Tag Archives: economy

Hey Moe! How About Them Tariffs?

Posted on by Standard 1

Today’s stock market activity looks like the work of three men: Larry, Curly and Moe.

This morning news reporters breathlessly claimed that President Trump has put a hold on his promised tariffs against imported goods. Then the markets went crazy as nobody could decide if the reports were accurate (no, he didn’t – yes, he did – wait, is this fake news or not?). Financial advisors and political pundits flip-flopped like catfish in the bottom of a boat. I saw the DOW and NASDAQ drop 3% and then bounce back to 2% gains inside of 15 minutes.

All of this gyration makes clear that the stock market is not a real economic indicator. And that the news and political folks play on our emotions constantly. And that our level of economic sophistication, not to mention our attention spans, have atrophied to something like the third-grade level.

In reality, nothing in the economy is different today than last month. But the mere mention of any Trump initiative is sure to send everybody into a tizzy. Those afflicted with Trump Derangement Syndrome believe that he is hell-bent on destroying our country (and the world), because he is a Nazi Fascist Orange Man who wants revenge for being treated so badly by so many for so long.

The fact is, our stock market has been wildly over-valued for a long time, and the recent downturn is no different from any correction before. Remember that nasty inflation during the Biden years that caused prices to go crazy? During all of that inflation, the stock market continued to float higher and higher. Analysts touted greater sales and profits by our domestic businesses. But sales were up only because of inflated prices, not because more units were being produced and sold – each dollar in the system was worth less. And profits were higher because sales were higher.

This disconnect between production and prices caused the stock market to blow up artificially, and sooner or later it had to pop.

Maybe the threat of tariffs scared some people into a doom-and-gloom selloff. But folks, it was going to happen anyway, just like it has many times before. And the market has always recovered before, usually in a matter of a few months.

Trump is just shaking things up and trying to drag the world economy back to some semblance of sanity where our debt doesn’t increase by a trillion bucks every couple of months, 20% of working-age men aren’t home on disability, and we don’t send checks to people who died 50 years ago.

Watching all this chaos, I can’t help but chuckle a little bit. Nyuk, nyuk nyuk.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Hey Moe! Nyuk nyuk nyuk nyuk!
We-be-be-be-be-be!
Oh, wise guy!
We never miss a chance to get up and dance
We’re doing the Curly Shuffle!
THE CURLY SHUFFLE – Jump ‘n the Saddle Band


Draining the Swamp – Trump 2.0

Posted on by Standard Reply

The first few weeks of Trump 2.0 has been exhilarating for long-suffering conservative Americans. Early reports of young brainiacs with their AI algorithms revealing mountains of waste, fraud and inefficiency are music to our ears. Volunteer auditor-in-chief Elon Musk and newly-confirmed director of Office, Management and Budget (OMB) Russ Vought hit the ground running – no, they hit the ground flying at hypersonic speed! They are determined to streamline performance, knock down the debt and deficits, and get rid of federal flab. As Trump would say, they are attacking the Swamp with a speed and ferocity “no one has ever seen before”.

So far, so good. Trump 2.0 has already:

  • eliminated DEI departments, programs and costs
  • attacked woke and politically weaponized practices
  • exposed inappropriate spending, targeting foreign and domestic outlays that taxpayers would never approve
  • required federal employees to show up for work and prove their merit
  • closed the borders to illegal immigration and started deportations
  • negotiated favorable foreign trade arrangements
  • promised to get rid of unnecessary and duplicative departments, unused buildings and unneeded personnel
  • identified opportunities for upgraded technology and efficiency

But all this swamp-draining optimism seems eerily familiar. I recall a similar feeling at the beginning of Trump 1.0, and found an old article I wrote about it eight years ago. My enthusiastic and well-intended predictions turned out to be embarrassingly inaccurate.

For one thing, my article focused on one of many less-than-stellar Trump cabinet appointees, Mick Mulvaney. Mick was plucked by Trump from his gig as SC legislator to seek and destroy federal waste and corruption via the OMB. It didn’t happen.

