Trump’s Promise to Put “America First” – End of the World?

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Tom Balek Standard 1

I watched Clarence Mason’s interview on Lou Dobbs tonight. Mason’s enthusiastic support for preserving our traditional values and way of life was stimulating and inspirational.

Dobbs was reporting on Donald Trump’s foreign policy speech, in which Trump said his priority would be to put “America First” in any foreign policy decisions. Dobbs asked Mason what he thought of Trump’s pro-America stance, and it was like lighting a fuse under a bank of July Fourth fireworks.

“Of course we should put America first!” Mason cheered, explaining that he is tired of everybody blaming America for every problem in the world. He proclaimed his pride in the USA and his desire to rebuild our economy by taking a fresh look at foreign trade, mass immigration, and one-sided military agreements. He clearly reveled in what he sees as Trump’s common-sense mix of protectionism and patriotism.

Trump’s proclamation drew immediate scathing rebuke from all directions. “Trump’s ‘America First’ Has Ugly Echoes From U.S. History”, was the headline slam from CNN. Reuters piled on with “Trump’s ‘America First’ Speech Alarms U.S. Allies”. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), one of 15 wanna-be presidential candidates who took a butt-whoopin’ by Trump, tweeted “Trump’s speech is pathetic in terms of understanding the role America plays in the world, how to win the War on Terror, and the threats we face.” (Full disclosure: I voted for Cruz over Trump in the South Carolina primary, but an enemy of my senator Graham is absolutely a friend of mine!)

But back to Clarence Mason.

I have been listening to pundits from Glenn Beck to Meghan McCain to Steve Deace wailing that Donald Trump’s popularity and ascent to the top of the presidential ticket is the end of the world as we know it. They insist that Trump will lose to Hillary Clinton because ALL women hate him and ALL Hispanics hate him and ALL blacks hate him.

Here’s a news flash. Clarence Mason – black guy. And there are many, many more like him attending Trump rallies and talking politics after church and on coffee break. Women too. And Hispanics. People of every race, gender, and income bracket. They are tired of the big-promises-no-results Republicans. They have learned the truth about the we’re-from-the-big-government-and-we’re-here-to-help-you Democrats. Just like the angry white males that the media claims are Trump’s only supporters, they are not going to get fooled again.

The pundits and the insiders are apoplectic. They can’t understand how, and they won’t admit, that Donald Trump is very likely to be our next president. But it’s really so simple. After years of being told that we are the scum of the Earth, we Americans – white, black, Hispanic, male and female – want a president who puts America first for a change.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

It’s the end of the world as we know it.
It’s the end of the world as we know it.
It’s the end of the world as we know it,
And I feel fine!

It’s The End of the World As We Know It – R.E.M.

Shiny Objects Distract Us From Making Our Mark On History

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Tom Balek Standard Reply

Battle-of-Verdun Many people today think that our time in history is oh, so important. They believe that life today is more dangerous, more difficult, more demanding than ever. By the very definition of evolution, we must be the smartest people who ever lived. We are the result of human progress. The Western world is now “progressive”, so our collective decisions about how we live and what we do must be better than ever before. We are the current revision level. The latest. The best.

Maybe it’s time to think honestly about our place in history.

Sometimes when I catch myself whining about what a rough day I had, I think of the guys who stormed the beachhead at Normandy in the face of withering machine gun fire. Or the men who charged the enemy at Khe Sanh. Or Verdun. Or Gettysburg. Or Lexington. Or Fallujah.

I think of the frontier families who left all their comforts behind to travel west on a wagon, taking a life-or-death chance to find peace and prosperity in a new, untamed land.

I think of the kids who went to work at the age of 9 in a coal mine or sweat shop because they knew the family had to eat. And the people who face disability, disease, and injury and keep on working.

Our grandparents worked harder every day than we will on our best day. And knowing the challenges they overcame, they were probably smarter than most of us, too. Throughout history people have endured tremendous hardships, and have accomplished remarkable achievements. Many gave their lives to protect others from evil. How do we stack up against our predecessors?

The news pundits tell us that the 2016 presidential election is the most important one ever, to the exclusion of all other topics and events. With seven months until the election, there is nothing else on planet Earth worth reporting other than what our presidential candidates have to say about the most critical topics.

Sadly, the most critical topic right now seems to be whether the few hundred transgendered individuals who exist in our country should use a bathroom labeled “men”, “women”, or “other”.

