Fiscal Cliff - Let's Go For a Nice Dive

There is a lot of press about the fiscal cliff.  You know, taxes going up, spending going down.  No one is going to like it much, but it is time to take the dive.  A good bit of pain by a good many people but, trust me, better this pain now than the pain it will inevitably lead to if we do not do it now.  I, for one, am hopeful that the dispute between the right and left is not resolved and we fall off the cliff.  For political reasons, it will be averted, but better if that does not happen.  Time for some serious cliff diving before the cliff gets significantly higher.

Stupid is as Stupid Does

If you have read my blog historically you know I am no big fan of Obama or his economic policies.  We can debate until we are blue in the face whether alternative strategies would have worked better.  The results have not been terrible but the deficit is troubling, unemployment is still way too high and real estate is returning too slowly.  Still, dealing with the worst economy since 1933 is a daunting task and I would give him a B grade for his work.  Now I still think some of the fixes I backed would have been better long term than what his administration supported but we will never know.

Now Romney is proposing some stuff, as is his VP running mate.  Not real clear where they are coming from on some of it.  But everyone should decide for themselves on whose plan might work best.

On a personal note, I just viewed the secretly taped video of Romney condemning the 47% who pay no taxes.  Now this is not wholly accurate as most of these folks do pay Medicare and Social Security but simply do not make enough to pay income taxes.  If you said to any of them that you can make millions a year on investments like Romney but have to pay 90% of the millions in taxes, I am sure they would all be quite happy to do so, but they do not have this silver spoon option.  Ask yourselves if Romney would be worth like a quarter of a billion dollars today if he was born poor.  Now ask yourselves if he is in a position to judge the 47% he chastises, most of whom I safely assume were not born millionaires.

The question has to be - are these 47% lacking in individual responsibility?  Are the funds they are receiving from the government the much maligned "entitlements?"  For some, perhaps even many, yes.  But for many others, no.  My own parents are part of the "entitlement" crowd.  They collect from Social Security and use Medicare to cover some medical bills.  Yet if anyone suggests they are leaches or did not earn what they are getting I would be enraged.  Most of my childhood my father worked two and sometimes three jobs.  My mom worked full time in a factory.  Dad worked full time until he was 78 and sickness made him quit.  They paid for the Social Security and Medicare dollars they are receiving many times over.  They are fully ENTITLED to receive these benefits, i.e. the money back that they already paid the government.  Any ass suggesting otherwise is not deserving of my vote.  Might I add that my parents are life-long Republicans - go figure.  For once I agree with Obama that being a President is about representing all the people in this country, not just the fortunate.

Note, just a few weeks ago I was truly undecided, but Romney is really proving he does not understand life for the average American, which I find quite troubling.

Been A While

Here we are all the way past the first quarter of the year 2012 and I have not done a single post all year. And this one will not be large or intense. Watch the EU carefully. Greece was nothing. Portugal, likely the next to fall, is really nothing either. Spain, on the other hand, will be significant and it is coming. France is not so smarvy either. Couple their problems (you are talking youth unemployment rates of over 50%) with a slow down in China and - it is coming. I have given up in guessing when as can kicking abilities surprise me all the time, but IT IS COMING. Good luck with all that