TheBellCurve

All Aboard...

2009-12-13T12:46:00.007-05:00

When I decided to go into business for myself 35 years ago, I had more than a few concerns about whether or not I was making the right decision. Two of those concerns were what I was going to do about health insurance and retirement. As soon as I figured out that for all practical intents and purposes I was never going to have what most would consider acceptable health insurance, and that I was probably never going to retire, it took a lot of the pressure off.

Regardless of the wisdom of that decision, we have managed to survive so far, through a few wide spread economic recessions, and more than a few personal economic depressions, owing greatly, I realize, to the fact that my wife works three jobs. I have friends that I went to school with over forty years ago that are retired. I also have friends that I went to school with over forty years ago that are looking for a job.

I have noticed over the years that some jobs seem to weather a recession better than others. Bars seem to do alright. Uncle Fred used to say that people drink to celebrate good times and forget hard times. Maybe that's why.

Government jobs seem to hold their own pretty well, too. Sometimes they even get better. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (I don't know how many people work there), while the private sector was losing almost 4 million jobs last year, the government gained 150,000. While opinions vary on how private sector jobs will fare in the next couple of years, there seems to be a widespread consensus that new federal programs will require about 450,000 new public sector jobs by 2013.

Along with adding employees, the government is also increasing wages. According to an article by Dennis Cauchon in USA TODAY :

"The number of federal workers earning six-figure salaries has exploded during the recession, according to a USA TODAY analysis of federal salary data.

Federal employees making salaries of $100,000 or more jumped from 14% to 19% of civil servants during the recession's first 18 months — and that's before overtime pay and bonuses are counted.

Federal workers are enjoying an extraordinary boom time — in pay and hiring — during a recession that has cost 7.3 million jobs in the private sector.

The highest-paid federal employees are doing best of all on salary increases. Defense Department civilian employees earning $150,000 or more increased from 1,868 in December 2007 to 10,100 in June 2009, the most recent figure available.

When the recession started, the Transportation Department had only one person earning a salary of $170,000 or more. Eighteen months later, 1,690 employees had salaries above $170,000."

He goes on to add that "The growth in six-figure salaries has pushed the average federal workers pay to $71,206, compared with $40,331 in the private sector." That doesn't include the annual federal benefits of more than $41,000.

On the other hand, the number of private sector jobs is now at or below the 1999 level, and falling. And with the added burden of all the money the private sector is going to have to kick in to pay for the new government jobs and spending, it doesn't appear many new jobs will be created in the private sector anytime soon.

I guess that leaves those people looking for a job with fewer options. You could get on the wagon and go to work for the government. You could start a business and create your own job, or you could hang around the private sector until someone retires and get a job so you can help pull the wagon.

Or you could buy a bar. You'll still have to pull the wagon, but at least there will always be someone there to help.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2009-11-29T19:32:00.000-05:00

My wife informed me the other day that we are cutting back on our Christmas spending this year. Sounds like a good plan to me, although I’ve decided to take a wary “I’ll believe it when I see it” approach to the whole deal. There’s always the possibility that I’ll end up being a real schmuck on Christmas morning if I over-estimate what “cutting back” actually means, maybe even worse than the time I bought her a pant suit that was two sizes too big. Or the time I bought her a new can opener that was just like the one I had given her the Christmas before.

We never have been ones to go overboard buying presents. Socks and underwear have always been a staple. Our children and grandchildren have probably fared better than some and worse than others, but we’ve never bought anything for Christmas that we couldn’t pay for at the time. It seems to work out better that way, and it certainly makes January and February a lot more tolerable.

I’ve heard of people that were still paying for last years presents when they started buying this years presents. I imagine that has to take some of the joy out of giving. Credit and credit cards seem to be the major culprits in the deal. People tend to lose track of what they’re spending if they don’t have to fork over the cash on the spot. A study by Debt.com found that people who pay with credit cards tend to spend about 25% more than people who pay with cash. And then there’s that interest thing to contend with.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas up in Washington, too. They don’t really have a pay as you go system in place up there anymore, and you just about have to believe that our representatives have lost track of how much they’re spending. Our national debt passed $12 trillion sometime last month, but that’s only if you don’t add in our future obligations to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. That kicks it up to $60 or $70 trillion, give or take a trillion or two.

