Yes-23 » Bloviate

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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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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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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Pledge of Allegiance

Lady Kathleen — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 23:49:37 +0000

Play Video

If I could say it better I would, but I feel Red Skelton says it best! Red Skelton has been my favorite comedian ever, but when he was serious he really make you think! So when I found this video I just had to share it with you!

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

History of the Pledge of Allegiance:

The Pledge of Allegiance was written in August 1892

“I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

In 1923, the words, “the Flag of the United States of America” were added.

“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

In 1954, Congress to add the words “under God,”

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

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President Obama, Tarp, Stimulus, Auto Bailout, Health Care Reform: Big Bill Coming

RodZ — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 21:03:13 +0000

It started with hope and change during the 2008 elections. He was a bright star rising out of nowhere, his speeches inspiring to millions of people. He convinced independent voters he was a moderate. He was elected to the Presidency of the United States of America. His popularity extended past Americas borders.

Around the world he was seen as changing America.The perfect storm was already hitting the shores of America. Years of special interests concessions, Representatives and Senators “helping” citizens get loans for homes they could not afford, bank regulators looking the other way and on and on. The previous administration had left with the economy on the brink of collapse and America involved in two wars that were not going well. The American voter had already voiced its displeasure with the Republican party and the Democrats controlled the Congress.

The main stream media appeared to be basically an extension of the Campaign during the elections and afterwards an extension of the White House. The majority of Americans were just plain disgusted with all things Washington. This man said he had a plan, he offered hope and change. He had his filibuster proof majority in the Senate and a major majority in the House, what more could he ask for?

The left wing of the Democrats appears to see his election and their control as a mandate by the people to implement every program they ever envisioned to make America into their vision of what is fair and better. They called his election further proof of this mandate. He did win the popular vote by about 9 million votes.

During the first months of his administration the economy was a mix of confusion, some said improving as the stock market began to climb and the GDP went up a bit, but unemployment was at 10% and climbing. Mircosoft laid off over 5000 employees for the first time in the history of the company.

What are our expectations of this President? In a divided country it becomes very difficult to define what the majority really wants. We as a people are driven by many different concerns and beliefs. We span the political spectrum from extreme left to extreme right. I do believe most Americans live more to the middle of the scale than in either direction.

The Democratic majority in both houses is moving forward with several bills “designed” to help the American citizen. Health care and clean energy are currently moving through the legislative process. We are still waiting for Card-check and the financial reform bill.

The Senate version of health care reform is currently being debated and as I watch, it struck me that both sides have very convincing arguments and it is very hard to discern what is accurate or what is misleading.

I don’t have an answer to the worlds problems. As I watch the debates, listen to the news, watch the Presidents speeches and read what information is available on these matters it becomes clearer to me the we are heading towards more government control of our daily lives and higher taxes. What is not clear to me is why.

I don’t believe that the TARP by was a take over of the financial system of this country by the Obama administration, I do believe that it was mishandled from the start by the Bush administration and Congress. The major financial entities should have had many restrictions placed on the public dollars they received. It struck me that every piece of legislation concerning any expenditure of public dollars typically comes with many pages of law governing how the money can be used and very harsh penalties for non compliance. The TARP did not appear to have many if any controls. It seems the Obama administration is continuing down the same path as his predecessor, wonder why?

While I think the auto companies should have left to succeed or fail on their on and let the bankruptcy court sort it out, I don’t believe this was a take over by the Obama administration either. I do believe it was a waste of money. I don’t understand how the auto unions got a piece of ownership in the companies but they did. That will make for some interesting contract negotiations won’t it?

The stimulus is an interesting subject. I read the Summary American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This is a very interesting document, I referenced it in a previous blog, Government Stimulus: “Political or real” http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/PressSummary01-15-09.pdf. This document clearly defines how the stimulus money was to be spent. If you read this document or the actual bill you will wonder how this administration can claim any of the stimulus has contributed to improving the economy. Yet they do and the claim is just ridiculous, it’s really to soon to make that claim. What are jobs saved? Why are most of the funds for government projects that are typically funded via the general fund? Here are some examples of questionable job creators from the stimulus bill , DTV Conversion Coupons: $650 million to continue the coupon program to enable American households to convert from analog television transmission to digital transmission. Medicaid Coverage for the Unemployed: Provides 100 percent federal funding through 2010 for optional. State Medicaid coverage of individuals (and their dependents) who are receiving unemployment benefits or have exhausted those benefits and have no health insurance coverage. Other optional coverage groups are individuals (and their dependents) who are involuntarily unemployed and uninsured and whose family income does not exceed 200 percent of poverty, and unemployed uninsured individuals who are receiving food stamps.” Compassion Capital Fund: $100 million for grants to faith- and community-based organizations to provide a critical safety net services to needy individuals and families. Most of the Recovery act job creators do have the potential to improve the infrastructure and will employ folks for perhaps a few years, none will create any permanent or lasting public sector jobs.

