Saturday, October 12, 2013

HELL NO TO ANY DEBT LIMIT EXTENSIONS

In the coming weeks obama and his merry band of "tax and spend other peoples money" will predict the total collapse of America if a debt limit extension is not passed in Congress. Media talking heads and print liberals will forecast starving children, suffering old people, and universal mayhem without passage of a continuing resolution to spend more and more money. obama's State of the Union speech will demand more money to fix the nations social problems unfixed by the seven or eight trillion spent since the days of Lyndon Johnson. The progressives and obama are lying to scare the nation into more unlimited government spending and national debt. Understand and underline the fact that obama, Carney, Pelosi, Reid, and most democrats along with their willing media dupes are agents of unlimited big government and socialism. They want lots of money to buy lots of votes from citizens and illegal immigrants enslaved by government welfare schemes.

The American people must demand fiscal responsibility and NOW is the time. The major markets may hiccup, but will likely be relieved to see an end to the unlimited printing of money and bonds. Every responsible citizen and corporation in America has a budget, and the Obama regime wants to operate with a blank check budget payable by the decreasing number of working citizens and profitable corporations.

Any sane individual with a $ 500 weekly salary would not go out on Friday night and spend $ 500 on new tattoos, $ 200 on a lavish dinner, and $ 2000 for a third wide screen television. Citizens cannot allow their government to continue unlimited spending on schemes designed to buy political support and votes. Common sense in spending must prevail in our government as it does in our homes and businesses.

Obamacare is the tip of the fiscal cliff of government irresponsibility and Cruz, Lee, Tea Party members, and true conservatives are right to vigorously object. The "Affordable Health Care Act" is not only unaffordable for most Americans, but it's implementation is an embarrassment of clumsy planning by obama and his minions.

Despite the bias and nonsense of polls, most Americans know obama and his political henchmen have us on a path to financial hell. NOW is the time to call, twit, e mail, march, shout, and blog your congress people to stop anything that allows more wasteful spending by an inept and corrupt obama regime.

Friday, October 11, 2013

CLINTON MEANS CHAPTER II of OBAMA'S FAILED BIG FAT GOVERNMENT ...

The government scheme of Obamacare will ultimately fail the people. It will fail because big government cannot effectively fulfill the wants and needs of citizens.

The federal government has failed wars on poverty, drugs, gangs, and guns. Obamacare is simply another big box of empty promises wrapped in the false idealism of socialism.  In general, big government plans are bad and ineffective because despite all the time and money at it's disposable, the government agents are unaccountable bureaucrats. How many big shot bureaucrats brought before House Committees and shown guilty of fraud, poor management, or lying have ever been imprisoned or even fired ?  If the government big wigs are unaccountable than the little wigs know there is no consequence for their performance. The planning, and execution of these boondoggles are done by workers using other peoples money, so they have no monetary stake in a successful outcome. There is no incentive to do well, and no punishment for screwing up. In the surreal world of government there is no consequence for failure except on the battlefield. 

Obamacare is simply another failed socialist idea cooked up by "know it all" elitists. This upper class of leftist politicos, academics, and media types think regular people are too stupid, and or incapable of managing their own lives. Therefore, this coalition of "smarter than thou" folks design "cradle to grave" plans to care for the classes they consider "the lower sort". The dirty secret is this gentry of elites simply want all the power. They want total political, cultural, educational, sexual, housing, medical, and economic reign over the nation and it's "unwashed masses". 

Our founding fathers wrote documents specifically insisting that the best government is one "limited" to just a handful of essential activities. However, when politicians and progressives convinced people that their "welfare" could be provided by the government, our fall from liberty began. With every new law and program we lose our fundamental right to choose. Ultimately, the Obama types goal is to take away all our money and redistribute it to create "universal equality". Of course they have, and will continue to exempt themselves from Obamacare and their other schemes of  "universal equality". We will be taxed and taxed, and forced into more government programs. Now we have the empire of Washington with it's thousands of bureaucrats and millions of regulations. This web is incredibly inefficient and slow in fulfilling it's missions, however it has effectively destroyed the importance of families and churches. The few truly needy have been joined by a greater majority of lazy losers living from generation to generation off the tax payments of workers and corporations. 

