Sunday, May 24, 2009

WHY NOT SEE THE GOOD POINTS?

I had a day of thinking today. Now don't get me wrong it isn't that I don't think often, it is more like I don't think clearly, or at least the way my mother taught me or the sunday school class taught me.

I had my father on my mind this morning. You know he was a hard man. He drank, was a bar-room fighter, a womanizer of sorts even, but so often the good points were overlooked, and there were many.

Dad never swore. No, I really mean that. He worked as a mechanic and owned a auto repair shop. No matter what the situation he never swore and you know what? That was commendable.

Now he didn't like shirkers! He used to tell me when I was growing up, "Son, give 110% every time they ask for 100% and you'll always have a job." Well, I have done that all of my life. I got awful tired a time or two, but I was never without work, even when a lot of other folks were.
Now, you have to admit, his instruction to me was commendable.

Dad worked hard and long. It all started early in his life when his father was accidentally killed in a shop accident. Suddenly this young man had to help support two sisters and six brothers. Even with the help of his next in line brother, Cecil T, it was a tough row considering he had to leave high school. He got a GED for high school and went on to a college for book keeping on his own. A hunger for learning was always there. Now that was commendable.

Before he ran his own repair shop he worked for a larger auto distributorship. It was during those times during World War II and shortly after that he really learned his trade. But you know, along with learning the trade he donated time to others. He was a leader of scouting in the Sea Scouts. He helped young men shape their future.

Even after opening his own garage he decided he could continue to help others by teaching. At that time there was a reasonably new place in what was then the outskirts of Omaha called Father Flanigan's Boy's Home. Now dad wasn't a catholic member but they needed someone to instruct, one night a week in auto repair, specifically radiators and automatic transmissions. Due to his responsibility who knows how many mechanics are out there today, just because he was there to teach and help a kid without anyone to care for them. Now, that was commendable, don't you agree?

My earliest memories of my father were of his neat attire, shined shoes and handsome face. He taught me the value of looking nice, speaking well, and caring about others and for that I can honestly tell you, he really was a champion in my life.

Isn't it a shame we tend to remember only the worst about our family and friends? Maybe we need to concentrate more on the good points and the affect they had on others during their lifetime.

THE WAY I SEE IT- MY OPINION!!

Controversy is a thing we all live with daily. We have controversy over what team should win a sporting event. We have controversy over why kind of music is best for us to listen to, what kind of instruction our schools should be using, and the list goes on and on.

Politics as usual. This phrase has been used since politics began and no doubt will continue to be used as long as we have country leaders with ideas different than their peers.

We are facing a time in our great nation’s life when the republican-democrat style of rule is becoming passé. For the two parties to continue arguing like children in a playground displays the talents of them both. It was once said “One should not argue with a fool for a spectator will not know which is which”.

In a rather long article in The Online Library of Liberty, (http://oll.liertyfund.org/) article VI explains the direction our country is moving as well as anything I have read. All of the name-calling, government control or the lack of government control, which ever, political promises that will never be met; all of these things will never direct the destiny of this great nation. Only, we the millions of citizens, can control it.

Now, so that we are all on the same page, consider this scenario.
(1) The government has asked us to spend money to increase the economy.
(2) The government loans money to the car companies to help them stay afloat
(3) The government loans money to the banks to help keep them afloat.
(4) The car companies are asking the oil conglomerates to increase the cost of gas
so the consumer will purchase smaller more efficient cars.
(5) The car companies claim that all of us want big gas-guzzlers and that is why they make
Them.
(6) The banks hoard the money rather than loan it to people who can pay it back reserving
it for those who are questionable risks.
(7) The consumer now pays the gouging prices for gas and so cannot afford to buy
anything they don’t need or the store’s location is out of the main stream.
(8)The small business owner is now losing business because the consumer can’t
afford to buy from him or drive out of his way to get to him.
(9) The small business owner goes to the bank and can’t get a loan for several reasons
I can’t outline here. (Government correctness-alienation of someone-etc)
(10) The government suggests we don’t spend enough so it will tax the items we want
or need like sugar lined soda, liquor, beer, gas, cigarettes, and soon the air
we breathe, water we drink and the food we buy to exist.
(11) The government complains that it is spending too much on the common man and
takes over the rest of the resources necessary to survive.
(12) We are now under dictator styled, socialistic rule due to poor political policies.

If this is the direction things seem to be moving then we have to consider that there is a world leadership goal afoot.

Consider this:
President Obama was not even heard of nationally until 2007
McCain was too old to run and everyone including the Republican Party
Knew it.
There were no good presidential hopefuls
Somewhere this being controlled and someone was being groomed for
World leadership role
Consider this:
The United States has its troops spread all over the globe
The United States is called on to help all over the world
The United States is becoming despised all over the world
The United States leadership is less Christian/Jewish than ever before
The United States is sending its greatest assets elsewhere in the world
The United States is spending more than it has and consequently:
a. The United States government has as little assets as its poor
b. The United States government has equal debts to its poor
c. The United States government has no gold standard
d. The United States social security fund has IOU’s from other
\ Branches of government
e. The Social Security Fund is going broke due to fiscal irresponsibility
f. The Government wants to use the Social Security fund as a method
Of paying off illegal aliens to come to this country instead of
Paying for the retirees that paid the money in

