Reality TV

Who watches TV Reality Shows?

I will admit that I don’t watch Reality TV shows.

I’m sure that contestants in shows like The Great Race and Survivor have skills and some other “shows” may have “interesting” content.

However, Reality shows like The Jersey Shore, The Bachelor, The Kardumbians, and Crazy Housewives of (Fill in a town name) seem to be populated by idiots without talent who should be in psychiatric, drug or Anger Management treatment.

I came to a conclusion on who would waste their time viewing the growing number of despicable Reality shows.

The answer is obvious: the casts of these shows have become rich and famous celebrities without having talent, brains or redeeming qualities.

Viewers without talent, brains or skills must think, “They made it. There is a chance for me.”

If you are a fan of these shows please don’t hate me. Also, please don’t vote!

Even 5th Graders know--BUFFETT RULE IS BS

The Buffett Rule IS BS

President Obama has been proposing the passage of what he calls The Buffett Rule.

He sites the “fact” that Warren Buffett, one of the richest men in the world, has a lower tax rate than his secretary. What he either doesn’t know or doesn’t want us to know is that Buffett’s rate is the tax on Capital Gains and his Secretary’s rate is an income tax rate. Either way he is floating apples and oranges.

Buffett has earned and has paid income tax on the amount earned. He then can invest some of his income in securities like stock, mutual funds, bonds, etc. If he sells the securities he pays a Capital Gains tax on the profit, if there is any. If he loses money he doesn’t pay tax because there was zero profit. Currently the Capital gains tax is 15%. It was once higher. Obama wants it increased to 30%.

Buffett’s secretary’s income tax rate is probably around 30%.

What is the amount paid by each in DOLLARS? That is the significant question.

Show a fifth grader two stacks of $100 bills that represent Buffett’s payment and his secretary’s payment. Ask which stack is the greatest. The dumbest kid you ask would get the right answer.

Why does the president think adults will believe him?

Oh yeah, if we disagree we are misinformed (STUPID)!

Somebody should ask the President to look at the business page of most any newspaper. There are thousands of businesses listed in the New York, American, and Nasdaq stock exchanges. These are businesses that have sold stock to start, expand, or improve their business. The majority of people who own these stocks are people like you and me. We realized that the money we were putting aside for the future could possibly grow better if we invested in stocks. We are not "the richest" people. We are just thoughtful.

If you are smart enough to invest in a good public company and the company makes a profit the government steps in and collects a tax on that profit. The problem is that the managers of the business don't own the company, the stockholders do. So the company makes a $1,000,000 profit; the government takes $300,000 in taxes. The managers may decide to set aside some of the remaining $700,000 for research and improvements. If there is any money left it is paid to the stockholder as dividends, usually amounting to pennies per share. Then, guess what, the stock holder pays personal income tax on the dividends. When you sell the stock to use it for college tuition etc., the government again steps in and collects a Capital Gains tax on any increase between the purchase and selling price. The fact that inflation has diluted the gain is ignored. The net result is that you are penalized three times for working and wisely investing your money.

I suspect that the Buffett rule would only be applied to people who make over a government decided “fair” amount. Sure would discourage me from investing if I thought the Government was going to take 30% of any gain. That would certainly discourage investing in anything or expanding a business.

It has been pointed out that if the Buffett rule is applied to the top earners it would pay for a few days of government spending.

What’s the point? Why not cut spending?

On a personal note, I sold a Dairy Queen Brazier that I had owned and operated for twenty years. Over the years we had tripled the size of the facility, expanding from a small walk up to a modern restaurant with indoor seating and a full fast food line. My son and I are both handy. To save money we did as much work as we could ourselves. Friends and family helped and we subcontracted the rest.  I sold the store for twice the original investment. My sale price was the best I could do in a depressed market. We knew that because of inflation, personal and friend’s labor, and the investment in training of new employees, we should have sold at three times the original cost. The tax laws took none of this into account and we paid a huge Capital Gains tax.

            I held the mortgage on the store. The Capital Gains tax consumed all of the buyer’s down payment remaining after real estate agent and lawyers fees. To make matters worse, my accountant called me to tell me how much the capital gains tax was going to be the same day the local newspaper announced that the federal government was going to spend a million dollars to repair a government subsidized housing project that had been trashed by its tenants.  Much as I object to unfair taxation, I would have been partially satisfied if I could have directed the money to someone deserving.

            To those of you that nod your head up and down when your President, representatives and the media are justifying tax increases, just remember, eventually it is going to affect you, causing higher prices, layoffs or businesses to close or relocate.. Don't buy into the propaganda that profits are bad and that hard working people, businesses and stockholders must be overtaxed.

The next President of the USA is-----

The nominees for the 2012 USA Presidential election have apparently been finalized.