We may not be fighting for our existence in a global war, but it’s not like there aren’t still serious challenges facing today’s world. Poverty still exists. Genocide continues. Despots and ideologues threaten peaceful citizens. Unborn children are slaughtered. But these big, historic issues are kicked aside by academic, media and political leaders who distract us with frivolous, fraudulent shiny-object issues, and our candidates are only too happy to join them in changing the subject: Climate change. Women’s rights. Safe rooms for college students who fear “white privilege”. Perceived police brutality. Gay wedding cakes.

Frankly, life in these United States is pretty good for most of us. We can preserve the qualities we inherited. We can make life even better, both at home and around the world. But it won’t happen unless we find and elect political leaders who have learned from history, who have a vision of what our place in history can be, and who don’t get distracted by shiny objects.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Those were the days my friend
We thought they’d never end
We’d sing and dance forever and a day
We’d live the life we choose
We’d fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way.

Those Were the Days – Mary Hopkin

Will “Lucy” McConnell Pull The Football Away Again, Charlie Brown?

Posted on April 6, 2016 by Tom Balek Standard Reply

charlie brown football For the first time in a long while, Republican senators are actually sticking to the conservative game plan, holding the line on confirmation hearings for President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, until after the election.

This week two Republican senators, Susan Collins (R-ME) and John Boozman (R-AR) attended what the White House called “courtesy visits” with Judge Garland. Four more are pending. But Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell insists that his players will not jump offside this time.

Despite White House cries of foul play, the freeze-out of the president’s nominee doesn’t seem to be gaining any yardage with the press or the public, providing a jolt of testosterone for McConnell’s usually-timid team.

Republican legislators have repeatedly folded to their outnumbered Democrat opponents on popular conservative issues like budget restraint, defunding Planned Parenthood, and stopping Iran’s nuke program. Even a chip shot like dropping the corrupt and obsolete Import-Export Bank was out of their reach. Conservative voters have had enough, and the ascent of outsiders Ted Cruz and Donald Trump to the top of the GOP presidential roster drives that message home to McConnell and friends.

Still, it’s hard to not feel a little bit like Charlie Brown running up to kick the football. Will “Lucy” McConnell pull it away at the last second like she always has before?

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Take a minute to enjoy one
of my all-time favorite pieces
of music from the Charlie Brown
TV shows by jazz giant
Vince Guaraldi

Linus and Lucy – Vince Guaraldi

On Vacation I Got Acute Government-Itis

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Tom Balek Standard 4

We took a short vacation trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina last week. Cool place. But it seems I just can’t go anywhere these days without getting a bad case of government-itis.

For my friends up north, the Outer Banks is a long, narrow strip of sand (peninsulas and islands) on the east coast of North Carolina, with the Atlantic Ocean to the east and river inlets to the west. It is windy, mostly barren, and full of character, featuring eclectic art shops, t-shirts, beach houses, and fabulous seafood restaurants, wrapped up in a laid-back sea-life groove. Not pretty, but cool.

Anyway, driving south from the civilized part of the OBX, we soon realized we were no longer on privately-owned sand. The signs (‘Don’t Do This!’ ‘Do That!’ ‘Prohibited!’ ‘No!’ ‘Stop!’ ‘Don’t Even Think About It!’) were a dead giveaway. We had landed on federal U.S. Park Service turf.

My wife is a lighthouse nut, so we followed the Park Service “Do This” and “Don’t Do That” signs to the Bodie Island Lighthouse parking area and set out across the grass to enjoy the view. There we ran into a friendly-looking man in a crisp brown Park Service uniform, greeting visitors to the lighthouse. I’ll call him Mr. Friendly.

We wanted to climb the stairs to see the view and the internals of the lighthouse. But, unfortunately, it was closed to the public for another week or so. Mr. Friendly did not know why the government had closed the lighthouse. But we thought since we were there we should at least learn something about this interesting and still-operating historical landmark.

“How tall is it?” I asked. Mr. Friendly frowned. “Gee, I don’t know. I heard somebody say something about 160, would that be feet? Does that make sense?” he said.

“Well, ” I pressed, “when was it built?” Again, Mr. Friendly apologized. “I’m sorry, I just don’t know very much about this place. I guess I should get a pamphlet or something. You see, I’ve only been here since Thanksgiving.”

Hmm, Thanksgiving was almost five months ago. My wife and I looked at each other, eyebrows raised with the same unspoken question: What the hell has Mr. Friendly been doing for the last five months?

