Archive for The Economy
What Can be Done About Congress?
Posted by: | CommentsDear Jim Bob,
There’s a lot of things going on in America that drive me nuts, but my biggest beef is with the United States Congress. It seems these people are from a different planet. They don’t understand what it means to be an American and they pass legislation like a bunch of drunks at an endless party. Is there anything that can be done to fix that place Jim Bob?
Going Bonkers in Yonkers
Dear Bonkers,
Actually, the solution to this is very simple. Only two new laws need to be passed and the entire mess would be fixed in nothing flat. Here are the two laws that are needed:
1. The Congressional Reform Act: This law would require that Congress Persons must live under all the laws they pass for the rest of us. There would be no congressional exemptions for any legislation passed by Congress. This would eliminate their windfall retirement plan (100% of full pay for life and fully covered healthcare) and require them to retire under Social Security and Medicare like the rest of us. Included in this law should be other rules for what they can do with left-over campaign contributions (which can be millions of dollars). This money should go into the general treasury to be applied to the deficits Congress creates.
2. The Congressional Term Limits Act: This law would limit Congressional term limits to no more than ten years. This law alone would do more to fix the place that just about anything else. This new law coupled with the Reform Act, described above, would make them accountable where it matters: In their own pocket books!
So, Bonkers this is not a complicated issue. It’s very simple. The only problem is that the laws must be passed by the very same group that needs reform. Only a huge grassroots demand for this kind of legislation would give it a chance of passing. Personally, if a person running for President made these two laws a key piece of their campaign strategy they would attract a huge public following and support for their proposal.
Nancy, What Do you Really Care About?
Posted by: | Comments
Dear Jim Bob,
I’ve had all I can take of your stupid blog! I first heard about it right after you wrote that disgusting post about “Will Democrats Save Us From Cow Farts?”. How dare you trivialize the global warming threat. As you probably know by now I rammed the Global Warming Tax Bill through Congress faster than you can say “HOT”. Unfortunately, a few right-wing extremists forced us to remove the cow fart taxes. It’s time you understood that we in Congress know what is best for Americans and we intend to take over their lives at every level in the next couple of years. Do you realize how much we will control when we get our Socialized Medicine Bill passed (I mean our Healthcare Security Act)? It’s time you conservatives realize that WE won the last election and we are in control! We get to do whatever we want and there’s nothing you can do about it.
N. Pelosi
Washington, DC
Dear N. Pelosi,
Yes, I understand that you lefty’s won the election and are in control. I also remember when Jimmy Carter won the White House in 1976. How well did that turn out? You know Nancy, the biggest problem with your side is that it rarely, if ever, tells the truth about anything. Take the Global Warming tax bill you folks just passed. The scientific “consensus” on the Global Warming hoax has crumbled. More and more scientific testimony is exposing this myth. That is the truth, yet your side is so invested in taxing the life out our economy that you suppress the contrary evidence. The only effect your Global Warming taxes will have will be to increase our energy costs and put us in a competitive hole economically. If you really believed all this Global Warming hysteria you wouldn’t be hot-footing it around the country in your government jet laying down a carbon footprint that “out-carbons” the excesses of Al Gore!
I understand that getting through to you and your kind by way of logic and truth is impossible. Your agenda is to just be in control and to try to stay in control and you’ll do whatever it takes to accomplish it. However, do you have grandchildren Nancy? What kind of country are you leaving them with all your left-wing legislation. Why do you willingly saddle them with debt the likes of which has never been seen in our history? Why do you want them to live in a country that has to compete with one arm tied behind its back? Why do you think individual initiative and personal success has to be handicapped by excessive regulation and taxes? I have lots of other questions but you wouldn’t care about them either.
Obama’s Approval Rating
Posted by: | CommentsDear Jim Bob,
Based on what I see Obama doing with all the big spending and taking over much of the private sector of the economy, I wonder how he has such a high approval rating. How do you explain that Jim Bob?
