Both sides in Washington are avoiding tackling entitlements because neither wants to go first.
Are you kidding me?
Social Security and Medicare are not sustainable. Even before adding on Obamacare.
It will only get worse as the baby boomers pass 65.
Here's the crazy part. No one is proposing to do harm to anyone collecting the benefits now. But those who don't have them are going to lose them one way or the other. The sooner they start getting trimmed the better it will be for everyone.
Thus, the spineless politicians have a perfect position. They can say, truthfully, we didn't promise you these benefits so don't blame us for reducing them to what we can afford.
You can't have your pie in the sky and eat it, too.
Update: Soon after this was written, Republicans said they would tackle entitlements. News reports credited the freshmen in the GOP, who told the leadership they wanted to go for it, after Obama passed up his chance.
This is the Tea Party talking, and it may be a new day in Washington.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Why there will never be peace in the Mideast
Arabs don't want peace.
Israel is a tiny speck of land surrounded by 22 Arab and Persian nations consisting of more than 15 million square miles. They could easily create a "Palestinian state" in that area if they gave a damn about the Arabs they call Palestinians. But they don't.
The major obstacle to peace is that Arabs demand the "right to return" for Palestinians and will NOT compromise.
Israel rightly refuses and it will not compromise.
What it means is this: Some 800,000 Arabs (at most) fled Israel when it became a state. Arabs attacked it on the date it became a state. The Arabs left of their own volition, many at the urging of the attacking Arabs. Many Arabs stayed and are citizens of Israel today.
But the Arabs demand the right to return for (pick a number) millions of "Palestinians." The certain result would be to turn Israel into an Arab state and Jews then would be as unwelcome as they are in any other Arab state.
It would be like the United States inviting 200 million Islamic fundamentalists to move in, and start voting.
Another issue is the "occupied lands." Israel defeated another attack by Arabs and kept some of the land it conquered, for strategic reasons. They turned part of it, the Gaza strip, back over to the Arabs and now are constantly attacked from that area. Wisely, it refuses to give the remaining land back, because it would not only constrict Israel's growing population but also would put most cities in Israel within artillery or missile range.
As long as the Arabs make demands they know are impossible to meet, there will be no peace.
Israel is a tiny speck of land surrounded by 22 Arab and Persian nations consisting of more than 15 million square miles. They could easily create a "Palestinian state" in that area if they gave a damn about the Arabs they call Palestinians. But they don't.
The major obstacle to peace is that Arabs demand the "right to return" for Palestinians and will NOT compromise.
Israel rightly refuses and it will not compromise.
What it means is this: Some 800,000 Arabs (at most) fled Israel when it became a state. Arabs attacked it on the date it became a state. The Arabs left of their own volition, many at the urging of the attacking Arabs. Many Arabs stayed and are citizens of Israel today.
But the Arabs demand the right to return for (pick a number) millions of "Palestinians." The certain result would be to turn Israel into an Arab state and Jews then would be as unwelcome as they are in any other Arab state.
It would be like the United States inviting 200 million Islamic fundamentalists to move in, and start voting.
Another issue is the "occupied lands." Israel defeated another attack by Arabs and kept some of the land it conquered, for strategic reasons. They turned part of it, the Gaza strip, back over to the Arabs and now are constantly attacked from that area. Wisely, it refuses to give the remaining land back, because it would not only constrict Israel's growing population but also would put most cities in Israel within artillery or missile range.
As long as the Arabs make demands they know are impossible to meet, there will be no peace.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Confusion reigns in Washington
After a day of predictions Mubarak would step down in Egypt, he didn't.
Meanwhile, a CIA official says our spies warned the White House last year that trouble was coming in Egypt. They just didn't know when it would blow.
So why was the Obama administration so obviously unprepared?
Even now, Obama's defiense intelligence head says, not to worry. The Muslim Brotherhood is a secular benevolent organization. So, presumably, if they wind up in power after Mubarak leaves, there is nothing to worry about?
