Issue 182 Christian Jobs October 11, 2013

Today I give my opinion on what classifies a Judeo-Christian job. These are characterized by how they give more to the individual than to the person accomplishing the job itself. In other words my working in that job benefits everyone else first before it benefits me the individual.

Doctors and pharmacists: These professions are primarily designed to help people. They advise people on how to stay healthy, and help tell individuals what they need to do to get better. Doctors diagnose diseases, mend bones and perform lifesaving operations. Some also act as therapists for the purposes of recovery after an accident or to help a person cope with a loss or mental disorder. Pharmacists know how drugs interact and help to ensure that people do not take drugs that would cause them harm. They also prepare medicines that help to heal us based on what a doctor prescribes.

Volunteers: Volunteers get their rewards based on participating and the individual feeling like they made a difference. So when you help out at a food kitchen, aid in disaster relief or help out people who are in trouble you are rewarded with the feeling that you did something to make someone’s life a little easier. Being a volunteer is like giving to charity, but it does not use your money to accomplish its goal, but your willingness to take the time to help people.

Running/being part of a Charity: Running a charity, or being part of a charity is similar to being a volunteer, but instead you run an organization in a similar manner to a business to help organize those volunteers or to direct charitable donations to where they are needed most. As such these organizations act like a church with respect to helping and sheltering the poor. It is all about helping people in the best way possible that will help them out of poverty or relieve them of their burdens long enough to raise themselves out of their situation.

Librarians, Historians and Scientists: Yes these are also a form of Christian job. Librarians and those professions derived from it store and maintain data. This information is and can be used to help further man kind as it progresses as a society. By storing data they also keep it so that future generations can build off of it and learn from it. Historians and Scientists are those who seek out new information on our natural world and while contributing to the information stored by librarians and archivists they continuously seek out more discoveries and answers. Even the church has supported science such as astronomy and biology to help us better understand our natural world (there is a telescope in the Vatican).

Teachers: These men and women take the data and information and help students to take that knowledge and process it so as to help them form their own conclusions. Basically teachers teach students to think, but not what to think. The more educated a person is, the more likely they are to succeed in life.

Conclusion: These professions in my opinion are jobs that are very Christian. They give more than they take. Each and every one of these professions impacts people and future generations as well. It was Thomas Jefferson in writing a letter to his son that said "God prefers inspired questions than blind faith" (I paraphrased). So basically we are even allowed to question Gods very existence. These jobs do test us as we see the horrors done in the name of religion and what man kind has done to each other. We question why God lets people suffer. But when you look at what we are capable of, then you may understand that we can prevent such things from happening through knowledge. We even are able to help others when they finally hit bottom and are ready to bring themselves back up. All these jobs help accomplish this and as such I label them Christian jobs.

Issue 181 Soldier pay a different way October 10, 2013

What if a Soldiers pay incentivizes a soldier to stay without ever having to be promoted? Well it would take a re-organization of how the military is organized to do it.

Status Quo: Currently soldiers are organized on a complex rank system. This includes non commissioned officers (NCO's) then warrant officers (WO's) and finally commissioned officers (CO's). Do to the want and need to keep soldiers inside the military the ranks in the WO and CO category have become top heavy with instances of officers in a command position, but with no men to command. The only exception to this happens to be the Marines as they have more NCO's leading Squads than they do CO's, but they do suffer from this problem to a degree as well. This is in part due to pay being linked to rank. However, there are other forms of pay like combat pay and specialist pay, but the main pay comes via rank.

