The Greeks Deserve To be Humiliated
Jul 13, 2015 Opinion, Political
Greece has been on the edge of default for a few years and has been asking for and receiving bailouts in the form of loans to help them through a crisis of their own making.
The Greeks have a generous benefit system that allows workers to retire young and receive a hefty percentage of their retirement. Couple this with countless other programs that can’t be afforded and you get a crisis.
When Greece was bailed out it failed to take any reasonable austerity measures to get on a path to sustainability. It keeps showing up hat in hand wanting even more money.
The members of the European Union (EU) have been in tense negotiations and it is not happy to be asked to shell out more money to a country that seems intent on continuing on the same path that got it to the brink of disaster.
A new deal is in the works and many Greeks are unhappy with it. They claim it is harsh and requires them to do too much. They claim it is humiliating.
It should be humiliating. You have a system that can’t be sustained and you ask for money to help you when it collapses and ten you continue doing the same thing that got you there. You ask for more and more while continuing to refuse reforms.
Then you are forced to agree to harsh measures and you claim it is not right and humiliating.
It is humiliating and it should be. You should be ashamed that you are led by people who ran your country into the ground. You should be ashamed that you continue to suck the life out of your economy by raping the treasury of ever dwindling resources while continuing a life of early retirement and generous pensions.
Other countries are not happy with being forced to bail you out once again. And considering how dire your circumstances are you had better agree to the terms and get your act together.
Americans, pay attention because we are well on our way to a default and we will be like Greece before you know it.
And we too should feel ashamed and humiliated for many of the same reasons.
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Tags: benefits, default, greece, humiliation, us
Military Pays In Many Ways
Feb 28, 2012 Military, Political
As Barack Obama apologized for the burning of the Koran, books used by prisoners to pass messages, Maryland Soldier Major Robert Marchanti was murdered in Afghanistan by an animal. Bob was murdered because a book was burned. He paid the ultimate price and his Commander in Chief is apologizing (as did the General in charge over there). Is the Afghani President apologizing over Bob’s murder? Hell no, he is calling for those who burned the books to be prosecuted.
Did anyone apologize when the US Army burned Bibles it confiscated from a soldier? No and Christians did not riot and kill people.
Perhaps we should start rioting to get what we want.
Bob Marchanti and I served together and he was my friend. It is tragic that he died and it hurts deeply to know he will never be with his family or friends again. It hurts more to know that he was murdered by someone he was helping and because someone burned a book.
Our military sacrifices everything for this country and that sacrifice sometimes includes their lives. We willingly go through the gates of hell to keep our country safe and free.
What thanks do the men and women of the military get from the people who run this country? They get slapped in the face as the politicians try to balance the budget on the backs of those who serve. While social welfare programs remain untouched the defense budget is hacked to pieces and the programs promised to veterans are going to cost them much more. The federal government is looking to increase the premiums veterans pay for health care.
Some claim that the goal is to force veterans into Obamacare. I don’t know (though it would not surprise me) and I don’t care.
Veterans have sacrificed a lot up front for benefits in the future and it is just flat out wrong for the government to break the promises it made to its warriors.
It is not my intention to use the death of my friend for political purposes. I would not dishonor him or his family by doing so.
However, his death reminds us of what sacrifice is and that we have commitments to those who serve.
Commitments that we should honor.
Rest in peace my friend. You served honorably and will be sorely missed.
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Tags: benefits, budget, Democrats, lies, Military, robert marchanti, tricare
Then Why Should The Rich Pay Social Security?
Dec 1, 2010 Political
Social Security is a bad program that has gotten worse over the years. It is designed to keep people enslaved to the government by taking money from them while they earn and then giving them a small retirement when they end their working careers. This deprives them of the opportunity to save and invest the money on their own, a step that would actually allow them to earn much more money and allow them to say what is done with it.
The Supreme Court has ruled that no one has a legal right to Social Security benefits. This is a bad decision but it looks like it will play out that way in the long run. Social Security is broke and there is no reasonable way to fix it. There will be no money left for those who are paying today.
