What job market strength: There are plenty of part time jobs but no full time ones. I will pay overtime rather than hire anyone. I simply cannot afford to pay there health care costs that have tripled for half the coverage. But he good news is I a 61 year old snipped male have personal pregnancy coverage! Before I only had to pay for pregnancy coverage for the female employees of child bearing age and male employees with family coverage! The only sector that is hiring around me is the government. They are now the largest employer by a factor of 1.5 in my area. I do not know where the tax money for all those dead beat government assholes is supposed to come from. If they raise my taxes again I will simply be forced to close and leave as I would no longer be able to pay my employees without taking a lose as my customers are in the same boat and cannot afford price increases and simply will do without if I raise my prices.
I drive through the city and see the city street department patching pot holes: One guy driving the 4 door 6 passenger dump truck, a guy sitting in the shotgun seat with the drive, 4 guys with shovels with one guys actually filling the hole with two guys in a chase car making sure the holes get filled. Summary = 8 employees + 2 vehicles doing a job that require a maximum of 3(1 driver and two shovelers) + 1 truck. Typical government 3X waste.
You want to balance all the government budgets you can literally go through, fire every other employee and you would never notice a difference in services. Since 75% of government budgets is salaries you would immediately realize a 37% drop in the cost of government.
You can even do better!! revise the tax code to abolish income taxes and go to a straight national sales tax would give you several benefits:
No More IRS--Deport all IRS employees to Somalia where they can be called what they are PIRATES since almost all states already collect point of sale taxes so enforcement is simple.
Taxes will no longer be hidden from the average taxpayer SO THEY WILL ALL KNOW HOW MUCH THE GOVERNMENT IS STEALING (payroll deduction effectively hides income taxes from the average person because the money is just GONE)
There will be rise in revenue because it will be impossible to hide income (rich people buy expensive toys and home. You only exempt the first $150,000 or so from primary home purchase price and tax the rest. This will also get the ultra rich that hide their income off shore and live on "stipends" from off shore hidden tax free trust accounts like the Kennedys and Rockfellers who still buy expensive toys.
Simply if you spend it then it is taxed, if you save it it is not taxed until you spend it.
How many rich people do you know that drive Ford Fiestas.
It also get the tax cheats and under ground economy since they pay taxes when they spend their money.
Normal people can save for purchases without have their savings stolen by taxes.
You have a balanced budget amendment that decrees by law how percentage of the GDP the government (includes federal, state and local) can spend on total. It must operate below that level and may not tax above that level. Stating that if spending exceed taxes the first salaries cut will be congresses.
All government employees including the President need to have a fixed expense budget including food, lodging, entertainment, travel and security. If they exceed it the money comes from their salary. Congress may allow additional money for expenses but only for Official functions.
Campaigning including fund raising using government money for travel, living and security shall be against the law and punishable by lose of office up to jail time.
All government employees including all elected officials shall be subject to all laws (congress can no longer exempt itself and others from laws it passes such as insider trading, OSHA, privacy, sexual discrimination, and every other law they have made themselves above.
Severe term limits on ALL government elected officials with limits on pension collection until retirement age is reached (like the rest of us) (except LE and Military). Restore the right to fire government any employee. Bring government pensions in line with private sector (can't collect until 65 etc.)
It is time to get rid of the "Ruling Class" They eat caviar will we eat cat food.
Poor people will have more disposable income because you exempt food, lodging up to a certain level and healthcare from sales taxes
All Hail TiredTraveller. At last one American that sees the way things really are, and has answers to fix the problems.
Now if we could somehow elect leadership to actually fix something, instead of telling us how well off we are.
I guess I'm not old enough to let my views by tainted by nostalgia. How about you RickyBoy? 45 or so now? What times do you remember being better? Late 80s? Late 90s? Anything else?
This is the most anemic post-recession recovery we've seen in generations. The employment numbers are crap, not only because of the quality of the replacement jobs but, more importantly, the low labor participation rates.
Obamacare is only one piece of that puzzle and we haven't seen the full impact yet as the small business mandates still haven't fully kicked in yet. What I also credit is the reality that this is the most business unfriendly administration since FDR, with a variety of regulatory agencies seemingly doing everything possible to impede growth and expansion.
During normal times I tend to believe that government gets too much credit when things are good and blame when things are bad. But my normal beliefs have been increasingly challenged by what I have been seeing with this regime.
Your last paragraph is close, Rick: government policies have almost no effect on the business cycle. It does provide a bread and circus distraction for the media to follow though.
