An Open Letter to the Occupiers of Wall Street

The other day I wrote an article about the Occupy Wall Street movement, and what I saw as possible commonalities between that movement and the Tea Party movement. In my perusal of the Principals of Solidarity working draft postings, I was somewhat hopeful and gratified by some of what I saw there. Folks are understandably upset with the corruption of our government by special interests. In this, they are not different from the Tea Party, or the Founders of our Nation.

Today, however, I read that these loosely organized groups of peaceful protesters are about to be co-opted by the union thugs who terrorized Madison Wisconsin not so many months ago with threats of violence and mayhem. This is extremely unfortunate and predictable. It is much like the way protesters in Egypt who were interested in freedom and self-governance were quickly co-opted by the Muslim Brotherhood.

If those of you who are gathered in Zuccotti Park are serious about ending the influence of special interest groups in Washington DC, then I for one, would urge you not to let one of the biggest, most powerful special interest conglomerations in the country, organized labor, take control of your movement. If big business influence in DC is bad, so is big labor influence. Government of, for and by the people is meant to be just that, and co-option by any special interest, no matter what the stripe, is just as bad as any other.

What could be said about the current Administration in DC as well as the prior Bush administration follow to wit:

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offenses:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighboring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Cartel Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

These among others were the grievances listed against King George in the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America, the preamble to which reads:

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

Good people occupying Wall Street, and those beginning to Occupy other locations in other cities, do not let yourselves be tricked into throwing out one bunch of tyrants in favor of another, for the other is no less tyrannical than the first. Those of us in the Tea Party movement understand your frustration with the current state of affairs in our Nation's Capital. We will be the first to agree when it is said that the type and amount of influence special interests, including those perpetrated by big business is entirely out of hand and unacceptable. Be cautious, however in your acceptance of leadership who would simply use your movement to exert their own flavor of special interest in the halls of government, for they are the same beast in a different coat.
A truly free market benefits everyone, yet we have not seen a truly free market in the United States for over a century. A truly free market allows market forces, the invisible hand if you will, to operate freely. In the 1930's the bankers and the large growers colluded with each other to keep wages unbearably low and profits unimaginably high. The system eventually collapsed when the starving migrants from Oklahoma, Kansas and the like refused to watch their children starve, and rose up. The collusion, however was not a free market force, but rather the opposite of it.
We are at a pivotal point in our evolution, and there are two or three courses we can take. One is down the road being followed by the progressive left toward communism and central planning. From each according to his ability, to each according to his need as Carl Marx put it. This sounds good on paper, it sounds very altruistic. The problem is that it fails to take human nature into account, and in the end, can only be imposed at the point of a gun. There will always be those who are a little more equal than others, and who will, to maintain their more equal-ness, oppress the rest.
The next possible course is Anarchy, complete chaos, and while this may have a certain swashbuckling appeal, I would urge the investigation of Somalia to see the results of that form of non-government. It is the best example we have in the world today. People are starving in the streets and the strongest among the people make the rules with violence and terror.
The third option, perhaps the most difficult, and the one requiring the most courage, it to repair or re-create our representative republic. That is the aim of the Tea Party. We submit that humans are basically good in their nature when guided in their spirit by a set of principals the most notable of which is, treat others as you would wish to be treated, and love your neighbor as yourself. We believe that all people are created equal and have the right to live free, own private property, be secure in their person, papers and property, have the right to defend themselves and the right to equal opportunity, have the right to fail miserably, and pick themselves up without being bailed out by taking from others. We believe in the right of all people to live as they wish, so long as their living does not infringe on the rights of others. We believe in the right of all people to worship as they choose wherever they choose, or to not worship at all if that is their choice. We believe in sound currency, free from manipulation. We believe in clean air, water, and a prosperous economy, and that these things are not mutually exclusive. We believe in the freedom of speech for everyone, not just the popular, and we believe in a free press. We believe in honesty and integrity and we believe emphatically that with these rights comes responsibility. We believe that with freedom comes the necessity to be responsible for one's own affairs. We believe in taking responsibility for our government as well, that only an informed and reasoned electorate can effectively govern themselves, therefore it is the duty of the citizenry to inform themselves, to discuss and debate among themselves, freely and civilly, the issues of the day.
We believe in caring for our elderly and our children. We believe in caring for those who, through no fault of their own, cannot care for themselves. We believe in the right of States to govern themselves, that local government is better and more responsive that state government, and state government is better and more responsive than Federal government, and the best government is that which governs least.
So I applaud your plumb, those of you who are gathered in the cause of freedom, but I caution you to beware of your bedfellows. I implore you to take a little time. Study our founding documents. Read the Declaration of Independence, Read the Constitution, Spend some time with the Federalist Papers. Read Bastiat's The Law. You might be surprised to find how much you have in common with those early patriots who threw the British East India Tea Company's tea into the Boston Harbor, because the Government had granted a big corporation a monopoly to sell tea in America.
While you work out your principals, and you are wise to do so, please remind yourselves why this country came into being. We have wandered far and wide from those principals for which our early citizens fought and died. Before we fight and die again in the cause of freedom, lets us take just a moment, spare a modicum of effort, and define for ourselves what we want that freedom to look like.
I stand with Mr. Henry when he turned the tide in the Virginia legislature with his ultimatum “I know not what course other men may take, but as for me...as for me, give me liberty, or give me death.”
Those early patriots believed that an informed electorate would be able to exercise wisdom, temperance and good judgment sufficient to govern themselves. Those of us in the Tea Party believe that as well. My question for you, brave occupiers of city parks in opposition to tyranny, is what sort of government do you envision. Is your choice to trade one of form of tyranny for another, to switch oppressors. Would you trade elected representation for Castro, Stalin, Hitler, or Chavez, all murderers and oppressors of freedom, or would you be inspired to free self governance like Jefferson, Washington, Dickinson, Paine, Morris, Rush, Franklin, Henry and the like.
So take time, freedom fighters, study well. The fate of our Nation hangs in the balance. The greatest experiment in self-governance and freedom of all people is on the line. This is no lark in which you have engaged, and now that the genie is out of the bottle, it cannot be put back. Choose well, my friends, my neighbors, study well and choose wisely. Perhaps you did not realize it when you took to the streets of Manhattan, but the course of the future is already irretrievably altered by your actions, and for that I applaud you. But if you choose leaders who are wolves in the clothing of sheep, if you believe promises of utopia that will emerge, if only to submit to their direction, you will have plunged this nation, and perhaps the world into an abyss of oppression, misery, and despair the likes of which the world has not seen since the dark ages.
But if you choose wisely, deliberatively, with a eye toward history, if you choose freedom, if you choose self-governance and responsibility, if you choose reason and compassion, if you look deep inside yourselves for guidance, then we have before us the greatest possibility for peace and prosperity the world has ever seen. I wish you well and pray for your inspiration.

