Steve's barking at Greece ing the pole

I keep hearing over and over again from certain politicians that if we don't cut down on spending we'll turn into another Greece. The problem with that is we don't speak Greek. We print our own currency and were not dependent on a central currency of many nations. Yes Virginia the US currency is not even pegged  to gold.
I understand that the Greece's taxes never meet expectation because of extensive tax cheating.
Those politicians and business people who think that the United States might not meet it's bills like Greece should think twice in letting people and industries the ability to hide there money like in off shore accounts.   

Steve's barking at free lunch

Free lunch in America went the way of the nickel beer, unless of cause your a congress person senator or some other elected official.
Some others pay for your campaign, (There are exceptions to this rule). Oh but then you become there slave. And I was under the impression that Lincoln Freed the slaves.
Now I've been told that there's free lunch in our schools, what isn't told that the only way one can get the lunch is being poor, and your parents, parent or guardian has to prove it Now I've also been told that in order to prove your poor one has to jump through hoops like a circus dog.

Now my peeps (people) the old codgers of  America(or at least some) believe that there's a free lunch called Social Security.I( I'm being nasty) At least the Tea Party People in the Bronx believe that you can't raise taxes even FICA to cover the cost of medicare (Instead of taking from the general fund were the people they helped put in office are screaming were going bankrupt and we can't raise taxes) Lets pay the doctors more so they don't leave the program but lets not raise taxes to pay them. Now that can be considered a free lunch.
Now the Social Security Trust fund ( The retirement part, not the disability part) is good till 2033 so the actuaries tell us. Now in order to pay the special bonds for the social security trust fund  money has to be found from some were. Now there are many people who believe that there is a magic money tree, I say just do away with the cap on the social security part of FICA and not worry were the money to pay the bonds will come from.



* My understanding is the disability part of social security is about to run in the red and those who can do something about it have got their head in the sand.
**To pay what is owed the social security trust the money with out new tax revenue the bond money will have to come from other programs, perhaps food stamps, senior citizen centers, medicaid, HUD?

Ever once in a while I like to ramble and this being one of those time.

Steve's barking at Dumb Inflation economics

Inflation is caused by too much money and the Federal Reserve's Quantitative Easing is like printing money. Now I may not have a PHD or even a masters in economics but I know that's a crop a Sh*t. Of cause all I hear is the end of the world is coming because the Feds printing money and this will cause runaway inflation. Now I didn't hear anything when during the Reagan administration about the Fed burning money which if I'm not mistaken almost destroyed the US economy.
I know that the common belief that runaway inflation in the Germany was caused by the printing of money, when the printing of high amount of Marks was due to inflation. I don't know why the vast majority of intelligent (?) people believe that it's better for the horse to push the cart then pulls it (It's an old expression putting the cart before the horse).
Now I know the school person's definition of inflation is too much money chasing too few goods. That's not my definition of inflation, especially when lazy people only look at the first part of the equation too much money and forget the second part chasing too few goods.
My definition of inflation is the price of goods and services keep rising and rising.
If it takes the average worker 20 hours too pay for his family too eat in a week five years ago, and only 10 hours to feed the family today even though the price of food has gone up 50% one can say that this person is not being robed of his earning power, yet even in my definition it would appear that food inflation has hit 50% yet work has deflated the price of food per hour worked. How is that possible? Raises, decrease taxes, combination of both.

What angers me is those fools who believe that money is the root of all inflation. They don't even take into account that there are different kinds of inflation.
Pay inflation, caused by the shortage of workers, Unions(?), government ( executive pay caused by cronyism). I'm positive there are other reason for pay inflation such as player pay in  baseball.
Droughts and floods causing shortages in food.. While  the inability to make profit causing farmers to give up their farms can also in the long run cause inflation in food prices.Supply and demand cause and effect.
Shortage of material which generally plays itself out in the business cycle.
The hoarding and speculating of goods, such as oil, which in itself can bring runaway inflation.(Energy inflation, gas and oil was one of the roots of the 70's inflation, the other was the Fed burning money ).
Monopolies keep the free market from operating efficiently possibly causing inflation in what they sell.



The central bank or in the case of the United States the Federal Reserve can cause inflation in two ways, by what I call burning money.
Hoarding money, making it scarce. That inflates the cost of money. Too make a profit cost of goods have got to go up. Inflation.
Charging high interest rates, see above.

    

Steve,s barking the duck goes quack, quack, the cow goes moo, moo

When I was younger, much younger then today my mother would come into my very messy and yell at me, do you think you live in a barn? Today I look at the elected leaders of my country and they talk like barn yard animals, so if she was here today I would have to answer her in the affirmative.
The pig is only interested in his slop and the chicken in her feed. None of the animals can communicate with one another, despite the children stories that we read.

Now I'm thinking of the famous non children story Animal Farm, which was an allegory on communism, but for some reason I keep thinking that the Republicans are Napoleon the pig some animals are more equal then others ( some politicians are more equal then others).  How can I get this so confused, aren't the Republicans representative of the capitalistic system? Why would they steal a Soviet idea?


Currently because of the tragedy at Sandy Hook we are talking about gun control, I hope the barnyard animals come up with an enforceable plan. Some of the founding fathers believed that banning the importation of slaves in the early 1800's would end slavery, it took a civil war to do that.


If by chance you happen to stumble upon this particular blog and don't quite know what to make of it, that's OK. It was written to be a little confusing so that the reader would have to use his or her mind.      

Steve's barking It's default of America

I just happened to read an article in The Atlantic Magazine, that happens to suggest that the US has defaulted already on bonds that were issued over 200 years ago by not paying interest on these bonds during the War of 1812.
The reason I'm bringing this up is during the debt the talk was that America has never defaulted on it's bonds (* It seems that in the last 2 years we had more financial crises  then in the past 64 years).
Now I know that we have defaulted on obligations as regards to the special Social Security bonds. The Social Security trust funds bought these bonds as a way to insure the solvency of the fund and to make payouts under the formula that when I as a thirteen year old started putting money into the system, full payment at 65  years of age not 66. Changing the way payments are payed out is a form of default. I know that a majority of my fellow Americans have a hard time grasping this concept. It seems that they believe unless there is a bankruptcy proceeding, or at least nonpayment of money to private investors, or sovereign nation your not in default but we are. It's even been suggested that we double default on these bonds.
Can we payout what we promised when we started issuing these special Social Security bonds. You betcha, just don't have a cap on work tax Social Security part of FICA and if that doesn't cover the shortfall add a slight increase to the percentage of FICA Social Security taken out of the workers paycheck.
Let's not make America harder for our children and grandchildren as they grow older by taking away FDR's promise that the aged would no longer live in poverty.

*Recession, pension time bomb, The student loan bubble, fiscal cliff, debt ceiling,underwater mortgages,
Consumer credit card crises. Feel free to add other financial crises that I just can't think about now.    

Steve's barking legalize and tax marijuana

Let's get stoned.
After all every body must get stoned.
It's been suggested that if we legalized and taxed marijuana our budget deficit would disappear.
If the budget deficit doesn't disappear who cares, we'll be too mellow to give a darn.
As I do recall when I in my more hellion days that marijuana and it's not so famous brother hashish gave me one hell of a sour throat every time I used it.
So let's sell the natural drug in brownies after all how could all those medical users be wrong.
End the nauseousness from chemotherapy now. Just keep the brownies out of the hands of tikes or we'll end up with crashing of trikes.
Unfortunately at pot parties, one can't have a designated driver, least we forget about contact highs.


* I'm sure there must be a picture of me in the early seventies carrying a sign legalize pot now at some rally.   

Steve's barking I want to make the tax code worse.

For the life of me I can't figure out why some one who has shares in a mutual fund has to pay the taxes on capital gains when stocks are sold for a profit or when dividends are paid out that aren't seen by the share holder of the mutual funds. It seems only fair that taxes shouldn't be paid by the share holders untill the money is actually seen by the share holder.
Then again what do I know about the tax code, after all I' m only a tax payer.

Steve's barking at a taxing situation

I hear from the grapevine ( a bunch drunken wine drinkers) that we shouldn't change the tax rates, but do away with some loop holes. Not all loop holes mind you just some unspecific ones. Being unspecific I can  put my twenty cents in ( The expression used to two cents in but due to inflation it's now twenty).
Let's change the income tax system into a strict income tax system. Dividend income is income to be taxed as income. You sell a stock that's income (lets do away with the capitol gains tax loophole and call it what it is, income). Lets do away with the estate tax loophole and tax the proceeds as income ( O boy would I have been in trouble).
It's been suggested that investors don't like to make money unless they can get a tax break so that's why we shouldn't mess with capitol gains tax and perhaps lower it.


It's a shame that McDonald workers can't afford to eat in Burger King, and Burger King workers can't afford to eat at McDonald's. 

