Tasine Loc: Southwest US

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You are quite welcome, my friend.
:D :D

lpnmajor Loc: Arkansas

The whole issue seems to be that the "checks and balances" procedure has failed. A politician cannot be fired until his/her terms expires, laws can only be challenged in court ( which will only determine it's lawfulness, not whether it makes sense or not ), citizens only have input through e******ns ( unless one has enough money to get a politicians attention/interest ).
Too few citizens can agree on anything to the degree that would force the politicians to pay attention, by way of mass protests or petitions. This is enhanced by confusing folk with double talk, cross talk and sheer volume of rhetoric. Should constituents picket their representatives office, they CAN control his/her v**e. I can't get more than 6 people interested in my district. They ALL agree on the issues but don't "have the time" to actually DO anything - except complain.

alex Loc: michigan now imperial beach californa

now why would I believe someone that is advocating c*******m in this beautiful country I happen to like our constitution and wish we would get back to governing by it

bahmer

Government produces nothing. It creates no wealth. Yet the District of Columbia is ranked as the richest area in the nation.
Politicians and bureaucrats shriek that business people are "greedy." But facts show differently. Imagine v****g yourself a raise and millions of dollars in allowances. Imagine 5-figure bonuses. Lifetime pensions to which you contribute only 1.3%. Imagine opening 3 or 4 offices around the state for which you pay not a dime.
Politicians and bureaucrats are diseased with avarice -- and complain with self-righteous indignation when CEOs arrive in private jets for a White House meeting.
D.C. is the richest area in the nation not only because an annual salary of $174,000 is paid to congressional members, 261 of whom are millionaires, not only because most of the appointed cabinet secretaries are multimillionaires, but also because federal employees are paid salaries over three times what the average taxpayer earns.
The source of all that money is taxes levied on production.

Business people -- both employers and employees alike -- produce all of the services and products that provide our as well as politicians and bureaucrats' comfort, health, safety and pleasure. Business people create the nation's prosperity. They are the nation's wealth -- and are regulated by those that produce no economic values whatsoever.
What are the total federal salaries business people are forced to pay those that produce nothing? Here is an estimate.
The executive branch is the most profligate. The White House staff numbers 460 bureaucrats. Their annual salaries vary from a few at $42,000 to hundreds between $75,000 and $174,000, and some as high as or over $200,000.
The executive branch includes the cabinet, which consists of 15 departments. The annual salary of each Secretary is $200,700. The number of bureaucrats comprising cabinet staffs range from 15,000 to 240,000. Annual staff salaries average $100,000. Some are higher. For example, the Department of Homeland Security has a staff of 240,000. Of this number 9,525 are "titled" and paid an average of $133,486 annually. Of the remaining 230,475 bureaucrats, the average annual salary is $120,000. Total DHS salaries is $27,657,000,000.
Adding in the Secret Service, chief executive, vice president and White House staff, the total executive branch numbers 6,546,673 employees that are paid an estimated $549,126,870,330.
The legislative branch has 12,835 employees. The total paid in salaries is $1,568,131,700. A 2009 report stated that 2,043 staffers were paid an average of $168,000 The remainder of 5,787 staffers average $100,000 annually. "Assistance" and allowances for Senate and House members comes to $3,682,468,080. The total for the legislative branch is an estimated $5,250,599,780.
For the judicial branch, the total number of employees is 1,324 and $199,418,700 in salaries. The judicial branch includes the Supreme Court (9), the Courts of Appeal (179), district judges (677), international trade (9) and their staffs (450 -- estimated).
As for agencies, although the actual number remains in dispute 491 is used here because that is the number of agencies -- minus cabinet posts and military services -- shown in a government listing. These 491 agencies employ 5,148,867 individuals. Total annual salaries: $569,886,700,000.
These numbers -- of agencies, employees and salaries -- are hugely underestimated. Many federal agencies subsume dozens of agencies and bureaus that are not listed. The National Institutes of Health, for example, consists of 47 separate bureaucracies, the number of their personnel and salaries unstated.
The number of employees and salaries of some agencies is classified, such as the CIA and the NSA. An example is the NSA, which experts estimate employs between 100,000 and 200,000 employees with a budget of "at least $40 billion." This sum is included under agencies with an estimated 150,000 employees averaging an annual salary of $100,000.
Recap:
Executive -- 6,546,673 employees; salaries ..... $ 549,126,870,330.
Legislative -- 12,835 employees; salaries ....... 5,250,599,780.
Judicial -- 1,324 employees; salaries ....... 199,418,700.
Agencies -- 5,298,867 employees; salaries ....... 569,886,700,000.
Total = 11,859,699 employees; salaries .... $ 1,124,463,588,810.
The consequences of these stupefyingly large numbers are far more devastating than can be seen directly. To grasp the extent of that destruction, consider the level of prosperity that employers and employees achieve today despite regulations, taxes, permits, fines, and wasted time on government paperwork.
Because of government confiscation of producers' time and money, gone are the businesses that would have been started with that income. Never to be rec**ped is the time that would have been spent on innovations, inventions, discoveries and products that would have been made. Never to be retrieved is the prosperity that would have inevitably raised the standard of living, elevated the destitute and eventually wiped out poverty.
The money that politicians and bureaucrats have l**ted has gone and continues to go into the pockets of the nonproductive. Vying with one another to ingratiate themselves with the most politically influential, politicians and bureaucrats toss around their l**t to raise the height of the soapbox before which others rush to kneel. None of that money creates wealth. It stops dead, going no farther.
If the e*****rate is concerned about the destitute, they should demand radical and permanent deregulation that closes three-quarters of the agencies and cuts federal salaries by 50%. The result would free producers to create more goods and jobs, raising the standard of living for all.
If the e*****rate is concerned about the unemployed they should recognize that only those with savings can create jobs. If the e*****rate is concerned about the young or the elderly, the sick, disabled or abused, they should recognize that only the able, the competent, the thoughtful -- in other words, producers -- can alleviate and solve such problems.
Government cannot do it. "The Government" is only a bunch of bureaucrats and politicians that obstruct those who can.
The individual business person's right to life and property is being brazenly violated. Today's politicians and bureaucrats are the self-appointed plutocrats of this nation. And they have forced business people -- employers and employees alike -- to be their feudal serfs by means of how much of their income earners are allowed to keep.
When Obama or some other Retrograde (AKA "Progressive") complains about the growing "gap between the rich and the poor" they expect one to understand that the "gap" referred to is between the productive rich and the non-productive poor.
But knowing something about the mammoth amounts of money that bureaucrats and politicians routinely rip off from taxpayers paints a different picture. The actual gap is between the nonproductive rich -- politicians and bureaucrats -- on the one hand and on the other the productive of our nation that are the victims of over a trillion dollar heist.

