Natural Disasters

While everyone is geared up about the earthquake and Hurricane Irene hitting the east coast this weekend, I'd like to keep everyone informed about the Missouri River Flood of 2011.  I am not going to go into the history of this incident by now there is plenty on the web to look up.  The states all up and down the Missouri have done an incredible job stopping this flood from becoming the major disaster it was being predicted to be.  I've lived here in the Heartland for 16 years and have seen these people come together to solve the problem at hand while not blaming the government for the damage caused by the disaster.  Once again they did this.  We are now heading into the fall and winter around here and the Mighty Mo is starting to recede.  This disaster is not going to end when the river is back in it's banks.  Many people have lost homes, their livelihood, everything.  Looking ahead to winter anyone displaced by the flood needs better shelter then the trailer or mobile home they are living in.  Proper clothing is needed.  I'm sure a lot of these people were not thinking about grabbing winter clothes when they had to evacuate in the late spring / early summer.  While the optimists are speculating we will be back to normal soon, the realists around here know it can be at least two or three years.  Many miles of interstate highway and bridges will need inspection, rebuilding and replacing.  Many of the smaller towns and cities up and down the river need their infrastructure especially sewer and water systems inspected, fixed and possibly replaced.  Here's the kicker.  FEMA is not giving money towards this effort because they said this is a man made disaster caused by the Army Corps of Engineers mismanagement of the spring rains and winter snow melt.  We all know the economy is not doing well and in the near term is not looking any better.  I fear a lot of these smaller cities and towns will become ghost towns.  Not many people around here are keen on raising taxes and given the state we are in now I don't blame them.  The recovery from this flood has to be a joint private, non-profit and public effort run by private enterprise not the government.  If you want to help I know The Open Door Mission in Omaha is accepting donations of just about everything.  What is frustrating me now is that I do not hear about private individual or a consortium of private businesses stepping up and looking beyond the current situation.  If you guys are and I misspoke let me know.  If you read this and it has motivated you post a reply.  Just follow the rules.  That's enough for now...

Response to "Are Military Pensions too Generous?"

My answer is No!  An emphatic No!  Yes if you enlist (voluntarily) after high school at the age of 18 (like most high school seniors are) you can serve 20 years and retire with a pension.  I was in the Air Force for 12 1/2 years and left for personal reasons.  When asked why I did not stay the last 7 1/2 years the explanation gets complicated.  Being an officer it was up or out  and I will leave it at that.  If you talk to active duty enlisted and officers you'll find out that their pension after 20 years is a percentage of their base pay.  You'll find out from most enlisted you speak to this pension will cover their mortgage, pay for their health insurance (which we free until the Clinton administration) and may give them a couple of dollars left over  but not enough to live a moderate lifestyle.  Like everyone else they have to go out and find a job, start a business basically do something to make up the difference and save for their golden years.  Don't let this administration get away with gutting the military like it was after Vietnam.  Issues like this are only a start.

The Iowa Straw Poll

Congratulations to Michele Bachmann on winning the Iowa Straw Poll.  This shows to me my neighbors here in the heartland will listen to and support you if you drop the nonsense and get to business.  My biggest fears.  First and foremost the mainstream media is going to do a Hilary deluxe to her.  If I need to explain this to you, you were under a rock during the 2008 campaign season.  I am not a supporter of Hilary Clinton but the was she was treated by the mainstream media was bull____ (you can fill in the blank).  Next, Michele Bachmann will now be portrayed as a strong republican / conservative woman.  Good for her.  Why? Foxnews and other level headed media outlets will beat this drum for her.  Bad for her why ABC, NBC, CBS, George Soros, et al will treat her like garbage.  If she so much as sneezes too loud in public they will be on her like white on rice and they will go to no end to find dirt on her, even if its a childhood indiscretion we were all forgiven of.  A big deal will be made of it to distract us from the real issues.  What number number Alinsky tactic is this?  It looks like my man Herman Cain is going to have to evaluate his position, like all good businessmen do.  I hope he decides to stay in the race.  He understands more than any politician, you don't spend more then what you have available.  The results of this straw poll should be a wake up to the Romney and Perry camps.  First, if you don't show you are not going to get the vote.  Me personal, I think it shows a little arrogance.  The pundits on the extreme left will jump all over this.  Next, Governor Romney I'm not totally convinced by you yet.  An independent friend of mine has a phrase, empty suit?  You need to apologize for Romneycare and get away from the upper crust east coast conservatives.  You are going to need the heartland too.  Governor Perry, I understand the waiting tactic, this is going to be a long race.  You have a great record in Texas, you have great support and you have great recognition.  Things to watch out for.  Not another Texas governor he'll be just like Bush (from the mainstream media).  Watch out for the Rosie Ruiz attack.  Anyone who follows the Boston Marathon knows who she is.  She won the women's division of the race but was later stripped of her crown when it was found out she jumped into the race somewhere in the middle... That's all I have to say for now.