Steve's barking The Bimbo could have saved the twinkie

It has accidently come to my attention that Bimbo bakeries, the largest package bakery in the America's perhaps the world wanted to buy Hostess Bakeries when they first declared bankruptcy several years back.
Now if you have never heard of the Mexican Bakery Bimbo, perhaps you know Sara Lee, Entenmann's, Stroehmanns, and Thomas maker of American English Muffins.These are some of the brands that this are owed by Bimbo.
It also appears to my uneducated eyes that, that Hostess will make more money going into bankruptcy then staying whole and continue as a business. A Billion dollars in a years time.
Those sneaky b******* who ran the company. Making accounting procedures seem that the company couldn't survive unless workers concession. Hoping all along that the workers turn down these concessions and even go on strike.
Making money is what the system is all about, and it seems that Hostess did the right business decision but the moral corrupt one.   

Steve's barking lets avoid the fiscal cliff by jumping off the bluff

Were all going to be destroyed. The fiscal cliff she is a coming. Our taxes are they will be to high.
Just like when Bush II took office. Our spending will be cut, just like those whining so called conservatives are demanding. Oh it's not the cuts that they want. I keep reading and hearing that this will lead into the great recession  II will take place. And I kind of believe that to be true. There is something in my body that tells me if you make the wrong cuts or end the wrong loopholes in the tax code, guess what recession II will come back with a greater vengeance then if you did nothing.(That part of my body that telling me that is called a brain).
Cut food stamps it would hurt big food processing companies such as Kraft. They would then have lay off workers. Cut Medicare and Medicaid too much and our doctors and hospitals would have to lay off staff.
Change the formula for increases in social security along with increases in part 2 medicare lessening discretionary income of seniors, less stops at the barber and beauty shops, more people laid off.

Be Careful what you wish for when dealing with the fiscal cliff, that bluff we jump off of to avoid the fiscal cliff may be a bigger drop then then the cliff itself. 
   

Steve's barking at who killed the twinkle

Who killed the the Twinkie?
That sounds politically incorrect.
The Unions killed the Twinkie.
No the leverage buyout bosses.
The the killer of the Twinkie is those idiots who lent the buy out bosses the money.
Now there stuck with out getting their money back and legitimate bakers who really wanted hostes couldn't get it.
Or so it seems.

Steve's barking at what do with flat earth economics

This country and the world has taken sides in the great economic debate and by golly the flat earth people are winning.
It seems that over whelming  majority of Americans want to keep social security and medicare.
Now the flat earth people want to save these programs by destroying them.
Let see have a voucher system for medicare, that's really going to save medicare or for that mater help balance the books.
Then we have the people who want to raise the age of social security. I know for a fact I'm pissed off at my country now for lying to me about social security, after all when I started to go to work I was told that I would get full social security benefits at 65, then in the middle of my work life it became 66 and younger people it's even older. Now they want to extend that even more.
Now I have an idea what to do with these worry worsts ( flat earth people who worry about the debt).
Let's do the logical thing, eliminate the cap on the social security portion of FICA. The part that employers pay would be fazed in as needed. The part that employees pay is not needed now but could be used to pay down the debt till needed then go into the social security trust fund.
Medicare part of taxes should be raised gradually as to eventually eliminate the need to take money out of the general funds.
Lets add 2 percent to capitol gains tax to help offset medicaid spending from the general fund.
Lets not change the marginal rates to the tax code at this time if the above is agreed to. One can only go to the well so often.
Lets have a use it or lose clause to any grants the Federal government gives out. And a provable system that these grants were used probably.

Now lets talk about those European flat earth economist.
Is Europe who was once the ruler of the third world turning into a third word economic continent?
If they continue the way there going it sure looks that way.
Do I have any solutions? Nope. Not at the present time.
I doubt the flat earth economist in the US would look at my solution  to their worries. In  fact I think that there's a 99.9% chance that they would be clueless at my suggestion to there budgetary fears, after all their flat earth people.


 

  

 

Steve's barking at cessation

This  has been a disappointing election for me.
The idiot lost, the better man won.
What's wrong with that?
No one realizes that the loser is an idiot, even I didn't understand that until after the election and I heard the from the loser why he lost. The president was giving gifts. Like the president is Santa Clause.
Actually by being not bright the loser by losing gave this country a gift.  The gift of not turning into a third world country. You know those counties were a few control all the wealth. Were the wealthy hide their money in foreign banks. Were life expectancy is low because of inadequate health care.
So whats to be disappointed about?
The election should have been about the roll of government in the economy?
Right now almost half the country believes that  that this country is turning into a hedonistic, socialistic place to live with a tyrannical leader at the top.
Ah but there is some good news, there is a growing cessation movement growing in this country.
Why is this good news? A nation divided and such. Well if we could split the nation between red and blue states, or more precisely those who want the current Constitution and those who prefer the article of confederation. I think this is a good idea, even though logistically some red states will have stay blue.
We would give the breakaway states the money proportionately what's left in social security, medicare, and splitting up military equipment in proportion what the breakaway states paid in taxes as compared to the blue states.  Then after 20 years we'll find out who's better off.        

Steve's barking at American Austerity Day

American Austerity is coming, most people call it the fiscal cliff.
Now I keep hearing from some people that this would be a the beginning of the next great recession This would disastrous.
These same people don't say the same thing about Greece, Spain and Ireland with a more aggressive austerity plan.
Now I think that austerity is for fools, but if you believe in this nonsense why do you care if we go off the fiscal cliff?  

Steve's barking is the America mathematically challenged?

I was surfing the boob tube the other day when I happened to come across some fellow on one of those business channel, when one of those talking heads said that he was talking to one of his clients who happened to say that he was losing 7,500 dollars in discretionary income because Obama was taking back what he could put into his healthcare flex spending account Now this talking head had a white board ( the new version of a black board) and he started to do the math. He stated that his client told him he needed $10,000 for health care for his family of five. This past several years he was able to put this amount in to his flex account, now the max he could put in was 2,500 dollars. Now the only thing these accounts allow you to  do is to save in pretax dollars so you any money that you put into these accounts is not taxed (Now the bad part of these accounts is that you must use all the money in that year or you lose the money in the account. The money can be used for such things as co-pays, over the counter drugs and various other medical items).
Now getting back the story, lets assume this client lived in NYC and and was at the paid the max tax rate the most he would lose 50%.  Even though I admit that math isn't my strong suit the most this client would lose in discretionary income is 3,750 dollars, this is assuming he couldn't use the 7,500 dollars to reduce his tax bill.

The reason I'm writing this example is because I see and hear things like this all the time, but this one really caught my attention, that I actually thought about it for several days.

It reminds of the story of the merchant who stated that he only makes 1% on his merchandise. I buy it for a dollar and charge 2, only 1%.         

Steve's barking did O win or did Mitt lose

Of cause O won and Mitt lost, I just read it in the paper and heard it on the telly.
That's not what I mean, was O strategy or Mitt's stupidity the reason for the presidential results after all the house stayed Republican by a large margin. The president bring Democrats with him seems marginal.
This being said if I was a Republican, especially in a leadership position I would put earplugs in  my ears.

I would not have a one size fits all Latino strategy. I would treat Cuban Americans differently then Mexican Americans, Dominican Americans, and PR Americans. I defiantly would make sure that my candidate did not make fun of one of these ethnic groups. (If I was born a Mexican I would be president, so said Romney)
Now that I've gotten ahead of myself, my prejudice being notes that these Latino groups have problems with each other ( just like the Irish had problems with the English).
 The Democrats in this election used women social issues just like the Republicans used social issues in the past. My advice to the would be to the Republicans measure your words.* Example: If my wife or my daughter was raped and had become pregnant by this rape, it would be the most agonizing thing for me but my family would not be murders, I'm sure my wife, daughter would agree that they would carry out to term even if we I had to put said child I for adoption.  We are not murderers You can't turn your back on your base.
 When running for office measure your words, even at fund raisers Example if Mitt Romney had said I know that 47% will not vote for me because there jealous of success, this wouldn't have been used against him and he would have put his point across to his donors.

Now lets get to the party of me and my family.
O's people had a great strategy as pouring money and  resources into close states that could have gone either way. It helped that Romney didn't explain himself very well, and pissed off some major corporations.
I'm thinking Kraft and Chrysler.

Now I'm thinking about the Democratic party. Everybody who is getting and has gotten food stamps should be voting and voting democratic. How come they don't do well in Kentucky.
How come they can't bring older voters to vote against Republican congress people by showing generation warfare in Medicare that was written into the house budget. Ending Medicare as we know it.
I understand that there is the end of major subsidies that Republican districts get in the budget, these weren't addressed by the Democrats to my understanding.

Why didn't the president attack congress the Harry Truman did?

