2 Cents Worth On Life Its Ownself

Let’s rummage through some of those leftover thoughts from the last week and see if there is anything worth the advertised price.

Sometime around election day this year the total national current debt will be about 16.2 trillion dollars.  That isn’t the total debt because it doesn’t include the unfunded liabilities for Social Security and Medicare for example.  Those push the debt higher by tens of trillions of dollars.   And we sit here and worry about Greece!  How are we going to pay our debts if we don’t rein in spending.  There simply isn’t enough money from the so-called rich to pay for our bills.   Don’t believe Bernie Sanders, the self-avowed socialist from Vermont when he says Social Security is sound for the next 20 years because it has lots of assets on its balance sheet.  Those assets are nothing but IOU’s from the Treasury.  We have already reached the downhill side of the mountain and are paying out more than we collect for Social Security each year and the deficit is growing.   Ok, politicos, start talking about this problem. 

Oh, the “entitlement” programs aren’t permanent despite the common belief.   First of all they are only good until the next Congress is in session.  Any Congress could simply repeal the whole thing.  Besides what good does it do you to have an entitlement if you are paid in Monopoly money?

Despite all the hysteria over the BP oil spill in the Gulf it appears that everything is fine.  That is not my opinion but that of NOAA.  The story was on the back pages of the papers but essentially they said that the oil was all gone.  It evaporated or was eaten by microbes in the Gulf for the most part.  That finding shouldn’t really surprise any thinking person.  The amount of oil leaked would be enormous if it all spilled out in your back yard but the Gulf and oceans generally are huge, huge places and the amount of volume was de minimus compared to the oceans of Mother Earth.  Other than those tar balls on the beaches which were cleaned up with over kill there isn’t any long-term effect.  When it comes to issues of Man versus Mother Earth it seems that hubris always comes to the fore and we think we have more influence than we do in reality. 

The recent Solar flare eruption caused only minimal disruption to our daily affairs unless your transpolar flight was cancelled.  Some day Old Sol will really belch and send a big wave of electromagnetic ions and such our way.  Everything will be cancelled and all our electronic gear will need to be shut down.  Supposedly the GPS satellites have some protection from those radiation waves.  Sure hope so but I would suggest you keep handy that old-fashioned magnetic compass.  History records that in the past these solar flares have caused the Northern Lights to be seen as for south as the Old South but hasn’t happened in the modern era with our dependence on electronic devices to manage our lives and our economy.  We’ll survive but it will be something to tell your grandkids about when next it occurs.

Iran in 1979 took Americans hostage and kept them for over a year until Ronald Reagan was sworn in.  Now its 2012 and the new Egyptian government, whatever that is, has held up some Americans from leaving the country.  They aren’t called hostages yet but the action is eerie.  There were those last year talking about how wonderful everything would be once Mubarak was gone.  Well, he is and things aren’t.  The one constant is that it is another Muslim nation being dominated by the Islamists.  The Muslim Brotherhood will soon be in complete charge of affairs there and we best deal with them for what they are, not what we would like them to be.

Of all the almost 200 nations on earth how many have a net worth equal to that of Apple?  Maybe the way to solve the Greek debt problem is to have Apple simply buy Greece.

Speaking of that national debt, you might what to do the math and you’ll find that every single, man, woman and even child owes over $52,000.00 for that debt.  How are you going to pay off your share and that of your family?

A government can unite the evils of liberty (mob rule) and servitude (submission to an all-powerful central state) by having the people oppressed with a multiplicity of laws and the arbitrary actions of their master.  Not an original thought with me but from Gibbon writing about the Romans of yore.  Still valuable food for thought.

The ancient Romans allowed interest to be earned on money at risk.  Their rates were 4% for regular loans, 6% for real estate, 8% for trade or commercial transactions and the highest was for marine insurance which went for 12%.  Yes, folks, the idea of insurance has been around for a long time.  Contrary to current political debate it is not something we invented in the last century.  Just as it was in our Colonial times, there was vast amounts of money to be made in the safe passage of ships with valuable cargo and a great deal to be lost if it was sunk by storm and taken by pirates.

For those believing that almost every scientist in the world buys into the Al Gore version of global warming you should review the letter in the WSJ on Jan. 27.  It is signed by 16 very distinguished and legitimate scientists, academics and Nobel winners from all corners of the world.   Maybe someone is finally willing to say the Emperor’s has no clothes.

Don’t understand the original thinking behind the dual mandate for the Fed–stable money and unemployment.   The money part is hard enough to understand and implement and the Fed’s success in doing that is quite mixed to say the least over the decades.  But unemployment?  Exactly how is monetary policy supposed to create jobs?  I am not the only one who doesn’t understand this.  Employers hire for many reasons but most have nothing to do with the monetary policy of the Fed.  Unless the Fed is going to extend its reach into the market and outright buy and own some industries how can it influence employment?  That is a scary thought especially since BO and his gang have already done that with GM, Chrysler, GMAC, AIG and of course Fannie and Freddie and then there are the misfires in Solyndra and that ilk.  Let the Fed just give us stable and sound dollars and low inflation and leave the market place alone; it can take care of itself if not hog-tied by regulations and money manipulation.

