Everything's Under Control, Rest Easy Friends

After all the furor in the last week about raising the debt ceiling, lets get some numbers straight before I tell you about my visit to the Mc Kaskill Kitchen Table Talk meeting in my home town.

14 trillion in debt now

2.4 trillion added by new debt ceiling

10 trillion added to debt over next 10 years due to base line budgeting

26.4 trillion total debt in 10 years

-2.1 trillion negotiated cuts over next 10 years

24.3 trillion is the projected total debt in 10 years according to this new debt ceiling deal.

Senator Mc Kaskill must be a very busy person. I thought at first she would be there so I was disappointed to find out it was just a staffer there to run the meeting.

There were about 12 people in attendance. I was the youngest person there (I'm 47) by at least 20 years for the first half of the meeting. Then a man that looked younger than I arrived late.

The staff person went around the room to ask if anyone had concerns. I was encouraged when the first person began complaining about the debt ceiling deal. But I'm afraid my jaw dropped when the complaint was fully stated. She was angry that the republicans got everything they wanted and Obama was just letting everyone have whatever they wanted and he just went along. "He has to stand for something at some point," she said disgusted. She knew that Senator Mc Kaskill and the president were close allies so could she please hold the president to account? The staffer said he would make her aware of this concern.

The next person wanted to know why the people who are making more money than they need are allowed to get social security. Why couldn't the cap be put in place to keep the rich from drawing social security when the don't need it?

Then the third person (who I think was the spouse of the second person) made a good point I thought about social security. He wanted to know "Why the $@&% do they call social security an entitlement? I've paid into it all my life. That's my money I paid in." The small group liked this. I thought he pretty well answered his wife's question myself.

The next guy was a hoot. He was a story teller I could tell. He started by complaining about all these adds against Claire Mc Kaskill and no one has answered them. With dramatic flare he asked, "You know where all the money for these adds is coming from don't you? Texas! There are groups out of Texas funding this add campaign." Then dramatically, like a lawyer pressing the jury to convict, he announced, "And Carl Rove is the one organizing them." He looked around the room to see the looks of horror on the faces of those present. He then went into a lecture on how the rich need to pay more taxes because they can afford it. The president should raise taxes on these people to help pay the deficit. I began to feel a little overwhelmed at the magnitude of the challenge to help people like this understand how big a problem we are facing. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY8LKII_MNA ) The story teller then swerved into the fact that the first trillion dollar deficit, "was run by none other than..." pausing for dramatic effect... "Ronald Reagan!" he exclaimed dramatically. To the staffer's credit he interrupted the mini-lecture to move the meeting along.

Summarizing the rest...One was concerned about veteran's benefits. Another voiced concern over the small arms treaty Hillary Clinton was involved with (which I still know nothing of and neither did the staffer.) The person that came after me wanted to know how the debt ceiling deal would affect the state of Missouri. (The staffer said this was not understood until the cuts were determined.)

For my turn I presented the above numbers and ask the staffer if Senator Mc Kaskill was involved with or knew of any plan to get our debt problem under control. He said in essence, other that the cuts that were agreed upon in the debt ceiling deal he knew of no other plan for cuts.

I explained to the best of of my ability that the debt problem will make all the other concerns everyone in the room had, pale in comparison. The destruction of the dollar would make pension and social security checks worthless. We DO NOT HAVE A REVENUE PROBLEM! WE HAVE A SPENDING PROBLEM. (I directed this statement toward the story teller. To his credit he nodded in agreement. ) Raising taxes would only discourage the very thing we need, economic growth. The staffer assured me he would make Senator Mc Kaskill aware of my concern.

There you have it. Don't get your knickers in a knot. It's all under control friends. No worries.

A Balanced Buget Amendment

I listened to the Mark Reardon Show on KMOX this afternoon and of course the discussion was about the debt ceiling debate. Rep. Russ Carnahan (D) was one of the guests. He made a statement that I will roughly quote in response to whether a balanced budget amendment should be included in the negotiations to raise the debt ceiling. He in essence said, "A balanced budget amendment just isn't practical."

Here we see why we are at the verge of financial oblivion. A balanced budget just isn't practical. Even if he meant not practical to include in the debt limit legislation HE'S DEAD WRONG. It's exactly what we need to avert catastrophe (if that is still possible.)

There is coming a reckoning. Folly's consequences always find there way home.

The Right to Expect Something

Well it has been a long quiet spell here due to several causes, vacation, kitchen renovation, kid’s events, work and just plain lack of zeal. So let me start up again saying I hope everyone is having a great summer.

The question that has been rolling around in my mind for the last few weeks is this: Do I have a right to expect my neighbor to behave morally and responsibly? Should I expect something from my fellow citizens? Do I have a right to expect them to be responsible, honest, respectful, free from dangerous and illegal substances? Should I expect them to teach their children to be responsible and respectful other’s property, to learn how to work to provide for themselves and their family? Do I have that right, the right to expect a certain standard of behavior form my fellow citizens?

