The Deal on Debt

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING VIETNAM!

I'm in the process of setting up an online Radio Station and, after watching Good Morning Vietnam, I have myself convinced to say that....once. Okay, maybe not, might not be the best idea.

First off, let me apologize. My last post I referred to President Obama as a monkey. Some people took that as a racial statement. I no way meant that to be a racial comment. In fact, truth be told, I would refer to anyone that has so carelessly ran our country a monkey. So, they could be white, black, brown, red, green, yellow, it doesn't matter. So, to those of you who thought that to be a racial slur, I'm sorry.

I've been doing a lot of reading on Debt. Lets start off this post by defining Debt.

Debt: Something, typically money, that is owed or due

Public Debt: the total of the nation's debts: debts of local and state and national
governments

Private Debt: Money owed by individuals and businesses within a given country.

Now all of these definitions are easily found on google, I didn't pull these out of a hat. So, now that we have the basis down on what the definition of Debt is, lets get into a little more detail. How is debt accrued? By taking loans because the money isn't readily available, or by spending more money than is available, therefore requiring you to take a loan to cover the difference.

So with that being said, lets take a look at our nations debt, $14,242,221,600,000. Umph, thats a kick in the chest right there. But, can we really swallow that number? No, not really. For most Americans, anything over $1,000,000, seems like a large number. So, to put it into a little bit of perspective, i'm going to remove $1,000,000 from the number up there, $14,242,220,600,000. Heh, it didn't change hardly at all. Not enough to count, anyways. This guy does an awesome job at explaining it. Click Here and Here

Now, with the current budget cut proposals how much is it really effecting the overall number? President Obama said his proposal would cut Three(3) trillion dollars a year off the current amount they spend. If you get the chance check out The Debt Clock and watch how fast that number is climbing. The reality is, 3 trillion dollars isn't going to do it. The government is in debt right around Four(4) Billion dollars a day.

As of 2007, there were 138,893,908 tax returns filed in the United States. So if each one of those returns were to pay off the debt, they would owe $107,982.41. No real reason for me sharing this, i just thought it was interesting to think about.

So, anyways, on the White House's web-site they have President Obama's current budget proposal. Here, we see what a lot of the spending is....Medicare, Social Security. If I remember right, there was a stunning, attractive young man who wrote about social security....Oh, it was me. Now, wait a minute here, I'm paying into Social Security, so why is the Government?? On a side note, if you look at the right hand bottom, you see Immigration and other Law Enforcement. Immigration doesn't even deserve a percent? And we wonder why Immigration is a problem. The truth is, I really don't know, just seems a little weak.

So, President Obama said he wants to tax the rich. This seems like a great idea, Except what defines "Rich" in the United States? Well According to the U.S. Census Bureau it is this.

Bottom 20%:
$0 - 17,984
(3.4% of the income)

Lower Middle 20%:
$17,985 - 34,000
(8.7% of the income)

Middle 20%
$34,001 - 54,453
(14.8% of the income)

Upper Middle 20%
$54,454 - 86,867
(23.4% of the income)

Top 20%
$86,867 - No limit
(49.8% of the income)

Also interesting is the following statistic:
Top 5%
$154,120 - No limit
(21.4% of the income)

Obviously, it doesn't take much to be 'rich'. An awesome video explains this a little differently to college students. Click Here.

Why I went on this tangent is because taxing the 'Rich' is not going to raise income enough to counter act the spending. What needs to happen is there needs to be less spending...all around. Starting at Social Security, which includes welfare. The cost of labor. The Government has way too much labor for what they do. Need an example? Look at the DMV. One person to write down your name, one person to take your picture and one to laminate. Insane.

Trumping the Government with Trump

There are times in our lives when we are faced with financial hardships. Whether you, or your spouse, lost a job, or even something major happened to your house. Either way, we are faced with economic struggles from time to time throughout our lives. What the Government has, however, is not Economic struggle. It is an Economic disaster. In fact, it is more than a disaster, it is a catastrophe on an astronomical level.

