Have you ever heard the cliche, " The only sure things in life are death and taxes."? the truth of the matter is that it is most likely that the death was caused by taxes! Why do I say such a strange thing, you may be asking. Well, recent events have given me an interesting take on this phrase.
Every person in the world who has ever punched a time-clock has dreamed of being rich, retired or their own boss, doing what they love, and not answering to anyone but themselves. It's a great dream and those who achieve it are generally glad that they did. Mostly...
The retired and the wealthy have different agendas than those who become their own bosses. Those who opt for self-employment learn a lot of things and one of those things is that if you can't keep your own books, you need to find someone trustworthy to do it for you. Many a business venture has bitten the dust because the people keeping the books and handling the finances were either dishonest or incompetent. The product was good, and the service was excellent, but the money didn't get where it was supposed to go, and eventually the discrepancies caught up with the business. Sometimes it is creditors, but sometimes it is the taxman himself. Yep, The I.R.S. Uncle Sam.
Some uncle he turns out to be, let me tell you. Do you know that if you owe taxes that the I.R.S. can seize your assets? They can go directly into your bank account and take the money that they think you owe them. With not so much as a "heads up" that it's coming out. They get into your account and pull out the funds. Doesn't matter that you have checks written on the money in the account. It means nothing to them. So what happens? Well if you don't have money to put back in that account, those checks are gonna bounce sky high, and you know what that means, your gonna be getting calls from all of the people that you wrote those check to and they are going to want their money, NOW!!!
This compounds an already big problem, because now you owe even more money that you don't have because not only will your bank charge you for every check that bounces, but everyone who has one of those checks will be charging you for the fees that THEIR banks charge them! How the hell does this help anyone?
Now I'm not talking about a multi-million dollar business here, I'm talking about a small fry business man who answers his own phones, and does his own inventory and still talks to his suppliers on the phone every week. If he is lucky he has one or maybe 2 employees who know every cent he spends on the business and are happy to do without when the times call for it. This is a guy who takes a cut in his own pay so that his employees can continue to get their full pay when things are slow. This is a small business in every sense of the word, and these are the people that truly make America work. They are the ones truly living the American Dream.
The taxman cometh, and with him the death of a dream. So this is why I would like to try and collect $1 from 5000 people in the next month. I know a small businessman who is looking down the barrel of the I.R.S. gun and if he can't pull some money from thin air he will probably lose the business that he has built up over 20 some years of blood, sweat and sacrifice. The problem is not of his making, but it is his responsibility. And so I would like to try and help him.
He did everything right as far as he knew. And he made the calls and asked the questions and everything he did was right as far as he knew, and as far as he was told. But then earlier this year he finds out that there was something not done correctly three years ago and since the I.R.S begins fining from the start of the problem rather than when they notify you about it, the bill has grown to be quite hefty.
Why would you help? Hasn't everyone at one time or another dreamed of being a hero to someone? They say that you can't fight city hall, and it's true, you have a better chance of pushing you head through a concrete wall, than winning this type of argument against the I.R.S. But with the help of the heroes of America it is possible to help one Little person with a big-ass problem. All it takes is a little spare change. who doesn't have a dollar to spare? The lose change in your couch cushions, under the floor-mat of the car, or in the ashtray. The change from your coffee break for a day or 2 adds up to a dollar. With one measly, little dollar you can help one guy keep his dreams alive. All I am looking for is for 5000 people to give up the cost of one McDonald's cheeseburger. The difference in the cost of a large coffee to a medium. A regular value meal instead of a super-sized one.
I believe that there are enough people out in the world who can do this. I believe that there are enough people out in Facebook-land who can spare a single dollar, this month, and help one guy keep his dream alive. How many times have you given money to a cause, and never known where it goes? Never see what it does? Here is a chance to give to a cause and every penny goes to the cause. There is no agency taking bits and pieces out of it. And here is the kicker, if I get MORE than is needed to cover this I.R.S. fine, I will donate the rest to a very worthy charity in Rochester NY. called "Wease Cares for Kids". Another worthy cause that gives 100% of all donation back to the community. What could be better than helping out one person? Helping one kid!
So what do you say, People of Facebook? Friends, friends of friends and friend- friends friends.... Go viral and make something cool happen!!! Just $1.
Karl White
14485 Puzzey Rd
Albion NY 14411
Showing posts with label taxes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label taxes. Show all posts
Monday, October 26, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Why are we so scared?
I recently read an article ( and when I say "recently" I mean in the last few months!) that broke down "freedom" by state. Using various legislative and social guideposts, the authors of the sited study, evaluated and graded the freedoms in each state. The conclusions were interesting to say the least, because what they found was that, in general, the states with the highest tax loads per capita had the least amount of personal freedom, and the states with the lowest tax loads had the most "perceived" freedom. Why, you may ask do I put the word "perceived" in quotes? Well, it is because, based on the study, most freedom is about perception,( ask your kids how free they feel when they are stuck in school) but when quantitatively measured, freedom has no meaning.
