A Letter to Hon. John Boehner
December 28, 2012
Hon. John Boehner
Office of the Speaker
H-232 The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Mr. Boehner:
I’ve been following the saga of ‘the fiscal cliff’ since the end of summer 2012.
It was made very clear to us outside the Beltway (commonly known as citizens, voters and taxpayers) that our elected officials in Congress would take no action until after the November elections.
As disappointing as that news was, it seemed reasonable and appropriate to many of us on the outside to expect that our elected officials would do some talking behind the scenes in preparation for a call to action after the election at which time our elected officials would work together in the best interest of the overall U.S. economy — business, commerce, education and the citizens of the United States.
Now – several months later and just a few days from the ‘tipping point’ a.k.a the ‘fiscal cliff’– we seem to have a continuation of the petty, partisan and puerile drama that has come to categorize our Congress following the national elections of 2010.
November 2010 marked the point in time when a number of conservative tea party candidates were elected to the House of Representatives. The infusion of passionate but neophyte tea party representatives — all of whom signed the Grover Norquist Pledge — precipitated your election as Speaker in January 2011, which coincidently seems to mark the beginning of extreme dysfunction in our nation’s capital.
I have listened to you and some of the ‘young rascals’ who were elected in 2010 under the tea party platform.
When I listen, I hear some really great sound bites, focused almost entirely on the federal government.
There is no one I’ve met who wouldn’t like to see smaller government and reduced government spending — sweetened by the magic elixir of reduced taxes.
The real problem seems to be: Government (as we see and interact with it from outside the Beltway) includes federal, state, county, local, schools and a vast number of entities which operate in the public sector as ‘quasi-government’ agencies.
As a citizen, voter and taxpayer in the U.S., I know I pay: federal income taxes; federal excise taxes; state income taxes; state sales taxes; county property taxes; county sales taxes; city property taxes; city sales taxes; city sewer taxes; city library taxes; and property taxes levied by my local school district. I can quantify the majority of those taxes: what I can’t quantify is the amount of other government and quasi-government fees and taxes I pay daily, weekly monthly or annually: highway and bridge tolls, parking fees, hotel occupancy fees, motor vehicle fees, MTA fees, license fees, daily use fees, and park access fees, most of which are invisible to me.
You and the ‘young rascals’ have some great rhetoric: What I don’t hear from you and your tea party cabal is dialogue, discussion, research or new ideas about re-engineering our overall government in the U.S. for enhanced efficiency and longer term sustainability.
Mr. Boehner: With your intractable and rigid focus on cutting spending at the margins and continued tax breaks for the ultra-rich, I think you and your tea party followers may be threatening the very essence of the United States and our economy as a going concern.
That thought leads me to believe that you and some (or all) of your tea party cabal may be guilty of treason because your actions are diametrically opposed to the best interests of my fellow citizens, voters and taxpayer of the United States of America.
It is my hope, Mr. Boehner, that come Monday, December 31, 2012, you and your followers will move away from treason to align with the majority of American citizens, businesses and American society to ensure a rational, sensible and sustainable solution to the ‘fiscal cliff’ dilemma which currently threatens our country.
Thank you in advance for considering my opinions, and hopefully, for adjusting your posture to a more inclusive and mainstream position.
Sincerly,
The Walrus
Mount Vernon, NY 10552
Other People’s Money
August 25, 2012
On the eve of the Republican Convention in Tampa, I keep thinking back to the movie, “Other People’s Money” which starred Danny DeVito in the role of “Larry the Liquidator.”
Larry was a Vulture Capitalist who was noted for buying up under-valued firms; then breaking them up into component parts; selling off the parts; and making lots of money for himself and his partners.
In this scene from the movie, the essence of the dilemma emerges: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7rvupKipmY
Gregory Peck as the current executive in charge of New England Wire and Cable is immersed in a critical vote at the company’s annual meeting which could allow Larry and his Vulture Capital Firm to take control of the company, which would result in closing down the company and putting hundreds of people out of work. Permanently.
New England Wire and Cable was modeled on the many indigenous American family-owned small manufacturing companies which took root in New England in the 19th century. The inspiration for the theme of Other People’s Money was a real company in Seymour, CT which went through a fatal and permanent intervention by some Venture Capital Pirates around 1990.