The alternative: Pay soldiers based on how long they stay. So say you have a recruit (you pay him/her $20,000 during their one year of basic training), when that recruit goes into their second year in the military their pay rises to $30,000 for staying. Then after about 2 additional years their pay goes up by $5,000 which culminates to them getting $40,000 dollars a year after about 5/6 years. Then if they move up in rank they get an additional bump and the pay goes up again. This continues all the way up allowing the grunts to get significant amount of money without any need to move up in rank. But if they do, then they automatically get the new base pay of that rank plus the increases in pay. So a recruit after 5 years has a $40,000 a year salary at which time it is frozen, but a Corporal has a $45,000 a year base which will increase to $60,000 after all the increments in pay increases. So they still have the incentive to move up. But, a new recruit that shows promise can be promoted earlier on and jump from that $25,000 to that of a Corporals $45,000 base pay if they are promoted. So the financial incentive to stay is there while the incentive to move up in rank is maintained. Of course the pay is increased with changes to the dollar due to inflation.

To make it work: An entire re-organization of the rank structure would have to occur. You would have recruits followed by Corporals which would be followed by Sergeant’s (their top pay being $80,000). The traditional roles in the military would not change however. Warrant Officers would be deleted from the military as the intention would be to make such positions redundant. Then you go into the Officers. With Lieutenants (top pay $100,000), Captains (top pay $120,000), Majors (top pay $140,000) and finally Generals (top pay $160,000). Under this system all the pay increases are included. A Lieutenants role remains the same, but a Captain's and a Majors role becomes more involved with respect to leadership. Generals will be the war planners like always. The heads of each branch of each service will be Commandants and get a top salary of $180,000. So we loose all those other ranks and the complicated functions of the promotion system in favor of a simpler system. Also, this system would require that promotions will only occur if a spot is available, thus eliminating the top heaviness of the current military with respect to Warrant and Commissioned officers.

Conclusion: This is an idea. It is not meant to be much more than an academic exercise in looking for ways to incentivize soldiers to stay in the armed forces longer, and eliminate the top heaviness of the military with respect to too many people in the warrant and commissioned officers classification. It would also follow that a harmonization of the Uniforms and rank system between the branches of service would also occur. The biggest fear though would be the loss of the individuality of each service and thus if this idea was ever seriously considered then it would be vehemently opposed. As such this is why it is an academic exercise and nothing more (although in the long run it may actually save the tax payers money). Keep brainstorming ideas everyone as when you come up with an idea that works, it may just change the world) though mine will probably sit on the back burner for a while.

Issue 180 Unfaire Government October 9, 2013

Have you ever wondered why politicians are paid so much more than or soldiers or even the average every day citizen. Well I think it is time for a pay cut.

The Soldiers pay: The average starting salary excluding benefits for a soldier is about $20-30 thousand. They go into harms way whenever Congress and the President see fit. But is it fair to give them such a low starting salary. I say no. They should be paid much more.

Average Citizen Income: We the people on average receive an average income of about $40 to $50 thousand a year. But this is just the average income. Only 10% of our nation has an income greater than $250,000. Also, almost 50% of the populace is on some form of government assistance (welfare). So we are left to struggle. According to the "wall Street Journal" Americans will not reach financial independence of $30,000+ until they are in their 30s. Back in the 1980s that age was around 24.

Congress: Here is the unfair part. The U.S. Congress gets $175,000 a year excluding perks. With perks this extends to well over the $200,000 mark. On top of this, Congress is exempt from things like Obama Care. They have special government organizations which build them custom desks, give them hair cuts and even a tailor. All this on the tax payer dime.

Now that you see the unfairness: So what should be done? At current the 27th amendment dictates how pay changes to members of congress shall occur. Basically, any and all changes occur after an election. So they can vote to increase their pay, but must wait till after an election to see that pay rise. So they can indefinitely increase their salaries while we have to try and get by with a ridiculous tax code that benefits the rich (which includes congress) more than the poor.