If a person has a job, and can feed their family and live a life that makes them happy, what freedom are they missing? If this person lives in country that is ruled by a military dictator, or by a democratically elected president makes no difference. If a different person has a job they can't stand, and makes barely enough money to live, and lives on the edge of financial ruin, never finding happiness in their entire life, are they ever truly free? Again, it makes no difference what system they live under.
Taxes that seem to go ever upward, with ever deepening cuts in the services offered, gives a feeling of the loss of freedom. When you can keep more of your wages, you feel like you have more freedom. When you are doing something that you enjoy, more than you're doing something that you don't, you feel free. Ask yourself, do you take a vacation to do stuff you hate? Of course not! Unless you're married and you take a vacation to catch up on the "Honey do.." list, then maybe you are doing stuff you don't like on vacation. See, you don't feel free then, do you?
In America, we spend so much of our time trying to meet our payments that we have lost view of what life is really about. Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, were the golden trio described in our Declaration of Independence, but today we give them up for Work, Struggle and the pursuit of the next cool thing. Anybody who has lived a few years can tell you that the continuing struggle for money and belongings has sidetracked us from the real things in life, family, learning and living.
Living is one thing that the rest of the world seems to have on us. Especially the European countries. The European model has capitalism, with liberal amounts of socialism sprinkled in to make life livable for the masses, and not just for the lucky few. Health care is only one place where they have us beat. We have truly lost some greatness in our educational arenas, and our research capabilities too. Thanks very much to the odd religious nutcases who seem to get power, even when they are a minority. Long discussion for a different time.
Just as much, I pursue the dollars and the stuff. I have no time or money to do the things that I really want to do, so I compensate by getting stuff instead of going and seeing like I want to! Occasionally I have the luck and the time to get out of my small realm and see the broader world, and I always love those times. But they are far fewer that I would like, so in the middle times I amuse myself with what I think I want when I can't have what I really want. It is my freedom of choice and I use it rather unwisely!
On a lighter note.....55# gone. I have hit a plateau, but it might have to do with the hole in my back. Small surgical thing that needs to finish healing so I can get back into some more vigorous exercise. Sounds funny to say, but I miss it!
If a person has a job, and can feed their family and live a life that makes them happy, what freedom are they missing? If this person lives in country that is ruled by a military dictator, or by a democratically elected president makes no difference. If a different person has a job they can't stand, and makes barely enough money to live, and lives on the edge of financial ruin, never finding happiness in their entire life, are they ever truly free? Again, it makes no difference what system they live under.
Taxes that seem to go ever upward, with ever deepening cuts in the services offered, gives a feeling of the loss of freedom. When you can keep more of your wages, you feel like you have more freedom. When you are doing something that you enjoy, more than you're doing something that you don't, you feel free. Ask yourself, do you take a vacation to do stuff you hate? Of course not! Unless you're married and you take a vacation to catch up on the "Honey do.." list, then maybe you are doing stuff you don't like on vacation. See, you don't feel free then, do you?
In America, we spend so much of our time trying to meet our payments that we have lost view of what life is really about. Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, were the golden trio described in our Declaration of Independence, but today we give them up for Work, Struggle and the pursuit of the next cool thing. Anybody who has lived a few years can tell you that the continuing struggle for money and belongings has sidetracked us from the real things in life, family, learning and living.
Living is one thing that the rest of the world seems to have on us. Especially the European countries. The European model has capitalism, with liberal amounts of socialism sprinkled in to make life livable for the masses, and not just for the lucky few. Health care is only one place where they have us beat. We have truly lost some greatness in our educational arenas, and our research capabilities too. Thanks very much to the odd religious nutcases who seem to get power, even when they are a minority. Long discussion for a different time.
Just as much, I pursue the dollars and the stuff. I have no time or money to do the things that I really want to do, so I compensate by getting stuff instead of going and seeing like I want to! Occasionally I have the luck and the time to get out of my small realm and see the broader world, and I always love those times. But they are far fewer that I would like, so in the middle times I amuse myself with what I think I want when I can't have what I really want. It is my freedom of choice and I use it rather unwisely!
On a lighter note.....55# gone. I have hit a plateau, but it might have to do with the hole in my back. Small surgical thing that needs to finish healing so I can get back into some more vigorous exercise. Sounds funny to say, but I miss it!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Life continues... for some....
People continue to die, and the US government continues it's Genocide of the American Indian. There is far too much for the American Government to finish on the reservations of America, before they can even hope to be able to begin formulating a healthcare plan for the general public. Prove that they can care for the people that they tried to eradicate, and then maybe they can start working on the rest of the population. The government has the bad habit of making a law and then forgetting about it. This is this proof. The US Government needs to revisit the books from time to time and adjust for the current situation, this is definitely one of those time. 700 Billion dollars to bail out idiot financial "wizards", yet people continue to die. There is no need for it, and no good excuse either.
