Stop Pulling the Wagon

LOOK FAMILIAR

PLEASE NOTE: The following is not intended to discredit the untold thousands of Public Service Employees who go to work everyday to keep the lights on, the streets safe, our children educated, Social Security checks and services ongoing and so many other essential public services needed by all of us.  This is about corrupted officials who have maintained some public agencies and departments long past their useful life and/or used their positions to enrich themselves at the taxpayers expense.

My Hero, Elon Musk, and the DOGE Crew are going where no one has dared go before and they are finding in government what too many of us have done on a smaller scale.  Overflowing Agencies and Departments, or in our case Garages and Storage Units, filled with the oft forgotten, frequently broken debris of yesteryear that for some reason we never get around to discarding or disposing of and instead pay a price to maintain year after year.  Too many Government Agencies, Departments and programs are like that.

Here is an anonymous story which tells the sad tale of how government too often works:

Once upon a time the government had a vast scrap yard in the middle of a desert.  Congress said, “Someone may steal from it at night”.  So they created a night watchman position and hired a person for the job.  Then Congress said, “how does the watchman do his job without instruction?”

So they created a planning department and hired two people.  One person to write the instructions, and one person to do time studies.  Then Congress said, “How will we know the night watchman is doing the tasks correctly?”  So they created a Quality Control department and hired two people.  One was to do the studies and one was to write the reports.

Then Congress said, “how are these people going to get paid?”  So they created two positions: a time keeper and a payroll officer, then hired two people.  Then Congress said, “Who will be accountable for all of these people?”  So they created an administrative section and hired three people, an Administrative Officer, Assistant Administrative Officer, and a Legal Secretary.

Then Congress said, “We have had this command in operation for one year and we are $918,000 over budget, we must cut back.”

So they laid off the night watchman. (but kept the department and all other spending intact indefinitely)

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Another example taken from an article I wrote back in 2018 titled STORAGE WARS AND THE GOVERNMENT uses as an example the United States Department of Energy is excerpted below:

“Our government is filled with departments and agencies on steroids which have metasticized past their original intent and charter, have budgets in the Billions and employees in the tens of thousands.

There are dozens of excellent examples of Government Departments and Agencies that began life as a well intended, “We’ve got to do something” pregnant thought in the mind of a bureaucrat. 

One good example of how government programs become bloated, employee heavy, overgrown, self sustaining, ineffective, unnecessary rat holes for tax dollars can be seen in the U.S. Department of Energy. 

Created in 1977 it was originally chartered to make the U.S. independent from the need for foreign oil.  What it has become is a Thirty Two Billion Dollar a year, Ten Thousand plus employee boondoggle. 

What was really needed was an examination of government policies and regulations that was choking the life out of energy producers. 

Forty years and about a Trillion Dollars later the Department of Energy never met its original goal. 

We are now trembling on the verge of becoming energy independent, not because of the Department of Energy but by getting government out of the way of private market energy producers.

Are we hearing any plans to shut down, or downsize of the Department of Energy?  No!”

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Unfortunately the DOGE group are also finding waste and corruption beyond just run-a-way departments on steroids that waste our tax dollars.  Government Employees and Politicians that have “salaries” in the hundred thousand’s of dollars per year but in a few short years are multi-millionaires.  “Lucky guesses on investments/insider trading?” – “Finders Fees/kickbacks” on “paid out government grants to domestic or foreign recipients?”  “Money trees in their back yards?”  “Hit the lottery?”

I find it kind of humorous that those who are trying to stop the DOGE group are putting themselves in a position defending Government Waste, Fraud, Abuse and outright Theft of Taxpayers Dollars.

Something to think about,

Bob Bandy – February 2025

PACIFIC PALISADES TODAY

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NEVER LET A GOOD CRISIS GO TO WASTE

RAHM EMANUEL from a quote by Saul Alinsky

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Following the aftermath of the terrible Southern California fires in PACIFIC PALISADES, ALTADENA, MALIBU etc., President Trump went to Southern California to meet with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and a group of City and County Administrators and other Leaders on planning for recovery of the fire stricken areas with an emphasis on rebuilding the some 15,000 or so homes that were destroyed.  President Trump was pushing for an expedited process of building permits so those who lost their homes could begin immediate reconstruction funded in large part by Billions of  Dollars in Federal Disaster Relief Money. 

