Gaming in Illinois
The Illinois Gaming bill that would have put a new casino in Chicago was doomed to failure. The legislation had become a hodge-podge of excessive expansion of gaming in the state. In order to garner enough votes for passage, the sponsors had to provide a bite of the apple to all legislators. The direct effect was to have so many new venues that it burst under its own weight. The proper course of action should have been to enhance existing venues and limit new ones that would cannibalize the others.
Democrat Campaign Plan
The Democrat 2012 campaign have already tipped their hand that their campaign will be chock full of “class’ warfare. The middle-class this, the one percent that…blah, blah, blah. There are only four classes of people in the U.S.:
a) Workers who work hard at whatever endeavor and pay taxes.
b) Investors who work hard and pay their taxes.
c) Thinkers that shape our world and pay taxes.
d) Those who wallow in the public trough and chew up the taxes the others have paid.
How American’s Vote
It used to be a rule of thumb among political operatives that citizens cast their vote for a candidate based upon the following breakdown:
50% voted based their vote on whether they LIKED the candidate.
40% based their vote on a candidates IMAGE.
10% voted on the ISSUES.
That breakdown may have changed over the past two decades; increasing issue based voting to 20% with a corresponding decrease in the other two.
With this in mind, there is much to LIKE about each one of the Republican primary candidates despite the way the media wishes to cast their IMAGES. The 2012 may come down to ISSUES. No matter who the GOP nominee might be, O Must Go!!
Profligate Spending
On every level of government, elected officials, attempting to placate those that came before them with hat in hand, made too many unsustainable promises. The proper answer should have been NO!! Now as we struggle to repair a broken economy the answer to government growth and largess should be, NO MORE!!
Memo to the Honorable Bill Cunningham
Billy Cunningham you’re a great American, but you are wrong. Obama will lose.
Democrats vs. Reaganites
Democrats are Hobbesian, “short, nasty, and brutish”. They feel compelled to grab the dough in your wallet, skim a little for themselves and stuff the rest into their allies pockets. Reaganites are Lockean, demonstrating complete confidence in people’s freedom to choose what charities are most deserved of their gratitude.
Politics As Bloodsport
The purveyors of the politics of personal destruction (notably leftists and their media hand maidens) have added another notch on their keyboards. The departure of Herman Cain from the GOP Presidential primary campaign was the result of their political assault. Thank goodness Mr. Cain will remain engaged through his introduction of Cainsolutions.com.
Things are shaping up to be an exciting Political Year 2012. Prepare thyself for hand to hand combat with the leftists in this cycle.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Political Musings v5
Presidential Election 2012
The wonderfully engaging political columnist Ann Coulter recently opined that the only potential Presidential candidate that could dislodge the office from President Obama would be New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. I must respectfully disagree. No matter who the GOP nominates they will be the new President. The Obama presidency will only be one term. The American people have had enough.
Union Protests
While our neighbors to North in Wisconsin endure the rants and ravings of the spuriously civil unionists, one democratic policy wag deposited the notion that their base was more invigorated than ever. Really? What of the “Gary Hart” voter? Remember the New Democrat versus the Union slug Mondale back in 1984? That dichotomy is still prevalent within the democrat party today.
Fuel Efficiency
The Obama administration rolled out new fuel efficiency standards for buses, trucks, and other larger vehicles, recently. The effort purportedly is to, in part, reduce our dependency on oil. Why not converting many of these vehicles to natural gas? The massive fleet of federal government vehicles should lead the way.
Education Vouchers
While the voucher legislation, introduced by State Senator Meeks, did not pass the Illinois House in the last session, it is no less an important issue worthy of debate. To elevate the quality of our education system, effective competition must be introduced.
Herewith is a compromise. Any school or school district that falls below minimum standards in testing and graduation rates, as set by the state, should be subject to a voucher program for a period of no less than six years. Allow the parents to decide where they wish to send their children utilizing voucher funds set at an amount that the school or school district spends per pupil. The parents should not be limited to sending their child to a bricks and mortar school, but could also use these funds for home schooling. Such a system would provide a powerful incentive to the educationalists to bring their schools up to standards. They should note that failure has consequences.
Re-apportionment
The census report shows that the City of Chicago lost 200,000 people in the last decade. This is where the Congressional District should be lost. Count on the Democrats drawing a map that places two Republican Congressman in the same district, though. Once again, elections have consequences.
Congressional Correspondence
It was with pleasure that I recently wrote to U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) asking him to kill the bullet train funds. I also wrote freshman Congressman Randy Hultgren (R-IL 14th) with four reforms for social security. I look forward to their responses.
The political climate in the United States and Illinois is as fluid as ever which makes for great debates and as the great conservative, William F. Buckley, use to say, “social intercourse.”
The wonderfully engaging political columnist Ann Coulter recently opined that the only potential Presidential candidate that could dislodge the office from President Obama would be New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. I must respectfully disagree. No matter who the GOP nominates they will be the new President. The Obama presidency will only be one term. The American people have had enough.
