The Rusted Musket

Times aren’t looking so good for Greece right now. Their debt is piling up and they don’t have the means to pay it off. As a result they have had their credit rating downgraded to junk status. With a deficit nearing 14% of their GDP it certainly doesn’t look good for their credit rating (by comparison the USA is hovering around 10.6%, but normally is 1-4%).

Greece’s GDP is currently $356 billion with debt of over $400 billion putting them at 112% of debt as percentage of GDP. By comparison the USA is sitting at 94%.

Now that the facts are laid out I must say that it is very interesting situation on many different levels.  First off USA is only 18% behind Greece right now and at our debt accumulation rate we’ll be surpassing them soon. Could the US Treasury’s credit be downgraded? Maybe but I’d have to wonder if the reigning democrats would put the people responsible for the credit ratings on “trial” if they did lower the rating.

A interesting thing about Greece’s situation is that they are desperately trying to reduce their deficit but are being met with strong resistance by the populace who are unwilling to give up or see cuts to their pork projects and socialist programs. Apparently they don’t understand how serious and bad their situation is. When a credit rating is downgraded to junk status the perceived and real risk for lenders/investors goes up and as such the demanded interest rate rises as well because the investment is now considered highly speculative. What that means is that there is a lot less people willing to loan them money and when they do get money they will be paying a lot higher interest rates. Given this many Greek people are bemoaning the fact that they might lose some of their precious programs? Their economy is at risk and instead of trying to fix the problem they are pretty much making it worse?

I can’t say I’m surprised though, as I imagine there would be plenty of protest here if say Social Security got large cuts (which will probably happen by the way).

Debt is serious business; often it is necessary but these governments (USA included) are being flippant and irresponsible and we (the tax payers) will pay for it. The US Government, instead of being responsible and reducing spending, wants to raise taxes to pay for the deficit, they are even thinking about adding a VAT tax (value added tax which is basically a invisible sales tax).

I say why not reduce spending and lower taxes? Or better yet implement the Fair Tax (and reduce spending). The Fair Tax will not penalize people for making money or being entrepreneurial, it’ll only tax people when they buy things. So in most situations we would control when we paid taxes and the highest consumers would pay the most in taxes. It doesn’t get any more fair then that. Plus a great part about it is there would be no income tax returns for consumers, only businesses would file, and businesses to business sales are exempt from the tax which will lower prices and encourage  more people to go into business. Plus think about it this way, people who have a lot of money spend a lot, yet that spending doesn’t add much to the coffers of the tax system. Yet middle to low income people who can barely afford to pay their rent or buy food or pay their bills are having 10-20% taken off before the money even gets to them. The fair tax, if implemented, would be the greatest stimulant that our economy could get and it wouldn’t cost the government a dime.

To a family, provision is many things. Of the many, the intentionality between standard of living and standard of family is important, for they are not the same. Neglecting family in favor of more work hours that increase wealth which is then claimed as benefit for the family is a lie. I’m not here referring to temporary situations that demand sacrifice in order to make ends meet, I refer instead to a deliberate casting off of family in the pursuit of monies far above and beyond necessity. Put this way, if one had to choose between the reckless pursuit of one or the other, would it not be more honorable to recklessly provide yourself to your family than to an office?

Image Credit: banoootah_qtr

Besides the obvious, like enforcing existing immigration policies, or allowing police to ask if you’re a citizen of the US or not, which by the way, is all Arizona’s totally controversial new law basically does. I believe the most overlooked and utterly obvious place of needed reform is Mexico herself; why do people flee her as if she’s the plague? Could it be the violence, the 22,700 drug war related deaths since 06? Believe it or not, Mexico, not Iraq or Afghanistan, has the dubious pleasure of owning the worlds most dangerous city, Cuidad Juarez, which features more be-headings, torture, and multiply homicides than any other city on the planet.

Then you have the Mexican Government itself, who’s duplicity, makes you wonder. For instance, with the passage of Arizona’s Bill this week, Mexico’s Foreign Secretary had the gall to criticize us for enforcing OUR laws, while at the same time possessing knowledge that Mexico does everything in her power to keep immigrants from crossing their own southern border! And why is it that Mexico even has time to harp on our laws while their own laws appear to give their hardworking countrymen every reason to leave? Instead of enabling illegal immigration to the US, shouldn’t Mexico be enabling Mexican’s to stay in Mexico?