Like people who charge more on their credit cards than they pay on the bill each month, the government is spending and adding to the debt more than it is paying on it. By about a trillion dollars a year. And just like those people with their credit cards, it doesn’t make it any easier when you have to pay all of that interest, which in the government’s case is over $1 billion per day.

Of course, we all know that government doesn’t actually pay anything on the debt. Taxpayers do. And right now they’re also paying a lot of interest. In fact, 40 cents of every dollar of individual income taxes collected goes just to pay interest. And it doesn’t appear that the government is being overly frugal with the 60 cents that’s left over, either.

We also know that we aren’t going to be able to pay off this debt. We are going to hand it over to our children and grandchildren. In 10 years it ought to be up around $22 trillion.
If we don’t add anymore spending. And if nobody else loses their job.

Thomas Jefferson had some excellent advice years ago when he said that “It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes.” Sounds like a good idea to me all year, not just at Christmas.

And if you want to get the kids a little something extra this year, slip a bill in each of their stockings for $39,118.00. That’s each ones share of the federal debt. And be sure to remind them that just like the socks and underwear, it’s gonna be even bigger next year.

Merry Christmas.

Thanks again, I hope...

2009-11-26T09:23:00.004-05:00

I saw a letter to the editor in our local paper the other day exalting the virtues of a meatless Thanksgiving. One of the things I'm most thankful for this Thanksgiving is that apparently nobody in my family paid much attention to that letter.

The first attempts at this holiday got off to a rocky start. Here's a short report from William Bradford, Governor of the Plymouth Colony, 1646, describing the Pilgrim's failed experiment in socialism that was supposed to lead to shared prosperity...

"The experience that we had in this common course and condition, tried sundry years...that by taking away property, and bringing community into a common wealth, would make them happy and flourishing...as if they were wiser than God. For this community was found to breed much confusion and discontent, and retard much employment that would have been to their benefit and comfort. For young men that were most able and fit for labor and service did repine that they should spend their time and strength to work for other mens' wives and children without any recompense...that was thought injustice."

Thankfully, the pilgrims realized the error of their socialistic ways before it caused total failure, and converted to a system of private ownership and private enterprise that rewarded hard work and success, more than it rewarded sloth and failure. That move lead to the first Thanksgiving, and many more to follow. I hope that we as a nation can remember what created such a great nation, and what almost caused its downfall before it even started.

We have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

We also have a lot to be wary of.

I'm afraid it's going to get awfully crowded around here...

2009-11-22T12:30:00.007-05:00

I've always realized the fight against bigger government is an uphill battle. As long as the government continues to rob from Peter to pay Paul, Paul is usually going to throw his support the governments way.

Now the battle is becoming even harder. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has stated that "Today we vote whether to even discuss one of the greatest issues of our generation - indeed, one of the greatest issues this body has ever face: whether this nation will finally guarantee its people the right to live free from the fear of illness and death, which can be prevented by decent health care for all."

Free from the fear of illness and death? Illness and death can be prevented by big government health care?

It's gonna be hard to top that.

Who are you gonna call?....

2009-11-21T09:55:00.006-05:00

A few years ago, "Ghostbusters" was a popular answer to that question. Never having been troubled by ghosts, I never had need for their services. I do have my plumber on speed dial, and the electrician. Also Gary down at the hardware store and Jarod at the lumber yard. I've got three numbers to get ahold of my wife, and two to get ahold of Mom, so I think I'm pretty well covered for most emergencies.

I guess sometimes situations might change your calling circle. The rumor at coffee this morning was that as soon as Richard Lugar learned that his wife Charlene had been arrested for DUI and a hit and run accident, the first call he made was to Indiana State Representative Thomas Saunders.

Makes sense to me.

Although if he had called earlier she might have had three days to sober up.

Can you hear me now?...