Monday, March 2, 2009
What the future holds...
Today I was involved in a discussion about high speed rail. The subject came up because local politicians are trying to get a high speed rail line established in New York State that connects Albany to Buffalo with obvious stops in Rochester and Syracuse. One side of the argument is the standard, "it's a waste of money and we have cars..." , while the other side is , "The future is coming and even if you don't want to be part of it, it needs to be embraced." I am more on the side of the future.
Why do I believe in high speed rail? Mostly because I see it as a great economical way to travel. Most high speed trains are more electric than anything, so they are much more environmentally friendly. Secondly, I think that our future is going away from fossil fuels, and with the advent of fully electric cars I can see a great future where the 2 technologies will work together in a great symbiosis.
Of course I have no idea how the planners are thinking, but from what I know of electric cars today, they do have their limits as to the distance and speed. ( I'm sure that as they become more prevalent these limitations will be stretched , but still they will not be as infinite as the fossil fueled vehicles we use now.) Has anyone here not seen the "Smart Car"? Well they are pretty cool, and I see no reason why the future high speed rail trains can't be built in such a way that theses cars can be integrated into a train. Picture this: in the future we will get in our cars for the long trip to grandmas house, but instead of getting out on the interstate highway, we will drive to the nearby rail terminal. There we will buy a ticket just like now, but instead of unloading all of our junk and hauling it to the train, we will simply drive our smart car to the gate, (similar to how we do for ferries to cross lakes and other water bodies now. ) The train arrives at the station and the car drives itself into a berth ( it IS a smart car!) to ride to the station nearest to our destination. While on the train our batteries are being topped off, we are free to sight see as we ride along, all of our luggage untouched by anyone but us. Our seats are comfortable and to our liking and the sound system or video player plays what we wish to see or hear. When we arrive at our station we simply drive off the train and continue to our destination. This gives us the benefit of mass transit, and the freedom of our own vehicle.
If we wish to go on a sight seeing vacation, we follow a similar pattern, but we can disembark the train and re-board the next scheduled train to continue on our way.. Of course there will be some logistical problems occasionally, and there is no way to avoid it. Too many people and there will never be enough space for everyone all the time, but it will be a learning curve and it will get better as experience teaches us all how to use the system more efficiently.
It needs to start someplace, and sooner or later there will once again be mass transit for the most part. Perhaps it is still decades away, but it will happen. Of course population density makes these things much more prevalent in European and Asian countries like Germany, France and Japan, but in the last 40 years these countries have become the technology leaders in transportation technology. There has been talk for years of such high speed rail lines in places like California to connect San Diego and Los Angeles to San Francisco and Sacramento, or the east coast to connect Boston and New York City to Washington and Miami. Why not New York City to Cleveland via Philly and Pittsburgh? Or Cleveland to Nashville? Or any amazing city to any other! It makes a more sense than the airports and worries about rental cars. But this is just my thoughts. Nobody has set anything is stone yet. Coast to coast in 48 hours in your own car and not getting a single speeding ticket? How cool would that be? Take the express train, Indianapolis to Denver in a day, running at 300 mph across the open prairie! I have to quit here because other wise I could do this dreaming forever!
Embrace the future. There is no reason not to at least try!
Why do I believe in high speed rail? Mostly because I see it as a great economical way to travel. Most high speed trains are more electric than anything, so they are much more environmentally friendly. Secondly, I think that our future is going away from fossil fuels, and with the advent of fully electric cars I can see a great future where the 2 technologies will work together in a great symbiosis.
Of course I have no idea how the planners are thinking, but from what I know of electric cars today, they do have their limits as to the distance and speed. ( I'm sure that as they become more prevalent these limitations will be stretched , but still they will not be as infinite as the fossil fueled vehicles we use now.) Has anyone here not seen the "Smart Car"? Well they are pretty cool, and I see no reason why the future high speed rail trains can't be built in such a way that theses cars can be integrated into a train. Picture this: in the future we will get in our cars for the long trip to grandmas house, but instead of getting out on the interstate highway, we will drive to the nearby rail terminal. There we will buy a ticket just like now, but instead of unloading all of our junk and hauling it to the train, we will simply drive our smart car to the gate, (similar to how we do for ferries to cross lakes and other water bodies now. ) The train arrives at the station and the car drives itself into a berth ( it IS a smart car!) to ride to the station nearest to our destination. While on the train our batteries are being topped off, we are free to sight see as we ride along, all of our luggage untouched by anyone but us. Our seats are comfortable and to our liking and the sound system or video player plays what we wish to see or hear. When we arrive at our station we simply drive off the train and continue to our destination. This gives us the benefit of mass transit, and the freedom of our own vehicle.
