I wish I could take credit for this, but that goes to the the guys at Mr.Conservative.com. They did something that most politicians have a hard time doing, they used simple english to describe the crisis our Nation is facing with the budget. Like my previous post, this requires little commentary. Study this chart and grasp the problem. Imagine it was your household. Then ask yourself, which candidate or political Party is willing to make the tough decisions to fix it!
From Mr.Conservative.com
I'm sure you've heard that Europeans are lazy and do not come close to having the American work ethic. Well. that stereotype happens to be true. The Economist Magazine just published their latest study that ranks Western Nations by the amount of mandatory vacation time required by their respective governments. This vacation time is broken down by public and private sector employees. What's interesting is that those countries that happen to be in the headlines for causing economic turmoil and throwing the European Union into a crisis, are the same countries that top the rankings. Perhaps these countries should slash the amount of mandatory vacation and force their citizens to be more productive and work for a change!
From The Economist:
Which countries give employees the most generous holidays?
WHEN considering the amount of holiday each employee is entitled to in any particular country, some clichés hold good. North Americans are more industrious than South Americans, according to data compiled by Mercer, a consultancy. Asians work harder than Europeans. Among the feckless workers from the old continent, those in the troubled economies of Greece, Spain and Portugal have among the most generous holiday allowances. Take a look at this videographic for more detail.
Last month I wrote about the current anti-business climate in California. For more than a decade, California has been in a free fall economically due to higher taxes, more costly regulations and an aggressive expansion of government spending and bureaucracy. Rather then elect new leaders with fresh ideas, last year Californians sent the 1970's washout, Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown back to Sacramento as Governor. In a classic case of not being able to teach an old dog new tricks, Jerry Brown has come up with a radical new approach to solving our state's problems. Wait, Wait, Wait for it... He's asking voters to approve the largest tax increase in California history. This proposal is being sold as a "tax on the rich and wealthy" in order to save our schools and infrastructure. Ladies and Gentlemen, we generate enough tax revenue in this state. The problem isn't taxes, it's too much spending. You know, the type of spending that provides cushy pensions to state employees, generous benefits and overtime thanks to the SEIU and other shake down unions.
When will Californians wise up and stop falling for the scam in Sacramento? When will voters begin to ask why our school test scores are low? Why are prison populations are so high? Why do we allow state employees to earn on average over $100,000 and retirement at age 55 with full salary? When will voters begin to ask why we're falling behind other states with far lower tax rates in jobs, infrastructure and education? Raising taxes is not the answer. That's the same liberal solution for every problem. When have the liberals controlling Washington or Sacramento have EVER called for lower taxes and lower government spending/ NEVER. Wise up Californians. Stop falling for the same lie that's been told to us for decades. The poor will not suffer, the elderly will not die and children will not suffer if we begin to follow the path of other states that have figured it out.
The United States Supreme Court today announced that it will hear challenges to Obamacare. Twenty six states have followed Florida in challenging the constitutionality of the individual mandate feature which requires that all Americans purchase health insurance.
This signature piece of legislation was pushed through Congress on a highly partisan vote and against the overwhelming opposition of the American people. This law has become known as Obamacare and is the President's watered down, some would even say backdoor version of universal healthcare. The type of healthcare that has plagued Canada, the UK and most of Europe.
The timing of this case will undoubtedly render a decision of monumental consequences next June at the height of the 2012 Presidential Campaign. The real question is, will Justice Elena Kagan recuse herself from this case? Keep in mind that she is the former Solicitor General of the United States, appointed by President Obama, who crafted the legal defense for Obamacare before her appointment to the Supreme Court. If there was ever a case that provided a conflict of interest, this is it. Let's see what the Democrats say given their insistence for months that Justice Clarence Thomas recuse himself because his wife has been involved with political groups that oppose Obamacare. This connection they say would prevent Justice Thomas from remaining impartial.
From Politico:
Seventy-four House Democrats are asking Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from any health care reform cases, citing reports that his wife financially benefited from efforts to repeal the legislation.
The members, led by Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), ask that he “maintain the integrity of this court.”
“The appearance of a conflict of interest merits recusal under federal law. From what we have already seen, the line between your impartiality and you and your wife's financial stake in the overturn of healthcare reform is blurred,” the members wrote.
It looks like we have partisan double standards at work. At the end of the day, it's highly unlikely that Justice Kagan would recuse herself. Given her ultra liberal political views, she would never pass up an opportunity to ensure that the United States move towards the Socialists dream of universal healthcare coverage.
Hey OWS protesters, your hypocrisy has reached epic levels. You don't represent 99% of Americans, you represent the radical, left wing 9%, who never passes up an opportunity to protest against capitalism and corporate america. You dream of a communist or socialist revolution and yet you can't present one example of a country that has succeeded in creating this utopia. You want to blame Wall Street and corporate america for our problems? You want to do away with mega, multinational corporations? You say banks are stealing and robbing America? Get real.