Casualties of War

In the ongoing liberal War on Prosperity, the most recent causality is Switzerland. The flight from the dollar and the euro have put increasing upward pressure on the Swiss franc, making their exports more expensive for the rest of the world and pushing some Swiss companies to the edge of viability thus expanding the front to one of the few remaining stable countries in the world.

In our own misbegotten economy we see community banks like the Main Street Bank in Kingwood Tx, and coal operators such as Ronnie Bryant in Birmingham Al, simply give up and close their doors rather than try to negotiate the mountain of regulation heaped up before them by the divisions of anti-prosperity troops in the various departments of poverty that have become our federal overseers.

From hospitals, to banks, from oil drillers to light bulb manufacturers, even solar companies now that their federal taxpayer stolen largess has run out, from car dealers to tanning salons, businesses large and small have taken the brunt of the fire and unless one is an Obama supporter like GE and Lockheed-Martin, or a Union leader, or have a national media outlet to offer for propaganda distribution, one is in the enemy camp and subject to a constant barrage of grenades and mortar fire as the administration pushes forward in it's attempt to subjugate our once great nation to its will.

What is the end game for the War on Prosperity, especially now that public opinion now seems to be tiring of the conflict? As re-election of the Commander in Chief begins to be called into question by even some of those loyalists in the main stream media, how will the Administration and the leaders of the Democratic faction hold on to power and finish their campaign to enslave the rest of us and our children?

This writer hopes his visions of the future are simply paranoia born of the endless onslaught against the freedom and prosperity once exemplified in our founding documents and institutions. So chock the following up to the mindless ravings of a patriot feeling disenfranchised by forty years of ever advancing progressivism. But be aware. Watch for the signs. If you see what the writer is about to foretell come to pass, then take cover, for the end of the greatest experiment in self-governance and freedom is near.

The writer hopes not to be giving aid, comfort, and ideas to the enemy, but it must be stated. One cannot help but observe the growing unrest and rioting in places like Greece, Spain and Great Brittan where those progressives ahead of us have already run out of other people's money to borrow or confiscate. The writer notes that their youth have been lulled into massive unemployment and continual expectation that the necessities of life will be provided for them, without effort or participation on their part. Now that the largess must be curtailed, those youth have decided to simply take, rather than wait for things to be given. Looting, burning and rioting seem to be the order of the day.

With re-election in doubt for the Obama crowd, perhaps the end game in the War on Prosperity is aligned with the youth of Brittan. We have already seen the rise of flash mobs in some of our cities. We are witnessing the encroachment of liberty, ostensibly to protect us from the violence. In Philadelphia a nine o'clock curfew is in place. In San Francisco, access to communication has been suspended on the rail system. In Oakland curfews are being discussed. Flash mobs have turned larcenous in Chicago and Wisconsin.

Is it possible that our great community organizer has plans to use the vast conglomeration of fomenters in his various and sundry organizations like the SEIU, moveon.org, the AFLCIO, Code Pink and others to incite enough riots so he can declare martial law. Once declared either change his fortunes in the election by showing “leadership” or maintain power by scrubbing the elections altogether like Rudy Giuliani tried to do in the wake of 911? This writer's hope is that the answer is no. Yet he cannot help the feeling, nagging at the back of his mind, that as re-election hopes dim, and the Commander in Chief becomes ever more desperate to hold sway at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, just such a turn of events may come to pass. 

The writer wonders if all the weapons from Fast and Furious have been accounted for.

Ah the ravings of a lunatic mind.

Stand Up for America!

When I was a boy, there was a plaque on the wall of my school homeroom that said “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. There was also a big wooden paddle with holes drilled in it.

I am only fifty years old, so I am talking about the seventies here, not exactly ancient history. Forty years ago we were taught about civics, the US Constitution, and responsibility. Yes, I am talking about public school.

We were also taught math, science, and English. We were taught geography. I actually know in which part of the world Taiwan is located, and I can tell you what the three co-equal branches of government are and what their function is supposed to be. From the current wrangling, I don't think every member of congress could do as much.

As we watch Great Brittan burn, and read about the rise of criminal flash mobs in our cities here at home, I cannot help but wonder if forty years on increasing liberalism in our educational system have not brought us to the brink of this great nation's demise.

Our President and leaders in Congress apparently cannot even accomplish simple mathematics, such as 2.2 trillion minus 3.6 trillion leaves one with a negative number. I realize those numbers have a lot of zeros, but the principal is the same as two minus three.

While the President is busy criticizing Standard and Poor's for lowering our credit rating, something they warned they were going to do a year ago, and then again in April, and something they should have done long ago, the rest of the world is coming apart for the same mathematical failings.

From Ancient Greece, to Rome, to the Pilgrims, to the Soviet Union, society after society have tried various forms of socialism/communism only to fall under the crushing weight of abdicating the citizens responsibilities to care for themselves in favor of cradle to grave nanny state-ism.