2009-11-14T17:41:00.004-05:00

The current health care debate has generated a lot of discussion on just what constitutes a "right". I've always maintained that our rights cannot conflict with somebody else's rights. That is, if something you consider to be your right requires the initiation of force against another individual, it isn't really a right. I don't think it matters whether you forcibly take some one's property on your own, or whether you designate someone else to take it for you.

I've heard arguments from a lot of people that as long as the government is doing the taking, it's somehow different. That your "right" to health care entitles the government to take something from Peter and give it to Paul, even if it would be wrong for Paul to take it from Peter on his own.

Apparently, the government has decided that it's now a right to have a cell phone. I guess it's also a right to get to use it for 70 minutes a month.

I'm glad my kids didn't find this out a few years ago.

Yah, thot wood sock...

2009-11-12T20:00:00.002-05:00

Apparently the authors of the health care bill that the House of Representatives just passed were really serious about making sure everyone complied with the law. People who fail to buy insurance are subject to a $250,000.00 fine and up to 5 years in jail. Since the bill is almost 2000 pages, I haven't found time to read the whole thing yet. I hope my $10,000.00 deductible, catastrophic coverage policy suits them. I'm not sure I could come up with a quarter of a million dollars or 5 years, either one.

I do have some concerns for my Amish friends and neighbors, though. They're not the insurance buying type, opting instead to take care of themselves with an old fashioned co-op system. I have always been envious of the fact that they have been allowed to opt out of the Social Security plan that most are forced to fund. I hope there is a provision in the house bill that allows them to opt out of the government health care plan.

I just haven't found it yet.

Thanks pfor nothing...

2009-11-10T20:22:00.003-05:00

For those of us that still believe in private property rights, Kelo vs. New London, the case where the Supreme Court ruled that government could seize a person's home for almost any reason, as long as the seizure resulted in more money for the governments coffers, remains one of the most horrible decisions the court has ever handed down. And that is saying a lot.

That was in 2005, and since then, the town of New London, Connecticut has torn down the houses of Suzette Kelo and her neighbors. The town then gave the property, along with a fist full of abatements to Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which in turn built a research and development center on the lots.

Pfizer announced Monday that it is closing the facility.

Do you think there might be a chance that the New London Town Council, and the Supreme Court, and Pfizer will offer those homeowners an apology?

Neither do I.

Get the lead out...

2009-11-07T09:56:00.008-05:00

I've seen a lot of changes since starting a construction company 35 years ago. Some of the materials we use in the business is better than it used to be, and some of it is worse. Some of it isn't even in existence anymore. Some of the tools we use have also changed, again, some for the better and some for the worse. Some haven't. They're all a lot more expensive than they used to be. I have managed to keep the same hammer for 35 years, although I've had to replace the handle 3 times and the head twice.

Some things are pretty constant. There are still a lot of good people to work for out there, and even in the worst of times, there is always somebody that needs something done. It's also a pretty safe bet that there will always be someone out there trying to add another layer of regulation on all of us. Earlier this year, a local builders organization was lobbying to make sure that anybody wanting to work in Wayne County was licensed. Last year, the Department of Natural Resources notified us that if we uncover any signs of certain past human activity on a job site, we would be required to shut down the job site until the DNR had time to come out and investigate.

The latest silliness comes from the Environmental Protection Agency. Starting next April, federal law requires that any company that "engages in remodeling and repair/maintenance, electrical work, plumbing, painting, carpentry, or window replacement that disturbs 6 square feet or more of paint per room inside, or 20 square feet or more on the exterior of a home, child care facility or school built before 1978 must have at least one worker in the firm that is a certified lead renovator."

Ayn Rand said that "The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws."

I don't imagine most people will pay anymore attention to the new EPA regulations than they do to the old DNR regulations, so I'm guessing the government just created another group of criminals.

There's also a $32,500.00 fine that goes along with non-compliance, so I'm planning on laying low until this all blows over, just in case I ever have to buy another hammer.

Frankly my dear, I don't give a darn...

2009-11-03T07:24:00.004-05:00

I don't know what an acai berry is. I did see an advertisement the other day about some juice that they make from it, and the ad promised that I would be shocked by the results if I drank some of it. I'm not so sure. It's been a long time since anything really shocked me.