Union Protests
While our neighbors to North in Wisconsin endure the rants and ravings of the spuriously civil unionists, one democratic policy wag deposited the notion that their base was more invigorated than ever. Really? What of the “Gary Hart” voter? Remember the New Democrat versus the Union slug Mondale back in 1984? That dichotomy is still prevalent within the democrat party today.
Fuel Efficiency
The Obama administration rolled out new fuel efficiency standards for buses, trucks, and other larger vehicles, recently. The effort purportedly is to, in part, reduce our dependency on oil. Why not converting many of these vehicles to natural gas? The massive fleet of federal government vehicles should lead the way.
Education Vouchers
While the voucher legislation, introduced by State Senator Meeks, did not pass the Illinois House in the last session, it is no less an important issue worthy of debate. To elevate the quality of our education system, effective competition must be introduced.
Herewith is a compromise. Any school or school district that falls below minimum standards in testing and graduation rates, as set by the state, should be subject to a voucher program for a period of no less than six years. Allow the parents to decide where they wish to send their children utilizing voucher funds set at an amount that the school or school district spends per pupil. The parents should not be limited to sending their child to a bricks and mortar school, but could also use these funds for home schooling. Such a system would provide a powerful incentive to the educationalists to bring their schools up to standards. They should note that failure has consequences.
Re-apportionment
The census report shows that the City of Chicago lost 200,000 people in the last decade. This is where the Congressional District should be lost. Count on the Democrats drawing a map that places two Republican Congressman in the same district, though. Once again, elections have consequences.
Congressional Correspondence
It was with pleasure that I recently wrote to U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) asking him to kill the bullet train funds. I also wrote freshman Congressman Randy Hultgren (R-IL 14th) with four reforms for social security. I look forward to their responses.
The political climate in the United States and Illinois is as fluid as ever which makes for great debates and as the great conservative, William F. Buckley, use to say, “social intercourse.”
Friday, January 7, 2011
CUT The Federal Budget Now!
As Speaker of the House, John Boehner (R-OH 8th), said in his remarks after being sworn in as the leader of the 112th Congress, now comes the “hard work and tough decisions”.
We have reached a tipping point where the political / governmental ruling class now spends considerably more than it can ever take in. The federal budget must be cut now.
Back in October of 1987, Warren T. Brookes (Detroit News), writing in Reader’s Digest sited a study by Ohio University economists Lowell Gallaway and Richard Vedder, that simply stated that since 1947 every one dollar ($1.00) tax increase corresponded with a $1.58 in new spending. It is now 2011 and that differential has continued unabated. It is any wonder we find our nation in the financial mess it is in.
There is a roadmap for achieving the $100 billion in savings that the Republicans committed to in their campaign “Pledge”. Stated therein, “Cut government spending to pre-stimulus, pre-bailout levels saving at least $100 billion in the first year alone.” It will take a great deal of fortitude and the ability to sharpen the budget axe.
The following figures are based on the Fiscal Year 2011 (FY 2011) budget numbers. If the cuts are implemented it will reduce approximately $260 Billion in federal spending.
First, three departments and/or agencies should be completely eliminated.
Department of Education. Americans have always prided themselves on local control of schools. It should remain so. It makes absolutely no sense in sending valued tax dollars to a bloated Washington D.C. bureaucracy. Have them skim off a good portion of those dollars and then send the remainders back to the states. This is a department that was created during the Carter administration as payback to the teachers unions that supported him. It is essentially a department of paper pushers. The necessary functions can easily be folded back into a re-created Department of Health Education and Welfare.
Department of Energy. Essential functions can be folded into other departments like defense and other applicable agencies.
Corporation for National and Community Service. This governmental agency houses Americorp, among other things. Get rid of it. The savings would be $967 million dollars.
Second, let’s apply a twenty percent (20%) across the board cut to each of the following agencies. It would be the responsibility of each department secretary to recommend which discretionary spending should be cut.
Department of Agriculture Savings: $26.459 billion.
Department of Commerce Savings: $ 1.850 billion.
Department of Labor Savings: $23.343 billion.
Department of Interior Savings: $ 2.615 billion. Eliminating the Bureau of Indian Affairs alone would save 2.586 billion.
State Department Savings: $10.761 billion.
Environmental Protection Agency Savings: $ 1.834 billion.
National Science Foundation Savings: $ 1.359 billion. Additional savings could be realized by folding this agency under the auspices of NASA.
Small Business Administration Savings: $ 239 million.
Housing and Urban Development Savings: $ 9.507 billion.
Health and Human Services Savings: $180.170 billion. This department would be re-created into HEW by folding certain aspects of the Department of Education into it.
