedient and popular rather than what is fiscally sane. The Democrats want to make everybody happy with government spending while the Republicans favor tax cuts. Both are wrong and criminally negligent of their responsibilities. It's time they and we grow up and cut up the credit card! Time to face the music and begin the process of reducing the national debt. Adding $1.5 trillion to it each year is definitely not the answer.
And, of course, I can help. All spending needs to be put on the table for cuts, no exceptions. It's time we quit subsidizing the defense of the world through our treasury. The reason why we are the only military superpower is because the rest of the world refuses to pay for it. It's like we are in a drinking contest with a teetotaler. We are the only ones paying or playing. The purpose of the U.S. military should be to defend the U.S. While we are flitting around butting into every backyard squabble around the world our country is leaving its flanks open with its porous borders. A re-focus of priorities is past due and a minimum of a 25% reduction in defense spending is in order.
Secondly, entitlements need to be reviewed, reduced and eliminated where possible. We are rapidly becoming a country where the majority of our citizens are not invested in their government. They pay no income tax and, in many cases, get most of their Social Security taxes back in the form of earned income tax credits. We are now going to pay people not to work for up to 3 years. These folks are making no contribution, just sucking the resources from an empty bucket. As these non productive people gain more influence by shear numbers they have no problem in taking the fruits of the producers to continue to pay for their benefits.
Speaking of entitlements, the Holy Grail, Social Security, needs to be revamped. There is no argument that the system is more generous than we can afford and that benefits need to be reduced, eligibility reviewed and, God forbid, taxes increased. The entire program has been distorted, including people it was never intended to, and there is no way to pay for it going forward.
So the Republicans take over in House in January and decrease the majority in the Senate. Obama is scrambling for his political life and barring a massive case of amnesia we will vote his tired butt out in 2012. Realistically we are looking at gridlock for the next two years with a lot of finger pointing going on for the next election. I prefer gridlock to the misguided actions of the past two years. I'm not sure either party has the will to do what is right but the Republicans are saying the right things. Only time will tell.
So maybe we can come up with a new definition of winning, politically speaking. A win should be leaving the country in better shape than you found it. Improving the fiscal condition of our country should be the number one priority. With this in mind why do we keep giving the keys to the vault to this bunch of losers?
Politics is much the same. The last two election cycles are a perfect example of this. In 2008 the sentiment of the country was to throw the bums out, the bums being the Republicans. The Democrats were handed comfortable majorities in both houses of congress and the "Messiah" was elected as president. The Democrats immediately began working their magic giving us Obama Care, Stimulus I, and other wonderful programs. So we got mad and threw those bums out, this time being the Democrats. Seems a little schizophrenic, doesn't it?
This brings us to the present day. A lame duck Congress is like a pen of hogs trying to suck down that last drop of slop before they are taken to the slaughter house. They know this is their last opportunity and they are trying to play it for all it's worth. The mandate of the last election is being ignored by both parties and, like the New Year's dieter, they are going to binge between now and the end of the year and get "serious" on January 5th when the 112th Congress takes over. Both houses past the extension of the Bush tax cuts for two years, and extension of unemployment benefits to almost 3 years, and a reduction of the Social Security taxes for a year. They also want to pass much more liberal legislation between now and the end of the year at a cost only God can envision.
They just don't get it! This country is BROKE!!!!! We do not have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem. They all think we can spend our way out of this problem. Tax breaks for everything under the sun may stimulate economic growth but unless you couple that with significant cuts in government spending we will never balance the budget or reduce the debt. The way they want to deal with it is to do what is politically expedient and popular rather than what is fiscally sane. The Democrats want to make everybody happy with government spending while the Republicans favor tax cuts. Both are wrong and criminally negligent of their responsibilities. It's time they and we grow up and cut up the credit card! Time to face the music and begin the process of reducing the national debt. Adding $1.5 trillion to it each year is definitely not the answer.
And, of course, I can help. All spending needs to be put on the table for cuts, no exceptions. It's time we quit subsidizing the defense of the world through our treasury. The reason why we are the only military superpower is because the rest of the world refuses to pay for it. It's like we are in a drinking contest with a teetotaler. We are the only ones paying or playing. The purpose of the U.S. military should be to defend the U.S. While we are flitting around butting into every backyard squabble around the world our country is leaving its flanks open with its porous borders. A re-focus of priorities is past due and a minimum of a 25% reduction in defense spending is in order.
Secondly, entitlements need to be reviewed, reduced and eliminated where possible. We are rapidly becoming a country where the majority of our citizens are not invested in their government. They pay no income tax and, in many cases, get most of their Social Security taxes back in the form of earned income tax credits. We are now going to pay people not to work for up to 3 years. These folks are making no contribution, just sucking the resources from an empty bucket. As these non productive people gain more influence by shear numbers they have no problem in taking the fruits of the producers to continue to pay for their benefits.
Speaking of entitlements, the Holy Grail, Social Security, needs to be revamped. There is no argument that the system is more generous than we can afford and that benefits need to be reduced, eligibility reviewed and, God forbid, taxes increased. The entire program has been distorted, including people it was never intended to, and there is no way to pay for it going forward.
So the Republicans take over in House in January and decrease the majority in the Senate. Obama is scrambling for his political life and barring a massive case of amnesia we will vote his tired butt out in 2012. Realistically we are looking at gridlock for the next two years with a lot of finger pointing going on for the next election. I prefer gridlock to the misguided actions of the past two years. I'm not sure either party has the will to do what is right but the Republicans are saying the right things. Only time will tell.
So maybe we can come up with a new definition of winning, politically speaking. A win should be leaving the country in better shape than you found it. Improving the fiscal condition of our country should be the number one priority. With this in mind why do we keep giving the keys to the vault to this bunch of losers?
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