OP ED-"Little Timmy Wants to Know Why Nobody Likes Airplanes Anymore?

[bumper]

Nope. That is the difference between Conservatives and Progressives. They can NOT...I mean NEVER JUST recognize the incredible awesome power of free will and work. There is ALWAYS a But...or a to bad...or a caveat to their fleeting acknowledgement of the "lucky few". You ARE lucky Bumper. You were ONLY able to succeed because of the collective "help" of the Federal Government.

It is a mystery to me why there is so much desire to take from earners and force redistribution for those "less fortunate".

It is easy to be a do-gooder. It is much harder to help someone become self-sufficient.

I know there was some tongue in cheek there.

 

Actually I did get some help from the government. I didn't finished high school, ran away from home at 16 and worked at the car wash and other jobs until I joined the USN at 18 (had to wait until then to make out a declaration of intent to become a citizen. The Navy sent me to Electronics Technician A school. Spent almost 8 years in the Navy (slow learner I guess :c), but I did sort of pay them back for the excellent training I received. Then 10 years on the PD. Between those two gigs I actually tried to stretch my funds by applying for food stamps - turned me down as I was making payments on a VW and that was considered an "asset" that disqualified me. Back to work . . .

[flyboy0681]

I know there was some tongue in cheek there.

 

Actually I did get some help from the government. I didn't finished high school, ran away from home at 16 and worked at the car wash and other jobs until I joined the USN at 18 (had to wait until then to make out a declaration of intent to become a citizen. The Navy sent me to Electronics Technician A school. Spent almost 8 years in the Navy (slow learner I guess :c), but I did sort of pay them back for the excellent training I received. Then 10 years on the PD. Between those two gigs I actually tried to stretch my funds by applying for food stamps - turned me down as I was making payments on a VW and that was considered an "asset" that disqualified me. Back to work . . .

 

Your story improves with each posting.

[flyboy0681]

The most descretionary money I ever had was shortly after marriage while in college. In the Guard and working 35 hours a week in a deli. No house, car payment. I rode a motorcycle and walked. DINKS. (Dual Income No Kids). We managed an apartment building too. We lived below the poverty line, but were very happy.

We lived within our means. Your woe is me looking out for my fellow man that is "less fortunate" ring hollow to me FlyBoy. I have been there and done that and I have never envied or wished to take from another to enrich myself...

 

Like I said, must be nice to have family and friends that all successful. But let me make one thing clear, I am talking about hard working people that for one reason or another couldn't advance themselves. None of them were on public assistance of any kind, at any time. They pulled their own weight.

 

A person could work two or three jobs and not get anywhere.

[flyboy0681]

Sometimes people have to be willing to move, even relocate several times (I did) get more education, change careers (I did) to move on and up. (I have several times) (I spent my what was my life's savings at that time to re-educate and change careers, from the mortgage business to aviation.)

Sometimes you have to even take a pay cut and start at the bottom and work your way up. (I did, more than once!)

It's called "freedom" ... and with it comes "sacrifice" and "responsibility." ... Together they make "opportunity."

Sometimes, unless you change professions altogether, your profession will will only garner a certain wage level. Then you learn to live with contentment within the means you have. That's where I am at now. (I am always learning this. Some never do. They want more. Never happy, blame others, compromise their morals to get money, demand the government/society hand it to them, blame it on race .. or gender ...but never blame their defeatist attitude. Or their own bad attitudes and personality conflicts?) It's either learn to be content (it is LEARNED), live within our means, or change careers again ..

Honestly, sometimes people simply not bright enough ... in some cases. We all know people that are just not bright enough to perform certain jobs. They have reached their potential.

Other times they simply aren't willing to take risks, while other times they are not willing to work hard enough or start over at the bottom.

 

I honestly commend you Dave, you did everything right and eventually landed your dream job (of which part of me is envious).

 

Your response is right on but you speak of professions and moving and getting a higher education. An awful lot of people out there are just not college material, you know them as well as I. The hard working folks that I'm talking about are the working stiffs and always will be, not from the lack of desire but they don't necessarily have the smarts to succeed, although they would like to. Like you said, they reached their full potential. Those are the people that I know and they live paycheck to paycheck.