Third, the Department of Defense should be reconfigured to merge the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Veterans Affairs to allow for additional cost savings by consolidating duplicated functions. Defense Secretary Gates has already proposed $78 billion in cuts. Congress should give his recommendations vigorous analysis and act on those that would not impair the ability of our armed services to defend this country.
A much-needed cut in this area is the Veterans Medical system. Facilities around the country that are not on a military installation should be closed. It is important that we maintain our commitment to those that have served by providing them with the best possible medical care. Provide them with a Military Medical Card and allow them to use it with any doctor or medical facility in the country. This alone would bring about greater efficiency to the care of our veterans.
Finally, one of the biggest budget items weighing in at $791.681 billion is the Social Security Administration. It is imperative that Congress removes this from the federal budget and put the funds in a lock box. A path should be created that transitions it from the current Ponzi scheme it has become into a supplemental retirement fund it was set up to be. Time does not permit a thorough examination of this issue. On another date I will analyze it more fully.
In order to return our nation back to a better fiscal place, cuts must be made. Are these proposed cuts draconian? Not really. Would government workers be laid off? Yes, but if they are truly talented individuals they can function greatly in the private or independent sector by growing each. The time is now to make the cuts. Failing to do so will bring the nation to ruin.
We have reached a tipping point where the political / governmental ruling class now spends considerably more than it can ever take in. The federal budget must be cut now.
Back in October of 1987, Warren T. Brookes (Detroit News), writing in Reader’s Digest sited a study by Ohio University economists Lowell Gallaway and Richard Vedder, that simply stated that since 1947 every one dollar ($1.00) tax increase corresponded with a $1.58 in new spending. It is now 2011 and that differential has continued unabated. It is any wonder we find our nation in the financial mess it is in.
There is a roadmap for achieving the $100 billion in savings that the Republicans committed to in their campaign “Pledge”. Stated therein, “Cut government spending to pre-stimulus, pre-bailout levels saving at least $100 billion in the first year alone.” It will take a great deal of fortitude and the ability to sharpen the budget axe.
The following figures are based on the Fiscal Year 2011 (FY 2011) budget numbers. If the cuts are implemented it will reduce approximately $260 Billion in federal spending.
First, three departments and/or agencies should be completely eliminated.
Department of Education. Americans have always prided themselves on local control of schools. It should remain so. It makes absolutely no sense in sending valued tax dollars to a bloated Washington D.C. bureaucracy. Have them skim off a good portion of those dollars and then send the remainders back to the states. This is a department that was created during the Carter administration as payback to the teachers unions that supported him. It is essentially a department of paper pushers. The necessary functions can easily be folded back into a re-created Department of Health Education and Welfare.
Department of Energy. Essential functions can be folded into other departments like defense and other applicable agencies.
Corporation for National and Community Service. This governmental agency houses Americorp, among other things. Get rid of it. The savings would be $967 million dollars.
Second, let’s apply a twenty percent (20%) across the board cut to each of the following agencies. It would be the responsibility of each department secretary to recommend which discretionary spending should be cut.
Department of Agriculture Savings: $26.459 billion.
Department of Commerce Savings: $ 1.850 billion.
Department of Labor Savings: $23.343 billion.
Department of Interior Savings: $ 2.615 billion. Eliminating the Bureau of Indian Affairs alone would save 2.586 billion.
State Department Savings: $10.761 billion.
Environmental Protection Agency Savings: $ 1.834 billion.
National Science Foundation Savings: $ 1.359 billion. Additional savings could be realized by folding this agency under the auspices of NASA.
Small Business Administration Savings: $ 239 million.
Housing and Urban Development Savings: $ 9.507 billion.
Health and Human Services Savings: $180.170 billion. This department would be re-created into HEW by folding certain aspects of the Department of Education into it.
Third, the Department of Defense should be reconfigured to merge the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Veterans Affairs to allow for additional cost savings by consolidating duplicated functions. Defense Secretary Gates has already proposed $78 billion in cuts. Congress should give his recommendations vigorous analysis and act on those that would not impair the ability of our armed services to defend this country.
A much-needed cut in this area is the Veterans Medical system. Facilities around the country that are not on a military installation should be closed. It is important that we maintain our commitment to those that have served by providing them with the best possible medical care. Provide them with a Military Medical Card and allow them to use it with any doctor or medical facility in the country. This alone would bring about greater efficiency to the care of our veterans.
Finally, one of the biggest budget items weighing in at $791.681 billion is the Social Security Administration. It is imperative that Congress removes this from the federal budget and put the funds in a lock box. A path should be created that transitions it from the current Ponzi scheme it has become into a supplemental retirement fund it was set up to be. Time does not permit a thorough examination of this issue. On another date I will analyze it more fully.
In order to return our nation back to a better fiscal place, cuts must be made. Are these proposed cuts draconian? Not really. Would government workers be laid off? Yes, but if they are truly talented individuals they can function greatly in the private or independent sector by growing each. The time is now to make the cuts. Failing to do so will bring the nation to ruin.
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