Who Owns You?

You?

Apparently not.  If you have been watching any part of the hysterics associated with the Fiscal Cliff and the subsequent “deal” struck, everyone owns you…  particularly those in government.  If you’ve been able to remain sober, read on… pardon me if I slur my typing.

Let’s begin with the basics.

There has been much confusion as of late in regard to what a “principle” is.

We supposedly seek “principled men” to occupy political offices, but then we chastise those who demonstrate those qualities.

We demonize those few who stand up for the principles we think we subscribe to… so let’s figure this out.

Let’s start with the definition of the word:

prin·ci·ple

 [ prínssəp’l ]

1. basic assumption: an important underlying law or assumption required in a system of thought
2. ethical standard: a standard of moral or ethical decision-making

OK… so you should ask yourself why is it so important for President Obama to get the Republicans in Congress to concede on raising taxes even if it’s only for certain “other” people… (for the moment.)

The Principle in question; Do you own your money and by extension yourself?

Capitalism says; “Yes, you own your money and because of that you own yourself.”

Socialism says; “No, you do not own your money… and because of that everyone other than you owns you, if they believe it benefits them.”  And who ever they are always think it benefits them.

Once you concede the principle that the Government owns the money, and you don’t, then everything is good for the continued march to Socialism.  This is why tax increases are so important to the Left even though they are effectively meaningless in regard to reducing the deficit, let alone the debt.  It reinforces the Primary Socialist Principle that Government owns the money and thus by extension owns you.  When they say “Is it unreasonable to ask the rich to pay a little more?” what they are actually saying is “Is it unreasonable to force someone to pay more?”  They are hoping you keep saying “No, not at all… seems fair.”

In other words, the Democrat/Socialists (and a number of Soft Socialist Republicans) need you to think it is OK to take more money from “other” people.  They need you to believe that we should take more money from whomever they choose, right now “the wealthy”, in order to reduce the deficit… or whatever cause du jour.  (Note… they will not mention “The Debt” which is truly what will destroy the U.S. soon and suddenly.)  They need you to concede that they have the power not to cut out-of-control spending but rather to take your, their, somebody’s money… and then give it to whomever they see fit, because it “belongs to all of us”.  (It’s worth noting they often see fit to give your money to donors running unmarketable products produced by solar energy companies which quickly go out business.)

This is a very simple Principle to understand.

Either the money you possess is yours or it is not.  Either you allow government to use some of it, or they allow you to use some of it.

So which is it?

There has been some discussion regarding certain Republicans who voted for this “deal” avoiding the Fiscal Cliff.  (I will remind everyone, since language seems to be so important, that this deal does nothing to avoid any fiscal cliff.  The United States is still speeding unencumbered towards its fiscal demise.)  I would offer that holding Republicans accountable during this charade is exactly what needs to be done.  It’s time we start talking about our representatives by NAME.  Far too many of us assume it’s someone else’s elected official who voted for this or that and never their own… it’s time to change that.  It is also assumed that certain politicians who possess a brand image that suggests “Fiscal Conservancy” that they could not/or would not approve of such a ridiculous deal.  These are particularly the representatives that need to be challenged as to what Principled Position they operate under.  (Like the Hurricane Sandy bill offered 1/2/13 which was full of crappy earmarks and pet projects… we should be outing the authors of this wanton spending for some good old-fashioned hazing if not outright public condemnation.)

What happens to most of our politicians once they reach DC is they abandon all of their principled rhetoric in favor of pragmatism.

This is another reason the Democrat/Leftists in our government see it as crucial to get the Republicans to concede that government owns the money… not you.  The Socialists that occupy our government are terrified of those certain individuals that will not opt to be “pragmatic” but instead stand on principle.  The Leftists cannot allow anyone to fill a seat in the house, senate and certainly not the presidency who cannot be bought under the paradigm of pragmatism.