We asked him where he was stationed before his post on the Outer Banks. “Oh, I was in Wyoming!” he beamed. Being from Montana, we are pretty familiar with Yellowstone Park, and asked him where he lived. He said he had five houses while he was assigned to Yellowstone, the last one in Gardner, Montana. Again, we glanced a knowing look at each other. Several BLM and Park Service employees had told us over the years about the policy that allows management employees to transfer anywhere they wished, at any time, with all expenses paid. Usually the feds even purchase the employee’s home (with taxpayer money) to make sure there is no hardship of any kind related to the transfer.

We left the Bodie Island lighthouse suffering early government-itis symptoms and headed for the next lighthouse (there’s really not much else to see) at Cape Hatteras.

Again we wove our truck through the Do and Don’t signs. Again we were not allowed to go up in the lighthouse. And again we were greeted by a friendly man in a crisp brown uniform. But this guy knew his stuff! He was loaded with all kinds of interesting and amusing facts and anecdotes about his lighthouse, and shipwrecks, and German U-Boats. He attracted a big crowd of fascinated tourists and was happy as a clam to stand in the hot sun and talk with visitors all day. In fact, he told us he hardly ever takes a day off. In the world of tourist guides, this guy is Mr. Rockstar!

Then we noticed Mr. Rockstar’s name badge, which revealed that he is a volunteer.

We went into the small museum adjacent to the lighthouse, and passed two surly-looking women seated at empty desks in their crisp brown uniforms with government-employee badges. I backtracked around several “Don’t” signs and greeted one on the way out. “Hey, your guide out front is doing a great job,” I reported. “Hmmph,” Mrs. Crabby snorted. “He’s new, he doesn’t know anything.” She turned to the other surly government employee and they quietly hissed to each other, making furtive glances out the door at Mr. Rockstar, who was blissfully entertaining a large and smiling group of tourists.

My acute government-itis flared up. “Did you know,” I asked my wife, “that the average federal employee compensation is over $120,000 a year?”

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Doctor, my eyes have seen the years
And the slow parade of fears without crying
Now I want to understand

I have done all that I could
To see the evil and the good without hiding
You must help me if you can

Doctor My Eyes – Jackson Browne

Argentina Moves Right – Canada Moves Left – Now It’s Our Move

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Tom Balek Standard Reply

I have often pointed to Argentina as an example of what could happen to the United States. The two countries have similar early histories, emerging from colonial status to independence and becoming the economic engines of the western hemisphere.

At the height of the industrial revolution the economies of the USA and Argentina flourished. Before World War II the two young nations competed for foreign investment, building strong infrastructures and well-educated middle classes. Buenos Aires challenged New York City’s status as the gem of the West.

And then their destinies parted ways.

The United States maintained a firm grip on its constitution, perfecting its free-market, laissez-faire economic environment. It established its bona fides as a leader in world affairs, defending democracy and human rights. Argentina, meanwhile, set off on a series of socio-political experiments based on heavy-handed and, ultimately, fascist government rule. Argentina’s people relinquished their rights to the government, resulting in economic devastation and the “disappearance” of thousands of political activists.

Last November Mauricio Macri replaced socialist Cristina Kirchner as president of Argentina, promising to return his homeland to the free-market western world. He immediately renounced the nation’s alliances with failed dictatorships like Iran and Venezuela, embracing the United States and Europe. He settled Argentina’s large outstanding debt to a group of US hedge-fund investors which had destroyed the country’s ability to attract outside investment. He established working relationships with Argentina’s state governors and other federal officials, including his opponents. He eliminated crony utility subsidies, cut export taxes, and dropped currency support, allowing the Argentine peso to float.

President Macri is a man on a mission, and in a hurry. While he still enjoys public support, Argentines are in a hurry too, and are beginning to express impatience as they endure symptoms of the new austerity and economic adjustments.

In a strange twist, President Obama will meet Macri this week, following his friendly visit to communist Cuba. Obama has shown an affection for the very despots that Macri, and Argentina, are rejecting. “I’d vote for you, and you for me,” Obama beamed at Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez a few years ago. The US president warmly hosted newly-elected Canadian president Justin Trudeau, a socialist who vows to take his country in the opposite direction chosen by Argentina.

US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton promises to continue the leftward drift established by President Obama. Her primary opponent, Bernie Sanders, would make that a leftward lurch. Our media and schools glorify socialism, demanding more central control and vilifying those who would preserve individual rights.

Will the United States move to the left or the right? Will we follow Canada, our recently-prosperous neighbor to the north, down the proven-to-fail socialist path? Or will we take the hint from Argentina, our wised-up southern friend, and return to the tried-and-true free-market, small government model?

