How’s This For A Plan? STOP!

Posted on September 9, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard Reply

I’m tired of hearing Democrats insisting that the Republicans and conservatives “have no plan”.

The liberal solution to every issue, question, and challenge is a new government “program” that will spend more money and will live forever, even after it fails or is obsolete. Education is failing? We must not be spending enough. Our GDP is not growing? More government spending. Our favorite socially-engineered industry (green energy) can’t compete in the real world? Give them more public money.

So when a Republican does not propose a new “program” featuring more government spending (and debt), that is the equivalent of “doing nothing” or “having no plan”.

Hogwash. Here’s a plan for you.

We must immediately STOP the ridiculous, wasteful government programs already in place that accomplish nothing. The liberals’ insistence that government spending spurs the economy is deceitful – every dollar government gives to one person or company was taken from another person or company, and a big slice is missing by the time it gets to the receiver due to waste, corruption, and inefficiency. Government spending, while sometimes necessary, is a proven drag on the economy. Raising taxes makes it worse, and printing and/or borrowing money to spur the economy just delays the pain.

The quid pro quo, pay-to-play, corrupt paybacks to unions, corporate donors, cronies, and special interest groups must be STOPPED now.

Let’s immediately STOP the attacks and roadblocks on our energy industry by the Obama administration via the EPA and other agencies and aligned special-interest groups. We have the resources and the technology to become the energy supplier to the world, and could do so quickly. What do they not like about more jobs, a positive balance of trade, and elimination of the dependence on hostile foreign suppliers?

We can and must immediately STOP the flow of illegal aliens across our borders, most of whom end up collecting welfare. This isn’t even a choice, as our laws and Constitution require it.

We must STOP throwing good money after bad, doing things the same way out of habit. We have to STOP politicizing and polarizing every issue and shouting at each other across the ideological divide without even listening for kernels of wisdom that might be on the other side.

And because the stakes are so high, and our fiscal crisis is so urgent, we must focus on economics and STOP wasting time on all the distractions and bogus issues – the class warfare, the make-believe “war on women”, the race-baiting. Unless we straighten out our fiscal mess, nothing else really matters.

One of the corny, childish jokes from the old Hee Haw television program (yes, you ARE old enough to remember) featured Archie Campbell as the country doctor. A different patient every week would complain, “Doc, it hurts when I do this.” The wise doctor would always give him a whack and yell, “Then DON’T DO THAT!” Not exactly rocket science, is it?

There are a lot more specifics to the plan of Republicans and conservatives. But the best parts of their plan include the word STOP!

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

It’s time we stop,
Hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s goin’ down

For What It’s Worth – Buffalo Springfield

Write a check to your school for $88,000?!

Posted on September 2, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 6

In my neck of the Montana woods, the annual cost to educate a K-12 student is over $11,000, which is about the state average. Some nearby rural school districts spend $15,000 per student and one spends over $22,000 per kid per year. (Data is available at the ‘Transparency in MT Schools’ website – thanks to the Montana Policy Institute). This does not include the additional costs of government offices and personnel related to education.

Most people say we should spend more on education. They aren’t specific about how much would be enough – $25,000 per student? $50,000? $100,000?

Forgive my “old Bean Counter” instincts, but hearing these numbers makes me think: If I live in this small Montana town where educating a student costs $22,000 per year, and I have four kids, do I have to write a check for $88,000 every August?

Now, I’m not going to tell any community or school board that they can’t spend that much, or more, if they are spending their own money. The problem is, they aren’t.

For reference, Montana’s 2008 per capita income was under $35,000. Most parents have no idea how much their schools spend, because they don’t write a check to the district — school funds come from somewhere else.

The costs are hidden. Just like GRANTS. Just like EMPLOYER PAID HEALTH INSURANCE and MEDICAID. Just like pretty much ALL GOVERNMENT SPENDING.

It’s so easy to spend somebody else’s money. The trouble is, as Margaret Thatcher famously said, “You eventually run out of other people’s money.” She’s right. We are out, and are now having to borrow and print the money we spend.

I’m not an anarchist – I know that there are important things that are better done collectively than individually. And I’m not picking on Montana, our school spending pretty much mirrors the national average and test results are above average. Much of the cost is mandated.

But I am a realist when it comes to budgets, and a believer in the miracle of the free market. Gang, I’m sorry, we can’t keep spending more and more on education in this country, especially when our kids are not getting our money’s worth.