Those genuinely standing for the first, simplest and most fundamental principle of Individual Liberty and Freedom must be destroyed…  not just destroyed politically but also in the minds of the common American voter… lest the Socialists lose their power.

Those who will fight to possible electoral defeat must be criticized, ridiculed and ostracized by not just the Leftists in the Democrat Party but also those Leftists in the Republican Party.  The Media is always ready and willing to help in this effort… lest they lose their power.

You must understand this.  If you are Free then you must constantly remind those occupying government that you are allowing them to use some of your money, not the other way around.  Otherwise, they will be coming for your money… or in their mind… their money that they have lent you.  And they will use Force to get it… that’s what taxation is.  Which is why you go to jail if you don’t pay up.

You must also understand that we should never be excited for politicians to “get along” and “get something done”… There is a reason they call each other the “opposition” and it’s a GOOD reason.  You should always be very afraid when they “come together” for your supposed benefit.  Because it never is.

So don’t be afraid to put Boehner, Ryan and the rest of them on notice.  And if they don’t listen start sending your campaign donations directly to primary candidates opposing them.  The future of our country depends on it.

Cheers…

The below links are worth the read and applicable to this mess.  Pop a beer and read on.

Reference: Bipartisanshitt, Force, Ask vs. Force

(010313)

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“You Already Got Your Tax Increases…”

“…And All of us Feel it.”

(I’m bringing this post back because we’re all about to submit our 2013 taxes.  Most of us will see our taxes go up.  While certain Establishment Republicans are actively trying to negate the Sequester cuts which were the only element of fiscal responsibility to have occurred in the past 10 years.  I just want you all to think about the additional money you’ll be sending to Washington while Washington tries to protect Their ability to Waste it.)

This should be the only sentence spoken for the next week by Republicans.  (It was not….)

No matter what defense is offered up by the Liberals, the above line should be repeated by every Conservative who jumps in front of a camera.

We should also demand that sequester happens.  Simple.

For those of you who are afraid of the mandatory “cuts” because they may effect Defense… I will remind you that Money is Fungible.

FUNGIBLE

Definition

fun·gi·ble

[ fúnjəb’l ]

ADJECTIVE 

1. tradable under contract: describes commodities that can be traded or substituted for an equal amount of a like commodity, usually to satisfy a contract

NOUN 

fun·gi·bles

plural

1. something traded or substituted: a commodity that is fungible   (    often used in the plural   )   

[ Late 17th century. <  medieval Latin fungibilis <  Latin fungi “perform” ]

fun·gi·bil·i·ty NOUN

What this means is that money can be moved around by the agencies from other programs deemed less important by Defense Administrators.  Don’t be fooled… yes the cuts may be “across the board”, but they do not prevent those in charge from moving money around to Preserve/Save those programs and operations they believe to be integral to our security.

They will scream.  They will Cry.  They will Stomp their Feet.

They will tell you that the Sky will fall, the Terrorists will win and Global Warming will kill us all.

But you must understand… they will act as if the world is ending because their budgets WILL be cut.  (Think about a  child who has ten lollipops and you take one away… it will scream bloody murder and cry for days.  Similarly, once the Government has your money it believes it’s theirs to be wasted as they see fit.)

Don’t fall for this Artificial Emergency.

Let me ask you, Isn’t a government that pays attention to how it wastes our money what we all want?

Well this is just a start.  (Yes, I would have preferred to begin with out of control entitlements but this will have to do.  I’m no fan of waste whether it’s entitlements or defense… or anywhere else.)

So let it go…  don’t succumb to the hype… and remind everyone you see that they are paying more in taxes even though they thought their “friends” in Washington were only going to “hurt” the rich… Surprise!  Then let them know their “friends” want to make it even worse.  And remind them that all of this was Obama’s idea.  Then, remind them that “Yes We Can, Cut our Way to Prosperity!  Yes We Can!”  Just like they do at home… and are having to do right now, now that their taxes are going up thanks to the people they voted for.

