Category: Uncategorized

Yep, that’s the newest unfulfillable promise from the Democrats….Free College Tuition for Everyone!!!!

Let’s take a look at this idea.  Sure, sounds great doesn’t it?  Sounds great to all those younger people that have no idea about what anything costs and to the older people who still live in a John Lennonist fantasy of nobody having possesions(except of course for Yoko and himself).

These same people wish to forgive all the student loans made over the past several years.  Probably adds up to billions of dollars.  Dollars that have already been spent by universities and professors.  Where exactly does this money come from if it can be forgiven so freely?  Just it just appear wherever a student needs a loan?  Well, I suspect if these loans are forgiven, they will be made up by the taxpaying public.  That’s right, that 1% they are always talking about–they will pay for it, those rotten rich people.  Yeah, and I bet they all fire their accountants if that happens, because sure as shootin if taxes go up, the people that won’t pay is the super rich–they pay the politicians way way too much to not write a loophole into every new tax.  NO, the people who will pay for this forgiveness will be your average taxpayer.  There are millions of average tax payers and the politicians know that that is where the money is at.  Not with a few hundred multibillionaires.

And then let’s look at ‘everyone’ going to college.  Is this really a good idea?  Does everyone need to go to college?  What about your car mechanic?  Does he or she(gotta be PC) need to understand and appreciate Classic European Literature to change your fuel pump?  Is college good for everyone?  I say it’s not.  I don’t think the value of person is determined by their level of education.  College is a way to indoctrinate young people into a way of thinking when they are impressionable.  I know.  I have been there.  I was once a 20 year old in college classes and there was a distinct bent to the teaching.  That was 30 years ago.  I think it might be worse now.  I bought into it for a while, before I had to face the realities of paying bills with what was left of my paycheck after taxes.  Still, I remember thinking ‘wouldn’t it be wonderful if everyone had whatever they needed?’  The problem with this is the people who just prefer not to work at all and collect anyway.  Why in the world should they collect anything?  And they are much better at getting ‘free’ stuff than people who are truly deserving.

What do we require in return for a ‘free education?’  Right now, the idea is nothing, to require absolutely nothing in return.  Now, some of the student loan forgiveness programs are good–the ones that require the person to actually DO something in return for loan forgiveness.  I have no problem with that.  Work for what you get.  It shows that what you are getting has value.  If you just give things away, where is the value?  If everyone gets a free education, then how do we value it?  How many PHDs in early childhood education do we need?  How many masters of Greco Roman Art do we need?  So, a rebuttal would be to limit the numbers of certain degrees and fields of study.  Who would do that?  Who would decide what your future would be?  Would it be like the former Soviet Union where your destiny was decided early in your education and that path was what you followed based on what someone else thought your talents were.  Hmmmm, so much for freedom.  Will a government official come in and test the 5 year olds and determine their aptitude in particular areas and then channel them in the direction that most suits the government’s needs?  Give up control of who pays for the education and you give up the freedom the decide what the education actually is.

And what do you think will happen if you send a bunch of 18 year olds away to school knowing they have nothing to lose?  They already feel immortal at that age.  Now they know there is nothing at all at stake.  You think they don’t take college seriously now, just wait until they don’t even have to pay for it.  I don’t know the statistics, but I do know that a percentage of college freshman never make it to December of their first year.  Push a bunch of kids with no interest in education into a class because it’s free and you will see a huge jump in drop outs.  Is this a wise allocation of resources?  And what about those students who are still going because they are serious about what they are learning and not just pushing back getting a job for as long as the free education lasts?  How many 300+ freshman classes do the serious students have to endure before the posers are weeded out?  And the same people who are advocates of ‘free’ education are advocates of ‘participation point.’  You know, they tried so even though they failed, they still get a ribbon.  Talk about the fast track to a second class county.  Let everyone get a useless degree, and when they graduate, they still have to depend on the government to eat and have a place to live because their education is so devalued.

