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Archive for the ‘Economics’ Category

Economics-III-E-A

26 Mar

Reports indicate that an increasing  number of people are driving without insurance. Michigan is one of the leaders with over one out of every four drivers driving without insurance. There may be a number of reasons for that, however I think Michigan has no-fault insurance which may be a big contributor. No-fault insurance is designed to solve the problem of increasing insurance costs by eliminating costly battles over responsibility for accidents by having each insurance company cover losses for their customer. The problem is that many are driving cars that are not worth covering. If it is destroyed, it is no great loss so they normally get coverage to cover any damage they may do to others and leave their car uninsured to save money. With no-fault insurance, they aren’t responsible for damage done to others so they simply don’t get insurance.  That works as long as they stay in their home State. If someone from Michigan comes into Ohio and causes an accident, they have no insurance to cover the damages they cause.  In addition, if someone from Ohio goes to Michigan and gets hit by an uninsured driver, there is no insurance company to collect from. The person they hit cannot collect for damages without going to court and filing a civil suit against the driver at fault. If the driver at fault has no assets to seize, the injured driver has no way to collect compensation for damages. Some insurance companies allow you to take out insurance to cover you in case you are hit by an uninsured driver, but you must bear that cost yourself.  While no-fault insurance is designed to cut out large insurance settlements, which helps insurance companies avoid large payouts, it hurts the drivers who have to bear the cost when hit by someone who isn’t insured. It is one of those liberal solutions which puts a simple solution to a problem of increasing insurance costs, while ignoring the other problems it causes. It doesn’t solve the problem, it just shifts the cost to innocent people. It is time that such States either reinstate regular insurance or check to make sure drivers have insurance and enact large jail sentences for those caught driving without insurance to deter drivers from driving without insurance. Here in Ohio you have to declare that you have insurance before being allowed to get a driver’s license or license plates. While people can lie or drop their insurance once they get them, it prevents a lot of people from driving without insurance. If your State doesn’t require that, you should contact your legislators and demand they make it the law.

 

 

Politics-AB-AQ

18 Mar

Liberal politicians have been claiming that “shrinkflation” is the result of greedy corporations trying to cheat the consumer.  Shrinkflation is when a manufacturer reduces the amount of product without reducing the cost. Since the correct weight is listed, it is not illegal, but requires the consumer to check the weight when comparing prices. They claim we need to increase taxes for corporations to force them to pay their fair share. While that sounds logical, it ignores the facts.   Higher taxes and increased regulations imposed by liberal politicians have greatly increased the cost of manufacturing. In addition, inflation fueled by reckless spending by liberal politicians has also added to the cost of raw materials and labor. As a result, many corporations are facing massive increases in cost and have to make up the deficit somehow. They can only increase prices so much without driving away consumers. As a result, many have had to reduce the quantity to cut manufacturing costs. By increasing corporate taxes, politiciansare only adding to manufacturing costs and further forcing corporations to find ways to cut costs. However, liberal politicians refuse to accept responsibility for their actions and continue to use it to justify their reckless spending and increased taxes. We will not see any reduction in out of control inflation until they cut spending, reduce taxes, and unnecessary government regulations. Government officials who have no business experience have no business regulating businesses. Voters need to vote out the reckless politicians and vote in people who are experienced in business and can help businesses thrive. While some regulation is needed to prevent fraud and price gouging, the free market is very powerful in regulating businesses. Consumers vote with their dollars and businesses know they need to respond if they are going to stay in business. President Trump showed what a businessman can do in spite of all the hindrances he faced from liberal politicians who wanted to continue their reckless spending.

 

 

Economics-D-H

13 Mar

The liberal politicians are always talking about taxing the rich corporations more. They imply that the rich aren’t paying their fair share of the taxes. While that sounds reasonable, it ignores reality. A corporation takes money in and spends it on raw materials, wages, and returns to stock holders, in addition to taxes. If taxes increase, it must get the money from somewhere. The only source of funds that it has is the income from what it sells, so it must pay the increased taxes by raising the price of what it sells. As a result, the corporation doesn’t really pay the increased taxes, it passes the cost on to consumers. As a result, the increased taxes actually fall on consumers. The rich can afford to tighten their belt a little and  reduce the luxuries they purchase, however, the working class and poor cannot. Those increased costs must come from cutting back on necessities like food and utilities. If those increased costs are too much, they may threaten the person’s ability to obtain food, utilities, and shelter. We are seeing this in California where excessive taxes and government spending have resulted in run-a-way inflation, which has resulted in the largest homeless population of any State and a large number of residents are leaving California to find somewhere else to live where taxes and the cost of necessities is lower. If our federal government continues to follow California’s example, it will spread the burden over the entire country and there won’t be anywhere else in the United States to go.

 

 

Economics-D-G

13 Mar

Liberal politicians are again screaming about how they need to increase taxes to pay for all the spending they tell you is necessary. Unfortunately few people today understand economics and accept what they say. It is easy to think that raising taxes will help reduce the debt but it is not simply a matter of receiving money and passing it out. Raising or lowering taxes has a great effect on the economy. Liberal politicians are spending money to buy votes with liberal give-a-ways to various groups. They give money to Blacks to get their vote, to Senior Citizens to get their vote, to labor unions to get their votes and contributions, to Planned Parenthood to get their contributions. They are always giving money to someone to further their political ambitions. People like free things but fail to realize that nothing is free and someone has to pay for it. Many of the things they give away, the people could get far cheaper purchasing them on their own if they didn’t have to pay so much in taxes. Everything the government buys is at an inflated price. In addition, that money has to be handled through government channels and government workers are paid for handling it. In the end, only about one dollar out of every four dollars that goes to the government ends up being returned to the people. People could buy four times as much if they had only one fourth of the taxes. In addition, while they say the taxes are needed to cover the cost of operating the government, they always increase spending when they get more taxes, rather than use it to pay off the present bills. As a result, we are going more and more in debt with each tax increase. In addition, the increased tax burden depresses the economy because people have less to spend. As a result, businesses lose sales and have to lay off workers.  As a result,  businesses pay less taxes and fewer people are paying taxes so raising taxes actually results in less taxes being received. On the other hand, if expenses are cut, it would leave more money for people to spend and it would increase business sales. As a result, the businesses would be paying more taxes and it would enable them to hire more people who will be paying taxes. As a result, the taxes received would increase, so they would get more taxes by lowering the tax rate. However, it also requires them to tighten their belt and reduce the reckless spending. They have continued to drag Donald Trump through the courts looking for irregularities in how he spends his money yet President Trump did not accept a salary while he was President, he donated it all to charity. Neither President Obama or President Biden have done that. While they continue to hound Donald Trump about how he spends HIS money, it is only to distract the people from the real problem, which is how they are spending OUR money.

 

 

 

 

Priorities-H

21 Feb

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.

 

Gas Prices-J

21 Feb

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

12 Oct

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

12 Oct

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

12 Oct

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

27 Sep

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.