Stop Pulling the Wagon

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 remember in the movie “The Godfather” when the son Michael killed the “bad” cop and the opposition mobster, how the male members of the Godfathers organization “went to the mattresses”.  Lying low and staying out of sight of their enemies.

I believe that if things continue on their present course in this country with business stifling regulations, high taxes and an all powerful and oppressive government we may see the “producers” in this country simply get fed up and go to the economic mattresses.

Large numbers of former taxpayers may just decide to adjust their lives in such a way as to remain below confiscatory tax thresholds and live simpler lives with lower  economic resources.

I remember a happy young father who worked for me once.  He had a large family and a stay at home wife.  I once asked him how they “made it”?  He told me that they did just fine.  Had an older but serviceable car,  a modest residence and that they lived their lives with a basic but wholesome diet using discounted and coupon items as much as possible.  They rarely bought new consumer items.  They felt no need to impress anyone.  Whenever possible they shopped at thrift stores, yard sales and the like.  When they did shop for “new” items they generally only purchased items at discounted or “sale” prices.   Not a lifestyle for everyone but they were happy, had lots of time for each other, content with their lives and had no debts.  They also paid very little in the way of taxes.  Were they “poor”?  You decide.  It seems to me that they had figured out a way to “Stop Pulling The Wagon” to a large degree.

What would happen if large numbers of  hard working, tax paying members of our citizenry were to adopt similar lifestyles?

Bob Bandy

The great statesman and humanitarian  Mohandas K (Mahatma) Gandhi gave us:

THE SEVEN DANGERS TO HUMAN VIRTUE

1. Wealth without work

2. Pleasure without conscience

3. Knowledge without character

4. Business without ethics

5. Science without humanity

6. Religion without sacrifice

7. Politics without principal

To which I would humbly add a number 8:

8. Democracy without self discipline

Use the above as an ethics and values scorecard and watch Judge Judy as well as many other of the courtroom shows plus an array of the many “reality” shows (Jersey Shores, etc) and observe the antics of groups such as Occupy Wallstreet.  Add to this a thoughtful examination of what goes on in our national and state capitols.

Are we on the right road following the right roll models?

Something to think about.

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

Sometimes it is fun to ask a question, even one that appears controversial.  I am not advocating positions on this.  Just ask the question and then think on it for a while to possible and/or probable conclusions.

Question #1.  Who would have the most to lose monetarily, and likely be put out of business, if all drugs, such as marijuana, cocaine, etc. were legalized?  Here is a hint:  Follow the money.  Keep in mind that health consequences are an issue whether they are legal or illegal.

Question #2.  What would happen if a state,  for example California, were to “go broke” and all the current welfare checks “bounced”?

Question #3.  What if it were a pre-requiste to getting government  (city, county, state or federal) aid, grants or funds,  an applicant were treated like a prospective employee and were subject to background and/or drug testing?  Florida has instituted such a law (effective July 2012).  What do you think will happen if Florida’s law goes into effect?

Question #4.  What would happen if we only subsidized (with public funds and tax dollars) positive behavior and hard work and did not “reward” negative behavior (drug addiction and other counter-productive lifestyles and habits) with taxpayer funded support?

Question #5.  What if many/most of the functions now performed by public (city, county, state, federal) employees were contracted out to private industry on a best bid basis with results accountability and penalties for poor performance?  Would we spend more or less dollars than we are spending now?  What would be the effect on the public employees health and retirement fund liability now faced by taxpayers?

For the sake of discussion lets not consider moral issues here.  Just consider the material outcomes and consequences.

Just something to think about.

Bob Bandy

This was sent to me anonymously and I share it here because I could not have said it any better.

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.

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Now slowly let it sink in.  We go like sheep to the slaughter.

Does anybody remember the reason given for the establishment of the Department of Energy during the Carter Administration?  Bottom line is, we’ve spent several hundred billion dollars in support of an agency…. the reason for which not many who read this can remember!

The Department of Energy was instituted on 8/04/1977,  TO LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL.   Now it’s 2012 —- 35 years later —- and the budget for this “necessary” department is $24.2 Billion a year.  It has 16,000 Federal Employees and approximately 100,000 contract employees and look at the job it has done!  35 years ago 30% of our oil consumption was foreign imports.  Today 70% of our oil consumption is foreign imports…..  Great job!   Good old Federal bureaucracy.  (And we could supply all our oil needs from the USA)

Now we have turned over large segments of our Banking system, Health Care system and Auto Industry to the same government?

Hello!  Anybody home?

(some editing to shorten without changing content – Bob)

Bob Bandy