Thursday, March 31, 2011
Politics of fear, we know thy name
In just the latest example, the progressives are using fear to try to control weak minds. In Congressional testimony, an administration official lists the number of children who we could expect to die from the current Republican-led attempt to cut the federal budget. Next they'll have to use the "if it saves only one" argument; that's the next one in their arsenal.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
For all of those out there who depend on the government
Turns out a bunch of the EPAs radiation detectors weren't working, recently, right when we needed for them to be.
Anyone surprised?
Anyone surprised?
Monday, March 7, 2011
Hard to believe: Outgoing House members paid big bonuses to their "staffers"
Wow, I can't believe that the people who were defeated in November (or just left) decided to put big bonuses in place for their outgoing staff. No way!
Next time I hear complaints about Wall Street bonuses I'll think back fondly.
Next time I hear complaints about Wall Street bonuses I'll think back fondly.
Let's just fine airlines for delayed flights! Yeah, that's the ticket!
Article today about how airlines are canceling flights rather than pay fines for leaving planes on the tarmac, something that seems to be largely out of their control.
What did the morons who introduced the fines expect?
Another great example of how regulators/lawmakers expect to just wave their hands and get compliance.
What did the morons who introduced the fines expect?
Another great example of how regulators/lawmakers expect to just wave their hands and get compliance.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Peggy Noonan on Denial
Peggy Noonan has a piece from last week on how nobody seems to get it.
"there's no sense of urgency"
"How could a regular moderate Democrat, or an experienced old Republican bull, not be alarmed at spending projections and their implications?
I think some of the answer has to do with what, for lack of a better word, I’ll call crisis-ism. This is a condition in which you don’t know you’re in crisis because you’re always in crisis, you’ve always been in crisis, and you’ve always gotten through, so what the heck. Crisis-ism is the inability to apprehend that this time it’s different, that this time the crisis is an actual crisis.
There are senators and congressmen who’ve been on the hill for 10 and 25 years, and from the day they walked in, all they heard about was the budget crisis. “This spending will kill us.” But it never did. So maybe it wasn’t so bad, and, ergo, isn’t so bad. They are inured to warning. You can tell them 10 different ways that we’re in crisis and they’ll think, “Some think-tank guy told me that 20 years ago, and we’re still here.”
Another reason for budget denialism is that everyone now in Congress lived through the greatest expansion of wealth in the history of man on earth. It happened here, in America, in the past 30 years. And we were rich even before that. But when you grow up in a time of constant expansion, when you grow up immersed in the assumption that we are rich and will always be rich, that we’re powerful and will always be powerful, you start to think that America can take any amount of damage and still continue. This is called optimism, but it is not optimism, it is Rich Boy Syndrome. A boy is lucky enough to be born to rich parents who are themselves the product of generations of wealth going back as far as the eye can see. But he never got into the habit of making money, never learned to respect it, and never felt protective of the system that allowed it to exist. So the money went away. Rich Boy Syndrome is thinking wealth will just continue no matter what you do. A lot of members of Congress have Rich Boy Syndrome. They think they can do anything and America will always be rich.
A final reason is simply human. It is really convenient and pleasant not to see a crisis, because if you don’t see it, you don’t have to do anything about it. You don’t have to be brave, you don’t have to put yourself on the line, you don’t have to lead. You can tell yourself you don’t have to be brave and lead because really, at the end of the day, despite all the screaming, there is no crisis."
She ends her column with optimism, thankfully.
Politicians refuse to see that we are faced with serious budget issues, and not just in Wisconsin. I heard the other day that it takes 40 working firemen in California to contribute to their pensions to support one retiree, currently. I know that about 76 million people are getting ready to retire in the next few years (if they still can) and so the situation will be waiting for those of us who are still working.
Where the money, and wealth, and hard work to pay for everything is going to come from is something I don't have an answer for. I'm upset because I didn't write those checks - politicians did. And in many cases its politicians in the various states with their sunshine and roses mentality. Or, even worse, with their "screw the rich" mentality.
I'm here to suggest, now, that it won't be the rich getting screwed, it never is.
"there's no sense of urgency"
"How could a regular moderate Democrat, or an experienced old Republican bull, not be alarmed at spending projections and their implications?
I think some of the answer has to do with what, for lack of a better word, I’ll call crisis-ism. This is a condition in which you don’t know you’re in crisis because you’re always in crisis, you’ve always been in crisis, and you’ve always gotten through, so what the heck. Crisis-ism is the inability to apprehend that this time it’s different, that this time the crisis is an actual crisis.