Consider this:
1. Remove the politicians from office that vote for self-indulgent raises to themselves.
2. Remove the politicians from office that feel ½ of their time spend in office should be for re-election purposes instead of running the government office for which they were elected.
3. Remove “ear marks” from all bills before the congress
4. Eliminate the lobby factor completely
5. Stop loaning our money to corporations that will never pay it back
6. Remove the social security deduction cap from all wage earners;
a. Put That money into the fund for future generations, not aliens, especially illegal ones.
7. Eliminate all golden parachutes, pay a man what he worth while he is working and then leave it up to him/her what the future holds like everyone else
8. Eliminate special concessions for all government employees
9. Put a cap on doctors fees, pharmaceutical firms products, and attorneys
10. Control insurance companies instead of letting them control the government
11. Eliminate day traders by enforcing the old rules of immediate turnover of funds invested.
12. Use the majority rules basis in voting by eliminating the Electoral College and letting the popular people vote elect whom they want to run this country.
13. Limit all election returns to a final accounting after all states have voted by setting rules governing the media and their ridiculous poles that would put in place no information until the election is over.
14. Eliminate pie- in- the-sky programs that cost millions of dollars for ego trips
15. Eliminate government spending on presidential trips using 500 people for an ego trip. Limit these trips and the personnel to a reasonable and sensible figure.

I have no doubt feathers will be ruffled by this analysis. There is no doubt in my mind that people will disagree with me on many points and guess what? That is fine. If this has been though provoking enough to make someone upset, drive someone to speak out, or make someone act then it is a lot more productive than doing nothing.

Thomas J. Ault

What Happened to Social Security and the Future?

Economic Failure or Redemption, Your Choice or the NEW Government?
We are fast approaching a time of national bankruptcy.

DID YOU KNOW S/S IS ON THE LINE?
1. No Increase due to no COLA in benefits through 2013*
2. General Increase in Medicare deductions from program*

Increased Costs:
1. Auto Gas is a continuous gouging process
2. Medical and Pharmaceutical Companies continual gouging process
3. Legal Profession continual gouging process
4. Groceries and other staples continue to increase

Possible Cure:
1. Eliminate cap on earnings for Social Security withholding
2. Eliminate automatic $700.00 per month paid to insurance companies when a supplemental policy taken out by reciprocates of the program**
3. Cut Social Security and Medicare deduction percent to 4 percent from 6.2 percent for employees and employers.***

*According to a May 2, 2009 publication and information given by Mr. Certner from AARP (according to that article), there will be no Cost-Of-Living-Adjustments made for the years of 2010 or 2011. At the same time medicare costs for part B will increase from the standard $96.40 deduction per month to$119.00 in 2010 and $123.00 in 2011. This will mean, of course, the average American receiving this social security will be reduced from the $1153.00 per month less $96.40 ($1056.60) being received now, to $1034.00 in 2010 and further reduced to $1030.00 in 2011.

**Many Social Security Recipients have chosen to use medical insurance
companies that receive $700.00 per month from government, in their
behalf, to insure them instead of purchasing other gap insurance programs.
Eliminating this cost for every citizen enrolled in such a program would
Immediately constitute a saving to the medicare plan of $700.00 times
How ever many people are on the plan and that could constitute millions of Dollars being spent on people you rarely use the doctors and drugs but pay the price anyhow..

***AT present employers and employees split the 12.4% being paid into the social security program but only up to a limit of a $90,000.00 salary cap. This means for every dollar earned over the $90,000.00 limit nothing goes toward the social security medicare or social security programs. With the salary ranges of today this cap is no longer one we can live with because:
1.Our families are getting smaller, now a 1.6 children per household
a. Our population is decreasing at an alarming rate
2.Our population is living longer
a. More medical and care costs for the retired
b. Less money coming in – more going out

It can no longer remain a constant that today’s money will pay for today’s costs. That formula must change and rather than kill the goose that lays the golden egg ( in this case over taxing with income tax a group of people that make the country viable) help them to make our lives what they should be. Those people today are saying they don’t think it is fair to tax them with social security when they will not receive any. While that sounds realistic it is not.

While that money is being made it is the time to create a new order in the administration by allowing everyone to pay on every dollar towards a plan for the future. Not being taken into consideration is the fact that if those earning now have to pay for a nursing home for their parents the cost will far surpass that of an extended social security.

At the last check I had on those costs for a nice home for retirement it was a minimum of $1500.00 per month for a room with a bath and kitchenette, the utilities and one meal per day. If that person had to move to a full care facility the cost is in excess of $7200.00 per month. My question is, “How many pay that kind of money into social security?”

Don’t take my figures for granted. Check them out for yourselves and make the determination, is this administration actually taking care of us or is it sending this country into a debt from which it will never recover? Is it planning for the demise of the elderly at their convenience by dictating the health parameters for them? Is it moving us toward a government concept we have fought the many generations it has existed? Are you going to be happy to work hard, get the needed education and earn the same reward as the illegal immigrants that seem to be migrating to this country?

Whether we like it or not, since we have chosen to have small families many times due to the extreme costs of raising children we have reached a declining rate of growth. It is being proven that at 1.6 children per family we cannot survive. Our population will decrease substantially by 2039.

We need to have the Latino population but they need to be documented citizens, speaking a unified language called English, paying their fair share of taxes and social security without under the table arrangements by ill-advised employers.

The Latino family nucleus plus the now average United States family would still only come to a 2.11 ratio which is barely sustaining for the country. On the other hand the Islamic family nucleus is 8.6. Who do you want running our country by the year 2039?
It is at that point in time when 50 million of our people will be Islamic and the dominant world religion will be Islamic.

Sources: NY Times-May 2-Robert Pear
Website for Social Security Information
Universal Health Insurance
YouTube..Muslim Demographics