Yes-23 » RodZ

Hi I’m From The Government And I’m Here To Help You!

RodZ — Thu, 03 May 2012 11:17:29 +0000

I have been a little remiss in posting lately. To tell you the truth my frustration over the politics and posturing is the blame. What are our politicians doing for us, to us? They gave us credit reform, and the interest rates went up and credit limits went down. Now this is not a bad thing because I believe we use credit to much for immediate gratification and anything that stops folks from getting over their head is probably not a bad thing, however this was an unintended consequence and not really something they planned.

Now they given us health care/insurance reform. We really don’t know what the unintended consequences of this bill are, but they are already telling us that it is going to cost more than they projected. I suspect that our cost will go up and our benefits and available services will go down. They really didn’t fix Medicare, they claim they made it solvent for a few more years, we’ll see. If you are making under $30k you are going to be on Medicaid, but did you know that there are a lot of rules that you will need to conform to that you may not like? Many years ago I was on this program and the monthly reporting was a lot of work. In addition if you took out a loan for anything they counted it as income and it affected your share of cost or your eligibility to remain on the program. I am sure the rules have not changed that much so think before you buy that big screen on credit.

All of the gifts from the government cost us money. The stimulus package that hasn’t created any jobs, the budget for this year are adding to the deficit and the national debt, which has reached a point were we will be paying more in interest than we can afford, let alone paying it off. Now we are hearing about increases in many types of taxes. Hmmm, give the government money for a specific task and watch them spend it on many other things.

What’s next? Financial reform is the leading contender. I wonder what this will accomplish and why now, after a year is it so important that we need to rush it through the system. If it was this important why did health care reform come first? What will this bill do to us and our future? What about protecting our borders? All the candidates told us it was priority one, including Obama, so what is the holdup?

I guess the politicians on both sides of the isle are more concerned with getting re-elected, special interest groups, and their ideologies or party agendas than they are the American people.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want the size of government to grow, I don’t want the government to tell me what to eat or how to spend my money or decide I make enough money. Obama actually said he thinks there should be a limit on how much some folks make. I wonder it that applies to him?

I don’t think the government is here to help me, nor do I want them too. I want them to get the spending under control, say what they mean and mean what they say.

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Letter to Charles Gonzales, 20th Congressional District, TX

RodZ — Thu, 03 May 2012 02:03:36 +0000

The Honorable Charles Gonzalez

Dear Representative, it has been reported by Dylan Ratigan of MSNBC in the Huffington Post that health insurance companies are exempt from the Sherman anti-trust laws.

If this report is accurate and true why is this the case? You have stated you want fair and open competition but I fail to see how this can be accomplished if the insurance companies enjoy protection under the law from competing insurance companies.

I also understand from the report that Texas is one of the states that allows this to occur. Why aren’t you trying to have this law changed in order to lower the costs.

Are you so bent on a government option that you cannot support fair and open competition?

I think that Tort Reform and eliminating the exemption from the anti-trust laws would go along way to reforming health care and not cost us billions of dollars.

What is your position on this?

Thank you for your time

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Response from Congressman Charles Gonzalez 20th Congressional District San Antonio Tx. To Concerns of Stimulus Spending

RodZ — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 09:09:00 +0000

Dear Mr. Zagala:

I want you to know that I understand why the provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (HR 1) concern you, and I hope I can offer some reassurance.

The idea of borrowing more money, when our national debt has double in recent years, is counterintuitive at the least, but it’s a necessary move in our present situation. The best way to get our country out the red is to get Americans out of the red. That means putting Americans back to work, not just trimming wasteful government spending. The private sector is too frightened to hire people or begin projects, so cutting corporate taxes will just put millions into big companies that aren’t willing to spend it. By cutting individual taxes, from income tax to sales tax, for 95% of workers, we are giving the American people the money to buy necessities and creating consumer demand to spur private company spending. By providing contracts for construction companies, we not only get new roads and an updated electric grid, but we create business for those companies, all of their suppliers, and all of their workers, who can then go out and buy from other private companies, so the cycle builds on itself.

