An earlier blog here made the case for elimination of Social Security as a federal program. The primary argument against elimination of what many, myself included, see as a governmental Ponzi scheme is that the "little guy" should not be exposed to the vagaries of the stock market. Another argument is that people would not invest the money.
Let's look at the first objection. Since 1871, in any given consecutive five-year period (there have been 139 of them), the market has been up 129 times and down only 10. As you can see from the chart below, that means that nearly 94 percent of the time money invested in the U.S. stock market has made a positive return. I did not run the numbers on 15-year, 25-year or 30-year periods, but it is easy to see that in given 30-year periods (a typical working lifetime in the U.S.) stocks would nearly always have a positive return.
Total 5-year periods 139
Total Positive 5-year 129
Total Negative 5-year 10
Negative 5-years periods 7.19%
Positive 5-year periods 92.81%
Source: Robert Shiller and Yahoo Finance
But, some would say, "That's all well and good unless you hit one of the down periods." Fair enough, but that logic fails to account for the other 25 years of a 30-year career. If in that 30-year working lifetime I have accumulated $500,000 and the year I retire it drops by the worst 5-year period since 1871 (1937-1941), I still have 25 years of almost continuous positive growth, yielding far more than a 7 percent drop in that given period.
Compare the worst drop, 1937-1941, with the best 5-year period, 1924-1928, when the gain was 29.82 percent. Who in his right mind would not trade a 7 percent drop for a 30 percent gain? And remember, unlike the Social Security plan, all those dollars can be inherited by your loved ones.
Over the 139 years since 1871, the average gain has been 10.59 percent. If each worker averaged monthly deposits of $300 over a 30-year working lifetime (less in the beginning and more as income rises), he would accrue $770,000 and be able to withdraw $27,000 per year for 30 years. According to Smart Money, the average retirement today is 20 years, up from 8.1 years in 1950. One retirement plan would roll current Social Security, IRAs, 403b plans, KEOGH, SEPT and the other myriad plans into one coherent plan for a comfortable retirement.
Should that retiree die before that 30-year period ended, his family could receive the rest. Incentives to roll remainders into heirs' accounts would make the retirements of later generations even more comfortable.
A government system that guaranteed a monthly minimum payment should the averages work against any individual worker would cost the economy much less that we are now paying--given that since Lyndon Johnson the Social Security Trust has been raided every year.
Such a system would be much easier (and less expensive) to administer. Just as the current system automatically deducts dollars from every paycheck (with certain exceptions), the Worker Retirement System could do the same. Workers could (and should) elect to increase their deductions to maximize their fund at retirement.
Finally, there are some real benefits to the U.S. economy in general. All those dollars pouring into CDs, stocks, bonds and other investment vehicles would provide a huge pool of liquidity for use in building America's businesses.
And finally (finally really this time), all taxes paid as these dollars are withdrawn should by statute be required to fund federal budget reduction. A goodly portion of the current federal debt is money squandered from the Social Security Trust (yes, it is neither "secure" nor "trusted").
All that is required for such a system is will.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Social security proposals
Well, well. Let's see how this social security thing works. Tax more of my income, means test the "benefit" I get and then cut the inflation protection. Oh, yes. Then INCREASE the benefit for those who do not save. Wow. Is this a program designed by government or what.
A modest counter proposal.
End the Ponzi Scheme (known as Social Security) for those under 30 years of age. Mandate the same payroll deduction as is currently required for Social Security and allow it to build for the 40 years until the worker retires. If the returns at retirement fails to provide what the current system pays, the federal government makes up the difference. The balance at death of these account are also heritable, so the poor gain assets over subsequent generations.
And most importantly, end the current practice of the federal government spending the income from FICA deductions for general fund expenditure, the current rape of the revenue stream.
The U.S. stock market has never been down over a given 30 year period. Should that unlikely event occur, the feds would still be out a bundle less than current expenditure.
All the teeth gnashing in Washington right now is one more indication of how difficult it is for the drunken sailors to stop spending.
A modest counter proposal.
End the Ponzi Scheme (known as Social Security) for those under 30 years of age. Mandate the same payroll deduction as is currently required for Social Security and allow it to build for the 40 years until the worker retires. If the returns at retirement fails to provide what the current system pays, the federal government makes up the difference. The balance at death of these account are also heritable, so the poor gain assets over subsequent generations.
And most importantly, end the current practice of the federal government spending the income from FICA deductions for general fund expenditure, the current rape of the revenue stream.