When I was in school, I was intrigued with our founders belief in individual people's ability to govern themselves and to be responsible for their own fortunes, or lack thereof. Men like Washington, Jefferson, Paine, Henry, Madison, Monroe, and yes even Hamilton risked their lives and spent years devising a system of government which would insure that government would never get so powerful as to become tyrannical. They sought to limit the power of their government, to ensure that the states would be sovereign, and the role of the Federal Government would be only to provide for the common needs of the several states, under those state's direction. They knew and so stated that such a system of government would only work with an informed and responsible electorate, who were guided by spiritual principals. The most notable of which is do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

These ideals are completely lacking in the curriculum of our public schools today. The ideas of discipline and hard work are completely lacking due to decades of assault on the public school system by atheists and socialists who pervade higher education and the national teacher's unions.

The results are self-evident. We have leaders who are not even passively familiar with the meaning of the US Constitution, who cannot understand that debts need to be paid, and street gangs who feel justified in overwhelming stores to take whatever they feel like, and if someone gets seriously hurt in the process they could not care less.

We have a President who scoffs at the Constitution of the United States of America, an Attorney General who thinks voter intimidation is right and necessary, runaway governmental agencies bent on regulating business and private property rights out of existence, and a populace who thinks their federal legislature is completely ineffectual and corrupt.

As the world burns while our President plays golf and raises campaign funds, I cannot help but long for the wisdom of Jefferson, Madison, and Henry to invade our leadership. It is left to us, then, those of us who understand and remember what this country was supposed to be, to stand up. We must write, talk, shout and extol the virtues this country was founded upon.

We must come together in groups of twos, fives, and tens. We must decide if our federal system might be saved or if secession is necessary. It is up to those of us who still believe in individual rights AND responsibilities to come together and say if not now, when, if not me, who, if we don't care enough about the founding principals of our nation, who will.

We are the ones who must pass the message of freedom on to our youth in our homes and our neighborhoods. It is up to us!

Stand by your convictions and join me. United is the only way we will stand, for divided we shall surely fall!

Senator John Kerry Lobs Grenade at First Amendment in Ongoing War on Prosperity

On MSNBC yesterday, Senator John Kerry took aim at the First Amendment of the Constitution when he suggested that the media should censor the Republican Party and their members of the Tea Party.

“And I have to tell you, I say this to you politely. The media in America has a bigger responsibility than it’s exercising today. The media has got to begin to not give equal time or equal balance to an absolutely absurd notion just because somebody asserts it or simply because somebody says something which everybody knows is not factual.

“It doesn’t deserve the same credit as a legitimate idea about what you do. And the problem is everything is put into this tit-for-tat equal battle and America is losing any sense of what’s real, of who’s accountable, of who is not accountable, of who’s real, who isn’t, who’s serious, who isn’t?”

The problem for Mr. Kerry is that the public does know who is serious about debt reduction and who isn't.

In light of the fact that Standard & Poor's rating agency lowered America's credit rating from AAA to AA+ citing in part;

“The downgrade reflects our opinion that the fiscal consolidation plan that Congress and the Administration recently agreed to falls short of what, in our view, would be necessary to stabilize the government's medium-term debt dynamics.”

“The outlook on the long-term rating is negative. We could lower the long-term rating to 'AA' within the next two years if we see that less reduction in spending than agreed to, higher interest rates, or new fiscal pressures during the period result in a higher general government debt trajectory than we currently assume in our base case.”

It would seem that the Tea Party representatives were the ones making the logical case for a Balanced Budget Amendment, cutting spending in a real way and insuring those cuts take place by capping spending. It would seem in light of the results here that Mr. Kerry's party are the ones who are not living in the real world.

As the War on Prosperity being waged by the Democratic party becomes more and more vociferous, the American public is becoming increasingly aware of what is actually going on. The fact is that this country's economic problems, brought on by the Obama Administration's policies of attacking Prosperity, are becoming almost impossible to ignore. This has forced the generals on the Democratic side to try to reinforce their battalions in the Media by taking aim at freedom of speech.

The First Amendment of the Constitution states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

For a United States Senator to urge the press not to report a view held by a majority of the American public in blatant violation of the Constitution only shows that the opposition to the War on Prosperity is growing.

The public is aware that we have a real problem with government spending and regulation in this nation. Our national debt has now reached 100% of gross domestic product with this latest round of new borrowing. Americans realize that Spain's debt problems, which contributed to Thursday's stock market crash, are the result of Spain's debt ratio of 120% of that country's GDP. We are rapidly approaching an equal ratio of debt to GDP, and while those waging the war would like to have that much more of our children's money to spend in the US, the public knows it is unsustainable. The media knows it is unsustainable, and to continue to support the policies which exacerbate it is becoming ludicrous if not just plain silly.

Obama's War on Prosperity Continues

As the Vice President makes no objection to the accusation that the Tea Party are terrorists, the real terror is being foisted on the American public by the Administration's ongoing War on Prosperity. Aided by his obedient Democratic soldiers in the United States Senate, Big Union Labor Leaders, and the National Press, the Obama Administration pursues it's frontal assault on the nation's economy and the those who would lift it out of malaise.

Before the debt ceiling bill, which no one on either side of the aisle nor Wall Street likes, was even signed Tim Geithner was busy heaping another massive $600 billion of debt upon our unsuspecting children and grandchildren, further insuring their indentured servitude for generations to come.

Then Yesterday, another General in the War on Prosperity, Ray LaHood mounted a fresh assault on the American Farmer, by proposing a new requirement that anyone operating farm machinery, even on their own farm, must hold a Commercial Driver's License. What possible rationale can there be for that, other than to make it increasingly difficult for the family farm to eek out an existence while they do their best to provide the rest of us with sustenance, and to give the government a greater hold on the means of food production in our country?

The front lines of the War on Prosperity are many and varied. By edict issued from the Commander in Chief, all health insurers are now required to provide, free of charge, birth control and other reproductive services to all insured women. After the ObamaCare takeover of the entire health care system is complete, this edict will encompass all women. By requiring all insurers to now cover the co-pays for these services, Mr. Obama has increased the cost of health insurance for everyone, and made it just that much harder for any employer to hire additional employees.

