Stop Pulling the Wagon

EVER WONDER WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO “YOUR” WORLD?

I have not written anything for a while.  In some ways I feel a little like Rip Van Winkle awakening from a long sleep wondering where I am and what has happened to the happy and ordered world I grew up in.

It seems to me that our lives are now ruled by a consortium of Clowns, Criminals and Lunatics.

A  journey through a looking glass into a world where the Lords of Darkness have stolen power and are creating a society where no good deed will go unpunished.

If the United States were the Milky Way Galaxy, then Washington D.C. would be the gravitational heart of that galaxy.

At the heart of  the Milky Way Galaxy there resides a Super-Massive Black Hole.  In space lingo a Black Hole is the collapsed heart of a large star that has compressed into a point where gravity is so intense that everything, including other stars and star stuff,  is sucked in and nothing of any recognized value, not even light, can escape.

Washington D.C. is like that.  A place where our tax dollars get sucked in and nothing of any value can possibly escape.

You know why?  Its because the Clowns, Criminals and Lunatics are busy stirring a big caulderon to turn our tax dollars into a system of Food  Stamps and Flat Screen TV’s to keep the masses complacent.

The Romans first introduced the concept of Bread and Circuses to keep the rabble quiet and content.  The Dark Lords in Washington have only copied them.

What?  Did you expect something creative and original to come out of Washington D.C. ?  Have you forgotten this is the place where 98% of our political leaders give the rest a bad name?

Bob Bandy

Feb. 2013

Have not posted anything in a while.  Written a number of drafts but not been happy with the content or tone.  Following what is happening in national and world events has gotten me into something of a “funk”.

I have always thought of myself as a positive kind of person.  Tried to see humor, or at least irony,  in most of the foibles of mankind.

But, I can’t see anything cute or funny in what is happening to the country I was born in and loved all my life.  This is not a Democrat or Republican thing.  A pox on both their houses.  They both “brung us here where we is now”. 

From my view there are two catastrophic problems facing the United States and everything else is the fruit of these two things.

One: You can’t have true civilization without civility and we are loosing our ability to be civil with one another.  We are dividing into warring camps with irreconcilable differences.  Not everything can be compromised.

Two: The discipline of simple mathematics.  No matter what title or letters you put before or after you name, you cannot get 20 pounds of potatoes from a 10 pound sack and that is what we are trying to do.  The universe does not care what your political affiliation is or if you don’t like the laws of mathematics.  Ultimately, math is like gravity and spending money you don’t have is like trying to fly without wings.  Deficit spending can only go so high before it all comes tumbling down.

If you are an individual, a corporation, or even a city and you spend “what you don’t got” you can file Bankruptcy.  In the case of a corporation, Bankruptcy leaves the stockholders holding an empty bag and in the case of city (or state) the taxpayers are the recipients of said empty sack.   If you are a nation you cannot declare Bankruptcy.  Nations can do what we can’t do;  print money.   They start printing more and more paper money and the result is inflation or hyper-inflation.  Inflation is always harmful or catastrophic to those on fixed or limited income (like the elderly) and can make a lifetime of savings do a vanishing act.  As an example, gasoline that used to be $1.50 a gallon becomes $3 or $5 or $10 a gallon.  Math is not evil it is just relentless.

History is littered with the carcasses of nations that did not practice the fiscal discipline required by the laws of mathematics.  The news tells us that our nation is approaching a fiscal “cliff”.

I have reached that point where I recognize that, as a people, we lack the discipline to avoid what is going to happen very soon if we do not make some very difficult and painful changes.  I am not alone in this observation.

Is it already to late?  Is the sky falling?

Bob Bandy

I once heard California referred to as the “land of Fruits, Flakes and Nuts”.  

A couple of examples:

The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) is suing the State of California to stop all death penalty executions.  They also support  abortion, even late term abortion.  Lets see if I have this right.  According to the ACLU it is wrong to execute a person convicted of mass murder but its okay to abort an unborn, late term (7th or 8th month)  fetus (baby).

Here is my question for the ACLU:  Instead of executing convicted mass murderers would it be okay if we just abort them?

Another example:  Do you remember the Tobacco Settlement of 1998?

California’s State and local share of that settlement was established at an estimated $25,007,000,000. (thats 25 Billion with a ‘B’ Dollars) through 2025.  (Source: Legislative Analysts Report 1-14-1999).

Money was to be paid out to the States on an annual basis through the year 2025.  This payout was termed a “Tobacco Revenue Stream”.

California sold their Tobacco Revenue Stream to a SPE (Special Purpose Entity) established (created) for the purpose of issuing bonds backed by the settlement funds.

As J.G. Wentworth advertises – “Its your money, use it when you need it”.

California apparently felt they needed it right away.  They “sold” (at a discount)  the anticipated revenue settlement money for cash and…. you guessed it, spent the money… a long time ago.

California Government is an addict.  You could tax every resident of this state  at 100% and give the State Legislature and Governor every dollar that was taxed or could be borrowed and they would spend it all and claim it wasn’t enough and want more.

These are only two examples of the “Flim Flam” that we residents of this once great state of California live with every day.  I could go on and on.

Bob Bandy

NONE ARE MORE HOPELESSLY ENSLAVED THAN THOSE WHO FALSELY BELIEVE THEY ARE FREE. – Goethe

While we like to believe that Slavery was done away with by Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation on January 1st in 1863, the irony is that slavery in many forms is alive and well in our world.

