Senate Bill Hurts Construction

by the Small Business Owner

Under the new provisions in the Senate Healthcare Reform Bill, Senator Merkley (D-OR) singled out small construction firms for harsher treatment than any other industry. Most employers with fewer than 50 workers who don’t offer health coverage are exempt from fines and the new regulatory regime that applies to larger employers. The newly added provision aims at construction firms employing as few as five workers. They will be subject to health care coverage fines and regulatory requirements.

All construction firms (and only construction firms) with more than five employees will now face fines if they don’t offer health care benefits or if the benefits do no not meet a minimum requirement. Employers must cover 60 percent of the actuarial value of an employee’s premium. If an employee’s share of the premium exceeds 9.8 percent of their household income, then the employee can opt out of the employer provided coverage and receive government subsidies to help offset the costs. The employer can face penalties of $750 per full time employee if the coverage does not meet these requirements.

The construction industry has one of the largest unemployment rates and both residential and commercial contractors are desperately trying to stay afloat. Why punish small business? It’s all about Union control, which wants to put the small non-union shops out of business. Shame on Congress for manipulating our laws to satisfy the greed and the desire for power of Union leadership!

We've Lost Our Way

I think I finally get it. See, I was under the impression that our elected officials in Congress were supposed to be creating and modifying laws to keep this country safe and healthy, both physically and economically. I was clearly wrong.

It’s now apparent to me that the states within the Republic, we call the United States, have become nothing more than bureaucratic administrators for distributing the finances of the social welfare nation we call America. The Senate version of the Healthcare Reform bill, which was passed at 1:00am on 12/21/09, will go down in infamy as the moment in which it truly became obvious that this is all about money and not the welfare of the people.

The passing of this bill required many special deals. Here are just a few that we know about:

Sen. Snow’s (R-ME) vote allowed it to come out of committee, and in trade her home state of Maine will be receiving special financial treatment.

Sen. Nelson (D-NE) leveraged being the 60th vote to insure that Nebraska got more than their fair share of Medicaid.

Sen. Baucus (D-MT) has received special treatment for one small town’s health issues and an exemption on how Medicare will pay doctors and hospitals in his state. Only three other states received this exemption because those were the votes they needed.

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) was able to acquire between $100M and $300M in extra aid for the state of Louisiana for her vote.

David Axelrod said it perfectly, “…the provisions benefiting specific states, like Nebraska, and favored constituencies were a natural part of the legislative process. “

So, we have moved from arguing points of law and the general welfare of the United States citizens to negotiating federal tax dollar distribution for the benefit of a small subset of the constituency. If that’s the case, I suggest that my home state of Florida stop sending lawyers to Washington. I think we should start sending car salesmen. If it’s all about getting the best deal then there is no one better at cutting you for a dollar than an experienced car guy. Also, let’s eliminate the suits, and the formalities, and run it like an auction. It will be Votes for dollars. That way we could save the citizens a lot of time and drama listening to rhetoric on issues that really don’t matter. Congress should love this auction idea, since it will allow them more time to campaign, write books, and go on world wind junkets for private contributors.

The real issue here is that the federal government has become the overlord of the states, and this is in direct contradiction to the U.S. Constitution. Most states look like welfare crack addicts waiting for their monthly check, so they can support their habit of too many social programs and too much bureaucratic waste.

 - Reference Article -

No Justice and No Reason

On November 29th, 2009, four Lakewood Police Department officers were gunned down in a coffee shop near Tacoma, WA. Often the act of a mad man is so heinous that it makes us want to point blame irrationally, but in this case there are people at fault and laws should be changed to ensure that this never happens again.

In 1990, Maurice Clemmons was convicted and sentenced to 108 years in prison. After serving 10 years, then Arkansas governor Huckabee commuted his sentence to 47 years. This allowed an Arkansas Parole Board to release him on parole in July of 2000.

In 2001, Clemmons, violated his parole by committing aggravated robbery and was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison. If you’ve lost track this should have him going back to jail to finish his 47 year term plus another 10 for his latest crime, but Arkansas judicial system ignored the parole violation and after only 4 years he was once again paroled.

He moved to Washington and placed under the supervision of the Washington State Department of Corrections. In May of 2009, there was a bench warrant issued when he escaped police after having raped his 12 year old female relative. In July, he was finally arrested. Arkansas did not request extradition which would have put him behind bars for 57 years. On November 23, 2009 Clemmons paid $15,000 for a $190,000 bail bond and was released. Less than a week later he murdered officers Mark Renninger, 39; Ronald Owens, 37; Tina Griswold, 40; and Greg Richards, 42.

Who’s to blame: Maurice Clemmons and Arkansas Correctional for being plain lazy.

Tax Stock Trades

Reps. Peter Defazio (D-OR) and Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) are proposing a 0.25 percent tax, or $0.10 per share tax, on the sale and purchase of financial instruments such as stocks, options, derivatives, and futures. The real problem is that the tax would effectively end U.S. dominance of financial markets.

We live in a highly competitive financial world where initial public offerings (IPOs) migrate to London when the process becomes prohibitively expensive or lengthy here. Do you really think this tax wouldn't drive trading to a location that was less expensive to transact business? Major U.S. financial institutions are already planning. The NYSE, EuroNext, OMX, and CME all have developed relationships in areas outside the jurisdictional reach of the U.S. Congress. If it means $50billion to $200 billion per year in cost differential between staying put or going overseas, do you think that the exchanges will sit by as their business is stolen offshore?

If this bill is approved, Congressmen Defazio and Perlutter will not be adding to our economy, but instead will be killing jobs and tax revenues. Can you say unintended consequences?

Breast Cancer Diagnostic Rationing

Has politics already gotten in the way of good healthcare? On Monday, a government task force said that most women don't need mammograms in their 40’s and should get one every two years starting at 50. This is a break with the American Cancer Society's long-standing position. What's more, the panel said breast self-exams do no good, and women shouldn't be taught to do them.

At a time when more and more women are finding early diagnosis of breast cancer the difference between life and death, this government task force’s findings seem insane. Is the plan to let women in their 30’s and 40’s go virtually unchecked, potentially missing any chance of early detection? If mammograms are not an effective tool, then where is the prescription of another diagnostic method? There is no mention of other scans or DNA/RNA cataloging.