Normally when an individual runs into an Economic Struggle they cut costs in order to make ends meet. That, however, is not the way the Government thinks. The Government thinks we should spend our way out of debt. The Government is telling us we're cutting money, we're trying to save money, etc etc... Now, I could go into explanation on how we're being deceived, but this gentleman broke it down in a very simple and easy video(s). http://www.wimp.com/budgetcuts/ and http://www.youtube.com/user/10000Pennies#p/u/0/_Rl1xgT3REE

Now, with that being said, the Government is in dire need of help. Maybe an accounting class, maybe an economic class...maybe they need to read the constitution. Anyways, So how can the Government get help? Elect a true leader? Yes! Step one: Elect a true leader.

In the last few weeks we've seen Republican candidates come out. One of which is Donald Trump. I've been hearing a lot about Donal Trump, and a lot of people support him. Some of my friends (and i'm sure i'm going to hear about this later) support him. I'm here to tell you...DON'T. It seems great, a Millionaire (infact 788 Million to be exact) who runs a company, kept a company afloat through these rough economic times, and has amazingly fake hair, could get our country out of our Economic Disaster.

Even though he's running under the Republican ticket that doesn't really make him a republican. Infact, i think he's Socially progressive. It kind of frightens me how much damage he could potentially do being in office. And now it feels as if our entire State system is now becoming a joke. With the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jesse Ventura, and now Donald Trump is running for president. Now, I'm not saying that any of these individuals are not capable of running for office, but they get voted on because their popular. Need I remind you of the horrible election of 2008? This monkey got elected because of popularity.

I guess, what i'm asking everyone to do is think about the candidate you're voting for. It's extremely easy to vote for the guy that is the most famous, or that is on top of the ballot, but that is not the way to vote. Read about them, learn about them. Don't listen to their television ads, because thats all a bunch of bashing in order to make people feel good. Every single person I vote for, I've either talked to or read about(extensively at times) and I encourage everyone to do the same.

Give me liberty, Or give me Death!

As I said in my last post, prove me wrong. In my last post I said the Unite States was formed under a Democracy. I was wrong and shown that we were originally meant to be a Republic. I want to include quotes that were given to me by a very intelligent and good friend of mine:

Alexander Hamilton - "We are now forming a Republican government. Real Liberty is neither found in despotism or the or the extremes of democracy, but in moderate governments." June 26th, 1787

Alexander Hamilton- "Our real disease..is Democracy." July 10th, 1804

John Adams- "There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the Republic into 2 great parties." Oct 2nd, 1789.

John Adams- "Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon waste, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a Democracy yet that did not commit suicide." April 15th, 1814

After the Constitutional Convention ended, Mrs. Eliza Powel asked Dr. Franklin what sort of Government the delegates had decided on. This was his answer. Recorded by James McHenry, an aide to George Washington. " A REPUBLIC, if you can keep it."

So I want to add the definition of a "Republic" since I've been corrected.

Republic- A state or country in which the Supreme power is vested in representatives elected by popular vote.

I have a lot on my mind...a lot of things that makes me angry. Unfortunately, there are not enough people that are angry and want change. Not Obama "change" but real change. Going back to the fundamentals of America.

I saw a commercial today that disturbed me...more so than disturbed...but enraged me. The beginning of the commercial said "Show how much you love America with the three greatest presidents!" Thinking Reagan should be in that group, I was wrong. It was a commercial for Chia Pet Presidents and this group had George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama... I'm greatly disturbed and extremely worried that we're listing this man as a "greatest president." Throwing him into the "Greatest President" group is like throwing Bernie Madoff in the "worked hardest for his money" group.

I've been really upset about our Country's current economic situation. You know, our current 13.8trillion dollar deficit??? (http://usdebtclock.org/) It was said to me a couple weeks ago that we would get out of debt if we started taxing the rich. Lets understand something, America, You can't increase revenue by a little bit, cut spending by a little bit and expect a big result. Just like two wrong's don't make a right.

So, with that being said, one of our problems in America, and I won't say biggest cause there are a lot of big problems, is Social Security(S.S.I.). What is S.S.I.?

Social Security is defined like this: A Comprehensive federal program of benefits providing workers and their dependents with retirement income, disability income, and other payments. The Social Security tax is used to pay for this program.

