Show Me the Real Money

A teacher told me she overheard two of her elementary age students discussing whom they were going to vote for in the election of 2000.One little girl told another, "I'm going to vote for Al Gore because that means we'll get more stuff."

Interesting. I wonder where she heard that. And this attitude seems to be as strong as ever today. I read in their local newspaper that Dilley, Texas, recently received a government grant that gave citizens-- regardless of income-- a free cell phone. When the government has to borrow 30 cents for every dollar it spends, it boggles my mind to see programs such as this. 

I heard from a young mother that most of her friends' children received braces through Medicaid, and she was considering it for her own children. I honestly didn't believe her. When I was growing up, only the two worst sets of teeth out of the four children in my family received braces because my parents couldn't afford braces for all of us. I did a little research to find the proof that the lady's statement was incorrect, and I was shocked to see that in 2010, Texas spent as much on orthodontic services for children through Medicaid as all 49 other states combined. So the taxes of working people who may not be able to afford braces for their own children are helping pay for braces of families who don't pay taxes. What's wrong with that picture?

Some years back my sister-in-law did a simple business survey using the phonebooks from two consecutive years in our hometown. The object was to count the number of businesses one year and see how many were still in business the next year. I was surprised to see how many were no longer listed the second year. The largest on-going employer by far was the government jobs-- federal, state, local, including the school, the government programs, government offices, government services, etc. But where does the government get the money to pay the government services and employees? 

Through taxes.

And yes, government employees pay taxes, but their salaries originate from recycled tax dollars pumped through the system to be taxed again. 

In the presidential campaign of 2000, Mr. Gore and his party drove the idea into the ground that a tax cut would only benefit the wealthy. (Sound familiar?) The wealthy were portrayed as the bad guys in that election. (same playbook) But isn't it ironic that some of the politicos are attacking the very group that is creating the real money needed to fund the government (and their own salaries)? I think they tend to forget that it is private industry and enterprise and corporations that employ people who earn the real money that is taxed and in turn pays for government services and employees. And before some of you get your dander up for me defending wealth-creators, we have to get beyond this class warfare mindset portraying all people of wealth as evil and greedy. Folks, there are dishonest, greedy people at every income level-- even the poverty level. And there are honest, compassionate folks at every income level, too-- even among the wealthy. 

I'm not advocating dismantling government services and jobs-- we cannot do without many of those. But I think there is a mindset among too many people that government funding is self-creating and self-perpetuating-- we don't really think about where all this money comes from. It's great to have more stuff, but we rarely stop and question or check the health of the source of taxes generated with real money to insure the continued provision of those tax-supported services and jobs.

A country whose biggest employer is the government sounds suspiciously like it is moving towards a state of socialism, which is the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to (dare I say it?) communism. When the government seeks to control every aspect of our lives, our property, our businesses and economy, does that sound like freedom? But when individuals and organizations and businesses become so dependent on the government to meet their every need, they become blind to the fact that they are bought. Did you know that one of the definitions of subsidize is bribery? That bothers me. 

Our elected leadership-- no matter which party-- has to start protecting and encouraging the source of real money that is keeping the wheels turning in Washington as well as at the state and local levels, instead of crippling it at every turn. [Does France come to mind?] When our government spends $11.00 after collecting only $7.00, folks, the till is empty. And the government continuing to print more money is like sticking a bandaid on a dam that's in the process of bursting. 

All levels of government need to rid themselves of the notion that they can just tax more funding into existence when needed. If the government continues to grow, eclipsing private enterprise in communities, and when the bulk of tax dollars are from salaries paid from recycled taxes, the effort to generate more taxes becomes the equivalent of a dog chasing his own tail. And that's the point where we bite ourselves in the... well, you know how that goes. 

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I wrote the bulk of the this column in 2001, and for this one I added the part about the phone grant, Medicaid paying for braces, and current figures for government spending and borrowing. Sadly, things haven't changed much. The fires of racial differences and class warfare continue to be fanned and kept burning to keep people blind to the truth that deficit spending is almost at the point of no return, and that too many of our elected officials are sacrificing the future of our country to protect their political careers by buying votes through government subsidies and hand-outs with money they don't even have. Dear God, help us. 