False positives, and cost per life, are not a good enough reason for sticking our heads in the sand. This is politics at its worst. If this diagnostic technology doesn’t work, then why keep it for women in their 50’s? Once again, this is about conservation and reduced consumption, but this time it isn’t about light bulbs or gasoline. It’s about the lives of our mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters. Washington, spend more time funding and approving better diagnostic technology and less time on rationing.

AP article

9/11 Terrorist Trial - Attacking the Constitution

Our current administration has found it fit to bring the 9/11 terrorists to NYC. They will sit in a civilian criminal court. They will be given the rights of an American citizen and have the U.S. Constitution in their corner. Besides the concern of further Muslim extremist attacks during the trial, there is a greater fear – the evisceration of our Constitution.

Let me explain, there are four Constitutional issues that will be put into question: Miranda, chain of evidence, illegal search and seizure, and coercion/torture. It is almost certain that the detainees weren’t Mirandized prior to questioning. The chain of evidence was more than likely not followed in the villages and mountain of Afghanistan and Pakistan where these individuals were captured. I highly doubt there was a search warrant issued for the military team that captured them. Finally, any amount of information gathered without the presence of an attorney could be suggested to be coerced.

What does this mean? Every stitch of evidence against these terrorists could be thrown out. Within a civil criminal court it will be hard to convict these individuals, but that won’t happen. The citizens of this country won’t allow it. We are being put into a Catch-22. We are being given a choice between justice for those who died in 9/11 or our civil liberties. That is the trade off. The reality is that they will be convicted, and in doing so we will gut our own Constitution. This trial will create legal arguments for the government to walk all over our civil rights. If evidence is allowed with disregard to the Constitution we will have set a precedent that there is no turning back from.

The fact that we are allowing foreign war criminals the use of our constitution is ludicrous. I have fought the urge to question the motivation of this administration, but this act makes me doubt their motives and intent.

GE's Political Influence

A few months back the U.S. Department of Energy decided it would not guarantee a loan for USEC to expand a centrifuge uranium enrichment plant in Ohio. Not only did this cost the citizens of Ohio more than 2000 jobs, but it came as a bit of a surprise since the U.S. imports 80% of its reactor fuel. It is especially curious since 35% of the worlds enrichment facilities will be rendered obsolete, by 2017, due to age and old technology. It seems like this would be a great investment considering that no taxpayer money was needed, just a guarantee on a private loan.

With 53 new nuclear reactors currently being built worldwide, one has to ask; why the Dept. of Energy would help eliminate jobs, increase foreign energy dependency, and prevent a U.S. based company from effectively competing in a growing marketplace. The answer has now become clear. Once again, General Electric has flexed its political influence.

See, GE has a different and potentially more profitable way to enrich uranium. They’re focused on a laser technology which is supposedly more efficient. The problem is that this technology is yet to be proven and has failed to provide results several times since its inception in the early 1980’s. Even if it proves to be everything promised, it still baffles the mind why the government would prevent USEC from participating in the marketplace? General Electric has already said that it would apply for federal loan guarantees to help finance the building of its laser plant. I wonder if the D.O.E. will approve that application?

Oh, by the way, GE has spent $19M YTD on lobbying efforts.

Defacing the American Flag

I take offense to this video defacing our flag.

YouTube Video

I don't believe that Freedom of Speech includes defacing the flag. It's a symbol of the blood shed to insure our freedoms, so to disrespect it is to disrespect the lives and limbs given to defend it.

Where is the Transparency?

Many people suggest that President Obama lied to us when he promised transparency. I prefer to call it unkept promises. I understand that all Presidents make promises they don't or can't keep. With all of the closed door meetings, the millions of dollars being filtered into campaign coffers, and the transparency bills being held up in committee; my question is, "why isn't the mainstream media calling him out on this?" Let's at least make sure we remind the President and Congress that they ran on a platform of transparency!

Pres. Obama's promises: http://tinyurl.com/ykdxe6e

Homebuyer Tax Credits - Ouch!

Russell George, Treasury Inspector General, ran an audit on the Homebuyers Tax Credit and found $500M in fraud. Here is just some of what he found.

• 582 children under 18 years of age were given the tax credit
• 3000 non-residents were given the tax credit
• 53 IRS employees falsely claimed the tax credit

The IRS doesn't even require documentation that you bought a home . Not only is this a horrible job by the IRS, but these people should be prosecuted. The non-residents should have their green cards taken away, if they have them at all, and the IRS employees should go to jail.

And they wonder why we don't trust the idea of a government run program?

Reference #1
Reference #2

Single Payer Profits for Insurance Companies

I just did a tour of the country looking for potential Independent Congressional candidates.

One highlight of my trip was a discussing with an Executive of a health insurance claims processing company. When I asked him how bad would a single payer, government run, system hurt his business; he just laughed. He educated me on the fact that his company and most of the big insurance companies would benefit from a single payer system.

See Medicaid and Medicare claims aren't processed by a building full of civil servants. No, the government subcontracts it out to the insurance companies to manage. The single payer system would end up being the same model. This part of the business is the most profitable and consistent. Unlike the insurance side where there is a lot of risk, this side of the business is easily forcasted. See, the risk now would fall on the tax payers and be managed by the government. This will be a huge win fall for a few of the insurance companies and the rest will fall off planet, reducing any potential competition completely.

So, in the end, are we really going to be making the big bad Insurance Industry pay? Or, are we going to do what we did on Wall Street? Let the government pick the winners and the losers and let the average U.S. citizen pay the price.

Michael Moore's Ignorance

On CNBC yesterday afternoon, Michael Moore was interviewed by the lunchtime team at CNBC. Beside the fact that they were extremely soft on him, I found one question very telling. They asked him how he has invested the wealth gained from his successful movies. His reply was that he keeps it in a savings account and some U.S. Savings Bonds.

He said that he has never owned even one share of stock and he doesn't put his money in things he doesn't understand. So, my question is how can he do a movie judging Capitalism when he claims to have no first hand knowledge of the most basic component of capitalism? Public ownership is the cornerstone of the capitalist concept, yet he admits openly to having never experienced the risks or rewards. Just seems like he is coming from a point of view of ignorance, but what do I know.

Watch an actual water boarding!