The ObamaCare munition in the War on Prosperity has already taken its toll on tanning salons, some 3100 of whom have closed their doors resulting in the loss of 24,000 jobs. This due to a ten percent tax on tanning. The law continues to provide tremendous uncertainty for those who would like to hire, but find it impossible to compute the cost of doing so, and therefore do not.

Another front is lead by Big Labor, with heavy supporting fire from the National Labor Relations board. The NLRB is currently obstructing the hiring of thousands of manufacturing workers in South Carolina. At issue is the expansion of a Boeing Manufacturing plant in that state. Boeing wants to hire, workers want to work and the jobs are good high paying jobs, but the NLRB stands squarely in the way because of the workers right to choose against union membership in that state.

Meanwhile, the battalion lead by GE CEO Jeff Immelt, the Director of the administration's job council, has sent his corporation's medical unit to China, along with that unit's manufacturing jobs.

Leading the PR campaign in the War on Prosperity are the national press who either ignore the devastating effects this Administration's policies are having on our economy, or defend them.

On the science and technology front, NASA's space shuttle program has been brought to a halt, costing another nine to thirty thousand good jobs, and killing an unknowable quantity scientific and technological advances the program may have continued to produce.

The environmental army, meanwhile, pushes it's advance on the energy producers, preventing the mining of coal, the completion of pipelines, and the production of oil. This front, by far the largest against the unemployed is estimated to be preventing the creation of over a million jobs. From light bulbs, to low flow toilets, to washing machines, the EPA continues to lob grenades at manufacturers of every kind of good they can think of. It is estimated that their recent new CAFE standards requiring automobile manufacturers to produce cars averaging over 50 miles per gallon will cost another 200,000 jobs.

Why is this Administration waging the War on Prosperity? What they say is that “Millionaires, Billionaires, Private Jet Owners and Oil Companies should pay their fair share” of the tax burden. The fact that the top 10% of Income Tax payers already pay 70% of the Income Tax, and the bottom 47% pay no Income Tax makes no difference to them, because who pays the tax is not what they mean by “fair”. What they mean by fairness is sameness. In other words, everyone should have the same amount of goods and services. Unfortunately, the only way to achieve sameness is to lower everyone to the least common denominator. All socialist philosophy works that way in practice. The problem is that it doesn't work. It requires that the means of production be eventually transferred to the state. And all work be performed for the state, and that compensation be equal for everyone. That is what the War on Prosperity is designed to do. Rather than echo John F. Kennedy's proclamation that a rising tide lifts all boats, the Obama regime has decided to lower all boats to the bottom to achieve equality. Unfortunately we will be equally poor and disenfranchised. This philosophy fails to take human nature into account. Humans are by their nature competitive, and some will always rise above others. The difference between free market capitalism and socialism is that the latter requires force for the elite to rise to and maintain their power, while the former requires ingenuity.

No wonder those on the left see the Tea Party as terrorists. They ARE terrified. As more and more of the American public figure out what the left is up to, the left begins to lose their ability to further enslave them. Just as King George viewed Madison, Jefferson, Washington, and Paine as revolutionaries, so must the Washington elite view the Tea Party. The Tea Party wants the same thing that those early patriots did, freedom from tyranny!

A Sad Day for America

Well, Congress just voted your children's future down the drain. Aren't you happy? Not only did they vote your children's future prosperity away, but also their freedom. As they have for a century, again they have given away their constitutional power and concentrated it in the hands of a few so they can avoid the responsibility they were granted by their election to our House of Representatives.

This is truly a sad day for America. The great experiment is over. Apparently mankind is not capable of governing itself. We have, by our apathy, voted away our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We have traded it for American Idol, Earned Income Credit, and free condoms.

We have decided we need our Government to be our nanny, she can tell us what to eat, which light bulbs and toilets to buy, and how much of our labor we must devote to care for those who refuse to care for themselves.

I watched with disgust the debate on Harry Reid's debt ceiling bill in the House. I could not believe the self-interest displayed by those on the left side of the aisle. None of them cared a whit that our country is bankrupt, they only were concerned that they weren't getting enough money to spend, and they might not get political credit for raising the debt ceiling. They called it compromise. I was gratified when that bill failed, only to be dashed by today's passage of a bill which is much worse!

Webster defines insolvent as “unable to pay debts as they fall due in the usual course of business”. When we spend $300 billion dollars a month, and take in $200 billion dollars a month we ARE insolvent. The American government IS bankrupt NOW! When we point that out, and try to do something about it, they call us terrorists!

So what now? Our nation's credit rating is going to be downgraded because we are insolvent. Our interest rates are going to go up. The old people and the less fortunate that the Democrats claim to want to help are all going to be worse off now, as prices and unemployment rise.

There are no cuts in this bill. It is based on standard Washington baseline budgeting, meaning that spending INCREASES by 8% every year. So instead of adding 10 trillion dollars to the national debt over the next ten years, we are only going to add seven trillion...maybe. And we get tax increases, as the scoring was done assuming the Bush tax cuts would expire, giving us the largest tax increase in history!

American Idol is still on television, though, so I guess all is well.

God help us all!

President & US Senate Support Slavery of our Children!

That may sound like a provocative headline, and it is, but it is also the truth! Our current debt is $14.519 Trillion. That means my 12 year old daughter's share of that is currently $46,564.00. Add in the current unfunded liabilities of $114,751,918,000,000.00 and her share of the national debt plus unfunded liabilities for Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare is $414,583.72 or $1862.00 per month every month for THIRTY years. On top of that the US Senate and President Obama want to add an additional 2.4 Trillion dollars which, under the McConnell plan, have no spending cuts associated with it, and under the Gang (appropriate name for what they are trying to do) of Six plan nobody knows.