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

You move it to the left, yeah
You go for yourself
You move it to the right
Yeah if it takes all night

The Harlem Shuffle – Rolling Stones

Here’s Mick, strutting his stuff. I just finished reading the bio “Jagger” by Marc Spitz, and was surprised to learn that he was a prized pupil at the London School of Economics, having received a full-ride scholarship. He quit to become a rebel blues singer, but was promised his scholarship would wait for him if his new career choice didn’t work out. We are all glad it did!

Angry? No, I Just Want A Change!

Posted on March 13, 2016 by Tom Balek Standard Reply

smelly-diapers1 I’m tired of being called “angry” by the media, the liberals, and the wannabe Republican presidential candidates.

I’m not angry. When a baby has a full diaper, is Mom angry? Is the baby angry? Is everybody around the baby angry? No, they just want a change. They can’t stand the smell anymore. They are uncomfortable with the way things are. It is obvious that things can’t stay the way they are. They all require a change and they demand it. I’m not angry. I just can’t stand the smell any more. I’m motivated for a change.

I’m also tired of being called a racist.

I’m not a racist. Just because I think Americans who were born here, who cut out Washington and Lincoln silhouettes in grade school, who still get teary-eyed when somebody sings a heartfelt rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, should not lose their precious jobs to foreigners who don’t even want to learn our language, let alone become Americans – that does not make me a “racist.”

And I’m tired of being called “stupid”.

I’m not stupid. No, I don’t believe for a second that our cars and washing machines and toasters are destroying the earth that God created and has kept spinning for the last 5 billion years or so. NASA says it’s not true. 31,000 scientists say global warming is a hoax, and the data “proving” man’s inhumanity to Earth has been manipulated and contrived for nothing more than personal profit. Carbon emissions and greenhouse gases have been around forever – forest fires, volcanoes and sun spots cause way more crap in the atmosphere than man could ever aspire to. So stop calling me a “science denier” and “stupid”.

One more thing – I’m tired of waiting for the people who are supposed to be on my side to stop calling me names that were once only found in the liberals’ playbook. I never thought I would hear Republicans calling me – a long-time advocate and supporter of conservative principles – angry and racist and stupid.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

I was a lonely soul
I had nobody till I met you
But you keep a-me waiting
All of the time
What can I do?

Tired of Waiting For You – the Kinks

Here’s a cool old clip of brothers Ray and Dave Davies and the Kinks. They impressed the hell out of me when I was in junior high and still top the list of all-time great garage bands. The Davies brothers are famous for their epic sibling battles – fortunately, they haven’t killed each other yet, and still put out some great music.

Loser Pays – What a Concept

Posted on March 10, 2016 by Tom Balek Standard 1

America has a big problem that gets almost no attention in the media, despite the fact that it costs consumers untold billions of dollars every year, inhibits innovation and progress, and enriches lawyers who take advantage of real victims.

The USA is the only nation on earth that does not have a “loser-pay” provision built into its legal system. As a result, the production of class-action lawsuits is one of our most lucrative, if rancid, industries.

A class-action lawsuit is born when an attorney claims that a deep-pockets business or institution has harmed a large number of innocent victims by some action or failure to act, real or imagined. The plaintiff attorney has no risk; if the judge or jury decides the suit is without merit, his only cost is the loss of his time. If he wins, the financial windfall can be gargantuan. Meanwhile the defendant faces one of two miserable fates: at worst, a punishing, if not crippling, financial settlement; at best, a huge legal defense bill.

Many class-action suits are flat-out frivolous, and rely on a corporation’s (or its insurer’s) desire to quickly settle out of court rather than face a lengthy, expensive trial that may damage it’s reputation if not its financial viability. Other class-action suits are built on a genuine grievance. Unfortunately, the primary benefactors of the process are the attorneys for both sides, as their compensation comes off the top of the proceeds, leaving a pittance to be shared by a large number of victims.

It only happens here. All other nations have some variation of a “loser pays” provision, whereby the initiator of a lawsuit must pay all the costs of litigation if his claim is found baseless. It makes a litigant think twice before filing a suit that is less than genuine.

Unfortunately, we all bear the cost of this legal lemon in higher product costs, jacked-up medical bills, higher taxes, and a slowed-down economy with producers and developers unwilling to take risks. A trip to McDonald’s illustrates the absurdity, from the coffee cup labeled “Warning! Contents may be hot!” to the small blow-up Happy Meal toy marked “Warning! Do Not Use as a Flotation Device! Do not ingest!”

