All in the Red!

You don't have to believe me when I say how bad it will be to default on our obligations and not raise the debt ceiling.  Look at the Stock Market and don't just look at the Dow Jones Industrial Average, have a look at any other country's stock market.  They are all falling.  The OLD Republican Party, the "Party of Business" would never allow this to happen!  I am beginning to wonder?  If Iran or China or North Korea wanted to really get at us, really destroy us completely, why wouldn't they create the "Tea
Party"?  Are we really so dumb so as to be doing this to ourselves?  These are the White Folk from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and other Southern States who are doing this to this country.  Not California and illegal immigrants.  Specifically, it is the White People from the Slave States, States which receive the most in Federal Assistance!  There is a downside to Universal Suffrage.  Some people should just not be allowed to vote.  Sometimes what "sounds right" can have horrible consequences.  We have become too lazy and maybe deserving of what is yet to happen. 

Bo La De La Ba

Life goes on, C'est La Vie, what will be will be.  That is just about the most powerless victim kind of attitude I have ever encountered and it is a bunch of crap.  I remember the cartoons of my youth:  "are we Men or Mice?"  We're MICE!
   In real life in the real world the only constant has been change.  Nothing remains the same.  There are reasons things are the way they are and there will be reasons for the future, always reasons for why things happen.
   I think we have lost our curiosity and don't even give a rip.  We are in encampments, circling the wagons.
We throw ideas away because we don't like the messenger.  We don't even know why we don't like the messenger, just a label without investigation.
   This is all pretty interesting to me because I think we are all after the very same thing.  We want to have a sense of power in what appears to be a powerless world.
   The "Teabaggers" and the Wall Street Protesters at first glance seems to be on the opposite side of the spectrum but they are not.  In a world where they feel powerless they want a voice.
   There is a danger to a society where more people vote for "American Idol" or "Dancing with the Stars" than do for a National Election.  There is a danger to society where more people read the "Twilight Series" than have ever even heard of John Stuwart Mill's "On Liberty".  Our libraries are closing and we have forgotten that a Democracy requires work.  Newspapers are going out of business every month.  It seems that we no longer read at all.
   The problem with not being curious is that we are easily lead.  It is so much easier to follow than to cut a path and easier still to sit and be do nothing people.  Our justification to our grandchildren will be "I didn't do that!"  But it is a pretty poor answer to claim you did nothing.  Didn't even read a newspaper.
   Yes, these are "interesting times".

My Art, my Garden and my Studio can be found HERE

The Two Americas

Whatever you may think about John Edwards he was right about there being two Americas.  Maybe there are a lot more?  I watched the "Tea Party" debate last night and it was an eye opening experience.
"Selfish" is the word that comes to mind.  Divisive is another but mostly destructive.  They are mad, quite clearly, and want to tear everything down.  Put us back into that Old West mentality of every man for himself.  I have never seen such hatred, such disdain for Obamacare nor such denial of the issues that created the situation that we are in.
   There are Historical Reasons for Government regulation in private business.  Government (think tax dollars) has helped private enterprise for hundreds of years, since the Mayflower, since the railroads and the Erie Canal.  We would still have children chained to machines and working in sweat shops if it weren't for government intervention.  It is the government that has been given the task to insure clean drinking water and the air we breathe.  The government who is in charge of our transportation systems, bridges and roads and interstate commerce.
   Get rid of government regulations and all of a sudden everything will be better?  Yeah, sure.  History doesn't say that.  We will have the water of Mexico and the air of China and the garbage pits of Russia.
How any one could even think this is beyond me.  Two Americas.
   Privatize Social Security?  Yeah, they want this all right.  It is our last bank account, the only money that remains.  In the private business world 401's and other private savings have been cut in half already, the equity in our houses stripped to nothing.  The only reason that there is anything in this Social Security fund is that by law the private business world has no access to it.  It cannot be put into the stock market or used to buy junk bonds.  But they want it.
   It was interesting when asked to say something good about another candidate how they stammered, afraid to say something positive about their own competition.  This is the new gladiator sport, any weakness will be pounced upon.
   My biggest fear was the audience, their applause, their hatred, their self-righteousness, their willingness to throw the weak to the lions, their eagerness to place blame.  Their willingness to destroy what we have worked so very hard to get.
   Yes, we have met the enemy and he is us.  It is going to be a dark and stormy winter, I know.

