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Tag Archives: As I see It

Why Washington Doesn’t Work


What’s in it for me? This could very well be the constant question  from Congress. Each Congress member has a staff of assistants and ancillary people to read and keep them up on the business of the Congress (bills on the floor, etc)  which brings me to believe that  much of the pending legislation is not read directly by the people who have to vote on them. It is possible that votes are sometimes uninformed or inadequately researched. This is aside from the normal quid pro quo dealmaking. There are so many lobbyists jockeying for  the ear of a committee member that some are literally “camped out” the doorsteps of the Congress. Keep in mind that some of these Lobbyists are former members of the Congress or work for former members and their associates. With this type of network it is small wonder why Washington Does Not Work!!

Fact Checking The Candidates


Fact checking has become a part of political campaign coverage. This has given rise to organizations that do this as a business or avocation. The current candidates and their staffs should avail themselves of these organizations to insure that what they say is correct. Why should they do this when it is apparently more appealing to the voting public to hear salacious,  sometimes spectacular lies and misinformation. We voters have always listened intently to hear the worst about a candidate but not so much when the truth is uttered. When we hang on the misinformation, we also hang ourselves. Fact checkers give us a way to the truth and thereby in a better position to vote intelligently.

Mr. Huntsman Got It Right.


Governor Jon Huntsman was a guest on The Colbert Report and  stated that the problem with the Republican party (and I believe Democrats also) is that the super pacs have too much influence in the electoral process and the people do not trust the Government at all, no matter who is in charge. His suggestion is as I have stated many times: term limits and no revolving door policies. The  current Presidential race is more about trashing the other guy than any real content . The basis for all of the speeches is the other guy’s failure. The truth is the failure is ours (the voters). We have not demanded better representation, we have not searched for the truth on our own and we have allowed ourselves to be swept up in slick commercials and fictional movies by so called intellectuals whose credibility is suspect. No matter who occupies the Oval office we need to focus on the people who we send to Congress and demand term limits, salary reviews and an end to revolving door public service.  This is only about Race if we allow it, what it really is about is the well being of the American citizens and the future of the economy. We need to keep in mind that this current economic downturn was heading our way years before the Bush and Obama administations yet our Congress did nothing. Where would you say we need to place the blame ?

Depart The Party’s


The past several election seasons of all types have given rise to the thought of “why do we need party’s to follow”?  As voters we have been handed choices of the two major party’s along with the many subsets and their assorted pieces. Initially the party’s represented more of the population than it does currently. The new subsets and derivative pieces appear to have more influence than we realize as they have organized to the point of having enough money to buy attention grabbing airtime and written coverage. These organizations have the tacit  “OK” of the major parties so they really act as the “guerilla fighters” of the parties. Many of these Guerilla fighters are funded by the same monies that flow into the major party’s coffers. We as voters are beset on all side by the Primary parties whether we realize it or not, the guerillas appeal to our underdog side and their real purpose escapes us as we cheer for them until they turn around and bite us. Every group, party and subset has an agenda that does not necessarily benefit all or any of us. Who are the beneficiaries of these activities? To be sure it is not the majority of the American voters even though we put them in play through our votes and indulgence. My solution is to depart the party’s and vote the issues not the candidate but first research the issues for our selves.

rant


I read and viewed a short clip on a rant about the Government. What keeps me from  inserting that clip here in the language, it has as many expletives as ordinary words.  The gist of the message was the Government  cannot balance their check book.  This is apparently true since our fiscal state is dire. Our  self serving Scamocrats and Dupublicans have spent more time politicking than earning the money they usurp from the public coffers under the guise of public service. These “representatives”  have used  irrelevant and immaterial issues to avoid doing what they need to do. It seems to be  normal procedure to cloud the issues by attacking one another rather than expending any effort to collaborate on some viable solutions. The party system is irreparably broken and is no longer a means of getting government work done. I propose no more party’s, a 13 year term limit and a salary adjusted to what an average middle class American has to live on. To further improve this position, no per diem for overtime, no more free postage, no pension other than social security  (when eligible). No more free lunch for Congress. They should not be allowed to cross over to the Lobbyist side after serving for 10 years. The only way for this to happen is when we the voters start voting them out and demanding these changes , especially the term limit.

Where Are The Retail Managers?


After spending many years in retail as an  equipment salesman, equipment cleaner, and rental agent for photographic equipment. Continuing on as a flooring and wall covering salesman and installer, I have found that managers who have not had the basic frontline experience in retail cannot properly manage a retail operation.  The things that make a retail operation successful are customer service (no service ,no customers), having the product in stock and proper pricing. The ancillary items are a clean store (especially bathrooms). The  important thing then is customer service which involves all of the above along with a friendly face to assist in the purchase if needed.  Apparently many companies have forgotten this concept and have lost market share. A couple of examples are     HD and SHC which both were and are being managed by  people whose retail knowledge is limited to maybe their making a purchase somewhere but not recognizing the process of the sale at the time. The mantra seems to be : “you are a manager and have ultimate responsibility for success”. This does account for the support people who have no hands on retail experience  yet are responsible for store setup and product line up on the shelves. With the computer age arrived the desk bound retailers who design layouts and shelf spacing without ever having worked in a store. This leads to continual changes in the set up and shelf spacing aside from the normal seasonal changes. This is disruptive to the workers and the customers, the workers spend more than average amounts of time moving merchandise around instead of maintaining stock levels on the shelves. The customers spend more time seeking  a product they purchased before and cannot readily find it since the area was reset. At this point some leave the store without making a purchase or seeking assistance. That is dollars on the hoof going somewhere else perhaps never to return.