For once he should be a victim of his own bad ideas… even though it’s not the worst idea, and certainly not the one I would choose for him to be a victim of.  I would probably start with a little redistribution sprinkled with Obama Care finished with a heavy dose of “Fairness” as defined by me.  Anyway…

This is one of those times when the best thing to do is nothing.

Because… “The Democrats already got their tax increases.”

(Originally posted 020813)

The Monument Strategy

The Washington Post had an interesting article that should be mandatory reading. It’s a beautiful glimpse into the mind of Administrations and how they view the public.

The ‘Washington Monument’ sequester strategy

By Jonathan Bernstein, Published: February 19 at 4:59 pm

Does everyone know what a “Washington Monument” strategy is? We should expect to see government agencies employ that strategy against the sequester — because it works.

A Washington Monument strategy involves fighting against budget cuts by focusing, and if possible shifting cuts, to the most popular and visible services an agency provides — thus the Park Service would react to a budget cut by threatening to close the Washington Monument, figuring that disappointed tourists would flood their Member of Congress’s office complaining about it. As Stan Collender wrote recently, we may see reduced hours in national parks as a consequence of the sequester, if it goes through. Just now, it appears that the Pentagon is threatening to furlough 700,000 civilian employees.

What this means is that whatever the level of damage across-the-board would impose, we can expect the affected agencies will try to make the damage look as high as possible.

Now, there’s a natural balance to that; there are plenty of things that the government does that are extremely important but are barely visible; no one would notice if no one inspected meat for a week, unless something went wrong. Of course, part of the strategy also involves publicizing as much as possible anything that does go wrong, and blaming it on the sequester (whether, in fact, it really is a consequence of the sequester or not).

Politicians involved need to be aware of all of this, going in. There’s some evidence that some Republicans, however, aren’t fully aware of the situation; I’ve seen references to the small percentage of overall spending that will be cut if the sequester goes into effect on March 1. As Collender correctly notes, all too many Republicans entered the 1995-1996 shutdown showdown with a mistaken belief that polling showing public antipathy to “government spending” would be the best predictor of reaction to a shutdown. Instead, the better predictor was polling showing that the public loves most individual government programs — or perhaps the better predictor was just that those programs are important parts of everyday life for everyone, whatever their politics. Democrats, too, should be aware that defense cuts that may poll well might also produce real, and very visible, pain.

None of which means that Republicans (or Democrats) should necessarily cave. But politicians on both sides should go into this with eyes wide open. Spending cuts are unpopular and this round will be no different. At least, not if the agencies affected have anything to say about it. And they will.

I personally witnessed this During the Clinton Administration.  Luckily I was aware of such tactics then as I am now.  The Shutdown was necessary then… as it is now.

Keeping WWII Vet’s out of areas that are never guarded in the first place is not.

(As an aside, Spending Cuts are not unpopular unless you’re a politician.  And, the “Monument Strategy” was crafted under Nixon for all the reasons above.  Do Liberals really want to find common ground with Nixon?  I guess so.)

Until the Clock Runs Backwards

…nothing is really being done.

I want to take the opportunity of “the Sequester” to remind all of us that nothing positive is being accomplished until the Debt Clock begins, and continues to, run backwards.

If the Sequester occurs, it is a time for celebration as it would mark the first nod to fiscal sanity.  But it is just a nod… a recognition that we are in deep trouble.  The Sequester would need to be multiplied forty times in order to genuinely begin to address our countries problems.

So raise a beer… but after you finish it immediately get back to work.

Remember, the politicians have an uncanny ability to take a very tiny step forward and take two great leaps backwards.

Don’t start trusting them now…  they’re going to try to keep playing us for fools.

(Don’t forget,  It’s the Debt Dummy!  “Debt” and “Deficit” are two very different words.  Politicians on both sides of the aisle will try to use them interchangeably in order to keep you confused.  In turn this keeps you voting the way they want.  Your only concern should be reducing the Debt.  Reducing the Debt is the only thing that matters, because by doing so the Deficit is necessarily taken care of… it will be gone.  Simply reducing the Deficit only allows for our continued drive forward into the Fiscal Oblivion.  Focusing on the Deficit is meaningless at this point in our history.)