There has been a great deal made about what water boarding is and isn't. I thought I would share this video of an actual water boarding. After you watch this video, compare it to the stories of retired Col. Coffee or Sen. McCain being hung upside down by their wrists until their shoulders dislocated and let me know if think this is in the same category.

http://content1.clipmarks.com/content/7E8ADC46-F3DD-4D6F-B184-3A07CF501B7C/

Heathcare Reform: 1st Step - Tort Reform

Why isn't Tort Reform the first step to bringing down the cost of insurance and lowering overall costs?

Mississippi is a great test case that has seen a 91% decrease in malpractice lawsuits since 2004. Their regulations allow you to recover earnings lost and medical expenses but cap non-economic gain to $500,000. They have seen a reduction in healthcare insurance and more competition. More doctors and businesses have come to Mississippi since the legislation became law.

http://tinyurl.com/la4hsf

I hate to say it, but the Trial Lawyer lobby has invested so much money into the campaigns of almost every Congressional legislator it is hard to think this will get more than a quick glance as we are in such a hurry to get massive legislation signed.

Cash for Clunkers

Cash for Clunkers was an interesting idea, but was it really cost effective? Did it really stimulate the economy? What was the net result?

• A vehicle getting 15 mpg and 12,000 miles per year uses 800 gallons a year of gasoline.
• A vehicle getting 25 mpg and 12,000 miles per year uses 480 gallons a year.
• So, the average Clunker transaction will reduce US gasoline consumption by 320 gallons per year
• They claim 700,000 vehicles – so that's 224 million gallons per year.
• That equates to saving a bit over 5 million barrels of oil per year. I repeat---per YEAR.
• 5 million barrels of oil is about ¼ of one day's US consumption.
• And, 5 million barrels of oil costs about $350 million dollars at $75/bbl.
• Our Government "gave" each Clunker Trader $4,500 per car for 700,000 transactions which cost US Taxpayers $3,150,000,000--not including Washington's astounding administrative costs.
• So, we all contributed through our taxes to spend more than $3 billion to save $350 million.

On top of that you must understand that some dealers still haven't been paid. The delay has been an enormous burden on the dealers. Many ended up having to borrow money until the government decided to get on the stick and pay what they promised, but who loaned them the money? Banks sure wouldn't trust them, so they were forced to go to private financing at outrageous rates. So, let me know again how this helped?

Interesting idea that wasn't well thought out and was poorly implemented. No surprise!

This isn’t Football!

Here I sit on an airplane to Bloomington, Minnesota. Slowly drifting in and out of consciousness, I start to think how certain people in Minnesota hated Brett Farve, with every fiber of their body, and now they look upon him as a star. At the same time many people in Green Bay, Wisconsin have burned their green and yellow #4 jerseys. Having played my fair share of sports, and watched even more, I understand how someone can be swallowed up in the excitement of a sports team. It’s intoxicating. It’s comforting and exhilarating to be part of the brethren that defends and supports the “home” team. It’s where you’re from and part of your identity, but what I can’t wrap my brain around is how that gets translated to politicians and political parties?

Let me explain my confusion. People identify themselves as Vikings, Packers, Bills, Dolphins, or Cardinals. People idolize names like Farve, Manning, Brady, Payton, Namath, and Unitas because they need heroes. They even overlook the missteps of their favorites like Burris, Merriman, and Lewis because they want to believe that the real world and the gridiron are separate places of worship. Where I’m challenged is when we apply these same rules to political parties and politicians. If you are a Democrat then you have to hate Republicans, like Giants hate Eagles. You must hate those evil money grubbing religious fanatics called Conservatives, just like 49ers still hate Elway. Conservatives look upon Liberals as old hippies who have smoked too much dope, hugged too many trees, and ate too much granola; just like Redskins look at Cowboys. How much blind hate can one city have for names like Staubach, Landry, and Romo.

In sports the polarity of opinion is based on where you’re from and where you went to school. They’re carved in stone as a way of holding onto your youth and your childhood allegiances. This is healthy and provides the vicarious excitement that gets the juices flowing on game day, but applying this emotional methodology to our politics is ruining our political system.
What are we thinking? Pelosi, Frank, Gingrich, Bush, and Obama aren’t sports superstars. They are employees. They were elected by you and I to do a job. Yet, people blindly defend them like they are going to lead their team to the SuperBowl. Recently, I heard an interview of a prominent San Francisco political pundit who went on and on about the great things Rep. Pelosi has done for this country, yet when asked for specifics they came up empty. This is the kind of blind star worship which is preventing us from having reasonable conversations. Ted Kennedy, who recently passed away, was given a send off commensurate of a hero. Even though I never agreed with is politics or his personal behavior, I did think he was a patriot; but a hero?

Are we so starved for true heroes that we cling to these employees who have never done anything courageous in their lives? Maybe it is time we stop wearing Blue and Red like it some kind of team jersey. Maybe it’s time we revisit our Democratic Republic roots. Start realizing we are sending local representation to Washington to speak our mind instead of the political team’s (Party’s) mind. Congress isn’t the Pro-Bowl and the White House isn’t the prize for the MVP of the league. Come on people, let’s open our eyes and look as critically at our own team (Party) and players (Politicians) as we look at the other side. Maybe then we will all realize there is room for more ideas and we are all in this together. I think we could get a lot more done if we start looking at this as one team, but that’s just the dream that is drifting through my head as I listen to the hum of jet engines at 30,000 feet.

Cyber Insanity

A Senate bill (S.773) if passed would give the President of the United States the authority to declare a "cyber emergency" and close down the Internet by disconnecting users.

In addition, it will require professional IT people to be certified by the federal government, something that angers many IT technicians and those who believe in the First Amendment.

Having worked in the networking industry for two decades this borders on insanity. It is easier to do than you might think.

All ISPs end up connecting to one of 8 internet points of prescence in the US. These could be nationalized and shut off easily. The other issue is that the US owns and controls all 12 of the root DNS servers that allow people to find things by name. Shut them off and the global internet is effectively broken. Oh yeah, we also control address allocation as well. We could take a country off line by routing all traffic from that countries ip space to null with a few bgp entries .

This kind of control over our communication is crazy.

Reference: http://tinyurl.com/klq7yg

This needs to be shown in our schools!

This is old but worth watching - Tiger Woods at Obama Inauguration - We need this to be shown to all of our children in school.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7G--2EBWtM

Professional Golfer, Tiger Wood, spoke at Obama's inauguration and paid great tribute to our Military saying that he was "the son of a man who dedicated his life to his country, his family and the military and I am a better person for it."