If we wish to go on a sight seeing vacation, we follow a similar pattern, but we can disembark the train and re-board the next scheduled train to continue on our way.. Of course there will be some logistical problems occasionally, and there is no way to avoid it. Too many people and there will never be enough space for everyone all the time, but it will be a learning curve and it will get better as experience teaches us all how to use the system more efficiently.
It needs to start someplace, and sooner or later there will once again be mass transit for the most part. Perhaps it is still decades away, but it will happen. Of course population density makes these things much more prevalent in European and Asian countries like Germany, France and Japan, but in the last 40 years these countries have become the technology leaders in transportation technology. There has been talk for years of such high speed rail lines in places like California to connect San Diego and Los Angeles to San Francisco and Sacramento, or the east coast to connect Boston and New York City to Washington and Miami. Why not New York City to Cleveland via Philly and Pittsburgh? Or Cleveland to Nashville? Or any amazing city to any other! It makes a more sense than the airports and worries about rental cars. But this is just my thoughts. Nobody has set anything is stone yet. Coast to coast in 48 hours in your own car and not getting a single speeding ticket? How cool would that be? Take the express train, Indianapolis to Denver in a day, running at 300 mph across the open prairie! I have to quit here because other wise I could do this dreaming forever!
Embrace the future. There is no reason not to at least try!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Save the taxpayer, save the world!!
Funny thing, I was watching "Heroes" this evening. ( last nights episode on DVR) and when I was too busy to get to the ad zapper button, I heard that line, in a Turbo Tax commercial. The play on the line from the first season of "Heroes", "Save the cheerleader, save the world." The "dumb" guy in the ad, Gets happy and says, "Save the taxpayer, save the world!" and the "smart" guy replies, "that doesn't even make sense." But it really does make sense.
I have been saying almost exactly that for the last few months about these bailout /stimulus packages that have been going around and through the Government like shit through a goose. While we the Taxpayers sit home worrying about paying our bills on what little money we get from unemployment, or praying like hell that we can hang onto our jobs, the Dopes that we put into office year after year, continue to forget about us and send our ( and our childrens', grandchildrens', and great-grandchildrens') money to corporations and banks that have squandered billions of dollars, and look well poised to squander billions more.
I think that the part of this whole thing that really drives me crazy is that even while all of these banks and credit issuers are going under and being bought and sold left and right, WE are still expected to continue paying our bills. The companies have changed hands three or more times and the letterhead on the statements changes each time, but we still have to write a check to the new company. It pisses me off to no end, that corporations can trade OUR debt like a commodity. It seems to me that when the original company that we made our original agreement with goes under for whatever reason, our debt is erased with the name on the letterhead. And they are not allowed to keep the name on the letterhead when the company is acquired by a bigger company just so they can continue to take our money. I have to believe that the trading of debt as an asset, is one of the reasons that we are in this mess in the first place.
One of the points that still gets my goat, but is being addresses by some new legislation, is that the credit companies can take your payments every month and apply them to the lowest interest rate first. This allows them to keep the highest interest balances collecting interest for the longest time, thereby keeping you in debt forever. Or until you win the lottery or die! Sometime in the next couple years it will become illegal for the companies to do this, they will be obliged to apply payments to the highest interest debt first. And believe it or not this legislation was passed before the changing of the regime!
Anyway, if we the taxpayer had this money we really would probably save the world. It is the consumer who brings about the growth. Giving us the money to pay our debts, will give the economic boost to the banks and credit industry, it will free up our cash to use for purchasing new cars and for other luxury items. Sadly, it will be much similar to giving the money to the corporations in that the largest amount of people will just dig the same hole that they were just pulled out of, but there may actually be enough of us who have learned something from this mess and once we get out of the hole, we will do our level best to live within our means. Sometimes it's nearly impossible, but we sure try. I was just thinking that it seems that the harder I try to save money, the more likely it is that something comes up that requires me to spend way more than I really can afford. Whether it is truck repairs, clothes or a hospital bill, somewhere I always end up with some extra bill at the exact worst time for it. Murphy really was an optimist!
SO, that's my rant for today. Not really hot, but I guess I have to continue beating this dead horse! Maybe someone will pick up the cry and take it to the steps of congress and make themselves heard.
I have been saying almost exactly that for the last few months about these bailout /stimulus packages that have been going around and through the Government like shit through a goose. While we the Taxpayers sit home worrying about paying our bills on what little money we get from unemployment, or praying like hell that we can hang onto our jobs, the Dopes that we put into office year after year, continue to forget about us and send our ( and our childrens', grandchildrens', and great-grandchildrens') money to corporations and banks that have squandered billions of dollars, and look well poised to squander billions more.
I think that the part of this whole thing that really drives me crazy is that even while all of these banks and credit issuers are going under and being bought and sold left and right, WE are still expected to continue paying our bills. The companies have changed hands three or more times and the letterhead on the statements changes each time, but we still have to write a check to the new company. It pisses me off to no end, that corporations can trade OUR debt like a commodity. It seems to me that when the original company that we made our original agreement with goes under for whatever reason, our debt is erased with the name on the letterhead. And they are not allowed to keep the name on the letterhead when the company is acquired by a bigger company just so they can continue to take our money. I have to believe that the trading of debt as an asset, is one of the reasons that we are in this mess in the first place.
