Tax Breakin’

Of course, everyone bitches about tax breaks for the Big Business while the Little Guy, the Everyday Fella, and the Working Class all get Shafted. This is definitely not a post in defense of constant and consistent trampling of the Middle and Lower Classes. But there does need to be a standing consideration for Tax Breaks for Big Business. Remember, these are usually the Bastards you and I punch the clock for. The guys who put butter on our bread and keep our lights on. The Bastards that we – unfortunately, sometimes – work for.
So, let’s stipulate some Standing Rules for Tax Breaks for Big Business, Guidelines for squirming through the Loopholes, as it were…

• No less than 80% of employment must be kept within the United States’ borders, by U.S. Citizens.
• Any Company requesting a tax break must not have filed for Bankruptcy or used any funds of a Government Bail-Out nature in the past Ten Years.
• Companies must provide comprehensive and affordable Health Insurance Coverage to all employees (the better and more affordable the insurance, the better the tax break).
• Companies contribute to the Growth and Betterment of the Communities they reside in.
• The more Benefits provided to employees, the better the Tax Break.
• Tax Breaks are for the Company, not for the CEO, not for the President of This or That, not for Stockholders. Those all qualify as Individuals and will be Taxed as so.
• Attempts to misguide or misconstrue resources in order to attain Tax Breaks will involve penalties that do not leave the Employees hurt in any way, while those involved in any Cover-up will suffer.

And, I do think there should be Tax Breaks for the Americans working hard and trying to do the right thing. Instead of seeing our Tax Dollars fall into the lap of Succubi, those who Work to Maintain the System should be Benefited by the System…

• Independence of Government Aid.
• Maintaining Standing Employment for Five or more years with same Employer.
• Two children or less.
• Staying Married for Ten or more years (with same spouse…)
• Volunteer work in one’s Community (excluding any work done for a political affiliation).
• Pursuit of a Higher Education, on one’s own dime.

And I am sure there could be so many more additional criteria to such lists. What are some thoughts/opinions/contributions you may have?

No-Talk Radio

I am trying to accustom myself to talk radio shows, if just to listen to going-ons in the world and consider a different perspective. I listened a little bit to NPR on that trip to Indiana, but too much of the programming was not political talk, only a National Geographic-like discussion on New Guinea or something, with maybe five minutes of actual news per hour. Here, in Akron, I found this 100.1 FM station which touts itself as a talk show, but it is really turning out to be a babble-fest for an over-the-hill radio personality to yell out his opinions on things without doing the least bit research or inquiry on the subject matter.
That these stations contain more commercials that actual talking is a shame, especially as the callers who seek to engage in discussion are more often shouted over by the radio personality who doesn’t want someone else’s opinion catching more airtime than his own. Whether Conservative or Liberal, Democrat or Republican, this is usually the case for whatever talk show I happen to catch a few minutes of between commercial breaks.
This mid-morning show on WNIR is just the same, though the radio personality is no expert. He seems, instead, directed towards simply stirring the pot without adding any stew meat to the meal. It seems he spends more time impersonating Rush than actually looking into the various subject matters that he could be presenting. When a caller rings up with more information than he has (than he is willing to present), he overspeaks above the caller and repeats the misinformation that he showcases his show with.
That the show is a rabid Conservative soap box is not a surprise, nor is it a turn-off. I like it. More of the callers come off as more informed on the subject matter than the rabid Liberals, even though both sides are adamant towards not considering both sides of an argument.
That the idiot repeats the “What do you think of my…?” is really sad, because it is evident that he is not interested in presenting these issues, but rubbing his own ego and convincing the listeners that his opinion is wholly right, without looking fully into the facts. This is consistent with many talk radio Personalities, who are not interested in presenting facts, only showcasing his or her own opinions and his or her tightly-held agenda…
Instead of reporting and presenting the happenings of the community and the country and the world, it is all a pissing contest. Which, yeah, can be expected, but then to use the shooting and death of an 11 year old girl as a platform against Liberal agendas and reasons why the country is going to Hell in a Handbasket, that just solidifies this opinion that these shows do not care about reporting the news, but force-feeding political agendas, turning one side against the other instead of ever working towards the common ground.
Of course, of course, it is possible to find a political agenda slant in every news story and every reporting source. It is always there: what stories are reported on, what page a story appears on or how many inches are given to one side of a viewpoint versus how much space is given to the other side. The news becomes decided by political affiliations and advertising contributions. Nothing new here.
I am curious towards a news radio show that isn’t interested in one side or the other, but in reporting the news and understanding that there are two sides to every story. And, yes, opinions and thoughts are good to share, but they should not be used as weapons, and they should not be given half-assed, half-informed. To argue on an on-air platform without even holding all the facts only accentuates that personality’s ignorance and makes that viewpoint appear full of halfwits and bigots. This is why there is such a fight over radio talk shows. The format allows any idiot to say anything, with only the minimum restraint.
I fight the urge to call up on one of these shows, because I know I would be rude – whether or not I agreed with the idiot – and it would only be a pointless antagonization. These guys are not paid to inform, to keep the listeners up to date, to accept any other opinion than the one they are sitting on, nor would their egos allow it. Their role is intended to stir the pot without adding in a damn thing. Their insight is spewed out with the least bit of research and the least bit responsibility. These shows are made to be controversial, made to be combative. In most cases, the “Other Side” caller is probably someone on the radio station’s payroll who is prompted to call in order to heighten the tension; is it odd that someone who sits at the other end of the political spectrum is always listening and always gets through on the phone line? Or maybe I just have a touch of paranoia…?
Yeah, I am sure I will still listen to a radio talk show and I am sure that I will keep looking around for one which I find comfortable (any soft English-accented ladies on the air, let me know…), but I don’t think there are too many stations out there which put informing the listeners over feeding the fire and I don’t think there is much chance that any one talk radio personality will ever put their ego or the practicality of presenting intelligent discussion over the chance to piss people off. Maybe I am wrong – my track record is definitely not stellar – but I don’t believe that is ever a direction really sought after. What would be the point?