When we first met, Mulvaney impressed me. He was very bright, had a real grasp of Tea Party conservative principles, and walked the talk as a founder of the fledgling House Freedom Caucus. And he hired Russ Vought, a friend and mentor from Heritage Action, as his right-hand man. But I got a chill when I asked Mulvaney if he could implement zero-based budgeting to get our spending under control. He said I should forget about reducing spending. “Our budget is so huge and complicated that nobody in government will even try to cut spending – ever.” Mulvaney said that the only way to reduce the debt, which was about $10 trillion at the time, was to outgrow it by revving up the economy and tax revenues. Tax revenues grew rapidly, but spenders gonna spend – and some of them will spend $2 for ever $1 taken in.

Needless to say, Trump’s success at draining the swamp was about as real as my photo-shopped picture of Mick wrestling an alligator. The swamp creatures from the left and right were bigger and badder than Trump 1.0 bargained for, and he got his nose – and ours – bloodied.

But nobody ever said Trump is a quitter. He recognized his errors, he listened to good advice, he meticulously studied and planned, he literally dodged bullets, and he returned victorious to implement Trump 2.0. The stakes are higher this time around as our debt has ballooned to $36.5 trillion and is growing by a trillion bucks every 100 days. We don’t yet know if our Republican Senate and House will support Trump 2.0 or prefer the fetid smell of the swamp.

Last November American voters peered over the edge of a steep cliff. At the bottom we saw the extinction of our freedoms, our prosperous and moral civilization, and the future of our children. We turned away from the edge and now have One More Last Chance before we’re through.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Give me just a one more last chance Before you say we’re through I know I drive you crazy baby It’s the best that I can do We’re just some good ol’ boys, a makin’ noise I ain’t a runnin’ ’round on you Give me just a one more last chance Before you say we’re through

ONE MORE LAST CHANCE – Vince Gill

Whistleblower Reveals Government is Too Damn Big

Posted on by Standard 1

Warning: the following reading material contains NUMBERS. If you are allergic to numbers, or if numbers make your eyes glaze over and your head throb, you were probably educated in government schools. You may wish to exit this page and check out the latest Taylor Swift news.
[correction 10/31/24: my numbers re: presidential campaign spending were off by one comma, s/b $1.8 billion and $356 million.] Sorry, my eyes glazed over!

Okay, the whistleblower is ME. I used that to get your attention, since whistleblowers are in fashion right now. But I think I have discovered the cause of all of our problems: OUR GOVERNMENT KEEPS GETTING BIGGER WHILE OUR PRIVATE SECTOR EMPLOYMENT AND PRODUCTION GETS SMALLER.

Our government has become so huge – in terms of employees, dollars received, dollars redistributed, dollars consumed in administration, dollars spent, and dollars wasted by errors and corruption – that it no longer fits our constitution or the economic formula that made us the greatest nation on Earth. Most Americans don’t understand that government does not produce anything or create any wealth. That only happens in the private sector, and sadly our private sector doesn’t create much of anything any more.

For those of you still with me, here’s are the promised numbers:

According to USAFacts.com, when President Trump left office in January of 2020, there were 2.86 million federal employees. In October of 2024 under the Biden/Harris administration that number had ballooned to 4.0 million, a staggering increase of 40%! And this does not even begin to consider the growth in state and local governments, NGOs (non-governmental organizations) fed by the Democrat machine, or the employees bought with taxpayer money that enriches crony corporations for “projects” that never seem to get done. Meanwhile, the labor participation rate in my state has dropped from nearly 70% in the mid 1970s to 57% in recent years. Government employment gets bigger while private employment shrinks.

Stats from Microsoft’s CoPilot: As of 2024, Federal employees earn, on average, $144,000 in total annual compensation. 68% of federal employees “work from home” full or part time. (First year Marines, by the way, earn $24,204 annually, and they don’t get to “work from home”!).

Back in 2012 I ran a little test to see if federal employees actually show up at work. My contention was that no federal employees other than secretaries who can’t escape are at work after 2:30 pm on a weekday or 1:00 pm on a Friday. So I randomly called several federal senior employees at 2:30 pm on a Tuesday. They were all “away from their desks”. I’m sure this test would bring the same results, or worse, today.

In 2023 government spending reached 34.4% of GDP. From 1900 until 2023, government spending averaged 25.68% of GDP.

Our national debt is now $34 trillion, up from $16.8 trillion in 2019. That’s more than double in five years. Lately I find myself repeating, “Do you know how hard it is to spend a trillion dollars? It takes a lot of people, effort, corruption, and time!”

