It
wasn’t my original line, I wish it was. I heard a politician say it
recently. “Sunshine is a great disinfectant.” I thought about this
concept. How many times have people of note, politicians as well as
others, gotten themselves into trouble by trying to hide facts from the
public. It has been said over and over, “The crime is usually not as bad
as the attempted cover up.”
For
some unknown reason people of note seem to forget that everything they
say or do is recorded by someone somewhere and that information is
readily available for all to see and hear. Their picture is being taken
every minute of every day. There are no secrets. When Phil Mickelson won
the Masters Golf Tournament, he took his family out to a local
hamburger joint for lunch. He happened to put on the “Green Jacket” he
was awarded for his Masters win. The lady at the restaurant took his
picture and posted it. Phil’s reaction? Everybody is press now.
Nixon
tried in vain to cover up his criminal action as did Clinton and so
many others. It didn’t work. It never works. Today the Obama
administration is trying to cover up the “Fast and Furious” gun running
scheme. They are playing the “race card.” I believe they will try
anything. Guess what? It isn’t going to work. Eventually the facts will
come out for all the world to see. I am sure their primary effort for
now is just to delay the inevitable until after the election. They have a
good chance of pulling that off, but eventually the truth will be
known. The sun is going to shine on this and there will be clarity and
that clarity will serve to disinfect this ridiculous scheme.
I
remember my mother used to hang her wash out on the clothesline in the
sun. She believed the sun would take stains out. She always preferred
drying her laundry in the sunshine for its beneficial effect on her
clothes.
Government
activities absolutely must be public business. Attorney General
Holder’s attempting to withhold information from the Congress and the
American people serves only to make us all the more determined to
discover what they are trying to hide. Who knew what and when did they
know it? These are the simple questions that have plagued people of note
before and questions which have led to their downfalls. In the case of
this gun running scheme, people have been killed. Two have been law
enforcement agents. Who knows how many Mexicans have died because of
this ridiculous, amateur fiasco?
Executive
privilege is not automatic, even for Emperor Obama. When this
administration is sued, and they will be, a judge will review all the
documents being sought by the Congress. The judge will then decide if
they are in fact qualified for “executive privilege.” Embarrassment of
public officials is not a legitimate reason for the privilege. Hiding
criminal activity also is not a legitimate reason for privilege. In fact
there are only a very few actual legitimate reasons executive privilege
can be claimed.
The
simplest answer is to let the sun shine on this deal. Allow the facts
to be known. They’re going to come out sooner or later. If this is
nothing more than stupidity causing embarrassment, we will all just
laugh at you. If, however, criminal activity has been perpetrated,
prosecution will most surely follow. A president and an attorney general
should know better. This I know, this matter will see the light of the
sun and it will be disinfected and you can count on it.
Ron Scarbro June 27, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
THE EUROPEAN MESS EXPLAINED
I
am going to try to explain what is happening in Europe, especially
Greece. Now everybody who knows me knows I am not an economist. I don’t
even balance my own checking account. But I think I can paint a word
picture explaining the mess in Europe.
Greece is a member state of the European Union as California is a member state of the U.S. So I am going to use California to explain. I could use any state but as I have said before, it is more fun to pick on California. California is deeply in debt and they need a bailout from the Federal Government. The Feds tell California that in order to be bailed out, they must change their way of doing business. They must reduce their obligations to pension funds, salaries, and most of their giveaway programs. When Californians hear of this, they object. They much prefer the debauchery of their past. So they decide to secede and elect a government which will then print its own money and continue life as it has always been. Well there are problems with this. First, paper money is nothing more than a promissory note. California, like Greece, is deeply in debt and they owe much more than they take in. Hence the 19 billion dollar deficit California faces. Ergo, their paper money, let’s call it the “Golden Bear,” would be worth about half of a U.S. dollar. That means that a five U.S. dollar artichoke would cost ten California golden bears. Since one could then go to Nevada and buy an artichoke for five dollars, California doesn’t get the money.
Of course there are many other problems with California seceding from the U.S., like forming their own army for defense, controlling their own borders, and generally protecting themselves from the chaos that would ensue with runaway inflation. In a matter of days, most Californians, especially the wealthy, would pack up and move to Texas and try to turn that state into the cesspool they just escaped from. California’s roads and bridges would deteriorate, their cities would crumble from lack of maintenance. Remember, there would be no Federal money so Californians would have to go it alone. I could go on, but I think you get my drift. It just would not be pretty.