Another Arrogant Politician

On Wednesday Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) had the audacity to publicly suggest that a local newspaper “should go out of business”. Is this the way you deal with criticism Harry? Maybe you “should be voted out of office”. Many in the media are trying to suggest that it was his dry sense of humor. Well, in these economic times when we have over 10% unemployment, how dare he even jest about such a thing? Either way it demonstrates his arrogance and his elitist attitude.

Remember, Senator Reid has already publicly bragged about his $25M campaign war chest. Money gathered from all over the country and the world to get him re-elected so he can do the bidding of the people of Nevada. Doesn’t it bother anyone else that he has $25M to win a job that pays $200,000? Doesn’t it bother anyone else that much of this money comes from outside Nevada? Come on voters of Nevada, it’s time to get this arrogant elitist out of office. Elect someone who is more interested in your state, and your citizens, and not the Democratic Party.

Reference article

Rep. Eric Massa (NY-D) - Elitist or Fascist?

Recently, Rep. Eric Massa (NY-D) was caught on tape explaining to a group at Net Roots that he would vote for the Healthcare Bill even if it wasn’t in the best interest of his constituents. He even went a step further, when asked if his district was 80% against the bill, “would he still vote for it?” He answered, “Yes.”




Click here to watch the video

Elitism is when someone thinks they are better than everyone else. Fascism is when a small group of people feel the general population can’t make decisions for themselves. My question to you is, “Which is Rep. Massa?” He surely isn’t a Democrat in the truest sense of the word. This is the type of people who are ruining our political system. They sell themselves as the people’s candidate, but instead they could care less about the citizens. What they want is to further their own causes and those of the special interest groups that finance them.

Dean tells the truth about Tort Reform

Finally, they admitted what has been obvious to so many of us.

Howard Dean said, “The reason tort reform is not in the [health care] bill is because the people who wrote it did not want to take on the trial lawyers in addition to everybody else they were taking on. And that’s the plain and simple truth.”

This is what I have been saying for months. Our congressional leaders are being led by the nose by PACs, 527's, and other special interest groups. There is no question that "We the People" are taking a back seat. If they really wanted to lower healthcare costs, in turn make it available to more people, then the easy four steps would be:

1. Tort Reform
2. Interstate Competition
3. Manage Illegal Immigration
4. Dislocate the Employer - Insurer relationship

The best part is they could do these one at a time and measure the success of each one. It would create the change we need and at the same time not muddy the waters with issues of control or partisanship.

Healthcare Bill - Eliminate Defensive Medicine

The right and the left have both gone out of bounds. Rep. Pelosi saying that it is un-American to voice your complaint with the healthcare bill and Sarah Palin talking about “Death Panels”; they should both be ashamed of themselves. The healthcare bill is supposed to make healthcare insurance more affordable and more available. Balderdash!!

Our entire Congress should be investigated for bribery. Why is there no conversation on Tort Reform? Where is it in the bill? Politicians know where their bread is buttered. They don’t want to risk the hundreds of millions of dollars tossed into campaign coffers every year by the Legal industry. It’s just another example of big business buying votes.

For those of you who say, “…reducing malpractice insurance won’t make that big a difference…” I say, “Show me the facts.” The legal costs are the small part of the equation, although PointofLaw.com recently cited that previous estimates of the overall impact of Tort Reform were greatly understated. The real issue is that our medical professionals have taken to practicing Defensive Medicine.

Defensive Medicine is the practice of ordering tests and procedures that aren’t necessary, but protect the medical professionals from the possibility of a lawsuit. In 2005, the Journal of the American Medical Association said that 93% of specialists in Pennsylvania admitted to practicing Defensive Medicine. In Massachusetts, a 2008 survey showed that 25% of all imaging tests were purely for defensive purposes. Although it is hard to quantify, because it has become so pervasive within the medical establishment, it is estimated to have increased overall medical care costs by between $100B and $200B. Even on the low side it comes to almost a 10% savings in healthcare costs, yet we don’t even hear a whisper.

Department of Energy makes their position on Nuclear Power Clear

USEC said the U.S. Department of Energy would not proceed with USEC's application for a loan guarantee to complete the construction of the American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon Ohio. USEC has a very efficient technology for enriching uranium. With the DOE's decision, the company said it is now forced to initiate steps to demobilize the project. This will mean more job losses for Ohio and gives us a clear picture of the DOE’s position on Nuclear Power.

Personally, I cannot fathom how this decision supports the clean and green mantra of the current administration. It isn’t like they are giving them the money. Their only guaranteeing the loan.

Shared Work Program - Political Insanity!

How many people have heard of the Shared Work Program?

For those of you, like myself, that have been in the dark on this program, let me give you the quick version.

If a company, because of the economic times, is about to lay off one or more workers, they can instead opt for the Shared Work Program.

This program allows them to cut all of their workers hours and paycheck by at least 20%. The 20% pay loss to the workers will be covered by checks from the state through unemployment.

Yes you heard me right. The employer keeps all of the people working but at reduced cost and the state unemployment fund picks up the tab. How backwards could a plan be. The claim is that it will keep more people working but the reality is that it is tax payer dollars funding misguided socialism.

Let's look at the problems with this idea:

• Most states have already run out of unemployment funds. This is coming from the stimulus package.
• This doesn't create jobs but instead provides funding for businesses that should be contracting and finding better ways to be more cost effective.
• This is being used as a way for companies to lower their payroll, creating an unfair advantage over more successful companies. These successful companies will then use the program, even if they don't need to, just to stay competitive.
• This program reduces the incentive to excel in your job. Instead of over achieving in order to make sure you are a valued employee, all you have to do is be average because good times or bad we'll make sure everyone is equal. That's what I want a team of average employees...not!

I can't believe this has flown under the radar for this long. We need to stop this insanity and let good old fashioned Darwinian Capitalism do its job!

It's always about Jobs!

I keep hearing from the left that the stimulus package will save us, but which stimulus package are they referring? The first one had almost no impact at all. The second one has bailed out State deficits for the moment. Now they are talking about a third one.

The right is saying no more stimulus packages, but they provide no clear direction. They talk about tax cuts, but with the enormous spending that has gone on since the turn of the century we only have so many options before our treasuries become junk bonds.