Spending on the Biden/Harris 2024 presidential campaign has reached $1.8 billion. Trump has spent $356 million. Yes, that is trillion with a “T”! Where did all that Biden/Harris money come from? Any chance that some of it slushed through the recent multi-trillion-dollar spending bills to NGOs, unions, and crony corporations and found its way right back to the Democrats?

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why so much of our private earnings is going to government and people who want to be close to big-government money. Or why there seems to be Corruption in every corner of every government office. “The consistent fear of government corruption shows a deep mistrust in government, with many Americans worried that powerful interests may be influencing it,” said Steve Pfaff, Ph.D., a sociology professor.

If Willie Sutton, famous bank robber in the 1930s, robbed banks because “that’s where the money is”, he would certainly be a US senator today.

In the heat of the current campaign, everybody is focused on personalities – who is dumb, who is mean, who is the next Hitler, who is going to give free stuff to everybody.

Nobody mentions the real problem: our government is TOO DAMN BIG!

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Big money goes around the world
Big money give and take
Big money done a power of good
Big money make mistakes

Big money got a heavy hand
Big money take control
Big money got a mean streak
Big money got no soul

BIG MONEY – Rush

How Do They Spend ALL THAT MONEY?!!

Posted on by Standard 2

Our annual government spending is $6.5 trillion. Our debt is $34.7 trillion and rapidly growing. CLICK HERE TO LOOK AT THE LIVE DEBT CLOCK. It reveals some eye-popping statistics. Click on the individual fields to get more information. For example our debt is more than double that of China with less than a quarter of their population.

If you wonder why there is so much crazy stuff going on in the government lately, consider how hard it must be to legitimately spend $6.5 trillion dollars. I mean, that’s a humongous number! Our 435 congressmen are only in session for about 150 days a year, so they have to work really hard to get rid all of that money. Each congressman has to spend $100 billion every day they show up to work! Wow, no wonder they are so exhausted they can only work part time.

It is so hard to blow through that much money that, after giving some to foreign oligarchs for their wars and corruption, and taking as much off the top as they can without being obvious, our congressmen have to start passing it down to state governments as “grants”.

But it’s hard for state governments to spend that much money too, because they already have $2 trillion of their own money to get rid of. So the states pass some of their taxpayer money down to the local governments as “grants”.

But the locals already have their own $2 trillion, so it’s hard work for them to spend even more.

Yup, that’s $10.5 trillion of our hard-earned wages going to government at all levels each year. How the heck can we expect our overburdened government employees to keep track of all that money?


The South Carolina state comptroller just discovered $1.8 billion that has been sitting in a “clearance” account on the state’s books for 5 years. And they have no idea where it came from or where it should go!

This from a state legislature that just gave $1.3 billion in taxpayer cash, tax incentives and other spending to a foreign electric vehicle manufacturer while American EV companies are closing plants due to lack of demand and profitability.

Our government is not working the way it was designed. The constitution was set up as a way to keep the government out of our private business as much as possible – to let us make and spend (or keep) our own money without interference. But it wasn’t long before politicians figured out they could buy votes with OPM (other people’s money), and before you knew it half the country was living on OPM without having to make their own. And the government doesn’t even need to collect taxes, they can just print money and build debt indefinitely. Can you say inflation?

It’s just too hard for our government leaders to actually have to make things work. So our city governments grab grants to buy abandoned properties on Main Street and fund more music and art fairs. Our counties take grants to work on “economic development” by giving tax abatements to speculators as roads and bridges fall apart. And our federal government funds foreign wars and endless caravans of illegal aliens, but our own military can’t keep our ships afloat, our fighter planes flying, or enough trained personnel who are not in gender transition.

It can’t go on much longer. The debt clock says we have $267,000 of government debt per citizen plus another $75,000 of personal debt. We are all already busted!

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

My bills are all due and the baby needs shoes and I’m busted
Cotton is down to a quarter a pound, but I’m busted
I got a cow that went dry and a hen that won’t lay
A big stack of bills that gets bigger each day
The county’s gonna haul my belongings away cause I’m busted

BUSTED – Ray Charles

Why Do Democrats Hate the Working Class?