Unsaid, but my impression was that the President was thinking that John Q. and Mary J. Citizen had a house lost in the fire and the City/County should “give” John Q. and Mary J. a new piece of paper authorizing them to rebuild what they lost in the fire.  My further impression was that, if my television resolution were a little better, I would have been able to see the looks of opportunity in the faces of these “Public Servants” as they envisioned the Billions of Federal Taxpayer Dollars being filtered through their “hands” so they could “harvest” a share of this money in Permit Fees, Impact Fees, Environmental Fees, Mitigation Fees, School  Fees, Drainage Fees, increased Property Taxes, etc., etc., ad nauseum.  

In plain Taxpayer terms, John Q. and Mary J. will be paying more,  in taxes and, if they have a mortgage, probably much more for a home like the one they had before the fire.  However, the City and County of Los Angeles will reap a great harvest in fees and increased property taxes.

Hard numbers are difficult to come by when it comes to Permit Fees (if you do an internet search have a lunch and calculator handy) but “new” residential construction in California begin with a paperwork fee of $5,000 to $7,000 and by the time you are shovel ready to build the total cost is in the $100,000 (or more) range just for the completed permit to let you build.  I have been told by knowledgeable sources that  the above number is even more in many areas.  Keep in mind that these permit fees are added to the “value” of the home for market and tax purposes and you will in fact be paying property taxes on the permit fees “forever”.  And you were wondering why housing in California is so expensive?

Couple the above with the fact that if any of these homeowners have lived for many years in their homes they were covered by California Proposition 13 which restricted Property Value Tax Increases to 1% per year if they maintained their property as it was when they bought it and the “State”/”County”/”Authorities” could not raise your tax rates just because home values have increased over the years.  To give you an example I will use someone whom I know well.  To protect his identity I will just call him “Bob”.  Bob bought his average residential 1,500 square foot home some thirty years ago for $110,000.  With Proposition 13 in place the County has increased the Property Tax Valuation of the property by 1% (accrual) a year and the County now values the Property at $174,000 for Tax Purposes.  If my friend, “Bob”, had done a major remodel or added on a room etc. it would have triggered a County Revaluation to current market value, lets say $440,000 and he would be paying property  taxes on the increased value.  If “Bob” sells his home the new buyer will pay taxes on the current market value.  If “Bob’s” house burns down and the Insurance Company rebuilds it then that triggers a new tax basis and the “County Revenuers” win again.  Similarly, folks in these fire ravaged areas, if they have lived there for a number of years, were being protected from property tax increases by Proposition 13.  Rebuilding now they lose that benefit and their tax rates will increase to current market values.

Soooooooo………..  You can see why the City, County and State can see the opportunity presented by the terrible losses from the fires as both a challenge and and opportunity.  A bonanza in Permits and Fees and as a bonus the increased Property Tax Base on the increase in value of the “New” Homes.  “NEVER LET A GOOD CRISIS GO TO WASTE”.

For another view of life in California living I am including below a link to an article I wrote some six years ago titled: 

CALIFORNIA’S “END AROUND” PROPERTY TAX HIKE

Still available at: https://www.stoppullingthewagon.com/?s=California%27s+end+around+property+tax 

Don’t you just love government and their ingenious ways to tax you?

Bob Bandy – February 2025

MY WAY TO REDUCE INFLATION

There is a “sure-fire” way to reduce inflation and it is guaranteed to work.  Greatly reduce or eliminate taxes and fees by “government” on those who produce the things we need to live our lives. From toothpaste to gasoline to laundry detergent to the electricity that runs our air conditioners.  Everything we need, want and buy for day to day living.  