rodulfo-tardo

T***h cannot be redefined, rewritten, or manipulated to justify a lie, but, with political correctness and social media, a minutia of redundancy is then seen as t***h.
Take for instance the action taken by the "elitist intellectual illiterate class", naming Carbon Dioxide, CO 2, a dangerous pollutant, no regard to scientific fact, but the masses ate it up, mostly due to environmental intimidation, not realizing this an integral part of "Cap and Trade" the accompanying supporting to the Keynesian Economic policies we follow, the economic policy best for tyranny, used by such luminaries as Adolf Hitler, and tried and rejected by F.D.R., once war broke out in Europe, and War Production needed to progress beyond the Socialist Utopia, John Maynard Keynes wrote it for, since unemployment was the ultimate goal, for the total domination of a nation ruled by the "Prerogative State". This violation of 'natural law' uses food products as an excuse of how to save the 'planet' by using corn to make Ethanol, and additive to gasoline, that would have been illegal, and people where prosecuted for, during the oil embargo that followed Tehran's Embassy fiasco in Iran, but now law by way of redefined t***h, no better explanation there is than the corrupt government, submissive to "Environmental F*****m" but actually an economic decision, with lowered mileage at 30%+, this means fill ups are more frequently needed, so factor that 30%+ in tax revenue, it creates food shortages by design, prices increases are the result of redefined scientific fact, even more to the point is the other fact you don't hear, it takes three gallons of gasoline from point A to point B, to produce four gallons of Ethanol, add this expense to delivery and cost, not to mention Ethanol must be delivered separate from gasoline, volatility and corrosive nature, makes the need to mix at point of delivery, adds to cost, so while you talk of 'oil company profit' realize this industry, aside from the 'insurance' companies are the most regulated in the U.S.A., oil companies are allowed by law, to make a profit, of 8% this is what happens when reality is redefined, to fit into the Environmental F*****ts lie, in the Jurassic days of my youth, I can remember 'g****l w*****g' was called weather not an apocalyptic event.
Dinosaurs disappeared when the c*****e c****ed, how much manufacturing was then going on? The subculture of elitist conscience and guilt separates the people using the 'poisoned language' of politically correct, with conditioning methods of cultist devotion, and like the 'storm troopers' from the past, arguing the issue, can get you k**led.

rodulfo-tardo

Read Omnipotent Government, by Ludwig von Mises.

rodulfo-tardo

The National Socialists, were in the process of re-branding themselves when they decided to 'brand' the N**i Party, along with them, to gain the popularity of Adolf Hitler, a progressive who was to be a fad for Germany to be entertained, this production lasted from 1928 to 1945, and what a show it was. Maybe Karl Rove should read about this period, but wait he has he knows, the Swedish Moderate Party was there, from 1933 to 1939, did they leave? Or decided to be absorbed, Hitler comes to power as Reich Chancellor in 1933, lets see, Poland is invaded in 1939, well Clem, it sure does sound fishy to me, and it smells like rotten cabbage, but given where this was happening, that cabbage must have tasted pretty good by 1945.