Higher education SHOULD  be hard to attain.  It should be difficult and should allow only the most persistent, most brilliant to survive.  Some of this involves financial hardship.  So what?  Teach students about finances and how to borrow intelligently and they will do fine.  Just throw money at them and let them borrow well beyond their ability to repay and you have what you do now.  It is not a crime to work during college.  People used to do it all the time.  Now, there are student loans available that let people take vacations on the loan money.  Students can borrow what ever they want.  Then, when they graduate, they are hit with the ridiculous payments they will have to make on their pathetic $40,000 a year salary, while the auto mechanic–a good one, makes $75,000 a year.  Why are we pushing everyone to college?  It’s a fools errand for many students.  And now the Democrats want to not only encourage more to go to school, but go to school for ‘free.’  The only ‘free’ education I would support is fiduciary education……for any liberals reading this–look it up.  The college most kids need to go to these days is the one that teaches them the financial realities of life.  What everything costs for real and if an education is actually worth getting.  I think a lot of people want to shame kids into getting higher education, like they are not worth anything without a college degree.  I disagree.  College is not a necessary component for a successful life.  Making the country pay for a bunch of worthless degrees is another liberal attempt to subjugate everyone they can to government control.  And people who can’t see the eventual reality of the government choosing everything for them when the ‘government’–meaning taxpayer money–pays for everything, just aren’t really thinking.

So, somewhere along the line someone suggested that giving minimum wage workers a 100% raise to $15/hr  would solve all their problems.  Finally, they would be able to afford all the things they couldn’t buy at $7.50/hr.  Their lives would magically be transformed into successful middle class lives.

Well, not so fast people.  The reality is that the people that proposed this ‘raise’ are not business people.  EEEWWW, nasty, mean, capitalist, greedy business people.  Yes, business people did not recommend this because it won’t work.  Like it or not, the people that own and run the businesses in this country have a pretty good idea what works and what doesn’t, or they don’t stay in business long.

What works?  Paying people according to their ability and contribution to the company.  So, someone that produces nothing for the company but performs an essential task, such as sweeping the floor is not entitled to what someone who designs and produces the product would make.  Also, business people base salaries on how easy it is to replace that person.  Is that person in possession of a skill set that is rare and highly desirable.  A skill set that took years to develop and that may give the company and edge?  Or is the skill set necessary something that virtually anybody can do and that there are a ready supply of these workers?  If the answer is yes to the first question, then the salary is high.  If the answer is yes to the second question, the answer is no.  That is business.

Is this fair?  Let’s consider this.  A person with a unique skill set that spent years to develop, that can enhance the company’s income, that not everyone can do, has endeavored to be the best at whatever they do.  Their ability to achieve this unique position shows a desire to excel.  A desire hopefully translated into the company’s work.  A person who can sweep the floor has not spent much time at all learning this skill.  They don’t significantly contribute to the income of the company, they can be replaced tomorrow easily.  This job can be done by a teenager.  Is this person worthless?  No, but they are an unknown if they just started.  Are they at this level and 40 years old?  Why do they not have a better skill set?  Are they unreliable?  Are they unstable?  Did they ever stick with anything long enough to learn a unique skill set?  These are all reasons to start someone out at a low pay.

Consider what offering someone top pay when they start will do.  Will it actually raise this person out of poverty?  Well, not likely.  If the business has to double it’s cost in salaries, they will either cut payroll hours or raise prices.  Either will result in someone paying the price.  Salaries are not raised in a vacuum.  Every expense a business has goes to the bottom line.  Unprofitable businesses don’t employ anyone.  If anyone thinks that the business owner is either willing or able to absorb 100% of the cost of doubling payroll, they are in dreamland.

Now, consider what this would do the best employees.  The employees that do everything excellently.  The employees that are loyal and have worked their way up from minimum wage.  The employees that spent years acquiring skills that make them more valuable.  Well, there will be less available for their pay.  They may experience no or decreased raises.  Of much more impact is what it will do to them psychologically.  Why do a good job?  Why be loyal?  Why learn how to do anything?  If I can sweep the floor and make the same money, why should I even try?  What is the point of learning new or extra skills?  It makes the good workers very angry.  It may totally turn them against doing a good job.  Certainly the incentive is taken away.

Consider as well what it does to those employee who are just handed top pay on day one.  Where is the accomplishment?  Can they be proud of this?  Are they going to care at all about doing a good job?  The only thing to work for is the same pay.  What incentive is there to do a good job?  If you double salaries, is there really an expectation that anyone will  get a raise for a long, long time?  These employees have no special skills still.  They can still be replaced at the drop of a hat.  Prices have likely been raised and they find that they are in the same situation they were before.  Sure, they make more money, but their cost of living has gone up.  In addition to that, their opportunity for advancement has been crippled by the effect the increased payroll has on the business.  They will likely have to work twice as hard as they would have because there are less employees.  They are expected to do more for this pay.  With these higher expectations come increased likelihood of being released if not doing the job well.  There will be plenty willing to replace them, so job security goes down.