So Greece says, like California, we don’t like the austerity measures the European Union is requiring of us so we are just going to return to the past. We will print our own drachmas. Unfortunately, because of the debt they have incurred, their drachmas will be worth about half of a euro. Their five euro shot of ouzo will cost ten drachmas. Other governments who have purchased Greek debt will require repayment in real money, not worthless drachmas. Of course they could not pay, so they would then go into default. Basically the rest of the world would then have to foreclose on their debt. The once great country of Greece with all its history would be divided up among her creditors. At that point, whether the Greek citizens like it or not, they would then be the subjects of other governments and under their laws.
For world markets the event would be disastrous at least in the short term. I believe most of the world has been divesting themselves of Greek debt for several years so that would be the justification for calling it a short term problem. Any way you look at it though, it would continue to be a mess for some time.
Now some of you Californians are asking, “What would happen to us?” I suspect your beautiful state would once again be settled by pioneers who would establish a new government which would immediately attempt to rejoin the union. I can assure you however, that the new state would look nothing like the old one.
I hope you enjoyed this little example of Economics 101. If you have a better explanation, I would love to hear it. In the meantime, hang on to your IRAs and savings accounts. It promises to be a wild ride.
Ron Scarbro June 20, 2012
Greece is a member state of the European Union as California is a member state of the U.S. So I am going to use California to explain. I could use any state but as I have said before, it is more fun to pick on California. California is deeply in debt and they need a bailout from the Federal Government. The Feds tell California that in order to be bailed out, they must change their way of doing business. They must reduce their obligations to pension funds, salaries, and most of their giveaway programs. When Californians hear of this, they object. They much prefer the debauchery of their past. So they decide to secede and elect a government which will then print its own money and continue life as it has always been. Well there are problems with this. First, paper money is nothing more than a promissory note. California, like Greece, is deeply in debt and they owe much more than they take in. Hence the 19 billion dollar deficit California faces. Ergo, their paper money, let’s call it the “Golden Bear,” would be worth about half of a U.S. dollar. That means that a five U.S. dollar artichoke would cost ten California golden bears. Since one could then go to Nevada and buy an artichoke for five dollars, California doesn’t get the money.
Of course there are many other problems with California seceding from the U.S., like forming their own army for defense, controlling their own borders, and generally protecting themselves from the chaos that would ensue with runaway inflation. In a matter of days, most Californians, especially the wealthy, would pack up and move to Texas and try to turn that state into the cesspool they just escaped from. California’s roads and bridges would deteriorate, their cities would crumble from lack of maintenance. Remember, there would be no Federal money so Californians would have to go it alone. I could go on, but I think you get my drift. It just would not be pretty.
So Greece says, like California, we don’t like the austerity measures the European Union is requiring of us so we are just going to return to the past. We will print our own drachmas. Unfortunately, because of the debt they have incurred, their drachmas will be worth about half of a euro. Their five euro shot of ouzo will cost ten drachmas. Other governments who have purchased Greek debt will require repayment in real money, not worthless drachmas. Of course they could not pay, so they would then go into default. Basically the rest of the world would then have to foreclose on their debt. The once great country of Greece with all its history would be divided up among her creditors. At that point, whether the Greek citizens like it or not, they would then be the subjects of other governments and under their laws.
For world markets the event would be disastrous at least in the short term. I believe most of the world has been divesting themselves of Greek debt for several years so that would be the justification for calling it a short term problem. Any way you look at it though, it would continue to be a mess for some time.
Now some of you Californians are asking, “What would happen to us?” I suspect your beautiful state would once again be settled by pioneers who would establish a new government which would immediately attempt to rejoin the union. I can assure you however, that the new state would look nothing like the old one.
I hope you enjoyed this little example of Economics 101. If you have a better explanation, I would love to hear it. In the meantime, hang on to your IRAs and savings accounts. It promises to be a wild ride.
Ron Scarbro June 20, 2012
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
UNIONS, SMUNIONS
It
is pretty obvious that “Big Labor” suffered a “big defeat” in the
Wisconsin recall election. It pleased me but I thought I would do some
investigation to see if I was justified in my satisfaction with the
results. I went to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics to learn who is a
union member and how many of them there are.
The numbers are rather surprising. Through 2011, the percentage of employees working in the private sector who are members of a union total 6.9%. The percentage of civil service workers (public sector workers) represented by a union totals 37%. The total workforce union representation of both private and public sector workers is 11.8%. That of course means that 88.2% of workers in this country are not union members and are working away on their jobs without benefit of union representation.