Back in the Golden Age of Pirates (approx. 1650s to the 1730s), the pirates were self-declared. They typically didn’t dress up in suits, fly in private aircraft, or ride in chauffeured black cars. Today’s pirates operate openly in daylight; they pay taxes (albeit at greatly reduced rates vs. regular working people); and many own multiple mansions in delightful places around the world.
I imagine a shortened version of Other People’s Money (Part 1) where the name of Larry’s firm was changed to “Brain Capital.”
Then, I envision Part 2 as a take-off which is focused on ‘off-shore blocker’ strategies where the principals of Brain Capital explain their strategies:
http://news.yahoo.com/bain-documents-romney-offshore-investments-used-blockers-avoid-185957445–abc-news-topstories.html
Part 3 of the series could contrast one or more successful U.S. entrepreneur(s) who have invested their own money into a business that manufactures some product and where 50 to 500 people work full-time at decent wages with benefits, against a principal from Brain Capital. Part 3 would contrast the effective tax rate (and amounts paid) by the actual entrepreneur and all of the employees (year after year) vs. the tax rate (and amount paid) by the Vulture Capitalist in the current year. Don’t forget: once the Vulture Capitalist liquidates the company, there will be no further jobs; no further purchases; and no further local property tax, sales tax or income tax collections.
Part 4 of the series could be a lesson on the multiplier effect of all of those employees; the goods and services purchased by the manufacturing company; and so forth, vs. the absolute finality of the liquidation of a struggling but operating business.
To a great degree, the contrast between a real American entrepreneur and a Vulture Capitalist is very similar to the contrast between hard-core, tea-party conservatives and main-stream Democrats (plus what some might call ‘Centrist Republicans’).
The hard-core Right seems to be laser-focused on reversion to a society and economy that mirrors Medieval Europe and Feudalism, where the majority of main-stream residents in the U.S. seem to continue to favor the more egalitarian approach on which the United States was founded and has operated until very recently.
Through some very clever sound bites and an inordinate amount of attention on trivial but emotionally engaging issues, Tea-Party conservatives have polarized our society in an unprecedented way.
Best example of this would be Obama-care — which was inspired by the health care reforms enacted in Massachusetts under the leadership of former Gov. Mitt Romney.
Obama-care is not a perfect solution — primarily due to the amount of compromise that was required to get it passed — but the majority of experts tell us that it is a significant move in a positive direction.
Yet, there are a number of elected officials (and their disciples) — ‘Hard-Core Right’ — who continue to hammer on REPEAL!
What are their reasons, what are their real objections? Here is a synopsis: http://theamericandrivein.com/2010/11/21/why-repeal-obamacare/
As Jon Stewart may have already said — while stamping his feet and whining: “Just because!”
US Unemployment
July 8, 2012
There are so many ‘experts’ weighing in on the US unemployment rate, I find it’s increasingly hard to find thoughtful and objective opinions.
I feel that our domestic economy is doing pretty well, and that the White House has been more or less on-point, given the limitations imposed by folks like John Boehner and Eric Cantor.
The unemployment numbers released on July 6 painted a dismal picture to some, yet the facts reveal that some jobs have been created in the private sector each month since President Obama took office.
There are 2 issues no one seems to focus on. (1) Gross over-employment in the public sector, and (2) the 3+ million private sector job openings that are currently open and unfilled.
Jobs are open and unfilled for a number of reasons, often related to labor mobility and/or experience and training. (For example, a skilled manufacturing job in Raliegh would not be a good fit for a high school dropout living in Buffalo.)
Unemployment trends from April 2008 (@ 5%) to October 2009 (@ 10%), reflect that it took just 18 months for unemployment to double.
Who should we blame for that?
Since late 2009, we’ve seen a gentle but persistent upward trend in the overall employment rate, and during that time period the elusive cluster of unfilled job openings has grown steadily from around 2.6 million in 2009 to around 3.2 million today.
Following the release of June 2012 employment numbers, Governor Romney was heard to say this from the helm of his yacht on Lake Winnipesaukee, “The president’s policies have not gotten America working again, and the president is going to have to stand up and take responsibility for it.”
It is this sort of bad behavior that creates enough of a distraction to shield the real issues from the people.
A lot of blather with no constructive suggestions on how to move forward in a positive fashion, and a seeming unwillingness to look critically at the whole story.
This is very sad coming from a fellow who purports to be a leader.