Teresa Tempertantrum
Tin Star, Texas
Dear Teresa,
Great question! Approval ratings and polls are just a reflection of what people believe. What people believe is based on the information they have in their brain that forms the basis for what they believe. So, to understand why Obama has high approval is merely an exercise in examining what people believe and why they believe it. Unfortunately, the things people believe are not necessarily true.
There are three factors that are impacting what people believe about Mr. Obama:
1. The mainstream news media and the “spin” they put on what is happening in the world every day.
2. The fact that we now live in a sound bite society and most people are so focused on their own little slice of life that they are uninformed about the details of what is happening politically (For example, most don’t know about all of Mr. Obama’s Czar appointments and the significance of what he has really done to circumvent public inspection and oversight of his policies. Nor do they understand the basic facts about how economies function and what really stimulates growth and opportunity).
3. The fact that we now have a few generations of people, the majority of whom who are incapable of critical thinking. They are also incapable of a lot of other things (Like operating a cash register that doesn’t have pictures on the keys, or adding up a list of numbers without a calculator).
So, what we largely have is a society that can’t think, a society that suffers from Attention Deficit Disorder, and a biased media that ignores in depth, critical reporting about anything Obama. This means the information people get is badly tainted. They limit what they know to the sound bites from the mainstream media. How is it tainted? Mostly it’s tainted about who is responsible for the country’s economic situation and what it will really take to get it turned around.
Obama and the Democrats continue to blame George W. Bush for all things evil, and they have been doing it relentlessly for the past 8 years – totally cheered on and supported by the mainstream media. The primary message people are getting is that Obama is a victim of George W. Bush and he’s working so hard to overcome the handicap of following the evil Republicans. So, they believe whatever Obama is doing is good and they approve his actions. George Bush is happy and completely willing to be blamed (as he has done for the past 8 years) so there is no challenge from his camp.
At some point, this may change. When it becomes evident that Mr. Obama has systematically trashed our economy and it begins to erode media revenues, there might be some new information out there that will change what people believe. When someone you love is denied a life-saving operation by our new health care ‘Czars’ the reality of Obama may begin to sink in. However, don’t hold your breath waiting for it to happen. The true “misery index” (unemployment rate + inflation rate) of Mr. Obama has not yet run its course. When it does become evident, it may be too late.
Why Do They Do This Stuff on Purpose?
Posted by: | CommentsDear Jim Bob,
I’m watching the President and our Congress spend all this money Jim Bob. Don’t they know it’s going to cause bigger problems down the road? Why would they do stuff on purpose that is going to be a big problem for us in the future?
Tillie Taxitis
Fairdealing, Tennessee
Dear Tillie,
Actually, all this is pretty simple. You have to understand the real strategic motivation of the political party in power. It’s a simple formula, and here it is:
The more you spend, the greater the deficit.
The greater the deficit the greater the eventual justification for higher taxes.
The higher the taxes, the greater control over individual behavior.
The less freedom of individuals means stronger positioning of government.
The stronger positioning of government increases personal dependency on government.
The greater the personal dependency on government…the more democrats get elected!
See how easy that was.
Love,
©2009, James C. Norman
All Rights Reserved
In Search of a Voice of Reason
Posted by: | Comments
As we enter into troubling times in America do we all yearn for a voice that will pierce the veil of political correctness and speak the truth boldly and bravely? I certainly do and I believe that voice belongs to Alan Keyes. Alan Keyes you may recall is a former Republican candidate for President and was the last minute opponent of Barrack Obama in his Illinois Senate race. Keyes is a brilliant man who drives the left crazy with his direct approach to speaking his mind. He is marginalized by those who fear his words, but to those of us who agree with him he is a clear voice in a wilderness of left-wing insanity.