Many people just can’t get used to the idea of school vouchers, or school choice. But look at it this way. Let’s say you have three school kids. Would you be ready and willing to write a check for $33,000 for the school year? If you were able to write that check, would you be more demanding about what you are getting for your investment?

Now turn that scenario around. Most people could not, or would not write that check. So if instead you received a check from the government for $33,000, how would you spend it?

Would you spend it on the best education for your child that your money could buy? For $33,000, would you perhaps stay at home and educate your own children? Would you pay college tuition for your high-functioning senior instead of high school?

If one small-town school is your only choice, obviously that’s where your voucher goes. You may choose to supplement it with your own money or contributions until it meets your standards.

Alternatives quickly spring up in the free market to supply any consumer demand. Education is no different – why wouldn’t I buy the education product that is best for my family and student (quality, safety, value)?

Give me a million dollars and a hundred kids, and I’d sure like to give it a shot. Bet I could hire some damn good teachers, and every graduate would be ready for financial independence and a productive career, or higher education. There would be plenty of funds to transport, feed, and educate students at a level that is unattainable by the current system, along with a profit.

I recently heard a career public school educator remark, “the best math comprehension model I have ever seen is the one in place at Sylvan Learning Center.”

This is a deep discussion, with many questions (i.e. special education, extracurriculars, social issues, welfare kids), and this post is already too long. But there are as many answers and ideas as there are questions – the free market has a way of finding solutions to consumer wants and needs.

I just want every parent to give some serious thought to the possibilities and potential of school choice, rather than dismiss it out-of-hand. It’s time we take the chance.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Gonna do my very best and it ain’t no lie
If you put me to the test, if you let me try
Take a chance on me
(That’s all I ask of you honey)
Take a chance on me

Take A Chance On Me – ABBA

Obama Is A Conservative!

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 4

Yesterday I viewed Dinesh D’Souza’s outstanding new movie “2016: Obama’s America”.

As a pretty wired-in conservative, I didn’t find much in the way of new revelations in the movie, but it was a powerful and riveting 90 minutes nonetheless.

D’Souza’s mission is to bring context to the Obama mystery. He assembles the parts into a final product: a clear definition of why President Obama repeatedly takes such baffling, and arguably anti-American positions and actions.

Why would an American president return the treasured bust of Winston Churchill, a gift from our British friends and allies? Why would he surround himself with avowed Marxists? Why would he align with the Palestinians and snub Israel, a long-time ally of the US? Why would he allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons while striving to eliminate them here?

The answer to these, and many more questions, according to D’Souza: President Obama’s entire life experience has made him a confirmed anti-colonialist – a doctrine not familiar to Americans, but one that prevails in many parts of the world, including Kenya, the home of Obama’s father and paternal family. D’Souza contends that America is viewed by the under-developed world, and by Obama, as a colonialist oppressor.

D’Sousa takes the viewer to President Obama’s ancestral home in Kenya, and the homes of his youth, Indonesia and Hawaii. He interviewed people who knew his parents, and Obama himself as a youth, and they seem to corroborate D’Sousa’s theory.

There was one surprise in the movie. It revealed that Obama IS a conservative! George Obama, that is – Barack Obama’s half-brother.

D’Souza interviewed George Obama in Nairobi, where he lives a very modest lifestyle without any support from his wealthy and powerful half-brother, Barack.

George Obama admits his mother is disappointed in him because he “did not finish his education”. But his wisdom has not suffered. He slyly deflected D’Souza’s inferences about his brother’s seeming lack of family charity. George brushed them off, saying, “I am an adult. I don’t need his help.”

If only more Americans were so self-reliant.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

I’ve got a word or two
To say about the things that you do
You’re telling all those lies
About the good things that we can have
If we close our eyes

Think For Yourself – the Beatles

Do You Vote By Color?

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 10

I have enjoyed some outstanding speakers on television from the Republican convention.

Condi Rice was firm, clear and decisive about the importance of maintaining our military strength in the face of a “chaotic and dangerous world”. And she hit the nail on the head when she said, “When the world looks at us today, they see an American government that cannot live within its means. They see a government that continues to borrow money, mortgaging the future of generations to come.” I’m a huge Condi Rice fan.

But I wouldn’t vote for her or support her just because she’s black.