I dislike Social Security. I think the program is great...I dislike the requirement to pay into it. It should be the choice of the American Citizen to pay into it or not. If they choose not to pay into it, then it isn't the Government's responsibility to make sure people have a proper life when they retire. It is unconstitutional, it's socialist, its a Money Pit. Now wait, it's not a Money Pit because the money continually goes back to the people. Wrong. It also goes to the Government!

On August 14th 1935, the Social Security Act was signed. How many of you knew that Social Security was at first a hoax? The average age of death in 1935 was 59 years old. You were not allowed to collect benefits until you were 65. Not everyone that paid in got their money! Hrm... Now, 2010, the average age of death is is 77 years old. Everyone is retiring and getting money, the way Social Security was intended.

The problem is, however, Social security is a Ponzi Scheme, a pyramid scheme, whatever you want to call it.. The Government is constantly taking money out of the bank. There has never been a situation where the Government just left the piggy bank alone. They relied on this money, now they don't have the money to pay the people because the Government can't manage their money.

Let’s take a look at social security itself. Again, very few of us disagree with the original premise that there should be some form of savings that would keep destitution from following unemployment by reason of death, disability or old age. And to this end, social security was adopted, but it was never intended to supplant private savings, private insurance, pension programs of unions and industries. - Ronald Reagan "Speaks out against Socialized Medicine" 1961

Ronald Reagan knew in 1961 that social security was a problem. Social Security was a problem since the first check was issused. The first person that got a check. Ernest Ackerman who retired one day after Social Security paid 5 cents into Social security and his first check was 17 cents.

This whole topic goes back to how we live in a lifestyle of conveniences. The Government makes it so we don't have to work, so we don't have to do anything and be ok. Welfare, unemployment, all of these are conveniences that allow America to be 'lazy.'

So, lets talk about how to fix Social Security. The best way? Take it out of the hands of the Government. Let people have the option to pay into it, and not allow anyone to have access to that money unless they are retired or meet a certain criteria. Do not allow this loose 'requirement' to get S.S.I. Therefore, if you're fat, you can't claim S.S.I. if your'e an alcoholic you can't claim S.S.I. And if you don't think this happens, then you need to open your eyes. Look at the people abusing a 'handicap'.

Ronald Reagan said "Social Security is a problem I've been fearing for 30 years." People knew it was a problem before it even started yet here we are still paying into this imaginary 'trust fund.'

This, America, is the first step to restoring America.

The Government We Created

Here a couple weeks ago I got to see Glenn Beck down in Pittsburgh. I have to give him a lot of credit; he is a man who worked his way from nothing to an intelligent political/economical analyst. He is a man who has passion, charisma and to top it off, he has no formal education. When he does his shows (radio/live/television) he has no script. So what does this mean? You go there expecting a rehearsed 'show' and you get his passion, his love for not only America, but for his family, God and the truth.

He was talking about his book 'Broke' and was talking about our current economic situation, how, unlike what people think, we aren't following Europe's economic struggle but are ahead of Europe, more so then what people think.

I never liked writing when I was in school, in fact I did everything I could to avoid it. I think, however, if you write about something you have a passion for then you enjoy it a lot more, don't tell my old English teacher that, I probably still owe her some paper that she has been waiting for. I have a passion for politics. I may get angry about what liberals do/say, but any good politician knows there is a problem, our view of how it needs to be fixed is just different.

Glenn Beck has said, many times, "Don't take my word for it, do your own research." The same goes with everything you read, don't ever take what you read seriously until you're sure it is true. How you ask? Research. Libraries, internet, anything. There is an enormous amount of knowledge out there...utilize it! I want to be proven wrong, I want you to show me proof that I am wrong. I don't want an excuse with no back, I want proof. I don't know everything, I will never honestly proclaim to knowing everything, but I want to know more. I have a hunger to learn, I have a need to read, and the more involved I get into something the more I want to know. With that being said, onto what I want to talk about.