George Soros said, on TV, he doesn’t care who is elected.

That is really scary!

I know we will all get to vote but---- who really selects the candidates?

During the summer of 1991 my neighbor Bob sat down on our patio and said, “You’re going to love our next president. He was the most corrupt governor ever elected in Arkansas.”

Bob was a former Air Force Colonel/ Wing Commander during WWII and flew 30+  B17 missions over Germany. He was also a retired, successful, high end real estate sales business owner, and self proclaimed Arkansas rice farmer. In the neighborhood he was known as “the walking encyclopedia”.

Bob was very intelligent.

When he made his presidential prediction I started to laugh. I’d never heard of William Jefferson Clinton.

Bob stormed off and came back with some “newspapers”, the equivalent of our present Political Blogs. The newspapers were full of stories, with pictures of important looking people shaking hands with a young Clinton. The headlines proclaimed that Clinton had agreed to terms and would be the next president.

I said that I didn’t recognize the people shaking hands with the future pres, and that the paper stories could be political crap.

Bob stormed off again. The next day he returned with sheets of paper scotched taped together. The paper was a copy of the roster of the US branch of The Council on Foreign Relations. David Rockefeller, a Republican, was identified as the founder of the US branch of the CFR. A statement, reportedly from his biography, promoting a one world government, was included.

Bob had brought along his papers and spent an hour pointing out the people in the photos and pointing to their names on the roster.  The roster identified top leaders from industry, education, finance, banking, investment houses, transportation, media, entertainment, TV, the arts, government, military etc, who were members of the CFR. Many of the government people I recognized as being in the Federal government no matter which party was in power, I was impressed but skeptical.

I noticed that President George H W Bush was shown at the top of the roster and that Clinton was shown as the Democratic nominee for the 1992 election.

I asked, “What’s Bush have to say about this? Did he agree?”

Bob showed me another article in one of the papers that, paraphrased, reported, “Bush’s boys will be taken care of and one of them will run after Clinton’s term.”

I laughed out loud. Bob shook his head and went home.

During the 1992 presidential campaign I observed that Bush didn’t seem to be enthusiastic. Others noticed also. There was an incident during a debate when Bush was observed looking at his watch. He said he was just seeing how much time was left in the debate. Many wrote that he didn’t seem to be running hard.

Ross Perrot entered the race as an independent. Perrot was a Naval Academy graduate and founder of a huge, successful Data Processing Corp. He correctly predicted that current US policies would lead to the “Giant Sucking Sound” of manufacturing companies leaving the US.

He and his family were threatened and he demanded government protection. He was pronounced “crazy” by the media and his run faltered. He did siphon off enough votes to allow Clinton’s victory.

The “Read my lips. No new taxes” (but I will increase present taxes) Bush lost.

Amazingly Jeb and W both were in high visibility business positions and both became governors of major states. The rest is history.

Bob Dole was a token candidate before Clintons election to a second term.

After Clinton was elected my neighbor Bob often reminded me of his prediction. He died before W and Jeb became governors and before W became president so I escaped further ridicule.

I still have the scotched taped roster he gave me. Many of the people on the roster are still in high positions in the federal government.

During the Primaries, after Clinton’s two terms, John McCain was leading George W Bush going into South Carolina. I liked McCain because he had been relentless in uncovering Government waste.

Before the vote in SC a story was leaked about McCain, that was widely disputed. W won SC and became the Republican nominee.

After W’s two terms Barak Obama came out of nowhere and with massive financial and media support. Despite a lack of experience and questionable associations, he was easily defeated a tired McCain.

In my view, all of the Republican contenders since Ronald Regan have been tax and spend progressive.

In this (2012) election cycle another empty Republican suit without firm principles will face of against a super progressive who wants to “redistribute wealth”.  Even if the Suit wins the people in congress who are conservatives will be declared crazy and the slide to the far left will continue.

George Soros doesn’t care who wins!!!

So, who really determines who the next president will be?

Do our votes mean anything?

Are you engaged in the political process?

Have you ever contacted your representatives in DC to express your concerns?

Student Loan Default Solution

Student Loan Default

Those deserving college students who have defaulted on their student loans ($30,000 or more) have a problem. Because of the default their credit rating is so low they can’t get a home mortgage loan.

Very sad but I have a solution.

Give them a home!

Then give them a second free education in a Trade School so they can learn a trade that will allow them to pay off their loan! It wasn’t really their fault that they majored in drinking beer, partying and have an unusable BA in Social Science and don’t have a friend in Government who can get them a job.

After all in, High School they were taught Situational Ethics. They were taught to make decisions based on the situation. If their friends were having fun instead of preparing for the future, so could they!