Politicians don’t want to reduce or eliminate taxes on these businesses because they have spent years telling us these companies, producers and corporations need to pay their “fair share” of taxes.  They know but won’t admit that these companies, producers and corporations don’t pay taxes, their customers (that’s us) do.  Taxes are just another cost factor in production.  For a simple example, people in California have been educated by politicians that Pacific Gas and Electric Company must pay their “fair share” of taxes.  The company has one, and only one, source of revenue to pay these taxes.  Their customers.  They don’t have an orchard of money trees. 

The same principal applies to all of the other things we consume in our lives.  The more you tax the folks who provide what we need, the more it will cost the consumer.  This “corporate tax” is another cost of production and, in the end, the consumer pays the tax indirectly to the government.

At the risk of being redundant, whether building a house or producing a tube of toothpaste, if Cities, Counties, States or the Federal Government add a “permit” cost, a fee or a tax, and whether the cost is $100,000 on a home building permit or 7 Cents on a tube of toothpaste, the “Bean Counters” in Accounting see it as a cost of production and add it to the end price of the product being sold.  They have to pass on those taxes and fees by adding them into the end price of the “stuff” they produce and sell to consumers. 

A Business or Corporations that does not show a profit for those who invest in them goes out of business.  Some will say just tax their profits but we already do that when profits are paid out to those who own the business or shareholders are paid profits.

TAXING A BUSINESS OR CORPORATION IS JUST AN INDIRECT WAY OF TAXING CONSUMERS AND THE ONES WHO GET HURT THE MOST ARE THE WORKING POOR (EMPHASIS – WORKING).  IF POLITICIANS ARE SINCERELY INTERESTED IN CUTTING INFLATION THEY CAN DO SO EASILY BY CUTTING, OR ELIMINATING, TAXES AND FEES ON THE PRODUCERS OF ALL THE THINGS WE NEED TO LIVE – LIKE GROCERIES, GASOLINE, ENERGY, CLOTHING ETC. ETC. ETC. 

IT HAS BEEN MY OBSERVATION OVER THE YEARS THAT I HAVE NEVER SEEN SOMEBODY DEMANDING THAT “THEY” PAY THEIR “FAIR SHARE” REACHING FOR THEIR OWN WALLET OR CHECKBOOK

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To end on a lighter note, back in 2017 I wrote a satire piece about California’s never ending search for new taxes and fixation to combat Global Climate Change.  That article is reprinted below. Enjoy!

FAIR SHARE TAXES AND GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

November 2017

I have information from reliable but nameless and secret sources that the State of California is very near announcement of a two fold plan for a Fair Share Universal Tax to help fund the War on Global Climate Change.

First, in recognition that exhaling releases carbon dioxide gas which is a contributor to Global Climate Change,  every resident or visitor to the State of California will be required to have a micro chip implant that will both monitor and report each time they exhale to the State of California.

This data will be forwarded to the Franchise Tax Board who will calculate the tax due and be responsible for collecting the scheduled tax from “Breathers”.  At the time of this writing the tax rate being considered is one tenth of a cent per exhale.  This may seem  a paltry sum until one calculates that the average adult respiratory rate is about 15 times per minute or 900 times per hour.  Do a little math and the average cost of exhaling in California will be about 90 cents an hour or $21.60 a day.

This tax can be avoided by simply no longer exhaling and residents and visitors can take comfort in the fact that inhaling is still free.  At least for now.

For the Second phase of this battle consideration is being given to the fact that methane is also a contributor to Global Climate Change and it is the responsibility of all of us to pay our Fair Share Tax in the battle to monitor and reduce the release of this gas into California’s breathable air resources.

It is also a scientific fact that flatulence is a major contributor to the release of methane into the atmosphere. Therefore, California is creating a new agency to monitor and tax the unwanted release of this gas.  To fund this Board and its employees a new source of revenue will be created through the establishment of a Flatulence Air Resource Tax. (FARTax)

Under development is a new monitoring device to be worn by all residents and visitors on the rear upper portion of the thigh which will sense, tabulate and report to the Board all releases of methane gas by the wearer.

The Board will then forward this information to the California Franchise Tax Board who will be responsible for billing and collecting the approved tax.  At this writing a rate of $1.00 per release is under consideration.  Think of it as an exhaust gas tax.

