Politics-AB-AQ
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.
Politics-AB-AP
The administration attempted to stack the political arena in their favor during the 2020 Census. I served as a crew leader over those in our area that were taking the Census. After the Census, some of us were held over to oversee a check of random houses to ensure that workers had accurately checked the information and did not miss anyone. In 2021, when President Biden took office, he suspended those of us who were working and stated that we would have to reapply. We were notified that our criminal background checks were still in effect, but they would do an extra background check. No details were given but when businesses do a second background check, they check the applicant’s social media. Apparently they didn’t think I would be suitable because my application mysteriously disappeared and wasn’t found before they finished filling all the positions. Whether they checked to see if I was politically correct or checked my voting record to see if I was a registered Democrat makes no difference, both are violations of civil service law which requires hiring on merit, and forbids hiring based on political affiliation. One has to wonder if they deliberately “lost” my application because they could not legally reject it. I served as crew leader in 1990, 2000, and 2020 and had an excellent record. During that time, I was not only asked to train workers for other crew leaders but also to train other crew leaders who were having problems. Those of us working were already trained and many also had experience in Census work prior to the 2020 census. Since most of the available experienced workers were already working, the new hires were mostly inexperienced and had to be trained. The problem is not just the expense of training new workers but the problems encountered as new workers gain experience in the field. Their motive was apparently to get workers who were willing to agree to their terms. President Trump had instructed us to only count legal residents since it determined our representatives in the House and for the electoral college which are allotted according to population and illegal residents can’t vote. The review suddenly found millions of people missed, most of them were not legal residents and cannot legally vote. Apparently those newly hired were instructed to seek out illegal residents that were previously not counted. The added count resulted in a shift of twenty two representatives, mostly from conservative States that don’t support illegal residents to liberal States that do support illegal residents. That gave liberals more seats in the House which resulted in a major shift in power. Money is also allocated to the States based on population so it would result in a higher portion of the money going to States harboring illegal immigrants, even though the illegal immigrants were not paying taxes and contributing to the money distributed. Liberals know that their policies are not popular with the majority of the American people and have tried to do all they can to retain their power. While liberal politicians claim that the Census never intended to exclude illegal residents, they were not included until around 1960 when they were added. Special interest groups pushed to get them included just as Southern States pushed to include slaves in the count even though slaves were not allowed to vote. They wanted the extra political power without having to worry about being outvoted.
Fifth Sunday of Lent-Mar 17
Matt. 5:27-30 Thou shall not commit adultery-God commanded the children of Israel not to commit adultery because it destroys the marriage relationship by dividing the affection of the one committing adultery and destroys the trust of the other marriage partner. However, Jesus said You have heard it said, “You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” It is not the act of adultery that destroys the marriage relationship but the lust that precedes the act itself. When someone lusts after another, they have already set in motion the thoughts that lead to the act and even if they never commit the act itself, they have already violated their marriage vows to love only their spouse by fostering love for someone outside the marriage in their heart. See “The Value of Family and Gender” in Udemy at https://www.udemy.com/course/value-of-family-and-gender/?referralCode=B59AC09CACA5C0C97BDD
Economics-D-H
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
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.
Fourth Sunday of Lent-Mar 10
(Matt 5:21-26) Jesus said, “You have heard it said…., you shall not kill….., but I say to you, everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment.” It is not killing that creates division, it is the anger that precedes the killing that creates the division and God hates anything that creates divisions among His people. Therefore, Christ says that we should not be angry with our brethren. While few church people are guilty of murder, there are many who are angry with each other and won’t speak to each other. You can not regulate hate because it can be hidden and not easily observed, so the law must forbid killing. However love goes beyond the Law. He who loves his brother will not hate him and so will not desire to kill him so the law forbidding murder will never be applied to them, however the law must still exist to control those who do not love each other and are liable to kill someone in order to prevent them from doing so or to punish them if they do. Love is only learned as God changes our heart. See “The Value of Life” on Udemy at https://www.udemy.com/course/christian-values-life/?referralCode=5EA3B1D6ED6DAB183AD0