Our federal government agencies, seeing the success of private attorneys in this extortion racket, have developed their own version of the game. They single out a deep-pockets company and threaten it with unsurvivable fines, which can only be avoided by accepting a “consent decree” that requires some kind of behavior modification desired by the government.

Our political leaders seem fixated on a lot of small-ticket issues. If you know a congressman looking for a pretty easy policy change that promises real, immediate financial benefit for every American, here’s two words to whisper in his ear: “Loser Pays!”

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Soy un perdedor
I’m a loser baby,
So why don’t you kill me?
(Sprechen Sie Deutche, baby)

Loser – Beck

One of the weirdest songs ever on my blog site. But I like it.

The Insider GOP CrapBurgers Have Finally Hit the Fan

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Tom Balek Standard 3

How long have we been trying to wake up the Republican party? Even before emergence of the Tea Party, the mainstream “real” Americans who go to work, pay their taxes, mow their own lawns and worry about their kids’ futures were trying to express that we are fed up with the political correctness, the deceit, the secularization, the corruption, and the failed domestic and foreign policies of our government officials. We’re sick of not being heard. We’re tired of being lied to. We’re sick and tired of the condescension.

Year after year we worked for candidates, contributed to campaigns and causes, studied and wrote and taught conservative principles. It only got worse. “They just don’t get it,” we complained to each other. We sent officials to Washington who we thought were conservatives, only to see them melt into the cushy lap of the DC Cartel, rendered incapable of standing up to the leftist leadership, who ran roughshod over our values and our wallets.

They offered us loser McCain. They put up loser Romney. They gave us Speaker Boehner, and Justice Roberts and Leader McConnell and Speaker Ryan. They refused to stop funding for Planned Parenthood and to keep nukes away from Iran. They funded opposition to conservative candidates. They stood by and silently watched the president abandon our allies, and condoned his military “shrinkage”. They would not defend our constitution or our borders. They signed off on one porky CrapBurger budget after another, ballooning our debt.

Now, finally, the CrapBurgers have hit the fan. We actually have two presidential candidates, Cruz and Trump, who are not in the pockets of the Cartel. And the Insider Republicans are FREAKING OUT.

It’s a pathetic sight. Today the Insider Republicans trotted out Romney, the guy who couldn’t even match up against the worst president in our nation’s history, to try to bully the outsider candidates who now threaten their DC cocktail party invitations.

Listen to Romney and the Insider Republicans bashing the challengers: “You’re a RAAAACIST! You’re a nasty rich guy taking advantage of little old ladies! You hate women and the handicapped! You are an intolerant Christian! You hate the poor and the immigrants! You hate gay people! Racist! Racist! Racist!”

Sound familiar?

When Hillary Clinton was asked, “What is the difference between a socialist and a Democrat?” she had no answer. I’d like to ask the Insider Republicans, “What is the difference between you and the Democrats?.” wimpy.-King-Features1

They still don’t get it. They know their very existence is threatened, but they don’t know why, and it looks like they are incapable of understanding or change.

It’s time to start over. And it’s way past time for the Insider Republicans to stop asking me for money every five minutes. I will NOT pay you Tuesday for another CrapBurger today!

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

CrapBurgers and Sleazy Lies
You fooled us once and you fooled us twice
The Inside Republicans have met their demise
No more CrapBurgers and Sleazy Lies!

to the tune of CheeseBurger in Paradise
(apologies to Jimmy Buffet)

Just Sayin’ . . .

Posted on March 1, 2016 by Tom Balek Standard Reply

Hillary Clinton, after winning the SC Democrat primary proclaimed: “Despite what you hear, we don’t need to make America great again. America has never stopped being great. But we do need to make America whole again. Instead of building walls, we need to be tearing down barriers.”

If Hillary thinks we need to make America whole again, why does she continue to divide Americans into “victim groups” by skin color, by achievement and income level, by religion, and by sex or sexual orientation and pitting us against each other? Hillary promises to continue Obama’s direction when she is president. Are people going to grow more divided and suspicious of each other every year during her presidency, too? Just sayin’ . . .

The Reverend Al Sharpton (along with Whoopi Goldberg and Rosie O’Donnell) has announced that if Donald Trump is elected president, he will leave the country.

Um, can we make sure the good Reverend has paid his $4.5 million in back taxes before we let him out? And by the way, would somebody please find out what church the Rev is preaching at every Sunday? Just sayin’ . . .