One of the points that still gets my goat, but is being addresses by some new legislation, is that the credit companies can take your payments every month and apply them to the lowest interest rate first. This allows them to keep the highest interest balances collecting interest for the longest time, thereby keeping you in debt forever. Or until you win the lottery or die! Sometime in the next couple years it will become illegal for the companies to do this, they will be obliged to apply payments to the highest interest debt first. And believe it or not this legislation was passed before the changing of the regime!
Anyway, if we the taxpayer had this money we really would probably save the world. It is the consumer who brings about the growth. Giving us the money to pay our debts, will give the economic boost to the banks and credit industry, it will free up our cash to use for purchasing new cars and for other luxury items. Sadly, it will be much similar to giving the money to the corporations in that the largest amount of people will just dig the same hole that they were just pulled out of, but there may actually be enough of us who have learned something from this mess and once we get out of the hole, we will do our level best to live within our means. Sometimes it's nearly impossible, but we sure try. I was just thinking that it seems that the harder I try to save money, the more likely it is that something comes up that requires me to spend way more than I really can afford. Whether it is truck repairs, clothes or a hospital bill, somewhere I always end up with some extra bill at the exact worst time for it. Murphy really was an optimist!
SO, that's my rant for today. Not really hot, but I guess I have to continue beating this dead horse! Maybe someone will pick up the cry and take it to the steps of congress and make themselves heard.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
What to do when your bored, and other weird thoughts...
Found a news story today from the Associated Press, by Danica Coto, telling about a woman named Jennifer Figge, 56, who swam across the Atlantic Ocean. These are the quick Highlights of the story... "left the Cape Verde Islands off of Africa's west coast on January 12th swimming for 19 out of 25 days battling waves up to 30 feet. The distance from Cape Verde to Trinidad is roughly 700 miles." Yes the first time she set foot on ground was in the Caribbean Island of Trinidad. She still plans to swim from Trinidad to the British Virgin Islands. I always wondered who does these things, is it just because you need to prove that it can be done, or do you do it for the fame? Or is it that you have talked about it so much to your friends and family that they finally tell you to either do it or shut up about it!! More power to the people who actually put up, rather than shut up.
Now on the knucklehead front. Ice Fisherman.... I don't think that they are in general abnormal, as ice fishing is not such a bad thing most of the time, as long as one exercises some brains! Another news story this week is about 100 or so ice fisherman who had to be rescued from the ice of Lake Erie after their fishing spot broke off of the main sheet and floated out into the lake. The rescuing departments ( sheriffs and fire depts. plus the US Coast Guard) used Helicopters and airboats ( hovercraft?) to rescue the trapped fisherman. Leaving much of their equipment and transportation out on the ice. So there are ATV's and snowmobiles floating on the ice of Lake Erie. Hmm? What happens if/when that ice melts or gets broken up by the wind? Of course it won't be on the order of the Exxon Valdez, but it still isn't good for the Lake Biosphere. The Agencies have informed these men that if they are dopey enough to need another rescue this season they will be billed for the service. The first one was on the taxpayer tit.
Then I ran across a letter to the editor that really struck a cord in my mind. Why is it that so many people live by the moto, "It's Not My Job.", rather than "Let me help you with that."? I guess that it has as much to do with litigation as it does with simple greed and laziness. The letter is actually about the honesty and integrity of people and their jobs. It was brought about by the pilot of the plane that landed in the Hudson River. This man did his job as best he could and everyone on the plane survived. He did what he had to do under extremely difficult circumstances and he remained calm and collected, which if you think about it is exactly what he is payed to do. He flies the plane and when the plane malfunctions for any reason, it is his job to make get it on the ground ( back to earth?) the safest way possible. His point was to reprimand the corporate CEO's and Other business honchos who have wasted billions of dollars in company funds and resources and yet still feel entitled to their huge bonuses and corporate vacations and golden parachutes at the cost of the taxpayer through the Government bailout/stimulus packages. But I read something else in there as well, Honesty in our workers. There was a story about a State Employee in NY who was collecting a salary of $94,000 a year while he did nothing. Why did he do nothing? Apparently this was retribution by other state officials for stepping on some toes (By suing the governor 10 years earlier). So to punish him they withheld his duties. How was this punishment? Sure he may have suffered from Boredom, but for that kind of money, I would be happy to suffer some boredom. I guess that he needed to continue to collect his money to make the point that he had a job, even if there was nothing to do there. Honesty and integrity are sort of intertwined, and anyone who has to work in other peoples house can tell you this in a huge way. We have all been accused either directly or indirectly of sticky fingers. And sadly there are some who do steal, and they make the honest ones look bad too. So we have to fight that much harder to keep our reputations.