[flyboy0681]

And how much healthcare could we provide to the elderly or other good work could we do ... if we weren't throwing away $$$$ of our tax money on debt interest? (Because Washington is inept)

 

My rub on it is that we wouldn't have printed the money in the first place, so it's a moot point.

 

It's like when people say if we didn't take over Iraq we would have saved a trillion dollars that could have been used for other stuff. Not true, we wouldn't have borrowed the money in the first place.

[flyboy0681]

It is a great mystery in life ... to learn to be content and live within your means (or better yet under your means and save) ... Yet never lose the desire to improve and do better. A secret few have learned. One secret I am now learning late in life ... not from the world but from the bible, books like "The Millionaire Next Door," and teachers like Dave Ramsey.

 

Millionaire Next Door, an excellent read for which I have adapted some habits. I just wish it would be updated.

[flyboy0681]

My desire is for a Bravo ... Ovation, Acclaim ... a Baron or an Aerostar ... but my budget is a Mooney M20C. The inward struggle is on-going! Do you ever feel like you are "cheating" on your Mooney when you are on "Barnstormers" looking at Baron 55s?

 

The J that I have a partnership in is more than enough for me. The fixed monthly costs are less than $250 but I realize that a big maintenance item could bite us at any time.

 

But yes, I do peruse Controller from time to time, but I stick to Mooney's.

[bonal]

My desire is for a Bravo ... Ovation, Acclaim ... a Baron or an Aerostar ... but my budget is a Mooney M20C. The inward struggle is on-going! Do you ever feel like you are "cheating" on your Mooney when you are on "Barnstormers" looking at Baron 55s?

It don't matter where you get your appetite as Long as you eat at home, I love to look at all them airplanes

[bumper]

I honestly commend you Dave, you did everything right and eventually landed your dream job (of which part of me is envious).

 

Your response is right on but you speak of professions and moving and getting a higher education. An awful lot of people out there are just not college material, you know them as well as I. The hard working folks that I'm talking about are the working stiffs and always will be, not from the lack of desire but they don't necessarily have the smarts to succeed, although they would like to. Like you said, they reached their full potential. Those are the people that I know and they live paycheck to paycheck.

And you think there's a problem with that?? I'd be in most of those cases those people ARE nOT doing what's needed to improve their lot. Most spend money on things that do no advance them towards their goals (booze, cigarettes, "toys", frivolous stuff they could do without). They lack the self-discipline to tell themselves no.

 

Don't do things that move you further from your important goals! I had a Mooney poster on my office wall for over six years. Instead I kept putting money back into my business. When it came time to buy one in '91, Jan told me I should go ahead and buy new, I bought an '87 with 850 hours for $93K, as I could do that for cash (my business was kind enough to loan me about half the purchase price :c).

 

Don't get me wrong, I have empathy for many of those folks who are struggling. And I have helped many I thought deserving over the years. But a very many will not climb that ladder, as for whatever reason they don't have what it takes. If my lot in life were digging ditches, I'd of done my best to dig the best ditches out there and would be happy doing it, But all the while I'd be saving for a backhoe.

[DaV8or]

The only comforting thing about the number, if I can even use that word, is that interest payments on it as a percentage of all federal outlays is about 6%. Debt service during the 1990's was 15%. The difference is due to interest rates.

 

I came across this chart. If true, it's very interesting.

 

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2011/10/us-debt-accumulation-by-president/

 

Even better than the graph is this guy's disclaimer above the comments section of his blog- 

 

 

Please use the comments to demonstrate your own ignorance, unfamiliarity with empirical data and lack of respect for scientific knowledge. Be sure to create straw men and argue against things I have neither said nor implied. If you could repeat previously discredited memes or steer the conversation into irrelevant, off topic discussions, it would be appreciated. Lastly, kindly forgo all civility in your discourse . . . you are, after all, anonymous.

[DaV8or]

Not a bad idea, but do you have any idea just how difficult it is, especially nowadays, to get an amendment ratified?

