Democrats are making a big deal out of the fact that Republican States are turning down funds for summer school feeding programs to help poor kids during the summer when they can’t get school lunches and crowing about how Republicans don’t care about the poor kids who will go hungry. However, they are not saying why the Republican States are turning down the funds. President Biden added an executive order to the school lunch program which requires those who get the summer feeding program to recognize transgender students and allow them to use the bathroom of their choice. It is a matter of accepting the funds and being forced to endanger girls and women by allowing men disguised as women to use women’s restrooms, showers, and sleeping quarters or turning down the funds in order to protect them. Republicans care more about protecting women from embarrassment and even rape then the summer school program, while Democrats are more concerned about pushing their agenda regardless of the danger to women. They would rather have the kids go hungry then back down on promoting their pro-transgender policies. Many churches and civic organizations are stepping up to provide meals and food to low-income families in the States that refuse the funds at far less cost than the government funded programs and do not have to accept the government mandates that go with the funds.
Archive for the ‘Economics’ Category
Gas Prices-J
I just checked gas prices to fill up the car and the price has been going up for three weeks straight. A lot of it is due to the fighting in the Mid-East. Most stations are about $3.29 a gallon compared to $1.75 a gallon when President Biden took office. President Trump pushed America to be independent of Arab oil prices which lowered gas prices since it didn’t have to be transported from the Mid-east and profits went to American workers and investors. Under President Trump, gas prices would not have been affected by the war, but now the fighting is pushing prices up still further. President Biden forced cuts in America’s oil production forcing us to buy oil from Mid-Eastern countries which has to be transported by ship, greatly increasing the cost. A lot of that oil goes through the Suez Canal and the shipping lanes near the Arab States. Arab terrorists have made travel in the region difficult and many are oil tankers who are opting to go around the south of Africa to avoid it, which creates extensive delay and a lot of extra cost. In addition, there is nothing to prevent the Arab countries from raising prices to hurt the American economy, like they did in 1974. The profit from Arab oil goes to Arab countries who supply our oil and much of it goes into the pockets of rich Arab rulers who in turn support Arab terrorist activities.
Public Assistance-C
Programs for the disabled have caused just as many problems. Disabled benefits are taken out of Social Security funds for those who haven’t reached retirement age but paid into Social Security and are unable to work. That adds to the number of people drawing on the fund. However, the worst problem is the way it is administered. There are many people who are disabled who could work with help. I had Polio when I was young and have trouble with my legs. There are a lot of jobs I can’t do, but I have found jobs I could do. I have been able to work most of my life up to retirement and still take odd jobs. While many recipients of disability are limited in the work they can do, there are other jobs they can do. It may require training but it would be far cheaper to train them and return them to the work force than to continue to support them. In addition, many have disabilities that could be helped with assistance devices but the devices are too expensive for disabled people who cannot work without them. It would be far cheaper to get them the devices and return them to the workforce than to continue to support them. Most of the social programs developed by the Democrats are geared toward maintaining those in need and not to returning them to active employment. The programs make the people dependent on government support instead of helping them provide for themselves. The real problem is that Democrats having been using that dependency to pressure recipients to vote for them. They claim that if Republicans get in power they will end the programs and recipients will lose their benefits. Republicans have made no such threats and have pushed to redesign the programs to make them more geared toward making recipients better able to provide for their own needs. Republicans did it with welfare and can do it with other programs if given the chance.
Public Assistance-B
The programs for the elderly have been just as bad. Prior to Social Security, people worked until they could no longer work. Then they went in a nursing home or went to live with family. Social Security was meant for the few who could not work but were not in need of a nursing home. Now many people retire at 65 or even 62 so they can enjoy their retirement. As a result, a lot more people are drawing benefits and they are drawing them longer because many people live far longer than they used to. That would not have been a problem if Democrats had not drained the Social Security fund to develop other poverty programs. The money paid in would have drawn interest and continued to support the withdrawals. By draining the surplus, it forced the money paid in to fund current recipients and not sit drawing interest. That was not a problem at the time because there were more working than were drawing Social Security, however the signs pointed to trouble ahead, but they ignored them. The fact that people were living longer and drawing longer, is putting a bigger strain on Social Security than the designers planned on. In addition, abortion has eliminated one out of three babies. That, and the fact the more women are working and having fewer kids means that fewer kids are coming into the work force. That means that fewer workers are paying into the system while more are drawing out of it. That is putting an even bigger strain on the system which many predict will soon run out of money. In addition, Social Security has not kept up with inflation and many Seniors are struggling. Their solution is to increase the tax on the rich to provide extra benefits to the poorer recipients. They ignore the fact that there are very few very rich and the added income will not cover the added benefits to the lower income recipients that make up the bulk of recipients. Since Seniors are more healthy and many could work ten to twenty more years, It makes more sense to support Republican plans to raise the retirement age. That way more workers will work longer and draw for a shorter time. While they work, they will continue paying into the system while not drawing from it. That would provide far more benefits because the number contributing would be far greater. The number of people dying increases with age so the age group with the highest number is just after retirement. It addition, it would help if the Democrats just returned the funds they took out for other social programs, including the interest it would have made if invested. The workers paid that money in expecting it would be there for them when they retired but Democrats betrayed them by spending it on other programs. Those funds would support the program for many years to come. The Democrats cry about how Social Security is running out of funds even though those on Social Security paid that money into the fund but continue to add to the benefits that go to those on welfare who did not pay into it with no thought to the cost. If welfare benefits can be taken from the general fund, there is no reason that funds for Social Security can not be taken out. Seniors deserve it far more.