Posted on by Standard 4

foodstampFor years the media has claimed that the mean old Conservatives (especially the Tea Party) only care about the rich, and don’t give a damn about anybody else.  Only progressive Democrats care about the poor, the average Joe, the “working class family.”

Huh?

Wasn’t it the Democrats who rammed ObamaCare through against the wishes of the majority of Americans?  This is the program that cuts the work hours of millions of “working class” employees, forces them to buy insurance that they don’t want or can’t afford, raises the cost of their existing insurance, or causes their employers to drop coverage.  Here’s a dirty little secret – most of the working poor who are not already on Medicaid are not going to buy their own insurance whether you threaten to punish them at tax time or not.  They don’t know how, won’t learn how, don’t pay taxes, and frankly aren’t interested.  They will still be getting their medical care at the nearest hospital emergency room – after all, the hospitals have not been relieved of the legal responsibility to care for everybody regardless of ability to pay.  Remind me again now, how does ObamaCare help the poor?

Wasn’t it the Democrats who fought like crazy to stop drilling and fracking and pipelines for oil and gas, and mining for coal – resources that would create millions of jobs, lower the cost of energy for all Americans, and get the economy back on track?  Instead they continue to print fiat money, devaluing the currency so the average Joe can’t even afford to put gas in the family wagon.

Wasn’t it the Democrats who refused to allow working-class families to choose the school that will best meet the needs of their children, and instead herds them into chronically under-performing, high-cost schools, wasting students’ time with ideological nonsense instead of teaching them how to make a living?  Don’t even get me started on Common Core.

Wasn’t it the Democrats who destroyed the manufacturing job base in our country by taxing our corporations at the highest rate in the world, making them move production facilities overseas?  We could straighten out our negative balance of trade and bring those jobs back in a few years with some intelligent management of tax rates and tariffs to level the playing field with China, who continues to eat our lunch and demand dessert.

Wasn’t it the Democrats who demanded amnesty for illegal aliens, and called for open borders so that the few available low-tech jobs open to Americans are even harder to get, and pay third-world wages?

Wasn’t it these same Democrats who destroyed the American family, the traditional work ethic, and the economy by replacing the role of working fathers with a huge and growing  “entitlement” culture?  Fewer than half of our citizens pay income tax, and one in five families is on food stamps.  Illegitimacy is normal now as single mothers no longer need to worry about feeding and housing their children.

The news media has been little more than a propaganda wing of the progressives for a long time.  All of their so-called “compassion” since the onset of LBJ’s Great Society has only resulted in more misery for the poor, the average Joe, the “working class.”  And they didn’t do it alone – some corrupt and self-serving liberal Republicans along the way did not exactly help the situation.

Conservatives do care about the poor, the average Joe, the “working class.”  We know that a functional free-market economy offers the best opportunity for everyone to succeed, and is healthy enough to care for those who deserve help.  History proves that heavy-handed, top-down, corrupt big-government enriches those few in control, and steals freedom, opportunity, and wealth from everyone else.

Next time some phony Beltway progressive politician or MSNBC lacky feigns outrage because “Conservatives don’t care about the poor”, you might hear a loud bang – that would be my head exploding.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Rockin' On the Right Side

With you by my side
They can’t keep us down
Together we can make it baby
From the poor side of town

The Poor Side of Town – Johnny Rivers


Montanans Used To Tell “North Dakota Jokes”

Posted on by Standard Reply

In the 1970s we Montanans thought we had it going on, and we snickered about our poor sister state to the east.  The “North Dakota Joke” was all the rage back then, and we regaled each other with the latest North Dakota Jokes every morning over coffee. (Did you hear about the power outage at the University of North Dakota library?  Thirty students were stuck on the escalator for three hours!)

north-dakota-joke-bookA Great Falls radio jock made the North Dakota joke a staple of his programming and the focal point of his entertainment career.  He even published books of North Dakota jokes.  I still have one buried somewhere in my stuff.  They were the same old jokes that have mocked every sub-group (Polish, Hillbilly, Ole and Lena, etc.) for generations, except now recycled with “North Dakotan” as the subject of derision.

Times have changed.  North Dakota now occupies the top rung of the economic ladder, and Montana lags in the bottom quartile.  How did that happen?  Montana is richer in natural resources, with abundant coal, agricultural land, timber forests, mining, and tourist attractions.

