My Blog

It’s very easy to get confused on how we got into this mess. I got this from a friend and I thought it helped explain our current economic state such that anyone over about 16 years old should be able to understand it. This doesn’t squarely place blame. That’s not what this is about. You can draw your own conclusions on who is at fault. If, after reading this, you still don’t understand. Don’t worry about it. You’re a liberal and always will be.  Read on. Read more…

This is the main reason California is asking for a $7 billion bailout from the Fed.

From the L. A. Times

1. 40% of all workers in L. A. County ( L.A. County has 10.2 million people) are working for cash and not paying taxes. This is because they are predominantly illegal immigrants working without a green card.

2. 95% of warrants for murder in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens.

3. 75% of people on the most wanted list in Los Angeles are illegal aliens.

4. Over 2/3 of all births in Los Angeles County are to illegal alien Mexicans on Medi-Cal, whose births were paid for by taxpayers. Read more…

Today, I wrote to my Senators and my Congressman. I have included the short text of my letter. If I get a reply from any of them, I’ll post it.  The letter:

We must stop the so-called bailouts that are happening. We have invested $350 billion and what do we have to show for it? Are things getting better? I think not. We must also block the proposed $1 trillion plus stimulus package. All we are doing is socializing our country. If this is not stopped, we will end up looking like the UK, France, and Germany to name a few countries that have decided that the government must take care of all aspects of everyone’s life. The statement from the Constitution “to provide for the common defense” has been twisted to mean the government has to take care of everything for everyone. I don’t want the government so deeply ingrained in all I do. Nor do I want the government redistributing my tax dollars to lower income citizens. The Declaration of Independence states “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The pursuit of happiness means that you have to work for it, not complain loud enough that it’s given to you. I maintain that opportunity must be equal for all individuals, but the outcome is dictated by what they do with the opportunity. Please STOP GIVING AWAY MY TAX DOLLARS.

The reply by email from Sen. McCain.  I realize that these are probably form letters that are returned, but note that there is no comment on the $1 trillion stimulus package in the reply.

 

January 27, 2009

 

 

Mr. Charles Vark

 

Dear Charles:

 

Thank you for contacting me about the Troubled Asset Relief Plan (TARP) funds. I appreciate learning your views.

I opposed releasing the remaining $350 billion of TARP funds because I have seen no evidence that the additional and substantial taxpayers’ money will be used for its intended purpose. TARP was created to allow the Treasury Department to purchase up to $700 billion in “toxic assets” from financial institutions in order to help homeowners facing foreclosure and to stimulate the economy. Instead, the Treasury Department has used TARP funds to prop up the banking industry and to guarantee securities backed by student loans and credit card debt.

The misuse of the first $350 billion of TARP funds combined with the lack of transparency promised by Secretary Paulson was reason enough to oppose releasing additional funds. But most troubling to me has been the use of TARP funds to help bail out the domestic auto industry – in direct defiance of Congress. In December, after extensive discussion and debate, the Senate rejected a plan to pump billions of federal dollars into the domestic auto industry because we saw no evidence of serious concessions from the industry and no assurance of the domestic auto manufacturers’ long-term viability.

There is no doubt that Congress intended that the Treasury Department use the funds provided to assist only financial institutions. But that has not been the case. The language authorizing the TARP program has been interpreted to allow Treasury to change the game plan and use the funds for things outside the scope of Congressional intent. Less than two weeks after enactment of the program, Secretary Paulson changed course and decided instead to use TARP funds to recapitalize banks – a decision that was made with little or no input from Congress, and was an option that was explicitly rejected by Paulson and Bernanke when they were selling the TARP plan to Congress.

I am disappointed that TARP funds have been released before we were able to impose strict standards of accountability and ensure that the money is spent only as intended by Congress – to purchase mortgage-backed securities and other troubled assets and provide help to homeowners who are on the brink of losing their most important investment and roofs over their heads.

Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts on this very important matter. Please feel free to contact me on this or any other issue of concern.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

John McCain

United States Senator

 

JM/dkr

 

We authorized $700B to be used to help take care of bad mortgages.  The government gave money to banks.  Some banks didn’t want the money and were coerced into taking it.  In fact, an acquaintance at Chase stated that the $25B that they received was set aside.  Chase didn’t need the money and is just going to hold on to it.  Now we have Obama and his minions looking to put a $1 trillion stimulus in play.  The stimulus package is nothing more than a way to get a large chunk of the private sector sucking on the government tit.  A large chunk of the money are actually earmarks.  Why do we need the government spending this money?  Instead of taking money (that we don’t have) and doling it out like dope dealer to an addict, why can’t the government cut our taxes and let us spend the extra money that we have where we see fit?  This would have a direct, speedy impact on families and the economy.  I’ll tell you why.  Because the current government wants to rule your life and tell you what you can and can’t do.  These tax cuts should be across the board.  Not mainly for people who don’t pay taxes anyway.  Tax burden of $0 – $1000 tax cut = $1000 refund check.  But the refund check is someone else’s money.  This is Obama’s redistribution of wealth that he so smugly talked of with Joe the plumber, but it’s in disguise, buried in the tax code. 

First it’s the nationalization of banks.  Next comes national (universal) health care.  Once these two things are in place, we are done.  We will have become just like a western European social democracy (emphasis on social).  If I wanted to live in the UK or France, I’d move there.

Check out this link.  The first half pertains to this blog, but the whole thing is worth watching.  http://www.foxnews.com/video/index.html?playerId=videolandingpage&streamingFormat=FLASH&referralObject=3459409&referralPlaylistId=search|morris

I would urge each and every one of you to call you Senators and Congressmen.  Tell them to not support the $1 trillion stimulus package that is making its way through Congress.  We can not afford it!  Where will the money come from?  More importantly, where will it go?  This stimulus package is a huge piece of pork.  History has proven that we cannot spend our way out of a recession.  Please write emails, make phone calls, send faxes.  Tell your Senators to filibuster this piece of garbage. 

Read this article.  http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/17862.html

The Democrats are drunk with power.  They are making statements that show they don’t care what anyone else thinks.  We, the people, need to tell them to quit spending OUR MONEY!!!  Especially when they don’t even have it to spend.

A friend of mine sent this to me originally. I checked this on snopes and it has been verified.  The first letter went out in December 2008 from the president of GM to entire GM workforce and made it’s way to Gregory Knox, president of one of GM’s suppliers.  At least I think they supply GM.  It’s a very powerful letter.  If more people feel this way, why aren’t we voicing our opinions?  Why do we keep quiet?  Please call your elected officials and make sure your voice is heard.

Dear Employee,

Next week, Congress and the current Administration will determine whether to provide immediate support to the domestic auto industry to help it through one of the most difficult economic times in our nation’s history. Your elected officials must hear from all of us now on why this support is critical to our continuing the progress we began prior to the global financial crisis…………………As an employee, you have a lot at stake and continue to be one of our most effective and passionate voices. I know GM can count on you to have your voice heard.

Thank you for your urgent action and ongoing support.

Troy Clarke

President
General Motors North America

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In response: – from Gregory Knox,

In response to your request to call legislators and ask for a bailout for the United States automakers please consider the following, and please also pass this onto Troy Clark, the president of General Motors North America for me.

You are both infected with the same entitlement mentality that has bred like cancerous germs in UAW halls for the last countless decades, and whose plague is now sweeping the nation, awaiting our new “messiah” to wave his magical wand and make all our problems go away, while at the same time allowing our once great nation to keep “living the dream”.

The dream is over!

The dream that we can ignore the consumer for years while management myopically focuses on its personal rewards packages at the same time that our factories have been filled with the worlds most overpaid, arrogant, ignorant and laziest entitlement minded “laborers” without paying the price for these atrocities and that still the masses will line up to buy our products

Don’t tell me I’m wrong. Don’t accuse me of not knowing of what I speak. I have called on Ford, GM, Chrysler, TRW, Delphi, Kelsey Hayes, American Axle and countless other automotive OEM’s and Tier ones for 3 decades now throughout the Midwest and what I’ve seen over the years in these union shops can only be described as disgusting.