The saddest reality is that all the trillions have not eliminated or even reduced poverty, drug crimes, or gang violence. Big government cannot solve the social ills of our nation.  But, when any politician is asked what it will take to solve problem x, y, or z, they will always say "more funding". As Obamacare fails it will be said that it simply needs more time, and MONEY (taxpayer) to succeed !  

Monday, October 7, 2013

OUR TAX $$ WASTED IN "USE IT OR LOSE IT" SCHEMES & PROJECTS

The Washington Post recently ran a very interesting and revealing article, reprinted in the October 6th edition of the Richmond Times Dispatch, about how OUR tax dollars are squandered at the end of the federal government's fiscal year. The federal governments fiscal year ends September 30th each year.

Essentially, each department of the government has a budget. If all the funds for federal contracts are not used by the end of the fiscal year, unused monies are lost forever, and the possibility of budget reductions becomes likely for the upcoming fiscal year. To avoid this ARMAGEDDON of unspent money and possible budget cutbacks, extra ordinary spending occurs the last few weeks of each fiscal year. Thus, the tradition of "use it (budgeted funding) or lose it" has become a tradition throughout the federal government.

Consider, there are 52 weeks in a year, and when 100% of a budget is equally divided it means slightly less than 2 % of the budget should be used each week. However, in the last three fiscal years, records indicate that an astounding average of 19.3 % of all federal budgets was spent the last five weeks of the year. The battle cry from private contractors, government bosses, and federal workers becomes, "USE IT OR LOSE IT." Overtime, and a shopping frenzy dictate that all allotted funds be used. Here are a few astounding examples cited by the Washington Post article:

1. "In a single day the Agriculture Department spent $ 144,000.00 on toner cartridges."
2. "In a single purchase, the Coast Guard spent $ 178,000.00 on "Cubicle Furniture Rehab"."
3. "The USDA bought $ 127,000.00 worth of toner cartridges, ( "end of year ", the order explained )".
4. "Two weeks ago, The Department of Veterans Affairs bought $ 562, 000.00 worth of artwork."
5. "On another day, the VA was buying art again. It spent $ 216,000.00 on artwork for a facility in Florida."
6. "The VA paid $ 27,000.00 for an order of photographs showing sunsets, mountain peaks and country roads."
7. "Two weeks ago, ImmixGroup (private contractor) began bringing its sales team three catered meals a day. If workers walked to Subway, they might lose a sale ( to a government agency).  On that day, ImmixGroup handled $ 16,000,000.00 in business. A normal Monday is about $ 2 million."

As usual President Obama blames Congress, and Congress blames the President. Also as usual,  US taxpayers get screwed by their government's wasteful spending. It's not a new problem. "President Lyndon Johnson ... in May of 1965, said an end-of-year binge was "an ancient practice - but that does not justify it or excuse it"."  Indeed !

Solutions to the problem include better planning, better decision making, a budgeting system other than CR's (continuing resolutions) which allocate funds piecemeal. Perhaps a bonus system, from the for profit private sector, which rewards government managers for budget reductions and better productivity would help. At any rate I expect no improvements.  In my opinion, as long as we vote in the old grays of Congress the problem will continue. In my opinion, a  slim chance of reform comes from the young, energetic Libertarian, Independent, and Tea Party legislators who are consistently demonized by senior politicians and their press lackeys as rebels, radicals, and anarchists. Your vote for reform in 2014 & 2016 - USE IT OR LOSE IT !

Thursday, October 3, 2013

600,000 + READ BLOGS

The Final Lap Has hit 600,000 + views from the USA and over 100 countries worldwide!

Many thanks to all my readers and their constructive, and not so much feedback. I write political opinion, fictional, travel, attempts at humor and family remembrance blogs. Also, I authored "Humble Hero" which is a memoir of my father's horrific struggles during WWII in the occupied Philippines. It was published in 2018 and is available from Amazon and E Bay. 

