Economics 101 Review for Washington D.C......

.....or more aptly titled: "Economics for Dummies".

Uhhh.....boys and girls......you all seem to have forgotten that in order to create wealth you need to manufacture goods, grow crops and livestock, and use natural resources to create raw materials for production.

No wealth is truly ever created in a service economy. Wealth is just shifted from one place to another.....and that has led us down the path to where we are now.

Who are the growing wealthy nations of the world? China, India, Russia, the collected countries of the middle east, and other nations who have the willingness to use natural resources to create goods for sale. Walk into any local retail business and look at the labels to see where their various products are made.....The vast majority are made outside of the U.S.

We've shipped vast numbers of manufacturing jobs overseas because we didn't have the stomach to support our manufacturers at home because their products cost a little more.....Never mind that when you buy a cheap Chinese stapler it will need to be replaced after a few years where if your parents had bought a good old American "Swingline" (when they still made them here) you could probably be using that same stapler today.....I know this because mine is an antique but still works better than any of the staplers we have at work.....

We cry because our standard of living is reduced, but we only have ourselves to blame because of our willingness to allow our government to be perverted by electing people who have no interest in doing the "people's business", just an interest in what they can do to have more power and influence and personal wealth.

This latest economic meltdown is a perfect example. Anyone with half a brain could solve the economic problems in about an hour. Yes it would take a year or two before the economy recovered and we started to become the economic powerhouse we were in the post WWII era, but it is easily accomplished.

The trade imbalance with China could be solved with a simple phone call and a responsive congress.....

"Hello China? America calling.....here's the deal, untie the Yuan from the Dollar today and allow it to float on it's own in the global currency markets, or tomorrow there will be a 100% tariff on all Chinese goods coming into the U.S."

Tell Iraq they have 90 days to figure it out.....period.....then we're leaving......half the troops to Afghanistan, the other half (with their armor) on the U.S. Mexican border......which of course leads to another phone call......

"Hello Mexico? America here.....Clean up your act, stop the drug trafficking and start policing your side of the border, and by the way, you have 20,000,000 citizens coming home. NAFTA wasn't about immigration it was about trade. The troops on our common border are there to protect our territorial integrity. Our soldiers have been instructed to shoot on sight anyone not coming across at a legal border crossing.....By the way we will be opening up special lanes for Mexican trucks coming into the U.S. they will be fully searched and their cargos reloaded onto American transportation to their final destinations. We will be adding 5,000 new employees at INS to facilitate faster VISA processing for those who wish to live and work in this country legally, and PAY taxes. We will get those folks from the IRS which has a number of people qualified to scrutinize dubious paperwork."

Simplify the Tax code.....On individuals.....$0 to$20,000 Tax Rate 5%, $20001 to $50,000 10%, $50001 to $100,000 15% $100,000 to $150,000 20% $150,000 and above 25%. Standard deduction $5,000 per dependent, no itemized deductions PERIOD......On Business.....NO MORE BULLSHIT ACCOUNTING. 25% tax on net profit period, no carry over of net loss to the following tax year. Capital gains treated as income for tax purposes, Capital loss treated the same, a simple line on the tax form and submission of required verification documents either way. With simple accounting rules this is a no-brainer.

Eliminate the Estate tax......The government has already taxed every dime of this once. They don't deserve a second piece of pie for doing nothing.

Get rid of all the stupid little hidden taxes.....There are 19 tax lines on my phone bill, that's ridiculous to the point of almost being comical.

Social Security, medicare, medicaid and all the other little doo-dads that fall under FICA.....7.5% on employers on the first $150,000 of wages, 7.5% on employees no limit. Max Benefit payout tied to inflation and qualifying quarters worked but absolutely NOT tied to total contributions. This would create the safety net that social security is about without creating a socialist economy by stealing the incentive to achieve. Quality of life during retirement would be predicated on the working person saving money and looking to the future, but knowing that they still would be able to survive even if they didn't plan particularly well......

Separate Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid from Income Taxes permanently and operate those budgets independently from each other.

THAT'S THE REVENUE SIDE......

Now I know there are LOT'S of you saying it's nuts.....the government can't run on that kind of money.....Well guess what......IT'S NOT THEIR MONEY......IT'S OURS. So the government should be required by Constitutional Amendment to work with the revenue they are provided.

90% of the income tax revenue can be used for operations and interest on the national debt. 10% of that same revenue should be used for debt retirement until we are again at a zero balance. At that time we should begin to build a NATIONAL CAPITAL RESERVE FUND. This money could be drawn upon to help with natural disasters, and for research and development into things beneficial to us as citizens (with full transparency) and legitimate foreign aid.

Speaking of foreign aid.....Until further notice all foreign aid that cannot be obviously seen by "joe Six-pack" as necessary to our national security should be suspended until we have our own house in order and have some cash in reserve.

On trade:

I'm all for free trade on a level playing field, but when other nations take advantage of our system to make that field a "slope" we need to protect our national interests, hence my stance with China and Mexico. The key to global economic growth is a balance in trade. This cannot occur if the competitive environment is artificially manipulated to give one nation an advantage over another.

We also have to rethink our policy in regard to how we handle events in the third world. Trusting thugs to distribute humanitarian aid is akin to trusting an unrepentent pedophile to babysit. The outcome will never be what you hope for.

Let the U.N. Blue Hats earn their money......If humanitarian aid is needed somewhere, let them go to that region in sufficient force to do the entire job, not just protect the cargo at the airport.....If the thug "leader" of the area doesn't agree to those terms.....Make them more famous than they ever wanted to be. I guarantee that many of them will learn very quickly that they should do what's right. Those who don't won't live long enough to be a concern.

The key to stopping unnecessary violence is to show people that there is a better way and empower people to make wise choices.....and let them live within their own cultures.....The carrot and the stick philosophy will work best if a nation's own citizens are the one's carrying the sticks and they hold their governments accountable for the carrots.

Our biggest problem here at home is that even though we still carry the sticks, our elected leaders are no longer afraid of them.....and they think a tax cut, or rebate check (which was our money to begin with) is a sufficient "carrot" to pacify the populace.

IN A PERFECT ELECTION WE WOULD VOTE OUT EVERY INCUMBENT REGARDLESS OF PARTY TO SEND A MESSAGE THAT WE ARE TAKING OUR COUNTRY BACK......

McCain isn't the solution, but to me Obama would be giving up everything that our Founding Fathers and all subsequent members of the military fought and died to protect.....

Given the imperfect nature of our elections......McCain/Palin '08......Our nation can survive that for 4 years, then in 2012 we need to get serious about starting fresh. If for no other reason than to extend this beautiful idea of freedom for a few more generations.

Good Day!