“Representative Democracy? We don’ need no stinkin’ Representative Democracy.”
and
“Well, I don’t care who is in charge as long as I don’t have to pay for anything, but I get everything”
Tag Archives: Politics
Some Tea Party Slogans
I have a couple of slogans for people to show off at their next Tea Party:
What part of “Me the People” do you not understand?
and
Down with Representative Democracy!
Catchy, huh? I have another one that I need to represent graphically, so that will have to wait.
How to replace a Senator
Much has been made recently of Governors replacing Senators who have been asked to serve the new administration. And Feingold has proposed an amendment that would require a special election to fill a vacant Senate seat as soon as possible. (read the rest of the article I linked to at 538. It talks about what methods the various states use today)
Why not go back to the original Senatorial appointment method and let the state legislature fill the vacant seat and let the citizens elect a replacement in the next general election. This reduces the chance for ‘pay to play’ corruption, allows the new Senator to be a consensus choice of the people’s representatives, and saves some taxpayer money by eliminating the need for a special election.
Of course this might make horse-trading Senate replacements more difficult since it can’t be guaranteed that the replacement will be of the party or persuasion you might want.
Money, Money Money…
I don’t like where some economic advisers are wanting to take us.
Why don’t we, the people, take this TARP bailout money and start our own bank(s) to provide the short-term credit for corporate entities – this appears to be where the credit logjam is occurring – and let the current financial institutions die? This will provide the capital needed for the economy to run for the near-term and if the new bank(s) is set up right it may be able to address the long-term funding growing corporations need.
We might even be able to get into some consumer credit business as well, but why not leave that to the banks and credit unions that didn’t run themselves into the ground. Once all the current banks that have dug this economic sinkhole have buried themselves, we can sell our young vibrant bank(s) to investors and recoup our investment.
We don’t need to nationalize the existing banks and get stuck with their toxic wastes. We can start anew and try to do it right.I’m not sure that this approach will help any for the mortgage market, but realistically, people with no income and with a $500K mortgage should default and give the house back to the bank that financed them.
As the commenters in the linked article note, don’t give any money to the folks who created the crisis. Don’t reward bad behaviour.
And then the super computer starts smoking…
I remember taking an oath when I enlisted in the Navy Reserve many years ago.
Federal law requires everyone who enlists or re-enlists in the Armed Forces of the United States to take the enlistment oath. The oath of enlistment into the United States Armed Forces is administered by any commissioned officer to any person enlisting or re-enlisting for a term of service into any branch of the military. The officer asks the person, or persons, to raise their right hand and repeat the oath after him. The oath is traditionally performed in front of the United States Flag and other flags, such as the state flag, military branch flag, and unit guidon may be present.
In the Armed Forces EXCEPT the National Guard (Army or Air)
I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.
In the National Guard (Army or Air)
I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the State of (STATE NAME) against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the Governor of (STATE NAME) and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to law and regulations. So help me God.
Guide Note: There has been some controversy about whether the phrase “So help me God” is mandatory. I have seen officers allow enlistees to omit these words, if they choose, according to their religious preference and beliefs. However, federal law does not appear to make any part of the oath optional. See 10 United States Code, Section 502.
Now, what happens if the first part, defending the Constitution, is under attack from the second part, the president and the appointed officers? The third part, the UCMJ, clarifies it all with reference to obeying Lawful Orders. Of course, how is a simple enlisted service member supposed to know the difference? They are just following orders from the educated officers. Pity they don’t make acing the civics course a prerequisite for enlistment.
What do I want in a new Administration
· Habeus Corpus
· National HMO
o All citizens automatically subscribed.
· Sunset Laws – All Federal laws expire after 20-25 years.
· A more representative Democracy – 1 representative per X citizens: X = 100,000 – 150,000 – 200,000 – TBD
· One basic Income Tax deductible – poverty level for your category/location.
o No Itemization
· Linear progressive income tax – up to 40% for income in excess of presidential salary – details TBD.
o Maybe another 10% for every multiple of the President’s Salary?
· A National Service Education Bill, similar to the GI Bill I used through college in the ‘70s
o 3-4 Years of Military, Community, National, Service Qualifies
· Pay for medical school in exchange for 10+ years of service in National HMO or other Public Health Service
· National Guard not activated and deployed outside of US Territory without declaration of war or declaration of National Emergency – by Congress.
· Reserve Forces not called up to active duty without declaration of war or declaration of National Emergency – by Congress.