Ve'hoe

Good Job,,, I cannot recall how many stupid remarks and slimy liberal sneers I get, when I tell people the N**is started out as the National Socialist "LIBERAL" party,,, under the progressive ideology of Margaret Sanger,,,eugenics.... an American Dr and philosophy developer initially and extremely clearly stated that her intent was to stop the "breeding" of black people. She was backed by Woodrow Wilson, Henry Ford and many wonderful "progressives" in America. Most know her as the founder of planned parenthood, and the originator of a******n on demand.
Yeah, progressivism is really cool and well "progressive"

Tasine Loc: Southwest US

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And I believe it was about that time that the Socialists in America recognized that they had to do their work slowly and clandestinely in America because Americans would not readily accept tremendously controversial changes in society. So they went underground to a large extent and made changes incrementally - Americans would accept small changes not important enough to worry about (or so they thought), the plan being eventually change our entire form of government.

Once Obama was installed in the Oval Office, the socialists fled their closets like mad and have worked feverishly to complete the job started decades ago. And in their view they MUST succeed now that they are out in the open - otherwise they know they may not have another chance during their lifetimes. I want to believe that most American democrats do not realize their party has been subverted to a socialist party intent on dominating the nation. I want to believe they are innocent dupes, unable to believe their party could become so dirty. I simply cannot believe most democrats are socialists.

vernon

its dishearting to see the envy that thesepeople show.they dont realize if anything is goung to get done in this world jts going to happen because some one wanted to make money.

rodulfo-tardo

N.S.D.P., THE NATIONAL SOCIALIST DEMOCRATIC PARTY, IT ALSO WAS THE NATIONAL SOCIALIST WORKER'S PARTY, this one of course had to be abridged once the 'trade unions' were eliminated, like the National Democrats, the Socialists, went out of existence, then the Liberals, intellectuals, Jews, 'infidel' ideology, a type of N**i Shariah, if you allow me to say, there is a resemblance here.

Ve'hoe

Innocent?? I don't know, complicit, yes indeed. I think they have blown it, but I also think, to go along and get along, America will accept "socialism-light" as acceptable to Russian type of socialism and just ignore the arrests and KGB'ish activity if it stays in the "black" world, and or doesn't actually affect them.

jasfourth401

This is a great post and an excellent overview of our current state. But it overlooks who really pulls the strings and what's fundamentally changed over the last 25 years.

The real power, in addition to the rich who have always run the show, is the fourth estate. The fourth estate is media in all its current forms and its evolution into an enormous, splintered blob catering to ever smaller target markets.

Think about it. When Reagan left office, the world wide web didn't exist. That happened in 1990. Cable back then offered around 100 channels. Today it is thousands.

In order to thrive and get audience today, everyone needs to "yell louder" in order to get noticed. And this concept applies to the content producers, politicians, v****g blocks, the rich and corporate America.

The issue now becomes separating fact from fantasy and exactly who (or what) you believe. It's very easy to be taken in by someone's point of view if it's loud enough, angry enough or popular enough to gain audience attention. That's how you break through.

The current silliness surrounding Duck Dynasty is a classic (and sad) example. It was stunning to see the backlash from gay rights groups and other f**g waving liberals about how horrible the comments of the family patriarch were. And it was stunning to see conservatives rise up in indignation and scream first amendment. Because each group is screaming about a carefully crafted, scripted and fictional form of entertainment brought to you by media. This manufactured controversy was done to boost ratings for A & E and increase sales for the merchandised crap sold to a gullible group of believers.

Because in reality Duck Dynasty is a fraud, a total f**e designed by shrewd entertainment people...a new version of the Beverly Hillbillies. People see this motley crew of bearded, wildly dressed hayseeds mud racing limos. Wrong. This is a family full of college educated, clean cut prep boys with pretty families full of blond children h*****g out at country clubs. But that vision doesn't get you ratings.

And they are laughing all the way to the bank. Same for the owners of the cable show, its syndicators, its merchandisers and anyone else jumping on this f**e, media created bandwagon.

And we eat this stuff up hook, line and sinker. And it's all a mirage.

Politicians adapt to this fantasy land by pointing fingers at manufactured mirage. It's someone's elses' fault that we're going bankrupt. Someone else is to blame for the takers. The only virtuous ones are the makers, and so on.

But in reality we are all at fault. We have no one to blame but ourselves. Washington thrives because we (wrongly) believe it's a city of us versus them. That couldn't be farther from the t***h. They are all in it together. Conflict between warring parties is fiction. You only need to look at the largest lobbying firms in DC for the answer, because they have two heads...one GOP and the other Dem.

And media makes it all possible with a 24 hour news cycle with an angry conservative railing against something or other and someone on the opposite side of the aisle screaming injustice for the downtrodden.

And then they all go home to their McMansion, check in with their publicity handlers and pop the tube on to watch their specific target market programming from Duck Dynasty to Rachel Maddow...and laugh at our expense.

Floyd Brown Loc: Milwaukee WI

That sums it up pretty well! :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

vernon

just look at where the dem v**es are coming from.in my area i just look at certain precincts and i know where the libs are in controll