Why not have some real courage? Jobs are the only thing that will let us catch up to the runaway deficit. That means real jobs, not government jobs. Jobs created and supported by the capitalistic free market. So, you ask me; how can we create jobs in this economy without throwing money at it? The answer is simple - make this the most attractive place in the world to own a company.

0% corporate tax will make all the difference. Currently, corporate tax revenues account for less than 20% of the total taxes collected. That is less than the uncollected personal taxes. It is also far less than the amount of taxes which are illegally avoided. Think of it, the United States will once again be the best place in the world to base a global corporation. It will also bring jobs back to the U.S. in droves as money is repatriated.

Don't underestimate repatriated earnings. More jobs are lost to other countries because multi-national companies are financially forced to spend their profits over there versus bringing it back into the U.S. to be taxed. These numbers are greater than the overused complaint of cheaper wages. 0% corporate tax will repatriate money and bring back jobs. Imagine other countries outsourcing to the U.S....that would surely boost the economy by employing more people who will pay taxes...more than compensating for then lost tax revenue.

College - Is the debt worth it?

It has gotten too darn expensive to get a basic degree anymore. It makes you wonder if the ROI is worth it? Tie that to the lack of jobs and you have a serious question. On the other hand, it isn't the worst of times. So, what is the real problem?

I came out of college in Buffalo, NY in 1982 where unemployment was 14%. Luckily (hard work) I was able to find a job in the computer industry, and made a career there which allowed me to pay off my small student loan. I also worked as a laborer all through high school and college which allowed me to cover all of my expenses.

There are two problems:

First, many college students don't want to do labor jobs. I'm not calling them lazy, but there are always jobs for those who are willing to do the dirty jobs.

Second, colleges aren't training and educating their students to attain real jobs. The cost of the education is far too great compared to the saleable skills learned; leaving students in a boat load of debt, and many times without reasonable employment options.

Possible solution:

What we need is apprenticeship programs to compete with University programs.
Areas such as: Network Engineering, Accounting, Skilled Construction, Education, etc. could easily be apprenticeship programs and in turn reduce the debt required to attain a degree that doesn't really prepare people for careers.

Check out the whole platform position in the book: Political Common Sense for America

Energy Department Debacle

How many times can we see waste and failure before we demand change? The Department of Energy was created in 1977 to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. 32 years later we stand in the same, if not worse place, beholden to foreign interests.

Currently, the budget for this agency is $24.2 billion. No question that this agency does some fine work, but it is clear that it has failed at its primary mandate. Common sense tells us that this agency either needs to be renamed or it needs to revisit its priorities.

Let's have some courage and mandate that no new oil based combustion engine cars can be sold after 2015. This gives the auto manufacturers 6 years to retool and reinvent. Natural Gas can be the transition but eventually fuel cell, battery, or some other power source will dominate. This also gives American automakers an opportunity to start fresh and maybe just get ahead of the foreign competition since eneryone will be starting from the same point.

All it takes is a little courage!

Federal Reserve - The Secret Society

Federal Reserve - The Secret Society

If you believe there is oversight on Federal Reserve activities then watch this unbelievable video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUreWxKGOkY

Where do I apply for her job??

Who's Driving?

I keep hearing how the government is doing this and the government is doing that...those politicians did this and they did that...wait just a second! We elect those people. They are us. If you don't like what they are doing, and they aren't working on your behalf, then vote them out of office next time around.

I can hear you from here...the choices between candidates is bad or worse; so what's the difference? There is a huge difference. If the right people aren't running, then let's get them to run. Let's elect some people who don't want to be there and maybe they'll do a better job since the people who are dying to get in aren't doing the people's bidding.

Perspective is Missing

I had some business up on Capital Hill this past week and decided to add a few days on to the trip to do some tourist stuff. The Smithsonian museums are always fun. I also like to visit Arlington National Cemetery and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial every few years because it keeps things in perspective for me. While listening to partisan banter and watching politicians attempting to change our way of life, it strikes me that we should enact a rule that once a year everyone in Congress should have to read the U.S. Constitution, out loud, in Arlington Cemetery. Maybe, just maybe, with all of the tombstones staring back at them they might just grasp how important our rights are and gain perspective before changing something so many people sacrificed so much for.

Political Common Sense for America

I haven't been posting anything new to the blog in the past 2 months because I've been busily getting the book Political Common Sense for America ready for publication. Well, it looks like we are going to go to print by May 1st. I'll be sending out an announcement and then the blog will come alive again with new members and enthusiastic discussion on the The Franklin Party's platform and direction.

Proposed Military Plan

Overview

Time for a Change - We need to update and reduce the redundancy of our military structure. Instead of the 4 services based on ground, sea, and air; we will transition to Tactical Ground Forces, Air and Sea Strike Forces, and Occupational Forces.

Use their Resources First - Anytime we enter and occupy a foreign land we will utilize in-country resources to help rebuild and stabilize their political and military environment.

Family Security - Non-commissioned military personnel will get a 10% raise in the form of family housing and food support.

Better Medical Care - The Veteran’s Hospital system has been a failure both practically and fiscally. This system will be dismantled and soldiers who have served in combat or have been wounded in the line of duty will receive complete healthcare coverage for life.

Non- Lethal Weaponry – More focus will be placed on blockading and confiscating resources and funding. More resources will be given to finding non-lethal incapacitating weapons. Threats of death only work on people who fear death.

Details

Problem

Our military structure has become outdated and no longer provides us with the most efficient or effective way to respond to foreign threats. At the same time, this inefficiency has created islands of power and black holes of wasteful and redundant spending. Finally, we haven’t done a good job caring for our returning soldiers.

How will we change the structure?

Instead of the 4 services based on ground, sea, and air; we will transition to 3 Services: Tactical Ground Forces, Air and Sea Strike Forces, and Occupational Forces.

• Tactical Ground Forces will have the purpose of fighting other military forces and carrying out special ops which require boots on the ground.
• Air and Sea Strike Forces will be responsible for anything that strikes at a distance, including cover support for the Tactical Ground Forces.
• Occupational Forces will be trained in control and policing transition and will include an expanded version of military police. It will also include management, engineering, marketing, and educational divisions.

How will this make our military for effective?

Currently, almost every event cuts across all of the different branches of the service. The power struggles and conflicts have not only cost the taxpayers huge amounts of money but it has also cost us victory and American lives. Although no structure will be perfect, it is imperative that we reduce the overlap and conflict by shifting from a terrain oriented departmentalization to an engagement oriented structure.