“No two human beings have made, or ever will make the same journey in life”  A. Keith, Scottish anthropologist.  Hmmm, but some liberals seem determined to attempt to make sure we all take the same journey and reach the same destination because they know what is best for us.  www.olcranky.wordpress.com

Government And The Zero Sum Game

We all endured another of those showy state of the union addresses.  I really don’t like what they have become and have said so before.  Regardless of party or President we should revert to the former ways and have a simple written report to Congress by the Executive.  If they really want a meeting it should be a business meeting.  Bring in the books and records.  Go over those boring but vital details about the costs and functioning of government.  The political speeches have been the norm now for generations and they are pointless and detract from the serious business at hand of governing.  As to be expected from the current incumbent it was a laundry list of new proposals.   I lost count of how many new agencies, commissions and the like were put forth.  Every time there is a new government entity with the powers to enforce new laws we diminish our own freedoms.  The balance between the individual and government is and has always been a zero sum game.

Other than the extreme tree huggers, occupiers and PETA types most of us believe in some amount of government.  That has been true since the earliest days of man.  As soon as we formed cities and some could do other jobs than work the fields for crops, we needed some kind of government to protest ourselves.  That was the first and remains the foremost responsibility of any government–to protect its people from enemies.  The ancient Kings had a bargain with the people even though never overtly expressed.  Me and my army will protect you and in exchange you will pay taxes to support me and my army and ministers.  From those ancient states to those states of today, this has been the bedrock of government whether by King, dictator or elected leader.  Additional layers of government were added to assure prosperity.  Fair and predictable laws for trade  as well as enforcement of standard weights and measures for commerce.   Property rights and family law were established quickly by the ancients and the Romans codified and modified those laws many times over the years.   The criminal laws grew from the mutual fear of random violence and thievery.  The Old Testament is filled with many examples of the growth of government and the laws regulating society.

Each incremental growth of government took away some freedom or right from the individual.   We collectively agreed to cede some of our independence for the protections afforded by a government that protected some people and offered some perceived essential service or infrastructure.  The Roman army built the roads but all of the Romans were benefitted by being able to move the produce to market.   The people had to pay taxes for those roads.  Since the Garden of Eden, nothing has come free.  But they people gave up control over some of their money.  If the government grows the people are diminished in matching increments.  When the benefits are no longer perceived to be worth the loss of rights and property then the government faces revolt by its people.   The collapse of the Soviets is a perfect example of this and the Arab Spring is another from recent headlines.  There is a limit to what the people will allow to be taken from them.  It is not universal around the world.  The mores of each society differ but that there is a limit is without argument.  The “King” must have at least a substantial minority to keep control of the government and the people.   He has his army, bureaucrats dependent on him  and the police and then those that live upon his largesse taken from others in the Kingdom.  But when the tipping point is reached and that magic number (whatever it is) is reached and the people no longer will cede their rights and property to government his reign will fall.

Our government and Constitution is founded on the very notion of limiting how much of our freedoms and property will be ceded to government.  That is what the contract is as set out in the Constitution between governed and government.  Our Founders understood clearly the zero sum game and that is why the Constitution is so restrictive of Federal powers.  Only specific enumerated powers were granted to government and the 9th and 10th Amendments were vital to the passage of the Constitution.  Remember that every law written takes a right of restricts and activity, every regulation bans action or demands others every cent taken in taxes denies a person the free use and exploitation of their own money.  The trick is to find the right balance between the government and governed so that the benefits of government are worth the candle and not consuming us in the flames of regulatory hell.  No rational person would advocate anarchy but any man who values his freedom and takes pride in his own unique worth will wish the government to remain at bay and be very circumspect in its request to take more rights or property from him.  Too many take today but too few pay the price of government.  The zero sum game is tilted and tilting farther in favor of government.  When tilted enough everything will fall off the table.

“More” was the word of Oliver Twist  Samuel Gompers the Union boss and now our own government.   Are we willing to give more now?  There is only a finite amount of resources in the US and the government wants more and they can only get it by denying them to us.   www.olcranky.wordpress.com

Ron Paul And Iran

I have watched several of the Republican debates in the last couple of months and have listened to Ron Paul talk about how it is understandable that Iran would hate us because we went in there and overthrew their democratically elected government in 1954.   That overstates the actual facts but we did in fact work covertly to install another government in 1954.  The effort had begun in 1953.  Unfortunately his statement without any background completely mis-characterizes the actions of the US at that time and the necessity or lack thereof  for that action.  It is always a mistake to have people take matters out of a context and use them to create a false impression of history.  As any experienced journalist knows all too well you can write a story that true facts in it but still give the slanted impression you want with the use of language and the omission of other facts equally true.

In 1953 we were at the height of the Cold War and indeed it was a war.  It continued on for another three plus decades.  Stalin didn’t die until 1953 and the usual mystery surrounding the power brokers in the Kremlin prevailed.   The Soviets had just developed their H-Bomb at that time.  The Iron Curtain was firmly in place across all of Eastern Europe.   The Rosenbergs had just given away our secret regarding the bombs to the Commies.  Alger Hiss had been exposed for what he was as a secret agent for the Soviets.   Even that dolt and drunk McCarthy had his run at exposing the Commies in our government.  Just because he was a boor, brute and crude didn’t make him wrong about his basic allegations.  There were in fact Commies in the State Department and other governmental agencies just not as many as he alleged.  But the ones there were bad enough. 

Poland, Hungary, Austria and Berlin and other areas of Eastern Europe were under the oppressive thumb of the Kremlin and the trials and the Gulag were in full flower.  The Commies never hesitated to achieve their goals at the blunt end of a gun.  Oh, don’t forget that little exercise in Korea.  It had just ended.  The Soviets had helped along with their then brothers in cause, the Chicoms.   Soviets advisors were all over Korea along with their MIG aircraft to shoot down our planes.

