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Thursday, October 20, 2011

They Want me Dead


Why do they want me dead? 
Bernanke announced the cost of living went up 6%. 
Social Security recipients are getting a 3.5% cost of living which should pay for the 3.5% increase in medicare deductions in Jan 2012. 
Co-pay for Medicare A-B is 20%. My "Agent Orange" cancer costs ~$60,000/yr.
The best supplemental insurance I can get requires minimum $5000.00 "out of pocket" before the rest of the expense is paid for. 
This program leaves about $7000/year left for living expenses.... not enough to survive on. Food prices rising 200%/yr. All prices up....

They want me dead.

CHANGE

I wrote a post somewhere and lost it.  So, I'll try to re-construct the idea and embellish on it.

Did you ever wonder why groups of people stay where they are? 

Why don't shanty towns disappear? If you were born in a shanty town, you are most likely to live your whole life in a shanty town in spite of the fact that you could leave it for a richer life elsewhere. 

The same goes for those born in ghettos, deserts, or low lying coasts where many people die from storm surges and high tides every year..

I learned about this WHY from the experience my sister had.

Here's her story.........

My sister married a man she met through writing to a soldier during the Vietnam war.
He was from west Texas, she from Wisconsin.

He decided to move to Wisconsin to live with my sister and they both spent several years there.  However, he missed "home" and finally convinced my sister to move to West Texas with him.

In Wisconsin, we had trees, grass and enough rain to keep things green. West Texas is basically flat desert with cactus, mesquite, dry, dusty, and a horizon filled with pump jacks. It smells of oil and the drinking water is brackish.

But West Texas was home to my brother-in-law and he missed it. (My predilection is green, his is wide skies and brackish water.)  Now my sister misses the trees and green and sweet water.

I then realized that people feel more comfort living in areas where they were born and grew up.

Why is this so?

People like to stay in familiar surroundings because they know they can survive there. If they are taken out of their "survival" zone, i.e. to less familiar surroundings, they feel less secure. (Not said well, hmm.)

People fear the unfamiliar. Change is always scary, uncomfortable. Any change from their infant past will always cause discomfort. The same goes for any change from the usual in adult life.

Change for the better is always dreamed about, but only in the context of familiar surroundings.

Nuff said.













Saturday, October 15, 2011

AN IDEA ON HOW ALL OF US CAN GET RICH

 Background

Last night, I went to one of Herman Cain's rallies in TN. Before going, I went to his website, http://www.hermancain.com/999plan to see if there were any changes since last time.  YUP, there was.

I can now see his strategy (and it makes all the sense in the world) and it is brilliant.

In his speech last night, and he revealed another portion of his 9-9-9 plan and the logic behind it.

There is NO WAY the far leftists and "rightists" can stop his momentum.... he will always be one step ahead of them.

For security purposes, I cannot tell you what I perceived and I hope and pray he will be able to continue his campaign, because everyone, Radical Left, Radical Right, and everyone in between will learn from him that can promote their own goals.  He's leaking these concepts, one by one, and they are moving to a crescendo that will be well worth the wait for everyone.   I know his intentions are honorable.

Why am I so interested in Dr. Cain?  Because he leaked a phrase that no one picked up on.  His phrase told me that he is definitely on the right path.  His leaked phrase is undeniable, accurate, and cannot be spun, twisted, or misinterpreted.

Like Herman's life, I was brought up to know that if I wanted something, I had to work for it.  I had a job since 4th grade and did those jobs that nobody wanted.  I worked on a produce farm with migrant workers from age 12 - 18.  To augment my $0.35 to $1.10/hour wage during my farm "career", I also had a paper route at the same time.  I'll never forget the two weeks I worked to fill in for a  friend of mine in one of the worst jobs I could imagine: washing dishes in a bakery.  All the big greasy pots and pans, stacked two-three feet high all over the place had to be washed thoroughly with hot water and detergent and disinfected with a 180F water rinse.  (It was brutal, and after the four hot sweaty hours it took to do the job, I went home (on a bus) stinking like lard totally worn out.)  To me, this was "normal", i.e. no complaints because that was the way it was.

 In kindergarten, my mother walked me the mile to get there (winter, too).   In elementary school to 4th grade, I walked the mile to school.  After 4th grade, we moved to a newer home in a newer neighborhood which was about 8 miles away from elementary school, so we either rode our bikes, or took the city bus to get there. I walked 5 miles (one way) to  high school and back no matter what the weather was.  (Like -17F below zero with high winds.)

I didn't even think of complaining, because that was the way it was.

(Don't worry, my idea is coming, the above background is needed to understand it.)

Protests are everywhere right now.  On the screen I see a lot of people complaining about Wall Street, the "corrupt" Banks, people who are paid by communists, unions, and other special interest groups to try to get something from whomever they are bashing.

This behavior makes me cry.  Why? Because NO ONE TOLD THEM ABOUT THE WAY THINGS TRULY ARE AND HOW THEY WORK.  Not knowing the true FACTS on how our world runs causes stress and emotional outbursts.  NO ONE LIKES INSECURITY.  Lack of knowledge causes insecurity, worry, and illogical outbursts.