Conclusion: Let us make it so that a member of Congress can only receive pay equivalent to the current national average each year. If it increases then their pay increases, but if the national average decreases then their pay decreases. That means (if that law were in effect) that Congresses pay this year would be $57,000. A big pay cut that they deserve don't you think. This will give them incentive to keep the economy booming (which may also increase the buying power of the dollar which makes everything more affordable and thus decreases the number of the poor). An idea like this uses a Congressional members own selfishness to make them want a stronger economy. So they would be more inclined to fix the tax code and remove negative and unnecessary legislation and regulations that do nothing but become a hindrance. To insure no funny business, the national income will have to be measured in after tax dollars kept by individuals (this includes not just federal, but State and local income taxes as well). Also, the treasury will decide how the national average should be measured, not Congress to help insure that no accounting gimmicks are added in. They will have to do it through a select committee chosen in secret by the leading members of the treasury department. That select committee will decide any and all formulas in regards to this pay scheme for Congress. Thus it will be insulated from politics for the most part and thus prevent a good amount of corruption. Yes the military should be paid more, but I have another idea for that which you will see tomorrow.

Issue 179 Entrenched Politicians October 8, 2013

Entrenched Politicians are a special breed. They think they are essential to the government and people and as such they do not ever want to leave. But what truly categorizes an entrenched politician.

The run for office forever: It is true that these individuals just keep running for political office. They will always try to be re-elected because they think that they must hold onto that seat of office and the power it contains (unless of course they can achieve a higher office). Here is the reason that we have people like Republican Lindsey Graham and Democrat Chuck Schumer in office. In order to keep their positions they will give kick backs to their constituents to bribe the populace to continuously re-elect them. Meanwhile the populace is none the wiser that the challenger with fresh ideas was probably a better pick. In other words the population chooses free stuff (which they actually pay for with their tax dollars) over true change.

Positions of power: Almost all the politicians who are entrenched hold some sort of seniority in their political organizations or are in select positions. Examples of such people are Republican John McCain who has a post on select committees that govern national security or Democrat Charles Rangel who sits on the committee that governs changes to the tax code. Men like these think they are needed to keep these organizations running smoothly. Unfortunately it is these same men who stagnate thought and debate. John McCain is set on his Neo Conservative views of exporting democracy to the rest of the world (a fool’s errand). Rangel on the other hand is a progressive that inaccurately believes that by maintaining a progressive income tax and making it even more progressive to the point where the rich just up and leave. As a result we middle class and lower tax payers are forced to pay off these stupid government programs. Basically, all we have are these political flops. McCain seems to actually want to go to war and Rangel drive out the countries bread winners that pay over 75% of the total income tax revenue that goes into the Federal government. Despite these obvious failings in logic, they are supported by the party leadership and all those who go against them are attacked.

When they finally leave: Well most leave (from my point of view) when they want to finally retire or die. But sadly this is not the case (well the retiring part, not the dead part). Many of these politicians, who leave office, whether by being unelected, or choosing to leave, typically end up richer still. This is because they end up as lobbyists at various political organizations and businesses. In short they become part of the crony capitalist support system. OK, they were always part of that structure, but now they get a chance to receive a larger paycheck beyond their current $175,000 a year salary. These politicians who leave office may not even leave Washington D.C. As once they become highly paid lobbyists they will need "access" to their former colleagues as they grant their new bosses “access” to various people in power in the government.

Conclusion: These men and women never leave. In D.C. they constantly lobby for one issue or another. I would not even be surprised to find that they will literally represent anyone so long as they are the highest bidder. So what is an answer to all this? Well it is the same answer that people have been asking for, for years. That answer is term limits, and in some cases the elimination of the 17th amendment to the Constitution as well. We cannot predict if this will eliminate all forms of lobbying, but it will at least make a dent in the entrenched ideologues that make up the party leadership. Yes, we can all agree (except the politicians) to wanting to kick the bums out.

Issue 178 Political Party Fakes October 7, 2013

The political parties of any country are tools for getting candidates they choose elected. But, the parties themselves are fictitious. They do not represent a singular ideology, but a coalition of ideologies that find mutual agreement on certain issues. As such they are a bunch of fakes who pass themselves off as something more than they truly are.

