My son Michael as a guest blogger

Some of the ways your government is spending your money

by Michael Strickland on Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 9:32am

You may have watched President Obama's speech last night, in which he implored all of us to tell our members of Congress to make a deal on the debt ceiling issue. Specifically, he said that if we default because the debt ceiling is not raised, "we would not have enough money to pay all of our bills -- bills that include monthly Social Security checks, veterans' benefits, and the government contracts we've signed with thousands of businesses."

The president is trying to make you think that retirees won't get their Social Security checks, veterans won't receive their benefits, small businesses won't get paid. That is a scare tactic, plain and simple; our president is playing politics just as much as everyone else in Washington.

If we default, yes -- we will not have enough money to pay ALL of our bills. But we will have plenty of money to pay MOST of our bills. Do you really believe our government will let retirees and veterans go unpaid, while other, much less critical bills get paid? Highly unlikely -- and if so, it will be a political move at the expense of those in need.

Take a look at the following very long list of items in our federal budget that receive billions of dollars. Not only could many of these go without getting paid in favor of paying retirees and veterans until the debt crisis is solved, most of these could (and perhaps should) be cut from our budget entirely. Yes, there are some items like NEA and PBS that many people would want to keep. But do we really need Mohair Subsidies? And is it unreasonable to require federal employees to pay their taxes like the rest of us?

In a perfect world, there would be enough money to go around for everyone's pet programs. But it's time to get serious. We are drowning in debt, and we have to cut runaway spending. When all of us are in debt, do we have the luxury of asking our employer (if we're employed) to raise our salary? No -- we have to cut our spending and live within our means. Ask your government to do the same; don't enable their spending problem by letting them raise more "revenue" (Obama's weasel word for "taxes").

[TOTAL SAVINGS if all of the following were cut: $2.5 trillion over 10 years.]

➢ Corporation for Public Broadcasting Subsidy. $445 million annual savings.
 ➢ Save America's Treasures Program. $25 million annual savings.
 ➢ International Fund for Ireland. $17 million annual savings.
 ➢ Legal Services Corporation. $420 million annual savings.
 ➢ National Endowment for the Arts. $167.5 million annual savings.
 ➢ National Endowment for the Humanities. $167.5 million annual savings.
 ➢ Hope VI Program. $250 million annual savings.
 ➢ Amtrak Subsidies. $1.565 billion annual savings.
 ➢ Eliminate duplicative education programs. H.R. 2274 (in last Congress), authored by Rep. McKeon, eliminates 68 at a savings of $1.3 billion annually.
 ➢ U.S. Trade Development Agency. $55 million annual savings.
 ➢ Woodrow Wilson Center Subsidy. $20 million annual savings.
 ➢ Cut in half funding for congressional printing and binding. $47 million annual savings.
 ➢ John C. Stennis Center Subsidy. $430,000 annual savings.
 ➢ Community Development Fund. $4.5 billion annual savings.
 ➢ Heritage Area Grants and Statutory Aid. $24 million annual savings.
 ➢ Cut Federal Travel Budget in Half. $7.5 billion annual savings.
 ➢ Trim Federal Vehicle Budget by 20%. $600 million annual savings.
 ➢ Essential Air Service. $150 million annual savings.
 ➢ Technology Innovation Program. $70 million annual savings.
 ➢ Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program. $125 million annual savings.
 ➢ Department of Energy Grants to States for Weatherization. $530 million annual savings.
 ➢ Beach Replenishment. $95 million annual savings.
 ➢ New Starts Transit. $2 billion annual savings.
 ➢ Exchange Programs for Alaska, Natives Native Hawaiians, and Their Historical Trading Partners in Massachusetts. $9 million annual savings.
 ➢ Intercity and High Speed Rail Grants. $2.5 billion annual savings.
 ➢ Title X Family Planning. $318 million annual savings.
 ➢ Appalachian Regional Commission. $76 million annual savings.
 ➢ Economic Development Administration. $293 million annual savings.
 ➢ Programs under the National and Community Services Act. $1.15 billion annual savings.
 ➢ Applied Research at Department of Energy. $1.27 billion annual savings.
 ➢ FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership. $200 million annual savings.
 ➢ Energy Star Program. $52 million annual savings.
 ➢ Economic Assistance to Egypt. $250 million annually.
 ➢ U.S. Agency for International Development. $1.39 billion annual savings.
 ➢ General Assistance to District of Columbia. $210 million annual savings.
 ➢ Subsidy for Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. $150 million annual savings.
 ➢ Presidential Campaign Fund. $775 million savings over ten years.
 ➢ No funding for federal office space acquisition. $864 million annual savings.
 ➢ End prohibitions on competitive sourcing of government services.
 ➢ Repeal the Davis-Bacon Act. More than $1 billion annually.
 ➢ IRS Direct Deposit: Require the IRS to deposit fees for some services it offers (such as processing payment plans for taxpayers) to the Treasury, instead of allowing it to remain as part of its budget. $1.8 billion savings over ten years.
 ➢ Require collection of unpaid taxes by federal employees. $1 billion total savings.
 ➢ Prohibit taxpayer funded union activities by federal employees. $1.2 billion savings over ten years.
 ➢ Sell excess federal properties the government does not make use of. $15 billion total savings.
 ➢ Eliminate death gratuity for Members of Congress.
 ➢ Eliminate Mohair Subsidies. $1 million annual savings.
 ➢ Eliminate taxpayer subsidies to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. $12.5 million annual savings.
 ➢ Eliminate Market Access Program. $200 million annual savings.
 ➢ USDA Sugar Program. $14 million annual savings.
 ➢ Subsidy to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). $93 million annual savings.
 ➢ Eliminate the National Organic Certification Cost-Share Program. $56.2 million annual savings.
 ➢ Eliminate fund for Obamacare administrative costs. $900 million savings.
 ➢ Ready to Learn TV Program. $27 million savings.