What I like about the president is some of the bold moves he did make.
During the 2008 campaign and Hilary and John using conventional wisdom stated that we should not collect gas tax because of the high price of oil, candidate Obama said we shouldn't suspend them this didn't hurt him in the slightest, if I'm not mistaken his electability went up.  
When as president he did away with don't ask don't tell allowing homosexuals to serve openly  tell and openly stated that he had no objection to same sex marriage the conventional wisdom was he was committing political suicide because two of his key constitutions were against it. What really happened was the floodgates were opened up and money came pouring in. The Republicans didn't try to take advantage of the dislike of these key constitutions and they voted over overwhelmingly for the president. 
 
.* To write like that show how challis  I am some times.
In no way everything written in this particular blog is true to my soul.  



   

Steve's barking lets save our children by killing them

In the US of A I keep hearing from people who should know better, stating we have got to reduce our nation's debt as to keep the burden from our children and our children's children.
These same know it alls, do not say how the current debt would be paid for. The way we've paid for our debt in the pass was to have higher taxes. Of cause these should know better people scream at the top of their lungs no new taxes or better yet taxes that are revenue neutral. We'll pay off the debt by not having any more federal programs.
What is the percentage of jobs in this country that is tied directly to the federal government, 10, 20, 30 percent?
How many extra workers does Kraft employ because of food stamps?
How many job airline jobs are there because of the post office?
How many civilians that are employed by private contractors at military bases?
How many civilian contractors and jobs that go with them are part of grants that the federal government gave to the states?
What about those made their money from government programs and indirectly and buy products that help create jobs?
Do you think that without the federal government that more jobs will be created by the private sector?
Are you drunk?
No my dear readers, while trying to protect the children of the United States, those wishful thinkers will doom their children and their children's children to absolute poverty.  
 

Steve's barking conservatively speaking banks don't work

If one would listen to those who call themselves conservatives, complaining about debt, they must not put their money in banks. Banks make money by borrowing money and lending the that money out, and they call it profit.
Now if government borrows money to invest in it's people so they can pay taxes, the sky is falling, so says Chicken Little.
Now I know that some would say that food stamps to keep people from going hungry isn't investing in people, nor unemployment insurance, or having citizens on the dole isn't investing in people, well how does one make these people good tax paying citizens if not by helping the less fortunate.
Now I see that the Republican candidate for president wants to increase Pell grants, then why did he pick a running mate who proposed a budget that cut Pell Grants. Another conservative who doesn't believe in banks.
Now one would have to be wary of the foxy loxies in this group.   

Now I presume that not everyone who happening to read this blog will understand what I'm making fun of.
I also know that it's hard to fathom that the US really doesn't have a 16 trillion dollar debt, after all it's on the books.Some things in life are just illusions.    

Steve's barking would you vote for Hitler if he promised you a job?

I was surfing the other day and I happen to come across on CNN this Brit fellow Morgan asking this African  
American Perry why would African Americans Vote in such overwhelming numbers for the current president when there's a such a large unemployment of African Americans under the current president. Morgan wasn't the first person to ask this question as to why the African American community is polling so overwhelming for the current president, my favorite columnist in the NY Post ask the same question in one of his columns  My answer at the time is I wouldn't buy a car from my brother ( Whom I trust) without telling me what type of car it is. Why would an unemployed person vote for a presidential ticket on how he's going to create a good paying job for me without giving me a clue as to how?
After thinking about what if I was unemployed, I wouldn't just vote for anybody, what if that person was a Hitler type ( No Mitt Romney is not anything like a Hitler, don't get me wrong). I'm just Questioning the question.

Steve's barking, yes Virginia government does create jobs

I heard the comment in the rude fest the other day from the Mitt Meister that government doesn't create jobs.  Later on in the Mitt Meister said that all cuts to the defense budget would be restored. I hate to Mitt but that's creating jobs. I do believe I heard the Mittster say we we need to create 5 million jobs to be even to the amount of jobs that was lost during the Obama Presidency. Now I kinda recall that is around the amount of jobs that were lost from state and local governments in this period, but then again government doesn't create jobs.
The teacher, the policeman, the fireman and all other civil servants don't have jobs is that what Mitt was saying. Is he saying that these people are on the dole.
Government policy of easing credit in the mortgage market creating the building boom (and crash) is government creating jobs isn't it.
Doesn't government buying computers help the bottom line of companies such as Dell and Microsoft creating jobs. The same being true for home computers and cell phones. What percent of these items being purchased are from people getting government checks. Would they have to hire as many workers if it wasn't for government issued money to civil servants, social security recipients, people who have jobs that are tied to the government. How many of these new industrial jobs  would be missing if it wasn't for the ability of these government recipients of money to be able to make these purchases.
Government creates businesses that create jobs that are unrelated to government. Just ask any worker or business owner that lost their job or business because the local military base closed down. 
Yes Virginia, government creates and keeps jobs.
Let me repeat that Virginia, government creates and helps keep jobs even those unrelated to government.


**** I'm going to write what some people may thing is outrageous,The only way one can guarantee job creating is by hiring them. Mitt's saying just the opposite.

Steve's barking at what we jokingly refer to as presidential debates?

I've been around for a lot of these so called presidential debates.
In all of them from Kennedy, Nixon on they seemed to me more like those insidious televised question and answer news programs. (Face the nation, 60 minutes , Fox and friends ect, ect). Some dufus ask an inane question that's been asked  a hundred times before ( at least the candidate hopes so he can answer the same question the way it's been rehearsed). For some unknown reason the candidate is called a cheater if he or she happens to have notes, kind of like an athlete taking performance enhancers.
This year it particularly annoying when the debate should be what role should government play in the economy. A mix of government help, free enterprise system that kept us with steady growth until the eighties or the laissez faire approach which is what the unfretted free market system is. ( notice I didn't give an opinion).
Unfortunately talking heads and rich political consultants live on fantasy island and give the voters ideas, at least different ideas.  

Steve's barking does anybody here want to be president

It's been awhile since the last debate, prior to the debate the Republicans handed the Democrats the election on a silver platter by naming Paul Ryan the Vice Presidential candidate focussing on medicare, the destruction of.
Now we come to the debate, the president is there behaving like he just had a fight with his wife, trying to remember the talking points that his handlers had told him. He forgot to listen to his challenger.
NO Mitt Romney didn't win the debate, President Obama lost it.

The president should have said that the Republican party was causing generation warfare with medicare vouchering system.
The president should have said a medicare vouchering system would if enough people took it weaken the system.
Neither side tried to inform the public that are paid from the general funds (general taxes not the taxes that are fica ( money paid into the medicare system). The President would have gotten the upper hand by stating that if the rich paid a little more in their taxes that 750 billion dollars that is being talked about being take out of  what is being taken out of medicare can be restored.
When Romney challenged the president with the joke about facts, the president showed slow wit, a snappy comeback might have been my staff got the facts from you, reading your literature and listening to your speeches. 



The US debt in 1790 was reported to be about 54 million. With a population of about 4 million.
Everyone  owed 7.4%  of the debt.
Today every citizen owns about 1.9% of the debt

* Population about 311 million
Debt about 16.5 trillion.


 

Steve's barking at an economic movie policy

It has come to my attention that the local AMC movie theater has done away with it's Tuesday senior discounts and early prior to 12 o'clock discount showings.
This being there right under the free market system I have no beef with that move,
This being the free market economy as for myself a person on a budget I want to thank AMC for saving me money, as I and my wife can no longer afford on our budget to go to the movies twice a month and spend for admission 16 to 20 dollars on snacks.
Now harkening back to my school days and being taught about fixed cost, electricity cost the same, the salary of the ticket sellers stays the same, rent stays the same the question being, will the increase in movie prices make up for the lost business from seniors and couples with children who go to the movies before 12 on the weekends? 

Steve's barking at hiring a doctor to do plumbing

I wouldn't hire a doctor to do pluming work, and I don't think too many people would either.
I don't believe that most doctors believe that they would be good plumbers.
Now I ask myself why good businessmen think that they can be great mayors, senators, and even the president?
Again I ask myself what's with the mayor of Gotham, he hires financial people and thinks they can run government agencies. Yea they can run em, run em into the ground that is. I may not be smart for Mensa, but I'm smart enough to know that you don't hire a doctor to do the plumbing.