The puppet masters: Those who control the parties are the ones who decide who runs in each election. These men and women use their power and authority to control which candidates are acceptable to the public at large so as not to appear too radical. Yes, some parties have votes to decide who will represent them, but those in the election are carefully selected by the party leadership. Did you notice that Ron Paul in the Republican Party primaries back in 2012 was ostracized by the party? The leadership did not like his brand of libertarianism or the fact that he was not as "progressive" as the leadership desired. As such his own Republican party (as libertarians, his true party, are still a fast growing minority) attacked him. So if you do not stick to the party line then you are predisposed to fail or at the very least be attacked from all sides.

The ideologies: A great number of people make up the members of each political party. America is no exception to there being a vast number of varying views and ideas with respect to political parties. But these groups tend to pool themselves into groups who they can either leech off of or at the very least share a similar goal. As such in the Democrat party you have the Communists, Socialists, Some Fascists, Some religious fascist on the most extreme end. Then you have moderates which include members of the Green Party, the Climate change groups, Lawyers, advocacy groups, Unions and the like. For the Republicans you have Unions as well, but you also add religious rights groups, and other progressives that you would find in the middle of the road Democrats party. In other words Progressives in the middle who want to advance the country in the way they see fit. Finally, there is the small government crowd, Tea Party groups and the Libertarians. If you look at it closely enough you will see that the Democrats have the most radical groups which they keep a tight leash on. This is accomplished through effective leadership and careful messaging which gives them what they want to hear or parts of legislation they want in order to keep them voting Democrat. The moderate Democrats and the middle of the road Republicans are the progressive group. Here, these groups tend to contain the party leadership. These people sound the most reasonable and generally stay in power the longest. Everyone else, like libertarians, are the third portion. Libertarians exist on both sides of the isle depending on which party will make their goals come true first. That really is what it is. It is these ideological groups joining together to get their agendas passed using these fake labels like Republican and Democrat.

Conclusion: I was no fool. I new the parties would not represent me at all. As such, when I registered to vote I checked the undecided mark when it came to deciding on a political party. The undecided mark is not even a political party like an Independent. It is a complete divestment from the party machine. So I can vote in an election, but I just surrendered my authority in choosing a candidate for either side. Let us face it, no one likes to be used and by being a member of the political party you let yourself become their puppet. Parties are nothing but Umbrella organizations that can disappear and no one will miss them. My goal writing to you my dear readers today is to remind you of that. The only essential component of government is a strong foundation through a Constitution and the people who support it. Parties can be tossed out with the trash.

 

Issue 177 The debt ceiling October 4,2013

The debt ceiling is coming. Currently, the debt "ceiling" as it is called is set at around $18 trillion. If it exceeds that amount of money, then the government will be forbidden from borrowing any more money. Many of you are saying good as they know that our current debt is $17 trillion and is going to reach that $18 trillion very shortly. But not everyone agrees.

Those who want to borrow more: The President wants the debt ceiling raised. I do not know if it is because he wants to keep borrowing to support certain programs, or he feels that more debt is the key to paying off what America owes. He just wants it raised. President Obama has even erroneously said in speeches that if the debt ceiling is not raised then the United States will not be able to pay off its debts. It is funny logic to pay off debt with debt. Does that not just increase your debt burden in the long run? What ever the case, the fools in D.C. consider borrowed money as a form of income. This money is always spent on whatever they "feel" is needed to help the country. This includes money to universities to study a shrimp running on a treadmill, studying drunken Chinese prostitutes, money to successful businesses, and even money to China which is not even being used to pay off our debt to them. Basically, the borrowed money is used to support the status quo currently going on in D.C.

What would happen if they could not borrow?: Well, then they would have allot of unfunded mandates. The government will be forced to either pay up or let things go bust. Yes there is a potential for bankruptcy at the federal level, but what most people do not know is that the treasury can prioritize paying off the national debt and as such all money will go towards that save the essentials. Thus, we will be safe from bankruptcy so long as the politicians don't get in the way. Also, the federal government will be forced to sustain itself on the money taken in rather than borrowed. As such Congress will have to pass much smaller spending bills that do more with less. So the government will finally be living within its means.