The U.S. stock market has never been down over a given 30 year period. Should that unlikely event occur, the feds would still be out a bundle less than current expenditure.
All the teeth gnashing in Washington right now is one more indication of how difficult it is for the drunken sailors to stop spending.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
The Great Morality Play
I just started reading The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival, by John Vaillant. It is a wonderfully written true story of an Amur tiger who stalks and kills two men in Siberia, doing what tigers do, in other words. Disparate as it may seem, it took me to the pharmacy which wanted $219 for two shingles vaccinations (that the d?**?#!) insurance company would not cover.Then, I read a post by a high school chum on the dirt bag pharmacology and insurance industries.
Taking all these together, in this the most political of all seasons, and that we tend to vilify government (guilty), industry and others without considering that these are not evil people nor even bad people. They are just doing what people do--aggregating power, making money, etc.
When we stoop to ad hominem (or ad industrial???) attacks, we make the profit motive and the desire for power a simplistic morality play rather than understanding that these instincts are basic to human nature. Then, we compound our mistake by trying to legislate every conceivable permutation of "the problem" only to find there are very smart lawyers who spin the laws to their clients' benefits. So, pass more law, tighten things up, constrict more.
Who loses in this race? We all do. The more legislation society passes, the less control it has over its populace.
Taking all these together, in this the most political of all seasons, and that we tend to vilify government (guilty), industry and others without considering that these are not evil people nor even bad people. They are just doing what people do--aggregating power, making money, etc.
When we stoop to ad hominem (or ad industrial???) attacks, we make the profit motive and the desire for power a simplistic morality play rather than understanding that these instincts are basic to human nature. Then, we compound our mistake by trying to legislate every conceivable permutation of "the problem" only to find there are very smart lawyers who spin the laws to their clients' benefits. So, pass more law, tighten things up, constrict more.
Who loses in this race? We all do. The more legislation society passes, the less control it has over its populace.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
More federal waste and voter disgust
These are examples of what drives people crazy about federal spending. Is ANYONE in Washington listening?
1. “Almost Empty” Mall Awarded Energy Grant ($5 million)
The Department of Energy has announced an award for up to $5 million6 to install a geothermal energy system capable of heating an ―almost empty‖ mall in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
2. Renovations for Federal Building as Expensive as New Building ($133 million)
Taxpayers in Oregon may be surprised to learn that the largest stimulus project in their state is not a new road or bridge, but a $133 million makeover for the federal building in downtown Portland. The money will go toward ―greening the Edith Green/Wendell Wyatt Federal Building in the hope of making it a model for energy efficient government offices in the Northwest. That said, for $133 million some may wonder why they did not simply tear it down and start over.
Agency officials expect to construct a type of vegetative skin—made of plants—on the exterior of the building, to help with heating and cooling costs.
In 2007, a new federal building was constructed in downtown San Francisco with similar state-of-the-art energy efficiency features for $144 million—nearly the same cost to merely renovate the Portland Federal Building. Both buildings are eighteen stories tall, built with energy efficient technologies, and house federal agency offices. The major difference is that the San Francisco building is much larger, with an additional 100,000 usable square feet in comparison with its counterpart in Portland.
3. DTV Advertising Agency Generates Three Jobs ($5.9 million)
An advertising agency that ultimately reported little job creation received a multi-million dollar contract to help the government overcome a poorly managed transition to digital television, only to report three jobs created.
4. Research to Develop Supersonic Corporate Jets ($4.7 Million)
Lockheed Martin will receive a total of more than $21 million in federal money—with $4.7 million funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act—from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to advance research for supersonic jet travel. High ticket costs, fuel-guzzling and the infamous sonic ―boom helped doom commercial supersonic travel in the past; the last Concorde jet flew in 2003.
5. Water Pipeline to a Money-Losing Golf Course ($2.2 million)
A $2.2 million stimulus grant will help pay for new pipes to pump recycled water to the Sharp Park Golf Course in San Francisco, California. Unfortunately, the golf course may not exist for much longer. The City Council is considering closing the public course over concerns for the California red-legged frog and the San Francisco garter snake that live in the area.
7. Program to Control Home Appliances From a Remote Location ($787,250)
Fifty homes on Martha‘s Vineyard in Massachusetts will participate in a test program to allow an outside party to control their energy use, ―Big Brother style. The initiative will allow participating households to purchase discounted appliances from General Electric (GE) that are capable of communicating with – and being controlled by – an off-site computer system.