PSSSS, I'm not that upset with Paul Ryan's plan medicare. Now if he would only extended the coverage to every citizen of this country and have the insurance companies regulated with the premiums being payed for by a direct tax on income, he might be on to something.



em =them
PSSSS= a sound

Steve barking that it might be wurst

Just got finished reading in the paper of record a city in German is in the envious position of 1.5% unemployment and the local factories need workers. That's not what caught my eye.
What caught my eye was in the article it was discussed how the German government went from high  unemployment rate in 2005 to an envious employment record, by lowering the amount of unemployment one could get thus if one wanted to survive one would have to take a job at lower pay. Lowering pensions and having companies higher temporary workers,giving them no security or fringe benefits and by golly lower pay.
I could be wrong, but this could very easily lead to resentment by the newer employees against the older who have the job security.
 I'm looking a head to the future were Germany can't sell it's manufacturing goods abroad because the rest of the countries in the European Union are stuck with greater draconian austerity measures then Germany gave itself and there's a good chance that Asian countries will by buying more of their own manufactured goods then looking to import .  It would be for Germany  like the biblical seven years fat, seven years lean.
 Can the German people pick up the slack?
Will the German economy behave worse then rest of the European Union? Did the German government create a what it thought was a beautiful economy but that in reality down the road it turns into a beastly one. 
        

Steve's barking at none dare call it treason

In the seventies there was a conservative book that was titled None Dare Call It Treason.
Me being the plagiarizer that I am decided to steal that line for the title this piece on what I believe Fox News is. The first and foremost treasonous News organization in the world. What other news organization would hire a man who tried to give away the name of a CIA operative to news organization? (Carl Rove) What other news organization  would keep a reporter who told of our troop movement during the time of conflict (Geraldo Rivera) and they had the nerve to broadcast it. What other news organization would hire a political operative that turned on the president he helped elect as if he was a woman scorned. What other news organization would tell the real name of the Navy Seal who wrote a book about his mission to kill Ben Laden  
thereby putting all members of that Seal Team in jeopardy. Of cause that's the station that waves the flag the most, questioning the loyalty to America of anybody they disagree with.

Steve's barking at the deadliest bug

The deadliest bug is not a spider, nor a lady bug.
It's not a virus like Ebola or Hentai.
It's the bug that attached to that yellow metal called gold.
When it strikes men and even women lose their minds.
When talking about that yellow metal people lose 50 points on their IQ.
A fabled American politician said we shouldn't be crucified on a cross of it.
Now with a growing US population the only way not to have gold inflation is for gold to be mined so that troy ounces equal the amount that per citizen of the US. (To make things easy if the population is 100 million and the country has 100 million try ounces, the country now has a population of 300 million we would need 300 million troy ounces) Now if it cost one chicken to get an ounce of gold and the amount of gold only doubled one would need one and a half chickens to get an ounce of gold. Now for you who don't understand, I told you that the gold bug drops one IQ by 50 points.   

Steve's barking at rampart inflation, not

I heard it again yesterday on the boob tube from some analyst on one of those financial network's, we are headed for rapid inflation because of Bernanke and the Fed (the latest Elton John song Benny and the Fed) that because of  them buying of bonds is printing money, rapid inflation is sure to follow. Of cause none of these rapid Fed inflationist make a clear explanation as to why I'll be doubling my maintenance fee in my coop or the price of the bus I take will triple and the steak I eat will cost me 12 dollars instead of six because the Fed is trying to put money into the system. That would be to much to ask for an explanation as too exactly how the printing of money is inflationary, after all we civilians print money every day by using our credit cards, by putting money into the bank and having it lent out. Maybe we shouldn't borrow money or lend it out after all it's like printing money and printing money leads to inflation. Maybe the Fed inflationist don't understand the theory of velocity, after all it's only glanced over in economic classes.
Let's take this boring thought farther, let's say that because velocity has slowed the Fed( printing money) is only replacing money that would be printed by velocity and therefore we have a wash.
Of cause that thought would fry the brain the Fed inflationist and we already have too many people with brain disease. Let us listen to those who,in there youth would describe the book they had just read good because they like it, and they liked it because it was good.

Steve's barking not another QE

I don't know what the fuss is about QE III after all I didn't going on the QE 1 or QE II, besides I get sea sick. Oh you mean the economic term quantitative easing.
Oh never mind.
Will the latest  fed reserve trick work?
I maybe crazy, but right now there happens to be a surplus of housing stock, so I don't think it going to help the construction industry by buy mortgage back bonds. I kind of think that one would not be thinking of buying a home unless one can afford the mortgage payments and if income from working is going down it really doesn't matter if there is no interest on a mortgage, if you can't afford it you can't afford it.
I maybe reading it wrong but banks have plenty of money to lend, it just who they are lending it to that's troubling. (Read speculators).
Now I may have this wrong also but too many of our major corporation don't have to borrow they have cash on hand.
I seem to have read in a major magazine that many of our major corporations are making record profits and holding on to that money. Now silly me if I was the head of one of those companies I probably would hold on to that money too.


Some times it doesn't matter what the doctor does, the patient dies.

Steve's barking at idiot savant television

 What is idiot savant TV?
 Idiot savant TV are the talking heads on business and other disinformation news programs. Let me use the term news discussion programs and business discussion programs.The idiot savants are those talking heads who were hired because they were quite good at something that might have pertained to a business model or were good at guessing which stock would rise and fall. When it comes to knowing general knowledge of economics or history forget about it.
Several days ago I heard a comment from one of those idiot savant's calling a well known economist a communist because he dared call out a female anchor on another station saying that she was wrong in saying that the feds easing of money was driving up commodity prices such as oil and food prices. Now I'm not a communist and I know that speculators and possibly the oil company's themselves are driving up oil prices and we are now in a severe drought, lack of food stuff pushes the prices up. Now this business news annalist (?) complained about us bloggers saying anything weather it's true or not, I guess he doesn't listen to himself or most of the economic annalists on his station. or for that matter any of those blathering idiots on what is loosely called cable news.

Getting back to idiot savants on the telly, there's this guy they called the Donald whom is the star of this program called the apprentice. Now he makes great office buildings, golf courses and high rise coops, but when it comes to common sense he's two brick shy of a full load. (He has no common sense).To hear this guy talk about the president's birth certificate as to say that he's not  qualified for the office of the president because the Constitution states that only natural born citizen can be the president. Legal scholars have stated that children of citizens of the US are natural born citizens. George Romney in in '68 and McCain in '08.   
Speaking of the Donald, why doesn't he have any dignity, he hawks more products then Kim Kardashion and the cast of Jersey Shore combined. I'm not that savvy in business but I would imagine that it would cheapen his brand. 
 

Steve's barking two extra tears on 9/11

I'm shedding two extra tears on this 9/11 for two friends and ex coworkers who died of lung cancer this year.
They both worked near the World Trade Center on 9/11/2001. Nether smoked.
Robert Rebasti and John Biondo I did not forget you.

Steve's barking at those who talk to dead people

There is many a person in this great land that I live in that talk to dead people.
They call these dead people the founding fathers.
Now how do I know that these people talk to dead people. Most of them state what the Constitution of the United States means not what it says.(1) Now I always understood  that a well regulated militia means just that a militia (what is now called the national guard) is regulated, presumably by the state.It's not some willy nilly law that every man should have a gun to protect themselves from tyranny of a central government .
Yes some of our founding father wrote letters to that effect, but other wrote letters just the opposite. Being that there is no written record of the debates that went into the second amendment those who claim that that's what our founding fathers meant must talk to dead people.
Those people who claim that the founding fathers wanted the US to be a god fearing nation must based on a couple of letters from several founding fathers, while there is a letter calling one person in particular (Jefferson by Hamilton) a damn atheist. To get to the truth one must hold a seance and talk to all those who might be called our founding fathers, those well known and those not so well known.
Now there are even some people who claim that our founding fathers wanted this to be a capitalist state even though the idea of capitalism and socialism hadn't evolved yet. The only way one could know what the founding fathers really would think of this what kind of economic system this country should have again by having a seance.
Now it isn't what we would consider dumb people who believe that by reading a couple a letters from a few of our early law givers, they know what they meant not the literal meanings to the words and paragraphs to the Constitution, our most learned conservative judge states that the Constitution isn't a living instrument so he therefore makes his rulings on what he claims what the writers of the Constitution meant not to they wrote.

(1)A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed. ( The second amendment to the constitution).
* Think of Shay's rebellion all you American history buffs. It's as good as any reason for the wording of the second amendment.

          

Steve"s barking at the US election

Looks like the election comes down to ABO vs Oh No,  not those A Holes.

Steve's Barking at the stimulus god, she must be crazy

New York's home town newspaper (THE DAILY NEWS) as she calls herself reported that the city housing projects have a back log of needed fixes even though the agency has 1billion dollars in federal money for repairs.
It was reported in the paper that this money would not be used until next year or later. How many jobs are not being filled because of this policy.
It's been reported in other sources that there are other programs through out the country that have money that is not being used  and are in bank accounts. More jobs that haven't been created.
Lets go back to the first statement. What happens if there are at least 1 thousand bank accounts with 1 billion dollars of federal money in them. If the feds take that money back it would reduce the deficit by 1/16.
(What is the meaning of take the money back? It's called use it or lose it philosophy.)

