Steve's Barking certainties in life

Mark Twain is quoted as say the only thing that is certain in life is death and taxes, (well may be not taxes for everyone). The real truth is there will be floods. There will be droughts, volcanoes,and earthquakes, tornadoes and tsunamis, throw in a hurricane or two. The smart countries will set aside moneys for the proverbial rainy day to help their people in time of hardship. These forces of nature can
also bring havoc on energy sources, food supplies and other variable necessities of life. I'm sorry individual responsibility will not cut it. This is the role of government and some times it can overwhelm even the best of them.My guess is that the United States has not set aside nearly enough money to help cope with disasters.  That being written, the debt ceiling must be raised.

What I've written in the above paragraph of certainty of economic uncertainties did not include the certainty of people making complete fools of themselves on economic matters. Oh I include myself in this. Why else would I write a jumbled paragraph as the one preceding this one.  

Steve's barking at who creates more jobs, public or private.

I keep hearing how private enterprise creates more jobs then government.
I've for some reason have never seen the proof. I must be lazy or or not bright enough to find this to be a truism. The logic that I follow is that government creates far more in the 21st century then the private sector.
What I never could follow, what if the government hires contractors, are they considered private sector jobs or government jobs?
The air force gets new planes are the jobs that are created government jobs or private sector jobs?
Charter schools, do our statisticians call them private sector jobs or are they public sector jobs?
What about businesses that cater to public colleges? Are the jobs that they create considered government created jobs or strictly created by the private sector?

One never knows, do one?      

Steve's Barking 40,000 new jobs in New York State in April

Report New York has gained 40,000 private sector jobs last month.
The report didn't say what kind of jobs.
May be they were great jobs that pay well or maybe they most of those jobs pay minimum wage.
Governor Me Too will take full credit for the creation of these jobs and say this shows that if you hold the line on taxes the economy of this state will grow. The problem with that is unless you get the full picture on what these jobs are, one doesn't know do one?
Why didn't those states with lower tax rates have a larger percentage of jobs creation in the private sector?

Steve's Barking saving the economy from the debt ceiling.

Oh no MR Bill, I'm actually agreeing with Ron Paul,at least what I heard him say today. We should sell off part of our gold reserves to keep from raising the debt limit. That's part of my solution for our debt. Of cause I wanted sell part of the federal lands and have social security tax continue for those earning over 106 thousand dollars and I even wanted to sell part of our oil reserves. (The one that we are suppose use in case of cut off oil supplies from hostile nations)
Even though I think that the health care in the United States stinks, I would add 1/2% tax (that's actually 1% because employees put in) to keep medicare solvent. This wouldn't hurt the economy one bit,this amount is so minuscule when you think about. Compare it to fuel and food inflation this amount would be a joke.
One might even say it's anti-inflation. Huh
If raising the Fed rate is anti-inflation why isn't raising taxes anti-inflationary? They both take money out of the economy.

The one thing I didn't mention Congressmen Paul has his doubt that we actually don't have the gold reserves that the government says we have and he wants an audit. I say why not after all we can pay for it with a very small part of the selling of our gold.

Steve's barking at how dumb he's become.

As graduation time is here I've come to realize I'm not as smart as I used to be. In my twenties I know all the answers. What I didn't know I deferred to the people I just knew where experts. The experts were those people who thought the way I thought, even if they were over thirty, and my generation plainly believed never trust any one over thirty.
Now that I'm an old fart (at least to those in their twenties) I question all my beliefs.I even realized that I'm plain wrong some times and when I was in my twenties I was never wrong, now I know I'm only batting 600. Now I look things up to have an idea if I'm wrong or right. I'm a lot better at research for I have no prejudice.
I have changed, not just in my (sadly) looks but my ability to question my beliefs.
Oh I still love my country, even those buffon's who through their prejudice and stupidity will eventually destroy what I love. I just can't find it in my heart to hate them.

Steve's barking at numbers

Were facing a numbers crises in the United States.
14.5 trillion dollar deficit.
Of cause we could reduce the deficit by 1/3 by selling assets and having every one pay their fair share of social security tax, as I've written before.
Marist did a poll that said that 1/3 of young adults want to leave New york State in five years. Never saying were they wanted to go.
Governor Cuomo stated in his state of the state that people were leaving New York State because of the high taxes especially in Westchester and Nassau Counties that have the highest taxes in the country.
The census came out and state that the counties that gained most in population in New York State were those very same counties.
I keep reading how much New York State is paying into the pension then it was 10 years ago, I guess it should be, salaries go up pension cost go up it's a way of life. Those who are about to retire and are retired their pension is paid in full. That's a number you can count on.

Don't forget the old adage figures lie and liars figure.

Steve's barking at making New York State the Empire State again.

Not so long ago I wrote an article that I sent to the New York Times which for what ever reason turned me down.
So I then sent the article to the Albany Times Union and what do you think I got the same results.
So after many sleepless nights (exactly none) I've decided to let the free world have a look at my foolish idea with the hope that people in this cruel world will critic my foolish idea for New York State.

                          Making New York the Empire State Again Not the Me Too State    

 After hearing Governor elect Andrew Cuomo plans for New York State I can’t help but compare his statement for the future of this state with Chris Christies implementation of his budget for New Jersey. It also sounds similar to so many other governors that the only thing I can think of is that we should change the name of this state to the Me Too State from the Empire State.