Lets talk about the Government that we created. Some of you are out there saying "we didn't create this Government." Well, you're wrong, I'm sorry to break it to you. Every single person has a say on our Government officials. If you choose not to voice your say, then you shouldn't be complaining. However! I want to touch base on some definitions before i get too deep into the subject.

How many people out there know the difference between Government structures? If you don't, even if you do, I'm going to give you a quick break down:

Democracy - A political structure of those who favor government by their people or representative. A structure where the supreme power lies in the body of people who can elect people to represent them.

Socialism - A political structure advocating state owned industry. A economic system based on state ownership of capital.

Communism - A form of SOCIALISM that abolishes private ownership. A political theory favoring collectivism of a classless society.

Blah Blah Blah....what am I getting at? Here is what I'm getting at...Our country was formed under a Democracy. Our founders wanted to give the people control, not the government. A true Democracy is here to protect us. Not force us into what they THINK we need.

Our country was formed off of Christian morals. I understand, there is a separation of church and state. If there wasn't a separation of church and state, we wouldn't be a Democracy, because the government would have every right to force us to believe a religion. That isn't protecting us, is it? We now live in a country of conveniences. We've been made into people that aren't designed to 'think for ourselves.' We do what we are told, not what we believe in. My Grandpa always taught me that Sunday is a day of rest. And, to this day, I try to schedule my Sunday's so it is my day of 'rest.' However, no one plans ahead, no one plans their Sunday as a day of 'rest.' Sixty years ago there was no Wal-mart, there was no 24 hour Grocery stores, in fact there were hardly any gas stations open. This required people to think, a day in advance, about the things they need for Sunday. If they needed butter for their Sunday dinner, they got it Saturday. If they didn't have it Sunday, well, they made do without. I know, I'm going on a rant. Where am I going with this? Well, it's the same situation with the Government.

Our current unemployment rate is high. I understand the job rates are low, but there are jobs out there. The conveniences that the Government gives people, however, postpone them from getting a job. Everyone of those people get an unemployment check.

The reality is, however, we've separated ourselves from a Democracy to a Socialist country. How you ask? There are so many ways, where do we start? Healthcare, Social Security, Unemployment, Financial Bail Outs for corporations, welfare...and the list could go on and on. This is what we created, America. We created this Government.

There are some politicians out there that say Social Security is 'not a problem.' They're foolish. Social Security is a problem. The Government keeps draining money from that pool, throwing us further and further into Debt. We need to fix Social Security. How?...CUT SPENDING!

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to write several blogs on our country, and the different government structures. I also want to touch base on public debt, and how it's killing us.

Tolling of I-80

Ever since the opening of I-80 in 1970, Tolling I-80 has been a popular, yet controversial, topic in Pennsylvania.

As of late, Tolling I-80 has been a pressing issue with our local economy, again. Lets talk about what Tolling I-80 would do to our local economy. Obviously with the closing of Owens-Illinois and Sealy the economy in Clarion County is not as great as we would like to see it. We still have to look at our top employers in Clarion County; Colony, Commodore, Fiber Board Plant, Clarion Bathware, Smuckers, Kraus-Source. If Interstate 80 was tolled these companies would struggle to keep their prices down. Shipping costs would go up, it would cost these companies hundreds of thousands a year just to be able to use the interstate. There are some companies, local and national, that would try to avoid the interstate at all costs to save money. State Route 322 would be a wreck. During Pennsylvania's bitter winter months Roads, like Riverhill, would be backed up because Trucks would not be able to get up it, or would wreck around the turns. For those of you who live in, or around, Clarion you already know that on a Friday afternoon it is a mess to get through, imagine it with 50 semi's in the mix.

Obviously the Interstate is a vital artery for Clarion's local economy. So what/who maintains the road? The Pennsylvania Toll Authority maintains the toll roads. Governor Rendell is trying to combine Pennsylvania Depart of Transportation(PennDot) with the Pennsylvania Toll Authority. As of the 2008-09 budget the state has allocated close to One Billion($1,000,000,000) dollars to divvy out over the next 10 years. Transportation is a group of it owns. It covers Road maintenance (re-paving, repairing, guard rail maintenance) and bridge maintenance. That does not include Winter Snow Maintenance.