Mr Clark, the president of General Motors, states:

There is widespread sentiment in this country, our government and especially in the media that the current crisis is completely the result of bad management. It is not.

You’re right, it’s not JUST management, how about the electricians who walk around the plants like lords in feudal times, making people wait on them for countless hours while they drag ass so they can come in on the weekend and make double and triple time for a job they easily could have done within their normal 40 hour week

How about the line workers who threaten newbies with all kinds of scare tactics for putting out too many parts on a shift and for being too productive (mustn’t expose the lazy bums who have been getting overpaid for decades for their horrific underproduction, must we?!?) Do you really not know about this stuff?!?

How about this great sentiment abridged from Mr. Clarke’s sad plea:

over the last few years we have closed the quality and efficiency gaps with our competitors.

What the hell has Detroit been doing for the last 40 years?!?

Did we really JUST wake up to the gaps in quality and efficiency between us and them?

The K car vs. the Accord?

The Pinto vs. the Civic?!?

Do I need to go on?

We are living through the inevitable outcome of the actions of the United States auto industry for decades.

Time to pay for your sins – Detroit .

I attended an economic summit last week where a brilliant economist, Alan Beaulieu surprised the crowd when he said he would not have given the banks a penny of “bailout money”. Yes, he said, this would cause short term problems, but despite what people like George Bush and Troy Clark would have us believe, the sun would in fact rise the next day and something else would happen. Where there had been greedy and sloppy banks, new efficient ones would pop up. That is how a free market system works. It does work if we would let it work!

But for some reason we are now deciding that the rest of the world is right and that capitalism doesn’t work; that we need the government to step in and “save us”. Save us, hell we’re nationalizing and unfortunately too many of this once fine nation’s citizens don’t even have a clue that this is what’s really happening but they sure can tell you the stats on their favourite sports teams yeah THAT’S important.

Does it occur to ANYONE that the “competition” has been producing vehicles, EXTREMELY PROFITABLY, for decades now in this country?…

How can that be???

Let’s see – -

Fuel efficient -

Listening to customers -

Investing in the proper tooling and automation for the long haul -

Not being too complacent or arrogant to listen to Dr W Edwards Deming 4 decades ago –

{http://www.lii.net/deming.html added for those interested. P.}

Ever increased productivity through quality, lean and six sigma plans -

Treating vendors like strategic partners, rather than like “the enemy” -

Efficient front and back offices -

Non union environment -

Again, I could go on and on, but I really wouldn’t be telling anyone anything they really don’t already know in their hearts

I have six children, so I am not unfamiliar with the concept of wanting someone to bail you out of a mess that you have gotten yourself into. My children do this on a weekly, if not daily basis, as I did at their age. I do for them what my parents did for me (one of their greatest gifts, by the way). I make them stand on their own two feet and accept the consequences of their actions and work them through.

Radical concept, huh?

Am I there for them in the wings? Of course but only until such time as they need to be fully on their own as adults.

I don’t want to oversimplify a complex situation, but there certainly are unmistakable parallels here between the proper role of parenting and government.

Detroit and the United States need to pay for their sins.

Bad news people, it’s coming whether we like it or not.

The newly elected Messiah really doesn’t have a magic wand big enough to “make it all go away” I laughed as I heard Obama “reeling it back in” almost immediately after the vote count was tallied “we might not do it in a year or in four”! Where was that kind of talk when he was RUNNING for the office

Stop trying to put off the inevitable!

That house in Florida really isn’t worth $750,000!

People who jump across a border really don’t deserve free health care benefits!

That job driving that forklift for the big 3 really isn’t worth $85,000 a year!

That couple whose combined income is less than $50,000 really shouldn’t be living in that $485,000 home!

Let the market correct itself people, it will. Yes it will be painful, but it’s gonna be painful either way, and the bright side of my proposal is that on the other side of it is a nation that appreciates what is has and doesn’t live beyond its means and gets back to basics and redevelops the work ethic that made it the greatest nation in the history of the world and probably turns back to God.

Sorry, don’t cut my head off. I’m just the messenger sharing with you the “bad news”

Gregory J Knox
President

Knox Machinery, Inc.
Franklin , Ohio 45005