20. Repaved Georgia Road . . . Getting Repaved Again ($88,000)
Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) contractors are using stimulus funds to repave a busy street in Atlanta—part of which was repaved just two years ago. Rebecca Serna, a local bicyclist, noted that the existing road is ―pretty much the smoothest ride in town right now, adding about the new project, ―I don‘t know if it‘s necessary, but it‘s nice.
23. Studying the Icelandic Arctic Environment in the Viking Age ($94,902)
The University of Massachusetts-Boston received an almost $95,000 stimulus grant to ―count pollen grains collected from farms in Iceland and allowed researchers to continue studying the role the arctic environment played in the evolution of civic life during the Viking Age.
33. Study on "Hookup" Behavior of Female College Coeds ($219,000)
The National Institute of Health (NIH) is using stimulus funds to pay for a year-long $219,000 study to follow female college students for a year to determine whether young women are more likely to ―hookup — the college equivalent of casual sex — after drinking
35. Study of Wildflowers in a Ghost Town ($448,995)
A few dilapidated buildings are largely what remains in Gothic, Colorado, a ghost town that is also home to the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory. Over the next five years, however, Gothic will host a $448,995 National Science Foundation study by Dr. David Inouye on the impact of climate change on the town‘s wildflowers.
38. Recovering Crab Pots Lost At Sea ($700,000)
A $700,000 grant will pay for 48 people to help Oregon crabbers recover crab pots they have lost at sea. The two-year project expects to yield 2,000 lost pots a year. Oregon crabbers reportedly lose an estimated 15,000 crab pots a year. The effort will use 10 boats, planes, and a telephone hotline for people to phone in crab pot sightings. If all 4,000 pots are recovered as expected, the grantees will spend an average of $175 per crab pot, though John‘s Sporting Goods in nearby Everett, Washington sells new crab pots online for as little as $19.95.
50. Arizona Ants Work While Some Arizonans Remain Unemployed ($950,000)
Two major universities in the state are receiving a combined $950,000 to examine the division of labor in ant colonies. Arizona State University was awarded $500,000 in stimulus funding by the National Science Foundation, while the University of Arizona will receive $450,000.
51. Study On Why Young Men Do Not Like Condoms ($221,355)
Indiana University professors received $221,355 in economic stimulus funds to study why young men do not like to wear condoms.
56. Homeland Security Funds Assist Boat Tours of Alcatraz ($50,783)
A ferry service that once contracted for the federal government will receive over $50,000 in stimulus homeland security grants, despite no longer doing any work for the government.
60. Town of 838 to Renovate Old Hotel into a Welcome Center ($300,000)
Tourism may not be booming in Crofton, Kentucky (population 838),267 but the town has received $300,000 in stimulus funds to convert an abandoned downtown hotel into a visitors‘ center.
79. Money for Lighthouse Repairs on Uninhabited Island (Nearly $1.5 million)
Located on a barrier island accessible only by water, Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, is an area that has been empty for decades. However, the Department of the Interior will spend nearly $1.5 million in federal stimulus funds to fix the lighthouse and other facilities on the Refuge. The project will restore the lighthouse, living quarters and an oil shed.
1. “Almost Empty” Mall Awarded Energy Grant ($5 million)
The Department of Energy has announced an award for up to $5 million6 to install a geothermal energy system capable of heating an ―almost empty‖ mall in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
2. Renovations for Federal Building as Expensive as New Building ($133 million)
Taxpayers in Oregon may be surprised to learn that the largest stimulus project in their state is not a new road or bridge, but a $133 million makeover for the federal building in downtown Portland. The money will go toward ―greening the Edith Green/Wendell Wyatt Federal Building in the hope of making it a model for energy efficient government offices in the Northwest. That said, for $133 million some may wonder why they did not simply tear it down and start over.
Agency officials expect to construct a type of vegetative skin—made of plants—on the exterior of the building, to help with heating and cooling costs.
In 2007, a new federal building was constructed in downtown San Francisco with similar state-of-the-art energy efficiency features for $144 million—nearly the same cost to merely renovate the Portland Federal Building. Both buildings are eighteen stories tall, built with energy efficient technologies, and house federal agency offices. The major difference is that the San Francisco building is much larger, with an additional 100,000 usable square feet in comparison with its counterpart in Portland.
3. DTV Advertising Agency Generates Three Jobs ($5.9 million)
An advertising agency that ultimately reported little job creation received a multi-million dollar contract to help the government overcome a poorly managed transition to digital television, only to report three jobs created.
