Solving Some Problems

Sometimes solving a problem seems harder than it actually is.  Here are a few of my problem solving ideas.  I look forward to hearing yours. :)

1) Privatize unemployment insurance.  You create a private industry, people have the option to purchase how ever much coverage they want in the even they become unemployed.  Employers are off the hook and could offer unemployment insurance as part of a fringe benefit package since it is no longer a required tax. Unemployment and fact finding hearings would go away freeing up the court system and the cost of public employees. 

Employers with low unemployment claims and employees who never make a claim never see a dime returned to them if it goes unused.  Plus, privatizing it will allow people to customize their insurance plan for their needs and financial situation.  I buy health, car, mortgage insurance privately and choose my own coverage, I want that same option with my unemployment insurance.

2)  As Margaret Thatcher said, "There's no such thing as entitlement, unless someone has first met an obligation."  Therefore, if people "need" food stamps (EBT cards or whatever), they need to contribute so many hours per month to community service / volunteer work.  Such as helping in the schools or hospitals, cleaning up parks, picking up litter, working at a food bank or soup kitchen, volunteering at the courthouse, the jail or other public establishment.  Failure to put in a required number of hours results in loss of benefits.  The amount of benefits received will directly correlate to the amount of hours one works (much like a job).  All welfare recipients will be required to submit to drug tests, both random and scheduled.  Before you say, "what about child care."  What about child care centers set up that are run by trained volunteers?  No, I don't have all the details, but it would be a start.

Food Stamps will only be able to be used for what Michelle Obama calls "healthy food."  There can be no argument that it takes away choices because as our parents used to say, "beggars can't be choosers." 

3) Prisoners will become productive members of society as we bring back chain gangs.  They will contribute in the community thus creating less of a need for public employees. They will not be a danger to the public because they are chained together.  There will be no "that is inhumane" because they lost their rights when they broke the law.

4)  Legalize pot.  Tax it.  Done. Use the revenue for worthwhile projects such as the above child care program, the educational system or other community based projects such as soup kitchens, food pantries etc,

5) Social Security will no longer be "mandatory" but left up to the individual.  If you want it, fine, work it out with Uncle Sam and stay in the system. But those of us who do not want it, start giving us back our own money, so we can invest it somewhere else.  As the younger kids come into the workforce, they will start realizing that they want options for their future and want to start choosing where their money goes and who manages it. We need choices!!

6) Set term limits on both the house and the senate.  Period.  No more lifelong politicians.  The president's term is limited, so should theirs be.  Maybe something will actually get done for a change.

7)  Allow debates to be opened up to more than just one Democrat and one Republican.  There are more parties on the ballet and those candidates deserve a shot in the final debates. All candidates have to spend the exact same amount (and no more) on campaigning.  This levels the playing field and money can no longer "buy" an election. 

8) If you work for division of the Federal Government, you will no longer be able to trade stocks until your turn is up. Insider trading happens and we all know it.  Candidates go into politics and somehow end up rich from bribes, insider trading, etc.

9)  Privatize the postal service.  UPS, FedEx etc., know what they are doing, make money and create jobs.  The government obviously can't make it work, so give it to entrepreneurs that can.  

10)  Let businesses decide what to pay employees and get rid of the minimum wage.  This will create competition and force businesses to do what the market dictates. This will also make prices more competitive for retail, food, etc. 

11)  Marriage is between two people and sometimes a religion.  You shouldn't have to have to apply for a license and then pay for it when the decision is between two consenting adults and should have nothing to do with the government. 

12) Eliminate income tax.  Everyone will make more money.  Tax goods, so naturally, if you consume more (aka the "wealthy") you will be a larger contributor to tax revenue.  Those that spend less will naturally pay less tax.  Now that is fair.  It would also reduce the size of the bloated IRS.  

13) Reduce the size of the federal government and let the states decide what is right for their citizens.  Our governor knows more about our state's needs than the feds so leave us alone. 

If government would just get out of the way and stop trying to control everything, we would all be pleasantly surprised at the outcome.  These are just a few of the common sense ways I think we can reduce waste, fix government corruption and pump up the economy.  What are your ideas?

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

"All men are created equally, endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights. Among these, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Beyond that, our equal-ness is different and never truly equal. Someone will always be better than you at something. Deal with it.



We are ruining our children by not celebrating their success, for fear of hurting the feelings of the less successful. That, my friends, will not teach them about real life. I first saw this when the coaches in flag football said, "we don't keep sore. Everyone's a winner." Excuse me but I call bullshit. Why would any of those kids ever strive to be in the NFL where they may not always be a "winner". 

Next thing you know we won't pick valedictorians because it excludes everyone. When will it end? What kind of leaders are we raising? All this faux equality banter will breed unmotivated children who don't see the value in striving to start their own business or strive for personal success. They will simply wait for someone else to do it (but no one will) and since no one was raised them to crave and embrace personal success, the country will fail.

I don't know about you, but I don't want to live in a country like that. If the schools only want to indoctrinate our kids to become self entitled sheep that rely on our government for their livelihood, rely on the government to feel faux success because they now have a government phone, government healthcare and government food vouchers, then I am glad I taught my kids personal responsibility, how to cope with losing, and how to reconcile the fact that they won't succeed at everything. Parents out there, I hope you are doing it too.

My Brilliance!

Hey, my tens of blog readers, (now that is funny),

I need to go on record with phrases I have coined and/or started a trend for as I am quite tired of not getting the credit for such brilliance. 

Just so you know, although it was a phrase mentioned way way way back on "The Facts of Life" , I watched reruns, thought the phrase was funny, starting using it in high school and then every one used it!

The phrase: Don't have a cow.

"Really?...Really?  Yeah, we all know that I said that long before Fox and Friends...just sayin..  

And last but not least (in case this becomes a world wide phenomenon/meme or the like.  "Thud"

Enough said!  Now back to your regularly scheduled programming. 

B

PS:  I will expect one of my tens of readers to purchase and send me the shirt in this post.  Thank you for your time.

Poem: There's a Hole in My Sidewalk

For anyone struggling with any kind of disorder, this poem may mean more to you than others.

I:

I walk down the street. 

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. 

I fall in. 

I am lost…

I am helpless. 

It is not my fault. 

It takes forever to find my way out. 

II:

I walk down the same street. 

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. 

I pretend I don’t see it. 

I fall in. 

I can’t believe I am in the same place. 

But it isn’t my fault. 

It still takes a long time to get out. 

III:

I walk down the same street. 

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. 

I see it there. 

I still fall in…It’s a habit. 

My eyes are open. 

I know where I am. 

It is my fault. 

I get out immediately. 

IV:

I walk down the same street. 

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. 

I walk around it. 

I walk down another street.

Copyright 1993, Portia Nelson from the book, There’s a Hole in My Sidewalk, Beyond Words Publishing, Hillsboro, Oregon. Autobiography in Five Short Chapters.