In 2005 a study was issued by Penndot to investigate the feasibility of implementing a toll road. It was found that it would cost well over $650 million dollars and would take several years. Tolls could be charged across I-80 but it would take decades to break even and pay off the debt.

So, where does the money go after the state 'breaks even?' Governor Ed Rendell has said with the extra money he'd like to fund public transportation. What does that mean? A quick look online for the definition of Public Transportation is this: Public transport (also public transportation, public transit, or mass transit) is a shared passenger transportation service which are available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as Taxicab, Carpooling which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.

So, now we know that he wants to toll the interstate to give people that don't have a vehicle to get from point A to point B. What benefit does that give Clarion County? ...none! In fact, as I said earlier, it would hurt our local economy. Not even local economy, how about Jefferson County, Venango County, Clearfied County. All of these counties that has businesses that rely on the Interstate for their mode of transport would be hurt.

Windows 7: The Missing Manual

As a professional in the ever growing technical field i'm often asked "How can i keep up with technology?" And often times the answer is very blunt, "you really can't." With the release of Windows 7, I've been slowing promoting it to all of my clients, customers, co-workers and peers, but often i'm faced with the words "I don't have time to learn it."

I was graciously given the opportunity by O'reilly to review Windows 7: The Missing Manual. Most of the time while reading a book explaining anything technology, I become bored. It seems that often it is geared to the 'I'm Just learning about technology' individuals. After reading Windows 7: The Missing Manual, I was impressed to say the least. If I were to sum up Windows 7: The Missing Manual in a sentence i'd have to say, This book is one of the best instructive tutorial books I have ever read for any computer related product.

With their down to earth, yet at some points witty, instructive procedures, it was not only painless to read, but enjoyable. They tackle anything from switching screens, to folder options, to Taskbars. You name it, this book has touch based on it. To everyone that wants to start tackling Windows 7, whether computer savvy or not, I wouldn't only suggest to read this, I would highly recommend.

So, to the People of O'reilly, thank you for finally making a book to help, not only, the advanced users, but also the lesser of the computer savvy.

A Slippery Slope

In these rough economical times, is it a good idea to raise taxes when we're already being overtaxed? This was the question that was asked to President Obama while he was giving a speech at a battery manufacturing company. His response? 17 Minutes 12 seconds and over 2500 words later? "I don't know what I'm talking about." Seriously, it was 17 Minutes of mindless garbage being spewed from his mouth.  And it wasn't like any of it pertained to the question he was asked. If you have 20 minutes, you should most definitely watch this. ( http://www.breitbart.tv/obama-gives-17-minute-2500-word-response-to-womans-claim-of-being-over-taxed/ ). I would've expected other things to come from his mouth. Like "You're not being over taxed." or "well here is what your taxes help pay for." The worst part of that verbal vomit is he repeated himself three times. At 9 minutes one of the Panel members yawned and 3 times during the whole video you can hear someone laugh. I often wish I could go up to him with a baseball bat, smack him upside the head and say "WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU MORON?!".  Whilst he's vomiting all over the microphone he adds that if we wouldn't have gone through with this healthcare plan, our financial woes would be worst than what they are now.....wait, what?  $1.3 Trillion dollars into a health care plan. How is spending $1.3 Trillion Dollars saving our financial woes?  We just moved ourselves $1.3 trillion dollars further in the hole but it is ok we would be worst off if we didn't pass this plan.

So, how about a New Jersey congressman stating he doesn't care about the constitution? After being asked by a reporter where it says in the constitution that the government can do whatever they want. He blatantly responds "I don't care about the constitution, what i care about is the amount of people that have gone through with no healthcare." The reporter then asks "but where does it say that you can do this?" the congressman responds "i don't know." So the reporter then asks "so you don't care about the constitution?"  the congressman says "I never said that." Obviously, he did say that, just by what came out of his mouth.  It's great that we can have politicians that don't care about what is constitutional, and what is not. As it was put to me today, after talking about this congressman "we're screwed."

So, to everyone out there! Enjoy Obamacare, and hope you're having fun with Obamanomics.