We all agree.
Everyone thinks that the government’s primary responsibility is to help us. Well, at least some of us.
The problem is that we don’t agree on who the government should help. Some say help those who need help. That’s just silly.
It’s the upstanding parasitic plutocrats who will create a few more jobs in Canada, France or Brazil when they use your gift from the federal storehouse to acquire their next private jet. Mubarak set a new standard for them with nine of these upper class necessities, these ultimate penile substitutes.
The Enemy?
If your career choice is being a moonshiner, growing marijuana or holding up Seven-Elevens, government is your enemy. Otherwise, it shouldn’t be.
People are going around shouting that the government is your enemy. Listen carefully. They aren’t saying just that the government has done or is doing something to harm them – beyond requiring them to pay taxes, of course. They are saying that the very concept of government is your enemy.
Perhaps when they grow up they will appreciate the words of Oliver Wendell Holmes, “Taxes are the price we pay for civilization.” Perhaps not. Many demonstrate an apparently unbridgeable gap they must conquer to comprehend civilization.
“A society is judged by how it treats the least among them.” That rule has been attributed to Gandhi, Churchill, Truman and many others. Whomever, it is the very basis of civilization. Although, archeological evidence shows that our “barbaric” Cro-Magnon antecedents went to great lengths to care for members of their group needing assistance. It would seem that too many of our contemporaries have regressed a few score millennia.
Confucius, 孔夫子 K’ung Fu Tzu, is credited with one that is complimentary to it, “In a country well governed poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed wealth is something to be ashamed of.” According to the old sage, the poor in this country have no reason to hide their faces.
These political Neanderthals, these libertarians, these juvenile acolytes, or adulators, of the late comedian Ayn Rand are profoundly anti-civilization.
If you are of the persuasion that the United States is, or should be, a civilized nation, you must also write them off as anti-American, despite their propensity for wrapping themselves in the flag. Also, egocentric political ideologies that object to helping those in need are in contradiction to Christianity and other religions. Caring for those in need is, simply, the litmus test for determining whether one is truly civilized, truly a patriot and truly religious.
Most of these people are unaware of how anti-civilization, anti-American, anti-Christian they are. From either intellectual laziness or incapacity, they have partaken of the political pablum fed to them by those who are full, knowing members of those categories. They are simply fools and tools. Some of the true villains are those I address next.
The Smartest Man On Wall Street? In Washington? Anywhere?
The geniuses pictured above all played major, definitive roles in bringing about the worldwide economic meltdown that we continue to enjoy. Did you remember to send them thank you cards?
Some fight under the banner of the Democratic Party. Some fight under the banner of the Republican Party. Actually, they are on the same side. They all fight the class war against us.
Do these parasites really believe what they infect the world with? It’s difficult to know. They do formulate the themes of the propaganda. We must remember, it’s not that uncommon for people who create and purvey lies to be taken in by their own handiwork.
They agree on all major policies. They all want big business to be unfettered. Their “Golden Age” is sometimes called the Era of the Robber Barons.” They have modified their image since the turn of the last century but they are direct descendants of those that hired the Pinkerton National Detective Agency to murder people who wanted enough to feed their families and educate their children for the better life they dreamed of for them.
The Newest Wonder Boy
Now the media have a new darling. Once again we are being told how this backwoods bozo is the master of the national budget.
Of course they leave out a few details. They use the journalistic equivalent of PhotoShop to turn Miss Piggy into Helen of Troy.
Did they tell you that he received over half a million dollars from the insurance industry? Did they tell you that ranks him above all other US Representatives from Wisconsin. It also ranks him above both of that state’s Senators.
Forget that he’s a prostitute. Capitol Hill is teeming with them. My initial thoughts about him brought to mind the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. It’s hard to explain why. The Scarecrow was aware he had no brain. He wanted a brain.
They have almost nothing in common. And besides, the Scarecrow was too good of a dancer to end up on a reality show. This pitiful wannabe is likely to follow the career path of Tom Delay.
The Congressional Budget Office is a nonpartisan entity of Congress. It is responsible for providing all members their analyses of bills having an economic impact. In fact, it is generally acknowledged to lean just a bit to the right.
The CBO says that Ryan’s budget will cost a minimum of 700,000 jobs. That’s no big deal because those are jobs of government employees and those of suppliers to the government.
Another party that frequently weighs in is the Republican Study Group. It is a group of self-styled financial experts from among the Republican members of the House. They announced that the loss of those 700,000 jobs was a positive development. They say that since most of those losing their jobs are highly skilled and college graduates, putting them into the job market will further depress wages. You see, this group is not too smart. They often make such public pronouncements, that tell us what their real intentions are.