The Commies were on the march everywhere throughout the world during this period and stated their overt intention to dominate the world with their policies and their actual rule.  All our Presidents and leaders for decades believed it was the right and proper course to oppose this Communist assault.  Truman in Greece and the Truman Doctrine.  Eisenhower with our European troops in place, Kennedy at Cuba and Viet Nam, Johnson in Viet Nam and all of Asia are only some of the examples.

In the early ’50′s Iran was still primitive.  The notion of them having a “democratic” election during that era is laughable.  The Communists were pushing hard in that area just as they were in Tibet and India for greater control, influence and outright dominion.  Remember every country that had a communist party in place did in fact follow exactly the dictates from Moscow or Beijing as the case may be.  Iran was ripe for the picking at this time for Moscow and they were pushing for it.

I have heard Paul people say we went there with our covert operations to gain oil.  Again their historical facts are phony.   In the early 1950′s the US was still energy independent.  We didn’t need their damn oil.  We were just beginning our Gulf Coast offshore development and had onshore supplies plus Mexico and Venezuela.   Iran didn’t have that much in proven reserves at that time in any event.  We could have bought oil cheap if we wanted it or needed it from that area from Saudi Arabia.  We didn’t take our covert action in Iran to get oil but to counter a move by a real enemy–the Communists. 

Lastly, it way overstates the case to say our covert actions in fact caused the change in government.  People always think that covert action of a political nature is more effective at the moment than it really is.  Heck, if covert action only would work to change governments we wouldn’t have had to endure the Communists in Russia for so many decades.  Lord, knows we tried hard enough to change that regime covertly and otherwise.  When all is said and done the people of Iran wanted that change or it wouldn’t have happened.  All they had to do was stand up and say no and it would not have occurred.   Those in the intelligence community have debated how effective our effort was there after the event.  Many believe it was not very influential other than to put a guy forward for the Iranians to accept or reject.  They accepted him.

This isn’t a commentary about Paul’s candidacy as such but only about his allegations.  He paints a picture that the US just woke up one fine morning and decided to go over throw another government and did so for oil.   That picture is completely wrong.  All are invited to do your own research on this topic you don’t have to accept my word for anything. 

“We will bury you.” Nikita Khrushev.  www.olcranky.wordpress.com

2 Cents Worth On Life Its Ownself

It’s a cool winter day but the wires are filled with hot news items worthy of a thought or two.

So the Italian captain tripped and fell into the lifeboat by accident.  That was some lucky fall for him.   Then when asked to return to the boat to aid in the ongoing rescue attempts he found one excuse after the other as to why he couldn’t quite manage that.  He even commented once with the coast guard commander that it was dark  and the ship was listing badly–hello!  The Commander was in a helicopter above him.  All one can say is that he showed the same resolve as the Italian army in North Africa during WWII fighting the British.  I mean did Mussolini realize they were shooting real bullets at them.   If you can’t do the job, don’t take the job.

It is interesting that they are having serious discussions about how to adjust our time calculations.  Maybe you saw one of those back page articles about the tinkering with the leap seconds in the near future.  Our time these days is calculated by atomic clocks.   We started doing this several decades ago as it proved my accurate than the revolutions around the Sun by the Earth.  Just as we have the leap years to adjust for that extra one-quarter of a day every four years for the journey around our Sun, even the modern clocks needs adjustment on occasion.  They add a second every now and again but they have two standards for measurement at the moment and are meeting to reconcile the methods.  Paris and London vied for the central median which is critical in determining a uniform time for a very long time and London finally won out with Greenwich Mean Time and as the location for 0 degree longitude.  You need a reference point to set the clocks and that became and still is the location the whole world uses.

Speaking of measurements–I only recently learned that they have changed again the method for determining standard distances.  Making correct measurements have been critical since recorded time.  The Bible is filled with references to rods and cubits  for all manner of buildings and distances.  Likewise other ancient writings refer to measurements.  These were important for regulating honest transactions in trade.  You might remember the old myth about the yard being the distance between the King’s nose and his fingertips.  We got quite a bit more precise over the years and used special rods made from precious metals as the standard for yards and meters here in the US and around the world.  Now they measure a meter with the speed of light.  A meter now is determined by how far light travels within a zillion, or whatever it is, seconds.  I have no idea how that make that measurement but I suppose it is even more precise.  It was felt this was more accurate because any solid object will deteriorate over time by natural decay and thus change but light is a universal constant that will not vary.

Just think how you could control the effect of the news on the general population even if you didn’t get to write the basic news story or news script.  If you only got to control the story that would be published or broadcast, the headline and the choice of using or not using adverbs and adjectives.  I mean think about those headlines alone which is all that many folks even read or hear.  Then those adjectives–they always carry an impact on the hard news.  I mean when it is described as an environmentally sensitive” area it sends a message.   Who determined it was sensitive?  What is sensitive about it?  Sensitive to whom?   Then there are phrases like those “special” provision or break” in the tax code.   What makes it special?  The Code is the Code.  All the provisions are equal.   Everyone has to comply with all the provisions whatever they are.  I doubt you will read anywhere in the Code a paragraph that starts off “Special Provision”.  It is special only as viewed through the eyes of some particular group.  Don’t mind any discussion of the Code at all, would love that in fact.  Why is it a special provision for capital gains to be taxed at 15% but not a special provision for someone to get a personal exemption of $3500.00?   I mean that exemption level seems pretty special to me.  Just drop the rhetoric and say plainly what is own your mind is all I ask of the news media and separate commentary for alleged news reporting.  Express any opinion you want but don’t conflate news with opinion.