I endeavor to write effectively and find satisfaction in being read and understood. Blogs, Facebook and Twitter are my vehicles of free speech.   

Nearing the eighth decade of my life, I most enjoy putting words together and hoping for readable results. While many in my boomer generation are busy with family, travel, leisure, gardening and other activities, I relish the challenge and pleasure of effectively communicating.

My observations are recorded in "The Final Lap" at Google's  - lemuellam.blogspot.com
Comments are invited to my blog spot or e mail account  lemuellam@aol.com.
I also post on Facebook and Twitter.

Thanks,  and keep reading.






                                      










THE NEXT AMERICAN CIVIL WAR ?

I believe within the next fifty years there will be a second Civil War. This civil upheaval will ravage the people and landscape of America. This war will not pit race against race or necessarily rich against poor. Rather, this conflict will highlight supporters of the twentieth century era of  "government benevolence" fighting forces dedicated to "less government" and more personal freedom and the free market.

The powers of  "government benevolence" will be supported by the federal government, academia, military big shots, and the creators of public opinion and entertainment. Their cause will be more and more government control over the public and private affairs of people. Their assumption will be, and has always been, that people lack the will, intelligence, or skill to survive in a modern world. Therefore, it is their obligation as a benevolent and intelligent  government ruling class to guide people throughout all the days of their lives. The goal will be accomplished by the full implementation of a hyper and hybrid forms of socialism and eventually communism. Under this scheme all goods and services will be equally distributed to people by government bureaus of clerks and civil servants.

To pay for this program of universal sharing the government would cease to tax, but take possession of all personal property, goods, wages, and valuables within the fifty states and territories. Personal property would become forbidden. The wants and needs of citizens would then be supplied by government bureaucrats as they deem appropriate. Further, the benevolent government forces will seek to extend their authority to eventually dominate the cultural, medical, educational, social, and religious lives of all Americans. Government agencies will grow, and individuals or groups resisting "government benevolence" will be humiliated, isolated, fined, imprisoned, or executed. The elite of the "government benevolent" ruling class will not be included in this scheme. They will enjoy a lifestyle of great extravagance and pleasure for, what will be classified, as their extra ordinary service to the populous.

The "less government" forces will be surviving members of the Tea, Libertarian, independent, democrat and republican parties,  plus millions of other Americans faithful to the tenants of the Constitution, market capitalism, self determination, property rights, and personal liberty. Initially, this group will be a weak and fragmented coalition. Infighting among the leadership will severely restrict  it's message and effectiveness. In the early years of this war the "less government" crowd will suffer setbacks and even casualties. However, like a weak flame in a gale the "less government" assemblage will survive one liberty robbing pogrom after another, and eventually it's light will burn brighter.

 Despite voting restrictions, holding political office or publishing, elements of  the movement will cling to life and slowly prosper. Because of  the second amendment, guerrilla warfare, and a vigorous plan of education, the "less government" coalition will eventually grow. The "less government" forces will flourish in spirit and numbers. Some "government benevolence" key military leaders will grow weary and likely join the "less government" crowd. Also, many citizens will switch over to the growing legions of "less government" proponents as they realize the emptiness in the gray and hopeless world of "government benevolence".

Sadly, this second Civil War of Americans restricting and even killing other Americans will rage for  years. I cannot foresee the outcome. However, the scars of the conflict will mark a temporary  end to the "exceptionalism" which brightly distinguished the United States from other world nations. The presence of a conflict will generate and sustain hope among people of all nations and cultures in the coming centuries.

Proof of this trend is on clear display from the likes and policy initiatives of the AOC gang, socialist presidential campaigns of Sanders and Warren, and government over reach by the likes of Bloomberg, Cuomo, Northam and other big government advocates. The only solution to prevent this awful civil disorder lies with citizens who recognize their vote and voice as vital tools to preserve our republic, constitution and capitalist traditions.