You're probably using an Apple iPhone to communicate. If it wasn't for Wall Street, Apple would have never gone public and raised the money necessary to grow into the amazing company that it has become. You're probably wearing cool looking clothes made by a "mega" clothing manufacturer who also went public with the help of Wall Street banks. The electricity and gas supplied to your house is provided by your local utility whose stock trades on the NYSE and who pays a dividend to the 1% who you want to punish. Your car was made by a multinational corporation. The gasoline supplied by a Big Energy company. Your grocery store is probably a "mega" company as well. The sleeping bags and tents that you're living in were manufactured by companies who relied on funding, loans and equity investment provided by Big Banks. Your ability to use social media like Facebook and Twitter exists because the venture capital and banking community took on the risk and provided capital to fund great ideas. Those videos that you filmed of your protest are now viewed around the world because of sites like YouTube. Guess what? YouTube was funded by venture capital firms who you want to penalize by making them pay huge taxes and yet expect them to continue to back and develop these great new technologies. The music that you listen to was produced and recorded by record labels, owned by mega global media companies. Do you know who supplies capital to these Big Banks and Venture Capital firms? Yup, you guessed it, wealthy individuals. The 1% who you want to blame for our financial mess. Do you know what life would be like if banks, multinational corporations and wealthy investors didn't exist? Have you ever been to a poor, undeveloped third world nation? Is that the society you envision? Our country has paid a heavy price including the shedding of blood to give you the right to protest and the means to live a relatively comfortable life with all of the modern conveniences that you demand.
I rarely agree with Alec Baldwin's political views, but during his visit to the Occupy Wall Street encampment he made a point to defend capitalism. From Yahoo News:
Alec Baldwin visited the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City this week, where he found himself defending the very institutions the demonstrators are protesting: Banks, capitalism and the rich."You have to have capital markets in this country," Baldwin said. "You can't not have strong capital markets in this country or this country is going to go down the tubes. ... Capitalism is worthwhile and capitalism demands the flow of money. ... You want the banks to do what the banks do."
There's nothing wrong with companies making a profit to provide that convenience along the way. That my friends is the beauty of capitalism. It's not perfect and not everyone will succeed, but it has lifted more people out of poverty compared to any other economic system known to man. Your solution has been tried before. Just take a look at North Korea, Cuba and the former Soviet Union. How did that work out for them?
So these protesters claim to represent 99%? Yeah right... 99% of Americans don't throw paint, rocks and bottles at cops. We don't run around city streets like a mob trying to take over a city. We don't want to end capitalism. We don't defecate and urinate in public plaza's. We don't burn American flags while holding up signs of Che Guevara or signs that read Demand Socialism Now. Go home and take a shower you spoiled brats!
I grew up in the City of Oakland. It will always hold a special place in my heart. It's one of those cities that defines who you are as a person. The city has had a rich history of political activism and culture. Protests have long had a place in the city, but these Occupy Oakland activists have raised the bar of stupidity. After several weeks of protesting, it's still not clear what they represent, what they want and how they intend to fix things. From my vantage point, it's a group of primarily, white, college educated young people who do not live in Oakland, but tend to run to every radical left wing protest that pops up from time to time.
In one way, they have done something that Conservatives couldn't have done on their own. They have demonstrated to Middle America that they do not represent the 99%. They have pushed Independents even further away from the Liberal position. The Occupy Movement has the support of President Obama and the leaders of the Democratic Party, but they also have a list of supporters who truly define who in fact supports this movement. The infamous list includes the Nazi Party of America, the Socialist Party of America, The Communist Party of the United States, the terrorist state known to the world as Iran, North Korea, China, Venezuela and Cuba. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a far cry from the Tea Party movement!
This afternoon the Wisconsin State Assembly passed the hotly contested anti-union bill which stripped the collective bargaining rights of state public employees. This vote captured the attention of the national media for very good reasons. This vote was akin to President Reagan taking action against the striking air traffic controllers union in 1981. The far left, pro-union forces and mainstream media allies knew that if this passed it would lead to a domino effect around the country. This is good news for all taxpayers. We now live in an era where local, state and federal governments are essentially bankrupt. Americans have had to tighten the purse strings and become more efficient. This sacrifice has been shared by all except for the powerful public employee unions. It's important to understand the significance of today's events by grasping the fundamental purpose of a Union. From The Foundry:
Government unions are inherently different from private-sector unions. The purpose of private-sector unions is to get workers a larger share of the profits they helped create. But government is a monopoly and earns no profits. All government unions do is redistribute more tax dollars from taxpayers to unions.
Answer this question... What do the Airline, Automobile and Government Industries have in common? They are all bankrupt, and either destroy competitiveness or redistribute wealth from taxpayers to public workers. They have failed miserably compared to other sectors of our economy. This may be a little harsh and I hope my mom doesn't read this post. I am the son of a 40+ year government worker who happens to be a member of the grandaddy union of them all, the SEIU. Ok, enough with the disclaimer and back to my rant.
The great Thomas Sowell put it best in a recent article on Real Clear Politics:
The biggest myth about labor unions is that unions are for the workers. Unions are for unions, just as corporations are for corporations and politicians are for politicians.[Private]Workers have also learned that there is no free lunch, which is why they have, over the years, increasingly voted against being represented by unions in secret ballot elections.One set of workers, however, remained largely immune to such repercussions. These are government workers represented by public sector unions.
While oil could replace coal, while U.S. Steel dropped from number one in the world to number ten, and Toyota could replace General Motors as the world's leading producer of cars, government is a monopoly. Nobody is likely to replace the federal or state bureaucracies, no matter how much money the unions drain from the taxpayers.
That is why government unions continue to thrive while private sector unions decline. Taxpayers provide their free lunch.
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