Mt Art and Garden are HERE

Wait and See What Happens...

...I do it too!  In the old days I was far more of a risk taker.  I ordered way more steel than I needed for a particular job, nice to have the inventory, convenient and I knew I could sell it.  I used to have a "cash flow",
completed jobs awaiting payment, jobs in progress needing to be finished, and jobs "on the books", guaranteed jobs to do down the line.  Those days are gone and I don't know whether they will ever return?
   I have become a part of the problem.  I am far more conservative now with the little money I have, careful where I might spend it, knowing more will be hard to come by.  This is rapidly becoming the new American standard and it is hurting our economy.
   Business has developed this same attitude, hanging on to their money, creating less production, hireing less, making less, laying off workers.  It is not the burden of being in business, it is not the taxes or insurance, none of those expences.  There are no customers.
   Cheaper doesn't seem to work.  Walmart has lost customers too.  It used to be that a business could create something better, invent something new or make it less expensive and they would succeed.  That doesn't work anymore.  You just can't create a job for a product that no one wants or can't afford.
Different businesses have tried everything.  "Free" this and free that with a purchase, time plans.  Heck, I have even seen beds you can buy over a four year payment plan!
   The working poor have become the new poverty statistics!  That is 25% of us!  Add to that the 14 Million people who aren't working at all and you have a recipe for disaster.
  It is funny when I hear different politicians come up with a solution for this.  You can't get blood out of a turnip.  You can't tax the poor any more.  No one played Monopoly as a kid?  It doesn't get better by reducing the flow of money.  We are waiting "to pass Go" and collect our $200!  Just something so we can keep playing!
   There are lots of ways to save money, to reduce our National Debt if that is really the issue.  Quit being the world's policeman would help or send someone a bill for the services.
   I liked playing "Monopoly" as a kid, liked the element of chance and got pretty good at it as I came to know the rules.  It was an American game and I liked that too.  If you worked hard and made good investments, knew the rules and played fair you might even win.  Always a chance.  Opportuntiy.  And risk, you never wanted to lose what you acquired.  Sometimes that would make very conservative players out of the most obnoxious kids.
   It was just a game invented from the last great depression, another time of grief and failure.  The "American
Dream" the game was based on is dissappearing.  Good jobs and home ownership is rapidly dwindling, the things that give us reason to be conservative.
   It was always the loser that tipped the board over in his own disgust.  Having lost everything, there was nothing left to lose.
   That is what makes riots in the street.  Nothing left to lose.

You can always find me HERE

I am an Optimist!

It is true.  I have a tendency to look on the bright side and seek the positive.  I am not even against the

"Tea Baggers"!    Oh, there are elements to them I couldn't support but they know how to get a conversation going!  Like a dog with a bone, they won't let go!  This is not all bad at all.  There are issues we need to talk about.  We need to discover pro's and con's along the way.  I see all of this as an opportunity.

   I would like to see discussions more goal oriented because that is the way I am.  A little more honesty wouldn't hurt either.  I think there were other issues in the recent National Debt debacle, other conversations going on.  Six months of bickering, bringing the World to the brink of economic disaster and they managed to knock off a whopping 1% on the total bill.  My neighbor and I could have done better than that and we seldom agree on anything!

   There will be no sudden changes.  I think politicians don't really want us to know what is going on so they slip it to us slowly!  It is clear however that this 1% is hard on the backs of the poor and puts more pressure on the States.  You will see them tumble next and we will no longer be "United".

   The Gorilla in the room will be our military adventures and the price of  energy.  I certainly have a lot of questions about that!

   I remain an optimist in everything I do.  It is a benefit of 35 years as a Remodelling Contractor, knowing my job was never in tearing things down but rather in fixing them, improving them.  I had to have a Project Goal and a Daily Goal or I would get discouraged and lose my way and always I had to finish on time or I wouldn't make any money.

   The trick will be to keep this conversation going, maybe leave our hats at the front door.

   Always have a goal and work, with baby steps when necessary, in that direction.