 

And just who would be the first ones on line to see that it never comes to pass? Could it be military contractors?

 

Are you kidding? There of course would be a clause allowing deficit spending in time of nation crisis. So all the defense contractors have to do is convince those on Capitol Hill there is a crisis and go start a war. It's worked so far.

 

Balanced budget amendment causing stock values to fall?? Look over there!! Iran might have the bomb! We need to invade pronto and liberate all those suffering Iranians!! Who cares what it costs? Do it for all of humanity, but most of all, do it for the children!!!

[DaV8or]

It is easy to be a do-gooder. It is much harder to help someone become self-sufficient.

 

You want a good sound bite? I'll fix this for you-

 

"It's easy to be a do-gooder. It is much harder to be a good doer."

[DaV8or]

Then say "Goodbye America." Without that ... We won't survive.

(Most states have that in their state constitutions ... Why not our country?)

 

IIRC, in recent times most all the states have been running at a deficit. This illustrates the effectiveness of words on a paper. If we passed a balanced budget amendment, the very next day, congress would approve an "emergency spending" bill. We have given the keys to the asylum to the inmates.

[AndyFromCB]

IIRC, in recent times most all the states have been running at a deficit. This illustrates the effectiveness of words on a paper. If we passed a balanced budget amendment, the very next day, congress would approve an "emergency spending" bill. We have given the keys to the asylum to the inmates.

 

Texas, the shinning beacon of freedom, with its low taxation and balanced budget amendment, has so far worked it self to now owe $328 billion, as in $12,400 per man, woman and child living there.

[AndyFromCB]

John knew torture. No argument.

Waterboarding and psychological improvised techniques?

Yup. Bad people did bad things. Having rules in war is a joke. It is war. Civilian's and innocent die in war. It should be so awful that it is the last resort.

The US should show no mercy to its enemies.

Would I be captured if at war?

NOPE.

There is a big difference between us and our enemy. They are chopping off the heads of any that do not have their religion. Innocent? Not in their eyes. Effective? You betcha.

THEY are the enemy. Either bring TOTAL WAR or GET OUT.

How is that "win the hearts and minds working out"....?

 

Jawohl, Mein Fuhrer

[flyboy0681]

Texas, the shinning beacon of freedom, with its low taxation and balanced budget amendment, has so far worked it self to now owe $328 billion, as in $12,400 per man, woman and child living there.

 

And their economy is booming now due to energy. 

[pinerunner]

Boy "Little Timmy" is doing great! 

 

I still think some one has a side bet on how many replys it will get before year years eve.  Since no one has mentioned Obama ticking people off for at least two pages I thought I'd throw these two blurbs into the mix.

 

http://www.globalresearch.ca/obama-approves-raising-permissible-levels-of-nuclear-radiation-in-drinking-water-civilian-cancer-deaths-expected-to-skyrocket/5331224

 

http://reason.com/archives/2014/07/06/raising-the-epa-radiation-limit-will-sav/

 

The second one explains why and in particular how linear no-threshold models have created such a problem. One of the vids on the http://energyfromthorium.com/website describes how the the LNT model got started, rammed through science circles due to one guys fame and finally started just being assumed to be true. It shows how highly educated people can find ways to be ignorant, even while having good intentions(if you call wanting to pat yourself on the back a good intention).

[flyboy0681]

Boy "Little Timmy" is doing great! 

 

I still think some one has a side bet on how many replys it will get before year years eve.  Since no one has mentioned Obama ticking people off for at least two pages I thought I'd throw these two blurbs into the mix.

 

http://www.globalresearch.ca/obama-approves-raising-permissible-levels-of-nuclear-radiation-in-drinking-water-civilian-cancer-deaths-expected-to-skyrocket/5331224

 

http://reason.com/archives/2014/07/06/raising-the-epa-radiation-limit-will-sav/

 

The second one explains why and in particular how linear no-threshold models have created such a problem. One of the vids on the http://energyfromthorium.com/website describes how the the LNT model got started, rammed through science circles due to one guys fame and finally started just being assumed to be true. It shows how highly educated people can find ways to be ignorant, even while having good intentions(if you call wanting to pat yourself on the back a good intention).