Source:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/20/house-gop-gets-specific-on-cuts_n_811557.html

"Eat your peas"

Obama in a recent speech about the debt limit deadline: "It's not going to get easier. It's going to get harder. So we might as well do it now: pull off the Band-Aid, eat our peas. Now is the time to do it. If not now, when?"

As the debt ceiling deadline draws near these clowns in Washington are acting like eight year olds, just blaming each other with both sides not willing to negotiate while the American people stand to be the big losers. The national debt is going to bankrupt this country and some very serious cuts in spending need to be made. But as a conservative Republican I also agree that there are probably tax loopholes that can be eliminated (ethanol subsidy, etc.).  


I know about negotiating, especially when the subject is "eat your peas". When my youngest son was eight years old, one evening he refused to eat his peas at dinner. I had had a bad day at work and reverting to the way my parents raised me, I told him; "You are not leaving the table until you eat your peas". He sat there and stared forward, making no effort to eat. So I dug in my heels and we left him at the table and I told him he could not get up until he ate his peas.  A half hour passed, he just sat there - no progress, another half hour, no progress. Finally I lost my cool and told him; "Eat your peas or you will get the strap!" His response; "How many times? ".  He won the battle.


But here is my point; if an eight year old can master the art of negotiation these so-called politicians we elect to represent us need to figure out how to get their act together. And Obama  needs to start showing some leadership and solve this problem. He is the key and so far his performance as our president has been pitiful in his ability to manage this country's financial affairs.


Conspirators believe he is deliberately trying to let this country's economy fail so it can be converted to a socialist society.  I have never bought into that, but sometimes I wonder. 

Goodbye "Goldie"

I love California because we are such a progressive state and have always been in the "lead". We lead with the highest gas prices in the country, we are 12% of the population of the USA but lead with 32% of the welfare cases, we lead with the largest debt of any state in the country, and being an environmental leader we are banning plastic bags in most metropolitan areas. Is this a great state or what?

