Stop Pulling the Wagon

I JUST HEARD ON THE NEWS THIS MORNING THAT A “SENIOR POLITICAL SPOKESMAN” HAS “FLOATED” THE IDEA THAT A 1% NATIONAL TRANSACTION TAX IS UNDER CONSIDERATION.

THIS TAX WOULD WORK LIKE THIS.  EVERY TRANSACTION (EXCEPT FOR SOME REASON STOCK PURCHASES/SALES) WOULD BE SUBJECT TO A 1% TRANSACTION TAX.  THIS NEW TAX WOULD BE IN ADDITION TO ALL THE OTHER TAXES (SUCH AS SALES AND USE TAXES) BEING COLLECTED.  IT WOULD INCLUDE A 1% TAX WHEN YOU WRITE A CHECK, USE A CREDIT CARD, PAY BY CASH ETC..  WRITE A CHECK TO PAY YOUR ELECTRIC BILL, THATS A TRANSACTION AND SUBJECT TO THE TAX.  PARK YOU CAR AT A PARKING METER; THATS A TRANSACTION.  PULL THE HANDLE ON A SLOT MACHINE, ANOTHER TRANSACTION.  GET THE PICTURE?

IN ORDER TO KEEP WITH THE PRESIDENTS PLEDGE NOT TO  RAISE TAXES ON THOSE WHO EARN LESS THAN $250,000 PER YEAR,  A “MECHANISM” (SPELLED BUREAUCRACY) WOULD BE SET UP TO “REFUND” THE 1% TAX PAID BY ALL THOSE WHO EARN LESS THAN THE $250,000 PER YEAR THRESHOLD. 

OF COURSE TO DO THIS THEY WOULD NEED TO BE ABLE TO TRACK ALL OF OUR TRANSACTIONS.  PERHAPS A NATIONAL TRANSACTION CARD THAT YOU WOULD HAVE TO USE FOR EVERYTHING?  AND THIS WOULD  HAVE THE ADDED BENEFIT OF GIVING THEM (THE GOVERNMENT) THE ABILITY TO KNOW EVERYTHING WE BUY AND DO.  THE GOVERNMENT WOULD THUS BE ABLE TO MONITOR WHETHER WE ARE BUYING “APPROVED” LIGHT BULBS, “APPROVED” TOILETS, “HEALTHY” FOODS, ECO-FRIENDLY CARS, ETC..   AD-NAUSEUM. 

THIS OUGHT TO WORK OUT WELL.  THIS NEW BUREAUCRACY WILL OF COURSE BE A MODEL OF EFFICIENCY AND BY MONTORING ALL OF OUR DAILY TRANSACTIONS THOSE IN POWER CAN TURN US ALL INTO “GOOD LITTLE SHEEPLE”.  WHERE IS THE ACLU WHEN YOU FINALLY NEED THEM?

BIG BROTHER IS ALIVE AND WELL ….                    BOB

This oil spill disaster in the gulf has reminded me of the old Uncle Remus Wonderful Tar Baby Story with BP playing the part of Br’er Fox,  the Obama Administration playing the part of Br’er Rabbit and the oil spill playing the part of the Tar Baby.  

I think our “Dear Leader” may have been “Out Foxed” by BP on the 20 Billion Dollar “pot” of claims money that they “gave” President Obama’s hand picked Adminstrator to pay out for claims in the Gulf area.

It may be the cheapest 20 Billion Dollars that BP could have spent!

My reasoning is that no matter who doles out the claims dollars hardly anybody is going to be satisfied and the angry recipients are going to look for somebody to “Tar and Feather” (at least in the media).  As of now, BP can truthfully say that they have paid the money they were requested (Chicago style) to pay and the Complaint Department is now “down the street” at the Obama Adminstrations Claims Distribution Center. 

In other words they can wash their hands of trying to figure out who gets what and how to define a “just” claim from those who will simply try to game the system for some fast and easy money. 

In the aftermath of this nightmare the only ones who are likely to be satisfied with what they receive will be the ones who scam the system.  Anytime the “Guvment” gets its hands on a big bucket of “mulah” a good portion of it is going to be wasted.  If you doubt me look at the hundreds of millions of dollars scammed from Medicare.

Those who have truly suffered the most in this ongoing ordeal will likely never be truly satisfied,  because dollars alone cannot fully heal the wounds of this nightmare.  And many, if not most, will honestly feel they have not been justly compensated for their losses.  It will be hard to blame them for feeling this way.