Many of us choose slavery over freedom daily in our lives.  I include myself for many long periods of time.

Whether the addiction is debt, drugs, alcohol, a boat, a destructive relationship or most any other “master” of our lives, it is slavery.  Even an obsession with the pursuit of wealth can become a slavemaster.

The name of this blog is “Stop Pulling The Wagon” and the symbol shows a very tired Taxpayer pulling a wagon with the word “Government”  on the side.  The wagon is overloaded with those who want a free ride.  Unfortunately this is one form of slavery we have little control over unless we want to “drop out” and live under a bridge somewhere.  The most we can hope for is to elect leaders who are committed to tax us the least amount possible.

I believe that giving the government the power to tax is giving it the power to enslave.  If you don’t believe I am right then try not paying your taxes for a while and see what happens.

I also believe that if we truly want more freedom in our lives, we need to not enslave ourselves in those areas where we can choose.

Most of us have a lot of “stuff” in our lives.  Do we own it or does it own us?

While I have little control over the governments ability to tax me, in many ways and with many things the choice is mine.  I can choose Slavery or Freedom.

Just something to think about.

Bob Bandy

I am amused at all the “hand wringing” and finger pointing about our Governments “Debt Problem”.  Whose fault is it?  How are “they” going to “fix” it?  Who is going to “pay” the debt?

Being a student of the history of money and the governments who issue that money I can tell you I am absolutely positive how this will be “fixed”.  The only real question is timing.  It is said that in email and electronic messaging the way to shout is to use all capital letters so I will shout my answer to these questions.

OUR GOVERNMENT WILL DO WHAT EVERY OTHER GOVERNMENT SINCE AT LEAST THE TIME OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE HAS DONE WHEN THEY GET INTO FINANCIAL CRISIS.  THEY WILL USE INFLATION.

It works like this.  If you owe 14 Trillion Dollars but you inflate (spelled de-value) your currency by 50% you only have to repay the equivalent of 7 1/2 Trillion Dollars.  If you deflate it by a factor of ten, then you would only have to repay the equivalent of 1.4 Trillion Dollars.  In todays world that is “chump change”.   Play with this concept a little using your own inflation factor and do the math.

If you will look at the currency note pictured above,  it was issued by the German Government in December 1922 for the amount of 1000 Marks.  In September of 1923  that same German Government overprinted  and changed the value of the note to 1,000,000 marks.  So in nine months the government changed the value of (devalued) the currency by 1000%.  This is called hyper-inflation and it destroys the value of whatever money is in the hands of citizens (often their life savings) at the time of the “re-valuation”.  Another way of doing it is simply by inflation through run-a-way interest rates which has the same impact on the value of money in circulation.

At first glance this might look appealing because a person is tempted to think “okay, my dollar bill will suddenly be worth a hunred dollars” (or whatever) but it doesn’t work that way.  Remember, Government is the one with the power to print money.  So the money you have is now worth that much less.  Think of it this way: If our own Government were to revalue the dollar by 50% your local Dollar Store would become the Two Dollar Store only you would still have the same dollars in your bank account or wallet, but now they would buy you only half as much.

Do I think we will get into a hyper-inflation scenario like Germany did following the First World War?  Probably not, but, the government will have to do something with our ever growning National Debt.  All too soon we will reach the point that it becomes ever more difficult, or impossible,  just to pay the interest on that debt in todays dollars.  Inflation will be the only option left unless we are willing to make sacrifices I don’t see the American public expressing the discipline or desire for.  If interest rates were to rise sharply, as in the Carter years of the 1970’s, then “Katie Bar The Door”.

Just my thoughts.  You don’t have to agree.  But consider the very real history behind the currency note above.

Bob Bandy

I HAVE A QUESTION. WHY IS BERNIE MADOFF IN PRISON FOR 150 YEARS WHILE 537 BERNIE MADOFF WANABE’S ARE LIVING A LIFE OF LUXURY AND INDOLENCE AT THE TAXPAYERS EXPENSE IN OUR NATIONS CAPITOL?

Supposedly ole’ Bernie is guilty of running an 80 Billion Dollar Ponzi scheme which bilked thousands of investors.  In the meantime, 435 members of the House of Representatives, 100 memers of the Senate and 2 elected members of the Administration just scammed three hundred million Americans for another 2.4 Trillion Dollars to add to the 14.3 Trillion Dollar Ponzi scheme that is our nations National Debt.

After months of finger pointing, name calling and accusations they just pulled off another big one.  Lets see, they add 2.4 Trillion to the debt while they promise to reduce deficit spending 21 Billion Dollars.

Folks, 21 Billion Dollars is equal to the amount of debt they will be adding to the deficit in the next five days!

Remember, our children and grandchildren will “inherit” the 16.7 Trillion Dollar Debt forever!  That and whatever “our Representatives” continue to add to it !

And, there is no doubt this bunch will continue to add to the total.  All so they can perpetuate themselves as power brokers in public office.

Lets see, they spend an additional 2.4 Trillion dollars over and above the amount they will take in and for that they promise to reduce deficit spending by 21 Billion.  What are they planning on doing?  Taking five spending days off in the next year?  What a sacrifice!  Heck of a deal!     

Click on the following link for a “Casey At The Bat” spoof which I include just because its funny….  We have to remember to laugh at ourselves…. No offense intended….     

Bob Bandy