Recently, San Fransisco the most progressive city in our state is banning circumcision and has proposed banning the sale of goldfish because of the inhumane life they lead swimming in a little tank. I have to agree with this ban and am pleased that the politicians in that city are working on these serious problems.

Living in the country we know about inhumane treatment of goldfish and I am reminded of a blog I wrote many years ago so thought it appropriate to post it again:

Lipstick

Her name was "Lipstick."

Not that she wore a lot of make-up; to my knowledge she didn’t wear any. She wasn’t beautiful, but she had that look that makes females attractive. Large eyes, some would say too far apart, but they always seemed to be wide open and full of life. Her large beautiful lips glowed a golden color in the sun, and that’s how she got her name.

Lipstick became part of our family last year and has been a constant companion ever since. Joining me for my morning coffee most days, her body moved with the grace of a bird, gliding with effortless motion as we both relaxed in the morning sun.

She could have spent her life in the city, safely enclosed behind four glass walls, but chose instead the country, surrounded by the sounds of birds and waterfalls.

But Lipstick is gone. A victim of nature’s cruel cycle of life, after becoming a midnight snack to a hungry raccoon. She is now in that great goldfish pond in the sky, swimming to her heart’s content for all eternity.

These are the harsh realities of living in the country, surrounded by wild turkeys and Indian casinos. But it was our choice to move here, and as we forge out a life in this untamed wilderness, we will think of Lipstick often, and keep a vigilant watch for the wily raccoon who is most likely planning his next raid on our goldfish pond.

Israeli Pundits and Politicians

I watched the meeting today between Obama and Netenyahu and it was refreshing to see the Israeli Prime Minister take this "man-child" to the woodshed and teach him what leadership is all about.

But I find it amusing how the political pundits and the politicians have "analyzed" the situation between Israel and the US after Obama's speech Thursday and this meeting today.

I have been to Israel and have a basic understanding of the Israeli situation, and have to laugh at the pundits after this week events. Obama was given a verbal spanking by Netenyahu today but afterwards I watched a democratic pundit say: " Obama is brilliant, this is a chess game he is playing and he knows exactly what he is doing". Who the hell pays these people to make such stupid comments?

If you are even a casual student of history or have read bible history, it has to be clear that there is no way the Israelis will accept a compromise that might sacrifice their security or make them give up their homeland. I visited Israel in the late sixties after the 'six day war' and the one message that came through loud and clear from all the Israelis I talked to was; "No retreating and to the last man there will never be another Holocaust".

I don't know if Obama is a Muslim sympathizer or if he and his advisers are just plain stupid. But I know that in one short speech this week Obama moved the peace talks back a decade. Netenyahu told Obama in no uncertain terms on national TV today that there will be no retreating from the 1967 borders and unless we change our "new" policy towards the Israel/Palestinian problem, there will never be a peace treaty.

It's pathetic when the leader of a small country like Israel can make our President look like such a novice. But in the words of that great philosopher Forrest Gump; "Stupid is as stupid does".

Are we too far gone?

I read this week that for the first time more people in the US are on government assistance than those who are not. In other words, there are more people riding in the wagon than are pulling it.

At first that statistic is hard to believe until you think about the growth in government assistance during the Bush administration, and even more so since the Obama administration took over. In addition to the normal entitlements like social security, Medicare, Medicaid (and if Obamacare becomes law 50 million people getting assistance with their insurance premiums), also consider the following:
Forty million people on food stamps; millions more on welfare; 99 weeks of unemployment insurance; subsidies for people whose mortgage is in default; school lunch programs; college assistance programs; remember "cash for clunkers"?; how about $7500 government assistance if you buy a GM Volt?. In addition there will be unforeseen government assistance to victims of natural disasters - floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, etc.

It is not my intention to debate whether or not all of these programs are necessary. I'm sure many are vital and there is no question the "baby boomers" are presenting a huge financial burden on this country. BUT WE HAVE NO MONEY! The national debt is insanity and approaching a level that will be impossible to overcome. Are we too far gone?