Taxpayers can avoid this tax by simply not releasing any methane gas through the monitored process.

The State agency for this Board is reporting some difficulty in recruiting, hiring and training workers who will be responsible for checking and monitoring individuals at random to be sure they are wearing the methane release and sound monitoring device and that it is working properly.

Formal announcement of this new Fair Share Tax and implementation of monitoring should be released through the media within the next 60 days.

All tax rates are subject to review and increase depending on Battlefield Assessment Reports from the ongoing War against Global Climate Change and subject to review and correction by former Vice President Al Gore.

What could possibly go wrong?

Just for fun.

Bob Bandy – December 2024        

Within certain elements of our society there has become an almost “religious” obsession with the implementation of Diversity, Equity and inclusion.  As it is being implemented it would seem to guarantee “Equal Outcomes”  and universal equity.  On an emotional level it has a very seductive lure to it.  

I believe we have a Constitutional and moral obligation to provide all citizens with “Equal Opportunity” to succeed and to prosper.  

KEEPING IN MIND THAT D.E.I. IS ALMOST ALWAYS WEDDED TO THE WOKE CULTURE

LET US LOOK AT THE LURE AND THE CURSE

The term itself seems almost harmless and at a certain level a worthwhile goal.  Who can possibly object to universal equal positive outcomes?  Hence the “Lure”.

HOWEVER

 The history of mankind has proven over and over that you can provide equal opportunity to individuals but you cannot guarantee equal outcomes.  We simply are not all the same when it comes to goals and ambition and willingness to work to achieve our individual vision.  If we try to implement DEI as a mandated goal the result is always the same.  You get an achievement level of the lowest common denominator.  The “Curse” of reality.  Human nature tells me there is no reason for me to work hard if my outcome is going to be the same as the “guy” who sits on his butt, does nothing and ends up with the same amount of “stuff”.

We often see DEI attempted by forced implementation in places like government agencies which are fertile grounds for DEI because the expectation of efficiency, performance and accountability has such a general low threshold of acceptability that it is easy to claim victory.  In the corporate world  many major corporations that were lured into the D.E.I./WOKE  “World” have found themselves in deep financial trouble and losing market share.  A few examples:  Budweiser, Levi Strauss, Disney, Harley Davidson,  etc.

In the real world of commerce, sports, education, the military and most endeavors it simply does not work.  In sports for example all competition would be very boring as all games would end up in a tie.  

Many writers and “thinkers” have expounded of the failings of D.E. I.  Below is an article I wrote and published in March of 2023.  

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SILICON VALLEY BANK

RIWP

(Rest in WOKE Peace)

To steal an old saying:

Giving Tens of Billions of Dollars to a bunch of WOKE Bankers

is like giving whiskey and your new car keys to a teenager.

The collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank has created some level of chaos in the Financial Markets.  I am no expert on banking and my own experience over the years has been that my own bank is not my friend and the most I can hope for is that they would keep my meager savings safe from robbers. 

We are told now that those who had money in Silicon Valley Bank will be reimbursed by the Federal Reserve even if their deposits exceeded FDIC Insurance limits.  The fact that many of these depositors were heavy Democratic Donors and had Millions of Dollars on deposit at SVP is, I am sure, a coincidence and had nothing to do with Joe Biden’s decision.  Our President has said this will happen without impacting taxpayers.  This is code speak to say the Federal Reserve with some smoke and mirrors will fire up the printing presses and simply print the Billions of Dollars to cover the losses of the banks failures.

It is widely reported in the media that the Silicon Valley Bank was proudly WOKE and practiced “Diversity – Equity – Inclusion” as a corporate theme.  I believe their resultant failure is what happens if you let your political and social agenda take priority over a sound business agenda.  Gets me to thinking……..

A new baseball season is starting and teams are forming.