What is the meaning of this blog?
(A) The deficits not as bad as those  Chicken Littles are proclaiming.
(B) What good is giving out federal money if it's not going to be used.
(C) Stimulus will not work unless the money is used.
(D) All of the above.
(E) None of the above.

Steve's barking at being foolish over the debt

Let me write something outrages. The worst thing the US could do is to eliminate it's debt.
I don't hear that explicitly  from those running for office or even those people who for some reason were able o get a doctorate in economics and haven't a clue. They seem to be screaming were going to die were going to die, the sky is falling our debt is too high. Of cause these are the same people who profess to be capitalist free market people. Now I'm 99.9999999% sure that the capitalist free market system runs on debt.
Now being a strong believer in the capitalist free market system and a patriotic citizen I'm suggesting we must do what those great present day captains of ( what ever) who run most of our major  money making enterprises we must borrow till it hurts.   

Steve's barking at Mayor Bloomberg's next social experiment

I'm been trying to track down the rumor that Mayor Bloomberg is going to ban stock quotation machines from the desk of New Yorkers. He will be doing this by having $100000 tax on every machine and computers that show stocks in real time. He is doing this to slow down day trading for as we all know that day trading can be bad for your fiscal health.   

Steve's barking at breaking a law

It seems to me that those who are shouting that taxes are too high especially corporate taxes should be lowered are missing a very important law of economics.The law of diminishing returns.
It also seem to me that lowering taxes is a form of stimulus,( for those who keep screaming that stimulus doesn't work yet ask for lower taxes). It is my unlearned opinion that we have hit the saturation point when it comes to lowering or eliminated  tax as a stimuli. Thus the law of diminishing returns.
Come to think about it lowing taxes is kind of Keynesian. (Sorry I digressed). Those who want lower taxes are the same people who keep saying Keynesian economics is dead.
Speaking of the law of diminishing returns just how much can the fed do?
Why should a company borrow money at record low interest when there making more money then they ever did before?
Why should a company borrow money when it's trying to cut payroll and is selling assets?
Who can use the money from having low interest rates? Let me guess, speculators who make commodities like oil prices go up.



 



  

Steve's barking at his s&m wanting Mitt to be Pres

The cruel streak in me would like to see what would happen if the Republicans would to take the presidency and both houses of congress.
Would some of the biggest backers rue the day that they spent millions on a group of people who push for an economic system that has logically proven to be absurd, there by cost these backers a small or may a large fortune. What about those rich backers who would suddenly find there investments in the far east down the drain because the Romney administration pissed off these countries? What about all those whine and cry party types, excuse me I meant Tea Party types who suddenly find the  they can't find work because the unemployment rate is 35% and they have no skills? What about those crazed recording stars who find them selves broke because their fans can't afford their concerts or their records? What are those television business commentators going to do when they are suddenly let go because cable subscribers can no longer afford cable? What about all those people who are screaming that we have the best healthcare system in the world suddenly find that there local hospital is closed for lack of funds? What about all those people who scream drill baby drill when they find they can't go fishing, the pollution killed all the fish and they have to spend 10 dollars for a bottle of water because there normal drinking water was polluted for lack of environmental protection?
This bad new tiding would serve them right. But the only way to prove how wrong head the Republican party has become and the moronic economics they bring with them is for Mitt and his gang to win the election.
I really don't hope for a Republican victory in the fall, for their are to many good people in this country including my family to find what hell is really like. Probably those idiots would blame the current president anyway.

Steve's Barking at the end of American democracy as we know it.

In the dawn of the two party system in of our great democratic republic we came upon the system were the parties had actual conventions that meant something. One didn't know who would be the parties nominee till the middle of the convention. Now the nominees were picked by uh, how shall I say it. OK they were picked by party bosses. The party bosses held power by a thing called the spoils system. Now this was  deemed corrupt and very undemocratic. A brilliant idea to make things more democratic was thought up. They called this idea called primaries, it was a more democratic idea, even though those people called the bosses from each state still ran the conventions. Then things seem to get more democratic, the convention became more dependent on the primaries. As what happens to most good things they turn sour.
Candidates lock up the convention way before a good portion of the states vote in primaries, partially because of this thing called money, if you are though of as loser, no money for you. Who cares that the people in those states voting at the end of the primary season love you, ya got to drop out.

Is it just my imagination or does money drown out common sense?
Why is so much money 100s of times more then what the jobs are worth being spent on the congressional and presidential elections. How much is it worth to the contributors?
Lies were always spread by backers of one candidate against the other candidate but there never was the ability to blanket the nation  with the stuff that comes out of a male cows backside as there is now.
So I ware black, and raise my glass to propose a toast to what democracy in America could have been.

Steve's barking lets fix entitlements

Ah the presidential election season is starting to the beginning of the end here in the United States (thank you lord).
Now the boobs on the boob tube are hinting this election may boil down to medicare and social security.
They may be right, even boobs on the tube get things right some of the time.
Now the challenger to the current president has stated that the current president is going to take 750 billion dollars away from money we put into the trust fund and give it those undeserving people who would benefit from Obama care. Now I maybe wrong but the money that's being switched is coming from general taxes not from the medicare part of FICA. That being said it would appear that the challenger has got his facts a little mixed up. Now it's been reported that the challengers running mate is a budget wonk (what ever that means). Now if he's a budget wonk why didn't  he explain to the top guy on the ticket that the money that's not being used for medicare is not coming from the money from FICA medicare but from money from general taxation. Maybe the number two guy really isn't a budget wonk.
 I asked my crystal ball what will happen to medicare and social security  if the president were to lose the election. My crystal ball stated the operation will be a success but the patient will die.

Now if I had my way I would (and I probably never will) increase the percentage of the FICA tax on medicare to cover both hospitalization and doctors cutting off the hands of those who try to take those money for any other reason. If I really had my way I would scrap the present healthcare system and have a dedicated income (all income) into a voucher system buying co-op were one could get private insurance that is strongly regulated by the government.
  Now let me be brief about Social Security, stop the limit on the amount taxed, slowly increase the amount employers pay. Starting next year the extra money that is being taxed in the Social Security part of FICA would be to help pay down the debt. When the money is needed the extra taxes will be there to pay the retirees on Social Security. 

Steve's barking at real supply sides economics

During the Presidency of Ronald McDonald Reagan we had an economic decade of supply side economic.
If you were to ask me what the meaning of supply side economics in the age of Reagan, I would have to hunch my shoulders and say I don't know. The sad fact  of the matter I slept through that whole era, the great communicator put me in a hypnotic trance.
Now let me write my version of supply side economics.
As every school boy and girl in the sixties will tell you the definition of inflation is too much money chasing to few goods. Well for some reason we lost the idea that this was an equation, those of us who have responsibility to keep inflation in check seem to stop at the words too much money seemingly to forget the second part of the sentence too few goods.
In my craziness ( I must be crazy I never hear this by anyone else) the tax code should encourage the making of excess goods that are needed for life. Things like food, clothing and shelter.
Suppose there are problems in counties that supply us with clothing, the price of clothing will go through the roof. Inflation.
Suppose we don't help the farmers in time of need (like now with the drought) and many of them go out of business what happens next, lack of supply of food bringing about food inflation.
America is in a good position right now as far as for shelter inflation (supply and demand, and we have an excess of supply, unfortunately too many of my fellow Americans don't have the resources to buy and in some cases even rent these shelters).
* During the great housing bubble we had shelter inflation offset by borrowing deflation (unfortunately some of this was do to balloon mortgages)
** There were other reasons for the bubble, which I may write about another day.
If the goods and services aren't there aren't there you can bet your bippy that inflation will raise it's ugly head.
You can't in all honestly say that about too much money in circulation.


Question.....can austerity cause inflation?
 

Steve's Barking at Mitt's Silver Platter

Mitt Romney is said to have been born with silver spoon in his mouth.
He must believe in sharing the wealth by giving the presidency to the present president Obama.
How may you ask? Picking Paul ( lets end medicare as we know it) Ryan.
The biggest talking point against the affordable health care was the five hundred billion being taken out of medicare. Comparing losing five hundred billion to ending the program as we know it should be no brainier.
The Presidency is now up to the Democrats to lose. Congress should be in control of the democrats also.
The problem being while Romney's political team seems to be run by Clareabell  and Emitt Kelly (those were famous American clowns), the Democratic Party seems to be run by the Keystone Cops. 
Time will tell if my fellow senior citizens will cut off their noses to spite their faces ( voting against their best interest by voting Republican).

It seems that mother nature is even against congress, were having the worst drought in near memory. The farmers want and need relief. Right now our conservative government is talking about ending aide to farmers.