If you had been paying attention to the national media over the past several months you would have to have come to the conclusion that most of the country was beholding to big unions and big labor. It turns out that is just not true. Their membership is tiny by comparison. What is true is that big labor spends millions of dollars which they collect from their paltry membership to try to control elections and elect Democrats. What is true is that union bosses who control the money taken from their members live opulent lives of wealth and privilege. It certainly is no surprise to me that they would do whatever they must do to keep their gravy train running. Otherwise they would have to get a real job. What is also true is that big labor owns a few politicians and controls several others through phony intimidation.
I have never been a union member but I know many of you are, either now or have been so in the past. My opinion of unions is not very good. I think at one time in our history they probably served a purpose. Today I think they have lost their value to their membership. Today they seem to exist only to continue themselves. They don’t really represent their members any more. They have become money mills designed to collect money and control elections.
It is past time for the American people to wake up and see the truth. Civil Service unions are ridiculous. Teacher’s unions are as well. People who work in these jobs have more job security than anyone in the private sector and it is not because of their union. It is because they are civil service workers.
In addition to never having been a union member, I also have never held a civil service job. In the private sector where I worked, job security is defined by an employee’s value to his employer, not the other way around. If you wanted to keep your job, it was incumbent upon you to make yourself a valuable asset to your employer. This philosophy could not be improved by any collective bargaining group.
Big labor, it turns out, is nothing but a paper tiger. Their membership is tiny and is dwindling more every year. Their influence is governed by the money they extract from their hapless members and then spent trying to control Democrats. It didn’t work very well in Wisconsin, did it? As municipalities and local governments continue to face deficits requiring them to further reduce pension and medical benefits to their employees and retirees, public sector union membership is going to dwindle even further. Today if there were no public sector unions, total employee union representation in this country would be something less than 5% of the workforce. Unions, smunions.
Ron Scarbro June 9, 2012
The numbers are rather surprising. Through 2011, the percentage of employees working in the private sector who are members of a union total 6.9%. The percentage of civil service workers (public sector workers) represented by a union totals 37%. The total workforce union representation of both private and public sector workers is 11.8%. That of course means that 88.2% of workers in this country are not union members and are working away on their jobs without benefit of union representation.
If you had been paying attention to the national media over the past several months you would have to have come to the conclusion that most of the country was beholding to big unions and big labor. It turns out that is just not true. Their membership is tiny by comparison. What is true is that big labor spends millions of dollars which they collect from their paltry membership to try to control elections and elect Democrats. What is true is that union bosses who control the money taken from their members live opulent lives of wealth and privilege. It certainly is no surprise to me that they would do whatever they must do to keep their gravy train running. Otherwise they would have to get a real job. What is also true is that big labor owns a few politicians and controls several others through phony intimidation.
I have never been a union member but I know many of you are, either now or have been so in the past. My opinion of unions is not very good. I think at one time in our history they probably served a purpose. Today I think they have lost their value to their membership. Today they seem to exist only to continue themselves. They don’t really represent their members any more. They have become money mills designed to collect money and control elections.
It is past time for the American people to wake up and see the truth. Civil Service unions are ridiculous. Teacher’s unions are as well. People who work in these jobs have more job security than anyone in the private sector and it is not because of their union. It is because they are civil service workers.
In addition to never having been a union member, I also have never held a civil service job. In the private sector where I worked, job security is defined by an employee’s value to his employer, not the other way around. If you wanted to keep your job, it was incumbent upon you to make yourself a valuable asset to your employer. This philosophy could not be improved by any collective bargaining group.
Big labor, it turns out, is nothing but a paper tiger. Their membership is tiny and is dwindling more every year. Their influence is governed by the money they extract from their hapless members and then spent trying to control Democrats. It didn’t work very well in Wisconsin, did it? As municipalities and local governments continue to face deficits requiring them to further reduce pension and medical benefits to their employees and retirees, public sector union membership is going to dwindle even further. Today if there were no public sector unions, total employee union representation in this country would be something less than 5% of the workforce. Unions, smunions.
Ron Scarbro June 9, 2012
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
WHAT IN THE WORLD IS HAPPENING?
The
state of Florida has discovered in an investigation that some 180,000
individuals are illegally registered to vote in that state. Many are
non-citizens. Florida, like several states, is trying to institute photo
identification for voter registration. Attorney General Holder and his
fellow hacks in the State Department have issued a cease and desist
order to Florida to stop any effort to initiate photo ID for voter
registration. According to Holder, such a requirement would be
discriminatory against minorities and the poor. Listen, if I thought the
only way my political party could win an election was with illegal
voters, I would oppose photo ID also. Let’s face it, the only opposition
to ensuring legal elections through proper identification is from the
Democrat party. Does anyone actually believe Al Franken would have ever
been elected to the US Senate from Minnesota in an honest election? Who
among you believe Chicago politics is an honorable profession? Florida,
Arizona, and all states currently trying to deal with these issues
should just say NO to the Federal Government. There is such a thing as
the Tenth Amendment in the Bill of Rights.