 Now I have a plan to place New York State in the leadership roll of the states of this country

;The most important renovation is too eliminate 1/3 the state budget that is going to health care. I would do this by asking a waiver from the United States government on the health care reform act of 2010 and replace it with a 2 percent or less income tax from all who derive income from New York State. This income tax would be used to buy health care insurance for all. The boilerplate would be the Empire plan. If one wanted to more, then one could purchase it. This would eliminate the need for businesses in this state buy health insurance making them more competitive with foreign compaction. We would also need to get Medicare for those who are eligible with the provision that Medicare part B would be paid by the tax. The plan would also need to get Medicaid for those who are income eligible to help defray the cost of insurance. Those who make under $20000 will have no co-pay. 20001 to $35000 will pay $5 co-pay. A top co-pay of $20 for those who can afford it. The only thing the government will do is monitor the insurance companies to make sure they give the service that they claim to give and to dole out the money from the income insurance tax. If this plan can’t be implemented a plan (B) must be thought up to reduce the 1/3 of the state budget for health care.

 New York can’t be shy about borrowing money. The infrastructure of this state as in all states are falling apart. When we borrow the money for roadways and bridges we have to be able to pay for it from tolls or some other direct income that affects roadway travel. Tolls should not go to pay for schools or even subways. We cannot borrow using toll money to pay what’s it’s not intended for. We shouldn’t be afraid of borrowing money as long we can pay for it directly for the purpose that it’s intended for.

A very important thing that this state and all governments must do is believe in the sanctity of contracts. For every contract the state gives out the contractor must live up to it no matter how well connected the contractor is. Long term contracts must be reviewed and audited at least once every four years and if the contract isn’t being done according to the terms of the contract, it should be called null and void and the state should demand its money back. Even if it means that the state will loss many of its contractors. The state will have to hire more auditors and set up a quota on how many audits are done in order to keep the contractors honest.

The state should try to get the best brains to streamline the paperwork that small business must put up with. When I state that the state must streamline paperwork this must be done without hurting employees or in some cases the environment. A review must be done with workers comp again without hurting the employee.

Then again why think of ways to help the state when we can play follow the leader and blame the union’s blame the workers insist that we pay too much tax instead of trying ways to lower cost, thus lowering taxes without gutting services. 

Steve's barking at Ron Paul

This is a change I'm actually naming some one. Ok some times I do name names.
I should like Ron Paul, he's has a different idea of how to make the government better.
No I don't mean let the states handle every thing, they are closer to the people and they can give the people what they want and better services. ( This was the pre constitutional thinking and is still held by vast minority of citizens even today).
Now Ron Paul claims to be a free libertarian. At one time I used think I was too. Keep the government off the people back. I go even further, keep big bureaucracies away from making decisions that will effect me. That includes big business, big city government etc. Oh I almost forgot big news organizations like Fox News.
Now that really doesn't sound like me. So who knew I was really an anarchist.
Now Mr. Paul sounds sincere enough, but I don't get why he would take Medicare in his medical practice, after all that's a big government program that interfere with a doctors way of treating patients.  If enough doctors didn't sign on this program would have ended before it started.

Now Congressman Paul stated on the telly that the United State has already defaulted on it's obligation, for it promised to pay it's civil war obligation in gold. He's kind of telling the truth, the government issued green backs or as we know them today as dollar bills with the promise to  pay back in gold. We some times call these gold certificates?
We haven't paid these green back with gold.
Now I seem to recall from my history books that president Roosevelt unilaterally took all the gold from the citizens of the United States
Now Nixon took us off the gold standard all together, our dollars are backed by nothing.
Now the question is did we really default as Ron Paul suggest, or is that really a stretch?
If we missed a payment on our debt it wouldn't be the end of the world, a meteor wouldn't hit the earth nor would the earth collapse from earth quakes , but there would be great hardship, and the possibility of hyper inflation in the United States would greatly be enhanced.

Now I'm not a worrier of the debt that the United States is piling up, for I can eliminate a third of the debt in no time at all. Of cause I don't think that people like congressman Paul would go along with the program. (I've stated how I would eliminate a third of the debt in a previous blog.

Eliminating or weakening the Federal Reserve as Doctor Paul has suggested that is not a good idea, we live in the 21st century and we need a central bank that will push money in case of disaster and burn money if too much money is in the system. (Burn Money)?

My gut feeling is that free libertarians like Ron Paul would have been good in the end of the 19Th century, but for the 21st century;free market isn't working the way it's suppose too .

*  I must be losing it, this isn't much of rant and some of it makes no sense at all.

Steve's barking at judging judges

There is a man on the Fox business and on Fox News who was the youngest judge ever in New Jersey.
While some may think this is a good thing for him I see it as a failure. If you are any good getting out of law school in that profession one should be a lawyer, after all one makes more money as a lawyer then as a judge.
Of Cause that's only true if you aren't working for legal aid or a newbie in the DA's office. So the way I see it, this goof off wasn't making much money,but had connection in the Republican party. Be a judge, it's a civil service job were you get good benefits and it's almost a life time job. ( I don't know how it is in Jersey but in New York it's like getting a life time job even if you have to run ever so often).

I've often wondered about judges, they get paid a lot less the some of the lawyers they work with in court. Do they ever get jealous of those million dollar lawyers, of pissed off at the assistant District attorneys who get pay raises while they have to beg state legislators. In the case of U.S. judges congress must give them raises were normal civil servants get their raises.
Now if we look at this business model we most have some pretty poor judges, because they are so under paid and those who are any good stay as lawyers until they fell they should go in semi-retirement by being judges.
This country and many of the European countries as well, have an ad-version to give a salary worthy of ones profession out of  the public funds to their trained professional ( Note how little German doctors make).
I am scared to have anyone judging me who fells cheated by not being paid what they feel they deserve.

* The main reason I have reservation about a single payer health care system is that doctors could find themselves salaried employees of the government which would underpay them. I don't want to go under the knife of some one who's underpaid.