The allegation by BO this week that Romney’s 15% effective tax rate is lower than a teacher (always a teacher, fireman or policeman) who makes $50,000.00 is a flat-out lie and BO knows that.  I don’t mind arguments about disagreements on policy but I hate lies and bumper sticker populist rhetoric to win votes.  A teacher making $50,000.00 a year would first off be a newbie almost everywhere.  The average would be much higher than that in most states and certainly in California or New York.  But we’ll play along with that number.  First, that teacher pays no tax on first $16,000.00 so now we are down to about $34,000.00.  Next she gets a personal exemption of at least $3500.00 and now down to call it $31,000.00.  Then she would get at least the standard deduction or at least $5500.00 so we are now down to call it $26,000.00.  Her tax would be no more than about $3000.00.  This is using numbers a couple of years out  of date and the exemption and deduction levels are higher now and the actual tax would be less than that in reality.  So we are talking a tax rate of around 12% at most.  If she was a single mom she wouldn’t owe hardly anything because of the earned tax credit.  We can debate tax policy and rates all we want and that is fair game but politicos shouldn’t be allowed to lie about the facts.

“A world of facts lies outside and beyond the world of words. “  Thomas Huxley, British biologist.  www.olcranky.wordpress.lcom

Sinking Ship/Ship Of State

The tragic loss Costa cruise liner is news in its own right and perhaps a metaphor for the future of the Eurozone and maybe the vitality of the European Union itself.   The circumstances of the wreck are still emerging but some facts are clear already and remind us of the historical hazards of travel on the high seas since man first ventured there.

When we glance at a wall map of the world or a globe we see all the major continents, oceans and seas but there are so ramped up  in scale that we don’t see the details.  The coastlines of many areas around the world are honeycombed with countless reefs, shoals, islets that can and have posed a danger to the seafaring.  Some of the earliest examples of writing about this come from Paul in the New Testament when he writes of the shipwreck they endured on his trip to Rome.   The biggest problem is at night when visibility is so reduced you can’t distinguished those dangers until you are upon them.   From the earliest days with sailing ships and even oared triremes to the most modern GPS systems, ships have struck these dangers and gone down without warning in short order.  Most of those wrecks we don’t know about and never will; they are already lost to time and tide and the natural decay sequence of nature.

Some areas of the Med are really bad if you study a detailed map as are certain areas off the west coast of Africa; the danger lurks in the Carribbean and in the East Indies.   Why do you think it was one of the world’s greatest prizes to find a reliable clock for ships so they could better calculate longitude and thus have a clue when they were nearing a coastline and slow down for daylight and stand easy during the night hours?   The British offered that enormous award of 25 thousand pounds during the 18th century for this knowledge.  Yet even today with all our advances it is still dependent upon a captain to have a good sense of spatial relationship with his ships and the other objects in the water near him, both land and other ships.   They have to be able to “see” in their mind’s eye instantly where he is and where the other object is and how they are moving relative to each other.    The good seamen have always had this ability in all ages of seafaring.  It is the captain’s duty to see his crew is trained to give him the needed information accurately and timely so he can chart to proper course to avoid danger.   For millenia captains have also used “pilots” for close in manoeuvring to any coast.  We haven’t heard yet if there was a pilot on board the ship when this accident occurred. The pilot is supposed to know the coast and terrain of that particular ares thoroughly, that is why he is used but the captain can never abandon his responsibility for the ship’s moves.

When a captain is told another ship is 4 miles away from his ship he needs to know what the relationship is.  That means if his prow is assumed to be the 0/360 degree reading, he needs to be told that the other ships is 90 degrees “relative”, that is relative to his direction, not the magnetic reading.  That is why the lookout will give the reading as “relative”.  If the captain need’s to know the true course for both ships relative to magnetic north, then the reading will be given to him as “true”.  Speed of both his ship and the other object is also important so he can determine how fast they are closing on each other or separating as the case may be.

Whatever happened in the wheelhouse of that Costa ship, it is very clear the captain didn’t know where he was relative to the reef and rocks he struck.  Unless he was suicidal he wouldn’t ram his ship into such danger.  The details will emerge in time but he was given bad data or he made a bad mistake or heck maybe even both  facts good be true.  With radar, sonar and the GPS systems in place these days it really hard to see how he got so lost in time and space.   It does make you appreciate the skill of the old navigators with at best a magnetic reading.  Likewise Columbus going into an unknown world and when he realized he was nearing land having the skill to make sure he didn’t crash into a shore during the night. 

The reports early on are that the captain left the ship before the majority of the passengers were evacuated.   If true that is the worst thing he could have done.  He doesn’t have to “go down with the ship” but it is his job, duty and mandate to see to the safety of his passengers before his own safety.  I hope those reports are not true but if so then he should be charged with dereliction of duty and perhaps manslaughter leaving them unassisted.

One hopes the sinking ship isn’t a metaphor for the European bailout(s) that are being formulated over the past year.  The EFSF has already been downgraded by the rating agencies before it has even been fully funded or made advances.  That is if you like bailouts.  Maybe the Europeans might decide that bailouts are worth the cost.  We’ll see.

The sea is cruel and requires rigid rules and firm expectations for the good of all onboard.  Thus the simple message of Nelson at Trafalgar to the fleet.  “Nelson confides that every man will do his duty”.   www.olcranky.wordpress.com

2 Cents Worth On Life Its Ownself

Rummaging around the corners of the mental attic we came across a few thoughts that only needed to be dusted off.  Maybe you’ll find  them worthy of a moment’s reflection or at least amusement.

