Amazing Lincoln Quote...

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence. You cannot help people permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves. -- A. Lincoln Love it! Bo

A quick thought on our Debt Crisis!

I had to put the exclamation mark in the title to imitate the media and their hysterics--not to say that a debt default wouldn't put the US into a tailspin: It would. It's just my swipe at the lamestream media and their crazy thoughts. Whatever, here's my rant:

Saw a Harry Reid quote: "People on the right are upset, people on the left are upset, people in the middle are upset," he said. "It was a compromise." Ah, so that's what compromise is? Let's get both sides together and see who we can make blink first...

My response is this: the people who are upset are "We the People". Not only that, We the People (WTP) are the ones who are getting hosed. WTP will PAY for the needless spending. WTP will be taxed if they cannot make up their minds. WTP will pay regardless of who 'wins' and WTP are the ones injured by government largess. When will D.C. figure out that WTP are why they (politicians) are there? Let's have more thinking of WTP instead of making us say WTF!

WE THE PEOPLE put you in office; shame on us for allowing you to remain there... All of you are a disappointment; all of you are to blame. Be it back in the "W" days (of course it's all his fault, right?) or in the current "Big Government is Good Government" Administration (just say NO)--you (read: Congress and our Government) have spent MY MONEY and wasted MY MONEY and you are harming the country. SHAME ON ALL OF YOU! Now quit bickering and fix this mess!

What is a Libertarian?

My Mom faxed this article from today's USA Today from Rand Paul, who is running for the US Senate in Kentucky. I know nothing about him other than this article and I heard/read somewhere that he recently said some silly things that seemed bigoted. Not judging on that 'stuff' or even commenting on it, but really read that article and tell me where you can find much fault?

Personally, I think that the Government is causing a lot of our issues right now. Most of my economic commentary is found on my Economics blog, but this one is a bit more Political. Yes, the Economy is kind of 'stuck' right now. But think of this-would YOU want to hire anyone right now? There are so many governmental regulations coming down the road, such as the health care legislation. There are rumblings about raising the minimum wage (actually, indexing the minimum wage with inflation, which will serve to raise the wage). The "George Bush Tax Cuts" are set to expire and that may have some effect on hiring (I have read articles on both sides of this; some 'Pro-expiration' and some 'Anti-expiration' and both sides actually have merit).

With the Government takeover of Wall Street companies as well as at GM we have unprecedented meddling into private enterprise (ditto for the new 'banking bill'). Oh, and evil BP had to cough up $20B (that's the big B for Billion) 'up front' for the disaster in the Gulf--while it may be warranted ($3B has been paid out I believe) it's bizarre to see a Government go after a Company in this manner. What I'm trying to say is that there is too much Government interference in our lives. Even the most Liberal among us can admit that SOMETHING in their life has been affected by Governmental regulations--to their detriment. How about LESS Government?

You can blame 'de-regulation' for many economic woes; you can blame too little oversight for the mortgage meltdown--if you dig a little deeper it's not just Wall Street that's to blame--try our Government and the 'goal' of putting more people in houses dating back to the late 1990's. That's a self-serving goal for me as well (as a real estate attorney and as the son of a builder) but some of these buyers weren't ready for home ownership (or had loans that were higher than they should have had, etc.). I guess look at it this way--if you made $3000 per month, would you try to take on a mortgage that would be $2800 per month? If you wanted to walk everywhere, have no money for furnishings or entertainment and eat Ramen noodles daily, maybe you would go for that deal. I would think that would be setting up a failure!

Try taking this quiz--you may find out you are a Libertarian as well! (I was!) Does that mean that we all want to legalize marijuana (one of the Libertarian Party's stated platform items)? Not really, but "Less Government" is the main focus for me--is the Libertarian Party or Tea Party "THE" answer? Not so much. But I am certainly NOT a Democrat and I don't feel the Republicans have truly represented me at all in the last several years, so where to go? THAT's the main Q I have. Sigh...

Which recession is over?