 My Garden Entry

   I do that in my art, in my daily living, in my work, wherever I find myself.

More garden pics HERE

My Neighbor on Unemployment...

You might think she was on vacation.  It has been a year and her benefits have been extended another 20 weeks.  Five more months of paid holiday.  She is enjoying this time and has made great use of it.

    She has painted her entire house, got new curtains and a new dish washer.  She recently got a dog to keep her company.  I once asked her about going back to school, maybe learn a new skill, brush up on this or that.  She is just so busy that she can't find the time, she says!  Only two or three more months and she will have to start looking for work!  Well, unless her unemployment checks get extended again!

   It must be a good deal.  She makes more on unemployment than I do on Social Security!  She does have expenses that I do not have.  She has a brand new car!

   I can only think there must be a reason for this that I do not understand.

   I know there is no unemployment fund.  When I was an employer what was paid into this fund was minimal, less than $15 dollars a week.  That has to be long gone by now.  Every unemployment check is borrowed money!

   I don't think much happens in this world because it is "nice", the right think to do or even earned.

I think of our economy as one big machine that needs a lot of grease, a lot of maintenance.  Stopping this food chain at any place has a huge effect down the line.

   I suppose she buys milk and I know she buys beer with her unemployment check.  That helps support the local store, the delivery drivers, the oil industry, some more benefits for someone else, the bottle industry and lots more.  The automobile industry and bankers are happy with monthly check for her new car.

   The source of the money is not the critical thing.  It is important that it gets spent.  It is grease to this monstrous machine.

   Truthfully, I don't understand this.  I don't really understand a damned thing.

   We have lost our pride and maybe America isn't necessary anymore?  We don't make anything anymore.

Our manufacturing plants are shuttered all across the country.  The Space Shuttle is grounded and we now have to rent space from the Russians.  Cuba has a better medical system than we do.  Everything that we have worked for is being whittled away.

   Much of it is our own fault.  We did this to ourselves.  Every purchase from Walmart is a statement that we want cheap things for cheap.  We have no concept of working hard for something good.

   This is one of the reasons the art world is collapsing around us.

   We have no sense of unity at all.  We want ours and we want it now!

   I think we are rats caught in a maze.  We tear and claw at each other in our struggle to get to the top.

We subtract from the least of us because it is the easiest meal.  We destroy living wage jobs, union benefits and pensions.  We steal from Social Security and without CODA are out to destroy it.  We want to balance the budget on the backs of the poor.

   There is money out there.  There are fewer rats at the top but they have accumulated most of it.  Why there is a fear of wanting 3% of them is beyond me?

   Frankly, I think all of this gives us a bad attitude.  I think my neighbor knows she is grease in a machine.

I think she knows that any job she might get will pay less than she had.  The old job was destroyed along with the "American Dream".  She is discouraged and on vacation from it all.  Maybe we are too?

When I work, this is what I do: Here.http://www.picturetrail.com/slate

Nothing Sudden...

...Or Suddenly Nothing.  One of the biggest strengths of our Government is the way they do the business

of governing.  We don't  have "coup de ta's", military huntas.  We have checks and balances, people and institutions to assure fair governance all along the way.

   Our system has never been a rule of the majority and there are systems in place to prevent a minority takeover.  Sometimes this is frustrating because it is all designed to move slowly, attempting to assure the rights and privileges of all.  Even when we get a good idea the system moves slowly.

   Now is one of those times.  Maybe we are on a good path and maybe we should be taking baby steps?

The impasse in Congress has already had some unintended consequences.  Business doesn't like it.  The Stock Market doesn't like it.  The Banks don't like it.  It is not good for the Economy.

   The "Goal" sounds good:  get out of debt.  There is a nice ring to that, but how to do it is the question?

Take any example and run through a scenario of it, see it through its consequences.

   Cut back on Medicare?  That would hurt grandpa now, me in the future, later my children and eventually everyone.  It would also put the Hospitals out of business.  For those lucky enough to have private health insurance (me!) the rates would skyrocket!  If hospitals had less income so would the doctors. And so would the pharmaceutical companies, the drug research people, the makers of medical equipment...and the janitor who cleans the hallways!

   You might think the flap of the butterfly's wing may have an effect all over the world, so would this.