It seems the European leaders are very good at having meetings and making announcements about plans to stabilize their Euro.  But have you noticed that the follow-up is pretty weak.  It seems so many of the deals never get actually implemented.  I mean there was a “deal” for the Greek debt about three months ago but no real money has changed hands and the Greeks haven’t yet satisfied the new loan terms.  Same is true with the alleged fund to back up the European banks and nations from almost a year ago.  The money hasn’t hit the table yet.  They seem to be good at having press conferences but not good at the follow-up execution of their plans.  I suppose Nero is their example.  After all Rome was eventually re-built.

Speaking of Greece, it is interesting that it is the private lenders, bondholders, of Greece that are having to take the 50% haircut. The various European governments and their central banks aren’t taking any loss on their bonds.  Makes one wonder exactly who in the future will be willing to loan to the Greeks.  It will probably be the European governments by hitting their taxpayers.  At least as long as those taxpayers believe the cost is worth it to keep the peripheral countries in the Eurozone.  The French and Germans may well decide it isn’t worth it.  Hmm, wonder is some day most of US citizens will feel the same way about California, Illinois and New York.  Why is it again we need to send a disproportionate amount of our tax money to those States while they never rein in their budgets?

I haven’t heard Tim Tebow ever say he believed the Lord gave him or his team a victory contrary to many news reports.   All I ever heard him say was that he thanked the Lord for a victory–quite a difference.

If you ever doubt the importance of the rule of law and the importance of which law applies then take a look at the Greek loan negotiations.  One of the requirements of the European banks and IMF is that English law applies to the new loans, not Greek.  Consistency and fairness regarding dealings among citizens in their private affairs and between citizens and their government are very important and our Anglo-Saxon common law is the best yet.  Far better than the many alternatives over the years tried by others. It is recognized even by those hostile to any vestige of English culture or heritage.

With the ongoing debates about the total US debt and the US tax code, we still like the idea promoted here before of making the Feds give a complete line item of the expense categories of the Federal budget on the back of your tax return.  Then you could check which programs you were willing to support and pay for.  The list would have military, HUD, welfare, EPA, etc.  Those that are real greenies could devote all their taxes to the EPA and those that don’t like it wouldn’t give it a dime for example.   Same with the military and all areas of government expenditures.  Its our money after all and I can’t think of a good reason why we shouldn’t have more input into how it is spent.  

During the political season (of course these day’s when does that season ever stop) it would be good if the politicos and the pundits would recall some sound advice from long ago.  When the government and its laws become too large and cumbersome then the politicians running that government are much more inclined to submit to the seduction of interest or resentment.  It seems BO in particular is into the resentment game and the interest game.  Why is it good for the body politic to have one large segment of the population resenting another large segment?  It would seem that is the perfect formula for extreme discord and eventually dis-union.  After all why expect one interest group to want to work with an0ther that they resent?  That resentment appeal is indeed a seduction and like all seductions a dangerous game to play.

In a society where the goal is equality of outcome,  history would unfortunately teach us that all that will produce is equality of servitude.   To achieve that equality of outcome always requires the blunt force of punitive measures by the government in charge.   There are no exceptions to that.  Why do you think Obamacare has criminal sanctions for those who don’t follow its mandate?  If you don’t report on the IRS forms correctly your insurance you will be guilty of filing a false document with Feds.  Don’t take my word for it, look it up for yourself; that is if you can find it in the gazillion criminal laws on the Federal books. 

What are the Scots thinking?  Do they really believe they will be better off as an independent country?    They are a great people with a proud history even if a turbulent one over the centuries.  Even the Romans find them so difficult to deal with they built Hadrian’s Wall at the border.  Whatever their cultural disputes with the English they will be worse off on their on.  They and their English brethren have survived many a hardship together and they have collectively advanced themselves immensely over the years.   They should think long and hard about what they will lose if they go it alone.  There will be no more pounds flowing from Whitehall to the north and I am not sure the world is beating at their door to buy Scottish goods and services. 

We have too many federal laws especially when you include all the regulations of our various agencies and bureaus of government; there are literally millions of them.  We need less laws and not more to fix our economic affairs.  I love the old Roman approach to new laws.  In the days before the Caesars the proponent of any new law would go before the assembly to offer it with a rope around his neck.  If the law wasn’t approved the innovator was instantly strangled with his own rope.  That would sure make politicos think a bit before they shot off their mouth about some new proposal.  Boy, makes you nostalgic for the old days.  www.olcranky.wordpress.com

Recess Usurpation Of Power

The recess appointments to the NLRB and the so-called Consumer Protection agency have spotlighted the dangerous turn the current White House occupant has taken to exercise power over Americans even at the cost of our Constitutional heritage and freedoms. Just this week one of the prominent supporters and alleged legal experts, Lawrence Tribe of Harvard law school (where else?) made the case that the Senate was not really in session and that the current meetings of the Senate were merely pro forma and thus the Senate was in recess.

That argument and the others submitted entirely miss the Constitutional point and the ominous harbinger of things to come if these appointments are sustained and allowed to exist. The issues go far beyond the immediacy of these particular appointments and the concerned agencies of government. They are a frontal attack on our very system of government. Systems and procedures are critical to our founding and method of governance since the inception of our Union. From the beginning the Constitution was designed to make all three branches of government co-equal partners and independent of one another. No one branch was to have governmental hegemony over the others. Yes, it is a bit awkward and sometimes very frustrating but it has served us very well for over 200 years through difficulties of all sorts both economic and even in war. We have consistently rejected the European style of Parliamentary government where the prevailing party can pass any legislation it choses and the losing side can only vote no and wait for a change in the body politic and new elections. That majority has pretty much free rein while in power. We have built-in restraints even on the majority party in power under our division of power.