The role of minimum wage jobs in this country has historically been for teenagers, for people starting out or as second jobs for supplemental income.  These jobs were never intended for people to raise families on.  People didn’t used to start families until they moved beyond these jobs.  People used to strive to move beyond these jobs.  Now, certain individuals think the world should accommodate their lack of ambition.  They world should reward them for not wanting to better themselves.  People can better themselves in this country.  It is more than possible.  Sure, it may be more difficult for some than others.  So what?  Is life equally easy for everyone?  Will it ever be?  Of course not.  But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t strive to improve yourself.  Giving people with no ambition automatic raises penalizes the ones with ambition that do try to better themselves.  So, you end up rewarding mediocre individuals and discouraging ambitious people.  Is this really the way to success for anyone?  Beat down those that do a good job and reward those that don’t seek to ever work anywhere but McDonalds?

One of the things that has always made this country great is the ability for someone from a trailer park to rise to where ever they want to go.  All you have to do is work hard.  There are people in this country that hate that.  They don’t want to work hard.  They are jealous and bitter.  They made bad decisions and now have to pay for them.  They want someone else to pay for them.  Instead of trying to do something to change the circumstances they find themselves in, they expect the world to come down and lift them up.  Raise them to $15/hr and in a year that won’t be enough either.  They will always be jealous of what others have and want it given to them.  They don’t understand the value of hard work and advancement and what it does for them personally as well as financially.  They feel that life is not fair to them, so they seek to make it unfair for someone else to better their situation.  There is no reason whatsoever to offer today’s minimum wage workers a higher wage just because.  They can raise their income simply by working hard and acquiring skills and showing loyalty.  Their salary will rise, but they have to have the ambition to rise it.  And when it does rise in response to their behavior, they will be proud of what they have done.  They will no longer be bitter and jealous.  Ask anyone who has come from nothing to tell their story and you will see the pride they have in their journey.  It made them a stronger person and they will tell you that.  These people don’t look at others and just wish they had what the others had, they find out how they got it and go after it!!!

This whole Trump mania is very entertaining to watch.  To tell the truth, Trump is bombastic and just slightly above completely annoying.  He has great appeal right now in spite of this, why?

I believe, and have no scientific proof to support it, that it is not what he’s saying so much as the fact that he is not afraid to take a stand.  Right or wrong, he’s out there blasting away fearlessly about things that touch a nerve in America.  Our beloved news media has decided over the past couple of decades to stop reporting news and start shaping news.  They can and will try to influence elections, candidates and even votes in Congress on important issues.  This is not what they are supposed to do.  They wield immense power and use it all the time, sometimes subtly, sometimes blatantly.  Most politicians know all too well how powerful the media is.  They know that the media affects the perception people have of candidates.  Thusly, candidates tiptoe around being careful not to say anything that might be misconstrued in any way.  Donald Trump doesn’t care….it’s almost like he dares them to misconstrue what he says and then he throws it back in their face.

People are looking for someone with conviction.  Someone with the courage to stand up to the politically correct sensors and say whatever.  The fact that he’s a white heterosexual makes it even more interesting.  We are used to minorities now being able to speak their minds.  And when they do, God forbid you disagree.  That will make you a racist, sexist, homophobic, whatever for having a differing opinion.  Just because someone doesn’t agree, does not mean they hate the other person.  Just because Trump doesn’t want illegal immigrants who are rapists(and they do exist), doesn’t mean he’s a racist that hates all Mexicans.  That’s ludicrous.

Trump is in a unique position.  He has a lot to lose, but even if he loses most of what he has, he will still have more than most of us ever dreamed of.  So, he’s willing to risk a lot.  He knows he’ll be OK at the end of the day(unless El Chapo manages to assassinate him).  So, he says what he thinks and evidently his opinions resonate with a lot of people.  He resonates with people afraid to speak their minds for fear of being labelled a horrible person.  We are told by the media that we should love all gay people, all black people, all women, all anything that they perceive to be oppressed.  I agree, we should show everyone the same basic respect, regardless of who they are.  We should all be unafraid, however to voice our honest opinions about different issues.  But we see examples like the couple in Oregon who have been fined $135,000 for daring to disagree with gay marriage.  I assume if Trump was opposed to gay marriage(I honestly don’t know his views on this), he would have refused to bake the cake as well.  They could have fined him and it wouldn’t matter, he can afford it.  They tried to intimidate this other couple into silence as well.  It didn’t work, they are still vocal.  They are no more haters than Trump is.  An opposing opinion does not equal hatred.