I've heard people say how shocking it was when Clark Gable said "damn" in the closing scenes of Gone with the Wind. I don't think to many people would be suprised today if they heard it on Sesame Street. I've seen things on prime-time television that used to garner an "R" rating at the movies. 6th graders use words that I never even heard until I moved away to college.

The federal debt passed $12 trillion a few days ago. We live in the United States of America, and the government is about to make a law requiring everybody to buy health insurance. Every day we hear people demanding that the government take away more of our freedom and choices, and replace them with regulations.

So yes, I might be a little suprised by what some berry juice can do for me, or by what people say, or by what people do, but I don't think I'll be shocked.

Not anymore.

Take it or leave it...

2009-11-01T19:38:00.001-05:00

Stinky Wilmont was my best pal back when we were attending Millville Grade School. I guess we had a lot of things in common. We both thought Rin Tin Tin was a lot smarter and faster than Lassie, and we were convinced Popeye and Bluto could both have done a lot better than Olive Oyl . We didn’t think much of the creamed peas they served us in the cafeteria on Wednesdays, and if the truth was told, neither one of us was really all that happy to be in school at all.

Of course, we had our differences, too. Stinky seemed to place a little less emphasis on personal hygiene. As I remember, that kind of ran in the family. He also liked to go coon hunting. I tried it a couple of times, but I just never saw the attraction.

It all worked out pretty well, though. We still got together when necessary to hide the creamed peas under the Best-Ever milk cooler, but I didn’t try to make Stinky take a bath, and he didn’t try to make me go coon hunting. It just seemed like the natural solution.

That philosophy has served me fairly well through the years. I’ve made friends that like to go hunting and friends that don’t. I’ve made a few friends that don’t like to bathe, although we’re not really that close. I’ve made friends that share my religious beliefs, and friends that have different religious beliefs, and friends that have no religious beliefs. I have friends that drink alcohol and friends that don’t, friends that smoke and friends that don’t, and a couple friends that chew or dip snuff. As long as people are tolerant enough that no one tries to force their choices on someone else, we seem to get along pretty well, although I do pay closer attention to the wind direction when I’m around one of the chewers.

I think for the most part, Americans have usually behaved that way, at least in their personal dealings. That’s not to say that some individuals aren’t pretty insistent about bringing others around to their way of thinking, but for the last 150 years or so, even with some major differences in opinions, we’ve managed to keep things half-way civil.

One of the things that has set us apart from some countries around the world is the way we have handled our elections. No matter how nasty the campaign was, or how much difference there was in the ideologies, in the end, the loser steps aside and the winner takes office ( except for a few local mayoral races, that is). It’s not like that everywhere. In some countries the losers grab guns and start shooting at the winners. Not much tolerance, I guess.

I don’t think we’ve reached that point in this country yet, although there does seem to be a growing divide among people concerning what they expect from their government. Right now there is a large group of people that want the government to provide health care for everybody. There’s also a large group of people that don’t want the government to provide health care for everybody. Although we haven’t seen too many guns brought out yet, several people on each side of the debate are getting pretty insistent, and even downright nasty, trying to make sure that their side gets to make the rules.

Before we do get to that point, maybe we simply need to step back and allow the people who want government health care to go ahead and pay for government health care plan, and allow people who don’t want government health care to go their own way.

I think that would work for a lot of government programs. At least it always worked for Stinky and me.

And while we’re at it, you’re all welcome to come to church with me next Sunday if you want to. But nobody’s forcing you. Yet.

End Property Taxes, Save a Tree...

2009-10-31T09:49:00.003-04:00

I subscribe to 3 newspapers. 2 daily and 1 weekly. I know it's not the most environmentally friendly way keeping abreast of things, but I still enjoy leafing through the pages more than surfing the web, and besides, I can't make paper hats for the grand kids out of a computer, and you sure can't roll up a computer to swat a fly.

Apparently the availability of news on the internet is having a negative effect on the printed version of newspapers. A variation on the old "why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free" theory, I suppose.

I have noticed the papers getting thinner over the years, mostly due to less advertisements it seems, although occasionally a flurry of activity or ads will thicken things back up for a day or two.