   If the government shuts down don't expect your unemployment check.  If you are a Veteran, this is how we will thank you.  There will be no checks for you either.

   The Government has stolen from the Social Security Fund before and now they have discovered a painless way to destroy it.  No more CODA, no more cost of living to adjust for inflation.  This won't hurt too bad in my lifetime, doing the equivalent of cutting it back 10% or so.  It will destroy it for my kids.  That appears to be what they want to do.  If we let this happen we deserve the government we have!

   Borrowing money is not always a bad thing to do.  It is how we purchase our homes and automobiles.

What makes it especially difficult now is the Economy.  If we had good jobs this would not even be on the table for discussion.  Taxes have NEVER run the small business or large corporations out of business.

Lack of customers will do it every time.

   I would like to see the excesses of our Government curtailed or justified.  I would like to see the National Debt paid down.  I know our very worst excess, where most of the money goes, is to the Muslim World.

We take it there with our Military and spend it freely in countries we do not understand.  Countries who hate us.  We give them even more when we buy their oil.  And now to look after our Veterans who have been

hurt, the projected cost of that alone will be over a Trillion Dollars...and counting!

   If Congress was serious about saving money they would look there.

   The National Debt will never be paid off without raising Revenue.  Four Dollars a gallon for gas?  Maybe when it is $5 or $6 you will become irritated?  If you feel like sheep there is a reason.  American corporations and the wealthy have never had it so good.  You were bought for 200 pieces of silver!

The "Bush Tax Cuts" saved the average American Family less than $200 a year while saving corporations and the wealthy Millions of Dollars!  Every dollar "saved" is a dollar borrowed!

   The Bill in front of the House now wants to reduce the tax on money over $300,000 from 35% to 28%!

Yeah, that will help a lot.

   Are these people crazy?

   While they are fiddling Rome is burning.  It can get much worse.

We Borrow Money...

That is what we do.  To put a limit on the amount of money we as a Nation can borrow

would radically alter who we are and limit us in ways we might not like.  It has been our wealth,

or our ability to gain wealth that has made us strong and the envy of the world.  People, corporations

and institutions still want to lend us money.  It is just capped at the moment and some think we might not

want any more!

   If you could list the ten best things the United States has ever done, you might be surprised that they

were all from borrowed money!  World War II, any war actually, the "Marshall Plan" and rebuilding Europe, NASA and our explorations in space, our efforts at taking care of those that need assistance, just about everything we do is on borrowed money!  Some things are unexpected, not seen in any one's budget.

Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters.  The terrorist attack on 9-11.  These all cost money.

   We are about to lose our triple AAA credit rating and you will see the defeat of America without firing a shot!!!  Who will respond if the world goes amok?  What will happen in a leaderless world?  We may not be perfect but because of who we are others are allowed to be.

   This is not kitchen economics here and I am ashamed at our congressmen for having no historical perspective.  What Ronald Regan did to end the Cold War, a serious time when we were taught to hide under our desks, was absolute genius.  He kept raising the stakes and drove the old Soviet Union into bankruptcy.  He raised our National Debt 18 times, kept upping the ante until they folded.  With a cap on the debt that is a card game we will never be able to play again!

   Everything, all along the way has been done with borrowed money.  Take that away from us and we will be just like Greece!

   The problem is not in borrowing the money, it is in raising the revenue to pay it back.  The money is there.

If this were kitchen table economics Grandpa has it all.  We don't burn money.  It has not been lost.  This is like a monopoly game where one player has accumulated all the real estate.  Corporations are doing very well, the best ever in the last six years.  More people are making over $200,000 a year than ever before!

These are great times for the wealthy.  And with the Bush Tax Cuts still in play these wonderful days for the rich and famous will continue.

   Our ability to borrow is what has made us strong.  Other countries too have good willed people, hard working people.  We have cash.  Or at least we did.  I would hate to see historians of the future liking our downfall to the likes of the Roman Empire or the Fall of the British Empire, the demise of any past powerful nation because we ran out of money.  We have money.  Lots of it.  More than ever before.

   There is a penalty in emphasizing science and technology in our schools.  We forget how we got here.

We lose sight of where we are going.  We no longer know who we are.  We don't know what we could be.