Public Assistance-A
Democrats say they are concerned about social causes and care about the poor, the elderly, and the disabled and they work to provide safety nets. While that sounds good, the programs they have developed have caused tremendous problems. While private agencies help the needy on the basis of need, the government programs are based on eligibility. When I worked for the welfare dept., we constantly checked to make sure they fell in the income guidelines, however income is not a very good gage of need. A family with no income that got $400 a month in assistance and paid $300-400 a month for rent had nothing left over for utilities. If the family owned their home, they could pocket anything left over, but would have to spend it so they didn’t accumulate more savings than allowed, so they spent it recklessly. Both families met the qualifications but only one really needed that much. The same with Food Stamps. The family with a garden got the same as the family without, but one needed it more than the other. While Public assistance required recipients to look for work, many jobs they could have got did not pay as much as they got on welfare so it was often better to go on welfare. They could still work and get partial benefits to make up the difference but the program punished recipients for working by holding their welfare checks until they got the pay stubs and refigured what they were eligible for so their checks would be late. I encouraged my clients to find work to enable them to move off welfare but the other Social Workers would get after me because it made more work for them when one of my clients moved into their area. I figured the extra work was worth it if the recipient was able to better themselves. While the recipients would look for work, it was easy to keep from getting a job by making a poor showing at job interviews. In addition, the husband had to leave the home before the family could get help. That caused a lot of broken marriages as husbands left the home so the rest of the family could get help. There was no limit on help and children would grow up and go on welfare, which was easier than working. The “Welfare Reform & Upward Mobility Act” restored the connection between work and assistance by establishing a 100 hour per month work requirement. There would be an exemption for single parents with children under age 6 but they would still have access to all vocational opportunities. It provides money to assist with vocational programs for those having trouble finding work. Married couples could split the work requirement enabling them to juggle family and work. In addition, it put a cap on benefits so people could not spend their whole life on assistance. However, they put in a loophole so they could shift a lot of people from welfare to disability once their benefits reached the limit. It did a lot to curb abuses but there is a long way to go. Many recipients are third generation welfare recipients and have never developed the work habits needed to get and keep a job. It will take a long time to retrain them to support themselves, but the benefits will far outweigh the cost of continuing to maintain them.
Politics-AB-AG
The proof is in the results. President Trump has pushed policies that have benefited average Americans and stimulated the economy in spite of continued harassment by leaders of the Democrats. The leaders of the Democrats continue to push expensive programs that will strangle the economy and sink us far deeper in debt. Republicans continue to push laws to protect babies born after botched abortions and protect the American people from illegal immigrants, terrorists, and drug dealers, but the Democratic leadership continues to oppose them. The Democratic leadership seems to be doing everything they can to break down the protections we have in our election system and open it up to fraud in spite of Republican efforts to prevent them. The Democratic leadership seems to be totally out of touch with the American people but they don’t seem to care, they are determined to get their way anyway. Unfortunately, the rest of the Democrats are forced to go along or lose their campaign funds and they are supported by some Republicans which has made it difficult for the remaining Republicans to accomplish much. We are fast approaching another election and it is time the American people voted out those who are trying to take over the government through deceit and replaced them with people who will respond to the will of the people. The primaries are coming up next Spring and is where you need to choose the best people because if you don’t choose wisely in the primaries, all you will be left with in the general election is choosing the lesser of two evils.