On Friday, the Courier-Times seemed a little heftier than usual when I pulled it out of the box. The Courier-Times is the daily paper that comes out of New Castle, which is the seat of Henry County. Upon opening the paper, I found that its extra weight was due in part to 6 full pages of property tax sale listings. Henry County claims 46,947 residents. It just listed about 1000 properties going to auction for non-payment of property taxes.

A couple of weeks ago This Story told how some businesses in New Castle had seen their property taxes increase over 500% in the last 4 years, the result of changes in the way property is assessed.

That's the problem with the push to put the 1%, 2%, or 3% cap on property taxes. The cap will be on the assessed value of the property, and as farmers and business owners are starting to find out, the method of figuring assessed value is subject to some very arbitrary changes and opinions from the state. Don't be surprised if over the next few years, "replacement cost" works its way into the formula for assessing the value of homes.

As hard as they might try, there is no way politicians can make property taxes fair. No one should lose their home, farm or business to the tax man simply because the government raises their taxes on that property. We can do a lot better with a sales tax and user fees that distribute the cost of funding legitimate and necessary government to all citizens.

And by keeping a closer eye on what is legitimate and necessary.

I'm reminded of that every time I pick up a newspaper that is thicker than it needs to be.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what's a word worth?...

2009-10-29T20:40:00.004-04:00

There's something to said for brevity. The Ten Commandments contain 297 words. The Bill of Rights contains 463 words. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address contains 266 words.

A federal directive written to regulate the price of cabbage contains 26,911 words.

Sometimes governments verbosity is just annoying. Sometimes it's expensive.

The House version of the national health care bill contains 1990 pages, and 400,000 words. With a 10 year cost of $894 billion, that figures out to about $2.24 million per word.

Who ever said that talk was cheap?

Foooooore!!!....

2009-10-24T21:49:00.002-04:00

I've never played any golf, except for some Putt-Putt when the kids were younger, and once on the side of a mountain down in Tennessee somewhere.

I never tried the real game because it seemed like it took up a lot of time, and because people seem to get obsessed with it, and also because it always seemed kind of expensive for a working man.

Apparently, the expensive part just got a little less expensive.

According to this article in the Wall Street Journal, golfers are now eligible for free golf carts, thanks to the President's stimulus plan. The plan offers a federal tax credit of up to $5500.00 towards the purchase of an electric vehicle.

Some enterprising linksters have discovered that they can couple the federal tax credits with state tax credits, slap a rearview mirror and an extra seatbelt on a golf cart, and drive it away for nothing. And since there is no limit on how many can be bought, it could be a good time to do some Christmas shopping for the wife and kids, also.

Probably the worst part of the whole deal is that it doesn't really suprise any of us.

We've come to expect it.

Fun with numbers..

2009-10-21T21:34:00.006-04:00

The national debt is fast approaching $12 trillion dollars. Of course, that is what's already on the books. Estimates for the governments unfunded liabilities are upwards of 60 or 70 trillion. I think most people have an understanding of a million, and even a billion, but a trillion tends to get out of our grasp. I heard an explanation once that in terms of time, one million seconds equals 11 days, while a billion seconds equals 32 years, but a trillion seconds equals 317 centuries.

Like I said, a trillion can be hard to get your head around.

It just figures that interest on a trillion dollars would be a lot of money, too. So would the interest on 12 trillion dollars. If you want to understand how much, consider that 40% of all of the individual income tax paid in the United States goes just to pay the interest on that debt. Another way to look at it, all of the individual income taxes paid by all of the people west of the Mississippi River go just to pay the interest on the national debt.

One of the reasons we have so much debt is because the government spends more than it takes in. Every year. This year the deficit will be 1.4 trillion dollars.

There is that "trillion" word again.

I read a good explanation the other day about how much 1.4 trillion dollars really is. It's enough that the 45 million school children in this country, in grades 1 through 12, could all attend the private Sidwell Friends School, where President Obama's daughters attend, at a cost of $30,000.00 per year.

The government says it will hold the deficit to 1.4 trillion dollars in 2010, also.