I was impressed by Puerto Rico’s young and very bright governor, Luis Fortuño. He has proved Paul Ryan’s contention that “we can do this”. “We cut government expenses by almost 20 percent, starting with my own salary,” Fortuño said. “We reduced our deficit 90 percent, while continuing to invest in our schools, hospitals, and highways. At the same time, we slashed taxes 50 percent on individuals and 30 percent on businesses, the largest tax cuts in Puerto Rico’s history. And our private sector – the real economy – began to create jobs again.” As I listened I realized that this is a government leader who ‘gets it’.

But I wouldn’t vote for him or support him just because he’s Hispanic.

Nikki Haley is a pistol. I couldn’t help but grin when she talked about “watching that first brand new, mac daddy plane rolling onto the runway sporting a ‘Made With Pride In South Carolina’ decal and surrounded by 6,000 nonunion employees, cheering, smiling and so proud of what they had built.” And I felt pride in America hearing how her family came from India and muscled together a $30 million company that started in their living room.

But I wouldn’t vote for her or support her just because she is a woman. Or from an immigrant family.

I could care less what color our political leaders are, or where they were born, or whether they cry at sad movies.

I just want people who understand the realities of economics, love the USA, and are LEADERS.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Said the fight to make ends meet
Keeps a man upon his feet
Holding down his job
Trying to show he can’t be bought

Ooh, it takes every kind of people
To make what life’s about, yeah
Every kind of people
To make the world go ’round

Every Kind of People – Robert Palmer

Blame It On Bush

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 1

These guys are Rockin’ On the Right Side! “Blame It On Bush” by the Voters.

Thanks to Big Swede for the find –

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Montana Charity vs. Share The Wealth

Posted on August 15, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 2

There was a time when we Americans watched out for each other. If someone needed help, his friends, family, and neighbors would jump in to do what was needed. As a teenager, my small-town dad taught me to always offer help. Flat tire? Hey, let me help you with that jack. Dead battery? We can give you a jump. Cows got out of the fence? Let’s help you get them back in. House burned down? The whole town will pitch in to help you get back on your feet. It’s the Montana way. And you never know when you might be the one who needs help.

But voluntary charity wasn’t good enough for the “progressives” among us. They have never trusted their neighbors to help. Maybe it’s because they never felt compelled to offer help to others. So the expectation in recent years is to have government answer every need.

There’s a big difference. An important difference.

You see, the good Lord knew what he was doing when he created the human psyche. Voluntarily helping somebody else feels good. You know it’s true – it really is better to give than to receive.

But when someone takes something from you – something you worked for – and gives it to somebody else whether you like it or not – well . . . it just doesn’t feel so good, does it?

Volunteers load hay for Montana neighbors – photo by Don Danell

There was a big fire near Roundup, Montana a few weeks ago. Thousands of acres of timber and agricultural land were destroyed, along with dozens of homes. A small group of nearby ranchers realized that their fellow cattlemen were going to have a problem feeding their stock. They weren’t asked to help. And they didn’t wait for the government to do a series of studies about what was needed. They took action on their own.

In short order, 18 fire-stricken ranchers from the Roundup area received truckloads of hay, courtesy of their concerned neighbors – even the delivery and fuel was donated.

This is how charity used to work. This is how it SHOULD work.

Can you imagine how much it would have cost and how long it would have taken for our government bureaucracy to get hay to these ranchers in need?

Yes, it does take a village to raise a child and to help those in need. It takes neighbors, family, and friends. And it works a lot better without forced charity – and the complication and inefficiency of government.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side
thanks to Deb Hill

Enjoy this all-time classic by James Taylor

If the sky above you
Should turn dark and full of clouds
And that old north wind should begin to blow
Keep your head together
And call my name out loud
Soon I’ll be knocking upon your door

You’ve Got A Friend – James Taylor (Carole King)

60s and 70s Protest Music – It’s Relevant Today

Posted on August 14, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 1

Country Joe McDonald at Woodstock

Ah, the great music of our youth – all those protest songs extolling the virtues of Freedom, and railing against government corruption. Songs about how a person shouldn’t be judged or given favors because of the color of his skin.

It was a time when the Leftist youth of our nation took us all by the sleeve and cried out for peace, and justice under the law, and tolerance for others who might have a different point of view. “Let us run the world!” they sang. “We’ll make it all better!”

And now, the Leftists are in power. They got their wish. They do rule the world.