Politics-AB-AF
Democrats are accusing the Republicans of holding up the approval of the budget and risking a government shutdown, however they ignore the fact that they are also holding up the approval. Democrats have included massive new spending programs in the budget that will benefit different groups which they want to vote for them, but which will further increase the national debt and push us closer to government collapse. It will also require increased taxes which will take money out of American pockets and result in less money to spend, resulting in a downturn in the economy. They refuse to give in and reduce spending to help balance the budget, Republicans want to have a balanced budget that will help reduce the national debt and allow for tax decreases which will leave Americans with more money in their pocket to spend which will stimulate the economy. The worst part is they are telling all the special interest groups that will benefit from the giveaways that Democrats are proposing that they will lose all their special benefits if Republicans have their way. Democrats appeal to the greed of the voters to gain support for their programs with no thought to the fact that those benefits are not sustainable. They also openly talk of the people who will suffer from a shutdown with no mention of the people who will suffer from the inflation that results and the higher taxes instituted to support those lavish giveaway programs. That doesn’t even consider all the people who will suffer if the government collapses and America is thrown into another massive depression.
Politics-AB-AD
Democrats seem to think that if we trade with our enemies, they will like us. Both Presidents Obama and Biden have restricted American oil production and increased reliance on Arab oil. While they state it is due to environmental concerns, it also aids the Arabs by pouring millions of American dollars into the Arab economy. That money is not going to aid the Arab people. The Arab States remain fairly poor. That money is being funneled into the pockets of the leaders and into the terrorist organizations that have stated that they intend to wipe out Israel and the United States. In that way, we are supporting the terrorists in their campaign to destroy us. It also makes us vulnerable to blackmail as the Arab States threaten to cut off our oil supply if we don’t stop attacking the terrorists. As a result, America has vastly reduced its attacks on terrorists and in fact turns a blind eye to the genocide being carried out against Christians in Arab countries. While it means less attacks against the United States, 9-11 showed us that it only lasts as long as we keep supporting them. If we withdraw our support of their terrorist activities by switching to more American oil, they attack us again. It is a false security that doesn’t last. Like any blackmail, it only lasts as long as you give in to the blackmailer’s demands. In addition, they opened our doors and gave China favored trade status. As a result, China undercut American manufacturers and now we are dependent on China for many of our products. We saw that when Covid shut down imports. Many of our medici
Economics-Government-E-E
While Democrats continue to claim the rich have to pay a bigger share, they ignore the basic problem. The problem is their inability to get along with what they have. While federal law requires a balanced budget, they add additional spending after approving the budget so it doesn’t show up in the budget. They spend freely running up the national debt and then raise the debt limit to accommodate it. They claim they will not raise taxes but quietly add new taxes or tax increases into other bills. The increased taxes are mostly directed at businesses, so they will be invisible to the average taxpayer. They feel that since those taxpayers are voters, they need to be kept in the dark. They say the businesses are getting rich and can afford it but those taxes are then passed on to the consumer. In addition, increased taxes decreases profit and discourage expansion and results in businesses cutting back on their labor force and on production of less profitable goods, resulting in the taxes bringing in less than expected. They also need to cut taxes. History has shown that cutting taxes encourages business expansion and usually more than makes up for the tax rate cuts in added sales and additional employees hired.
Economics-Government-A-O
A sticking point that Democrats are talking about behind closed doors is to tax churches. Such a move would create a real rebellion because there are so many churches. As a result, no one is talking about it openly. Churches were exempt from taxation by the separation of church and State clause. The power to tax is the power to control and churches have always been tax exempt to prevent government control. However Democrats see it as a lucrative tax source because of the millions of dollars that flow through churches weekly. While open taxation is currently not an option, the IRS has been quietly extending its claws into churches by increasingly regulating how giving is done. Those rules are giving them more ways to control churches. They have been using their power to grant non-profit status to churches to threaten churches and religious organizations who speak out on social issues like abortion and Gay privileges. The IRS under President Obama held up applications for Christian organizations seeking to get non-profit status prior to the 2016 elections in order to threaten them into being silent on social issues. In some instances they have tried to silence churches by threatening to revoke their non-profit status. Sometimes, they tried to force pastors to submit copies of their sermons to show that they are not preaching against abortion and Gay privileges. That is illegal because churches are legally able to speak out on issues. In fact, the founding fathers felt that democracy could not survive if it was not directed by people seeking God’s guidance. How can people know God’s guidance on issues if the church can not teach them God’s principles. Churches do not lose their freedom of speech just because they are Christian. In fact, abortion and Gay privileges are religious matters and involve belief in the value of life and of marriage. To force them to support abortion or marry Gay couples would violate their religious beliefs and would be interfering with their religious practices in open violation of the Constitution. In some instances, they have tried to force churches and other religious organizations to turn over lists of their contributors in order to discourage people from giving to them out of fear that the IRS might audit them. Some cities are denying churches permits to build or expand in the city limits in order to force them out of the city. Since churches don’t pay taxes, they want to replace them with businesses that will bring in tax revenue.