The money is being spent, contracts are be awarded and one would assume some folks are going to be employed to perform the tasks specified in the recovery act bill, so I guess you could say jobs will be created. I wonder why we are hearing rumors of another stimulus bill, what is left for the government to fix and how will we pay for it?

It has become clear to me that our country has diverse opinions and beliefs on many of the subjects we have been discussing. I firmly believe that the best form of government is the one that governs the least, to paraphrase a one of the founding fathers. We seem to have a segment of our population who believe the rich are evil, corporations are evil, insurance companies are evil, and anyone with millions of dollars made it off the backs of labor and should give back to labor. They also believe that the government is better qualified to provide them with the basic things in life they need.

This segment of the population also believes everything that the government has done wrong is a republicans fault, mostly a republican president. The following is taken from a comment to one of my blogs. It is typical of what I described in the previous paragraph.

“As for the economics, under “Reaganomics” we had an increase of trade and a loss of jobs in America. The workers got poorer and the business people got richer. Since WW II we have gradually, but steadily, lost our standing in the world as a nation that produces things that can be sold. (The one area in which we still excel is agriculture – thanks to foreign workers.) We are no longer the leader in steel production, textiles, automobiles, TV’s, etc., etc.. Part of the problem is our long-standing trade policies and part of it is the American proclivity to buy what is cheaper – not what is better. As a consequence, America produces less steel than Japan and about 20% of what is produced in China. There are no TV’s, stereos, or Levi’s produced by Americans. It has nothing at all to do with a free market. As for the energy suppliers of the world, you tell me what Saudi Arabia is going to sell us when their oil runs out. Sunshine?

What I find interesting is that the commenter never mentions Clinton and NAFTA, what’s more is his concern for Saudi Arabia. I would ask him what will Saudi Arabia sell when we have converted to alternative energy? Does he support a country who treats women as property, is a monarchy and has a court system that no way resembles the one we have and has punishments that he considers torture or inhumane?

It is clear to me that many people believe that this country should be changed to resemble the european model of government. I disagree and ask once again, Why would we want to be like the rest of the world when we have set the standard. It seems to me that the immigrants who are coming into this country are the new entrepreneurs. They are doing the jobs some Americans won’t do and then finding a way to succeed, start a business or get an education and excel. A lot of these folks left a place where the government was in charge of their lives so they came here and took charge of their own lives.

The segment of our population that wants all this government sustained entitlement also seems to believe that if you earned something they should be entitled to it also, but of course it should just be given to them. If they cannot have it you join the evil or lucky group of people they hate.

I guess my biggest concern is that we are amassing an unbelievable amount of debt to support all these programs. At some point I want the leadership to wake up and stop writing checks we can’t cash.

We started Yes-23 as a forum for discussion and it has achieve that end. We publish all comments to our opinions and enter into discussions with most of the commenters. It is an interesting exercise. I have learned that we as a people are more than simply disagreeing on issues, we are angry, both sides are very angry. There can be no civil discussion or compromise when both sides are out to discredit and destroy one another simply because they disagree on certain issues.

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Freedoms vs Govt.

RodZ — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 20:55:31 +0000

God gave us free will, we can choose to do the right thing or not. It is our choice. The government seems intent on limiting our right to choose what is best for ourselves or our children.

I see more and more groups and organizations intent on stopping us from doing everything from smoking to eating. They have good reasons and many of the things they want to stop us from choosing to do are not good for us and we know it.

I used to not worry about all these groups but I now realize they are part and parcel of the government and many ridiculous things are being considered and implemented by this government.

Did you know that a group in California is actually proposing a ballot initiative preventing circumcision? We can laugh at this but we may find it passed.

I don’t want to list all the silly things that are being proposed, you have heard most of them already, but I must say that each little thing the government takes is a bite our of out freedoms.

Anyone can justify almost anything and make a convincing argument for their point of view, but the basic premise in this country used to be, my rights end where yours begin, it used to work pretty well.