Recently, Keyes was cornered by a reporter from KHAS TV (NBC Affiliate in LIncoln, Nebraska) who did an on-the-fly interview with him about President Obama. In a style that only Alan Keyes can muster he laid out his opinions and they are words every American should hear and take very seriously. Click on the links that follow to hear his words:
On Obama and his US Citizenship: obamas-citizenship
On Obama and the Economy: obama-and-the-economy
On Obama and Infanticide: obama-and-infanticide
Alan Keyes might be compared to Winston Churchill in the early 1930′s. Churchill was ignored and ridiculed by those who did not want to hear his warnings about the true goals and objectives of Hitler’s Nazi Germany. Eventually, when the Nazi hoards began to sweep across Europe, Britain and her allies rallied behind Churchill. It is disgraceful that one of the first things President Obama did was to remove a bust of Winston Churchill from the White House. Is Alan Keyes an American version of Winston Churchill? Time will tell.
To learn more about the life of Alan Keyes, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Keyes
©2009, James C. Norman
All Rights Reserved
It’s Official – He knows NOTHING about REAL Money!
Posted by: | CommentsDear Jim Bob,
For the past 10 years I’ve been socking away a lot of my pay into my 401K. The stock market has dropped 3,000 points since Obama got elected and I’m wondering when It’s going to stop! Jim Bob, I’ve lost a lot of money since November and it was money I needed for my retirement. The other day, one of the President’s people announced that what the country needs is higher taxes and socialized medicine. The next day the stock market took another dive. Don’t they know every time they say something stupid more money flies out of my pocket?
Samantha Markitis
Bombs Away, Maryland
Dear Samantha,
I really hate to tell you this, but the President has not yet connected the level of the stock market to real money. He thinks its like a political poll that goes up and down. Click here and listen to his own words:
As you can see, he does not seem to get, or care that $3,000,000,000,000 (3 trillion) of real wealth has evaporated in the value of stocks held by millions of Americans. He does not think the stock market is real, evidently. The President just thinks it’s something that “bobs up and down, day to day”. He doesn’t seem too concerned that all that “bobbing up and down” represents your money and mine. Evidently they did not teach him much about real money at Harvard.
Samantha, all I can say is hang on to what you have left, because they are just getting started. The next couple of years is going to feel like 20!
Love,
©2009, James C. Norman
All Rights Reserved
When All the Cows Move to Boston
Posted by: | CommentsDear Jim Bob,
OK…the Democrats are spending money like there is no end to it. It seems like more and more people are going to be getting money for doing nothing. I heard this week that people on unemployment in Massachusetts can get up to $48,000 a year for doing nothing. Jim Bob, when more people are getting than there are people paying, what’s going to happen ?
Denny Deficit
Dimwit, Delaware
Dear Denny,
When I get questions like this I try to think like a Democrat (which is really hard for me to do) to answer it.
Any good left-winger would say that the evil rich must be treated like dairy cows. Just drive them into the barn a couple of times a day – hook up the automatic milking machines and suck um dry. As long as you can maintain control of the cattle and can keep driving them into the barn, you can keep getting all their milk.
Denny, did you know that all dairy cattle dry up eventually and have to be replaced by younger, fresher cows? Well, in the human economy the same principle works. When it becomes futile to keep what you earn and it becomes easier to take than to work hard - people will quit working hard. When you remove incentive, you actually destroy the willingness to work.
When the willingness to work goes, the people needed to replace all the worn out “Milk Cows” won’t be there. The goal of people will not be the creation of wealth or success. The goal will be to move to Massachusetts!
There’s only one problem. When everybody moves to Massachusetts, there won’t be any milk left to suck up and give to all the people who want it.
©2009, James C. Norman
All Rights Reserved
Will Democrats Save Us From Cow Farts?
Posted by: | CommentsDear Jim Bob,
I’m worried about the cow farting problem Jim Bob? I hear that cows are one of the biggest causes of global warming and don’t you think the government needs to do something about that – QUICK?