Not unless you believe the Muslim Brotherhood itself. It was formed and exists today to make shariah law the law of the world, to destroy capitalism and exterminate the Jews.
Is that unclear?
It may say something less threatening on its English Web site, but go to www.memri.org and read the translation of what it is saying in a language Muslims understand.
Muslim Brotherhood leaders already are calling for war against Israel.
Some naive Americans think Egypt will not abrogate its peace treaty and attack Israel because the last time it did so, it was soundly defeated.
This narrow view overlooks important facts. Since that time Egypt's military has been trained by U.S. forces and equipped with U.S. weapons. Furthermore, if it teams with other jihadists, including Iran, Israel could be faced with the fight of its life.
So what?
Well, if extermination of the Jews in Israel does not excite you, consider what would happen next. There would be an united Islamist front dedicated to ending Western civilization.
That means America, and dear liberals, you will not be spared.
Yes, Egypt could have a transition to a democracy that will keep the peace. But the prospects do not look good and the United States does not appear to be doing anything that will enhance those prospects.
Meanwhile, a CIA official says our spies warned the White House last year that trouble was coming in Egypt. They just didn't know when it would blow.
So why was the Obama administration so obviously unprepared?
Even now, Obama's defiense intelligence head says, not to worry. The Muslim Brotherhood is a secular benevolent organization. So, presumably, if they wind up in power after Mubarak leaves, there is nothing to worry about?
Not unless you believe the Muslim Brotherhood itself. It was formed and exists today to make shariah law the law of the world, to destroy capitalism and exterminate the Jews.
Is that unclear?
It may say something less threatening on its English Web site, but go to www.memri.org and read the translation of what it is saying in a language Muslims understand.
Muslim Brotherhood leaders already are calling for war against Israel.
Some naive Americans think Egypt will not abrogate its peace treaty and attack Israel because the last time it did so, it was soundly defeated.
This narrow view overlooks important facts. Since that time Egypt's military has been trained by U.S. forces and equipped with U.S. weapons. Furthermore, if it teams with other jihadists, including Iran, Israel could be faced with the fight of its life.
So what?
Well, if extermination of the Jews in Israel does not excite you, consider what would happen next. There would be an united Islamist front dedicated to ending Western civilization.
That means America, and dear liberals, you will not be spared.
Yes, Egypt could have a transition to a democracy that will keep the peace. But the prospects do not look good and the United States does not appear to be doing anything that will enhance those prospects.
Making it here
It makes headlines when The Prez talks about shipping jobs overseas and the U.S. not making anything anymore. Especially when he leaves out the fact that government policies hamper domestic manufacturing efforts significantly.
So, a few more facts.
Measured in constant dollars, America's manufacturing output today is more than double what it was in the early 1970s, according to Rush Limbaugh. So much for decline.
More, from the National Association of Manufacturers.
So, a few more facts.
Measured in constant dollars, America's manufacturing output today is more than double what it was in the early 1970s, according to Rush Limbaugh. So much for decline.
More, from the National Association of Manufacturers.
- The United States is the world’s largest manufacturing economy, producing 21 percent of global manufactured products. Japan is second at 13 percent and China is third at 12 percent.
- U.S. manufacturing produces $1.6 trillion of value each year, or 11 percent of U.S. GDP.
- Manufacturing supports an estimated 18.6 million jobs in the U.S.—about one in six private sector jobs. Nearly 12 million Americans (or 9 percent of the workforce) are employed directly in manufacturing.
- In 2009, the average U.S. manufacturing worker earned $74,447 annually, including pay and benefits. The average non-manufacturing worker earned $63,507 annually.
- U.S. manufacturers are the most productive workers in the world—twice as productive as workers in the next 10 leading manufacturing economies.
- U.S. manufacturers perform half of all R&D in the nation, driving more innovation than any other sector.
- Taken alone, U.S. manufacturing would be the eighth largest economy in the world.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Comeback for Britain?