· Reserve Forces and National Guard not deployed into combat zones without declaration of war – by Congress.
· Recognition that the President is NOT a king, that the president does NOT represent the People, that the president executes the instructions of Congress.
· Anyone with more than 15 years legislative experience in Congress can not hold a committee or sub-committee chairmanship or a speakership.
· No monetary foreign aid to non-democracies, kleptocracies and countries in civil war.
· No military aid anywhere.
· Only registered voters are allowed to donate to political campaigns.
· Revision of Capital Gains Taxes
o No tax paid on selling one stock/fund/security to reinvest in another stock/fund/security
o Tax only when stock/fund/security is sold and is not reinvested
· Revision of Estate Tax
o No tax on physical property, e.g. land, art, heirlooms, private businesses, etc.
o Tax on money/stocks/funds/securities overseen by SEC or its international equivalents.
o Tax on physical properties only when sold. e.g. you inherit a Renoir and don’t sell it in your lifetime- you are never taxed for it – and you can pass it on to the next generation. If they sell it they are going to pay a lot of taxes on it. ($0 cost basis)
o Tax inheritance (as noted above) at something like 60-70% for any estate worth more than 10 times the president’s annual salary. Less than that can be treated differently
· Corporations are not persons – legally
· Corporations must subject to regulatory oversight
o Regulatory oversight requirements reviewed every 5-10 years
§ Regulations shouldn’t be a straight jacket
§ More protection against gaming the system
o If an individual wants to run a business and doesn’t want to incorporate, they are not subject to the regulations that govern corporations, nor the protections.
· If a Federal Agency has certified that a product is safe for public use, then the Federal government is liable for any suits brought against the product
o Strong Inspector General office to ensure against collusion
o Strong certification process – who cares if it takes 20 years to evaluate.
o Vendor may release with preliminary approval but without protection
· Any compensation dispensed in excess of the President’s annual salary is considered corporate profit
· FEMA should set up Emergency Distribution centers at the various large military reservations around the country and pre-stock emergency supplies. Consumables can be rotated through with various international relief efforts. Trailers may be aired out before they are needed.
· President’s Annual Salary equal to ten times the median household income.
President-elect Barack Obama
I wish my father had lived to see this day.
Let me see if I have this straight
Let us say I am making $200,000 a year and paying 10% tax on that. My take home would be about $180,000. So I wouldn’t want to exert myself a little harder to make, say, $300,000 because I would be in a higher tax bracket. For $300,000 I would pay the same 10% on the first $200,000 (Take home $180,000) and, say, 20% on the next $100,000 (Take home $80,000). Because then I would be taking home only $260,000 instead of $180,000 and there isn’t any incentive in the world that would make me exert that extra effort.
I wouldn’t want to move into the top 2% of earners in the US because I would have to pay more taxes for making more money. Nevermind that I am earning such a comfortable income because I am using the social infrastructure this country has developed with tax dollars. No, I have gotten to this level on my own and nobody gave me anything along the way and they shouldn’t expect me to give back to some imaginary community that makes it all possible.
Yeah, that sounds straight enough.
This is a liberal media?
Some of them shouldn’t be let loose without a scriptwriter and teleprompter.
Maybe that’s why the pundits are so confused about the political leanings of the media. The current crop seems to have been schooled thoroughly by a conservative system.
This is not looking any better
The Nation is tracking how the bailout is proceeding. It continues to ring so wrong.
This bit
But, if you look more closely at Paulson’s transaction, the
taxpayers were taken for a ride–a very expensive ride. They paid $125
billion for bank stock that a private investor could purchase for $62.5
billion. That means half of the public’s money was a straight-out gift
to Wall Street, for which taxpayers got nothing in return.
is very irksome, but the private investor they are invoking is Warren Buffett, who was only putting up a few billion into Goldman-Sachs. And then they extend the analogy of the deal Buffett made with GS to cover all nine institutions, something I don’t think is quite fair.
But the upshot is that we appear to have the wolves in charge of the foxes in charge of the chicken coop. And the wolves are preparing for one last plunder before they retire. I don’t trust the administration to monitor and manage the bailout, I don’t trust the Congress to provide oversight on the wolves. I don’t expect the Justice Department to initiate criminal prosecutions in a timely fashion. I don’t trust the Republicans to do anything other than plunder the US treasury as best they can. And I don’t trust the Democrats to provide any ‘check and balance’ to stop the Republicans. (Hell, they may even join the bandwagon.) It would be nice to be pleasantly surprised.