Because of the care taken to assure they had high self esteem and received a trophy for showing up, they believe they are great and automatically deserving.

Even though I have been “ON MY OWN” since I was fourteen, paid for college by working full time and attendended night school for eight years to earn a degree; and worked two jobs for most of my life; I totally agree with the need to educate future community organizers by providing free college attendance. I will happily send all my retirement money, via Capital Gains tax, to the IRS.

I also have a solution for obtaining any additional funding that may be required.

 Borrow the money from China and then default on the payment. I’m sure they will forgive the loan. They are such nice people who really like us.

I know these young potential saviors of our country are worthy.  Since I will no longer be on my own, I trust that these wonderful future leaders will take care of me. Perhaps I’ll even get a free Volt GM car!

I also hope that the Government and Lending institutions will continue to loan money without requiring collateral or proof that a loan can be repaid. That was sure a hardship for me. Living on a strict budget in order to make payments, instead of going on cruises or to Las Vegas, was a real hardship

I hope that those under thirty who read this recognize Sarcasm.

Signed:  A Member of the Greatest Generation.

Gross Stupidity

GROSS STUPIDITY DEFINED

           

I first heard the phrase "Gross stupidity drives me up the wall!" while listening to a call- in radio show. The host was talking about the Patty Hearst kidnapping. A woman called in to tell the host he was wrong about some details. When the host asked the caller how she knew she was correct the lady replied that she had seen the kidnapping on TV. The host told her she hadn't seen the actual act but had seen a recreation. When the lady insisted that she had seen the whole thing on TV the host asked "Do you think anybody would be dumb enough to call up a TV station and tell them they were going to kidnap somebody and tell the TV people where and when?" The lady said," They must have, how else would the TV people know about it? ". At that point the host uttered the phrase that I have since extended to "Gross stupidity and incompetence drive me up the wall".

            The "Gross" part of the statement needs some definition. All of us, no matter how intelligent or careful, have done or said something stupid. We are, after all, just humans. I am sure at one time or another we all have slapped ourselves on the head while saying, "What a stupid thing I have done", you know like smashing a finger in a car door or hitting your thumb with a hammer. These are normal stupid. Perhaps I can better define "Gross Stupidity." with an example:

            I once operated a restaurant in western Pennsylvania. Some of the people in the area had lived there a little too long and as a result had brain damage, no doubt caused by inhaling fumes from coke ovens and steel mills. I make this statement so that you will know, by current legal and politically correct standards; my customers were not responsible for their actions. At any rate, we had decided to replace a damaged sidewalk that led to a side entrance. We had blocked the area under repair with bright yellow wooden horses. Outside the wooden horse barriers we had constructed a barrier using boxes, yellow tape, lights and huge signs with arrows telling people to use the door on the other side of the building. After all these preparations we poured and finished the new sidewalk. About ten minutes later my manager came into my office and said "I want you to come out and see this". A woman was standing in wet concrete up to her ankles, trying to get in the door. She had moved boxes aside, ducked under the yellow tape, moved a wooden horse and walked at least three steps in wet concrete. I walked outside and asked her if she knew that she was standing in wet cement. She asked "Why is the door locked?"  That, people, is an example of gross stupidity. We helped the lady clean up and gave her a free lunch. She seemed normal, just had a bad case of the "grosses"      

             The same definition applies to incompetence. I am incompetent when it comes to insurance. The poor agent can explain something to me and I say something intelligent like "duhhh!". So I am incompetent in some areas; everybody is. To qualify as gross you have to do something special, like, be paid! You all have met them, they are everywhere. They are standing there, being paid to help you and they literally can't find their rear end with both hands. I am not talking about part time help, I am talking about somebody like the boss’s son-in-law who has been in the business for five years and can't direct you to the restroom.

             I am sure you have all had at least one experience that defines "gross". Drop me a line and tell me about it. It may qualify as a "Mind Boggler".

Gasoline $$$$$

THE PRICE OF GASOLINE

            I watched the 5/2011 Senate hearings on gasoline prices/oil company “excessive” profits.

            The following was written in 2008, after Senate hearings following a gasoline gas price spike:

           

            I have opined that nobody should run for public office unless they had run their own small business, or at least demonstrated the ability to understand a Profit and Loss Statement.      

            The senators quizzing the oil company CEO’s are either stupid or think that “profit” is a dirty word.

            At least three CEO’s tried to explain Business 101 to the Senators. The CEO’s patiently explained that profit, expressed as dollars, was rising due to increased demand and sales. They tried to explain that their profit, as a percentage of sales, had dropped from 10% to 4% because of the increased cost of crude oil, commodities and operating expenses. The Senators didn’t understand the math. A CEO patiently explained that for each dollar of their sales they used to make 10 cents in profit but now where down to four cents.  He pointed out that governments were collecting 14 cents for each dollar of gas sales.