I love the Brits. Both sides of my family came to America from England nearly 500 years ago. Since the unpleasantness of 1776 and another slight misunderstanding in 1812, they have been good friends and allies of Americans. Arguably, they saved the world 70 years ago by repelling Hitler's crazed ambitions.
Inexplicably, the Brits lost their way in the late 1940s and embraced socialism. Predictably, they have been in decline since then.
Among other things socialism weakens the national spirit (Germany was an exception, for several reasons). So Brits have lost pride and patriotism and were convinced they needed "multiculteralism" just as liberal/fascist/socialist/communists/progressives are trying to sell in the United States at the behest of George Soros.
But, first Germany and now England's leaders are calling for a reversal of this trend.
This may not signal a reversal of socialism as well but it certainly will help restore national sanity in a nation that helped give birth to the cause of individual freedom.
Inexplicably, the Brits lost their way in the late 1940s and embraced socialism. Predictably, they have been in decline since then.
Among other things socialism weakens the national spirit (Germany was an exception, for several reasons). So Brits have lost pride and patriotism and were convinced they needed "multiculteralism" just as liberal/fascist/socialist/communists/progressives are trying to sell in the United States at the behest of George Soros.
But, first Germany and now England's leaders are calling for a reversal of this trend.
This may not signal a reversal of socialism as well but it certainly will help restore national sanity in a nation that helped give birth to the cause of individual freedom.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Saints preserve us
Preservationists want to prevent any building in Jacksonville from being torn down.
Apparently it does not occur to these progressive thinkers that if we had been doing that since the 1940s, Jacksonville would look like it did in the 1940s.
None of them remember what it looked like. I do. It wasn't pretty.
Here's a suggestion. If they want to preserve a building, let them buy it from the owner. Let them use their own money to pay the property taxes and maintenance on the 50-year-old building while they try to figure out how to make it earn some income.
Waxing nostalgic and criticizing the institution of private property is fine, and very progressive. Putting your money where your mouth is, as folks in this part of the world say, would be more impressive.
Apparently it does not occur to these progressive thinkers that if we had been doing that since the 1940s, Jacksonville would look like it did in the 1940s.
None of them remember what it looked like. I do. It wasn't pretty.
Here's a suggestion. If they want to preserve a building, let them buy it from the owner. Let them use their own money to pay the property taxes and maintenance on the 50-year-old building while they try to figure out how to make it earn some income.
Waxing nostalgic and criticizing the institution of private property is fine, and very progressive. Putting your money where your mouth is, as folks in this part of the world say, would be more impressive.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Are you kidding?
Shortly after saying in no uncertain terms that Mubarak must step down as head of Egypt "yesterday" the White House now supports an "orderly" transition that could last months.
What?
This is nothing more than a replay of Jimmy Carter, whose helpless thrashing around during the Iranian revolution led to American hostages being held more than a year, and Carter's defeat for re-election.
Furthermore, it has an ironic twist. It was the left, during the 1970s, that led the effort to cripple our intelligence agencies. Today, as a direct result, a liberal president has no clue what is going on in Egypt and was caught completely by surprise when an uprising began.
Talk about being bitten by your own dog.
(Update: Soon after this, the White House said the diplomat who made the statement that Mubarak needs to stay was "speaking on his own." Translation: His career is over, and that trial balloon didn't fly.)
What?
This is nothing more than a replay of Jimmy Carter, whose helpless thrashing around during the Iranian revolution led to American hostages being held more than a year, and Carter's defeat for re-election.
Furthermore, it has an ironic twist. It was the left, during the 1970s, that led the effort to cripple our intelligence agencies. Today, as a direct result, a liberal president has no clue what is going on in Egypt and was caught completely by surprise when an uprising began.
Talk about being bitten by your own dog.
(Update: Soon after this, the White House said the diplomat who made the statement that Mubarak needs to stay was "speaking on his own." Translation: His career is over, and that trial balloon didn't fly.)
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