Our Congressional Representatives
February 12, 2012
Our U.S. economy is still shaky. A payroll tax cut was enacted to help increase the spending power of middle-class Americans, and it is due to expire at the end of February.
Class action lawsuits and medical malpractice lawsuits have driven up costs across our health care system, and could potentially be ameliorated through comprehensive tort reform.
There are dozens – probably hundreds – of serious domestic issues that our Congress could be working on.
Instead, they are currently focused on contraception.
Let’s set the record straight: Members of Congress who seek to limit the availability of affordable birth control all enjoy contraception insurance as part of the government managed Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB).
This benefit has been in place since 1998, and it “…ensures that federal employees participating in FEHB have insurance coverage of FDA-approved prescription contraceptives and related services.”
Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum told an audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on February 10 that ‘insurance plans shouldn’t cover contraception services because birth control “costs a few dollars” and is only a “minor expense” for women.’
Good to know.
In my job – in my life – I am forced to prioritize my time and my efforts. Wouldn’t it be nice if I could spend all my time focused on minor issues that I think are “fun”?
That seems to be what our leaders in Congress are all about these days.
To paraphrase an old fable, “Rome is burning while our Congressional leaders are fiddling.”
We pay each and every member of Congress a base annual salary of $174,000, plus deluxe health care and pension benefits, and perks for things like travel and mail. There are various stipends for leadership roles as committee chairs, majority leader, minority leader, etc.
Most recent estimates of the total annual costs of our federal legislative body – Senate and House of Representatives — are in the $5 Billion range.
Now, some might point out that spending for the House and Senate, which includes salaries, mailings, and committee expenses, represents only .07 percent of total federal spending. The entire legislative branch includes additional expenses for the Government Accountability Office, the Congressional Budget Office, the Library of Congress, and some other functions.
That seems like a really good deal — if we are getting focus on critical issues and real results.
There are some – including voters, political scientists and lawmakers themselves– who have said that the 112th Congress (which convened on January 3, 2011) was our worst ever.
The 2011 session began with a House vote to repeal President Obama’s health-care law and ended with a flip-flop over the 60-day tax-cut extender — with detours in between for the two parties to flirt with shutting down the government, jeopardize the nation’s credit and various assorted legislative mayhem.
As a citizen, a taxpayer and a voter, I don’t much care what political party a person claims as their own.
What I do care about is: When they run for public office and get elected, our representatives put aside their personal agendas and work for the best long-term interests of our country.
Is that too much to ask for?
Speaker of the House
December 20, 2011
For the past several months, the Walrus has been wondering, “Who is John Boehner, and how did he become Speaker of the House?”
Rep. Boehner was elected to Congress to represent the residents of the 8th Congressional District in the State of Ohio. The 112th Congress was elected from districts based on the Census of 2000. There are 435 congressional districts in the U.S., and each district is a geographical division of a state containing a population of about 720,000 people from which one member of the House of Representatives is elected.
As Speaker of the House, Rep. Boehner is exercising extraordinary power over the government of the United States. This is very puzzling because I know I never had an opportunity to vote for him, and as I’ve asked around, I haven’t found anyone I know who voted in an election where John Boehner was a candidate.
What I observe is that Rep. Boehner (and his Lieutenant, Rep. Cantor) seem to be disconnected from the American value system, yet with sufficient power to be able to control critical outcomes which will impact all of us Americans for years to come.
Many of us had the opportunity to observe the federal government shutdowns in 1995 and 1996, orchestrated by then-Speaker Newt Gingrich during the Presidency of Bill Clinton. Given the long and close relationship between Gingrich and Boehner, one has to stop and ask, “Could this be déjà vu all over again?”
The Walrus thought you might like the opportunity to see some facts (yes, these are REAL facts) on the 8th District in Ohio. Note that most of the District falls into the Dayton Metropolitan Area, yet the 8th District was carefully drawn to exclude the City of Dayton (population 141,527) from the District.
Boehner himself is from the township of West Chester, Ohio which is located in the SE corner of Butler County, Ohio. Butler County is part of the Cincinnati–Middletown, OH-KY-IN MSA.
My look at a map of this District led me to think that this might be a poster child for gerrymandering, but further research would be required to support that hypothesis.
State of Ohio: 8th Congressional District
Geographic and Demographic Highlights
The City of Troy is the county seat of Miami County, Ohio as well as the largest city in this county with a 2010 population of 25,058. Troy is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Miami County population is 102,506 with a land area of 409 square miles.