Sequester is just one piece of a 1000 piece puzzle.

An Open Letter from your Congressional Republicans:

Dear Mr. President,

We’re ready to help you fix your Sequester Budget plan.

And, since you have already received your desired tax increases of which all Americans are experiencing right now we would be willing to aid you in figuring out how to reduce spending in a better, and more balanced, way than your current proposal dictates.

If you have any ideas we will gladly listen to them because we recognize how poorly thought out your Sequester plan was. We also recognize, as we are sure you do, that our country is being crushed by a rapidly growing 16-Trillion Dollar Debt created by out-of-control spending.  We know that both parties have participated in this Debt which is why we agree with you that both parties must take part in reducing it quickly before it destroys our Country along with the American Dream.

Considering the Urgency of addressing this Unprecedented Emergency we understand the Necessity of not delaying immediate action.  Because if not Now, When?  If not Us, Who?

Trust us, we recognize how difficult it can be dealing with those in your own party.  You point this out to us regularly.  That’s why we wanted to send you this open letter to publicly show our unified support.  We hope it helps you rally your party members to embrace solutions during your time of need.  Please beg your fellow Democrats for Bipartisanship, if for no other reason than the future of women, our children and minorities.

We are with you Mr. President!

All of us have cell phones and promise to answer.  So call us may be.

Sincerely,

The Congressional Republicans

PS. Happy Valentines Day XOXO

Cliff Diving

I remember my first time diving from the “high” board into the “deep end”. It was terrifying. However, once I did it, things changed. The act became less terrifying with each occurrence.

Is this what the spending addicts in Washington are actually afraid of?

Has the explosion of an already bloated government left us scared and shaking on the ladder? When you look closely at the proposed cuts to all departments associated with the ‘Fiscal Cliff”, or “Sequestration”, it becomes clear that they are far from scary and should really serve only as a starting point. (Not even a good starting point… but at least a starting point.)

Will government jobs be in jeopardy?  Yes.

Will government programs that are duplicated throughout our military taking focus away from more important projects be cut?  Yes.

Will it force our armed forces to rate in earnest what programs are worth spending taxpayer dollars on and which are not?  Yes.

I address the military specifically because that seems to be where the majority of “fear” is being generated in regard to what amount to be miniscule cuts.  When I say miniscule, what I really mean is ridiculously small in comparison to our catastrophic spending problem leading to our obese, soon to be fatal, debt load.

In case any of you are shaking your heads in my wanton disregard for the serious ramifications of “cutting the military” all I can say is… remember that money is fungible. If there is truly a program that must be saved, it will be saved.

So this brings me back to my original question…

Is Washington and all of our Politicians that dwell there afraid of “Going over the cliff” because it will not be a very big deal? Are they afraid that the American people will experience the aftermath and say to themselves “What’s the problem?” to be closely followed by “Let’s keep going!”

If we are serious about cutting spending this is a good start.

In regard to taxes…

If the Leftists are serious in their assertion that taxing the crap out of everyone “promotes growth”, as they claim that it did under Clinton, then let them fall on that sword.  (I was there, and it was a paper tiger in the name of “the tech bubble” combined with a mature House of Representatives that produced what appeared to be a surplus…) but I’m willing to give them a helpful push as sometimes the blade gets stuck…

There is nothing in government that can’t be corrected quickly under the crushing burden of a declining economy aside from new entitlements and abdication of authority from one branch to another.

When the economic health of the United States plummets… we will need heroes, of a fiscal conservative variety.  And, we will need a whole lot of them.

It was cold the morning I climbed the eleven steps and peered over the top of that diving board. Shivering I walked to the very end and peered over the edge. My memory always makes it higher than any cliff I have dived off since…