            Senator Diane Feinstein accused the CEO’s of playing “The Victim” card. She blasted the CEO’s for making “excessive profits” and not using the profits to help “the people” (redistribute wealth). Evidently the Senator is not happy that governments are collecting three times the amount of the oil company profits. She wants it all. I think it’s called “Nationalization”. How long would take the oil companies to move out of the US if they saw this coming? How would that affect jobs and national debt?

            An hours pay for my first job (1940’s) bought one gallon of gas. Today’s hourly minimum wage will buy two gallons of gas! Gas is being sold below a price corrected for inflation!

            Also, shouldn’t the media report profits of all businesses as a percentage of sales? Otherwise large companies with gigantic sales $’s will be blasted for “excess profits” and small companies who make 50% profits will not be identified. Using percentage value can also be distorted. A company whose profits increase from $1.00 to $2.00 could be chastised for having a 100% increase in profits. Politicians and the media selectively report numbers that punish “bad” companies. Why is profit a dirty word?

            I’ve noticed that the “No Profit” politicians and media demean the gas and oil companies by saying they are receiving “subsides”. To me subsidies are government grants to “preferred” companies to develop government preferred things like “Green Energy” or buy votes. Taking a legal tax deduction for money spent to develop business is an expense deduction, not a subsidy.

            Unfortunately, with the present American educational system, the average person doesn’t have a clue when it comes to economics and business.

            Those who do understand what’s happening are starting to oppose “The redistribution of wealth”.  Our president calls them “Misinformed”

(stupid)!

Who is spending your money?

Washington versus Business

Before the 2008 elections I was visiting my home state of Pennsylvania.

The Pa governor was attempting to obtain $10,000, 0000 (for Penn State Grads, that’s ten million dollars) from the Pa treasury to donate to RINO turned Demo Senator Arlen Specter so the Senator could build a library bearing his name.

The governor, who would be gone after the coming election due to term limits, was acutely aware that the state was bankrupt. In spite of that he wanted the State to donate the ten mil before he left office. When critics complained the governor said they could just raise taxes to fund the project.

The governor’s attitude seems to be common to people who work for government. I have been on the board of directors for two different home or condo owners associations. The board members who had been in government or school systems had the same attitude as the governor; Raise fees! The thought to save or reduce spending was not in their thought process.

If there weren’t enough business people on the board, fees were raised.

Business people understand that to spend more money they had to increase sales. They understand that overhead costs can kill a business. Using the governors desire to “donate” ten million dollars for example, a business man operating at 10% profit would have to generate one hundred million dollars in new sales.

I’ve been saying for years that a politician should not be allowed to run for office unless he/she has run a business and had to rely on making a profit to feed their family.

I would accept an alternate requirement that aspiring politicians be required to take an exam to prove that they understand a Profit/Loss statement.

Law and Disorder

LAW & DISORDER MIND BOGGLERS

            Yes, back by popular demand, it's MIND BOGGLER day. Today's topics deal with legal goofiness and gun control.

            The first topic concerns a federal judge in Savannah Georgia. The judge became concerned about the terrible plight of the prisoners housed in a local jail. I guess the prisoner had to wait in line to use the weight machines and even worse some could not get a good view of the big screen TV. The judge got wind of these inhumane conditions and decided that the jail was overcrowded. The judge ordered the jail warden to release twenty prisoners. This was not the first time that the warden had been ordered to release prisoners. The warden tried, unsuccessfully, to find other facilities to house the twenty prisoners. Finally, the warden went back to the judge and explained that most of the prisoner in his jail were dangerous felons. Releasing any of them, in the warden’s opinion, would place citizens in danger. The judge, according to reports, became outraged, held the warden in contempt, and fined him two hundred dollars a day for every prisoner that had not been released. The fine was to run until the twenty prisoners were released. The warden had no options; he resigned.

            I am sure that you can see the mind boggler. Once upon the time, during the reign of sanity, a jail warden would have been fired if twenty prisoners escaped.  In this demented time the warden was fined for not letting prisoners out! Wouldn't it have been nice if the judge let the bad boys stay in his house!

           

My second topic today is gun control.

            The best and simplest display of the gun control lobby misguided logic was depicted in a cartoon I saw a few years ago. I am sorry that I can't find a copy of the cartoon in order to give proper credit to the cartoonist. The cartoon showed a side view of a jail. The town dignitaries were gathered on the front steps observing a hanging. The scaffold, surrounded by a cheering crowd, supported a rope with a noose, hanging a gun. At the back door of the jail a scruffy criminal was being released. That cartoon clearly identifies the gun control lobby’s ill-advised position; blame the inanimate object for crime, not the criminal.

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