Exactly what is Mr. Ryan promising from his magnum opus? He tells us it will save Medicare. Presently, Medicare has a 20% co-pay. I, as many others, cover that with a private ‘medigap’ plan. Adding in monthly premiums, the average senior will pay as much as 22-25% of his or her medical costs. Ryan’s plan is estimated by the CBO to cost seniors at least 68% once it is phased in.
This means that most seniors will do without needed care or lean on the younger members of their family. Also, the procedure will be drastically changed. He proposes giving each senior a $15,000 voucher with which to purchase an alternative to Medicare coverage. Anyone pricing such individual plans will either laugh or cry uncontrollably.
While Mr. Ryan is generous enough to index that $15,000 for inflation, he uses the index for an almost overall inflation rate that comes in around 2%. Medical cost inflation runs from 2.9% up into the double digits. Another factor is that these plans will be purchased annually. That means that each year the rate will be further increased by the factor of age.
Not only is that amount completely unrealistic, it requires, as he puts it, ever-aging seniors to negotiate coverage details each year. They must do this with an industry famous for its perfidy; famous for its ability to increase the complexity of its products beyond outsiders’ comprehension – always to their advantage.
There are other features of his budget plan that target seniors, in addition to those aimed at children, the poor, the middle class, college students and their families, hell, everyone not in the economic top 10%.
Well, all those spending cuts will reduce our deficit. Ooops. Actually, the deficit will increase for the first 10-12 years. The budget might possibly be balanced in 70 years. I can’t wait. Seriously, I can’t wait.
With all of those cuts, why will it take his plan so long to reach its putative goal? You must remember some items, defense, for instance, will increase.
The cuts are described as modest at $4.3 trillion. I bet you thought to yourself, “Myself, that’s a bunch of cutting.” Don’t forget with whom you are dealing. The plan calls for $4.2 trillion in tax cuts. Oh. That explains a lot.
The nominal corporate tax rate, at 35% is second only to Japan. Mr. Ryan wants to reduce that to 25%. Instead of just swallowing that load, let’s take a slightly closer look at corporate taxes.
That 35% in the nominal rate. That means the law says that is the rate. Reading deeper into the tax code will bring to light a forest of deductions, exemptions, subsidies and other goodies. The ‘real’ rate then seems to become about 17%. That puts the US corporate tax rate at a much more competitive level. That puts it well into the lower half of developed nations.
Look at the chart. It would show a lower percentage but it only covers 1950-2003.
But we can’t stop at 17%. When 68% of corporations pay no tax (think General Electric’s nearly $15 billion untaxed), it lowers the effective rate even further. A quick calculation puts the effective rate at less than 5.5%.
If corporations are still moving jobs, capital and profits overseas at 5.5%, I’m guessing that lowering the nominal rate to 25% will not eliminate the deficit.
Those treating the government as their enemy may be on to something. Their aim should be slightly adjusted, however. It’s their own little darlings; their own ideological “friends” that are the enemy. It is the Paul Ryans who we and the government need protection from.
Mr. Ryan named his little plan The Path to Prosperity. He failed to say whose prosperity. I don’t think he liked the stories of Robin Hood. He seems to have identified with the Sheriff and King John. Somehow, rob from the poor and give to the rich just doesn’t have the same ring to it – at least not to me.
But, what do I know? After all, he is the media’s newest fair-haired Wunderkind*.
*German: Child Prodigy
.
.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/19/business/19markets.html?_r=1&ref=us “The United States has long had a sterling credit report from ratings agencies because of the global preference for the dollar. But the latest deficit gridlock in Washington may have taken some of the luster off the reputation of the world’s largest economy and its currency. On Monday, the ratings firm Standard & Poor’s lowered its outlook on the United States rating to negative. Although the agency did not actually lower its highest AAA rating on the country’s debt, it was the first time since the S.& P. started assigning outlooks in 1989 that the country was given an… Read more »
True, it isn’t working and S&P’s action is indicative of that, maybe. S&P is not just an objective observer. They and the other rating firms took a great deal of criticism for caving to the banks when rating them. They knew about some of the problems but were willing to ignore them to keep the business. The system is designed for corruption. The ratings firms’ income comes from the people they are rating, both banks and non-banking corporations. Is ‘getting back’ the reason for their announcement? It’s unlikely but it may have made them less reticent to go public. There… Read more »
I seemed to be aware about this already, but still there was clearly several helpful bits which finalized the image for me personally, many thanks!
I obviously must think a lot more in that direction and see things i can do regarding this.