Fanny Flatulator
Frostproof, Florida
Dear Fanny,
I was wondering when this might come up. All I can say is that the Democrats seem dedicated to go after everything else, so they might as well go after the cow farting problem. I actually heard there is talk in Congress of instituting a “Cow Fart Tax”. Dairy farmers and cattle raisers may have to pay a per head cow fart tax of about $125 per animal. I hear that sheep, pigs and goats are not far behind.
Fanny, this is just another example of the goofy times we live in . Common sense has officially departed America and we are living in a suspended state of fiction, fable, fantasy and fraud – all being foisted upon us, as truth. The problem is that most of what is thrown at us does not pass the smell test, if you get what I mean.
Cow farting is not high on my list of concerns, Fanny. However, that does not mean our Democrat led government won’t go after it with both barrels blazing. This is just the kind of tax those folks seem to love.
Step 1: Create a crisis that can’t be proven.
Step 2: Try to make people believe taxing stuff is a proper solution for anything.
Step 3: Get the entertainment industry and the drive-by media behind it.
Step 4: Stuff it down America’s throat before they know what hit them.
That is the Democrat way.
Love,
©2009, James C. Norman
All Rights Reserved
The Obama Gloom and Doom Tour
Posted by: | Comments
Dear Jim Bob,
I work for a large corporation. Our CEO is currently travelling around to all our facilities from coast to coast making speeches to the employees. Jim Bob, all he is talking about is how bad our company is and how bad the future looks and how its probably going to be impossible to turn the business around. The amazing thing is that he looks happy and thrilled to be sharing all this misery. Is this a good leadership tactic Jim Bob. Shouldn’t he be trying to motivate and inspire us to work hard and pull together?
Samuel (Sam) Squelched
Sumpter, South Carolina
Dear Sam,
Your CEO is just following the lead of our new President. It used to be (in former times of common sense and rational thought) that leaders were to inspire and lift up the attitudes of those they lead. The new leadership style is focused on deflating people and scaring them silly. As President Obama wrapped up his National Gloom and Doom Tour this week it seems to be working for him.
To help you get a handle on this Sam I’ve created a simple Obama Gloom & Doom Thermometer, using this past week as a benchmark against the future. Here it is:
Love,
©2009, James C. Norman
All Rights Reserved
Sock It To ‘Um Barry!
Posted by: | CommentsDear Jim Bob,
What do you think about President Obama stickin it to those CEO’s and limiting their compensation to 500K a year? It’s about time those people got what they deserve. Don’t you think Obama did good Jim Bob?
Elmer Envy
East St. Louis, IL
Dear Elmer,
Hmmm. You ask a timely question Elmer. Let me see if I can rephrase it a bit for you so we can get a different perspective. You are really asking me if I think it is a good thing for the President of the United States to step into the private lives of people who have worked hard for 30 years and more – who have arrived at the top of their profession – and dictate a 90% pay cut for them because he thinks it will make good political hay with folks like you who have no clue about how the economy and the world really works?
Elmer, would you like a 90% pay cut and if you got one, would you start looking for another job? Who is going to run all these companies when the leaders find another way to make a living that will properly reward their experience and their skill? I hope you really want cars, homes, financial products and healthcare designed and managed by bureaucratic politicians, because that is where we are headed.
Elmer, do you realize the people who President Obama went after are in the top 1% of successful business people in America. You will probably have a better grasp of this if I compare them to your favorite sports and pop culture heroes. Compare them to Alex Rodriquez, Shaquille O’Neal, Tom Brady, Tom Hanks, Tom Cruz and other folks you love, who make a lot more than the CEO’s you hate. Should President Obama cut their pay too? Should President Obama take over everybody’s salaries?
How about your pay Elmer? Should the President have the power to decide what you make? Elmer, do you understand the precedent that is being established? I doubt you will be as enthusiastic when they come for YOU!
©2009, James C. Norman
All Rights Reserved