Assuming we stopped borrowing right now, and my daughter could get a job right out of high school making $40,000.00 per year, she would already owe her entire take home salary to the government. She did not vote for these debts. She did nothing to create them, yet there she is at twelve years old owing the Slave Owners in Washington nearly a half-million dollars. You owe that much too!

We are all rapidly becoming enduntured servants of the leviathan we call our government. It has long ago ceased to be a governemnt of the people, for the people and by the people. It has become instead a government of the career politician, for the career politician and his friends, and by the lobbyist and government dole recipient. Unfortunately soon there will be no producers left to feed the insatiable appetite of the gluttonous belly of the political beast in Washington DC.

So yes, the President and the US Senate, by refusing to support the cut, cap and balance plan which passed the House of Representatives last night, and offers a real chance to start to get a handle on our spending problem, are de-facto showing themselves to be in favor of enslaving our children and grandchildren now and long into the future.

It is time to stop the practice of making slaves out of ourselves and our children. It is time to stop NOW. We are the governors of this country, not the lazy, cowardly career politicians in DC. Let them know. Let them know that if they do not free your children from the yoke of bondage now, they will be sent home to labor under that very same yoke themselves. It is YOUR country, YOU can make a difference. You have until Saturday, and then it too late.

Stop the Senate from Handing a Blank Check to Obama!

Well, folks, I am sorry to report that the fix is in. The Senate, in back room dealing, appears to be prepared to hand President Obama a blank check to spend our children's as of yet unearned money any way he pleases, to the tune of an additional 2.5 TRILLION dollars.

I listened to John McCain yesterday on the Sean Hannity show, and he all but said as much! Mr. Hannity was asking repeatedly about cut, cap and balance, and McCain said he was going to fight for it, but then consistently argued for the McConnell plan. He barley gave lip service to cut, cap and balance, and got angry when Hannity pressed him about the McConnell plan. McCain said it was a last resort, but then continued over and over again to argue it's merits. Heaven help us!

In making my calls to Senate offices yesterday afternoon, my impression did not change. Republican staffers with whom I spoke, seemed to be hedging when I brought up the McConnell plan and my opposition to it. The Democrats staffers just gave me the “yeah, yeah I'll pass your message on” routine.

McCain told Hannity that his office had been flooded with calls from seniors who were frightened by the Obamascare campaign. The fact that the Administration could not stop social security checks from going out, even if they wanted to, because of the way the Social Security Administration's computers are programed, didn't get in McCain's way. Our only course has to be action!

If these Senators' offices are overwhelmed with calls from concerned citizens like you and me, we might have a slim chance of beginning to free our children from the slavery and tyranny being foisted upon them by our so-called representatives.

Given the fact that ICE is busily shutting down blogs and seizing domain names, I don't know how long we will have the opportunity to speak in opposition to this Administration's ongoing power grab and usurpation of the rights with which we were endowed by our creator!

I urge anyone who is interested in freedom, in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to call as many Senators as possible and voice strong opposition to Senator McConnell's plan to hand over a blank check to the President, so he can spend as many of our children's hard earned dollars as he chooses! Do it today! Do it now! Time is running out for our beloved nation!

Akaka, Daniel K. - (D - HI)

(202) 224-6361

Web Form: akaka.senate.gov/email-senator-akaka.cfm

Alexander, Lamar - (R - TN)

(202) 224-4944

Web Form: alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Email

Ayotte, Kelly - (R - NH)

(202) 224-3324

Web Form: ayotte.senate.gov/?p=contact

Barrasso, John - (R - WY)

(202) 224-6441

Web Form: barrasso.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactUs...

Baucus, Max - (D - MT)

(202) 224-2651

Web Form: baucus.senate.gov/contact/emailForm.cfm?subj=issue

Begich, Mark - (D - AK)

(202) 224-3004

Web Form: begich.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=EmailSenator

Bennet, Michael F. - (D - CO)

(202) 224-5852

Web Form: bennet.senate.gov/contact/

Bingaman, Jeff - (D - NM)

(202) 224-5521

Web Form: bingaman.senate.gov/contact/

Blumenthal, Richard - (D - CT)

(202) 224-2823

Web Form: blumenthal.senate.gov/contact/

Blunt, Roy - (R - MO)

(202) 224-5721

Web Form: blunt.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact

Boozman, John - (R - AR)

(202) 224-4843

Web Form: boozman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/e-mail-me

Boxer, Barbara - (D - CA)

(202) 224-3553

Web Form: boxer.senate.gov/en/contact/

Brown, Scott P. - (R - MA)

(202) 224-4543

Web Form: scottbrown.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/emailscottbrown

Brown, Sherrod - (D - OH)

(202) 224-2315

Web Form: brown.senate.gov/contact/

Burr, Richard - (R - NC)

(202) 224-3154

Web Form: burr.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Conta...

Cantwell, Maria - (D - WA)

(202) 224-3441

Web Form: cantwell.senate.gov/contact/

Cardin, Benjamin L. - (D - MD)

(202) 224-4524

Web Form: cardin.senate.gov/contact/

Carper, Thomas R. - (D - DE)

(202) 224-2441

Web Form: carper.senate.gov/contact/

Casey, Robert P., Jr. - (D - PA)

(202) 224-6324

Web Form: casey.senate.gov/contact/

Chambliss, Saxby - (R - GA)

(202) 224-3521

Web Form: chambliss.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Email

Coats, Daniel - (R - IN)

(202) 224-5623

Web Form: coats.senate.gov/contact/

Coburn, Tom - (R - OK)

(202) 224-5754

Web Form: coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contactsenatorcoburn?p...

Cochran, Thad - (R - MS)

(202) 224-5054

Web Form: cochran.senate.gov/email.html

Collins, Susan M. - (R - ME)

(202) 224-2523

Web Form: collins.senate.gov/public/continue.cfm?FuseAction=Contact...