Anyone from the meter reader to the cable guy, the appliance repair man to the exterminator has a reputation to protect. Not only that they do their jobs well, but that they do not use their access to peoples most personal places for dishonest activities, like thievery or spying. Of course temptation can surface in many ways from a lonely housewife looking for a little fun, to raiding a medicine cabinet for some prescription drugs, but a true professional will do their job and leave temptation in the wind. There is also a different kind of honesty, it is one of owning up to ones mistakes. An honest person will see and forgive an honest mistake.
Having worked in an industry where I have been allowed into peoples homes for many years, I have learned that some people are forgiving and others are total assholes. The total assholes will freak out about the smallest thing and cause a problem 100 times the size of the mistake. While the forgiving ones will truly be understanding of a human error and will allow you to make up for your mistake in anyway that you can but only for equal amount of your mistake. The Assholes will end up making you get a lawyer, because that's what makes them feel powerful, while the forgivers will recommend you to all of their friends. The forgivers understand when something is beyond your control, but the assholes will never understand that you aren't 100% responsible for everything that has come before you or after you, from original hidden problems to acts of nature.
The sad part is that these assholes are usually the same people who will squander the resources of big business and then claim that it isn't their fault. It is these people who are most likely to run business into the ground and then hold their hands out for government assistance in bailing themselves out. They are the people who will lay off the workers who make and buy their products so that they will still have enough money in the bank to pay their own salaries even as the companies falter. The people who will declare bankruptcy to escape creditors and skate away with a huge personal bank account that is completely free from the the business obligations that they should be liable for. It has been said that the crook will have the best burglar alarm and will make the biggest fuss when he is ripped off.
As our government once again prepares to stimulate the economy by giving money to big business who will once again squander the resources, I am left with my impotent rage at the lack of thought that goes into this mess. The billions of dollars sent out to the business that hide their wealth in off shore banks and build their new facilities in China and Mexico and Malaysia, it is insane to think that this is going to stimulate the economy. The American Taxpayer, who has worked his or her ass off so that the government can take their money in the form of taxes and then give it to the people who have raped and robbed them for generations, watches helplessly as their money does nothing. If this money was given not to the big corporations but to the working men and women of America the economy would flourish. There is no denying that if you put $50,000 in the hands of every taxpaying citizen in the United States with a net worth of under $500,000, the economy would jumpstart in a hurry. They would be able to pay off their debt, and start new debt. They would be able to buy new cars saving the auto industry, they would be able to go shopping and save the retail, industry, and they would be able to put money in the band and save the banking industry. They would need goods made in the foreign countries stimulating world economies as well. Pay us and watch the economy get stimulated and let the failing business fail if their management is so poor. It is what a free market is all about. But please don't just put good money after bad again and again.
Now on the knucklehead front. Ice Fisherman.... I don't think that they are in general abnormal, as ice fishing is not such a bad thing most of the time, as long as one exercises some brains! Another news story this week is about 100 or so ice fisherman who had to be rescued from the ice of Lake Erie after their fishing spot broke off of the main sheet and floated out into the lake. The rescuing departments ( sheriffs and fire depts. plus the US Coast Guard) used Helicopters and airboats ( hovercraft?) to rescue the trapped fisherman. Leaving much of their equipment and transportation out on the ice. So there are ATV's and snowmobiles floating on the ice of Lake Erie. Hmm? What happens if/when that ice melts or gets broken up by the wind? Of course it won't be on the order of the Exxon Valdez, but it still isn't good for the Lake Biosphere. The Agencies have informed these men that if they are dopey enough to need another rescue this season they will be billed for the service. The first one was on the taxpayer tit.
Then I ran across a letter to the editor that really struck a cord in my mind. Why is it that so many people live by the moto, "It's Not My Job.", rather than "Let me help you with that."? I guess that it has as much to do with litigation as it does with simple greed and laziness. The letter is actually about the honesty and integrity of people and their jobs. It was brought about by the pilot of the plane that landed in the Hudson River. This man did his job as best he could and everyone on the plane survived. He did what he had to do under extremely difficult circumstances and he remained calm and collected, which if you think about it is exactly what he is payed to do. He flies the plane and when the plane malfunctions for any reason, it is his job to make get it on the ground ( back to earth?) the safest way possible. His point was to reprimand the corporate CEO's and Other business honchos who have wasted billions of dollars in company funds and resources and yet still feel entitled to their huge bonuses and corporate vacations and golden parachutes at the cost of the taxpayer through the Government bailout/stimulus packages. But I read something else in there as well, Honesty in our workers. There was a story about a State Employee in NY who was collecting a salary of $94,000 a year while he did nothing. Why did he do nothing? Apparently this was retribution by other state officials for stepping on some toes (By suing the governor 10 years earlier). So to punish him they withheld his duties. How was this punishment? Sure he may have suffered from Boredom, but for that kind of money, I would be happy to suffer some boredom. I guess that he needed to continue to collect his money to make the point that he had a job, even if there was nothing to do there. Honesty and integrity are sort of intertwined, and anyone who has to work in other peoples house can tell you this in a huge way. We have all been accused either directly or indirectly of sticky fingers. And sadly there are some who do steal, and they make the honest ones look bad too. So we have to fight that much harder to keep our reputations.