There have been plenty of rumors about wasteful projects supposedly hidden in HR 1, from the misleading claims about a $30 million dollar program for a mouse to baseless talk of honeybee insurance, but the bill is actually pretty well targeted and transparent. Much of the spending will go to the states, through established formulae, to keep teachers teaching and firemen on the job. The big projects will be under constant review – not only from Congress and government, but from you on the website www.Recovery.gov – and could lose their money if it isn’t spent within 90-days or if they’re wasteful.Putting money in the hands of Americans, through unemployment benefits or social security bonuses, will help mitigate the suffering of people innocent of causing this crisis. By getting our economy going again, we’ll be able to protect our citizens and pay down our debt in time. With HR 1, we have put a down-payment on our future. That’s a mortgage I’m ok with.

Sincerely,

Charles A. Gonzalez

Member of Congress

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Life in America: Personal or Government Responsibility

RodZ — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 09:02:45 +0000

Is the government really responsible for our healthcare or for purchasing our insurance? Are we where we are in life because of the decisions we make? I made a decision many years ago to have a career that provided me with certain benefits that I could carry forward in my life, including a very good insurance plan. This was the right decision for me, is it right for everyone? No, not in America, we have choices and we make them based on what we feel is right for us.

Things have changed in the past forty years, personal responsibility is no longer part of our national view. We now look to others to provide for us. The list of government programs, is endless, Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, unemployment insurance, welfare, and many others. All of these programs come with a cost to others, nothing is free!

These are truly noble causes, they do help many in need, however the danger is that people do not use them as a short term helping hand but become dependent on them. Our welfare system has created a generational problem where family after family continue to live off of the state. Yes, we had reform but the problem continues. Social Security was supposed to be a safety net, but has become a primary retirement plan for many seniors. I don’t know how some of them live on what little they get. Medicare and medicaid are in such financial trouble they may not exist in a few years.

I realize that we are dealing with a very complex issue and I certainly do not have the answers. I also realize that many people are working very low paying jobs and cannot afford the high premiums. This is America, opportunity is endless, education is available, creating a comfortable life is possible. Yes, the economy is terrible right now and many are losing their jobs, however this is where the helping hand should come into play, but only for as long as it takes to return to a time of prosperity.

People with the money decided to buy the new cars, the big screen TV’s, the big house. They decided to over extend their credit and not to worry about using their money to buy health insurance. People with the money decided that the new boat or jet ski was a lot more fun than health insurance.

People made choices to not improve their education or skills and remain in low paying jobs. I mean no disrespect to these folks, I am sure they are hard working people. My point is that they have a “I can’t mentality” They feel hopeless and have no hope. I look at where these people are in life and wonder why. Young folks coming from nothing can join the service and will have an education paid for. It will be part of their benefits, in fact they can get a degree while in the service, fully paid for. Of course many join but never take advantage of this opportunity. Just another personal choice that dictates where they will be in life.

I know that our educational system seems to be failing our youth, again personal responsibility, where is it? Many parents do not seem to be involved in their children’s education and the kids are not doing well in school. We tend to blame the educational system and the teachers for this problem, but where is the personal responsibility of the parents? Yes, some teachers are not up to standards and many districts are poor, the facilities terrible. These problems can and should be fixed. There is a larger problem. Parents can’t or won’t help their kids learn. They may go to the football game, but cannot or won’t help with the math or reading. There are many reasons for this including, many parents are non english speaking. The kids are having to learn english and stay up with the class work on their own.

I wonder about personal responsibility, where did it go? This is America, opportunity is available, anything is possible. If we continue to look to government for our needs this America will disappear. I am not sure if we will like the new America but it will be that way because of the decisions we are making now.

Like you I have people I know and loved ones who are victums of circumstances beyond their control. Perhaps these are the people the government should help with support programs.

These are tough times and we are facing very complex issues, but until we all become responsible for the consequences of our decisions and assume personal responsibility things will continue to get worse.

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING

RodZ — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 08:21:40 +0000

Possibly Related Posts: Hi I’m From The Government And I’m Here To Help You! Life in America: Personal or Government Responsibility Personal responsibility: Yours or the Governments? Personal Responsibility: Part 3 Pledge of Allegiance

Personal responsibility: Yours or the Governments?

RodZ — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 08:21:39 +0000

Yesterdays blog seemed to stimulate some controversy. It seems that my liberal friends think that I am lucky and have an “I got mine you get yours mentality”. The blog was about personal responsibility. It was about making decisions in our own lives that place us where we are today. I used healthcare reform as an example of personal decision making. I was described as lucky, interesting.