But I'm not counting on it.

Oh yeah, that's a lot better....

2009-10-18T19:12:00.004-04:00

The state legislators property tax solution may be starting to take affect. You may recall the push for a Constitutional amendment to cap property taxes at 1% of the assessed value for residential properties, 2% for agricultural properties, and 3% for business properties.

A lot of Democrats worried that it would limit the government's ability to collect enough money to fund everything they wanted to fund. A lot of Republicans claimed it was the only way to protect property owners. A lot of people, (Libertarians mostly, I think) worried that if the caps took effect, and even if the sales tax was raised 16%, the assessed value could change enough to negate any savings the property owners might temporarily receive.

Sure enough, the New Castle Courier-Times is reporting on the plight of business owners that have seen their taxes double, triple, or worse under the new plan. A Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant located on State Road 3 has seen it's taxes increase from $5751.26 in 2005 to $31,453.61 this year. Another restaurant closed when it's taxes went from $3000.00 to nearly $17,000.00.

Of course, the new plan hasn't been fully implemented as of yet. But before the public votes to put the plan in the state Constitution, homeowners might want to take a look at what is happening to business owners and farmers, and remember that the same thing could happen to them.

Libertarians know that property taxes can be eliminated like this. Or this. Or this. They can be replaced sales taxes and user fees, kept in check by limiting government spending to legitimate government functions.

Last year would have been a good time to start.

So will next year.

Give and take, or take and take...

2009-10-14T13:22:00.003-04:00

One of the points that was discussed at our monthly Libertarian meet-up the other night was the subject of compromise. Libertarians often get a bum rap on the subject.

I think most Libertarians that I know aren't diametrically opposed to compromise, although most would share a concern as to where the current system of political compromise has brought us.

Suppose one of the parties in power decides to push for a 20% increase in your taxes, while the other party favors a 10% increase, or maybe even a 0% increase. Any compromise between the two results in an increase. Or the compromise might result in a small reduction in some people's property taxes and a 16% increase in everybody's sales tax. Either way, you lose. How many compromises did it take to achieve the tax burden we have today? How many more compromises will it take to double that burden?

When Congress finishes hammering out some type of compromise on President Obama's health care bill, we are going to see more involvement by the government in health care. Maybe not as much as the Democrats wanted, and maybe a little more than the Republicans wanted, but definitely more.

That's how it works when both compromisers are compromising in the same direction.

It would help to have some people in office pulling for a compromise to actually reduce taxes and the size of government, not just slow the growth of both. Then maybe we could compromise on whether we were going to reduce taxes and government by 20% or 10%.

And then the next year we could compromise on the same thing again.

Now that's a compromise.

Define "definition"...

2009-10-09T13:11:00.003-04:00

Definitions are rarely set in stone. In the last few years we've seen a lot people adjust the definition of what socialism is, what sex is, and even what is is. I suppose circumstances have brought about changes in definitions since the begining of time.

I read a comment the other day that a Libertarian is a liberal that understands economics. I can accept that definition, because I know a lot of Libertarians who fit that desription.

Of course, there are a lot of Libertarians, like myself, who are more correctly desribed as tolerant conservatives.

There's a chance that this blog will bring about some other definitions of what a Libertarian is, some of which Libertarians might or might not agree with.

Regardless, if you are a liberal who believes that a $12 trillion debt and a $1.4 trillion deficit matters, or if you are a conservative who doesn't feel the need to have the government dictate and validate your moral convictions, and you don't feel the Republican or Democratic Parties are representing your beliefs, you might want to check out the Libertarian Party.

The Libertarian Party of Wayne County will hold a Meet-Up on Tuesday, October 13th, from 6:30 P.M until 8:00 P.M., at the Hacienda El Camino Real, located at 4712 National Road East, Richmond.

A Meet-Up is an informal gathering where interested individuals can offer and discuss opinions on issues facing our nation today, and how libertarian solutions can be applied to those issues.

It is open to all. Please join us, and bring your thoughts, solutions and questions, along with $6 to $10 for some excellent Mexican cusine from the Hacienda's menu.