Entitlement Reform - Part 2

Now that I've given you my thoughts on Social Security, here is an idea for Medicare reform, again real simple.  First, stop the fraud, waste and abuse.  If the government was serious they'd do what I proposed in Social Security reform, hire the investigators and give them what they need to stop this.  Next, open up the market.  What do I mean?  If I can buy any other insurance across state lines, I should be able to do the same thing with my health insurance.  I bet if the big insurance companies had "National Health Insurance Plans" and forced the major health insurance providers to compete with them  we'd see more and better options like we do with other insurance.  Once this is established make Medicare compete in this national health insurance market.  It won't take long (hopefully we learned our lesson from the Postal Service) for the system to become more streamlined cost efficient and effective.

Entitlement Reform - Social Security

One of the many big debates today is what to do with Social Security.  One side wants to overhaul the system while the other may want overhaul it too, just not as much.  Here is my spin and if it seems too simple maybe it will work.  From what I remember about Social Security, the trust was created to first, be protected from "budget raiding" and there were a lot more workers supporting a person receiving Social Security.  Thanks to our American know how, we are living longer, working longer (if we choose or some unfortunate circumstance has forced this) and have built economic sectors from zero (look at technology).  One thing that has happened that was not planned for, I think, population growth in this country has slowed.  After years of "budget raiding" and slowed population growth we now have the case where less workers are supporting more recipients, you don't have to be a math genius to know Social Security is heading for bankruptcy.  To shore this program up I have three points.  First, stop the "budget raiding".  Make the House and Senate budget with what they have.  I bet if we didn't fund pork projects like, "A Study of Risky Sexual Behavior Amongst Brazilian Homosexual Men" (look it up we paid for this) there would be more money.  Next, stop the fraud.  If we took reform seriously we would hire, train, let investigate and prosecute the fraudsters more money would be going into the system.  Finally, tier the system.  For instance if you are age X or older by date X you are in the current plan, no changes.  Next, if you are between age X and Y by date Z and have met the contribution requirement to receive benefits you can continue to pay into the system or take that money and invest it in an IRA or retirement plan of your choice.  Finally, to the new workers who are graduating now, you can either pay into the system until you are entitled to some benefit then take this money and put it into a retirement plan of choice. Or, you can choose a retirement plan of choice.  The caveat for the last two groups, once you choose, that's it.  The only way I see this working is if people are taught the value of saving early, I was, ignored it, then got wiped out in a divorce.  Let me know what you think.

First Post (You Have to Start Somewhere)

I have sat on the sidelines too long like most of us.  The events of this past weekend (8/6/2011 and 8/7/2011) were enough.  This past weekend two things happened in American history.  First a Chinook helicopter carrying 38 personnel (31 American & 7 Afghan) was shot down.  How do I know?  The current administration did not have the courage to say what exactly happened.  This is a sad event you will go to other sites and read about the US Navy SEALS, US Army Helicopter Crew, US Air Force Combat Controllers and Afghan Nationals that were killed pursuing a Taliban leader.  Being a veteran I take the time a say a prayer every time I hear of our brave men and women being injured and/or killed.  I also mourn for any local people who perished with them because they were hoping to build a better nation.  Next the US Government's credit was downgraded for the first time ever.  Instead of taking the time to acknowledge the sacrifice made by these heroes, all the pundits pointed fingers at each other.  All they had to do was to take a moment out of their "busy schedules” to acknowledge their sacrifice then get back to the business at hand.

Here is a commentary from Peter Johnson Jr, Fox News Legal Analyst and he makes a lot of sense:

Peter Johnson Jr, How America Can Bounce Back

After what he said I realize its time.  This great nation has been on the biggest entrepreneurial quest for the last 236+ years.  We've gone from colony to world super power.  We need to do two things in November 2011 and 2012 use our one man one vote to remove those who are not for fixing this country.  Those who blame everyone else for their inability to come up with a solution.  Those who call people who are shaking the status quo "terrorists".  It's about time we take the blank check away from Foggy Bottom, reduce the size of government and create a business friendly environment (Texas, Wisconsin and North Dakota have done this) and use our greatest natural resource the American People to overcome this challenge.  What I want to start is  debate not a blame session.  If you can post logical, civil replies or comments I welcome them, if you cannot then this is not the blog for you.