It’s a New Reality Show, Stupid!!!

The Teaneck Armory Family Assistance Center in New Jersey just terminated one of its few employees. We are on our way - with one more lay-off we can eliminate the whole section on Military Family Assistance.

I know now with that lay-off all of you can feel comfortable that the budget is being balanced, the deficit is being eliminated, and we look forward in a short time to having no more national debt, and that's just from laying off [a polite way of saying fired].

Of course, as usual, it's only the families of those serving our nation who continue to find that their dependency is minimalized and their needs ignored - they are disposable like toilet paper. We continue to gut those who give of themselves and leave them with the short end of the stick.

The popular slogan is, "It's the economy, stupid." The key word is "stupid." The politicians, bankers, lobbyists, media analysts [many with the insight of a bedbug] and all others consider you as "stupid." They discuss economics with you as though you were going for your masters or doctorate in economics so that you can use big words which have no meaning to you - you don't find many Keynesians at your meetings.

Now would you believe that the conservatives and neo-conservatives have just won the mid-term elections - I guess you do since you may have voted. What can we expect? A different form of the same thing? A government turnover? Anarchy on the left or the right? The bleeding of industry from America? Or, just plain nothing?

As veterans we can probably expect reductions and obstacles - elimination of class 8 - moratorium on advanced determination - let's hope that the VA and Administration are willing to stem this movement through administration rulings and the like thus opening health and other benefits to our returning troops. You can do it by doing it - not so hard to do - all you have to do is to demand not just recognition of veterans' needs, but making sure they get them.

Nationally and statewide there is an economic program called Balanced Budget - theoretically based on the premise that you don't spend more than you have.

Now, in practice, this is supposed to only apply to the enemy called government - I always called it absurd [it sucks]. Now to make it really work, it has to apply to business and citizens. But, can you imagine telling your wife or children that they can only buy everything they want for cash? It would eliminate the trade deficits since no one would export into the United States, especially the American firms which set up their companies and factories overseas.

So how does this unilateral theory work in practice? First we determine how much we have by totaling taxes and revenue adjusted after deducting tax cuts, subsidies to the oil and gas companies to assure them of billions in profits, exclusions to pension plans and other goodies.

Then we must determine and eliminate earmarks [you try to figure what the word really means] which are needed to help the incumbents get reelected. It could be the end of pay to play. That candidate from South Carolina could end up being a role model [if they don't convict him].

Set aside the monies for entitlements such as Medicare, social security, and Medicaid, which we can reduce by changing the rules, and don't forget defense spending, which is required to carry out our wars in the Middle East and anywhere else the oil barons determine. Then, whatever is left, if any, we can use to run a reduced government and social and other programs.

This always ends up with a deficit since some programs have to be passed to allow voters to feel that the legislators really consider their needs, which, of course, they don't. Well, we can always borrow or print some needed money, and government will go on to greater heights of deficit and debt. Since the new group in Congress is repeal crazy, they can repeal the balanced budget and replace it with common sense.

Or, we can turn to zero-based budgeting. This will be very difficult for both new and old-time legislators since they would have to understand what is in the budget rather than what they have been told by lobbyists to be against. Especially since they have to start from the bottom up. That's usually where they start their fundraising.

Now there's a good place to consider. Fundraising. The election cost about $3.5 Billion [with a "B"]. If we required matching funds, we could apply them to the budget or infrastructure. After California and Connecticut, we might encounter a reduction in billionaires running for office - although, hopefully, they who just lost their elections bought their new fashion wardrobes so the states will have gotten the sales tax returns.

How about requiring matching funds to be paid against budget short fall [excluding the money checked off on your income tax return]? How about charging increased tariffs on goods imported from overseas made by or for American companies so that it would be cost-effective to bring the industry back to the US? What if we eliminate lobbying expenses as tax-deductible - which would result in defeated Congressmen having to go on unemployment?

Come to think about it, how about a new reality show, making it an actual reality? We could take Russia's approach of annexing Japanese islands taken during WWII having mineral and other assets. We could take control of oil fields which we bought with American blood and go into competition with OPEC, thus reducing our deficit. We could also make a reduction in our debt by turning over the monies owed to us by foreign governments [which we will never get or which we will forgive] and discount it making it a bargain and assign those debts to China [they've been jerking us around with the valuation of their money, so monkey see, monkey does] - cleaning up our balance sheet and use the interest we would not have to pay for budget revenue. And, we can accomplish all that without having to eat reality ants or beetles and without worrying about Neilsen ratings, let alone Standard and Poors [it's the Poors part which puts us into poverty].

Usually those who write look up quotes to use. I did and found a good one. It turns out to be my comment to our NEC at our last National Convention:

Right now, equally as to what we stand for; we must unite, not only in this organization, but through all the other VSOs, to make sure we're not screwed, with somebody going around saying "balanced budget." They didn't say balanced budget when Americans spilt their blood. Now it's balanced budget. We have fought for years for mandatory funding, and we still don't have it, and it's vital for those that are coming back from Afghanistan and Iraq. PTSD - eh, they're coming back and committing suicide. They're getting divorces. Families are broken apart. And you're going to allow the politicians to throw you away because you got some cockamamie people who think they're more important than our mission, our duty? Don't let them do that. Never let them do that. If you do that, you're screwing yourself as well as everybody else. That would be my report. Reports are wonderful. Action is a hell of a lot better.

Ain't it the truth?