Things That Last Forever


There have been ideas and thoughts that nothing last as long as they did before (?). There are several things that appear to have longevity:

1. Twinkies-it has been said that Twinkies have been found in landfills and still unfazed by the burial.

2. Honey this has been found in Egyptian tombs and still edible.

3. Greed-everlasting

4. Congress (seems like forever)

5. Bigotry (all types)- apparently never goes away.

Gaudy Patter.


“The cheaper the hood, the gaudier the patter” This was a line from a Bogart movie. Which I have heard many times yet it never registered until a recent viewing. It resonated possibly because of the constant reporting on  the Dupublican candidate for President. The seeker has a scripted set of lines and answers to any and all questions and the responses become so ritualistic as to be unbelievable. Sometimes these answers are structured to fit each location or area so the line from the movie  seems to fit. This campaign amounts to a shouting match that America seems to love. I deduced this love affair from the many “reality” , Guru, personal and judge shows that air daily. I understand that people will decide based on their gut feelings, information, misinformation, personal biases but rarely facts. Each candidate’s writers attempt to one up on the others while extorting the correctness in voting for their “guy”. The reality is that there will never ever be a perfect candidate for President. There will be candidates with better qualifications but none across the board perfect. The purpose of campaigns is to showcase the strengths and abilities of the candidate not their race, religion or wealth yet these are the basis of many campaigns nad tend to confuse potential voters while creating the air of daytime TV fodder as described previously. I suggest that we all dismiss the TV appearances and pay more attention to the written word from several sources to get a clearer idea of who each candidate is. If you really look you will see all manner of lesser non running affiliates of each side injecting just enough dirt to cause a diversion which is quickly put to rest but a distraction none the less. If a blurb from someone gets media coverage it could be gaudy patter gone viral.

The Economy In A Nutshell


This current Presidential campaign has allegations of the President’s policies failing in the effort to kick-start the economy. Part of the issue is incomplete or totally erroneous information regarding the cause of the crisis.In 2003-2005 we had low-interest rates that led to a flow of funds into the U.S mortgage markets as Foreign central banks bought U.S. dollars which aggravated the housing boom and the subsequent bust. This investment in U.S. dollars was influenced by the Fed’s low rates. These low rates caused a housing boom in Spain, Ireland and Greece. These booms and subsequent busts started the European debt crisis which is now threatening the U.S. economy. What needs to happen now is for the Fed to pay close attention to the economic events in Europe especially the global capital flows and the reactions of the other central banks to the Feds decision to set interest rates very low for extended periods of time. This is a short version of an article written by Mr. John B. Taylor an economics professor at Stanford U. The Congress and Mr. Romney should be reading the same information I do to get a clear idea of why the economy is so slow in recovering. Keeping in mind that our current economic situation started before  Mr. Obama ran for the office but Congress (if they knew) ignored(?) the situation and now seeks to blame Mr. Obama for their failings. What comes to my mind is that our sitting Congress is composed of Neer do wells who have slacked in their jobs for so long that it seems Ok to do it but will readily throw some one else under the bus and continue their irresponsible ways. Our economy has been sliding own for some time with the advent of outsourcing by many companies long before the economy caught up and spiralled downward. Understanding that we (voters) expected our elected officials to look after us but we also failed to do our due diligence in paying attention to what they are doing. This upcoming election needs to be about Congress more than the 2 candidates since Congress has the power to make meaningful changes and approve or alter any proposed changes. We as voters can demand term limits that allow new thoughts to come about and we need to make that demand. My suggestion would be a One (1) term of 13 years, with no pension benefit, a cost living increase on par with the average worker and medical benefits that are the same as any other government worker. Certain privileges should be rescinded, such as Franking ( free postage), per diem for overtime,  free air flights except for  certain Congressional business and a bi monthly account of funds used for the performance of Congressional duties.

Accountability


Freedom without accountability is irresponsible. We have given our Congress the freedom to advocate and act for us. This arrangement has been in place for years. We only raise an uproar when it affects us personally. This behavior  on our part has led to the current political crisis (yes crisis). Our Congress has acted with the tacit freedom of action we have given it. We were happy when they attacked certain segments that we felt endangered us but failed to see the pocket picking performed by the very body we allowed to do this work for us. The current group is composed of headline grabbers whose actual work is belied by the rampant issuance of truthful appearing sound bites. If it were possible for a deceased person to spin in their graves, then think about what the founders of America are doing now. Our Congress has become no more than soul sapping bandits without masks. We have not held them accountable and we are now seeing the results. We have been showered with misinformation while the Congress pledges  allegiance to special interests because they donate more money to their campaigns. The Congress has spent more time and money pointing the finger at one another, the opposite party and who ever the President is than actually doing their work. We have rewarded them by re electing them time after time. We are the public and it is our tit they are latched on to.