But wait. As they say in the infomercials, there’s more.
Mayor Moron Bloomberg has decided, in his infinite wisdom, to ban any non-diet soft drink in sizes over sixteen ounces. Bloomberg, who in the past has legislated against certain cooking oils and salt, is now after that demon of demons, sugar. Bloomberg, who seems to fancy himself as the Daddy of New York City instead of her Mayor, has appointed himself as the arbiter of all things dietetic. Why, one would think that New York City is in such good shape that the only matters that need the Mayor’s attention are the eating and drinking habits of its citizens. You know it is troubling enough that this idiot could ever propose such inane regulations, what is even more upsetting is that the people of New York would elect him once, let alone re-elect him. He is a billionaire who has never actually lived real life. He has had a privileged existence from day one thanks to his family’s money and he probably thinks he is the smartest man in the room. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Next we have the beautiful and once great state of California. They currently are facing a deficit of 19 billion dollars with no relief in sight. Their response? Why the city of San Francisco has banned toys in “Happy Meals.” It seems they think California parents are incapable of actually saying no to their kids so the government has to do the parenting for them. Some cities in California say you cannot legally own a pet. You must adopt it. Other cities will not let you light up a smoke in your own backyard because you might offend you neighbor. Of all the problems facing California, one would think their legislative time could be better spent dealing with real problems. My lovely California readers will quickly tell you that they are not the only state with such issues. I completely agree. It is just they are the easiest to make fun of.
What in the world is happening? Where did the country of my birth go? When did people decide that the government was better at making the basic decisions of their life than they were? Let me just say this. There is no one on earth, let alone a politician, who is competent to tell me how to live my life. They cannot tell me what to read, eat, drink, or with whom I should associate. I and I alone am personally responsible for my life and my decisions. For any politician to assume any sort of leadership over me is offensive. I am my own leader.
We the people need to get a handle on our government. Elected politicians, regardless of their office from the president on down, are our employees. They answer to us. If we allow them to control our lives, we have only ourselves to blame.
Ron Scarbro June 6, 2012
But wait. As they say in the infomercials, there’s more.
Mayor Moron Bloomberg has decided, in his infinite wisdom, to ban any non-diet soft drink in sizes over sixteen ounces. Bloomberg, who in the past has legislated against certain cooking oils and salt, is now after that demon of demons, sugar. Bloomberg, who seems to fancy himself as the Daddy of New York City instead of her Mayor, has appointed himself as the arbiter of all things dietetic. Why, one would think that New York City is in such good shape that the only matters that need the Mayor’s attention are the eating and drinking habits of its citizens. You know it is troubling enough that this idiot could ever propose such inane regulations, what is even more upsetting is that the people of New York would elect him once, let alone re-elect him. He is a billionaire who has never actually lived real life. He has had a privileged existence from day one thanks to his family’s money and he probably thinks he is the smartest man in the room. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Next we have the beautiful and once great state of California. They currently are facing a deficit of 19 billion dollars with no relief in sight. Their response? Why the city of San Francisco has banned toys in “Happy Meals.” It seems they think California parents are incapable of actually saying no to their kids so the government has to do the parenting for them. Some cities in California say you cannot legally own a pet. You must adopt it. Other cities will not let you light up a smoke in your own backyard because you might offend you neighbor. Of all the problems facing California, one would think their legislative time could be better spent dealing with real problems. My lovely California readers will quickly tell you that they are not the only state with such issues. I completely agree. It is just they are the easiest to make fun of.
What in the world is happening? Where did the country of my birth go? When did people decide that the government was better at making the basic decisions of their life than they were? Let me just say this. There is no one on earth, let alone a politician, who is competent to tell me how to live my life. They cannot tell me what to read, eat, drink, or with whom I should associate. I and I alone am personally responsible for my life and my decisions. For any politician to assume any sort of leadership over me is offensive. I am my own leader.
We the people need to get a handle on our government. Elected politicians, regardless of their office from the president on down, are our employees. They answer to us. If we allow them to control our lives, we have only ourselves to blame.
Ron Scarbro June 6, 2012
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