Continuing with the premise that we are responsible for where we are in life because of the decisions we make. I have no debt, no credit cards, I have a savings account that will pay my bills for a year, I drive a 10 year old car, paid for. I pay cash for things I buy by saving for them, I chose a career that would provide me a job security, a pension and medical benefits for the rest of my life. My responsibility for others ended when my wife of 40 years past away this year. I am thankful for the decisions I made to secure health insurance and savings to cover 3 years of cancer treatment and her funeral, I am thankful that I had a savings account that allowed me to pay the share of costs incurred over 3 years and not go bankrupt. This was not luck, this was because I made a decision in my life to prepare for these things.

The reality is that most people in America will not delay gratification. They will use credit to buy the new car, TV or whatever. They live in the moment and do not prepare for the future. There are other people who use drugs, participate in criminal activities or are just to lazy to work for anything. Why should I pay for their healthcare or anything else for that matter?

Anyone who buys into revolving credit, adjustable rate mortgages, credit cards is spending their future. If you can’t afford it, don’t buy it. Decisions you make in life will dictate where you will end up.

Why am I against all these noble social programs? It is simple, the debt we are incurring is putting at risk of losing everything I worked and planned for.

Does this sound selfish? I don’t think so. Look to yourself and make your own life better, don’t depend on me, I already raised my children, who by the way, have all the benefits I have because they have taken responsibility for their decisions.

The path this administration and congress is taking will bankrupt this county. I don’t feel that I should lose everything I worked for to provide for somebody’s socialist agenda. To my liberal friends, we are not all entitled to everything everyone else has, your must earn it.

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Poll: Is Fox News a Legitimate News Organization?

RodZ — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 01:04:48 +0000

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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Personal Responsibility: Part 3

RodZ — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 05:45:16 +0000

This is the last in a 3 part series of my opinions describing how personal choices affect where we are in life.

It is my belief that we as individuals could have mitigated some of the serious economic problems we are experiencing by managing our spending and responsibly borrowing money. The housing crisis could have been lessened by prudent borrowing of the individual. We should not have purchased mortgages we could not afford. We should not have 20 credit cards in our wallet. We as a community should have made personal choices to live within our means.

Having said that, what has happened to the moral compass and personal responsibility of corporate America. The personal decisions they made affected each and every one of us. Their decisions coupled with the lifestyle of millions of Americans have brought the greatest economy in the world to its knees.

Where is the moral compass and personal responsibility of individuals within the government agencies tasked with regulating industries? Where is it in our politicians? It is true the object of any business is to make money. It is true, government should have laws and regulations in place to protect us from unscrupulous business practices. The problem is that our business leaders, regulators and politicians have become “cozy” with one another. The American people are at their mercy.

It seems to me that our politicians are tied to the money they receive from corporate America and other lobbies. How can they make good decisions for we the people? It seems to me that a moral compass and personal responsibility have taken a back seat to advancing a career, staying in power and perhaps lining a pocket.

I wonder about the enormous salaries and bonuses CEO’s and executives within these corporations make, regardless of whether the company is doing well or not, again “cozy”. It has been reported that they all sit on each others boards and guess what? Your right they all get big paydays. Again where is the moral compass? Personal choice to disregard anything resembling the good of the collective seems to be the order of the day.

We are in the middle of a national debate on healthcare reform. We should reform a system that is clearly to expensive and growing out of control. I am tired of my premiums and co-pays growing beyond inflation every year. I don’t know what the out come of this debate will be but I am sure that with no moral compass in sight it won’t be what we expect. I do know that the personal choices of our government leadership will affect all of us and we will be where we are tomorrow because of that decision.

The only thing that I think I can do is make personal decisions that will shelter me from as much of the fallout of current situation as I can and prepare me for the future. I hope you all make a personal decision to do the same.

The weapons we all have, our vote, voice and our dollars. If we let the government know what we want, if we vote our conscience perhaps they will listen. Our dollars can be withheld from corporate America, I know that will get their attention.

In the first two installments I spoke of individual choices and how they affect where we are in life. As you can see I recognize that the choices of others will affect where we are in life also. I do hold to the idea that we as individuals are responsible for where we are in life because of our own decisions. Decide now, to get involved contact your representatives, let them know you are tired of a system that disregards we the people. Decide now, to put your personal finances in order and live within your means. Decided now, to not buy anything from or invest with those corporations that are unscrupulous. Perhaps we the people can make a difference because of our personal decisions.