If people really thought that Trump was a racist, they would not be supportive.  That is because most of the people in this country are very tolerant and not the least bit racist.  They don’t see Trump as a racist any more than they see themselves as racist.  If you don’t like a particular member of a different race, that doesn’t make you racist.  I am sure there are quite a few black people who don’t like Louis Farrakan.  Are they racist?  If people hate George Bush, they are not white haters, they just don’t like Bush.  Trump’s  supporters are not all white guys with lots of money either.  I was watching the Dr Drew show on HLN the other night.  A youngish(30s?) black woman got up and said she supported Trump.  She supported him because he knew how to get things done and how to make money.  The rest of the media would have you believe nobody of color would ever support anyone conservative and would rather vote for anyone black even if a better white candidate exists.  Not true.  In fact, assuming that all black, hispanic, gay, female people must support liberals because they are repressed by the big bad white heterosexual males is very bigoted.  It means they have no brains to think with and could never overcome ‘whitey’ without the government’s help.  Just not true.  There are many, many minorities that do very well.  They don’t feel repressed by white America anymore than anyone else.  They don’t consider it, they look at what they want to do, find out what they need to do to get there and they do it.  If they fail, as many people do, they don’t jump up automatically and scream racism, sexism, homophobia, etc.  They dust off their butts and get back to business.

People have seen through the news media’s portrayal of Trump.  They know he’s kind of crazy, isn’t everyone?  They don’t care.  They want someone who isn’t kissing up to the media.  Someone who is not kissing up to every special interest group.  Someone who is not afraid to be himself.  Someone who is not afraid to have a point of view and someone that doesn’t back pedal at the drop of a hat. I don’t know if Trump is actually the best person to be President.  Probably a loose cannon, but consider this:  how many times have you heard candidates say one thing and do another?  Regardless of party, this is what has happened consistently in elections.  Lies are expected and tolerated.  Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone stand up, tell the truth and then not back down when someone was offended?  Someone is always going to be offended.  Lets get back to where it was OK to be Trump and say what you want without fear of losing your job, your business, your friends.  If it takes a bombastic hairsprayed white dude to accomplish this, well so be it.  You don’t have to agree with him, just don’t shut him up.

What is meant by free?  One definition is “without cost or payment.” This is what people in this country generally think the word means.  For example, I spotted a post(read advertisement) on my FaceBook feed about Oregon offering ‘free’ tuition for community college.  So, what does free mean here?  Does it mean this tuition costs nothing?  Certainly, the colleges offering the degrees are not offering them for free.  As well, the professors are not teaching the classes for free.  Are the textbooks free?  So, what do they mean by free?

They mean that the already overburdened Oregon taxpayers(one of the highest income tax averages in the country) will be paying even more in the future.  How many millions of dollars will this program cost?  Are the students obligated to do anything in return for their education?  If they don’t actually pay for it, will it mean anything at all to them?

Another ‘free’ offering in this country is the cellphones with a certain number of minutes offered to individuals receiving certain types of financial assistance.  Are these free?  Of course not, all of the paying cell phone customers pay a small fee every month that helps fund this.  So, it is not free after all.

Is free any good?  You know the old saying, ‘you get what you pay for.’  Are goods or services offered for free even appreciated?  Are they worth getting?  Should people just settle for the ‘free’ item because it’s free and never aspire to have more?  If someone had to do absolutely no work in return for an object, where is the sense of accomplishment usually derived after getting something you have worked hard for?  Does that count for anything?

The bigger question perhaps is this–should we be giving things away for ‘free?’  Does that not devalue what it is you are giving away?  If diamonds were free, would anybody want them?  There seems to be a growing trend that many things should be free for everyone who says they don’t have enough money to pay for that thing.  Why?  Why don’t we encourage people to look at what they want, find out what it will cost, not only in dollars but in time and effort.  Then ask themselves if it is worth the money, time and effort required.  If the answer is yes, then they should work towards it.  At the end, when they finally get that thing they worked so hard for, it is also an accomplishment.  In addition to having possession of the thing, they also have the pride in knowing what they had to do to get it.  The pride is important.  If everything is given away, then nothing is special.  There are no accomplishments.  Just holding your hand out and having something plopped into it and the person next to you and the person next to them gives absolutely no sense of accomplishment.  It is basically worthless in many senses of that word….and I guess worthless is sort of a synonym of free when you get right down to it.

All who enter here must posses the metal capacity to read and understand simple topics….like nothing in life is free or you reap what you sow(otherwise known as Karma).

If you don’t have a brain that functions on it’s own–meaning you can only comprehend something if a major news network tells you what it means, then you are wasting your time reading this.

No political correctness allowed.  No bigotry allowed either.  Honesty welcome.  Idiots ignored.