All North Dakota has is some fertile black soil here and there, lots of snow, and the Bakken shale oil and natural gas reserve.  But the Bakken extends into eastern Montana, too.  And Montana has other proven reserves of shale oil and natural gas.  So one still must ask, why is North Dakota doing so well while Montana looks wistfully over the fence?

I have a friend from my adopted Montana hometown who is not well-educated, but is good with his hands and industrious.  He is a good mechanic, can weld, and is strong as an ox.  But even these attributes are not enough to make a good living for his young family, so like many of his fellow Montanans, he is headed east for work.  He said:

“I can make $12,000 a month in North Dakota, with no expenses.  Room and board are provided in a man-camp,  I work 28 days on and then get 14 days off.  Pretty long days, but I get paid weekly and get a bonus just for showing up.”

The difference between the two states?  Many would say it comes down to conservative values, work ethic, and plain-old common sense.

Montana changed dramatically over the 23 years from when I left the state for a corporate career to when I came back home to recharge in the beauty and character of the Big Sky.  It was a place where miners, loggers, and ranchers worked hard and played hard.  They loved the land and put it to good use.  An honest, fiercely independent bunch, they had little use for government interference, preferring to solve problems and seize opportunities on their own.

When I returned, some of those people were still here.  But I was astonished at the numbers and political reach of environmentalists, government bureaucrats, and zealous newcomers who wanted to recreate our state in the socially-conscious image of California or Washington.  “Diversity” and “sustainability” were now the order of the day.  As the federal government took a firmer grip on the administration of the state, as outside influence without benefit of Montana history and values grew, and as priorities shifted from creation of wealth to redistribution of it, Montana’s economy slid downhill like springtime snow in the high peaks.

Meanwhile, North Dakota just kept chugging along, taking care of its own and eschewing federal influence and controls.  When opportunity arose, North Dakotans seized the day.  “We’re very old-school pro-business here,” said Vicky Steiner, a Republican state representative who serves as executive director of the North Dakota Association of Oil and Gas Producing Counties. “In some states, people say ‘not in my back yard.’ Here, we believe that our resources should be developed.”

The political conflict in Montana continues, and the Big Sky state will take center stage in the 2014 federal elections.  The Obama administration is adamantly opposed to fossil fuel development, and virtually all Democrat officials – state and federal – tend to fall in lock-step.  Drilling, fracking, and pipelines are under assault.  The leftward lurch in Montana has been not economically favorable over the last few decades, and it remains to be seen if Montanans will stop or reverse the trend.

If not, we may soon be hearing “Montana Jokes” on a Bismarck radio station.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Rockin' On the Right Side

Don’t think I’m being funny when I say
You got just what you deserve
I can’t help feeling you found out today
You thought you were too good you had a lot of nerve

Laugh, Laugh – the Beau Brummels

Here’s a very short video of a very solid Bay-Area band from the mid-sixties.  Enjoy!

Top Priority: Gay Marriage? Get Serious!

Posted on by Standard 2

gay marriage - photo from LA TimesHere we go again – the ruling class and the media avoid all of the big problems our nation faces by staging a mudfight over minutiae.

The bold type all last week was “gay marriage”.  According to the Census Bureau, gay couples constitute less than 1% of American households.  But most people think the number is 20% or greater.  Could it be because the Democrats constantly pound gay/lesbian rights as the most compelling issue of our time?

Among gay couples, how many want to be married?  Most heterosexual couples are not married, why would gays be any different?  If even half of gay couples actually want to be married, now we are talking about less than one half of one percent of US households.

I really don’t care if gays are married or not.  Actually I believe there are churches in every state which will perform the ceremony.  Regardless, THIS IS JUST NOT A BIG TICKET PRIORITY FOR OUR NATION.

The gay marriage issue may directly affect a few thousand people in the US, at most.  In comparison, how many Americans are unemployed or have dropped out of the work force?  How many are working ungodly hours, sacrificing family time to put food on the table and pay their taxes?  How many families struggle financially because the only work available is low-wage service jobs?  How many Americans have little or no savings and just squeak by, paycheck-to-paycheck?  How many families wait for a parent to return home from costly and dangerous military campaigns with no palpable objective?  How many suffer from medical crises, disabilities, substance abuse, and urban violence?