* I use the word conservative, while I have no idea what the conservative are conserving.
*The keystone cops were silent movie cops who were clownish and not very good.

Steve's barking I may be right I may be wrong

More jobs were created this month, or so government statistics have stated.
This is the worst congress in the history of this country or so say I.
There is only a limited amount of job creating that can be done without government help, so say I.
If congress has an obstructionist bent, it don't matter who wins the presidential elections,so say I.
The children of America are going to end up as impoverished as those in Zimbabwe.

Steve's barking at rights

Alex went to a small town to open a restaurant. In the restaurant he will serve his famous pot pies.    

 Alex decided that he was not going to serve women in his restaurant because he likes to tell bawdy stories to his male customers and he would feel uncomfortable with women present. The fact of the matter he was fired from a previous job because of his naughty story telling.

Ruth has eaten the pies in a previous establishment were Alex worked and loved them. The fact of the matter in the area were the restaurant is to be located there aren’t any good restaurants. She believes that if Alex doesn’t allow women into his public restaurant her rights to eat anywhere she chooses  her rights would be denied. Alex of cause thinks that by forcing him into excepting females into his establishment his rights are being denied.

This set up a quandary of who's rights are being disregarded.

In truth there is no right or wrong answer.   

 

Steve's barking at trouble in Nippon

What to do? What to do?
Japans economy is so good that they can't find jobs for all who want and need them. (Japan's economy is so good the value of Yen has never been higher)
How is Japan going to find a solution so that it's great manufacturing make all it's money from manufacturing from other countries?
Perhaps it can loan US dollars to countries and would give the citizens of these counties big discounts on the loans if the buy Nippon. Illegal, maybe?
Perhaps they can give manufactures American bonds at a huge discount, some how intertwining the two countries so it would appear that when you by Japanese your paying discount American. (Doesn't sound to good and other counties would be angry).
The Japanese government supplementation of buying Japanese products in Japan with foreign debt. Those foreign and other foreign counties would not take to kindly too that.
What to do? What to do?

One would think that Japan would be close to full employment because of the Tsunami, and the building that has to take place to replace what was destroyed? What does one know anyway?
  

Steve's barking at were would we be?

Let me see, I’m trying to figure out how many roads were built by private enterprise.
I’m trying to  out how many cars would have been sold if it wasn’t for government roads?
Let me see ,how did private industry start the internet? Oh that’s right it didn’t.
How were computers first used by private industry or did the government put a great deal of money into Univac, and IBM.
Why was this country sued by for unfair trade practices in the  70s and 80s for innovations on airplanes that came from our military?
 Why didn’t  private enterprise land on the moon, or and have a space program? What would have happened if we didn’t have a space program?  Does anybody  really think we would have cell phones?
 What about our universities, would they have been able to train the engineers and scientist who  are thinking up  the next the next great idea if it wasn’t for government money?
 What about all those business  outside of state run schools such as restaurants and shopping malls? Would they have a bigger profit if it wasn’t for government or would they have no profit at all? Or a business for that matter?
 I do believe that's what the president meant.

Steve's barking why does the American right go after top investers

In ye old England there was a great investor named  Keynes. He made lots and lots of money investing in the stock market. Of cause the people who call themselves conservatives in this country said Keynes is dead. ( Yea he died the year I was born) Some even vilify him calling him a socialist or even worse a commie.
Yea I know it isn't because he was a great investor but the misinterpretation of his theories on government intervention (stimulus) during the time high unemployment. You would think the right would like the idea of lower taxes but for some reason that part of the stimulus package is ignored. They don't like the fact that putting money into the hands of the many to do useful work that the private sector wouldn't do, thus creating ability to pay for what the private sector does best. Of cause they believe in the employment fairy, and thinks  things can be bought with thin air.
Now in modern America there this gut named Mr. Buffett. Now all Mr. Buffett do was to say that those who make millions should pay the same percentage as his secretary. He was made fun of. Imagine being made fun of by people who have trouble tying their shoe laces.

I don't know why we call the right, the right when they couldn't be more wrong.  
It takes a left and a right wing to fly, so I really don't want to see the end of a right wing in this country

Steve's barking at awt

Now one can say that my wife is an angry black woman, but at least she gets things done.
Now what can one say about angry white trash, they get things undone. Their scared of anything that's new.
Who do I considered angry white trash, The Donald, lots of the commentators on cable news and financial shows and any other clod who whats to take the world back to before 1776.

I can't help but think of Issac Newton saying about countries economics, those who stay at rest tend to stay at rest (in other words nothing happens when one does nothing) and every  austerity measure has an equal but violent reaction.

*Newtons actually statement on the law of physics a body at rest tends to stay at rest, every action has an opposite reaction.

Steve's barking at the pendulum being broken

I remember back to my childhood and being taught about the pendulum of government being to big then being too small, well it wasn't exactly what I was taught. Anyhow just prior to the Reagan administration government regulation was ridiculous, or so I tend to recall. Now during and after the Reagan administration, we fell into the abyss of too little regulation creating Enron and other fraudulent companies. Now it would seem that after Enron and the collapse of our banking system, almost collapse? (Well if it wasn't for government we would be on the barter system, take that you haters of government).
Now you would think that anybody in their right mind would demand a greater role of government in our economy not less, but then the world has gone crazy.

When Enron collapsed all I kept hearing about the poor stock holders, nobody thought about the state of California, which suffered from brown outs do the corruption of this firm. How much money was lost (10s of billions to the private sector and who knows how much to the public). How many jobs were lost? Didn't they have AAA rating by the private rating agencies?


Every once in a while I really get goofy and semi-literate with my blog.   

Steve's Barking at a Taxing Question

The way I see, I pay tax not only to three governments(Federal, State and City) I also pay tax to my local cable company. They intern give this money to program providers. Now I don't watch a lot of these channels, such as Fox Business, but my local cable company must pay these program providers per head even though people who buy the cable companies services don't want to see all the channels that they must get.
Now I know that I don't have to pay this tax, all I have to do is cancel my cable service. I would then miss out on my favorite things like sports. So breaking this down, in order for me to watch sports I have to pay for a service that I don't want. I have no choice in the matter, I'm being charged a tax that isn't governmental.
I help pay high salaries to people who have the lowest common sense.
Were are the Norquests screaming about this unfair tax? Oh that's right, it's alright to tax as long as it's not the government. 

Steve's barking as it's all Greek to me

Not to long ago I was watching on CNBC a program that reportedly was about the Greek financial crises.
I can't recall what most of the program was about, but what caught my ear was the female reporter asking these coffee shop owners or what ever these small business owners were owners of about government interference, and their answers were how they couldn't do anything because of government bureaucratic red tape. Now I may not be the smartest man in the world but I know that was the wrong question to ask.
The question that should have been asked was how are your customers going to pay for the services that you are giving.
 Now it doesn't take a smart person to figure what the real problem of the Greek financial crises was that not enough taxes were collected to pay their workers and retirees ( I know that this is foreign to a lot of people) There just wasn't enough work for the Greek citizens to support themselves in the private sector and the employment fairy was and is not in sight.

 The United States is going to have food inflation the end of this year and at least good part of next. It has nothing to do with markets, it has everything to do with a drought.. I'm sure that some nimrod on the telly will puff up his or her chest, proclaiming, see I told you printing money leads to inflation.


Classic economics too much money chasing too few goods (food).
I could be wrong Russia and Argentina may make up for the short fall.

Steve's barking at no no Sununo

John Sununu is quoted as saying that he wished this president would learn how to be a real American.
OK what is a real American?
Is it the millionaire who's afraid that he might be taxed to the point that he will not be a billionaire?
Is it the dude who bows down and kisses the feet of those billionaires?
Is it the fool who who believes in some elites pigs know it all?
OK What does Johnny come lately Sununu mean.


John Boehner is quoted as saying that Obama doesn't care about the middle class.
Ok who does the speaker of the house think the middle class is?
I do believe that he was talking about the unemployment rate?
Doesn't he realize he part of the party that doesn't  believe that government jobs are jobs.   

Steve's barking at stupid is as stupid does

What is the meaning of stupid is as stupid does?
Beats the sh*t out of me.
Do any humans really care when Mitt Romney left Bain Capitol?
The president's political team did something right, they put the Challenger on the defensive.
I know what this immature would do if I was part of the Romney election team.
I would get as many heads of firms stating in front of camera stating that I hired x amount of Americans because of the money from Bain when Romney was running the country.
Lucky for the Democrats I have no say in the Romney election team. Lucky for me.

I voted for Barack Obama in the democratic primary and he won, then why do we have a Clinton administration when she didn't even win the primary.

Let me try to understand this, it's a good idea to antagonize a country that holds a trillion dollars (give or take 100 billion) in US debt.Isn't that like kicking a pit bull in his family jewels? Like he's not going to bite you.