Giddy-up.

                                                                                                    

An Ignored Perspective of the 47%

I am so sick of politics and the nasty rhetoric. Why can't we get the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but unbiased truth about anything anymore? The latest is Mitt Romney's statements at a fundraiser that has been spun by the left to paint a picture of an uncaring elite that is out of touch with the common peasants.

But assuming the 47% is accurate, let's look at that number from another perspective. 47% tells me that the economy is in such a poor state that our government and all of its services and programs are being supported by only half of the American households-- the half that are able to pay taxes.

Shouldn't we be more concerned that the 47% means the tax burden of one household is actually supporting the tax responsibilities of two households in this current economy?  

No, we're being led to focus on which candidate seems more empathetic to the 47% so-called non-taxpayers. Every non-tax-paying household headed by able-bodied, right-minded adults should have some kind of plan for eventually becoming a tax-paying member of society. If you've done any traveling outside the U.S., you know that we are all blessed to live in this country, and we all benefit from many tax-supported government services in some form or fashion. But government income assistance to households is supposed to be a temporary help, not a generational lifestyle that encourages unethical and immoral behavior.

47% isn't a number we should be proud of, or satisfied with, or even using as a platform to gain votes. Tragically, it may be indicative of entitlement votes, and that's not healthy for our country. We have to focus on reducing that number through effective education, higher-skills training, good-paying jobs, teaching a strong work ethic and honesty, and taking responsibility for oneself and one's family.

But we need to wake up! Too many areas of the American economic environment are no longer conducive to creating jobs and industry! That's what we need to understand about the 47%, and it's not going to get any better unless we start creating a healthy economic environment that supports the creation of industry and job-building in the PRIVATE sector-- not creating more tax-supported government jobs.

That should be a no-brainer, but according to the polls, the majority of the people seem to be clueless about that. And the government's answer? Print more money. Yeah, that will solve everything. And I use my magic wand to clean my house, too.

Termitus Politicus Ridiculus

We hear what we want to hear, and we believe what we want to believe, often at the expense of truth. We forward inflammatory news, emails and rumors without checking the source for accuracy and motive. We spread half-truths and hot statements taken out of context and fanned to destroy like wildfire. We assume the worst first and react accordingly, then deal with the collateral damage later or not at all, crippling any chance of collaboration or bipartisan problem-solving. It's like the grownups have regressed to middle school mentality. 

A republic will only survive with a principled, ethical people. We have to know what we believe, why we believe, and base our actions and votes on those principles when it comes to public policy. We all could use a lesson on the Constitution and how important it is to our individual freedoms and responsibilities. We cannot base our decisions on whims, what tickles our ears and eyes, or what we can get out of the government. That's the slippery path of least resistance that too many are already traveling down. Our forefathers never intended for the government to grow beyond the capacity to sustain itself, and yet, that's where we are. 

My first post on Beans, Means, & Possible Dreams is a fable about politics using a termite colony.

by Donna Van Cleve

        

The Termite Colony prides itself on the fact that the scientific community deems it a eusocial group, a term signifying the highest level of social organization. This is in spite of the fact that most termites are blind and work and exist entirely in the dark, but to their credit can still create elaborate structures and complex systems of transportation and ventilation.

Things are heating up in the Colony, though. Elections for leadership positions are only a week away, and the mudslinging—normally a calm and typical activity in the colony—has turned ugly. The two major parties: the Ups and the Downs are making the loudest attempts to discredit each other.

The Ups say the Downs thrive on a depressing view of the Colony—that they focus on how bad things are, the worst-case scenarios, and especially the social discrepancies between the elite and the un-elite. The Ups are quick to point out that most of the leadership of the Downs are actually members of the elite, or eventually slip into that category after a few years in leadership service, for some reason. The Ups say the leadership is running out of teats to feed and support perfectly healthy termites that have adapted to a lifestyle of getting paid for not working. The Ups say the Downs’ goal is to put all termites at the same socio-economic level, with the exception of the Downs’ elites who have good tax attorneys.