4. Research to Develop Supersonic Corporate Jets ($4.7 Million)
Lockheed Martin will receive a total of more than $21 million in federal money—with $4.7 million funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act—from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to advance research for supersonic jet travel. High ticket costs, fuel-guzzling and the infamous sonic ―boom helped doom commercial supersonic travel in the past; the last Concorde jet flew in 2003.
5. Water Pipeline to a Money-Losing Golf Course ($2.2 million)
A $2.2 million stimulus grant will help pay for new pipes to pump recycled water to the Sharp Park Golf Course in San Francisco, California. Unfortunately, the golf course may not exist for much longer. The City Council is considering closing the public course over concerns for the California red-legged frog and the San Francisco garter snake that live in the area.
7. Program to Control Home Appliances From a Remote Location ($787,250)
Fifty homes on Martha‘s Vineyard in Massachusetts will participate in a test program to allow an outside party to control their energy use, ―Big Brother style. The initiative will allow participating households to purchase discounted appliances from General Electric (GE) that are capable of communicating with – and being controlled by – an off-site computer system.
20. Repaved Georgia Road . . . Getting Repaved Again ($88,000)
Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) contractors are using stimulus funds to repave a busy street in Atlanta—part of which was repaved just two years ago. Rebecca Serna, a local bicyclist, noted that the existing road is ―pretty much the smoothest ride in town right now, adding about the new project, ―I don‘t know if it‘s necessary, but it‘s nice.
23. Studying the Icelandic Arctic Environment in the Viking Age ($94,902)
The University of Massachusetts-Boston received an almost $95,000 stimulus grant to ―count pollen grains collected from farms in Iceland and allowed researchers to continue studying the role the arctic environment played in the evolution of civic life during the Viking Age.
33. Study on "Hookup" Behavior of Female College Coeds ($219,000)
The National Institute of Health (NIH) is using stimulus funds to pay for a year-long $219,000 study to follow female college students for a year to determine whether young women are more likely to ―hookup — the college equivalent of casual sex — after drinking
35. Study of Wildflowers in a Ghost Town ($448,995)
A few dilapidated buildings are largely what remains in Gothic, Colorado, a ghost town that is also home to the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory. Over the next five years, however, Gothic will host a $448,995 National Science Foundation study by Dr. David Inouye on the impact of climate change on the town‘s wildflowers.
38. Recovering Crab Pots Lost At Sea ($700,000)
A $700,000 grant will pay for 48 people to help Oregon crabbers recover crab pots they have lost at sea. The two-year project expects to yield 2,000 lost pots a year. Oregon crabbers reportedly lose an estimated 15,000 crab pots a year. The effort will use 10 boats, planes, and a telephone hotline for people to phone in crab pot sightings. If all 4,000 pots are recovered as expected, the grantees will spend an average of $175 per crab pot, though John‘s Sporting Goods in nearby Everett, Washington sells new crab pots online for as little as $19.95.
50. Arizona Ants Work While Some Arizonans Remain Unemployed ($950,000)
Two major universities in the state are receiving a combined $950,000 to examine the division of labor in ant colonies. Arizona State University was awarded $500,000 in stimulus funding by the National Science Foundation, while the University of Arizona will receive $450,000.
51. Study On Why Young Men Do Not Like Condoms ($221,355)
Indiana University professors received $221,355 in economic stimulus funds to study why young men do not like to wear condoms.
56. Homeland Security Funds Assist Boat Tours of Alcatraz ($50,783)
A ferry service that once contracted for the federal government will receive over $50,000 in stimulus homeland security grants, despite no longer doing any work for the government.
60. Town of 838 to Renovate Old Hotel into a Welcome Center ($300,000)
Tourism may not be booming in Crofton, Kentucky (population 838),267 but the town has received $300,000 in stimulus funds to convert an abandoned downtown hotel into a visitors‘ center.
79. Money for Lighthouse Repairs on Uninhabited Island (Nearly $1.5 million)
Located on a barrier island accessible only by water, Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, is an area that has been empty for decades. However, the Department of the Interior will spend nearly $1.5 million in federal stimulus funds to fix the lighthouse and other facilities on the Refuge. The project will restore the lighthouse, living quarters and an oil shed.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Which way in economics
Well, I learned today that the 50 year average of consumer spending is 60 percent of GDP. Today, it is 70 percent. That is 16 percent higher than is the norm. Most of that was financed by easy credit--this is a quarter century of flat salaries. So, we increased spending without earning more. (Fareed Zakaria, Global Public Square).