Conrad, Kent - (D - ND)

(202) 224-2043

Web Form: conrad.senate.gov/contact/webform.cfm

Coons, Christopher A. - (D - DE)

(202) 224-5042

Web Form: coons.senate.gov/contact/

Corker, Bob - (R - TN)

(202) 224-3344

Web Form: corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=ContactMe

Cornyn, John - (R - TX)

(202) 224-2934

Web Form: cornyn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=ContactForm

Crapo, Mike - (R - ID)

(202) 224-6142

Web Form: crapo.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

DeMint, Jim - (R - SC)

(202) 224-6121

Web Form: demint.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=ContactInformation

Durbin, Richard J. - (D - IL)

(202) 224-2152

Web Form: durbin.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact

Enzi, Michael B. - (R - WY)

(202) 224-3424

Web Form: enzi.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact?p=e-mail-senator...

Feinstein, Dianne - (D - CA)

(202) 224-3841

Web Form: feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactU...

Franken, Al - (D - MN)

(202) 224-5641

Web Form: franken.senate.gov/?p=contact

Gillibrand, Kirsten E. - (D - NY)

(202) 224-4451

Web Form: gillibrand.senate.gov/contact/

Graham, Lindsey - (R - SC)

(202) 224-5972

Web Form: lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Em...

Grassley, Chuck - (R - IA)

(202) 224-3744

Web Form: grassley.senate.gov/contact.cfm

Hagan, Kay R. - (D - NC)

(202) 224-6342

Web Form: hagan.senate.gov/?p=contact

Harkin, Tom - (D - IA)

(202) 224-3254

Web Form: harkin.senate.gov/contact.cfm

Hatch, Orrin G. - (R - UT)

(202) 224-5251

Web Form: hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact?p=Email-Orrin

Heller, Dean - (R - NV)

(202) 224-6244

Web Form: heller.senate.gov/contact_form.cfm

Hoeven, John - (R - ND)

(202) 224-2551

Web Form: hoeven.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/email-the-senator

Hutchison, Kay Bailey - (R - TX)

(202) 224-5922

Web Form: hutchison.senate.gov/?p=email_kay

Inhofe, James M. - (R - OK)

(202) 224-4721

Web Form: inhofe.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Con...

Inouye, Daniel K. - (D - HI)

(202) 224-3934

Web Form: inouye.senate.gov/Contact/ContactDKI.cfm

Isakson, Johnny - (R - GA)

(202) 224-3643

Web Form: isakson.senate.gov/contact.cfm

Johanns, Mike - (R - NE)

(202) 224-4224

Web Form: johanns.senate.gov/public/?p=ContactSenatorJohanns

Johnson, Ron - (R - WI)

(202) 224-5323

Web Form: ronjohnson.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact

Johnson, Tim - (D - SD)

(202) 224-5842

Web Form: johnson.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Contact

Kerry, John F. - (D - MA)

(202) 224-2742

Web Form: kerry.senate.gov/contact/

Kirk, Mark - (R - IL)

(202) 224-2854

Web Form: kirk.senate.gov/?p=contact

Klobuchar, Amy - (D - MN)

(202) 224-3244

Web Form: klobuchar.senate.gov/emailamy.cfm

Kohl, Herb - (D - WI)

(202) 224-5653

Web Form: kohl.senate.gov/contact.cfm

Kyl, Jon - (R - AZ)

(202) 224-4521

Web Form: kyl.senate.gov/contact.cfm

Landrieu, Mary L. - (D - LA)

(202) 224-5824

Web Form: landrieu.senate.gov/about/contact.cfm

Lautenberg, Frank R. - (D - NJ)

(202) 224-3224

Web Form: lautenberg.senate.gov/contact/routing.cfm

Leahy, Patrick J. - (D - VT)

(202) 224-4242

Web Form: leahy.senate.gov/contact/

Lee, Mike - (R - UT)

(202) 224-5444

Web Form: lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact

Levin, Carl - (D - MI)

(202) 224-6221

Web Form: levin.senate.gov/contact/

Lieberman, Joseph I. - (ID - CT)

(202) 224-4041

Web Form: lieberman.senate.gov/index.cfm/contact/email-me-about-an-...

Lugar, Richard G. - (R - IN)

(202) 224-4814

Web Form: lugar.senate.gov/contact/

Manchin, Joe, III - (D - WV)

303 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510

(202) 224-3954

Web Form: manchin.senate.gov/contact_form.cfm

McCain, John - (R - AZ)

(202) 224-2235

Web Form: mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Con...

McCaskill, Claire - (D - MO)

(202) 224-6154

Web Form: mccaskill.senate.gov/?p=contact

McConnell, Mitch - (R - KY)

(202) 224-2541

Web Form: www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=contact

Menendez, Robert - (D - NJ)

(202) 224-4744

Web Form: menendez.senate.gov/contact/

Merkley, Jeff - (D - OR)

(202) 224-3753

Web Form: merkley.senate.gov/contact/

Mikulski, Barbara A. - (D - MD)

(202) 224-4654

Web Form: mikulski.senate.gov/contact/

Moran, Jerry - (R - KS)

(202) 224-6521

Web Form: moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=e-mail-jerry

Murkowski, Lisa - (R - AK)

(202) 224-6665

Web Form: murkowski.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Contact

Murray, Patty - (D - WA)

(202) 224-2621

Web Form: murray.senate.gov/email/index.cfm

Nelson, Ben - (D - NE)

(202) 224-6551

Web Form: bennelson.senate.gov/contact-me.cfm

Nelson, Bill - (D - FL)

(202) 224-5274

Web Form: billnelson.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm

Paul, Rand - (R - KY)

(202) 224-4343

Web Form: paul.senate.gov/?p=contact

Portman, Rob - (R - OH)

(202) 224-3353

Web Form: portman.senate.gov/contact_form.cfm

Pryor, Mark L. - (D - AR)

(202) 224-2353

Web Form: pryor.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=ContactMe

Reed, Jack - (D - RI)