The Downs say that the leadership of the Ups, and Ups members in general, are all greedy elites and unsympathetic to the plight of the nymphs and workers stuck in a caste system of making the Ups richer and richer at their expense. The Downs claim the Ups are in cahoots with all the big mounds, and anyone making a six-figure salary is suspected of ill-gotten gains. The Downs want to tax the elites at a higher rate, leveling the playing field and offering more social programs. The Ups say that’s leading to a socialist colony.

Some termites are overheard telling their friends that the reason the Downs should be in power is because it means ‘more stuff’ coming their way. Other termites shake their heads and wonder who’s going to pay for all this ‘stuff.’

The Downs are very concerned about the ecological effect termites are making on the world and advocate that termites eat and work less in order to reduce the huge hydrogen emissions in the Colony due to the digestion of cellulose, termites’ most common food source. The Ups claim that the Downs are pumping millions of dollars into green companies that know how to spend it, but have little to show for it.

The Ups believe they can convert the Colony’s hydrogen waste into an energy source. They support free enterprise and the free market system with little government intervention. The Downs say they overlook those termites that have gotten rich by monopolizing the market or finding loopholes in the taxing system. But the Ups claim to have a more optimistic view of the Colony—focusing on termites’ personal responsibility and potential for success due to the educational and free market opportunities available in the Colony.

The Downs believe that the leadership should regulate business to protect the un-elites from being taken advantage of, and that everyone should have the inalienable right to healthy termite care. The Ups don’t trust the leadership to run health care efficiently and point to numerous failed programs to support that claim. The Ups say that the weaker and more dependent termites become, the more powerful and controlling the leadership becomes, and the whole Colony loses personal freedoms.

Both parties drag dark and white and nymph and soldier termites onto their platforms to make sure they come across to the Colony as compassionate towards all termites. Both the Ups and Downs like to think of themselves as reasonable and open-minded, but only if one agrees with their policies.

A third party garnering attention is the self sufficient, independent-winged caste and the only termites with well-developed eyes. They like to refer to themselves as the T-Party, where the power is placed back in the feet of the Termites. But unfortunately, they’re not as organized as the Ups and Downs. They tend to focus on building new colonies and when the opportunity to fly comes along, most of them don’t survive the political journey. They are making a lot of noise, though.

The T-Party claims that many of the leadership of the Downs quietly believe that most termites are too ignorant to successfully manage their own lives. The Downs are convinced that the average termite needs help—lots of help, which creates more and more dependency on the Downs. Therefore, termites are obligated to vote Down year after year to keep the entitlements coming and the Downs in power. The T-Party sees it as a backwards form of slavery and wide open for massive abuse by unethical termites. But they also recognize that many Downs are idealistic and genuine in their desire to right wrongs, but sometimes create greater problems and unintended consequences in their attempts to ‘help.’

The T-Party says that the Ups have a genuine trust in the capabilities of the common termite, assuming all termites have enough sense to pull themselves up by their antennae and become productive members of the Colony. The T-Party agrees that it looks great in theory, but tends to hurt the helpless termites and the ones caught in the dependency net and don’t know how to get out. The Downs continue to enable the dependency and turn a blind eye to the abuses. But on the other foot, the Ups aren’t sure how to deal with termites that have lost their ability and willpower to independently support themselves, and they too often are at a loss on how to remedy the problem.    

And unfortunately, the corrupt and greedy are found across all parties at all levels taking advantage of every good intention.

A wise old termite once said, “The Ups and Downs and everyone in between have more goals in common than they have differences, but everybody suffers when they can’t get past those differences. A free colony will only survive when its termites—the leadership as well as the masses—are ethical and work together in maintaining and helping the Colony to thrive through hard work and personal responsibility, as well as to demonstrate compassion and care for the vulnerable.”

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