Stop Pulling the Wagon

Captain Jean-Luc Picard/Locutus Borg

Being old enough to remember  “Star Trek – The Next Generation” series I am finding similarities between the “New” Progressive Political movement and the Borg ‘Collective’.

The Borg were major players in some Twenty One episodes total but I remember them first in Season Two – Episode 16 – titled: “Q Who?”  

The Borg are “beings” with both Organic and Cybernetic Implants that function as a “One Mind Collective” of Drones who are incapable of independent thought and function more as a single purpose “Hive” controlled by one central entity.

Hmmmm.  

Just the other day I heard Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi inform Democratic members of the “House” that they were to vote as a “Team” and voting with the Republicans was not allowed.  

Later, Democratic Freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told fellow Democrats that any of them caught voting with the Republicans would go on a “List” that would be used against them at the next election.

I don’t know about you but this sounds a lot like the Borg to me.  No independent thought allowed. No independent action allowed.  All are just “Drones” subject to the direction of “Central Command”.  

It gives me the feeling that the Progressive Left plans to convert all of us into “Borg Drones” trained to obey while they Create a Socialist State.  Maybe like the one in Venezuela or Cuba?

Below is a checklist for creating a Socialist State.  Please tell me a single one of these items that the “Progressive Left” does not have on its agenda and now demands total compliance to from the Democrats  in congress. 

I can even add a couple or more items to this list.  Just one example: the”Green New Deal”. 

Copied from “The Federalist” – January 15, 2018

Are you ready for your “Cybernetic Implants”

Bob Bandy

Star Trek the Next Generation is available on NetFlix and from other sources.

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

(Warner Bros. 1985)

As I am writing this the country of Venezuela is in chaotic economic collapse with government troops confronted by angry and desperate mobs of hungry people in the streets.  Stories are coming out of the country of people eating their own pets and long lines for a loaf of bread that now costs a huge pile of the hyper-inflated, devalued currency – when bread is even available.

Venezuela was a country with huge oil reserves, rich in natural resources and a vibrant hospitable people.

How did this happen and could it happen here in America?

In short, what happened was Hugo Chavez and his promise of a Socialist Paradise.

Nationalization and/or Government control of many/most productive industries and destruction of the “middle class”.  Affiliation with Communist Cuba and the Soviet Union.  Alienation from the United States and eventually most of the more moderate countries in Central and South America.

Once inflation, followed by hyper-inflation set in, what has followed was assured.

COULD THIS HAPPEN IN AMERICA?

Lets see how we are doing.

As of Feb. 11, 2019 the total U.S. Public Debt was $22,012,840,891,685.32

Source:  U.S. Government site:  https://treasurydirect.gov/NP/debt/current

America is now over 22 Trillion Dollars in debt.   According to public reports the Treasury Department is in the process of “borrowing” another 800 Billion Dollars for the balance of this year

Just the yearly interest on this debt is $364 Billion Dollars.  With projected annual interest by 2028 of  $761 Billion.

Source: https://www.thebalance.com/interest-on-the-national-debt-4119024

If the above numbers do not frighten you, they should.  The government does not even have the money in current funding to pay the interest on the debt.  So they borrow money to pay interest and keep on spending.  “Creative Accounting”.

Our Nations Debt has more than doubled in the last 10 years!

If the debt continues to grow, and I doubt there is the discipline in our country to stop it from growing, at some point in the not too distant future, just the interest on the debt could exceed current annual Federal Tax revenues.  

The word “unsustainable” is one of those words that we hear but the full potential impact of the word does not really register in the minds of the average citizen.  And if confronted with it most folks don’t want to deal with it. The effect can be catastrophic.  

While individuals, corporations, even cities can file for Bankruptcy, the Federal Government cannot.  The only option they have is to print money.   That means inflation and often leads to hyper-inflation.  From the Romans to Post World War I Germany to Zimbabwe to happening right now in Venezuela, governments throughout history have tried to use inflation to escape debt.

I don’t see a solution on a national scale.  So much of government spending is on “auto-pilot” with built in increases year by year.  There is no desire or will to slash spending on a government level and if such a plan were put forth it would have no chance whatever to pass congress.

Just my opinion based on observation but I believe as individual citizens we need to make plans for survival for ourselves and those we care about if the wheels come off the Government Wagon.  A word to the wise.

Bob Bandy

North Korea’s Dear Leader, Kim Jong Un, made a speech to his people the other day calling on them to do their duty by producing 200 pounds each day of “human fertilizer” to fertilize the farm fields of North Korea.

The radio commentator made some comment that, due to the generally diminutive size of the average North Korean because of their near starvation diet, it might be difficult for them to produce human waste in excess of their total body weight.    

I have an idea that should not only help solve North Korea’s fertilizer problem but also further the cause of Peace while bringing joy to the American heartland.

Let’s load up the United States Congress and send them on a combination extended field trip and peace mission to North Korea. 