When you have decent hard working folk fleeing your country for somewhere else it’s a slap in the face. This Mexican Foreign Secretary and Mexico proper should be red with shame for shifting the responsibility of the good life for their citizens from their shoulders to ours…

Here is my video of the week…

Ultra-Realistic Modern Warfare Game Features Awaiting Orders, Repairing Trucks

On March 25th I received an email from Wisconsin A/G JB VanHollen informing his constituents that he had reviewed the ObamaCare bill that was signed into law by President Obama and determined it was unconstitutional.  A/G VanHollen was requesting approval from either the Governor or either house of legislature (as required by Wisconsin law) to join other states in pursuing a lawsuit.  At the time he was asking for Wisconsin residents to voice their opinions to lawmakers in asking to join in this venture.  I took this opportunity and wrote a letter to Diamond Jim.  He replied with the following:

Dear Mr. XXXXX

Thank you for contacting me to express your views about the national health insurance reform recently signed by President Obama.  I always welcome your comments and appreciate the opportunity to respond to you.

This is a law passed by the Congress of the United States.  I understand that people may disagree with the policy.  However, I believe the legal challenges raised by the states are without legal merit.  It would be a waste of time and state resources to pursue a frivolous claim.

These reforms are good for the people of Wisconsin and the nation as a whole.

Sincerely,

Diamond Jim Doyle, Governor

Ok, so maybe I added Diamond to his signature.  The job of the A/G is to watch out for the best interests of Wisconsin residents.  If he feels that this law is unconstitutional the Governor should support him in this challenge.

You’ve gotta love partisan politics.  Thank God Diamond Jim won’t be back for another term.

In the year 1940, C.S. Lewis gave a lecture to Oxford Universities Pacifist society entitled “Why I am not a Pacifist.” This lecture produced thoughts ranging from how we decide what is good and evil, the non strength of speculative generalizations, and if you can “do simply good to simply Man.” ¹ It was for me, a fantastic mental journey, and if the reader finds in themselves a desire to know more about Lewis’s argument, I suggest they read the lecture in full, because, the item I’m most interested in sharing today, is just a small little bit Lewis offers up at the end concerning what we can and cannot influence.

Pacifism, Lewis felt, was a movement too grand to be practical as a life goal. A tension exists, if you will, between what one can influence and what one cannot, this and each outcomes actual fruition. For instance, suppose there is a Dentist who spends all his time pontificating about the need to rid the world of tooth aches. This Dentist, in truth, could do more for ridding the world of tooth aches by actually pulling one aching tooth than he could in a year of just talking about it. Lewis felt “the best results are obtained by people who work quietly at limited objectives, such as the abolition of the slave trade, or prison reform, or factory acts, or tuberculosis, not by those who think they can achieve universal justice, or health, or peace.” ² On a personal level, I see how I tend to mirror the Dentist mentioned earlier in my desire to protest macro events, universal happenings, instead of events I can touch with my own two hands. Lewis felt this was where the substantial lay, the limited objective, the art of life where one tackles “each immediate evil as well as we can.” To this I would like to add, perhaps starting in our own hearts…

I’ll always wondered what schools really cost and where the money goes… I ran across this article and thought it was pretty interesting. Basically it is saying that despite claiming $8,322 cost per pupil in DC the actual cost is more like $24,600 once you take all the costs into account. Funny thing is that very nice private schools only cost around $10,000 per pupil… Generally private schools give a better educational experience with higher graduate rates. Sooo a better education for cheaper… Who wouldn’t want that?  The interesting thing is that most public schools are in trouble financially right now, and pretty much always. I can’t think of a year that went by when the public school systems asked for more money.

The point I’d like to make is don’t take the numbers that schools give you at face value. The chances are that they are getting more money than you think and really should be able to make due with what they have, but it seems that a lot of schools are mismanaged and money is wasted on trivial things.

The awesome Tax Foundation recently published a “Facts & Figures Handbook” which I’ve attached below.

I highly encourage everyone to read it, or at least glance through it. Some things such as cigarette and “spirits” tax were very interesting. For example in Washington state there is a $26 tax per gallon of hard liquor, whereas Wyoming and New Hampshire have none. Its a lot cheaper to smoke in South Carolina than it is in Rhode Island as there is only $0.07 tax on the former and $3.46 on the latter (that is per 20 pack). Gas tax is highest in Cali and cheapest in Alaska. Contrary to what you may think Alaska has the highest Per Capita debt and Tennessee the lowest with California in the middle of the pack. Shows you what a better run government with less crappy programs can do…

Anywho, check out the file. It is well worth reading. Just make sure to look at the whole tax burden picture.

Facts and Figures

Check out this hilarious video… I totally want this blender!

“Gore, Clinton & Obama in Heaven.”