(202) 224-4642

Web Form: reed.senate.gov/contact/contact-share.cfm

Reid, Harry - (D - NV)

(202) 224-3542

Web Form: reid.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm

Risch, James E. - (R - ID)

(202) 224-2752

Web Form: risch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Email

Roberts, Pat - (R - KS)

(202) 224-4774

Web Form: www.roberts.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=EmailPat

Rockefeller, John D., IV - (D - WV)

(202) 224-6472

Web Form: rockefeller.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

Rubio, Marco - (R - FL)

(202) 224-3041

Web Form: rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact

Sanders, Bernard - (I - VT)

(202) 224-5141

Web Form: sanders.senate.gov/contact/

Schumer, Charles E. - (D - NY)

(202) 224-6542

Web Form: schumer.senate.gov/Contact/contact_chuck.cfm

Sessions, Jeff - (R - AL)

(202) 224-4124

Web Form: sessions.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Constitue...

Shaheen, Jeanne - (D - NH)

(202) 224-2841

Web Form: shaheen.senate.gov/contact/

Shelby, Richard C. - (R - AL)

(202) 224-5744

Web Form: shelby.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/emailsenatorshelby

Snowe, Olympia J. - (R - ME)

(202) 224-5344

Web Form: snowe.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact?p=email

Stabenow, Debbie - (D - MI)

(202) 224-4822

Web Form: stabenow.senate.gov/?p=contact

Tester, Jon - (D - MT)

(202) 224-2644

Web Form: tester.senate.gov/Contact/index.cfm

Thune, John - (R - SD)

(202) 224-2321

Web Form: thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact

Toomey, Patrick J. - (R - PA)

(202) 224-4254

Web Form: toomey.senate.gov/?p=contact

Udall, Mark - (D - CO)

(202) 224-5941

Web Form: markudall.senate.gov/?p=contact

Udall, Tom - (D - NM)

(202) 224-6621

Web Form: tomudall.senate.gov/?p=contact

Vitter, David - (R - LA)

(202) 224-4623

Web Form: vitter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Con...

Warner, Mark R. - (D - VA)

(202) 224-2023

Web Form: warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Contact

Webb, Jim - (D - VA)

(202) 224-4024

Web Form: webb.senate.gov/contact.cfm

Whitehouse, Sheldon - (D - RI)

(202) 224-2921

Web Form: whitehouse.senate.gov/contact/

Wicker, Roger F. - (R - MS)

(202) 224-6253

Web Form: wicker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.EMa...

Wyden, Ron - (D - OR)

(202) 224-5244

Web Form: wyden.senate.gov/contact/

Patrick Henry Revisited

On March 22, 1765 the British Parliament passed a law they will forever regret. It required the colonies in America to purchase paper for all legal documents from England, thereby subjecting them to a tax. This tax extended even to playing cards.

It was not the amount of the tax to which some independent minded colonists objected, but the principal of the tax and its precedent. For the first time, a tax was imposed on the colonists to raise revenue rather than to regulate commerce. This law was the catalyst that eventually led to the American Revolution.

Let us give that some thought in the light of our current situation. The crux of the problem was that the tax was passed over the objection of the people upon whom it was imposed. They had no representation in the British parliament, and when they passed some resolutions in the Virginia legislature which opposed the new tax, the British governor of Virginia disbanded the House of Burgesses (the Virginia Legislature).

It has been said that "he who forgets is doomed to repeat". Our current debt limit crisis is one made of a similar situation. While in theory, we have representation in the body that is itching to again raise taxes, the states house, the US Senate, our representatives there seem prepared to completely ignore the wishes of the majority of the people they presume to represent. In fact, they seem willing to abdicate their responsibility all together, and hand a blank check over to our Spender in Chief in the White House. An act of this horrendous irresponsibility would be akin to King George and his minions disbanding the Virginia House of Burgesses!

The tyranny, however, is more subtle in our situation. The taxes to be imposed, verily already imposed, are taxes upon those whom have ABSOLUTELY no representation to protect themselves from the slavery being foisted upon them, save the representation WE can provide. They have yet to be born, or reach the age of consent. They are our children and grandchildren.

Set aside for a moment, the legislation and regulation which has already been shoved down our collective throats by either last minute, back room negotiations and maneuvering, as is the case with Obamacare, or the mountains of regulation we are forced to abide by without our consent; imposed on us be Executive Edict, or edict of his Czars. Let us turn our attention to the fact that our children and grandchildren already face a mountain of debt they did not create, nor vote for, and whose obligations will extract an ever larger and larger share of the fruits of their labor. If this is not the definition of Tyranny, I don't know what is. We are in effect selling our children into slavery. And for what? So our Dictator in Chief, and his agreeable bobble heads in the Senate can enrich their friends and supporters, and try to cement themselves in the seats of power which insures the slavery will continue? Hundreds of billions to Jeff Immelt at GE, Hundreds of millions to the Labor Unions, and millions and millions more to the lapdog media!

What is the President's response. Blatant outright lies and fantasies that 80% of the public agrees with him, and that he has no responsibility to end the tyranny. I, for one, must agree with Patrick Henry, "I know not what course others may take, but as for me, and my children, give us Liberty....Or give us death!"

Serious Blog Alert! Our Government's Purse is Full Enough!

Our government does not tax too little, it spends too much.

In response to a “call congress” campaign to voice objection to a debt limit increase without a balanced budget amendment, real significant cuts in spending, and no tax increases, I received several standard “tax the evil rich” responses. In one response, a friend of mine stated that per capita GDP has increased throughout the economic meltdown. While it is true that GDP increased in 2007 and 2008, all be it at a very slow pace, GDP actually dropped in 2009 according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. That being said, this “tax the rich” philosophy beg the questions how much is enough, and who is it that you consider rich? Leaving aside the fact that if you confiscated the ENTIRE wealth of the fifty richest people in the US (many of whom are democrats by the way i.e. Gates, Buffett, Ellison, Bloomberg, Page, Brin, Soros, Perelman, etc.), you get about 650 billion dollars (figures from Forbes Magazine). That is not even enough to make up half the deficit in this year's budget.