Darke County, Ohio has a population of 52,959 with a land area of 600 square miles. The county seat is the City of Greenville, population 13,227. Physically located on the western border of Ohio, Darke County is contiguous to Wayne County, Indiana.
Preble County, Ohio has a population of 42,270 with a land area of 426 square miles. The county seat is the City of Eaton, population 8,407. Preble County is also on the western border of Ohio, contiguous to Union County, Indiana.
The District also includes some rural and semi-suburban areas of Butler County, Mercer County and the northeast corner of Montgomery County.
Chew Nails, Spit Rust
September 23, 2011
Chew Nails & Spit Rust: This inspiration dates back to my childhood when people really worked for a living and were forced by reality to get along with each other.
Every morning, the tradesmen would gather in the same space, and they knew that if they were going to finish the bridge, the building, the highway, etc. on time, they needed to put aside their egos, come to common terms, eliminate political differences, and get the job done.
These were guys who may have finished high school, but certainly did not go to college. These were guys who came from different cultures; different religions; different ethnicities. They probably had a lot of animosity toward their brothers who were different than they were, but they didn’t seem to allow that to interfere with the overall goal.
Something has gone wrong in the United States of America.
We now have elected officials – more than 90% of whom have at least a 4-year college degree — who apparently are unable to grasp the importance of putting aside their individual egos; coming to common terms; eliminating political differences; and getting the job done on behalf of the citizens of the United States of America.
Back in the day, the theme was: Let’s get the job done, and after 5 PM, we can work out our differences in the parking lot or the back alley.
Today, our elected officials seem to think that the way to work out differences is to abuse victims of natural disasters.
How juvenile is this?
Rick Perry & The Walrus
August 17, 2011
There are a number of very positive things that can be said about Rick Perry. He is pretty, he has great hair, and he is an inspiring orator.
Yet, the Walrus has some nagging concerns about Governor Perry.
At a public event in Bedford, New Hampshire on August 17, Texas Gov. Rick Perry reaffirmed his view that global warming is an unproven scientific theory that has been promoted by scientists who have “manipulated data,” and Perry further stated that programs intended to limit climate change are costing our nation “billions if not trillions” of dollars that he believes could be better spent elsewhere.
“We are seeing almost weekly, or even daily, scientists are coming forward and questioning the original idea that man-made global warming is what is causing the climate to change,” Perry told an audience of several hundred voters, business leaders and local officials who gathered for a breakfast in Bedford. “Yes, our climate has changed — they’ve been changing ever since the Earth was formed.”
Perry added that the cost of implementing what he called “anti-carbon programs” is billions of dollars: “I don’t think, from my perspective, that I want America to be engaged in spending that much money on what is still a scientific theory that hasn’t been proven, and from my perspective is more and more being put into question.”
Perry expressed his skepticism about global warming during his debut at the Politics & Eggs series, a virtually mandatory event for presidential candidates in the state that holds the first primary each election cycle.
In past appearances, Perry has also opined on Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. “I believe that we were created by this all-powerful supreme being and how we got to today versus what we look like thousands of years ago, I think there’s enough holes in the theory of evolution to, you know, say there are some holes in that theory.”
Some have suggested that Perry is also a founding member of the Flat Earth Society, although I can find no strong evidence of that.
In his presidential platform, Perry seems to be focused on the Texas record of job creation during the national economic downturn. In fact, Texas has created plenty of jobs, although that seems to be related to a combination of rising oil prices, which created thousands of jobs in the oil and gas industries, and the shift from Louisiana as a result of Hurricane Katrina.
Perry tells us that his low-tax, low-regulation approach to business is a driving force to economic success. They also say that in Mexico and in China where manufacturing costs are clearly lower than in the U.S.
What Perry neglects to mention is that Texas really is a humanitarian cesspool.
It has the fourth-highest poverty rate of any state. In 2010, it tied with Mississippi for the highest percentage of workers in minimum-wage jobs. It is first in the U.S. for adults without high school diplomas. Twenty-six percent of Texans have no health insurance — the highest percentage of medically uninsured residents of any state. Texas leads the nation in the percentage of children who lack medical insurance. Texas employers are at the forefront in our nation of not providing insurance to their workers.
If Rick Perry is a legitimate candidate for president of the USA, we are in deep, deep trouble, folks.