Why wasn't the test of Private Vs Public Walter Reade Hospital. The privately run part of the hospital was in disrepair the public was run like it was possible the best hospital in the United States. Now Sara Palin complained about the public sector (I understand her father was a school teacher)and she had a son n the army, taking that reasoning she would have wanted her son if injured to go the private Walter Reade. My guessing is that momma grizzlies eat their young.

Steve's barking at Mitt Roosevelt

Who the h**l is Mitt Roosevelt?
Is he the guy who like Franklin Delanor Roosevelt complains about the present day president and the balancing of the budget then goes about giving the greatest stimulus package ever saving the nation.
Any BS to win  an election, then does right thing. Or is he really Mitt Reagan, dogmatically conservative (Ronald) the man who almost destroyed the economy (in the forgotten Wall street panic).
Who is the real Mitt Romney?

Steve's Barking at Turn off the lights

No matter how much money the Democratic Party spends this year the're going to be outspent by the Republicans, maybe as high as two to one.
Whats the party of my youth suppose to do? Turn out the lights and go home? Or maybe they can do something they haven't done since before Nixon, think and be smarter. I'm sorry I forgot about the Clinton campaign, but that was an ab-oration.
Just think of the last off year election, the democrats ran against a group that threaten to cut off unemployment, when the unemployment rate was over 10%. They ran against people who threaten to end Pell grants. They ran against a party were many of it's members called Social Security a Ponzi  scheme.
Those who would be effected most stayed home in droves.
Now I asked myself why. The only answer I could come up with is that the Democratic Party failed to educate it's natural constituents. In other words it didn't scare the hebe jebes out of people who have a vested interest to vote for them.

The theme of this election should be those who believe that government should do everything in power to help all the people and by doing so even the rich will get richer (raising tide lifts all boats) versus those who believe that the government is the enemy, and the employment fairy is just around the corner.

I do believe that the democratic party must educate those in rural America that they would still be without electricity if they were waiting for private companies to bring electricity. Maybe the democratic party should educate the whole country that we would have been one hungry nation if we did not have farm subsidies and government built dams.
Ask those who believe government is the problem how many cars would be sold if it wasn't for government built roads.

Maybe the democratic theme songs should be if it wasn't for government (Cue Donna Summers) Turn off the lights sweet baby, then fade to black.
  

Steve's Barking at I know you are but what am I

I remember the old saying that kids you to say especially when they were being put down.
I'm rubber your glue, what ever you say bounces off me and sticks to you.
Not too long ago I was reading a piece by the Bronx Tea Party chairman who would claim that those who had proof that there statements were wrong would say that person is a socialist or associated with communist so there organization can't be trusted and the words can't be trusted. As I read his piece I couldn't help but thinking of the childhood statement I know you are but what am I.
This country, no make that this world needs bold action. These actions are to be done by governments and by you and me, the guy behind the tree isn't going to do a damn thing.(translation governments and individuals can be trusted to create jobs, corporations can't, and austerity can be a job killer).
Were did I get that from, must be my hanging out with other union activist.


The phrase not you, not me but the man behind the tree was credited to Senator Russel Long when asked who was going to pay to for public works in Louisiana, he made that statement.

Steve's barking what is the German model?

I'm beside myself trying to figure out what the German model is as far as the Euro Zone is concerned.
My understanding is the other counties in Europe are Germany's biggest trading partners by far and away, and the trading is uneven with the Southern Europe importing more then they export to Germany. Now logic would tell me that Germany would do everything in their power to help their European brethren to buy their products, include loaning or even giving grants to help with the cash problem that these counties have.
But noooo, they insist that these countries have humongous  austerity measures.
Is it because no one helped them with the unification monetary crises they had when Mr Gorbachev let the wall be torn down. Is the German government pissed off and is cutting off it's nose to spite it's face.
Are they trying an experiment to prove how austerity in one country can destroy the economy in another country that is on sound footing. 
Is Germany trying to show that they can behave like idiots, just like the rest of Europe did after world War One?
Do they think that by forcing drastic austerity measures they can colonize the rest of Europe? ( If that being the case look out for the American revolution of Europe). 
Then again I'm clueless for asking these foolish questions!

Steve's Barking at writing Pres Nixon

I do remember the time I wrote President Nixon, stating that I thought getting completely off the gold standard was the wrong thing to do. It would be the ruination of our economy.
The reason I'm writing this now is to prove to myself that one can write to the head of the U.S. government to complain and not feel threatened by retribution even by one who was known to have an enemy list.
The other reason I'm writing this is to remind myself stupid I am sometimes when it comes to economics.    

Steve's barking at corrupt appearances

Oh no the third blog today.

I used to be a big believer in our court system. I used to be.

Very recently( last year or the year before) the supreme court ruled that the government didn't have the right to stop big money from from airing what might just be considered political ads. This was a free speech issue.

Now it's not my purpose of this particular blog to argue if this is right or wrong ( I seem to recall in my business course business were people).

I do have a problem with supreme court justices going to gatherings with groups and or people who pay lawyers that argue cases before them, such as the Koch brothers for Citizens United. It has been reported widely that that both Justices Clarence Thomas and Anthony Scalia have gone to retreats hosted by the Koch brother. While this may not be anything, the appearance of justices in such gatherings has the appearance of corruption.  

I for one am starting to loss faith in our justice system, after reading about lawyers paying bribes to political leaders in Brooklyn for judgeship's, now reading about supreme court justices attending gatherings of people putting up money for cases that have been heard before the court makes me very sad indeed.

What is the United States turning into a third world country.

Steve's barking at the 10 amendment

The powers not delegated to the the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. 
That's the exact wording of the tenth amendment to to Constitution. This amendment just like ever other amendment and the original Constitution before the amendments is pretty straight forward. Well it was until lawyers and Jurist tried and found secret meaning to it.
The tenth amendment means that the state can set laws that aren't set in the Constitution such as trying some one for murder or robbery. Now I must be a fool but there is no way that the tenth amendment give states right over the federal government as long as it stated in the Constitution. Of cause 150 and years ago we fought a bloody civil war over this article and those who though that citizens of  one state could bring it's laws into the territories and the federal government had no say in the matter. Those states righter's  lost, or so the history books claim.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the government to redress of the grievances.
That's the first amendment. Now the way I read this amendment, it limits what the federal government can do.
Now if Montana wants to limit the amount of money that be spent on an election it can do so, for there is nothing in the Constitution to prohibit them.


Do we really have freedom of religion, press and speech, yes from the federal government but states and local government can if not by fact then by the constitution.

Steve's Barking at the non-diversification of the US Supreme Court

The United States has a problem with the supreme court not being very diversified.
Just think 4 out the nine justices are from New York City and we all know how liberal New York City is.
Do you realize that all nine justice went to Eastern Establishment  (liberal) Law Schools. Four went to Yale, and Five went to Harvard. 


Ow, I just bit my tong. 

Steve's barking at the double depression of the 20s and 30s

I seem to recall reading about a double depression in the United States during the 20s and 30s.
The first was the collapse of farm prices during the 20s forcing many a farmer to lose their farms.
This was called the rural depression. This was followed by the urban depression starting with the collapse of the stock market. Of cause the rural depression continued. I guess you can't call a depression a depression unless it meets a snobbish definition of one, so the rural depression doesn't count.

Steve's Barking at what's great about America

In America we can self heal faster then any other nation.
In America we can criticize the government (in most cases) with out the fear of reprisal.
America has given the opportunity for many a poor boy to become rich.
A women born in America today will probably be on equal footing with any man in twenty years.
In America faults have been corrected with out outside force.
In America the Constitution protects the minority, even if it's it's religion, race, or ideas (too a point).
America has been the land of the bold, whether it's business or politics, buying land when  the majority question your wisdom  or bringing ideas from Europe, or creating our own for manufacturing.
America has up to now embraced the innovator, the intellectually curious.
America has been a place of the idea of freedom.
America the can do nation. Lets hope it will always be that way.

One can only hope that this great nation doesn't fall pray to the bulling that can only lead to the wussification of the embarrassing of what makes us the tops.

Steve's barking that the American Health care system stinks

The American health care system sucks.
Why does it suck?
(1)Most get their health insurance by employers, putting this country at a disadvantage with a cost that other countries don't have. Having employers pay for health insurance doesn't give the employee a stake in their health insurance.
(2)The cost to states for medicaid s and other health related insurances and services is by far the biggest expense that states have.
(3)We pay the most for our medicine then any other country.
(4)We are far behind in stem cell research.
(5) Hospital are closing, despite the fact that our population is growing. We are also getting older.
(6) We don't have enough primary care doctors.
(7) The cost of becoming a doctor is too expensive.
(8) The cost of insurance that doctors and hospitals have to pay is outrages.