The debt is at $14.5 trillion dollars (and climbing) and is so large that most Americans cannot even comprehend it. To put it in perspective we are borrowing $188 million every hour. Congressman Paul Ryan recently proposed a budget that will "reduce" the debt by $6 trillion dollars in ten years. It was immediately dismissed by democratic politicians and president Obama as "radical". Now let's see, this so-called radical budget will reduce the deficit to just $8.5 trillion by the year - 2021, this is assuming no major disasters, terrorist attacks, wars, etc.

Next week will be a debate about raising the debt limit. If the republicans and moderate democrats vote to raise it again, you will have the answer - we are too far gone. Politicians talk about a 'Balanced Budget Amendment" to the Constitution. Realistically that would take 5-10 years, even it if received affirmative votes throughout the very complicated process. Here is my idea for a quick balanced budget amendment - freeze the debt ceiling permanently and tell the US government "that's all folks". Make interest payments first, then tell the managers of our government agencies to divide up the balance and do whatever is required to keep the country functioning. It could be painful, but as simple as that.

We approach the debt limit in just a week and what action do we see in Washington? While Obama goes on Opra and gives press conferences about his birth certificate, our politicians enjoy the remainder of their two week "spring break".

"The Social Network"

If you have not seen this movie it is worth watching. And if you are a very observant grandfather (like me) with the ability to step the DVD through frame by frame, you will see my grand daughter in the 'dance scene'...it's only a few seconds, but she is a beauty. OK...that's not the point of this blog.

Facebook started as a local Harvard experiment in 2004 by a young man wanting to get students in touch with each other, and since has become a worldwide phenomenon. It has also made its 20+ year old founder the youngest billionaire in the world.

I love Facebook because I can follow the day-to-day activities of my large family and many friends, communicate with them, post pictures, and even get into a spirited debate from time-to-time. But Facebook and other so-called social networks have had a much more profound effect on this world.

I wonder if that young man who started the Facebook experiment at Harvard would have ever dreamed that after a Tunisian vendor set himself on fire to protest his totalitarian government, that the simple communication between people on the internet would set the Middle East on fire. That one incident has caused revolts from people wanting freedom in Tunisia, Yemen, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and now especially Libya and Syria. Countries that have for centuries been ruled by an iron fist are being brought to their knees by a network of communication that is slowly bringing this world together and allowing people who have been isolated all their lives to see what freedom is all about.

Think about China and their 1+ billion people who are mostly oppressed without the ability to communicate with the rest of the world. The Chinese government controls all aspects of the internet, but sooner or later technology will win out and when their citizens start realizing what they might be able to achieve in a truly free society, the Chinese government may have the biggest revolt of them all.

Isn't it ironic that all the guns, arrests, torture, and prisons that maintain control in these totalitarian states may some day be defeated by the technology resulting from some college boy at Harvard trying to get students to "network" with each other?

Newt can't win

Newt Gingrich has formed a "presidential exploratory committee". He says that he is not sure if he will run for president, but we all know the political dance - he will be running for president against Obama. And he cannot win.

I am a fan of Newt and he is an intellectual giant compared to Obama. In a debate he would make Obama look like a high school political science student, but he cannot win.

It's sad, but in today's environment of 24 hour news and a left wing media that creates the images for the masses, Newt cannot compete with Obama. The reason - the average American is not that smart or better said; not that interested in politics except for what they get from the two minute sound bites.

Newt is smart and tough; if elected he would be a great president and he would replace the most incompetent president in this country's history. But he has personal baggage, he doesn't have a good physical "image", and the media would destroy him.

I hope I am wrong, but I believe the Republicans need a fresh, intelligent, and tough new candidate that will be able to convince the American public that this country is in deep trouble, while at the same time has the gift of charisma and political polish that our incompetent "Golden Boy" has.