I guess our real unemployment rate of 11.3% is not important.  Our $17 trillion (and growing) debt just doesn’t matter.  Our nation’s declining status and security in an increasingly threatening and unstable international climate – who cares?  Gay Marriage!  That’s what really matters!

Come on.  Let’s get serious.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Rockin' On the Right Side

Let’s get serious
Let’s get serious
Let’s get serious
And fall in love

Let’s Get Serious – Jermaine Jackson

Here’s a cut by the “forgotten” Jackson,  Jermaine.   Damn good musician, and never seemed to have the personal drama that plagued his siblings, although he has had his share of marriages and flings.  He is now a devout Muslim and credits that for his calm demeanor.  Jermaine was nominated for a Grammy for this song.

Livin’ In a Land Down Under

Posted on by Standard 2

kangaroosI spent a day with some friends from Australia last weekend.  It’s sad to say, but they were more engaged in and knowledgeable about American politics and economics than most fellow Yankees I meet.

We had riveting discussions comparing the political and economic situations of our two countries.  One thing became obvious right away – wage rates “down under” far exceed ours.  While the Aussie dollar and the American dollar are near parity, Australian laborers earn $25 or more per hour, while the norm in my American city seems to be about $12 per hour.  Australian professionals appear to earn considerably more than Americans do as well, but taxes take a pretty healthy bite, and prices are high on some items.

Our three guests were all government employees, yet they were very fiscally conservative.  One was a nurse who works for a government-owned and operated health care system.  She explained that citizens who purchase private health insurance can choose their own (presumably superior) doctors and care facilities.  No one is refused care at the public hospitals.

I was surprised to learn that the unions and government are combatants in Australia.  And my friends were shocked to hear about the circle of corruption in the US, where government employees’ unions get politicians elected in exchange for favors and more government jobs.  They wondered why they had not heard about some of the issues I presented, and I explained that for many years our news media have been bedfellows with the democrats, and their reporting is rigidly slanted in that direction (with the exception of Fox News, for whom my guests had no respect).  The Aussies are not impressed with the dearth of real news here, lamenting that they never hear their nation even mentioned in the media.

When we expressed our concerns about vote fraud in recent elections, especially in Montana, they described how their election system requires each citizen to vote – and failure to do so results in a hefty fine.  “We don’t use voting machines, it’s all done manually under great scrutiny,” we were told.

They weren’t pleased that their current prime minister, Julia Gillard of the Labor Party, was not elected by the people.  She assumed office in 2010 when her predecessor, Kevin Rudd, was ousted as the Labor Party leader.  “And she won’t be elected this September, either!”  they announced with firm resolve.  It bothered me greatly that until our visit I didn’t even know who the leader of Australia is.

We shared common concerns about the leftward (and downward) drift in education, and the over-reaching environmental movement.  They understood our worries about illegal immigration: “You mean your immigrants don’t have national identification cards?” they asked.  Of course their border is protected by a rather large ocean.

The big eye-opener for the Aussies was our commitment to the second amendment.  At age 30, one of our guests had never seen or touched a gun.  I showed her mine, and it was as if all the oxygen was sucked out of the room.  My wife and I explained concealed carry permits, and our belief in the fundamental right to protect ourselves, our families, and our property.  They insisted that the bad guys in Australia don’t have guns, so the good guys don’t need them either.  I hope they are right about that.  In our case, unilateral disarmament would be suicidal.

Our friends are well aware of the United States’ tenuous economic condition and our stifling $16 trillion dollar debt.  We pondered where is the “best place” to be, economically and politically, in a world where trouble lurks in every corner.

“We think we have it pretty straight,” they said.  I couldn’t disagree.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Rockin' On the Right Side

Livin’ in a land down under,
Where women glow and men plunder,
Can’t you hear, can’t you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover!

Land Down Under – Men at Work

Change – Be Careful What You Wish For

Posted on by Standard 1

obama_change_01I had an interesting conversation with a liberal this week – a junior manager who works very hard, earns a modest salary, and would like to improve his family’s standard of living.

Our business conversation had turned to the hesitancy on the part of business owners to invest.  “No one is willing to pull the trigger on any major spending in the current political climate,” I said.