 

Isn't this actually good news? That Obama didn't bend to the tree huggers?

[DaV8or]

This is a load of crap. Spare me.

 

Why do you believe it is a load of crap? If there is opportunity for all, like Bumper had, why are there so many low income earners and not millions upon millions more high income earners? Why didn't we have a tiny lower class, a enormous middle class and huge upper class back in the days when there were no government hand outs? Why weren't more people motivated back then?

 

The bottom line is, the vast majority of the human beings walking the planet in any country are predisposed to be worker bees, not queen bees. When worker bees have no work to do, bad things happen. We need them to work and we need them to be healthy and happy. Small businesses in America like Bumpers, understand this. Large corporations that are slaves to the Wall Street analysts and run by an old boy's network of privileged people, really struggle with the concept.

 

IMO, the single greatest thing for America that allowed us to rapidly expand and grow to super power, empire status was the stock market and publicly traded companies. Conversely, the single worst thing that has happened to America is the stock market and publicly traded companies. Greed, moral corruption, combined with technology and the stock market has thrown a large number of our worker bees under the bus. You get enough pissed off bees under there and they will tip the bus over. The bus goes down, we all go down.

 

As folks cry out for tort reform and tax reform, they should also be crying out for Wall Street reform. Clearly there is a lack of ethics and oversight there and the consequences can be devastating. But just like tax and tort reform, I don't think we'll see it in my life time. Too bad too. The best way to keep socialism and communism out of your country is to keep the worker bees working, healthy and happy. If we don't change our policies, the bees will rise up.

[flyboy0681]

Why do you believe it is a load of crap? If there is opportunity for all, like Bouncer had, why are there so many low income earners and not millions upon millions more high income earners? Why didn't we have a tiny lower class, a enormous middle class and huge upper class back in the days when there were no government hand outs? Why weren't more people motivated back then?

 

The bottom line is, the vast majority of the human beings walking the planet in any country are predisposed to be worker bees, not queen bees. When worker bees have no work to do, bad things happen. We need them to work and we need them to be healthy and happy. Small businesses in America like Bouncers, understand this. Large corporations that are slaves to the Wall Street analysts and run by an old boy's network of privileged people, really struggle with the concept.

 

IMO, the single greatest thing for America that allowed us to rapidly expand and grow to super power, empire status was the stock market and publicly traded companies. Conversely, the single worst thing that has happened to America is the stock market and publicly traded companies. Greed, moral corruption, combined with technology and the stock market has thrown a large number of our worker bees under the bus. You get enough pissed off bees under there and they will tip the bus over. The bus goes down, we all go down.

 

As folks cry out for tort reform and tax reform, they should also be crying out for Wall Street reform. Clearly there is a lack of ethics and oversight there and the consequences can be devastating. But just like tax and tort reform, I don't think we'll see it in my life time. Too bad too. The best way to keep socialism and communism out of your country is to keep the worker bees working, healthy and happy. If we don't change our policies, the bees will rise up.

 

 

(Wait a second while I get up from off the floor)

 

I agree entirely.

[pinerunner]

Isn't this actually good news? That Obama didn't bend to the tree huggers?

Bingo

[pinerunner]

Why do you believe it is a load of crap? If there is opportunity for all, like Bouncer had, why are there so many low income earners and not millions upon millions more high income earners? Why didn't we have a tiny lower class, a enormous middle class and huge upper class back in the days when there were no government hand outs? Why weren't more people motivated back then?

 

The bottom line is, the vast majority of the human beings walking the planet in any country are predisposed to be worker bees, not queen bees. When worker bees have no work to do, bad things happen. We need them to work and we need them to be healthy and happy. Small businesses in America like Bouncers, understand this. Large corporations that are slaves to the Wall Street analysts and run by an old boy's network of privileged people, really struggle with the concept.