Juvenile Delinquents in the Congress
August 4, 2011
Last week, I was alarmed and angry at some of our elected representatives in the Congress as they played Russian Roulette with our economy.
This week, I am stunned.
The partisan shenanigans that have transpired in the 112th Congress is just Un-American and unacceptable.
As the entire world watches – in real time, thanks to advanced technology – a group of newly elected individuals in the House of Representatives are behaving badly.
They remind me of unchaperoned adolescent hooligans at their first spring break.
But this is no harmless teenage fun.
This is the real thing.
The credit rating agencies have put the world on notice that they have serious concerns about our Nation’s credit rating.
Today, the domestic equities market dropped about 4%, wiping out nearly $9.3 Trillion of our nation’s private worth.
Meanwhile, our elected officials are on leave from Washington enjoying their August recess, no doubt oblivious to the pain they have caused to regular citizens like you and me.
I’m stunned? Yes, and I’m furious!
The Silent Majority
August 1, 2011
Something I heard or read today created a connection in my head between “The Silent Majority” and “The Tea Party”
Silent Majority?
I think from the late 1960’s/ early 1970’s — started with President Nixon — and continued to fester well into the 1990’s thanks to Pat Buchanan and some of his ultra-conservative friends and supporters.
Buchanan delivered a keynote address at the 1992 Republican National Convention, which became known as the culture war speech, in which he described “a religious war going on in our country for the soul of America.” In the speech, he said of Bill and Hillary Clinton: “The agenda Clinton & Clinton would impose on America — abortion on demand, a litmus test for the Supreme Court, homosexual rights, discrimination against religious schools, women in combat units — that’s change, all right. But it is not the kind of change America needs. It is not the kind of change America wants. And it is not the kind of change we can abide in a nation we still call God’s country.”
However you slice it, the Tea Party is nothing new.
Back in the day, they wore white sheets, burned the cross, and became the subject of a very haunting song by Billie Holiday, “Strange Fruit”.
I remember when my Mother had a bumper sticker on her car that said, “The Silent Majority is Neither.”
I thought maybe she was a communist or something.
Fast forward 40 years: Here I am! (not a communist, but maybe a centrist?)
Van Jones (formerly the senior advisor to Pres. Obama for ‘Green Jobs”) is now the spokesperson for the American Dream Movement.
He has targeted the vanishing American middle class that he says is working harder than ever, yet is struggling to maintain its livelihood.
When I recently discovered this new movement, I concluded they are Anti-Tea Party, so I immediately signed up and made a modest contribution.
In the short term, I’m planning to haunt Mr. Jones and American Dream —- who knows? Maybe they can muster the REAL “silent majority” into getting vocal.
A Matter of Economic or Financial Literacy?
July 18, 2011
It’s a fact: there is no requirement that members of Congress (Senate and/or House of Representatives) have a college degree.
This fact raises an interesting question: ‘How many of those elected to the House and the Senate are college graduates?’
The answer is: Almost 95 percent of those serving in the 112th Congress have earned at least a bachelor’s degree.
The colleges and universities where our Senators and Congressmen earned their undergraduate degrees include: Harvard; Stanford; Yale; UCLA; Georgetown; University of Florida (Gainesville); University of Georgia; University of Wisconsin (Madison); University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill); Brigham Young; George Washington University; Louisiana State; University of California (Berkley); University of Missouri; and University of Tennessee.
Now, this information begs another question: ‘Have our colleges and universities failed to provide a sound basic education in economics to their graduates?’
It would seem so, based on the statements emanating from our elected officials in the most recent debate around our debt ceiling.
Which of these statements do you think is true?
1. Columbus was wrong: the earth is flat.
2. Global warming is a fraud, one of the greatest scams of the 20th Century.
3. Bernie Madoff is one of the best investment advisors ever.
4. Enron stock is a great buy.
5. Raising taxes will kill jobs.
6. “Cut, Cap & Balance” will solve our current financial crisis.
Yes, I know. This is a very tricky question, because the answer is “None of the above”.
Why are some of the elected officials serving in our 112th Congress unable or unwilling to grasp the basic principles of how an economy works?
One possible explanation: Some of the elected Republicans from south of the Mason-Dixon Line are really Al Qaeda operatives in disguise, sent here to create the ultimate Economic Jihad, certain to derail our economy and cause our country to become a North American subsidiary of the People’s Republic of China….
walrus51 