Manager number one calls in his recruiters and scouts and gives them the following instructions:   Go find me players who want to play on a winning team.  Players who are focused on being the best and work hard at it for the good of the team and their fans.   We want players who can excite the crowd with their excellence on the field that will bring the fans back game after game wanting more.  I don’t care what color they are, what their nationality is, what their religion is, what they do in their free time, what their politics are or their sexual orientation.  Keep all that off the field.  Whether we are at practice or in a game we are a team and play as a team with a common goal.  Never lose sight of the fact that we are on that field to play Baseball, not make political statements.

Manager number two calls in his recruiters and scouts and gives them the following instructions: This is the 21st Century and we want to build a team that “looks like America”.  Find players who are an obvious cross section of our Diversity – Equity – Inclusion goals.  Recruit equal numbers of  Black, Brown and White players and be sure to include a token Asian.  We want to show fans a cross section of Transgender, Gay, and physical diversity.  At the end of each inning have the players rotate to new positions so they get the full benefit of “Inclusiveness”. All practice sessions will include Critical Race Theory training as well as Gender Options Studies and, of course, lessons in Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness.  We want players who are socially involved.  Players will be excused from practice to attend important events such as “Climate Change”, Black Lives Matter and similar rally’s.   Players should be encouraged to promote their “Diversity” on and off the field and especially when interfacing with the media.  Players need to understand that it’s not important whether we win or lose a game.  Our goal is to showcase “Diversity – Equity – Inclusion” to educate fans attending the game.

Which team do you think has the best chance to win a championship?

Now apply these same principles to our Military and other public service where real teamwork and common goals are critical.  If your first priority is having a WOKE agenda of Diversity – Equity – Inclusiveness what you end up with is what we in the military used to call a group of monkeys playing football. 

Are you scared yet.

Bob Bandy – October 2024

Vice President and Presidential candidate Kamala Harris

Listening to Kamala Harris, I remember at one point during one of her “word salad” explanations that one “New Tax Plan” she wanted to put in place is to start taxing and collecting taxes on “Unrealized Capital Gains”.   I am sure that if she had been asked to explain just how she would do this that we would have gotten a five minute “remembrance” of how she grew up in a middle class family, how hard her mother worked and how much she loved math, how she was the tallest kid in the third grade and all that she learned about adding and subtracting and how she loved her third grade teacher.

Like most “Progressives” (aka – Socialists) she believes that the government knows better how to spend the money you work so hard for than you do.  You are incompetent, you need people like her to take care of you.  Kamala also believes that if you have lived and worked here all of your life, paid taxes and been a good citizen, you should pay for your health insurance. (Even Medicare recipients pay a premium.)  But, if you are here illegally you should receive “free” healthcare.

I am also sure she has no clue as to how a “Unrealized Capital Gains Tax” plan works or the impact it would have on the economy. An explanation from an economist along with the implications of such a plan would sound like “word salad” to her.

Under current Tax Law, Capital Gains are taxed when you sell an asset and they become “realized gains” (money in hand).  Under her “vision” it would be taxed as it is earned but “unrealized” (not cashed out – “paper profits no money in hand”).

Here is a real simple example of how Kamala’s  plan could affect the average “Joe Sixpack” tax payer.  Joe buys a house for $100,000 dollars.  Two years later “Zillow”, “Google” or some other agency that tracks home values reports that Joe’s home is now worth $150,000.  Joe has a $50,000 “Unrealized Capital Gain” (profit on paper).  Under Kamala’s plan the IRS would send Joe a “Capital Gains” tax bill for taxes on his $50,000 “gain”.  And as the home continues to gain in value, our Joe would continue to get supplemental “Capital Gains” bills for taxes due.  Not to worry though, if Joe can’t pay the additional income taxes being levied, the IRS will just place a lien (plus interest) on the property until it is sold.  The IRS is so helpful that way.  

As an added bonus you can expect your State, County, even Local Government Tax Authorities to figure ways to get their share of this Tax Bonanza.  I live in California and can envision our Governor Newsom already getting “hot flashes” at the prospect of getting his hands on your “Unrealized Capital Gains” long before you do.

What if our Joe’s home value actually goes down in value.  Under some circumstance the IRS “might” let you write off some of the loss (good luck).  