If Congress can spread it around there the way they do here,  North Korea’s fertilizer problem will be solved and its agricultural fields will be a rich, verdant green in a short period of time.  

Further, when Congress returns to Washington D.C. we could permanently move the United Nations Headquarters from New York City to North Korea.  That should keep North Korean farmlands green for decades to come.

Everybody wins.  What could possibly go wrong?

Just trying to help out.

Bob Bandy

With the opening of the new Congress and change to Democratic control of the House of Representatives we are hearing renewed calls for “Medicare For All” residents of the United States.  This has become a rallying cry for the “Progressive” wing of the Democratic Party.  Not all Democrats are admitted “Progressives” but  a growing number appear to be.

“Progressive” is a kinder and gentler word for “Socialist” and some champions for this cause readily admit to Socialist leanings.  Socialist is in turn, often associated with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics/Russia  and other Socialist countries like Venezuela, Cuba and many others.

If you would like an example of living in a Socialist Country, you might want to vacation in Venezuela this year.  Make it soon.  The country is in “end stage” Economic Collapse.

“Medicare For All” has a nice “ring” to it and on the surface would appear to be a way to provide Universal Medical Care to everyone on a simplified, single payer basis.  The idea sounds simple enough to be attractive.

A similar proposal was studied under Bill Clinton’s Presidency with Hillary Clinton heading up a task force to work out a plan for implementation.  After much study and spending millions of dollars on the proposed idea it was ultimately determined to be unworkable.

Several studies have been done and reported in Bloomberg and other  outlets that place the estimated cost of such a proposed plan at between 32 Trillion and 42 Trillion Dollars over 10 years.  That’s about 3.2 Trillion to 4.2 Trillion Dollars a year and would approximately double current Federal Spending.

It should be noted that Medicare as it currently operates is on the road to Bankruptcy.  Government Trustees, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar,  issued a report that Medicare’s trust fund will run out in 2026 and the combined trust funds of Social Security will run out in 2034.  Source: The Washington Examiner – Saturday January 26, 2019 – from a report by Joseph Lawler June 05, 2018.

Many people believe that Medicare is “Free” healthcare for Senior Citizens.  It is not.  Medicare is not free.  Premiums for Medicare are based in part on income – visit: MyMedicare.Gov – but if I take myself as an example, I’m a pretty ordinary Senior on a modest income, the following shows my Medicare Medical Insurance  and Medicare Prescription Plan monthly premiums for this year.  Keep in mind that plan premiums are for each individual.  Mine total just a bit over $300 a month this year.  If on a “Medicare For All” plan and I was one of a family of five, we could be paying a total premium of $1,500 a month.  

Please keep in mind also that Medicare Medical Insurance does not cover everything and has co-pays, deductibles and maximums.  The same for the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan.  When your limits run out during the year and, “you” are “on your own” for the cost of care or prescriptions for the rest of that year, is where we Seniors get the phrase “Donut Hole”.  I hit my own “Donut Hole” last year on my Medicare Prescription Drug Plan in October.

For the tens of millions of citizens who might not want to be a part of “Medicare For All” and are happy with their current insurance, don’t worry, “If you like your Doctor and Insurance, you can keep them, and that’s a promise!”  Hmmm – Where did we hear that before?

I am sure that Congress, most government employees and various other “special interests” would find a way to exempt themselves just as they did from the “Affordable Care Act”.  Hardly “Medicare For All”.  “All” never seems to include our “Ruling Class”.

For Senior Citizens the premium is withheld from our Social Security payment.  What would the Government do to collect premiums from those who don’t have a check to withhold the premium from, or those who don’t work for a paycheck?  What about those who can’t or won’t pay?

What would happen to the cost of care?  Are there enough doctors to make the plan work?  Not all doctors are currently willing to accept Medicare patients.   There are many unanswered questions. 

In the news and something to think about.

Bob Bandy

WHAT TANGLED WEBS WE WEAVE

Following the great tragedy, loss of life and misery of the recent “Camp” fire that took more than eighty lives and destroyed the town of Paradise, California as well as causing serious damage to neighboring communities, the survivors are looking at a long period of recovery and rebuilding.

Making matters more complicated and difficult will be a consortium of lawyers, Insurance Companies, State & Federal Regulatory Agencies as well as often conflicting and contrary (re)building permits, environmental impact rules, etc.etc.etc.

As just one example, The California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) regulates investor-owned electric and natural gas utilities operating in California.  The PUC is a “rats nest” of rules, regulations and political favoritism.  Want to get nominated to the PUC Governing Board?  Support the Party in power in Sacramento.

Already we have various sources blaming Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) for the cause of the fire and numerous Trial Lawyer Firms running ads soliciting lawsuits from victims and their families.  No matter the source of a disaster, the Trial Lawyers always hear the potential “Ka-Ching” of a cash register in their future.