The current top rate for wage earners is 35% which cuts in at $379,150.00 of taxable income. My dear friend states that this is the lowest rates have been since shortly after the great depression. The fact is, however, that in 1992, the top rate was 31%. Be that as it may, let's explore this idea of taxing the rich some more. In 1992, the top 20% of wage earners paid 65% of the income tax. In 2001, when the top rate was 39.5% the top 10% of wage earners paid 64% of the income tax, and in 2008 when the top rate was 35%, the top 10% of wage earners paid 70% of the tax. The threshold for this 10% is an adjusted gross income of $113,799.00 per year. That is not what I would call excessively rich. The interesting thing about this is that the bottom 50% pays 3% of the tax, meaning that the other 40% of taxpayers with adjusted gross income between $33,048.00 and $113,798.00 pay 27% of the total income tax collected by the IRS. The percentage of tax paid by the bottom 50% has been steadily DECREASING since 2001. Federal Revenues have fluctuated from 2.0 trillion to 2.56 trillion from 2005 through 2010, peaking at 2.56 trillion in 2007, and dropping to 2.16 trillion in 2010. Spending, however, has steadily increased from 2.4 trillion/year in 2005 to 3.8 trillion/year estimated in 2011. The question we REALLY need to be asking, is where has that extra TRILLION dollars per year since 2008 gone? In 2009, 2010, and projected for 2011, we have spent an EXTRA trillion dollars more per year that we did in all the years gone before. Even under George Bush, who spent money like a drunken sailor, mostly on war toys, we weren't spending at anywhere close to the rate we are now. Were children starving in 2008? Were old people going without food, clothing and housing in 2008? I don't remember that. I don't remember autistic children starving in the street in 2008, do you?

So where did the money go? 28 billion dollars of it went to GE for high speed rail no one will ride. 0.5 billion for cash for clunkers, 10.6 billion for first time home buyers, 9.2 billion for child tax credits (one reason the bottom 50% pay a smaller share of the tax), 186 billion for grants to states to fund pensions, Medicaid and unemployment, 82 billion to the Department of Education and National Science Foundation (shrimp on treadmills program), 25 Billion to the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency, the list goes on and on. Of the 2.4 million jobs the administration has claimed to have “saved or created” each job cost $278,000.00 in stimulus money to create or save. That is a fairly expensive way to create and save jobs, which brings me to corporate taxation.

The current corporate tax rate is 35%. When a corporation is creating a budget for coming years, one thing it must take into account is its tax liability. Along with the costs of labor, raw materials, fixed operating costs and the like, they also estimate their tax liability. When a corporation decides how much to charge for its product or service, it must take its tax liability into account. If taxes go up, the price of the good or service goes up accordingly. That means the only thing increasing corporate tax rates, or capital gains rates for that matter, does is pass that tax on to the consumer. When tax rates are unreasonably high in comparison to rates in another state or another country, it provides an incentive for a corporation to move to another state or country. Please take note of the mass exodus of companies from New York, Michigan and California and the gain in Texas. We currently have the second highest corporate tax rate in the world, which explains why GE, our President's favorite corporation, moved much of its operations offshore, and paid NO corporate tax in 2010.

With all that said, it becomes clear that we do not tax too little, we spend too much. The only result we will get from raising top tax rates, is that we will shift an even higher burden on to those carrying 70% of the weight now, and diminish economic activity, pushing corporations overseas, and putting increasing strain on an overwhelmingly thin job market. With 9.1% unemployment, and REAL unemployment (including those who have given up looking) over 15%, the last thing that makes sense from an economic point of view is increase the burden on those who are carrying the bulk of the weight now. Anyone who has a sound background in market economics will say the same thing.

Finally, President Obama attacked private jet owners, saying they should lose the tax break that his administration gave them early in his term. This “break” allows a company to depreciate the cost of an airplane, or improvements to an airplane, over a period of five years instead of seven. For those of you without a background in accounting, depreciation is expensing a purchase over a period of time. If a company leases a car, for example, the monthly lease payment is an expense, and is subtracted from the company's income before tax is calculated on that income. If the company purchased the car instead of leasing it, the price of the car, minus it's expected value after seven years, has to be divided by the number of years (seven in this case) and 1/7th of that value is expensed from each year's income before tax is calculated. The only thing changing the length of depreciation for an airplane does is make the company either less likely to buy or refurbish an airplane, or extend the period of time in between such purchases. The reason the depreciation period was shortened in the first place, was to save airplane manufacturing jobs by encouraging companies to trade their planes in faster. Now we want to slow down the turnover of airplanes and put those jobs in jeopardy?

There is no clearer example of this kind of thinking as when George Herbert Walker Bush went along with the luxury tax in 1990. The reasoning was the same. It went like this; “When people are hurting, and need jobs, why shouldn't the rich pay a little more. They are buying yachts and other luxury items, like diamond rings, and we ought to put an extra tax on those items.” Against his better judgment Bush 41 went along with congress on that one. The actual effect though, as one might guess, is that “rich” people quit buying yachts, or bought them offshore. The net effect was that revenues went down, and 200,000 people who worked in the boat building industry lost their jobs. Ultimately it cost Bush the 1992 election.

If you still think “tax the rich” is a good idea, I would encourage you to read anything by Allan Meltzer, Professor of Economics at CMU, Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize winner in Economic Science and Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago, or Ayn Rand for that matter. Rather than take money from the folks in this country who work hard, create business, and create employment for the rest of us just so we can give it to other folks to see what happens when a shrimp gets some exercise, we ought to stop the excessive spending. We should fix our long term problem of unfunded liabilities for Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security in a way that protects our seniors, and insures our safety net exists long into the future. That way we can let business get back to work doing what they do best, which is grow our economy!