I love watching Frank Garay and Brian Stevens "Think Big, Work Small". THIS POSTING is great--when is your PERSONAL recession over? All I can say is that several things formed a perfect storm in my own life, most centered around my old house sitting for almost an entire year and not selling. It is currently rented so we're in 'better' shape, but issues stemming from the carrying costs have left their mark on our finances. Starting our own company (translation: no paycheck for several months) was 'fun' as well, though things are more stable to date. With that being said, we still need to get rid of a lot of debt. SO, am I out of my recession? Not yet. What is it going to take? Unlike our government, I have done the obvious stuff--cut back on spending, try to pay off debt, but that can only do so much when you start out in the red. I know that it is up to me to secure our future. Yes, I depend on God and I am truly blessed. I have to step it up, however, and see what I can do to secure more business. How can I help YOU today? How can I help you get out of YOUR recession as well?

Poll: 4 out of 5 Americans don't trust Washington

DUH! Read THIS ARTICLE to see the details, but I can summarize by saying that BOTH sides have failed us. It seems to be more important to be re-elected (to keep their power and perks) versus actually serving the constituents that elected them. My 2 cents... Get rid of all of them this November!

The best column I've read about Health Care "Reform"

Someone forwarded this article to me from Hillsdale College. No clue about the school, no clue about Congressman Paul Ryan. I do, however, think this is incredibly well-written! Read it and see what YOU think...

Mind your own business, Walter G. "Pete" Borden

Here's an article for you, from a guy that is trying to stop the installation of artificial turf on Cobb County football fields. I wrote this comment on a 'letter to the editor' on the Marietta Daily Journal website:
I voted FOR SPLOST. WHY? Because of each line item in the proposal. I CHOSE to vote for this as my kids are in Cobb County Schools and I wanted their equipment and schools to be upgraded. YES, that includes the football field at Sprayberry (my son) and Kell (when my daughter is older). If you were out there watching football you would have seen the dustbowl at Osbourne in 2008 when we played 'away'. In 2009, you would have seen the mud and puddles (and heard about games being cancelled due to water on the field, etc.). There is a high cost to maintain the fields and you cannot escape this fact. My yard? I don't spend a dime on it. Not important to me. As for the Mr. Borden, he doesn't even pay school taxes so where is his standing to sue? I read the proposal and voted FOR this money to be used. If you don't like it, don't vote for it. IT PASSED, get over it. Now our tax money is being wasted on thousands of dollars in legal fees (ask a litigator-the average price to bring a lawsuit to trial is over $5,000-$10,000. Could a teacher have used this money in the classroom?). Bottom line, after the laptop debacle, they clarified where every penny would go; that's why I voted for it (and why it passed, I guess?). To use a silly sports analogy, stop "Monday Morning Quarterbacking"!
In essence, this could delay the installation for Fall sports. Is this the most important issue in my life? NO. However, one guy is holding up everything and I hate it. I just wanted to vent; should you desire to get involved, call the Judge who will be presiding over the case: Judge Steven Schuster – He needs to know that the people of Cobb County voted for this and we expect him to honor that vote! Staff Attorney-Brittany Jones (770) 528-1851 Administrative Assistant-Janet Smith (770) 528-1849 Office Fax (770) 528-1854

Headline: "Not much impact from repeat buyer credit"

Saw this article on my startpage today; my response is a big DUH. The points made in this story are correct (that the 'carrot' may not be big enough, and you can't buy a home without a job). However, the main point is the one that was not stated: this tax credit was worthless from day one. Read the actual law--I'm in the middle of working on taxes right now (don't get me started, but all I can say is PASS the FAIR TAX!) so I will simply refer you to this prior post to explain the tax credit. In essence I believe that you had to be in the same house over 5 years (i.e. it had to be your principal residence for 5 of the last 8 years) to be eligible for that tax credit. Stop right there... How long have you lived in your current home? I have NEVER lived in one house for 5 consecutive years. SO I couldn't even get this tax credit if I wanted it! So we have a highly transient populace and the 'move up' market is definitely transient. Is this $6500 credit going anywhere? Not as it was written friends.... Our 'friends' in Congress didn't help us at all with that one.

Do you disagree?

My first answer, YES. I disagree with this man's actions. Joe Stack crashed his plane into an office building and killed himself as well as innocent person. So do I agree with his actions? NO.

HOWEVER.... have you read his rant? Not all of it makes sense to me. Not all of it applies to me. However, he hits some solid, well-reasoned arguments. Again, I DO NOT CONDONE his actions. I must admit that I agree with many of his comments... Be honest: Read his rant. What do YOU think?