 

IMO, the single greatest thing for America that allowed us to rapidly expand and grow to super power, empire status was the stock market and publicly traded companies. Conversely, the single worst thing that has happened to America is the stock market and publicly traded companies. Greed, moral corruption, combined with technology and the stock market has thrown a large number of our worker bees under the bus. You get enough pissed off bees under there and they will tip the bus over. The bus goes down, we all go down.

 

As folks cry out for tort reform and tax reform, they should also be crying out for Wall Street reform. Clearly there is a lack of ethics and oversight there and the consequences can be devastating. But just like tax and tort reform, I don't think we'll see it in my life time. Too bad too. The best way to keep socialism and communism out of your country is to keep the worker bees working, healthy and happy. If we don't change our policies, the bees will rise up.

That reminds me of a late-night movie I saw once "Bee Girls". 

[flyboy0681]

Yes, and so this one place where tax cuts appear to have worsened the situation ... You want to hammer on ... while you disregard the ten other states where over the past five years, tax cuts and a balanced budget (lower government spending) have dramatically helped. So when you want to discuss the results of ALL the states who have cut spending lately and balanced the budget ... I'll start taking you seriously again ...

 

Back to this for a moment. You are still missing my original point, which was, that Brownback was most likely reelected because he was a Republican and that that was the only significance to the people of Kansas. If Clem Kadiddlehopper was running for governor and on the ballot there was an "R" beside his name, he too would be elected.

 

Kansas just doesn't elect democrats very often. The last democratic senator was elected in 1930.

[DaV8or]

But a very many will not climb that ladder, as for whatever reason they don't have what it takes. If my lot in life were digging ditches, I'd of done my best to dig the best ditches out there and would be happy doing it, But all the while I'd be saving for a backhoe.

 

And this is where conservatives struggle. Many are like you, or aspire to be like you. There is the flawed belief that "If I can do it, anybody can do it!". The epoch of human history shows this theory to be false. Never has there been a nation, or tribe of over achievers.

 

We are not all born equal. We are not all identical, mold-able putty at birth. When we tell our children that they can be anything they want when they grow up, we are being disingenuous. In the same way that most of us do not have the proper DNA to allow us to be professional basketball players in the NBA, or brilliant physicists like Albert Einstein, many of us do not have the DNA it takes to be long term strategists with exemplary self discipline. Our brains are all wired a little bit different.

 

The vast majority of us are wired to worker bees. Don't think too hard, don't work too hard, just a 50/50 mixture of discipline and hedonist. To live a simple, but happy life. This is a good thing!! We need worker bees! They can be very important to us. For us to thrive, we need to care for, cultivate and protect our worker bees, not cast them aside. Bumper, you understand this. This is why you have paid your employees benefits. Healthy, happy worker bees are productive and reliable worker bees.

 

Socialism, communism and revolutions come about due to large numbers of unemployed average achieving workers. IMO, we either need more privately held companies like yours, where the CEO knows the names of his, or her employees and likely even a little bit about them, or we need incentives, or mechanisms to get the captains of publicly held companies to act more like human beings rather than profit computers. The disconnect and ultimately our downfall is the belief that labor is a commodity, an expendable item on a balance sheet much like a truck, or stapler. Many leaders of nations in history have felt the same way. It never ends well.

 

To those that believe the stock market is end all and be all of business and success, I will note that the oldest, continually operating company in history is Baretta Firearms, or more properly, Fabbrica d’Armi Pietro Beretta S.p.A. Since 1526 they have been in business and family owned to this day. They have survived wars, revolutions and all manor of world calamities. In 2011, they took in $203,000,000. Not bad for a family business. I don't know for certain, but I'll bet it's great place for worker bees to work.

[flyboy0681]

And this is where conservatives struggle. Many are like you, or aspire to be like you. There is the flawed belief that "If I can do it, anybody can do it!". The epoch of human history shows this theory to be false. Never has there been a nation, or tribe of over achievers.

 

 

You seemed to express the same thoughts as mine, but you were a lot more eloquent. You hit the nail on the head when you said "There is the flawed belief that "If I can do it, anybody can do it!". Some people just don't understand that not all people are created equal and can't, even if they have the best of intentions.