Too many of us Americans have our heads in the sand when it comes to our health care system.
Even if you think it's the best in the world it's not very good.

Steve's Barking at Depression of 1920

Out damn depression,out I say. Be like the depression of 1920.
If only we had a Depression like we had in 1920 when we got out of it without Government and it took no time at all.
Now if only there had been a war recently were countries needed our products that our factories had to produce at fall capacity after producing at a fraction of it's capacity. Their factories were being rebuild after being destroyed by war.
Europe had the means to pay even though the owed us more money then the stars at MGM studios.
If only China needed our products, or for that matter the rest of Asia needed and could buy them.
If only Europe had no manufacturing capacity.

Why do I think the more free trade agreements we have, the less free trade we have. I must be getting senile.

Why do some many smart people insist that we fight the  present battles with the last wars tactics?
Or in the case of the small (lasting a short period of time) depression with tactics that are totally wrong.
Am I the only goofball who thinks that there are several types of Depressions?

Steve's barking

News item, the today is relieving Ann Curry of her co-anchor position on the today show. Well I have a suggestion for NBC, they should go retro and hire a monkey for their co-anchor position such as Dave Garroway had when the today show just started out.

Why do I think I could do a much better job then the professional that the democratic party has to get their message across?
That's because the democratic party has no message. I would at least create one.

Why are sports columnist going crazy on Rodger Clemons, Barry Bonds and the rest of those star athletes in the steroid age?  Cheating and doing illegal things have always been part of the game. Are those sports writer suggesting that opposing players don't try to steal signs? How come Gaylord Perry is in the Hall of Fame, he was caught red handed with a emery board in his back pocket doctoring up the baseball.
Why are they complaining about players trying to get a edge. That's the way of the world.
Is it because of illegal drugs? We have two presidents admitting to marijuana use
They lied to congress? Well congress lies to the American people all the time.

Steve's barking at rent stablization in nyc

I look at rent stabilization in NYC and see no solution.
I see two major problems.
Most rent stabilized apartments are the apartments that need the most money for their upkeep.
A majority of those who live in rent stabilized apartments can't afford rent increases because they work in industries that don't pay well and raises are few and far between, if they don't have a deduction in pay.

I know that that there are many tenants in rent stabilized who could afford to pay more and they are held up as to why rent stabilization doesn't work and the market should determine the price of an apartment.
I also know of the problem of tenants rights were the original tenant is in a retirement community or has been dead for over 100 years and a relative 10 times removed has taken over the apartment and can't be removed by a bulldozer. I'm convinced that is an aberration and not whats in the main.

Government is not subsidising anymore building, and many buildings that were subsidized have lived up to their commitments, and now they want out. State and city are making it hard for these developments to leave the program. I'm a little uncomfortable with that, yet I want to have more rent stabilized housing in NYC. I just don't know how to do it.

I kind of knew that I just wasn't that smart.

Steve's barking at longer life or not

The mayor of New York wants every body to be physically heather so you can live longer and not be a fiscal burden.
If you work for the city you can work longer. Mentally you might be a basket case and not a very productive member of the government work force, but your lungs will be healthier, and by not drinking so much soda pop, or other sugary drinks by making them more expensive.
I'm sure the next step will be to tax sugar laced food.
Question. Doesn't this put a burden on those who can't fly off to Saint Moritz for their pleasures?

I understand that there has been a large uptick in venereal disease among senior citizens, should we lessen their pleasure by fining them for not using protection? After all it cost the health system millions if not billions to treat and could have been avoided, with a little bit of protection.

Why haven't I heard of any studies of the death rate of morbidly obese persons compared to seemingly healthy skinny people? Is this a conspiracy of those demanding pleasing aesthetics?

We are living existing longer now but are we any happier?
We have to work longer.
The majority of us are losing our saving to wise guy minority, and our little pleasures of life are being attacked and the few are making it harder and harder  for the many to have our simple pleasure.

So in conclusion, we are living less and existing more.

Steve's barking To Keynes or not to Keynes

I like to think I'm a Keynesian (Keynes?).
What do I know about Keynesian economics?
Yea I believe that when the economy in ones nation it's governments role to stimulate the economy.
I'm also one who believes that when government stimulates the economy with job creation, those jobs should pay enough for those employed have a large discretionary income s those employed would have the money to buy goods and services from the private sector or at least save or invest. The private sector would then have the incentive to invest in employees. That being the theory or what I believe the theory to be, one would be hard pressed to come up with a better theory, unless you believe in the job fairy.
I also believe that one should increase taxes in good time to pay for the borrowing that takes place in bad times.
I think that makes me a Keynesian.
Now I've seen some load mouths on the boob tube who claim they understand Keynesian economics, but for some unknown reason, I don't feel they know Jack about Keynesian theory of economics.


I've been reading that businesses are investing in employees because of uncertainty.
Life is always full of uncertainties. I just think that businesses are doing what they are suppose to be doing. Some businesses are making profits at a record breaking pace. Why should they hire new employees unless they have reasonable expectation that there profits would be even greater or if they don't their profits would diminish.


The only reason for a business is to make money, it's not to create jobs, promote social justice, or to clean the environment. Those thing are incidental to making money.

Steve's barking at the union loss in Wisconsin?

Unions took a terrible loss in Wisconsin on Tuesday. They didn't beat Walker.
They might have change the make up in the   state senate, but that don't count, even though it can stop the governor from doing what ever the f**k he wants to do.

Heard Ron Paul several weeks back about the Byzantine empire and how they lasted so without debasing their currency and having no wars. I looked it up, boy did the congressman have it wrong.

I live in a area were I can make rough estimate that at least 60% of the 15000 family are currently civil servants or retired civil servants. They support 2 large supermarkets, 3 smaller ones, several garages not counting the five gas stations, local hardware store, numerous restaurants, a JC Penny and a K Mart, not counting a new mall that is intended in the spring of 2014. Almost all of these private enterprise businesses wouldn't be there if it wasn't for government workers and their paychecks and pensions.
( The circle of economic life).

Steve's barking at asteroid colliding with earth in Dec 2013

It has just been discovered by the national SOE (save our earth) agency that an asteroid the size of Road Island will crash with earth.
Immediately  President Bradley sent word to congress that we needed to build thirteen Scans Rockets along with building of special Tesla lasers at the cost of eight hundred billion dollars.

The debate has begun in congress.
Representative Herman leading the opposition, stated today, this is a budget buster, we can't borrow anymore, think of our children's future.
Senator Lank chimed in, how can you trust this agency, after all it's run by the government and as the great President Reagan said you can't trust government. Anyway if this thing is so big how come it wasn't discovered before. It's just another way for government to spend money.
Representative Sparkle chimed in on INN (Internet News Network) that the majority of scientist don't believe that this asteroid will hit  the earth.
The Lightning Town press proclaimed that why should we spend more money when we already have rockets that can reach it and blow it to smithereens with atomic bombs . The president is asking us to spend money on an other boondoggle.
People from the presidents own party like Senator Peaches are making a suggestion that we should ask other countries to join us in research and development of a device or devices to destroy this asteroid.
It was suggested by commentator Herb on BNN (Business News Network) that other nations should have to pitch in and pay for saving the earth, after all other peoples live on earth also, and they should help fit the bill.

Will the Tesla Laser and the Scans rocket be build it time?Will the Us be bankrupt to save the rest of the earth? Will another country besides the United States save the earth? Maybe we really do have enough rocket power and explosive power to save the earth.

Will I submit the real science fiction stories to be published?
Will they be published?
Will anything I ever written be published?
Will they be liked?
What me worry?

Steve's barking at why I hate graphs

Why I hate graphs.
I used to love graphs to highlight what I believed to be the truth.
It's just that they don't really prove the truth.
Who uses graphs?
The good, the bad, and the down right evil.
The problem with graphs, one doesn't know if the statistics are true to back up the graph.
I lost my faith in graphs during the Reagan administration, If I'm not mistaken they used graphs to prove ever erroneous reason for the administrations economic policies.
It seems like everyone likes to us a graph to prove a point.Even my hero's (maybe that's the wrong word) use graphs, and I'm 95% sure that they can back up their data.
But one can't tell if the graphs are correct unless one knows if their data that the graph uses is correct.

Steve's barking, no more big gulp oh no

New York City plans to ban sugary drinks over 16 ounces from movie theaters, restaurants, and outdoor food carts.
What's a man on a date in the movies going to do? How can he share his large drink and humongous popcorn with his favorite gal? He can't give germs to his lovely without giving her a kiss.
What about the mother of four? She can't buy two large sodas to go with the franks, she has to buy four sodas.
What about the family who buys the biggest size soda brings in some small cups and they all share? Will they have to sneak in some Fanta ( I believe that's a cheep soda) to the movie theater.