If the answer is yes, it is way past time to exercise that right. If so, I need to start demanding good moral/ethical conduct from those around me and expecting them to be responsible. I’m ashamed to admit I gave up on this idea of "expecting" others to behave morally in college when I was bludgeoned with the, “Don’t force your morality down my throat” mentality that prevailed at the time. But now, 30 years later (actually earlier but I haven’t said much about it until now), I see the error of my ways.

So if you answered my question above by saying NO! I do not have a right to expect anything from the behavior of my fellow citizens. You still say, “don’t force your morality down my throat.” Or, I have no right to expect them to behave based on some basic morality. If you are in this crowd let me ask you a couple of questions.

Is the person on welfare expecting anything from my behavior? (Are they expecting a standard of behavior from me e.g. to go to work, after 8 years of exorbitant education costs and sacrifice by my family, to give over a substantial percentage of my hard earned income to support them?) If they’re not expecting this, let’s cut welfare spending right now.

Is the person receiving public assistance of any kind expecting anything from my behavior, e.g. to fund the government coffers that pay them to stay home and do _______ (you fill in the blank)?

The suggestion that welfare recipients take drug tests routinely puts some light on this question. If you expect something from your fellow citizens (public assistance) then your fellow citizens have a right to expect something from you.

Seems fair to me.

If I have no right to expect anything from them, well… they have no right to expect anything from me.

Father's Day

It must be my age. I'm getting to an age where I see the need for and often take the opportunity to say the things that are not commonly said. Yesterday I took the time to tell my wife and kids some things that needed to be said. I have three great kids and a wonderful wife. It is not every day that I make it a point to tell them that in a special way. I did yesterday.

I'm sure it took them by surprise. I think they will remember this Father's Day. So will I.

Socialism Addressed Again.

Below is an article worth reading. I ran across it at wallbuilders.com. Great rebuttal to the nonsense that the budget crisis is justified by Christian morality.

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=1365610

The Only Way to Keep from Dying is to Commit Suicide

I guess I don't learn very fast. I am still trying to make sense of the democratic/liberal stance on our national debt. A recent conversation stimulated this attempt to understand their policies.

So let me get this straight: 1 Almost everyone agrees we are spending ourselves into national suicide. 2 The liberal position is we cannot cut spending or taxes (on the rich) to raise revenue. 3 If we cut spending or fail to raise the debt ceiling (according to liberals/dems) it will be death by Armageddon. 4 If we raise the debt ceiling it will allow us to accomplish #1

So in summary the democratic/liberal position is that if we commit suicide (by continuing to spend) it will keep us from dying (in a financial Armageddon.)

I think there is another option.

Back From the Wilderness

This is my first full day back. I took a trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. If you've never been there I would encourage you to take a trip. It is not for the physically unfit. I prepared for it by exercising for three weeks.

It is a well preserved wilderness that offers the real deal experience of being in the untouched wild. There is no communication while in the park. You are truly cut off from the world for the duration.

This was my second visit and turned out to be a real adventure. We decided to break camp Wednesday morning and head for home. In the Boundary Waters the weather can change in a matter of minutes so it was not a real concern that a storm was blowing in. The wind had been blowing through the night on Tuesday and continued Wednesday morning but in the wilderness you can't tell how or if the wind is blowing on other lakes in the park. We found out the hard way it was blowing over the entire park and before we were to make the entire twelve mile paddle out it was gusting up to 50 mile per hour.

For six and a half hours we paddled for twelve miles and crossed 5 portages (it would normally take 4 1/2 hours.) The wind was gusting, driving rain and in places the whitecaps washed into the canoe. At one point, in the middle of Knife Lake, while we were about a quarter mile from shore a gust of wind hit us broad side at 40-50 mph. It nearly capsized us in the middle of the lake. My friend and I paddled endlessly with everything we had directly into the wind. We finally made it to shore on a rocky outcropping and bailed out the canoe. At one point we were paddling nosed into the wind to take the waves head-on creeping along shore at a 45 degree angle. I've never move forward at a 45 degree angle before in a canoe. At its worst we struggled to stay upright with every wave.

Several times we discussed stopping to set up camp and wait out the wind. Each time we optimistically thought it would be getting better. Not. It was a harrowing experience to say the least. We had set up a pick-up time with the outfitters before hand to pick us up at noon on Wednesday. One of the canoes in our group arrived at the pick-up point just as the outfitter arrived. It was then that we learned of the 50 mph winds. The boat driver said he was amazed but thankful to see us. He was afraid we would not make it back to the lodge without our weight in the boat. He then went looking for his life jacket. "Where is da ting," he said with northern exposure accent. "I've never worn it before." You should have seen everyone in our group grabbing their life jackets.

For the last 2 days in my warm, dry home I have been living on that "I'm glad to be alive" feeling. I wouldn't have missed it for the world but I never want to do it again.

It's good to be home.