Vacation Nation

Well, the shutdown showdown is over for a few months. The employees of government returned to the salt mines. The heart break of day to day monotony of avoiding work, looking forward to the next government holiday and or a peaceful sick day on the dole.

Congress has never worked harder and achieved less in over 237 years. The shut down occurred in the House of Representatives who refused to vote on raising the debt ceiling to accommodate expenditures they already spent. Choosing instead to refuse to reconcile the accumulated debts unless they get their way. Their way incidentally is a moving target and agreeing on what they wanted also proved to be problematic.

Knowing full well a vote to fund the government would pass bi partisan in the House. Any votes not to fund on Congressional record would be suicide on election day. They refused to vote at all. No doubt the Republicans could defend their squandering public funds next election, by claiming they tried repeatedly not to pay. The entire problem surfaced from Conservatives not refusing to spend. Conservatives refused with the sobering position of voting on a reconciled budget.

At the center is a movement within the Republican party known as the T-Party. No these are not the people who dress like Indians and attack the British. These are the children left behind when Bush/ Cheney lead the government to left wing liberal politics handing out money to 2big2fail Banksters known as TARP. The corruption of the Iraq War did not seem to bother them but handing over tax dollars to bad bankers is unacceptable.

This is not a new predicament and stems from over spending on wars and spinning a imaginary housing markets with derivative bundling of worthless mortgages into AAA Securities traded on Wall Street. All of which was illegal before 1999. The legislation passed as the Financial Services Modernization Act or Gramm Leach and Bliley. Not important what name is given, ultimately it allows Banks to Rob and Pillage with impunity.

The truth is the United States is buried in mountains of debts with out the resources of a middle class to soak up waste fraud and abuses in the Government. Every few months the debt raises it's ugly head and Congress attaches a new name on the same problem, our supreme brokenness. Debt Crisis, TARP, 2big2fail. Sequester and Shut Downs are ALL the same ugly problem we can't shake off.

In the past we mortgaged a industry sending jobs overseas or downsized and outsourced the middle class jobs to pay the debts spending out of control. When our economy was empty they turned to the only commerce left in America, you house, your homes.

This chapter in American politics will end with this footnote. They settled for 24 billion dollars of waste, all government workers will be paid and some twice. 10 billion more of spending with 3 billion to build a Dam in Kentucky. In the end they agreed to spend more and kick a bigger can a shorter distance to 2014

Sick and Tired

I caught 60 Minutes Sunday as I often do, if it's not a rerun. This week featured  Senator Tom Coburn (R) Oklahoma and subject, Social Security Disability Fraud.  Senator Coburn is also a Medical Doctor but has been in and out of Congress since elected 1994. This is not about Tom Coburn but, more about the message he brings. His office sampled random cases of Disability Claims and found a large number to be fraudulent. His words not mine. The threat so large it could take down the entire Disability system and render no benefits. After the interview, Tom admits that he does not question why there is such widespread abuse. The obvious elephant in the room is most people cannot find jobs and to old to compete in the youthful labor markets but, not old enough to retire. He ends saying that Congress should recognize the problem and create legislation to deal with this age group. The current plan seems to be to look the other way and just say they're all sick, when they're not disabled at all.
 Senator Coburn opens his interview with facts and figures and asks the question "Where did all these people come from"?  I thought maybe I should shed some light on this topic because I have been on the front lines of this issue for much longer than his terms in office, way back in 1994.

On the surface you would think this topic is about people who are to lazy to work and to nervous to steal and end up on the government dole. This is not the case and the widespread nature is testament to the level of abuse on Social Security. There just cannot be that many dishonest Americans.

So where did all theses people come from? The answer in my estimation will surprise most of you. Yes, they're all really sick. Some have outsource disease, some have down sizing syndrome. Many of the folks targeted on the interview are probably victims of EPA affliction that closed coal mines in their areas. Other's contracted Plant Closing Sickness when their jobs were sent overseas in search of cheap labor. In each case these epidemics in our economy ripple through the jobs available and the musical chairs of employment gets smaller and smaller.

My business was heavy construction, most of my career I witnessed the exodus from manufacturing into Construction. For those many years I believed I would be immune to unemployment because "You can't import or export construction".  No matter where the economy grew it would require new buildings to serve the newest technology. The wages in construction suffered and competition increased in supply and demand. Highly skilled tool and die machinist were hanging drywall and painting.

 Eventually even my job would be taken by the greatest plague of all,  Uncontrolled Illegal Immigration from all directions. This plague infects any industry that Congress permits. President Deuce Bush was quoted over and over again  saying "these people are needed to do the work most American don't want" Bush being equally confused as Tom Coburn, it's not hard to connect the dots, should you care?
I suppose it's coincidence they both claim the conservative moniker. I should declare I'm not a Republican or Democrat but, after 2 Bushes I'll  have none of that, Libertarian interest me but, for now I'm Independent.

Now I've listened to the rhetoric espoused by both parties, this your fault because you lack education. This claim holds no water because none of the free ranging criminal aliens speak English, much less have a education. Couple this fact with the unemployment rates of college graduates who are turned down regularly for entry level positions because of language barriers with the illegal. Also mixing legal workers with the illegals will cause mutiny when the legal workers blow the whistle on the criminals.Now you have large sections of the economy unavailable to a legal workforce.

I don't think this information is a revelation to most people unless your a Congressman or President. In these instances, politicians who have been on the government gravy train so long "Denial" is a river in Egypt.

Sooo, I hope this may shed some light to Tom Coburns question as to where these people came from? They are Americans ignored for 40 years by Congress! Are they really sick? You betcha they're sick, sick of Congress!!  Or maybe a better question is why would anyone in Coburns position be so naive about their destiny. You see the US Constitution says pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. Congress seems confused, the bigger the bubble, the greater our imaginary wealth. Not true my friends, so not true!
More important to note is: Everything that was here in America in 1970 is still here. All the resources that made this Country great in 1970 is still around us. The only thing missing is our priorities and how we will apply them to our once great Union..

I could go on and on and will but. this is all I got tonight!!!

Shutdown Showdown

My father was barely 18 years old in 1942 when a ship carried him and other Marines to World War II in the Solomon Islands. He never spoke much about the war but, he did tell me the Marines all slept on the decks of the ships when they crossed the heat at the Equator.
He spent his youth in both World War II and again in Korea, He would not be sympathetic to the 114 Congress and neither shall I