Washington insider and GOP consultant Juleanna Glover said, “If Cruz doesn’t beat Trump in Texas, there’s going to be full-scale panic.”

Seems to me if the Washington insiders are scared to death of Trump moving into their neighborhood, that might be exactly why people are voting for him. Just sayin’ . . .

Environmental activist / actor Leonardo DiCaprio told Vanity Fair he was terrified when global warming caused the weather in Calgary to rapidly change on his recent visit. “There would be eight feet of snow and then all of a sudden a warm gust of wind would come,” DeCaprio cried.

Anybody who has spent a winter on the east slopes of the Rockies will tell you it happens all the time, Leo. It’s called Chinook winds, and it’s been going on since long before those evil white men first set foot in Montana or Alberta. Just sayin’ . . .

On Fox News Sunday, Chris Wallace badgered Ted Cruz, repeating the juvenile and baseless insults thrown at him by his opponents in the recent presidential debate. When an exasperated Cruz charged that Wallace was using Trump’s opposition bullet points, Wallace flew into a rage. Wallace did not ask Cruz a single policy-related question during the interview.

Isn’t this the same Chris Wallace whose eyes well with tears each week as he lists the political figures who won’t answer his requests for an interview? Just sayin’ . . .

Bernie Sanders says a college education should be provided to all students free of charge.

You get what you pay for, Bernie. You get what you pay for. Just sayin’ . . .

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Tell me what I say,
Tell me what I say right now
Tell me what I say
Tell me what I say!

What I Say – Ray Charles

Heritage Foundation Eats An Elephant

Posted on February 23, 2016 by Tom Balek Standard Reply

graphic by Sean Gallo

Have you heard anything lately about the budget? Is anybody still concerned about the size and growth of our federal government, our $20 trillion (and growing) debt, and the decomposing cadaver our economy has become?

It seems strange at a time when there is so much political buzz, nobody is talking much about our fiscal problem. The presidential candidates from both sides show little or no concern, probably because the topic is not “sexy” enough for media coverage.

Well, I hate to be a buzz-killer, but the budget elephant is still in the room, getting bigger and smellier every day.

We have been repeatedly told by our political leaders and media pundits that our fiscal problem is too impossibly huge to even think about. Well, it’s not. This can be solved. Why not roll up our sleeves and start working on it? Like, now?

Fortunately, we still have one shining treasure in our national vault — the Heritage Foundation. This group of geniuses has no fear of tackling big, vexing problems. And they have a solution for our seemingly intractable spending problem. It’s called the “Blueprint for Balance – A Federal Budget for 2017”.

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. The Blueprint for Balance is a six-course elephant dinner:

SLOW THE GROWTH IN SPENDING, while fully funding national security needs
CUT TAXES by $1.3 trillion over 10 years
BALANCE THE BUDGET within seven years
REDUCE SPENDING by $10.5 trillion and cut the deficit by $9.2 trillion over 10 years
ELIMINATE BUDGET GIMMICKS and establish a process to address unauthorized appropriations
ELIMINATE PROGRAMS that produce favoritism and limit opportunity

These are not just wishes or slogans. Each course is real-world, detailed and dollarized into chewable bites.

Here’s an example. One of hundreds of cost-saving recommendations would eliminate subsidies for Power Marketing Administrations (PMAs), the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and the Rural Utilities Service (RUS). This proposal saves $438 million in FY 2017.

When I lived in rural Montana, my electricity was provided by a rural cooperative with outstanding local service at a reasonable (albeit heavily subsidized) price. Now I live in an urban area with a huge nuclear power plant operated by the nation’s largest electric utility company only a few miles from my home. My electricity should be cheap, right? Oh heck no! Because I am forced to subscribe to a ‘grandfathered’ rural electric cooperative, my rates are much higher than my neighbors who are served by the big guys. Plus the co-op gets taxpayer subsidies.

At the turn of the century it was necessary to establish rural electric cooperatives. There was no other way to provide affordable electricity in sparsely-populated areas. But like most government programs, it has outlived its purpose.

This is just one bite – there are hundreds of others, some big and some small, in the Blueprint for Balance. I hope my congressman is hungry, because I am going to ask him to start chewing. Please ask yours to do the same. If every congressman takes a couple of bites, we can do this.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Gonna live each minute,
‘Til I’ve had my fill
Aw, girl, I’ll be rollin’ in it!
Yes, yes, you know I will,!

Hungry – Paul Revere and the Raiders