For more information, contact Rex Bell at lpwc@msn.com or (765) 969-0086

Big wheels and little wheels....

2009-10-03T12:35:00.003-04:00

I don't know what it is that makes other people want so much control over our lives, including where and when we might be allowed to ride bicyles.

A couple of years ago I posted this clip of a sign that prohibits bicycles on Main Street in Hagerstown.

Now comes this story about a school board in New York that won't let students ride their bikes to school.

The town manager of Hagerstown at the time said that even though the sign said no bicycles were allowed on the streets of the business district, that's not really what it means.

The school board in New York says that it doesn't really have the right to stop anybody from riding a bicycle to school, even though it's policy reads, "The riding of bicycles by elementary pupils to and from school is prohibited".

I wish more people in government would admit that they are making silly laws that can't or shouldn't be enforced.

I don't think the police have arrested any of the people that brazenly continue to ride their bikes on Main Street in Hagerstown, and apparently people that want to ride their bikes to school in New York are going to continue to do so. A little civil disobedience once in a while is a good thing, I think.

I haven't owned or rode a bicycle for 40 years, but if I had one, and since it's downhill to Hagerstown from my house, I'd probably ride it right down Main Street.

The rebel in me, I guess.

The path less taken...

2009-10-02T12:00:00.000-04:00

“More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.”…..Woody Allen

There have been times in my life when I knew just how Woody felt when he made that statement. In my days back at Millville Grade School, my old pal Stinky Wilmont often proposed to set the agenda for recess. I remember one time when he offered a choice between rigging a bucket of water over the door to Principal Baker’s office, or wiring a dead opossum that we found to the muffler of Mrs. Lawall’s Ford Falcon. I figured either choice was going to end badly, so I opted out, and spent the rest of the recess helping the Bartram sisters get across the monkey bars.

I get the same feeling when I hear ideas for the current health care debate coming out of Washington. There is an overwhelming opinion in this country that the only solutions to the health care crisis we are facing will come from the government.

One of those solutions involves huge government agencies that seize and re-distribute tax dollars to doctors and hospitals, heavily regulates the health care and insurance industries, and provides special tax incentives for certain insurance plans but not others. The Democrats plan is even more expensive and intrusive.

A lot of people have forgotten, or never knew, of a time before Medicare and Medicaid, when the private sector paid directly for 75% of the nations health care expenditures, close to the amount the government pays now. Individuals paid about half of that amount directly out of their pockets. (Of course, all health care expenditures come out of individual’s pockets, just not as directly as they used to.) Health care was affordable for most Americans ( the doctor’s bill when I was born was $50.00) and increases in health care pretty well kept pace with our increases in income. Since the government became involved, the increases have surpassed income by 400% or more.

Most people agree that something needs to be done, but not everybody agrees that the government needs to do it. There are plans being offered, although not many by Congress, that would go a long way towards fairly reducing the cost of health care and health insurance for all Americans.

Most of those proposals include a move away from employer-provided health insurance. Health insurance should benefit individuals instead of groups. Employment-based insurance hides the true cost of health care, which encourages people to over-use, and become overly dependent on insurance to pay for simple, everyday procedures, which automatically drives up costs. We need to let individuals control their health care dollars again, and choose from a wider variety of plans and providers. That would also serve to prevent you from losing your insurance if you happen to lose your job.

Under our current system, insurance benefits provided by employers are not considered taxable income, while an individual purchasing such insurance must do so with after tax dollars. This favors employer-provided insurance, a system we should be moving away from, instead of towards. We should also make Health Savings Accounts totally tax free, and expand their use to include all things health care related.

Competition is always one of the most effective ways in controlling costs.
People should be able to purchase health insurance across state lines, to provide more competition in that portion of the industry, and nurse practitioners, physician assistants, midwives, and other non-physician practitioners should have far greater ability to treat patients that choose to use their services.

These are just a few suggestions. There are a lot of ways to truly reduce the cost of health care. Most of those ways require individuals to take initiative and responsibility.

None of them require more government.

Stupid government tricks, part 26...

2009-09-29T07:29:00.003-04:00

It seems we've been deluged lately with stories about absurd actions by our government against its citizens.