How will this save us money?

There is no question the significant overlap between services has created duplicity of armament efforts. This must stop. This new structure will allow weapons, vehicles, and communications to be purchased for, and by the people who will be using them. This will reduce the incompatibility of parts, skills, and protocols that exist now.

How did it get this way?

Big business and politics have gone hand-in-hand down the aisle. The Department of Defense must disengage from the slow proprietary design process that has been driven by System Integrators and has consistently failed our troops since WWII.

How much can we save?

We are estimating a cost reduction of 15%-20% based on new efficiencies but it is our proposal we funnel this money into increasing the benefits for our soldiers.

Enlisted men and women don’t make enough to support a family; is the money going to them?

Yes, there will be an immediate 10% raise in benefits in the form of housing and food benefits.

What about the rest of the money?

Some of the money will be going towards the Pay-It-Forward plan which will pay for their education. They will have the opportunity to work towards a College degree or a Certificate of Qualification via the Apprenticeship Program.

What about medical care for Veterans?

This is where the majority of the money will go. The Veteran’s Administration system has been a failure both practically and fiscally. The health portion of this system will be dismantled. Soldiers who have been in combat, or have been wounded in the line of duty, will receive complete healthcare coverage for life.

There won’t be anymore VA Hospitals?

That’s right; each soldier who qualifies will receive full health coverage. This means they won’t have to travel to a VA Hospitals hundreds of miles away from home. They will be able to receive care from local medical professionals.

Why do we have to maintain a military presence in so many countries?

The size of our military presence, in certain parts of the world, needs to be reviewed and justified. In the past 60 years, our ability to move troops great distances has gone from months to days. Old treaties need to be reevaluated in order to insure we are efficiently fulfilling our obligations.

Why do we have to be responsible for rebuilding countries that don’t even like us?

It is imperative that we help rebuild areas that have been war-torn. This has worked beautifully in both Japan and Germany where they have become economic strongholds and great allies.

What has gone wrong since then?

Since WWII, we have lost our vision on how to implement a recovery plan for countries we have defeated, or helped. This is why it is necessary to build an Occupational Forces service which will include management and training people.

Who is going to pay for this?

First, and foremost, we want to drive political and economic stability so there will be an investment required on our part. There will be no more hand-outs; their natural and human resources will be required to off-set our investment once stability has been achieved.

What new weapons programs do you support?

The greatest weapon ever used in war has been the ability to cut off money and resources. The ability to blockade resources and freeze finances has ended more hostility than any other weapon.

How do you control the money?

We plan on increasing our computer and networking divisions of the DoD and NSA to allow us to have the biggest gun in the cyber fight. We will monitor and restrict money flows to terrorist nations better than they can hide it.

How will you control resources?

We will use blockades, embargos, and trade-restrictions to insure terrorist nations can not use their natural or human resources to build military capability.

Couldn’t this create more confrontations?

Yes, but that’s a risk we should be willing to take. It is better to prevent a catastrophe then it is to search for vengeance after the fact.

How do you fight an opponent who embraces death?

That’s an excellent question. Many of our enemies embrace death so using lethal weapons as a deterrent is futile. We will need more non-lethal weapons focused on immobilizing people, electronics, and weapons. We have long been in search of the biggest bomb but the reality is bigger isn’t better. To support this we also need to create a Manhattan Project, or Bell Labs, for weapons that will cripple their ability to wage war and not cripple their people.

Proposed Social Security Plan

Overview

Right Tool for the Right Job - Social Security was originally designed to be an insurance policy against poverty in retirement. It has, for better or worse, evolved into the primary retirement income for most retirees. We must change the tool to better fit the job.

Transparency – Our government needs to be transparent. There is no Social Security bank account and the money we have been promised has been spent.

Mandatory Retirement Accounts - We must get the Federal Government out of the investment banking business by slowly eliminating the current system. This will be done by slowly converting people to Mandatory Retirement Accounts (MRA).

American’s Investing in America – MRA’s will primarily be invested in Municipal Bonds and U.S. Treasuries which will keep the risk very low, while supporting the liquidity of the US economy.

Options for Each Generation – There will be different options for every age bracket that will allow them the best opportunity to have a financially secure retirement.

Retirement Moves to 67 - The age for Social Security benefits to begin will be moved to 67. Too many people are still valuable to this country and economy for them to exit the workforce at such an early age.

Details

Problem:

Social Security has been nothing more than a way for politicians to suck more taxes out of the average worker. There is no Social Security bank account and the money we’ve been promised has been spent on other things. This system is currently living day to day on IOU’s, which can never be paid back. Also, the return on your money is lower than you could have received by just investing in U.S. Treasuries or Certificates of Deposit (CD’s).

How are we going to insure everyone who paid into Social Security will get their fair share?

Our only choice is to restructure the Social Security system. We need to phase out the government’s involvement as an investment bank, essentially taking in our deposits and loaning it to Congress. Instead, we need to phase in Mandatory Retirement Accounts which are personal and individual.

What if I’m already receiving Social Security, will that change?

No, you will receive payments just as you were promised. What will change is the age for receiving Social Security will be raised to 67.

Wait, I’m 60 years old and have my retirement planned around receiving a Social Security check at age 62?

We understand many people are close to retirement and have made financial decisions based on receiving Social Security payments at age 62. If you are 60 years old when this plan is enacted you will still be able to receive your payments at age 62 but you may be better off choosing to opt out of the program for a Mandatory Retirement Account (MRA).

Why would I want to opt out when I’m so close?

There are some very important advantages to opting out of the plan. First, you will receive a pro-rated pay-out on your Social Security Account which will be placed in your MRA in the form of Treasuries. Second, this money will grow allowing your retirement funds to last longer and be greater than they would in the Social Security system. Finally, unlike the Social Security system you own your MRA and it will pass tax free, on to your family in the event of your death.

What are the rules on the Mandatory Retirement Accounts?

Mandatory Retirement Accounts in many ways will resemble a Roth IRA. They will be funded with after-tax dollars but you will not be taxed on withdrawals. Your MRA must have at least ½ of the total amount in federal/municipal bonds or treasuries. The other ½ of the total amount can be invested in any major index ETF, 4 star or better mutual fund, CD, or Cash. You may begin to withdraw from your MRA on your 65th birthday. Each month you can withdraw an amount based on a prescribed calculation. This account will pass; tax free, on to your family in the event of your death.