There are two references in the Constitution regarding the recess of Congress and the powers of the branches of government. You can read them for yourself.  You will find them in the first two Articles of the Constitution.   The plain reading of the Constitution makes it clear that the appointments were made without proper authority.  But the even bigger issue is the inherent power of each branch of government.  That phrase “plain language  is important because the Supreme Court has always ruled that when a Constitutional provision is challenged that first one must look to the plain language of the document before embarking on some Just as the Senate can not tell the President when to meet with his Cabinet or which foreign dignitary to entertain at the White House, the President and the Supreme Court can’t tell the Senate or House how to conduct their business.  The President can’t order who will be on which committee or when they will meet or how they will consider legislation and make their votes.   The President doesn’t get to make his own interpretation of the Senate rules, they make that determination. 

It doesn’t make any difference what the President thinks about the recess of the Senate or even the Supreme Court.  The Senate and the Senate only makes the decision as to whether or not it is in session.  The determination is binding on the other branches of government and can’t be challenged by either of them.   The Senate was in pro forma session but a session nonetheless and even conducted business like the last  minute deal on unemployment benefits.   As others have noted if the President gets to decide when the Senate is in session then he could make “recess” appointment during the middle of the night when no one is there and take the position the Senate was in recess.  Again, it is not whether that is a silly position or not, it is about whether the President has that power at all, period.  

There will be many more elections and many more Presidents but the Constitution will hopefully live on and the principles of our mutually agreed governance under it.   Just as BO has used executive orders to implement his ideas that can’t be passed by Congress this is a plain and dangerous usurpation of power.   Process and procedure are critically important to our freedoms and method of government.  The Constitution is filled with process and procedure provisions.  Contrary to most countries around the world even our military doesn’t take an oath to defend the country or a particular leader or party but to defend the Constitution.   If our military is asked to die for our Constitution then our President must be held accountable to also defend that instrument and respect the traditions and precedents of the Congress and more importantly its Constitutional authority.

What is particularly egregious is the way these appointments were made and the position taken by BO.  It would be understandable if he had said up front that he believed the Senate was in recess and that it was an important issue to resolve and therefore he wanted to have a determination made by the Judiciary regarding the question.  An honest dispute is one thing but it is quite another to attempt to subvert Constitutional requirements by appealing to the sentiment of the moment and the mob as they did in ancient Rome.   The Courts have consistently ruled over our history that it can’t and won’t get involved in telling the other branches of government how to operate.  They can determine if their actions are unconstitutional since Marbury v. Madison but that is very different from getting into the inner workings of the Executive or Legislation branches.  The Supreme Court would defer to the decision of the Senate and follow whatever it said about its own recess.  Otherwise we have a dictatorship of one branch of government which the whole Constitution was designed to prevent.   For all our sakes and the sake of our progeny let’s hope this action is defeated and that the people will realize the issue rises far above the political disputes of the moment.

A “franchise” is a special privilege conferred upon an individual by the government that is not a privilege granted to the general population.  The President has no franchise to usurp the powers of the Senate.  www.olcranky.wordpress.com

North-South And Secession

Nope this isn’t an analysis of the War Between the States in the US.  Although that war and its causes and aftermath might offer some useful guideposts for our friends across the pond.  Let’s talk about the current conflicts and disagreements among the Eurozone countries and their current dilemma in working out a solution to the disparity between the countries who follow a relatively frugal approach to their fiscal policies and those that have a much more laizzez faire attitude about the seemingly endless flow of funds from government to support their lifestyle.

You have read accurately that there is a divide already existing between the countries of the Eurozone on a North-South axis.  Those to the North are generally in much better shape than their neighbors to the South.  The southern edge of Europe covers Greece, the Balkan countries, Italy, Spain and Portugal.   Of course Ireland and Iceland have had their difficulties but those appear on the mend and their debt problems were small compared to the avalanche of debt bursting out of the southern countries now.  Those are the areas of immediate and longer lasting concern to the Eurozone nations because of their debt loads relative to their ability to service those debts even at the still historically low interest rates for their soverign bonds.   Do you think it is mere coincidence that the northern tier of countries are in better shape than their southern neighbors?

For several centuries this divide has been true.  In Roman times it was different and it was still true that the South was dominanat during the Medieval period but those days are longs gone.  Italy as a single entity has only been around about 150 years.  It as a nation is younger than the US.  Before Garibaldi it was a hodge-podge of principalties and city-states going back to the Dark Ages.   All of Europe follows essentially the same welfare-state philosophy but by culture and tradition the northern tier has been more industrious and hard working than their sourthern counterparts.  Blame it on geography or climate or any other factor you wish but those are the facts.   The Southern group likes to bask in the sun a bit more and expects more from the government and other people’s money.  The northerners are inclined to be more independent and self-sufficient and even though they do have welfare states they have over the decades limited to reach of the government share of their economy and culture.  This barrier became most clear with the advent of Thathcher in Great Britain.   But then other more “conservative” governments and attitudes slowly infused the body politic in Europe in the North anyway.

The Eurozone itself was a creature from the leaders of the Northern tier of countries.  All the southern countries were an after thought.  France, the Benelux countries and Germany were the original backbone and still are of the Eurozone.  The bulk of the rest of the economic strength still comes from the North with Finland, Sweden, the Danes and even Great Britain even though it is not part of the Eurozone currency system but it is a vital member of the Euro community.