A Democrat Policy Group is recommending that Social Security be fixed by denying payments to those who are wealthy when they retire. If you have the brains to put money away and save for retirement and happen to do well then you might not get the benefit that you paid into for all of your working career.
In what world is this fair?
Why should the rich pay into Social Security (or a person who is not particularly wealthy during his working career but saves a lot) only to be denied the money when they retire? What rule allows for the confiscation of a person’s money and then the redistribution of that money to others?
Why should the rich pay into Social Security? To top it off, the plan calls for higher Social Security taxes and raising the income level (the cap) on which it is collected. Why would people pay into this knowing full well that they would not get anything when they retire?
Most Democrats oppose this plan while some Republicans favor it or some variation of it. Who the hell do these people think they are?
As for me, I don’t need them to pay me Social Security. All I want is for them to send me a check for the money I have paid in (and I don’t even need any interest on it) and for them to stop taking Social Security out of my check. I will be more than happy to invest the money myself and I will live quite well in retirement. I am also sure the people who are actually rich (and even those considered rich by the government) would be happy to do the same.
I am not rich by any stretch of the imagination. I just work hard for my money and I save some of it for the future.
Others would do well to follow that example.
The members of Congress would do well to learn from that as well.
Class warfare is here and they are stoking the fire. Keep it up and things will get ugly as the rich find other things to do with their money.
Cave Canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
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Tags: benefits, Congress, lies, rich, social security, supreme court
Obama Scoffed When McCain Said It
Mar 15, 2009 Political
Back during the campaign John McCain talked about taxing health care benefits provided by employers. I am not in favor of taxing benefits such as health care that employers provide and think it is counter productive. Taxing it would make employers less inclined to provide it. The left was not impressed with it either and Obama scoffed at the idea and called it a large increase on the middle class. Obama failed to mention that McCain intended to offset the tax with a tax credit for their health care.
The International Herald Tribune is reporting this regarding Obama’s position at the time:
In television advertisements last fall, Mr. Obama criticized his Republican rival for the presidency, Senator John McCain of Arizona, for proposing to tax all employer-provided health benefits. The benefits have long been tax-free, regardless of how generous they are or how much an employee earns. The advertisements did not point out that Mr. McCain, in exchange, wanted to give all families a tax credit to subsidize the purchase of coverage.
The article goes on to state that Obama might regret his position if he were to win and now it appears that their concern had merit. Barack Obama is open to taxing the health care benefits that employers provide as a way to obtain money to pay for those who do not have health care. Once again, this rookie is working to require those of us who pay our bills to pay the bills of others. We have to pay for their houses so why not their health care?
Obama, at the time of the campaign, called McCain’s proposal the the largest tax increase on the middle class in history but now it looks as if he is open to imposing the largest tax increase on the middle class in history. Once again we see that Obama is not doing what he promised. He is now aligning himself with the policy of a rival, a policy he clearly denounced.
Will the media pick this up and run with it? Will they denounce this and scream about how unfair it is? Will they attack Obama like they went after McCain?
Of course not and his toadies, some of whom comment here, will excuse this and say it is for the good of the nation. They will not look at it as a flip-flop, or worse a lie, but will instead discuss how much this guy cares for people.
I think Obama had these kinds of plans in mind when he was debating McCain. Obama wants to have all health care provided by the government and the way to do that is to destroy the private sector and force employers to abandon health care benefits for employees. If he intended to do this all along then he was lying back then.
One thing is certain, he described it as the largest tax increase on the middle class which means he is not being truthful when he says he will cut taxes for 95% of the people.
This is just another example of spreading the wealth. It is also another example of Obama not being able to do what he said or to stand up for what he said were his beliefs. He is a typical politician and this is not change we can believe in.
They are painting Republicans as the party of NO but it looks like Obama is the leader with NO (scruples, truth, or convictions).
I hope those of you who voted for this guy are learning something though I seriously doubt that you can teach them much. The Kool Aid is very strong.
Also:
NYT
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Tags: benefits, campaign, distortions, health care, lies, McCain, Obama, taxes