Can I borrow from my MRA or make an early withdrawal?

No, under no circumstances will you be allowed to borrow from or borrow against your MRA account. You will not be able to withdrawal any of your MRA money until your 65th birthday.

Won’t it be risky to invest ½ of my MRA in mutual funds and ETF’s?

Risk is a personal choice. If you choose to invest in ETF’s or Mutual Funds instead of a CD, only 10% may be invested in any individual ETF or Fund. These also can not be ultra or multiplier funds which change at a rate 2 or 3 times the underlying index. This will protect people from being too aggressive while still providing much greater returns.

So, I’m either in or out?

No, every person who has paid into Social Security will have 3 options.

Option 1 is to stay with the current plan paying 16% of all after-tax earned income to the Social Security Trust. Each person will receive their payout but the age will be increased so the earliest payments will begin at age 67.

Option 2 will give you the opportunity to pay only 8% of all after-tax earned income and receive ½ payments starting at 67. Another 8% of your after-tax income must be direct deposited into a Mandatory Retirement Account (MRA). You will receive a prorated pay-out of past deposits in the form of Treasuries which will be deposited into your MRA. You may begin to withdraw from your MRA on your 65th birthday.

Option 3 allows you to opt out of the plan entirely. You will receive a prorated payout of past deposits in the form of 30 Year Treasury Bills deposited in your MRA. 16% of your after-tax earned income will be direct deposited into an MRA account. You may begin to withdraw from your MRA on your 65th birthday. You will be required to pay 3% of your after-tax earned income into the Social Security system until such time as the Social Security Trust is deemed over funded.

Why do I need to pay in 16% and not the approximately 7½% I pay in now?

This speaks to the lack of transparency in your pay checks. Currently, even though your employer pays the other 7½% it’s still your money. Your pre-tax wage should go up by 7½% on the day this proposal becomes law.

What if I’m already collecting Social Security?

If you are over 62 and are already collecting Social Security then you will stay in the system and you will receive your payments until your death.

What if I’m about to turn 62 and had my retirement already planned out?

If you do not want to wait until your 67th birthday, for Social Security, you would probably choose Option 3 and take your prorated payout in Treasuries. You will then be able to begin withdrawing from your MRA on your 65th birthday.

How much can I expect to receive if I choose Option 2 or 3?

Currently, Social Security has had an annual return of less than 3% on your money. We are estimating an annual return of 5% given the conservative nature of MRA’s. To give you a sense of the difference: If you were paid at the poverty level for the past 40 years and were part of Option 3, at 65 you would receive a check for $1100 every month until you were 105 years old.

How much can I take out of my MRA once I reach 65?

The amount you will be able to withdraw from your account will be calculated based on a 40 year life expectancy and an annual return of 5%.

Proposed Economic Plan

Overview

Reduce Spending and Reduce Taxes - The most effective way of improving the standard of living, for all citizens, is to have minimal taxation and minimal government involvement.

Simple Flat Tax - We must simplify the tax code by instituting a flat tax of 17½% of every dollar earned.

No more Loopholes! - There will be no deductions and no loopholes… anything given to an employee, executive, or owner as a form of compensation will be included in the compensation total…the rich will pay their fair share because we will eliminate avoidance.

No more Hidden Taxes - We will eliminate Corporate taxes…corporations don’t pay taxes they just pass them on so why should you pay twice.

Transparency Allows No Chance to Cheat – Although corporations will no longer pay a Federal Tax, they will be forced to provide a greater level of financial transparency. This will prevent cheating and also limit the opportunity of replicating the financial crisis we are experiencing today.
No More Death Tax - Inheritance is not earned money and should not be taxed.

Details

Problems:

Our federal economic strategy has been about a redistribution of wealth when it should have been about providing infrastructure and defense. People will provide for their own wealth given the chance. There is not enough transparency. Currently, there is too much spending on entitlement programs and not enough on programs to give people the opportunity to raise their own standard of living.

What can we do to shift away from entitlement and move towards raising the overall standard of living?

The first thing to keep in mind is, over the past 40 years, we have substantially raised the bar, on the standard of living, in America. Yes, people still go to bed hungry, but as a percentage of the overall legal population, there are far fewer people living below the survival level than ever before. We arrived at this point through hard work, technology innovation, and productivity gains; not handouts and freebies. Based on our research the quickest way to get back on track and move forward would be to lower the cost of living and leave more dollars in the pockets of the American worker.

Isn’t that what tax rebates and stimulus checks are all about?

The problem with a rebate is the government is only giving us back money we have already paid in. The reality is the rebates end up being significantly less than advertised. This is a crazy process which in the long run reduces the GDP by almost 2%. Economists estimate compliance with the Federal Income Tax System increases the cost of goods and services by as much as 20%. That’s right, our tax system literally makes everything 20% more expensive. One of the quickest ways to reduce our cost of living would be to simplify the tax system. Also, by simplifying the tax system there would be no need for rebates or tax returns.

How do we go about simplifying the tax process?

The first thing we must do is rewrite the tax code. The simplest form of taxation is a flat tax. After the first $30,000, 17½% of every dollar you earn will be collected from your employer on your behalf.

Why don’t we pay on the first $15,000?

There is no sense in taxing people below the poverty level. On average it takes a person $15,000 to survive. It makes no sense to tax this money only to provide services or give it back in assistance.

What about deductions?

There will be no deductions. The key will be that everyone will pay their fare share this way. There will be no loopholes…no way to cheat the system.

What about my mortgage deduction?

The mortgage deduction was part of the fallacy that caused the housing bubble. All you are getting is a small refund on the mortgage interest you have already paid. We would rather not take the money out of your pocket in the first place. This is all about transparency and the ability to know how much you are being taxed…no more hidden taxes or false promises.

Does that mean the Death Tax stays in place?

On the contrary, inheritance is not earned income so it will not be taxed.

What about Investment Income and Capital Gains?

Those are considered earned income and will be taxed at the 17½% rate. We consider the activity of investing to be no different than any other work effort. Instead of using your sweat you are using your resources. The one exception will be money taken out of a Mandatory Retirement Account. This money was taxed going in so there is no tax when it is withdrawn after the age of 67.

But without deductions won’t my tax bill be higher?