Low rates have hindered the recovery somewhat I'll grant that. But that's about to change. Small businesses, individuals and financial services should benefit in particular.
I'll have to see when get closer but my feeling is that when rates go up at first the markets will correct. That's what everyone is thinking and the conventional wisdom is that rising rates is bad. It will feed into people's confirmation biased very well. Stevie-girl and ZeroHedge will probably cream their pants but they are right.
But the truth is quite the opposite and it is going to be fun when small businesses, real estate and financial services in particular rip the skeptics faces off again next year.
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I drive through the city and see the city street department patching pot holes: One guy driving the 4 door 6 passenger dump truck, a guy sitting in the shotgun seat with the drive, 4 guys with shovels with one guys actually filling the hole with two guys in a chase car making sure the holes get filled. Summary = 8 employees + 2 vehicles doing a job that require a maximum of 3(1 driver and two shovelers) + 1 truck. Typical government 3X waste.
You want to balance all the government budgets you can literally go through, fire every other employee and you would never notice a difference in services. Since 75% of government budgets is salaries you would immediately realize a 37% drop in the cost of government.
You can even do better!! revise the tax code to abolish income taxes and go to a straight national sales tax would give you several benefits:
No More IRS--Deport all IRS employees to Somalia where they can be called what they are PIRATES since almost all states already collect point of sale taxes so enforcement is simple.
Taxes will no longer be hidden from the average taxpayer SO THEY WILL ALL KNOW HOW MUCH THE GOVERNMENT IS STEALING (payroll deduction effectively hides income taxes from the average person because the money is just GONE)
There will be rise in revenue because it will be impossible to hide income (rich people buy expensive toys and home. You only exempt the first $150,000 or so from primary home purchase price and tax the rest. This will also get the ultra rich that hide their income off shore and live on "stipends" from off shore hidden tax free trust accounts like the Kennedys and Rockfellers who still buy expensive toys.
Simply if you spend it then it is taxed, if you save it it is not taxed until you spend it.
How many rich people do you know that drive Ford Fiestas.
It also get the tax cheats and under ground economy since they pay taxes when they spend their money.
Normal people can save for purchases without have their savings stolen by taxes.
You have a balanced budget amendment that decrees by law how percentage of the GDP the government (includes federal, state and local) can spend on total. It must operate below that level and may not tax above that level. Stating that if spending exceed taxes the first salaries cut will be congresses.
All government employees including the President need to have a fixed expense budget including food, lodging, entertainment, travel and security. If they exceed it the money comes from their salary. Congress may allow additional money for expenses but only for Official functions.
Campaigning including fund raising using government money for travel, living and security shall be against the law and punishable by lose of office up to jail time.
All government employees including all elected officials shall be subject to all laws (congress can no longer exempt itself and others from laws it passes such as insider trading, OSHA, privacy, sexual discrimination, and every other law they have made themselves above.
Severe term limits on ALL government elected officials with limits on pension collection until retirement age is reached (like the rest of us) (except LE and Military). Restore the right to fire government any employee. Bring government pensions in line with private sector (can't collect until 65 etc.)
It is time to get rid of the "Ruling Class" They eat caviar will we eat cat food.
Poor people will have more disposable income because you exempt food, lodging up to a certain level and healthcare from sales taxes
Thom Hartmann
http://www.democracynow.org/2013/11/12/t…
SJG
Rolling Stones
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKOjhv2f…
Now if we could somehow elect leadership to actually fix something, instead of telling us how well off we are.
Obamacare is only one piece of that puzzle and we haven't seen the full impact yet as the small business mandates still haven't fully kicked in yet. What I also credit is the reality that this is the most business unfriendly administration since FDR, with a variety of regulatory agencies seemingly doing everything possible to impede growth and expansion.
During normal times I tend to believe that government gets too much credit when things are good and blame when things are bad. But my normal beliefs have been increasingly challenged by what I have been seeing with this regime.
Low rates have hindered the recovery somewhat I'll grant that. But that's about to change. Small businesses, individuals and financial services should benefit in particular.
I'll have to see when get closer but my feeling is that when rates go up at first the markets will correct. That's what everyone is thinking and the conventional wisdom is that rising rates is bad. It will feed into people's confirmation biased very well. Stevie-girl and ZeroHedge will probably cream their pants but they are right.
But the truth is quite the opposite and it is going to be fun when small businesses, real estate and financial services in particular rip the skeptics faces off again next year.
Aaa are you ready to rumble???!