PG&E has notified the State of California and others that they do not have the resources to cover potentially Billions of dollars in lawsuits and damage claims and have taken preliminary steps to file for re-organization under Bankruptcy Laws.

I am now hearing on the radio, ads from Law Firms for citizens to petition the State and Courts to not allow PG&E to file Bankruptcy and avoid paying out all of the massive claims pending.

Without defending or blaming PG&E, I would like to point out a few thoughts I have on the subject:

• PG&E has one major source of revenue:  Ratepayers, i.e. customers for the energy services they provide. Should the courts award Billions of Dollars in judgement’s to the victims of the fire and their lawyers, where will the money come from to pay those judgement’s?  PG&E’s customers, the Ratepayers.
• PG&E’s profits are very tightly regulated by the PUC which allows them only a “reasonable” profit over and above their actual costs.
• The PUC also regulates where PG&E must put their power and gas lines, how they are to be constructed, what maintenance is required,  what communities must be served, etc.etc.
• State and Federal Agencies tell PG&E how much or how little clearance of brush, trees and vegetation can or must be done along “right of ways” for power and gas lines. 
• Other than a State of California PUC “reasonable and Prudent” cash reserve over day to day operating expenses, PG&E’s assets are mostly tied up in maintenance and operating equipment (tools, trucks, materials etc.).

SO

• If court ordered judgement’s in the Tens of Billions of Dollars are awarded to victims, keeping in mind that 30-50% of those dollars will go to pay litigation costs – i.e. end up in the Trial Lawyers pockets, PG&E will have to increase rates Statewide to begin to satisfy the judgement’s.  With PUC approval of course.

OR

• If the courts should decide to “liquidate” PG&E by selling all of its assets to pay toward the judgements, current PG&E customers may find themselves sitting in cold, dark rooms watching television by candlelight. 

If the courts should ultimately decide that PG&E is not at fault for the fire, or bears only a percentage of the blame perhaps a just recourse would be a fund paid in part by the Insurance Companies, PG&E (to the limit of their own insurance), and State of California Disaster Funds.

If the PUC and State of California are found negligent in their oversight and monitoring responsibilities then they should share in the blame and  costs. 

Perhaps additional funds should come from the United States and California Forrest management Funds due to their restrictions on clearance of hazardous, often dead, trees and brush. 

I would suggest that these funds be administered and paid out under the direction of Judge Judy. 

If anyone out there thinks money can be honestly and faithfully distributed by the Trial Lawyers I would like to ask you to send me $20 in cash along with a self addressed, stamped envelope and I will send you a glossy photo of the Tooth Fairy.

Bob Bandy

As of this writing our Government is in “Partial Shutdown”.  We are told that this is only about a 25% shutdown as only “Non-Essential” Services will be put on hold.

All other Government spending is on “Auto-Pilot” and no budget is needed to continue spending.  How comforting.  Excuse the sarcasm.

Lets see.  As a nation we are now some 21 Trillion (with a ‘T’) Dollars in debt.  Well, Excuse me……..  I have a question, if we are only shutting down “Non-Essential” Services, which by my country-boy  thinking means “we can live without them”, then why don’t we shut them down permanently, save the money and maybe, just maybe, start digging our way out of debt?

But, we are told that is not the way Government works.  When the clowns, criminals and lunatics in Washington get done arguing and come to some kind of agreement, they will “Restore” all those “Non-Essential Services” and retro-actively again fund all those “Non-Essential Services” because, as you see, our Government considers them “Essential”.

In our family, and with most businesses,  budgeting does not work this way.  But of course we don’t have the ability to print fiat money.

Following this tirade I am again printing below an article that was sent to me back in August of 2012 and I reprinted at that time on this site because it is such a classic example of “Government Think”. I can think of no way of saying it better.  It is not original with me – I merely share it.

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THE NIGHT WATCHMAN

Once upon a time the government had a vast scrap yard in the middle of a desert.  Congress said, “Someone may steal from it at night”.  So they created a night watchman position and hired a person for the job.  Then Congress said, “how does the watchman do his job without instruction?”

So they created a planning department and hired two people.  One person to write the instructions, and one person to do time studies.  Then Congress said, “How will we know the night watchman is doing the tasks correctly?”  So they created a Quality Control department and hired two people.  One was to do the studies and one was to write the reports.

Then Congress said, “how are these people going to get paid?”  So they created two positions: a time keeper and a payroll officer, then hired two people.  Then Congress said, “Who will be accountable for all of these people?”  So they created an administrative section and hired three people, an Administrative Officer, Assistant Administrative Officer, and a Legal Secretary.

Then Congress said, “We have had this command in operation for one year and we are $918,000 over budget, we must cut back.”

So they laid off the night watchman.

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Now slowly let it sink in.  We go like sheep to the slaughter.  The lunatics are in charge of the asylum.

Bob Bandy