This same scenario applies to other investments and assets as well.  Your 401K account, Stock Portfolios, Land, “Investment Grade” most anything.  Putting your money away in gold or silver into an account the government can monitor?  

Below is the Google / Dictionary Definition of “Unrealized Capital Gains”

“Unrealized capital gain refers to the increase in value of an investment or an asset that an investor holds but has not yet sold. These gains are “unrealized” because they exist only on paper; they only become “realized” once the asset is sold.”

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Today,  the government taxes you on everything you earn and they tax you on what’s left of what you worked for when you spend it. They tax everything at every level.  And they tax you when you die.  Oh, and Kamala also mentioned she would like to increase estate taxes which would include family farms etc. etc. etc. 

Do you really want to have the government tax “Unrealized Capital Gains” as outlined above and as viewed by the wolves at the IRS?

Bob Bandy – September 2024

Presidential “wannabe” Kamala Harris  has a plan to raise tax revenues “without raising taxes on the middle class”.  She wants to raise “Corporate Taxes” from 21% to 28%.  Seems those “Greedy Corporations” are not paying their “Fair Share”! 

Have you ever been so frustrated you want to just scream out loud because folks just don’t seem to “get” something that is such an obvious truth?  

For many years many experts and writers like myself have “preached” the word that Corporations don’t pay taxes, their customers do.  Corporations don’t have money tree orchards out behind their factories.  Their only source of revenue is the products or services they sell to their customers.  If you raise taxes on the corporation that makes toothpaste,  that corporation has to raise the price on the toothpaste they make.  Their only other source of additional revenue would be to cut costs/payroll.  The additional “tax revenue” is actually paid by the working class and poor when they buy the product.  It’s called inflation. 

This is not rocket science. Politicians don’t want to tell the working class and poor they are going to raise their taxes so they “scapegoat” the corporations into collecting the additional tax for them indirectly.  

If you want to look for a “Greedy Villain” let me suggest government who wastes a large percentage of the tax money they collect through miss-management, graft and corruption.   California for example “lost” 24 Billion Dollars in funds for Homeless projects in the last fiscal year – the money just “vanished” and nobody seems to know what pockets it ended up in.

I wrote a satirical article some 5+ years ago that demonstrates in a truthful way that government at all levels does little to nothing to produce a useful product but still wants to tax it at all levels.  The article is reprinted below:

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THE LITTLE RED HEN OIL COMPANY

Original Story by Paul Galdone

Little Red Hen version by Bob Bandy

ONCE UPON A TIME there was a little red hen who wanted to start her own oil company.

Who will help me find the oil she asked? Not us said the Federal Government!  Not us said the State Government!  Okay, said the Little Red Hen.  I will find it myself, and she did.

Who will help me get the oil out of the ground she asked? Not us said the Federal Government!  Not us said the State Government!  Okay, said the Little Red Hen.  So she did it herself.

Who will help me get the oil to the refinery? Not us said the Federal Government!  Not us said the State Government!  Okay, said the Little Red Hen.  I will transport it myself, and she did.

Who will help me refine the oil into gasoline she asked? Not us said the Federal Government!  Not us said the State Government!  Okay, said the Little Red Hen, I’ll do it by myself.  And she did.

Who will help me transport the gasoline to the Service Station she asked?  Not us said the Federal Government!  Not us said the State Government!  Okay, said the Little Red Hen, I will haul it there myself.

Finally the Little Red Hen’s gasoline is sold.

Who would like to share in the profits she asked?  

We would said the Federal Government and we demand 18.4 cents per gallon.

We would said California State Government and we demand 58.3 cents per gallon.

Looking in her pocketbook the Little Red Hen found that she only made a net profit of 7 cents per gallon.  (source Forbes & Factcheck)

Later, Federal Government and California State Government notified the Little Red Hen that since she was so greedy they were going to tax her income for the excessive profits she had made.  

7 cents a gallon profit.  Those darn oil companies sure are greedy aren’t they!

You can’t make this stuff up.

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Editors note:  all these numbers were well researched and accurate when I wrote the original article in February 2019.

Bob Bandy – August 2024