The Glassy Debt Ceiling Part III: Stepping into Something…

I think it is the mystery of a debt ceiling that has me so puzzled. I know, for instance, what a debt ceiling would mean for me and that once it is reached, I’m back to Ramen Noodles and tap water. Of course, with honest management, ahead of time, I boil up them Noodles once or twice a week and I maybe avoid hitting that Ceiling and being forced to sip at that swill coming out the faucet. Theoretics, of course, of course…
So, in such a scenario, a Debt Ceiling is an honest and real concept. There is a Limit, and to break through that Limit means Consequences. But we’re discussing the Federal Government, where Consequences are as real as the Tooth Fairy, long as you’re keeping your junk off Twitter…
The Debt Ceiling has been “raised” nearly seventy-five times in the last fifty years, and has been raised ten times in the last ten. This means that seventy-five times in the last fifty years, the Government saw that they did not have enough money to do their Business and, instead of adjusting their spending or coming up with honest ways to make money, they just decide to raise the level of spending allowance they have. Why make changes when all you have to do is say you’re allowed to spend more money?
This Debt Ceiling, this borrowing, counts for upward of fifty percent of Government Spending. Okay. This concept makes sense Or, at least, more sense. Everyone has credit cards to increase their spending allowance (well, not everyone, I know, and I know I am not the only one staying away from those slices of devilry…), so that more things can be purchased at times when the wallet is a little thinner. And part of that agreement is that you pay back onto that credit card so that the debt is managed, if not always manageable. Most credit cards, they have a limit of spending allowance granted: i.e. a debt ceiling. You know what it takes for the Debt Ceiling for you and me to be raised? Consistent and honest repayment. Steady positive interaction. Commitment to the deal we signed on for.
Hmm…
Switching channels, why is Barry showing his face on this? Why is he announcing that a deal has been agreed upon between the Dems and the Repubs? This ball is not on his court just yet. He just needs to put his face out there because, hey, guess what’s around the corner…? Which is the same reason why he nixed an earlier proposal that was pointed at raising that ceiling so that negotiations could be continued on how to lower all this spending and spending. Because the timeline for anything suggested clashes with his Re-Election Tour coming up. It’s the same for all these Politicians, of course; once that Big Red Box starts looming on the Calendar, there is actual caution practiced, because no one wants mud on their shoes right before the Dance…
No one wants to buckle down either.
The Debt Ceiling is 14.29 TRILLION DOLLARS. You heard that, right? And it needs to be raised. An added stipulation to the current agreement is a trillion in cuts. Now, even talking about these numbers becomes only concept talk, something beyond imagination for the you’s and me’s. How is it we get to a point where we are spending that much money that no one has and have to ask for more? Is that not indicative of a serious problem?
But, really, this isn’t all about the money. Maybe even more so, it is about power and stepping on the other guy and not backing down. It is about Party Politics, rather than America, and that should come as no surprise. Here is one idea that will never real a reality: a wage freeze for any elected politician in Congress, Senate, or the White House till there is no deficit. Because, really, what are paying them for? If I go into work tomorrow and I can’t get the job done, guess where I will be? If I spend all my money, guess what I will get? Maybe it is necessary time that the People we put in place to steer the boat are held to actual Standards, are held Responsible for the actions that truly blight our Country. Maybe more worry needs to be paid to getting the Job done, and nevermind the sexting or junk-shots or infidelities. Maybe it’s time to hold our Leaders to their Word?