He interviewed large corporate CEOs (IBM, Alcoa) and they noted the answer lies in better educated workforce. No argument there. But after 40 years in education from classroom teacher to president, I don't see that happening. Absenteeism, workload complaints, outside interests all take precedent over school work.
Those same people will complain in 10 years that they cannot find a good job. Hello. The world is turning into a brain-based economy. A strong back and a pick up truck won't do it anymore and too many of our students aren't getting the picture.
More than 40 percent of our Ph.Ds are foreign born (and can't get a green card to stay here). Our best students are the best in the world. Unfortunately, they are a small percentage of the total population. We best get an understanding of and support for education if we are not going to slip into further mediocrity.
Government (particularly the federal government) needs to cut waste and duplication, and the U.S. public needs to forgo its anti-intellectual bias.
He interviewed large corporate CEOs (IBM, Alcoa) and they noted the answer lies in better educated workforce. No argument there. But after 40 years in education from classroom teacher to president, I don't see that happening. Absenteeism, workload complaints, outside interests all take precedent over school work.
Those same people will complain in 10 years that they cannot find a good job. Hello. The world is turning into a brain-based economy. A strong back and a pick up truck won't do it anymore and too many of our students aren't getting the picture.
More than 40 percent of our Ph.Ds are foreign born (and can't get a green card to stay here). Our best students are the best in the world. Unfortunately, they are a small percentage of the total population. We best get an understanding of and support for education if we are not going to slip into further mediocrity.
Government (particularly the federal government) needs to cut waste and duplication, and the U.S. public needs to forgo its anti-intellectual bias.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Conservatives and Liberals
Well, Cal Thomas says this morning that Obama's outlook is based on "grievance, entitlement and revenge." Can't argue with that; he's a Democrat, isn't he? Thomas goes on to say the American ethic (read Republican) is based on self-control, hard work and personal responsibility." Wow, that sounds pretty good.
Unless, of course, you look closely at it. Conservatives just can't stay out of our bedrooms, can't stay out of our vices (no toking, but beer swilling is OK) and can't leave our bodies alone (we will tell you what you do with your body, ma'am).
Thomas says Obama is an elitist, a socialist and a statist, No argument there. But, how does the far religious right conservative movement stack up? Listened to Sarah lately? Listened to any of the hellfire and brimstone fundamentalists (who have hijacked the Republican Party) lately?
Do we really have any centrists left in the political arena today? Do we really have any of the American ethic that Thomas describes? If we do, I can't find it. I have longed maintained that the Democrats want to give the country away and the Republicans want to sell it.
Where do the rest of us go?
Unless, of course, you look closely at it. Conservatives just can't stay out of our bedrooms, can't stay out of our vices (no toking, but beer swilling is OK) and can't leave our bodies alone (we will tell you what you do with your body, ma'am).
Thomas says Obama is an elitist, a socialist and a statist, No argument there. But, how does the far religious right conservative movement stack up? Listened to Sarah lately? Listened to any of the hellfire and brimstone fundamentalists (who have hijacked the Republican Party) lately?
Do we really have any centrists left in the political arena today? Do we really have any of the American ethic that Thomas describes? If we do, I can't find it. I have longed maintained that the Democrats want to give the country away and the Republicans want to sell it.
Where do the rest of us go?
Thursday, October 21, 2010
More on Juan
Well, tonight's news is filled with Juan Williams' firing. Two camps: 1.) First Amendment protects his right to speak out and 2.) He has the right to speak, but his employer is not required to employ him. Let me say from the get go, as a former journalism professor, I subscribe to the latter position. BUT, his employer is you and me. NPR is publicly funded. That's a whole different animal.
Would anyone support his firing for standing in a public park? A street corner? I think not. Public radio is you and me. His firing was a travesty.
Would anyone support his firing for standing in a public park? A street corner? I think not. Public radio is you and me. His firing was a travesty.
Freddie, Fannie and CRA
Well, Freddie and Fannie need $215 billion MORE of our money. Yet another fed bailout. Charlie Rangel and his band of loonies nearly guaranteed the current housing mess with the Community Redevelopment Act that set a goal of homeownership for everyone--ability to pay for it notwithstanding.
Then the geniuses on Wall Street found they could make billions with credit default swaps that even they did not understand. They just ignored the "consistent with safe and sound lending practices" provision.