Know this.  NO ONE OWE'S YOU ANYTHING, not even your parents.  Life happens, some good, some bad and that's reality.  We can fix our lives in many ways, some honorable, some not. BUT WE CAN FIX IT - IF WE DECIDE IT IS UP TO US as individuals TO FIX OUR OWN LIVES.

(Getting closer to my idea.)

One thing about MONEY.  Money is a piece of paper that represents the value what an individual has done for someone or for society. The value of a dollar is the amount of effort (or possession) a person agreed to do (exchange) that is worth that unit of value.  (If someone gave you that dollar, that someone had to provide a dollar's amount of value to society.) 

A nation's wealth is not money, it is the result of effort. For instance, a nation's wealth includes roads, highways, homes, mansions, yachts, junkers, inventory, land, resources, and intellectual property.  A nation's wealth is the total of all the values it possesses.

So, now, let's get to our unemployed youth.  The beginning of the solution to our economic troubles.

(Remember, ECONOMY = FLOW of Values (money),  Pieces of paper stuffed in a mattress does NOT flow so it provides no benefit to the economy until it is put into motion (spent). (But, those pieces of paper are savings, a good thing for spending later when we can no longer provide value.)

We see youth protesting across this nation without a clue as to why they are protesting. Some will say they got cheated in their education and now flip burgers with a PHD in basket weaving with a BIG student loan debt hanging over their heads for the rest of their lives. (Like "green" degrees?)

Here's my IDEA....
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Let's give our youth the opportunity to build their own future. This will be especially doable in the ghetto where there a tons of abandoned buildings.

Let's set it up so our youth could own their own home/mansion if they built it themselves with free raw materials and a piece of land given to them. All they would have to do is decide what they'd like to live in and go for it.

Every land fill, every abandoned building has all the resources needed to build a mansion. If there are any electronics in them, they could even have gold plated faucets.  All they would need to do is dream their dream and be given the permission to do it. Each facet of building the mansion would be thought out if greed is implicated. (Junk Yards are also a great place for re-cycling resources. Nuts, bolts, electronic components anybody?)

Our youth are very creative and motivated to have something for their very own, to be unique, to stand out in the crowd, to have and be able to provide value.  Any project that fails will provide the experience to do better the next time around.
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You can take the idea above literally, or figuratively.  The idea is to allow our youth (and anyone else) to provide value for themselves (as well as others.).

For instance, (and some of these are lame... I know.)
  • Teams of unwed mothers could provide babysitting services for each other while the rest of the team works to provide value for everyone in the team. Home decorating, recycling used clothing into drapes, shades, new clothing to sell,  dying old clothes to make them look new, making quilts to help keep the poorer of us to stay warm.  Ever think of using old clothes (rags) to make tie-dyed wallpaper, pillows, or pet beds? (Goodwill has tons of recycling ideas in their stores.)
  • Education Loan Strapped Students can cut a deal with the government that would allow them to provide value to society such as... re-cycling old buildings, cleaning/painting government property, working in national parks, fighting wildfires, renovating national monuments, cleaning up the environment.
  • Home care for the elderly.  Help our elderly and handicapped citizens to stay in their homes.  This would save the government (us) money by reducing the cost of housing our older folks in government sponsored facilities.

Even the gangs in Los Angeles  understand commitments and pacts.  Stories of their wounded warriors being cared for by their gang mates pop up in the news.  This idea can be expanded to teams of "value" producers. Let's say a team gets together to renovate an abandoned home with the understanding that once the renovation is done, they can either sell it or live in it.

Providing ownership changes the way items of value (such as homes and buildings.....) are treated.

I expect a lot of criticism... but today is not one of my "brightest light bulb" days.

Let these ideas fester for a while, I'm sure someone will come up with a real winner using this thought process.

I have no claim on intelligence,.  I realize this, and I'm too old to think otherwise.  (Second childhood is GREAT!)

Enjoy, laugh, consider.






























Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Herman Cain's 9-9-9

I like Herman Cain with his 9-9-9 idea.  BUT.......
I do not understand why he has to have three tax sources.  It makes no sense to me.

Why? Because any cost of doing business is passed onto the buyer. (i.e. the price a buyer has to pay includes the cost of doing business.)  The buyer also pays the profit that those higher in the food chain get. (Whatever the market will bear.)

So, in reality, corporations don't pay taxes, merchants don't pay taxes, no one pays taxes except those who purchase things.

So, I want to one-up Cain's proposal.  Instead of 9-9-9, why don't we just accept the fact that it is only the buyer who pays all the money needed to run the government.

If Cain's calculation adds up to 27%, getting rid of two of the 9's would result in less than 27%... MORE SAVINGS.

Now, if we could get rid of the IRS and all the tax laws except a "Sales Tax", we all would save a lot of money and get rid of all the parasites that make us do non-productive work. (Like spend time and money trying to abide by tax law.)