Anyone from the meter reader to the cable guy, the appliance repair man to the exterminator has a reputation to protect. Not only that they do their jobs well, but that they do not use their access to peoples most personal places for dishonest activities, like thievery or spying. Of course temptation can surface in many ways from a lonely housewife looking for a little fun, to raiding a medicine cabinet for some prescription drugs, but a true professional will do their job and leave temptation in the wind. There is also a different kind of honesty, it is one of owning up to ones mistakes. An honest person will see and forgive an honest mistake.
Having worked in an industry where I have been allowed into peoples homes for many years, I have learned that some people are forgiving and others are total assholes. The total assholes will freak out about the smallest thing and cause a problem 100 times the size of the mistake. While the forgiving ones will truly be understanding of a human error and will allow you to make up for your mistake in anyway that you can but only for equal amount of your mistake. The Assholes will end up making you get a lawyer, because that's what makes them feel powerful, while the forgivers will recommend you to all of their friends. The forgivers understand when something is beyond your control, but the assholes will never understand that you aren't 100% responsible for everything that has come before you or after you, from original hidden problems to acts of nature.
The sad part is that these assholes are usually the same people who will squander the resources of big business and then claim that it isn't their fault. It is these people who are most likely to run business into the ground and then hold their hands out for government assistance in bailing themselves out. They are the people who will lay off the workers who make and buy their products so that they will still have enough money in the bank to pay their own salaries even as the companies falter. The people who will declare bankruptcy to escape creditors and skate away with a huge personal bank account that is completely free from the the business obligations that they should be liable for. It has been said that the crook will have the best burglar alarm and will make the biggest fuss when he is ripped off.
As our government once again prepares to stimulate the economy by giving money to big business who will once again squander the resources, I am left with my impotent rage at the lack of thought that goes into this mess. The billions of dollars sent out to the business that hide their wealth in off shore banks and build their new facilities in China and Mexico and Malaysia, it is insane to think that this is going to stimulate the economy. The American Taxpayer, who has worked his or her ass off so that the government can take their money in the form of taxes and then give it to the people who have raped and robbed them for generations, watches helplessly as their money does nothing. If this money was given not to the big corporations but to the working men and women of America the economy would flourish. There is no denying that if you put $50,000 in the hands of every taxpaying citizen in the United States with a net worth of under $500,000, the economy would jumpstart in a hurry. They would be able to pay off their debt, and start new debt. They would be able to buy new cars saving the auto industry, they would be able to go shopping and save the retail, industry, and they would be able to put money in the band and save the banking industry. They would need goods made in the foreign countries stimulating world economies as well. Pay us and watch the economy get stimulated and let the failing business fail if their management is so poor. It is what a free market is all about. But please don't just put good money after bad again and again.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Spending our Inheritace
America is a very screwed up country. Most people already know this, but we still have pride and thump our chests when people put us down. We are aloud to criticize ourselves, but gods help anyone else who does so! What makes me bitch today? News items from all over the country, that because of budget problems in various states, education takes a hit while politicians continue to initiate new spending! Meanwhile governments from counties up to the feds are adding to the list of required subject matter and testing standards. Just exactly how are these schools supposed to do more with less? Not only less money, but less hours, and in some cases even less days! Is it any wonder that American education has become such a joke around the world? I have always believed that teachers are generally underpaid. Not withstanding certain locations where there are exorbitant union contracts. They deal daily with who knows what, from homicidal teens to abused pre-schoolers. They have to make due with decades old text books and resources that are stretched so thin that they have probably snapped in many cases. Even in fairly upper crust suburbs the public schools are strapped for cash, to such a point that they send home lists of supplies that the parents are responsible for buying for their children. Not only general supplies but the supplies that they need for art class, and various projects throughout the school year. Schools can barely provide heat in the class rooms half of the time and now the tax money that public schools depend on is being rerouted to some other idiot project. Why is it that cities and sports teams are getting tax money to build stadiums for professional teams?
Professional sports teams charge exorbitant ticket prices for million dollar players who feel so entitled that they act barely human. They have nearly no manners or morals and treat the people who actually make them stars like idiots. They lie, cheat and kill then expect special treatment because they get outrageous salaries to play a stupid game for a few hours each week. Whether they win or lose the game that they play has no bearing on the course of history, or the develolpment of the human race. But they get tax money that could actually go towards education. Education that might uncover and encourage the next great mind of our age, the one who might develope the first viable human colony on Mar, or the one who will discover the secret of hyper space. Not every sportsman is an undereducated oaf, but there are far more of them than there are of the thoughtful, educated type. You get my point though. I know that in many cases increasing funds to schools seems like simply throwing good money after bad, but even in those cases do you simply give up on them?