Funny thing is, I listen to those lyrics and they still ring true today – only the players have changed. Our government is more corrupt than ever, picking winners and losers based on contributions and voting blocs. Our laws are a shambles as our administration chooses which ones to enforce and which to ignore. Racial and social divides continue to widen as self-serving politicians separate us into groups to pit against each other.

Now it’s the aging Tea Party people who cry out for Freedom from a government that has turned its back on the Constitution. It’s the grandparents who fear that government corruption will destroy their life savings and the economic futures of their grandkids.

I can’t make the case any better than Pete Townshend did in 1971 (below).

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

There’s nothing in the street
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
And the parting on the left
Is now the parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight

I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I’ll get on my knees and pray
We don’t get fooled again

We Won’t Get Fooled Again – the Who

Paul Ryan – Honorary “Old Bean Counter”

Posted on August 11, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 1

Today’s selection of Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney’s running mate is encouraging to me. Not because I have any great insight as to which candidate gives Romney the best chance of beating Obama this fall – I don’t know anything about the art of politics.

What I do know is that our nation’s greatest problem is the state of our economy – the debt, the sagging GDP, the drop in productivity, the unemployment rate, declining personal wealth and income, and the inability of our government to change its failed fiscal policies. If we solve our economic problems, most of our other problems will solve themselves.

On this blog you’ve heard me opine about how us “Old Bean Counters” could get things straightened out. I feel like Ryan is one of us. Not so much old, but he is definitely a Bean Counter.

He stands alone as the only person in DC able to produce a do-able budget that points to a brighter future (although I would advocate a more aggressive turnaround). He knows that any successful business – or government – must be run by the numbers. Not by feelings, or wishes, or diplomacy, or hope.

Ryan has shown that he is practical, realistic, and optimistic. He is able to cut to the chase and make a decision. He knows how to hold people and processes accountable through controls. Our government is no different from a business – Dollars In, Dollars Out. Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail.

From the somewhat benign position of vice president, Ryan would not be able to make sweeping changes on his own. But the fact that Romney chose him indicates to me that Mitt “gets it”. He is a realist, and he knows that straightening out the economy must be top priority.

So in addition to his veep candidacy, I would also like to hereby nominate Paul Ryan for the lofty position of “Chief Bean Counter”. We need ya, buddy.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

‘Cause he’s oh, so good,
And he’s oh, so fine,
And he’s oh, so healthy,
In his body and his mind.
He’s a well respected man about town,
Doing the best things so conservatively.

A Well Respected Man – the Kinks

IRS Director Shulman – YOU’RE FIRED!

Posted on August 9, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 2

I loved Mr. Spacely. He was the kind of boss who could make a decision. When George Jetson screwed up, Spacely would jump up on his desk and scream, “Jetson . . . YOU’RE FIRED!”

If only our government worked like that. These days, nobody in government is ever responsible for anything. And nobody ever gets fired.

Take, for instance, our current IRS Commissioner, Douglas Shulman. Probably a nice man. Loves his family and is kind to puppies. But for God’s sake, according to the US Treasury Inspector General’s recent report, his department failed to prevent 1.5 million fraudulent tax returns last year, costing the taxpayers $5.2 billion!

The level of ineptitude, if not outright treasonous subterfuge, is astonishing:

the report says the IRS intentionally did not review applications for individual taxpayer ID numbers, mostly used by illegal aliens
they sent 23,560 refunds to ten bank accounts totalling more than $16 million
23,994 tax refunds were sent to ONE ADDRESS in Atlanta totalling $46.3 million
the inspector general estimates that the IRS will issue $21 billion in fraudulent tax refunds over the next five years.

In the real world, this kind of lunacy could not happen. Only in ObamaLand is this possible.

If Mr. Spacely was in charge, he would be screaming “Shulman, YOU’RE FIRED!”

And if I were in charge, I would be going after Shulman’s boss.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Hit the road, Jack –
And don’t you come back no more, no more, no more, no more!
Hit the road, Jack –
And don’t you come back no more!

Hit the Road, Jack – Ray Charles

Tom Balek – Rockin' On The Right Side

Conservative common sense with the volume set at 9!

Tag Archives: Tea Party

How’s This For A Plan? STOP!

Write a check to your school for $88,000?!

Obama Is A Conservative!

Do You Vote By Color?

Blame It On Bush

Montana Charity vs. Share The Wealth

60s and 70s Protest Music – It’s Relevant Today

Paul Ryan – Honorary “Old Bean Counter”

IRS Director Shulman – YOU’RE FIRED!