Conclusion: People like me are exhausted by the elaborate spending, and trash that the politicians put out. There are people who actually need help and yet 75% of welfare ends up helping the richest and most elite in this country. And you know what, many of that elite work in Washington D.C. When the market crashed, the only city to not be affected was D.C. They barely suffered at all, and in fact experienced growth. The more power that gets concentrated there the more corrupt it becomes. We do not want that beast fed any longer. It must be starved of its financial means that is being used to bankrupt our nation. I want the debt ceiling reached and the government to be forbidden from borrowing. We all should want to have the government live within its own means by rooting out corruption, eliminating overlap and reducing laws and regulations that serve no purpose. It is time the government goes back to being responsible. I hope it is time that the government understands that its spending spree should end.

If you agree with this, then contact your Senators and Congressmen and tell them "let us live within our means."

Issue 176 Another Shutdown!? October 3, 2013

Well another government shut down has occurred. The Republicans who control the House of Representatives will not comply with the demands of the Democrat dominated Senate and President Obama. The republicans are going to use this chance to do their best to get rid of bad government programs (or parts of them) like Obama care. In other words this is another game of chicken sponsored by the Republican Party. You know what? I say this is great!

Why is it a good thing?: The reason why a government shut down is good is because it will block Obama cares final initialization. Congress has yet to allocate funding for programs that require money to be authorized each year. As such, it is not just Obama care, but other programs and agencies that will not be able to function. This is great for libertarians like me as it blocks spending that could have been better spent in the hands of individual Americans.

What it does not do: A government shut down has no affect on entitlement programs or the military. Those programs are not discretionary, and as such they get the budgets they need before all other spending takes place. So seniors do not have to worry about not getting their Social Security money or being covered by Medicare and Medicaid (Medicaid is also partly run at the State level). Our soldiers will also be there to protect us along with all the other defense related agencies like the CIA. So only the essentials are unaffected by a shut down.  Also, those personnel sent home are those who have been deemed non-essential.  But do not worry as they will be paid once they return to their jobs (including back pay).  However, I would love to make it so that these non-essential people move on to other jobs outside of government as they are unneeded.

Is it bad to shut the government down?: Not really. It just means they are spending less money. Only people who need to be on Capitol Hill will actually be there. Everyone else just stays home. So the government is saving money through a shut down. The only real time you will not like it is if you are part of a government pet project as you will not be given any money at all. It is basically the same as when Newt Gingrich shut down the government when President Clinton was still in office and when it was shut down during the Obama administration during the last "budget crisis." From a libertarian’s perspective, money that is better spent elsewhere is just going to sit for a while. If there is any negatives to a shut down then it is with the political reputations of the individuals involved. The Republicans and Democrats, depending on how well they handle the situation will either look better or worse in the eyes of the American people. President Obama is already loosing popularity and if he comes out on the bottom of this, then he will become toxic to the Democrats in the next election cycle.

Conclusion: Depending on your perspective, a government shut down can be good, or it can be bad. Libertarians and conservatives will see it as good. Conservatives may see it as good for the same reason that libertarians do, the government is not spending our money on smut. But they may see it as good because liberals are their antithesis and thus are happy to see them squirm a bit. Liberals will see it as bad because they cannot get their agenda's passed. Nothing moves and as such nothing that they value can get done. Although it is unfair to place labels on people like liberal and conservative as the lines between them have blurred. So if you see the government as an answer to your problems, them a shut down is bad. If you see government as the problem, then a shut down is good. Well I think it is good as I do not want more government smut intruding on mine or anyone’s life. We are taxed to the limits of reason and beyond. Our options limited by government bureaucracy and corruption. A shut down thankfully gets the government monkey off our back at least for a short while. So Republicans!!!! Shut the darn thing down!!!!