Sorry tax accountants, tax lawyers, most of the IRS employees. You've got to go. Wouldn't it feel better to do productive work instead of non-productive work (parasite) work? It might be more fun catching cheaters: lobbyists and cronies that try to cheat others from being able to compete fairly.

Take away the temptation of trying to get favors from our government, and corruption would go away. Corruption would be less profitable than doing things honestly and ethically.

"Income tax would no longer be called "income tax" because the only function our federal government is supposed to do is protect our borders and our national security so that us citizens can do our thing. So, the "sales tax" imposed by the government would be called "Security Tax."

Now, all other functions like building roads, providing public services like public transportation, garbage collection, treating water... etc. would be handled by the States.  So the states would also impose a sales tax to pay for their necessary functional responsibilities.

Just think how cheap things would be after all the parasitic costs are eliminated!  More money in our pockets, more time to do what we want to do.  (I, personally, spend too much time trying to figure out taxes.)

If we just admitted the fact that buyers pay all taxes and provide the profits to the manufacturers, our life would be much simpler, less costly, and happier.





Thursday, September 29, 2011

Introducing a Friend

Yes, I have friends.  If I don't, that's OK, too.

I know what friendship is, and I'll be a friend to those who consider otherwise.

But, today I'd like to introduce you to Terry Pollard.

He makes me "redfaced" a lot when I spew out some of my garbage, because he's more often right than wrong.

Terry see's things in a different way which is both disconcerting, but also enlightening.

I like him.

Terry is dedicated to his beliefs and stands by them, no matter what.

His life has been threatened and he's been seriously injured because of his willingness to stand up for what was right.

So, I'd like for you to see his blog.

http://pollardsmind.com/Home_Page.html


Eric


SHELL GAME - TAXES

Anyone who purchases anything pays income taxes. (Let's leave inheritance taxes out of this conversation. We'll leave this to some future blog about government corruption.)

So... Here Goes!

If you purchase something, you purchase it from someone in business. Nuff said.

Now ANYONE who is in business is in business for the purpose of making a profit.

Profits are taxed at some level. (Minus deductions which are the result of honest efforts to increase jobs, aka taxpayers, or dishonest efforts by some to get an unfair competitive advantage, aka corruption.)

Honest businesses will pay their taxes and add their tax costs to the price of the product/service you buy.

So, at the end of the day, rich or poor, or anyone in between pays income taxes.. THE CONSUMER PAYS ALL INCOME TAXES.

So, when I hear about "the rich should pay their fair share", I go insane!

If you want something to buy, then you have to have a business to buy it from.  A business must exist to provide the goods and services you need and want.

So, in order to survive, and for a reason to exist, any business will HAVE TO add their costs to the price you pay, including taxes.

All this bickering between left and right, between unions vs non-union, is meaningless. The bickering exists for one reason only:  TO GAIN AN ADVANTAGE over others.

I think we all have a sense of what's fair and what isn't.  Let's just look at the bigger picture.

You don't want someone leaching off of you.  So it is safe to say that leachers should be identified and banned/removed/motivated to NOT LEACH.

We're in this world together.  Let's be good... OKAY?



















Sunday, September 18, 2011

Addicted to Oil

As I mull over the nonsense I see in politics and our economy, I came to a realization that might explain it all.

President Bush gave us all a clue by saying "We're Addicted to Oil".

Then I see that most of the energy sources we have available on our own land are "off limits" because of some environmental threat. (Most of our Western States are "protected".)

Remember the Oil Embargo in 1973?  The rationing, long lines at the gas stations?

This is when our politics seem to have all gone haywire. More distracting issues and walls put in our way for getting access to our own energy reserves.

All of a sudden we had "global warming", pushes for Solar, Wind, and wave energy.  All much more expensive sources of energy than what we can get out of "carbon" fuel.

Conspiracy theories abounded and are in place today.  Pick and choose which one you want to believe.


Here's what I think is going on......


The oil embargo was an experiment to see what would happen to our country if, all of a sudden, we no longer had access to foreign oil. The result was immediate disaster for the U.S.

Our leaders are given this "bad news" after being elected into office, and immediately see the danger of doing anything that will anger OPEC and jeopardize our nation's security.

So, here we have dance around the whims of our energy suppliers (OPEC mainly) in order to keep our country going. So OPEC says, "Oil will cost you this much, you will pay, or else we'll shut you down".

China sees our predicament as a way to capitalize on our dilemma. They will lend us the money to pay the high oil prices OPEC demands. Now, we are indebted to them. Our only hold we have on OPEC is our ability to defend them with our military.  But, now, China has sufficient military resources to take the place of the U.S. (Using our money we pay to them for our debt to them.)  It is a vicious scheme to control the world.  Our enemies say "Jump" and we have to ask "How High".
OPEC no longer needs us, they have China!

I thought of a way to get around this dilemma, but don't want to publish this here.  This end-run has to be done in absolute secrecy.  (I will pass this info to some people I trust in case I get shut down here.)

So, at this point, The U.S. is toast unless we pay the extortionists.

Sorry for the negativity, hope I don't step on anyone's sensitivities.  But reality is reality and we have to deal with it.