It seems to me that if you really wanted to punish BP for this mess you could have forced them to deal with the tens of thousands of angry folks demanding (justly) to be compensated for the destruction of their environment and way of life.

The President and his Admistration  will likely find themselves up to their necks in oil (and maybe tar and feathers) for a long time to come.           ……….Bob

I’VE GOT A QUESTION.  DID WE AVOID DISASTER SIMPLY BECAUSE THESE AL QAEDA AND TALIBAN WANNABES ARE SIMPLY MORE IMCOMPETENT THAN THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION OR AM I MISSING SOMETHING?

ACCORDING TO PUBLISHED REPORTS:

THE FIRST BOMBER WAS UNABLE TO SET HIS UNDERWEAR BOMB ON FIRE PROPERLY.  I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT AL QAEDA WOULD HAVE TAUGHT THIS DURING MATCHES AND FUSES TRAINING  l-O-l.

THE SECOND BOMBER, AMONG OTHER THINGS: DID NOT LIGHT THE FUSE PROPERLY, FORGOT TO TURN THE PROPANE BOTTLES ON AND LOCKED THE KEYS TO HIS GET-A-WAY CAR IN THE SUV HE PLANNED  TO USE AS HIS CAR BOMB.   TALK ABOUT FORGETTING YOUR CHECKLIST!  

AND STILL, HE NEARLY MADE IT OUT OF THE COUNTRY.  THE TSA WAS PROBABLY BUSY STRIP SEARCHING SOMEONES SWEDISH GRANDMOTHER WHILE HE (THE BOMBER) WAS BUYING A ONE WAY TICKET, WITH CASH AND NO LUGGAGE, ON (ARAB OWNED) EMIRATES AIRLINES TO DUBAI (IN THE MIDDLE EAST).

-BOB

Pardon me for being a skeptic.  Now that congress has drained the bucket that was supposed to be holding all of our Social Security contributions, you will excuse me if I don’t want to trust them with another bucket called National Health Care.

Maybe one of them could step up and point out for me an example of an efficiently run Government program or agency that has operated as promised, on time and within budget.

How about the Post Office?  It lost Seven Billion Dollars last year.  Maybe Amtrak – but no, we keep pouring Billions of taxpayer dollars into it and it keeps losing money.   These are but two of many examples.

Maybe we could have Health Care run by our military.  They are not typically efficient but they are effective if you don’t mind killing ants with a Four Hundred Dollar sledgehammer.

Could it be  that Congress and the Administration is trying to create another bucket called National Health Care that we taxpayers can pour money into.   A bucket that they can dip money from.  Money they can pay out to favored groups (ACORN is a good exapmple) and individuals so they can keep getting re-elected and stay in power.

And someday, we will find that this bucket too has been filled with IOU’s payable in hyper-inflated dollars borrowed from the Chinese.   Dollars that are now worthless because of Congress’  lack of fiscal discipline.

Why do people who lie to you and mismanage your money seem so surprised when you no longer trust or believe them?         

Bob Bandy

One of my pet peeves is being treated like I am stupid.  I once worked for a company that kept cutting costs by reducing employee benefits.  These decisions were presented to us as “enhancements”.  It got to the point that if I heard the word “enhancement” I would automatically reach to protect my wallet.

Our government does the same thing.  They talk about not raising taxes on most of us while they continue to spend more and more money they do not have.  To cover this increased spending they “borrow” money from our  (grand)children and raise non-income taxes and “fees”.  Fees are just taxes with an identity crises.

Now they are considering implementing something called a Cap and Trade Policy which involves charging us fees for the creation of a “Greenhouse Gas” called carbon dioxide and leaving a “Carbon Footprint” on the planet.  I don’t want to worry you but when you breath you exhale carbon dioxide.

They have finally figured out a way to tax me for breathing!

I know where I would like to leave my carbon footprint!

Bob Bandy

Bernie Madoff “Investments” or the Social Security “Trust Fund” – Which is the bigger Ponzi scheme?

The above is one of those questions you think has to be a “trick question”.  The answer is seemingly too obvious.

Here is another one:  Congress (which I often refer to as Dis-organized Crime) or the “Mafia” (sometimes called Organized Crime):  Who “taxes” its constituents less and runs the most efficient organization?  Again,  too obvious?

One more.  What is the difference between a government tax and a government fee?  This one is really a bit of a trick question.  The answer is the difference in spelling.  Not like asking what is the difference between a pile of manure and a bag of manure where there is a real difference.  The bag.

A final one.  What is the difference between what we are told by congress and a bag of manure?  You got it!

Bob Bandy