I have to believe that there is a reason to try. When there is a resource to educate, somebody will use it. Maybe not every kid will use everything offered to them. We don't know why, some will feel lost no matter what is done to help them, and some will think they know it all and that the teachers are out to get them. There will never be a perfect system for educating the masses, the individality of the human race is both a blessing and a curse. But there will always be those who not only benefit, but stand out and excell. They will find what they need if it is there for them to find, and they will run with it and become great. They will become doctors and lawyers, teachers and business people, they will becomes astronomers and physisists, and any other field of endevour that you can name. They are out there now, struggling to learn in a hostile environment, where they are searched as they enter their schools and passed through metal detectors. If they are lucky enough to get to school they then have to try and survive each day, but they do it, and a small number of them learn that they can escape the cycle and maybe get a better life for not only themselves but for their children too. Granted when the time comes and their children get old enough they will be resented and rebelled against and they children will try to go back to the life that their parents tried so hard to escape, but at least they start out with the chance to go on. Right now that chance is being written off.
Our future lies in educating the youth, and not is paying the politicians who waste money year after year. They pay lip service to education, with slogans like "No child left behind." and "It takes a village." but when it comes down to it, they will take money from schools before they will take money from a sports team or take a paycut themselves. I know what the solution is, but sadly I will never be able to convince enough people to care to make the difference. But If I can convince a few people maybe they can convince a few more, and there is hope that eventually enough will care that the difference can be made. The solution is for the people themselve to call, write and visit their politicians, and not just the ones you know, but all of them from the President of the United States all the way down to your local councilman. Remind them that education should trump all else. Before they get raises, before they build stadiums, before they build monuments and parks, they need to educate the youth who will carry on the country and make it worth living in. Perhaps it is their plan, because when you think about it, an uneducated populace is much easier to convince of lies, because they simply don't know any better. You can take their rights away because they are unaware of what they are.
To save democracy and freedom, we need to be educated. It's as simple as that.
Professional sports teams charge exorbitant ticket prices for million dollar players who feel so entitled that they act barely human. They have nearly no manners or morals and treat the people who actually make them stars like idiots. They lie, cheat and kill then expect special treatment because they get outrageous salaries to play a stupid game for a few hours each week. Whether they win or lose the game that they play has no bearing on the course of history, or the develolpment of the human race. But they get tax money that could actually go towards education. Education that might uncover and encourage the next great mind of our age, the one who might develope the first viable human colony on Mar, or the one who will discover the secret of hyper space. Not every sportsman is an undereducated oaf, but there are far more of them than there are of the thoughtful, educated type. You get my point though. I know that in many cases increasing funds to schools seems like simply throwing good money after bad, but even in those cases do you simply give up on them?
I have to believe that there is a reason to try. When there is a resource to educate, somebody will use it. Maybe not every kid will use everything offered to them. We don't know why, some will feel lost no matter what is done to help them, and some will think they know it all and that the teachers are out to get them. There will never be a perfect system for educating the masses, the individality of the human race is both a blessing and a curse. But there will always be those who not only benefit, but stand out and excell. They will find what they need if it is there for them to find, and they will run with it and become great. They will become doctors and lawyers, teachers and business people, they will becomes astronomers and physisists, and any other field of endevour that you can name. They are out there now, struggling to learn in a hostile environment, where they are searched as they enter their schools and passed through metal detectors. If they are lucky enough to get to school they then have to try and survive each day, but they do it, and a small number of them learn that they can escape the cycle and maybe get a better life for not only themselves but for their children too. Granted when the time comes and their children get old enough they will be resented and rebelled against and they children will try to go back to the life that their parents tried so hard to escape, but at least they start out with the chance to go on. Right now that chance is being written off.
Our future lies in educating the youth, and not is paying the politicians who waste money year after year. They pay lip service to education, with slogans like "No child left behind." and "It takes a village." but when it comes down to it, they will take money from schools before they will take money from a sports team or take a paycut themselves. I know what the solution is, but sadly I will never be able to convince enough people to care to make the difference. But If I can convince a few people maybe they can convince a few more, and there is hope that eventually enough will care that the difference can be made. The solution is for the people themselve to call, write and visit their politicians, and not just the ones you know, but all of them from the President of the United States all the way down to your local councilman. Remind them that education should trump all else. Before they get raises, before they build stadiums, before they build monuments and parks, they need to educate the youth who will carry on the country and make it worth living in. Perhaps it is their plan, because when you think about it, an uneducated populace is much easier to convince of lies, because they simply don't know any better. You can take their rights away because they are unaware of what they are.
To save democracy and freedom, we need to be educated. It's as simple as that.
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