Just as we had our divide and war between north and south it is nor beyond the pale that the North and South in Europe will likewise break and there will be secession talk.  In fact there has already been secession talk but it isn’t called that.  Italy is a good examplar of this situation.  It also is divided along north/south communities.   The south of Italy has since its inception been the economic drag on Italy.  It produces at best around 30% of GDP but receives more than 60% of government largesse.  The north is more urban and industrial and has been for a long time.  The people there are the worker bees and the southerners are the beneficiaries of politicians payoffs in exchange for votes. (sound familiar?)   In fact this discontent became so intense that it resulted in the formation of the Norther League.  That political movement was and is centered in the major northern  industial cities of Italy.  There was and still is talk of breaking the country into two parts, separating the North from the South.  This polical party was the base that led to the victories of Berlusconi of recent note.  The political rise of the Northern League was not so much about taxes, policy or the welfare state; it was about not having to carry the South anymore on their backs.  They believed the South didn’t fairly contribute their fair share to the economy and that they took out far more than they put into the hopper.  Those are indeed the facts.  The South of Italy was getting a free ride on the backs of others and spending other people’s money.  The government built “infrastructure” projects with alacrity and assured the North this would benefit everyone.  But after several decades of this p0licy the facts on the ground haven’t changed.   The South is still a drag on the nation.

Much of the current debt of Italy has been accrued due to the enomous sums it has expended in the South for these projects.   If you read the back pages and follow some of the foreign news sources you will note these complaints of the North.  The same complaints have application generally to the northern tier of Eurozone countries.   Brussells has been spending far more money in the “underdeveloped” southern tier of countries and many in the northern areas feel that they are being short-changed.   Who knows if Italy will divide at some point but the odds are surely much higher that the Northern tier of the Eurozone will decide at some point in the near future that the cost of including the southern tier of countries is not worth the candle.   There won’t be a war but intense and bitter acrimony and trade wars could be on the European horizon and the North could decide to secede and form its own smaller but much more vibrant and healthy trade and currency economic organization.  Let’s see how it plays out over the next decade.  The European problems will  not be solved anytime soon.   There is a limit to how much of the debts of the South the North will pay and when that is reached then scramble to re-shuffle the deck will begin.

The recent recess appointments by BO are an assault on the Constitutional relationship between the branches of government.  It goes far beyond party or ideology.  The painful and slow process of our divided government has served us well for over 200 years.  We have a President who must follow and obey the Constitution; he is not a King who rules by edict.  Where is Robert Byrd when we need him?  I didn’t even like his politics at all but I will admit he was an ardent defender of the Senate and its privileges and Constitutional powers.  He would have screamed at this action.  www.olcranky.wordpress.com

2 Cents Worth On Life Its Ownself

We all just wrapped up one year and are embarking anew with a fresh calendar so here are the thoughts from the past and ones for the conjectures of the future.

Sure be glad when the Iowa caucuses are done.   Enjoy staying up with the political arena but it has gone on long enough.  Besides my memory is that the winner of the Iowa votes have had very mixed results down the road in other primaries.   It is no better predictor of future nominees than general public speculation.

It always seems like a lot more work taking down all those Christmas decorations than it does when you are putting them up around the house.

It took the European Union about 10 years to put together the Euro and have it finally launch as a real world currency.  One wonders if it will take them that long to undo that currency agreement?  

Interesting that concern and worry over a renewed and powerful Germany in Europe gave rise to NATO , the very idea of the European Union and so many other agreements over the decades since the end of WWII.   The French in particular have been very wary of a revitalized Germany.  But here we are and Germany is the dominant player in the European Union.  Sacre Bleu!

With Iran stepping up its military presence in the Straits of Hormuz you have to wonder how bad things would be if there was another accident like 20 something years ago when we shot down that airliner by accident thinking it was taking hostile action against our fleet.   Such an incident right now would really ratchet up the tensions which are already high enough.  Here’s hoping all those Bluejackets are staying alert and that gunnery officers are on their toes.

In the old west during the days of the cattle drives the cook was far more than the guy who did the cooking.  He was the doctor more often than not and he was also the blacksmith to mend tools and equipment and he was the farrier for the horses.  Next to the boss he was the number two man and brooked no disagreement with anyone.

In case you have forgotten don’t forget the tax increases due next year.  One I guess should assume that the FICA taxes will be reduced again this year by 2% but then go back up next year.  I mean they can’t keep the “holiday” going very long or Social Security will be an even more endangered species of entitlement.  On top of that don’t forget the 3.2% increase on most dividends, capital gains etc.  and there is the surcharge for high earners on Medicare withholding.  All in all a pretty steep increase in taxes for one year.  Of course there is the concern like always that tax increases of any sort will produce the inevitable drag on the economy.  As the date looms closer next fall it will receive more attention or at least one would think so.

As always it is amazing and amusing how easily people can get misled on topics broached by politicians.  Gringrich’s thoughts about reining in the judiciary have been denounced by some as radical or unconstitutional.  I only offer the thought that you read the Constitution for yourself.  The idea of eliminating certain courts is not revolutionary because it is an idea embedded in the Constitution itself.  Article Three has from day one provided that Congress can create “such inferior courts”  blah blah blah.  Other than the Supreme Court all other courts exist at the pleasure of Congress and always have.   Thomas Jefferson for one had tremendous fights with the judiciary and considered eliminating District Courts and the removal of some US Marshalls considered too political and/or corrupt.