We live in the looney bin.
CRA
Then the geniuses on Wall Street found they could make billions with credit default swaps that even they did not understand. They just ignored the "consistent with safe and sound lending practices" provision.
We live in the looney bin.
CRA
The Community Reinvestment Act (or CRA, Pub.L. 95-128, title VIII of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1977, 91 Stat. 1147, 12 U.S.C. § 2901 et seq.) is a United States federal law designed to encourage commercial banks and savings associations to meet the needs of borrowers in all segments of their communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.[1][2][3] Congress passed the Act in 1977 to reduce discriminatory credit practices against low-income neighborhoods, a practice known as redlining.[4][5]
The Act requires the appropriate federal financial supervisory agencies to encourage regulated financial institutions to meet the credit needs of the local communities in which they are chartered, consistent with safe and sound operation (Section 802.). To enforce the statute, federal regulatory agencies examine banking institutions for CRA compliance, and take this information into consideration when approving applications for new bank branches or for mergers or acquisitions (Section 804.).[6]
Britain's economic response
Well, Great Britain will lay off 490,000 government workers. That will be quite a hit to their economy. As I thought about how this would play out in the U.S., I realized we will never do anything similar. \ Even though we face $1.3 trillion this fiscal year, we continue to spend like drunken sailors. No heed for the future, satiate our current desires. On this course, I believe the end of Pax Americana draws nigh.
Social Security Cure
Finally, a possible, sensible solution to the world's largest Ponzi scheme, aka Social Security.
A new government-backed investment plan. Some academics, including Alicia Munnell, director of Boston College's Center for Retirement Research, have proposed an altogether different method of risk management — one where the government bears the brunt of the risk. She imagines a new kind of guaranteed account, where the government would guarantee that beneficiaries receive a certain rate of return on their investments.
If the market plunged before they retired, then Uncle Sam would make up the difference. If a relatively modest guaranteed rate of return were chosen, such as 6 percent, then she says the government would rarely have to step in, so the cost would be minimal. Another option is to guarantee just a 2 or 3 percent return but to allow investors to keep any higher return provided by the market. If the government found itself needing to pony up during bad periods like the current one, then, Munnell says, "it can take on more debt and spread the losses over several generations," instead of forcing the soon-to-be retirees to absorb most of the pain.
Now, this makes sense. Uncle Same guarantees all sorts of things, why not old age pensions. There has NEVER been a 15-year period in which the market has lost money. And 90+ percent of the 5-year periods have seen positive returns. Nearly ANY investment vehicle would have a higher return than Social Security. This plan could have the additional advantage of heritability.
In those years when the government had to make up a shortfall, the system could recapture lost dollars from the estate (if the money could be left to an estate, unlike the current boondoggle).
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Walmart
We learned today that Walmart throws many of its leftover foodstuffs away. This policy is about one month old. We tried to get the basket of goodies donated to our church, since we feed the homeless five days a week, 25,000 people last year. We need a letter writing campaign to Walmart to help them understand how critical donations of this sort are to the poor. Without donation, these foodstuffs go in the dumpster!
Monday, September 20, 2010
Dangerous new chemical news
Wow. Look at DSMO.ORG for the REAL story on this pervasive and potentially dangerous new chemical. I saw it cited in "Lies, Damned Lies and Science." It's a hoot. Can you figure it out without looking ahead?
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Politics Unusual Overview
This is a new way for me to express my frustration with American politics and social policy. If anyone reads and comments on this blog, he probably won't be happy with me. If you are a liberal, I will challenge your most closely held beliefs. If you are a conservative, I will challenge your assertion of conservatism.
We are at a crossroads in the U.S. Liberals are so intent on making every issue a class struggle or a race issue that they offer little. Conservatives are so captured by the religious right and intent on destroying personal freedom in the United States that they are dangerous.
The Tea Partiers are a response to both these trends. I am not a TP person. Fareed Zakaria's show today said the TPers are about economic issues. If that is true and they stay out of my pocketbook and bedroom, maybe I can support them. Time will tell.
We are at a crossroads in the U.S. Liberals are so intent on making every issue a class struggle or a race issue that they offer little. Conservatives are so captured by the religious right and intent on destroying personal freedom in the United States that they are dangerous.
The Tea Partiers are a response to both these trends. I am not a TP person. Fareed Zakaria's show today said the TPers are about economic issues. If that is true and they stay out of my pocketbook and bedroom, maybe I can support them. Time will tell.
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