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The Proposal

Lady Kathleen — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 18:19:55 +0000

When a company falls on difficult times, one of the things that seems to happen is they reduce their staff and workers. The remaining workers
must find ways to continue to do a good job or risk that their job would be eliminated as well as their bonuses..
Therefore:
Reduce the House of Representatives from the current 435 members to 218 members.
Reduce Senate members from 100 to 50 (one per State). Then, reduce their remaining staff by 25%.
Accomplish this over the next 8 years (two steps/two elections) and of course this would require some redistricting.
Some Yearly Monetary Gains Include:
$44,108,400 for elimination of base pay for congress. (267 members X $165,200 pay/member/yr.)
$437,100,000 for elimination of their staff. (estimate $1..3 Million in staff per each member of the House, and $3 Million in staff per each member of the Senate every year)
$108,350,000 for the reduction in remaining staff by 25%.
$7,500,000,000 reduction in pork barrel earmarks each year. Current estimates for total government pork earmarks are at $15 Billion/yr.
The remaining representatives would need to work smarter and improve efficiencies. It might even be in their best interests to work together for the good of our country!
We may also expect that smaller committees might lead to a more efficient resolution of issues as well. It might even be easier to keep track of what your representative is doing.
Congress has more tools available to do their jobs than it had back in 1911 when the current number of representatives was established.
(telephone, computers, cell phones to name a few)
Note:
Congress does not hesitate to head home for extended weekends, holidays and recesses, when what the nation needs is a real fix for economic problems.
Also, we had 3 senators that were not doing their jobs for the 18+ months (on the campaign trail) and still they all accepted full pay.
Minnesota survived very well with only one senator for the first half of this year. These facts alone support a reduction in senators and congress.
Summary of opportunity:
$44,108,400 reduction of congress members.
$282,100, 000 for elimination of the reduced house member staff.
$150,000,000 for elimination of reduced senate member staff.
$70,850,000 for 25% reduction of staff for remaining house members.
$37,500,000 for 25% reduction of staff for remaining senate members.
$7,500,000,000 reduction in pork added to bills by the reduction of congress members.
$8,084,558,400 per year, estimated total savings. (that’s 8-BILLION just to start!)
Corporate America does these types of cuts all the time.
There’s even a name for it. “Downsizing.”
——————————
Also, if Congresspersons were required to serve 20, 25 or 30 years (like everyone else) in order to collect retirement benefits,
taxpayers could save a bundle. Now they get full retirement after serving only ONE term.
Plus the bundle we would save on their HEALTH Insurance.
All Congresspersons should be required to get their own Health Insurance (or try to) like the rest of us.

This was an email sent to Yes-23.com And I thought it was interesting

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Tax Cuts, Cheaper Health Care: Really?

RodZ — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 02:35:33 +0000

First a question, hasn’t been nice having Congress on vacation? They haven’t screwed anything up while they have been off celebrating the last big lie. Oh well on with the fuzzy math and spin. For the last year or so we have been hearing how 95% of Americans had their income taxes reduced. My question is that if 48% of americans don’t pay any income tax how can 95% get a tax break? If you do the basic math 100 minus 48 you get 52, not 95. Considering how the current administration keeps saying anyone making over 200k a year as a single person is rich and should pay more in taxes did they get a tax break too? I wonder how they arrived at the 95% number, don’t you?

Lets look at some of the effects of the so-called stimulus. First they still haven’t spent over $500 billion and unemployment is still at almost 10%, the money in the stimulus was not for job stimulus as they told us. If you read this bill you find studies and commissions and green research and on and on. The last big boondoggle I saw was for a wind power plant in Texas. Sounds like that might be money spent on America right? Well, $1.9 billion went to China for component parts. Why did this happen when there was seed money for American companies to start building these items? I guess the Chinese needed jobs too. It seems to me that almost everything we hear from our government is a load of bull anymore.

Aren’t you tired of all the lies and half truths? We are now saddled with a new health care plan that, despite all the sales talk from the government will lead to higher cost and lower coverage. The wonderful representatives who forced this on us don’t even know what is in the bill or the unintended consequences of this piece of legislation.

It is interesting to me how the focus of these people is so geared to growing government and shrinking our freedoms. Just look at all the eminent domain issues occurring throughout the country by all levels of government. They don’t get much news coverage but are on the increase every year. They are done for the public good according to the government but I feel it is an invasion of our rights.

There are just to many things happening lately to write about but I really believe that America is headed to place unlike any in our history. Since when was it evil to make money, grow a company or enjoy the results of your effort and hard work. Since when did we need the government deciding what was best for us as a whole? Let me put it in these terms. Would you really let Obama make your everyday life decisions for you? Tell you how to spend your money, where to live, how to raise your kids? Wake up he and Pelosi and Reid and company are doing just that.

Honorable Evan Bayh

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