How many moms gave a big sigh of relief this morning?   Much as they love their little munchkins they all started back to school today for the spring semester and mom will have a few hours to herself for the first time since they got out of school for Christmas.

At the same time that Europe has been touting its “union” it is interesting to note that there has also been a serious move for regionalism or separatism in their bailiwick.  Belgium is a good example.  Since European Union got up an on-going those Belgians have been quite busy splitting up the power and authority of central government.  Flanders has it own parliament as does Wallonia and then there are special assemblies for linguistics groups along the lines of the Dutch speaking and the French speaking.  Even their executive functions in Brussels require two each of Dutch speakers and French speakers.  And for good measure they even have local self government for the handful of German speakers along the eastern border of Wallonia.  They love the welfare state but just don’t trust the central authority as much as advertised if you only followed the headline news.  Of course all those separate entities also have their own administrative personnel, bureaucrats.  Similar events have occurred in Spain (Catalonia, Basques country) , in the Tyrol region, northern Italy and of course we all know that Czechoslovakia is now two countries.  There are more examples.  Read and research yourself.  Always look a little beyond just the title of the Chapter when reading the book.

No man is an island unless he is asking for a loan from you.   www.olcranky.wordpress.com

History And Euro Future

The headlines are filled daily with the latest news from Europe and the continuing confusion and peregrinations of discussion regarding the debt crisis and the Eurozone’s commitment to the Euro.   Will this 20 years experiment endure for the long haul?  The answer to that question is fraught with economic implications for the US as well as Europe.

All the way back to the ’60′s the first intimations about a joint European union of either political or economic fabric has been bandied about and discussed.  The Western European countries were at the forefront of these discussions for the obvious reason that the Cold War was in full bloom and all of Eastern European was under the thumb of the Soviets.   NATO was part of the glue composition holding Europe together during this time even with the withdrawal of France under DeGaulle.   That organization grew out of geopolitical strategic thinking on the part of Europe to protect itself and allow itself to prosper in the post-War era without having to submit to the influence or domination of the Soviets. 

Then came the dramatic events of 1989.  Virtually all of Eastern Europe threw off the shackles of Moscow during that year even though there full fruition of the uprisings weren’t realized until 1990.  Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania all became independent entities during the time frame.   East Germany was the linchpin to the final breaking of the bonds of domination and the most important ultimately.   Germany had been split into two countries since the War as was Berlin itself.  Wariness over a rising Germany had been the focus of the creation of NATO in the first place with a subtext to thwart the Soviets initially until the Soviets became the real bugaboo a few years later. (After the Berlin Airlift of 1948)  As these new countries emerged from the shadow of the Soviets concern arose on how to integrate them into European society and gave a boost to those who had long advocated a European union of economies if not political union.  Step one was to deal with Germany because it was the giant among the others as it had been for over 150 years in Europe.  Great Britain and France in particular were cautious about the re-unification of Germany.  Europeans remember their history much longer than we do and they still had vivid memories of two World Wars in the minds of their populations and especially the leaders of 1990; they had lived through at least WWII and some even WWI.   The War had ended in Europe in 1945 but there had never been a final resolution of Germany’s borders and Allied control of German areas especially Berlin since the War.  The US, France, Great Britain and the Soviets finally met in September of 1990 and worked out the final details to solidify those borders and bring the last major issue of the War to a close.  They all agreed to withdraw their troops from Berlin by Oct. 31 of 1990 and from most other areas of the now to be unified Germany and all its borders were at last settled.

The next year the European nations including some of the new ones met at Maastricht in the Netherlands to negotiate the economic union with the Euro.  It came after the settlement of the major geopolitical strategy of the major players had been satisfied with the German question resolved.   The implementation of the Euro was final for almost another decade.   The switch was made then as they all cashed in the local currencies and were given Euros in exchange that was the new medium of trade and debt settlement throughout the participating countries.  It was Germany that mostly caused the immediate inclusion of Italy in the pact.  The Germans thought they would be a moderating influence on the power of Great Britain and France.  One of the reasons that it took so many years to implement the Euro was the pain the former West Germany would have to suffer bringing into the fold the East Germans.  The East Germans were the Appalachians of Europe at that time.  It was poor, dark and had an incredibly inefficient economy due to the central planning control of the Communists for decades.  The Germans ended up paying out 1.2 trillion Euros equivalent to the East Germans in that rebuilding of one German state.  One wonders how they afforded that even today.

So the Eurozone was born in the mind of some economists and Pan-European thinkers decades ago but the mid wife to its actual creation was the geopolitical long view of what to finally do with Germany after the Soviets were ejected.  Without resolving the German question it is hard to imagine how an effective Euro would have ever been created.  The current situation reminds one of the the Ben Franklin comment when asked what the Constitutional Congress had done and he replied that we’ve given you a Republic if you can keep it.  The European have an economic union if they can keep it but that requires everyone be willing to follow the same rules for fiscal and debt policy.  Whether that union will endure is an open question at the moment.  Some of the members from the northern areas may well decide to secede and create their own free trade zone and leave the others to their own devices.  The Netherlands was one of the earliest proponents of the Eurozone because of its long-term view of history being between Germany and France.  Now the Netherlands has a very vocal and apparently growing voice to undo the treaty made in their native city of Maastricht.

Don’t be like BO and show a lack of understanding and appreciation of European history.  Remember the Great Britain is a reference to Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England.  The United Kingdom is England, Scotland and Wales; and England is England.   www.olcranky.wordpress.com