In most cases no, the middle class tax payer will see a reduction in taxes. All of the people who have been playing by the rules will be rewarded by this change. The people who will see an increase are those who have been taking advantage of loopholes to cheat and an inefficient system.

What is going to stop companies from giving Executives lots of fringe benefits to avoid taxes?

It’s not going to happen under this system. Everything you are paid is taxed including healthcare payments, stock/options, bonuses, and gifts. Anything given to an employee, executive, or owner needs to be included in the compensation total.

How are you going to catch offenders?

Because the tax code will be simplified, and there are no checks to send back, there will be a lot of extra IRS employees. These people will have the opportunity to retrain for the purpose of making certain everyone pays their fair share and to insure corporate accounting transparency.

What is the penalty if a company or a person gets caught cheating?

People won’t be able to cheat any longer. The 17½% is cast in stone. If a company is found not accounting for some form of compensation they will be fined the equivalent of 34% of the amount and the employee will still owe 17½%. If you fail to pay these fines then assets will be confiscated and sold to pay the debt.

Can we really afford to run the country on this amount of money?

This level of taxation will provide us with enough revenue to maintain Discretionary budget items, like Defense and Homeland Security, at their current levels. The goal is to get spending under control so, in the future, we can reduce the rate. That’s why we are proposing that we reorganize the structure of the DoD. We also could find significant savings from eliminating resources and benefits to illegal aliens. Finally, this system is so efficient it allows us to reduce the corporate tax rate to 0%.

Why would we eliminate corporate tax?

Corporate taxes are just another way of taxing you. Corporations don’t really pay taxes they just pass it on to their customers. The dirty little secret about corporate tax is that businesses pay up to $3.00 in compliance costs for every $1.00 of taxes they pay. This again is pushed out to the consumer who ends up paying a higher premium on goods and services.

Can we reduce the deficit so we aren’t passing on debt to our children?

In 2008, over $243 Billion was spent on interest payments. Much of this went to other countries. How crazy is that? Instead, our proposal on Mandatory Retirement Accounts, and their use of Treasury’s, would drive the majority of any debt to be financed by American’s citizens who will now be investing in their own future.

How will all of this insure everyone has a chance to get ahead?

Anytime you create transparency for businesses, and consumers, it provides confidence in the economy. This confidence will allow for greater innovation and in turn greater opportunity. Every great innovation/productivity burst has created jobs that never existed before. There will be a significant increase in blue and white collar jobs and these jobs will be at a higher wage, with lower personal cost since employers and parents no longer have to fund child healthcare directly due to our proposal for a National Child Healthcare plan. More people than ever will have an opportunity to work and care for their families at a fair and honest wage.

Declaration of Political Common Sense

We the People…

Want our laws enforced, stealing is stealing whether you are in the projects or in the board room. We don’t need more regulation; we need what we have enforced.

Want a simple flat tax that requires no return, has no loopholes, no death tax, or other hidden taxes.

Want everyone to vote. Elections should be decided by a true majority.

Want our elected officials to be in those positions grudgingly. This should be a civic duty not an occupation.

Want our leaders to spend at least twice as much time leading as they do campaigning.

Want no appointed or elected official to have a position for life.

Want laws to be written in plain English, with no unrelated riders or earmarks, so everyone can understand them.

Want to slowly phase out Social Security in favor of Mandatory Retirement Accounts which will be invested in Treasuries so American’s are the largest investor in America again.

Want to stop the insanity of powering our homes, our cars, and our businesses with limited resources that will one day run out.

Want our healthcare coverage to come from medical professionals instead of insurance companies who are working in collusion with our employers.

Want all children to have quality healthcare.

Want lobbyist and insurance companies to get out of the way of life saving advances in science and technology.

Want to provide for those in need of help but only if they are willing to help themselves. Everyone works – everyone can contribute!

Want all families to have safe housing which they can have equity in and call home.

Want to have fresh drinking water for our great grandchildren.

Want our children’s classes taught in English and our teachers graded more stringently than our children.

Want to reduce military spending while expanding our military strength. It’s time to restructure the redundancy and cross service conflict.

Want every American citizen to have a passport as their legal ID.

Want to stop employers from hiring people without a passports or work visas.

Want your poor and hungry but not your apathetic and criminal.

Want guns taken away from criminals not law abiding citizens.

Want our elected officials to understand that marriage is a religious ceremony and to leave contracts, licenses, and law out of it.

Want to stop buying the friendship of other countries.

We elect our representatives so one voice can speak our mind in general assembly. We take responsibility for not being clear and, at times, having the minority speak louder than the majority. The confusion will end here, with this document, and the detailed plans to follow. Let it be known to any, and all, who wish to represent us; this document is not a wish list but instead a list of demands. The quality of your worth as our representatives will be measured against your ability to deliver…We the People.

Foundation of the Franklin Party Platform

Our intention is to be a party of the people, for the people, and by the people. Our party is not about who owns the power but about making decisions that support the greater good of the population of the United States of America. All of our ideas and proposals will be in plain English and based on common sense reasoning. We will always look to gain the support and approval of other parties but not at the cost of the people. Finally, we are about expanding the American way of life in four areas:

Capitalism
If you work hard and smart you will have a better life and your children will have more opportunities then you did.

Democracy
You will have a vote and your vote will count. Your concerns and complaints will be taken seriously not just because of your vote but because you are a United States Citizen.

Freedom
We will protect your Constitutional rights first and foremost. This will be done without grandiose interpretation or manipulation. It will be about protecting your rights and nothing more.

Safety
You should never fear living in your own country so we will attack and deter all terrorists whether they be hold up in a cave half way around the world or in the crack house down the street.

We work for you and you are the boss. The following pages are an attempt at bringing out what most American’s want to see from our political system and by no means is all inclusive but instead is a start at forcing government to be what our founding fathers wanted it to be.

Why do we want to start a new political party?

We the people are tired of taking a back seat to the insane political power struggle between the two current parties. We don’t see compromise, between the Democrats and the Republicans, but instead we see trade-offs which continuously cost us, the citizens. The two-party system has failed! We are tired of half-hearted behind closed door compromises. Instead we want decisions to be about getting the best of both worlds. Our founding fathers wanted us to have checks and balances and that requires a third party. A third party that will act as the third leg on the stool which stabilizes and supports the legislative process so it works for us… “We the People”