Last week I wrote about this unfortunate soul that was arrested for purchasing cold medicine for her husband and daughter.

Now comes this story about a woman that has been threatened with fines and arrest for watching her neighbors children while they wait for the school bus.

I really don't think the government is any nuttier than it has been for years. I just think more people are noticing.

At least I hope that's it.

Hey George, when you're right, you're right!...

2009-09-27T08:21:00.006-04:00

“Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master.”...George Washington

A lot of people are upset that part of the health care reform being discussed would mandate fines or jail time for people that don't comply and buy health insuance.

On the brighter side, if you don't buy health insurance and are sent to jail, health care will be provided to you at no charge. If you refuse to surrender when the high sheriff comes to arrest you for not buying health insurance, there is a good possibilty that eventually you will be shot and killed, and you won't need health insurance anyway.

I guess the government would consider that one of those win/win situations they like to talk about.

I have heard people claim that the government wouldn't shoot a citizen over health insurance laws, or seat belt laws, or jaywalking laws. But George was right when he pointed out that government is indeed force.

Non-compliance will be met with the threat of force. Further non-compliance will be met with actual force. Continued non-compliance will be met with ultimate force. That is how government works. It's also why we should work to limit the amount of power the government has, and confine it to protecting citizens from force and fraud, instead of instituting both.

That's bound to be a lot healthier for all of us.

Cold and flu season...and maybe a little jail time...

2009-09-26T18:13:00.004-04:00

Cold and flu season is approaching, and as usual we are being deluged with a lot of good advice on how to avoid becoming ill. I found this story the other day that shows we should also be careful even after we get sick.

Apparently Sally Harpold, a grandmother from Clinton Indiana, purchased a box of Zyrtec-D cold medicine for her husband at one drugstore, and then less than a week later bought a box of Mucinex-D for her daughter.

What she didn't realize was that she is only allowed to buy up to 3.0 grams of pseudo ephedrine, an ingredient in over the counter cold medicines, per week. The two purchases netted 3.6 grams.

It also brought the police to her door 4 months later, where she was arrested, hand-cuffed, hauled into jail, questioned about her cold medicine purchases, and then bailed out by her husband who was thankfully over his cold and able to get to the jail to bring her back home.

The Vermillion County Prosecutor and the Vermillion County Sheriff justified the arrest as a valid method for battling methamphetamine production in small labs in Indiana, and forcing it to be manufactured in larger labs in Mexico.

It is a travesty that any elected official would defend a law that allows an arrest like this to take place.

It's an even bigger travesty that so many of us won't condemn a law that allows an arrest like this to take place.

Be careful what you ask for...twice...

2009-09-22T12:07:00.005-04:00

I wrote this story a couple of years ago about how sometimes people are just way to sensitive. I'm not sure things are getting much better.

If someone criticized our last President's policies, they ran the risk of being called unpatriotic. If someone criticizes our current President's policies, they run the risk of being called a racist.

I have a buddy that runs a fairly good sized construction crew. He told me at coffee this morning that the company had been having sensitivity training classes for the management team. Apparently someone somewhere has decided what names are acceptable to call an employee that just backed your new dump truck over your new pick-up truck, although I'm still convinced at least part of that determination should be based on how big the employee is.

He also told me that one of the guidelines in the workplace is that you can only ask a woman to have sex once. Anymore than that, and it is considered sexual harassment.

I asked him if that same rule applied whether her answer was "yes" or "no". He said he wasn't sure, but that he was going to ask at the next meeting.

I'm anxiously awaiting the answer.

Cost of Government Day. Another record broken!...

2009-09-20T08:29:00.004-04:00

I guess it's one of the signs of being an old man to reminisce about how much things used to cost. I've been in business long enough to remember when some new houses cost what some lawnmowers cost now.

I also remember, not to many years ago, when Americans only had to work 6 months out of the year to pay for the government.

This year, according to the folks over at Americans for Tax Reform, we had to work until August 12th to meet those obligations. That is a new record, and beat the 1982 previous record by 23 days.

Next year, I think I'll just stay in bed until September.