There are senators and congressmen who’ve been on the hill for 10 and 25 years, and from the day they walked in, all they heard about was the budget crisis. “This spending will kill us.” But it never did. So maybe it wasn’t so bad, and, ergo, isn’t so bad. They are inured to warning. You can tell them 10 different ways that we’re in crisis and they’ll think, “Some think-tank guy told me that 20 years ago, and we’re still here.”
Another reason for budget denialism is that everyone now in Congress lived through the greatest expansion of wealth in the history of man on earth. It happened here, in America, in the past 30 years. And we were rich even before that. But when you grow up in a time of constant expansion, when you grow up immersed in the assumption that we are rich and will always be rich, that we’re powerful and will always be powerful, you start to think that America can take any amount of damage and still continue. This is called optimism, but it is not optimism, it is Rich Boy Syndrome. A boy is lucky enough to be born to rich parents who are themselves the product of generations of wealth going back as far as the eye can see. But he never got into the habit of making money, never learned to respect it, and never felt protective of the system that allowed it to exist. So the money went away. Rich Boy Syndrome is thinking wealth will just continue no matter what you do. A lot of members of Congress have Rich Boy Syndrome. They think they can do anything and America will always be rich.
A final reason is simply human. It is really convenient and pleasant not to see a crisis, because if you don’t see it, you don’t have to do anything about it. You don’t have to be brave, you don’t have to put yourself on the line, you don’t have to lead. You can tell yourself you don’t have to be brave and lead because really, at the end of the day, despite all the screaming, there is no crisis."
She ends her column with optimism, thankfully.
Politicians refuse to see that we are faced with serious budget issues, and not just in Wisconsin. I heard the other day that it takes 40 working firemen in California to contribute to their pensions to support one retiree, currently. I know that about 76 million people are getting ready to retire in the next few years (if they still can) and so the situation will be waiting for those of us who are still working.
Where the money, and wealth, and hard work to pay for everything is going to come from is something I don't have an answer for. I'm upset because I didn't write those checks - politicians did. And in many cases its politicians in the various states with their sunshine and roses mentality. Or, even worse, with their "screw the rich" mentality.
I'm here to suggest, now, that it won't be the rich getting screwed, it never is.
Michael Moore understands basic economics
Holy Smoke. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, Michael Moore shows his stripes.
In this video (in case you're disgusted by him and can't force yourself to watch) he suggests that rich people are just sitting on all their money, but that their money is a "national resource."
Question is, how do you define "rich"? Is someone who spent years in school learning to do something and therefore makes a lot of money "rich"?
I bet he'll define rich any way he wants to.
Socialism is socialism. Don't get in their way folks, or you're next on the list.
In this video (in case you're disgusted by him and can't force yourself to watch) he suggests that rich people are just sitting on all their money, but that their money is a "national resource."
Question is, how do you define "rich"? Is someone who spent years in school learning to do something and therefore makes a lot of money "rich"?
I bet he'll define rich any way he wants to.
Socialism is socialism. Don't get in their way folks, or you're next on the list.
Good story on Wisconsin in WSJ
A wonderful quote that explains why the Wisconsin thing is so important to both sides:
"Because unlike in the private economy, a public union has a natural monopoly over government services. An industrial union will fight for a greater share of corporate profits, but it also knows that a business must make profits or it will move or shut down. The union chief for teachers, transit workers or firemen knows that the city is not going to close the schools, buses or firehouses."
They have a nifty graph.
Found here. Worth a read. It also points out that if nothing is done, thousands of state workers will lose their jobs (most like the younger ones) and that the union KNOWS if it doesn't back down then future administrations will have to create those jobs again.
Socialism is socialism, folks. Once politicians can just buy votes outright, they will.
"Because unlike in the private economy, a public union has a natural monopoly over government services. An industrial union will fight for a greater share of corporate profits, but it also knows that a business must make profits or it will move or shut down. The union chief for teachers, transit workers or firemen knows that the city is not going to close the schools, buses or firehouses."
They have a nifty graph.
Found here. Worth a read. It also points out that if nothing is done, thousands of state workers will lose their jobs (most like the younger ones) and that the union KNOWS if it doesn't back down then future administrations will have to create those jobs again.
Socialism is socialism, folks. Once politicians can just buy votes outright, they will.
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