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I lost 20LBS With this

RodZ — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 05:26:51 +0000

I just put this up for fun

7GP6TMAWHTGP

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America Under Obama

RodZ — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 02:07:51 +0000

This was sent to us by John Norris, Ladykathleen’s cousin. Thanks John!

Subject: Fwd: FW: Letter From Grandpa – PRICELESS! …. Read It Is GOOD!!

John G. is 63 years old and owns a small business. He’s a life-long Republican and sees his dream of retiring next year has all but evaporated.

With the stock market crashing and new taxes coming his way, John assumes now that he will work to his dying day.

John has a granddaughter. Ashley is a recent college grad. She drives a flashy hybrid car, wears all the latest fashions, and loves to go out to nightclub s and restaurants. Ashley campaigned hard for Barak Obama.

After the election she made sure her grandfather (and all other Republican family members) received a big I- told-you-so earful on how the world is going to be a much better place now that her party is taking over.

Having lost both roommates because they lost their jobs, Ashley recently ran short of cash and cannot pay the rent (again) on her 3 bedroom townhouse. Like she has done many times in the past, she e-mailed her grandfather asking for some financial help. Here is his reply:

Sweetheart,

I received your request for assistance. Ashley, you know I love you dearly and I’m sympathetic to your financial plight.. Unfortunately, times have changed. With the election of President Obama, your grandmother and I have had to set forth a bold new economic plan of our own…”The Ashley Economic Empowerment Plan.” Let me explain.

Your grandmother and I are life-long, wage-earning tax payers. We have lived a comfortable life, as you know, but we have never had the fancier things like European vacations, luxury cars, etc. We have worked hard and were looking forward to retiring soon. But the plan has changed.

Your president is raising our personal and business taxes significantly. He says it is so he can give our hard earned money to other people. Do you know what this means, Ashley? It means less for us, and we must cut back on many business and personal expenses.

You know the wonderful receptionist who worked in my office for more than 23 years? The one who always gave you candy when came over to visit? I had to let her go last week. I can’t afford to pay her salary and all of the government mandated taxes that go with having employees. Your grandmother will now work 4 days a week to answer phones, take orders and handle the books. We will be closed on Fridays and will lose even more income to Wal-Mart.

I’m also very sorry to report that your cousin Frank will no longer be working summers in the warehouse. I called him at school this morning.. He already knows about it and he’s upset because he will have to give up skydiving and his yearly trip to Greenland to survey the polar bears.

That’s just the business side of things.. Some personal economic effects of Obama’s new taxation policies include none other than you. You know very well that over the years your grandmother and I have given you thousands of dollars in cash, tuition assistance, food, housing, clothing, gifts, etc., etc. But by your vote, you have chosen to help others – not at your expense — but at our expense.

If you need money now sweetheart, I recommend you call 202-456-1111. That is the direct phone number for the White House. You yourself told me how foolish it is to vote Republican. You said Mr.. Obama is going to be the People’s President, and is going to help every American live a better life. Based on everything you’ve told me, along with all the promises we heard during the campaign, I’m sure Mr. Obama will be happy to transfer some stimulus money into your bank account. Have him call me for the account number which I memorized years ago.

Perhaps you can now understand what I’ve been saying all my life: those who vote for a president should consider the impact on the nation as a whole, and not be just concerned with what they can get for themselves.. What Obama supporters don’t seem to realize is all of the money he is redistributing to illegal aliens and non-taxpaying Americans (the so-called “less fortunate”) comes from tax-paying families.

Remember how you told me, “Only the richest of the rich will be affected”? Well guess what, honey? Because we own a business, your grandmother and I are now considered to be the richest of the rich. On paper, it might look that way, but in the real world, we are far from it.

As you said while campaigning for Obama, some people will have to carry more of the burden so all of America can prosper. You understand what that means, right? It means that raising taxes on productive people results in them having less money; less money for everything, including granddaughters.

I’m sorry, Ashley, but the well has run dry.. The free lunches are over. I have no money to give you now.
So, congratulations on your choice for “change.” For future reference, I encourage you to try and add up the total value of the gifts and cash you have received from us, just since you went off to college, and compare it to what you expect to get from Mr. Obama over the next 4 (or years.

I have not kept track of it, Ashley. It has all truly been the gift of our hearts.

Remember, we love you dearly….but from now on you’ll need to call the number mentioned above. Your “Savior” has the money we would have given to you. Just try and get it from him.

Good luck, sweetheart.

Love,

Grandpa.

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