My friend asked, “What does politics have to do with whether or not a business owner wants to invest?”

I pointed out that politics and economics are inseparable.  After all, the only thing a government can do is spend other people’s money.  Everything the government does affects the economic environment, and conversely, voters and supporters of candidates make decisions based on their own current financial situations.  Business owners are not confident right now that risking additional capital will provide them with any financial reward.

“Well I have always been a liberal,” my friend said.  “And I agree with you, nobody wants to spend for anything right now.”

I let him talk.

“Nobody wants to upgrade their facilities or hire more employees.  They just don’t know if customers will be able to afford to buy their products.”

I nodded.  Keep thinking, young man.

“You know,” he continued, “wages sure aren’t what they used to be – if you can find a job at all.  People can’t afford to buy houses and cars and other things because they just aren’t making enough money.”

He was on a roll.

“If nobody can afford to buy things, why would you want to build a new store or hire more people?” he concluded. “Times are tough.”

I wanted so badly to deliver my speech about how government waste, corruption and misguided overspending takes a huge bite out of our GDP and personal wealth.  About how government social policies discourage savings and personal responsibility.  About how federal fiscal policy has devalued our dollar, destroyed our balance of trade and built an insurmountable debt.  About how we have become a nation of undereducated, disengaged sheeple, victim to any media-savvy, slick-talking promiser-in-chief.

I wanted to ask, “So why are you a liberal?”  Instead, I shook my head and said, “Gee, I wonder what has changed?”

He didn’t answer.  But the concerned look on his face told me he knew.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Rockin' On the Right Side

I still don’t know what I was waiting for
And my time was running wild
A million dead-end streets
Every time I thought I’d got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet

Changes – David Bowie

If I Had a Million Dollars, I’d Live Like a Retired Govt. Worker

Posted on by Standard 9

Richie_Rich_comic_No_1As a kid I thought it must really be something to be a millionaire.  We read “Richie Rich” comic books and imagined how cool it would be to live in a mansion, with servants and cooks and an indoor swimming pool.

Of course, it was the impossible dream.  Only a rare few Americans could ever be that rich, and they were born to wealthy families.  Still, back then, life was good for most Americans.  Dads went to work, paid the bills, bought modest homes and Chevies, and took the family on a summer road trip to Mount Rushmore.  Moms stayed home, raised the 2.1 kids, attended PTA meetings, and always had a hot, healthy meal ready when Dad came home from work.

What happened?

A million bucks sure isn’t what it used to be.  With CDs paying maybe 1% interest at best, those who worked hard and saved a million dollars can now look forward to a retirement income of – wow – $10,000 a year.  Add that to social security income, of course, but still.   No indoor swimming pool.  No servants.

And it’s not like there are other investment opportunities for retirees.   The only guys making money in the stock market are the hedge fund operators and the machine traders buying and selling at the speed of light.  Municipal bonds pay a couple percent and are tax free – oh that’s right, most city and county governments are bankrupt.

There is one group of really wealthy American retirees.   Retired unionized government workers get guaranteed pensions.  Most receive over $60,000 per year.  There are many government employees who toiled for 25 or 30 hard years, sometimes even working over 35 hours per week behind a hard, cold desk with only 7 weeks of vacation and 15 holidays off each year.  Poor souls, at retirement they must make do with $100k per year plus full medical benefits.

Do the math.  In order to pay a retired teacher $60k per year, we American taxpayers are putting up $6 million at 1% interest.  The retired county engineer who receives a $100k pension requires a taxpayer investment of $10 million to fund his checks.

In an economy where many moms and dads both work long hours and are barely able to feed their families, let alone save anything for retirement, it’s hard to feel sorry for government employees who will retire with multi-million dollar nest eggs.

When I see a headline like this:

Obama Sequester Speech: Republicans Are Putting Economy At Risk To Help The Wealthy

I shake my head in amazement at the level of deceit our President and his followers continue to get away with.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Rockin' On the Right Side
If I had a million dollars
We wouldn’t have to walk to the store
If I had a million dollars
We’d take a limousine cause it costs more
If I had a million dollars
We wouldn’t have to eat Kraft dinner

If I Had A Million Dollars – Barenaked Ladies