Anyone that watches Fox News knows that opinion show host Sean Hannity does not hide the fact that he considers President Obama to be a committed Socialist. Any liberal guest that appears on his show is asked if they follow the Karl Marx axiom of “To each according to his needs; from each according to his abilities”. Hannity makes it crystal clear he believes our President is a devout believer of this. In fact Hannity has asked the question so often it made me wonder if this country is indeed on the path to Socialism.
One of the basic concepts of socialism is everyone will contribute to a pool of finite resources that are then doled out to each individual equally. Much like Socialist societies, businesses also have a finite amount of resources that are designated to pay employee wages. Just as citizens living in a Socialist society contribute to the collective by paying extraordinarily high income taxes, workers in our society contribute to the corporation through their labor.
Generally speaking, labor unions demand their members be treated equally with regards to pay and benefits. In this manner unions depress the wages of very productive workers and increase the wages of less productive or incompetent workers. This is detrimental to the business in that overall productivity is not as great as it would be if the less productive workers were replaced. For sure an atmosphere of mediocrity is fostered in such an environment.
Another basic premise of Socialist societies is that the elderly will have their needs provided to them by the younger workers. The United Auto Workers Union practices this belief with the provisions in their contracts that provide for life time wages and health care to be paid for by the Detroit automobile manufacturers.
It is widely acknowledged that these “legacy” cost were a major contributor to the fiscal problems the American auto manufacturers have experienced in the last several years. It is unrealistic to believe these corporations can provide for every need of these former employees while they are no longer providing a benefit to the corporation.
The UAW claims they have made major concessions to the auto companies that will result in less benefits for retirees but these concessions apply only to newly hired people. Anyone employed before these negotiations took place will still receive the benefits agreed to in previous contracts regardless of the effect these agreements have on the company‘s bottom line.
Without a doubt some blame must be placed on the executive officers of these companies that agreed to these contracts but we should understand the executives were held hostage by a labor force that considered only one interest; that of it’s members. Management could not endure work stoppages that would produce a reduction in the number of cars produced and thereby cost these companies a vital share of the auto market.
In the past 16 months we have seen the government take control of two car companies and several lending and investment institutions. Most recently we have witnessed the government take the first steps toward a single payer health care industry. Many Americans consider these government involvements in private business to be acts of a Socialist society.
Conservatives like Sean Hannity will always argue with Liberals about whether President Obama is a Socialist or not but one thing is certain, it didn’t take me very long to realize one of the oldest and most prominent groups that practices socialism is labor unions.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
A State of Mind
In the last 15 months we have witnessed the government takeover of two car companies, the nation’s health care insurance industry and several banks after former President Bush in a non-conservative move declared them too big to fail. Since when has any company in America been too big to fail? The politicians in Washington have seen fit to become the sole provider of loans for college students and have decided they alone, not the free market, should determine the salaries of top officials in publicly traded companies.
Now Representative Wexler of California is subpoenaing executives of several large corporations because they have taken a charge against their records because of the recently passed health care reform. It seems that the Congressman is upset these companies are tainting the public’s perception of the new program. Never mind these companies are required by law to declare this new expense to shareholders.
Now Senator Schumer has asked a court to prevent an airline from charging $45 for carry on luggage. This thought process has become the norm for the Democrats in Congress. The free market should determine if this airline has made a wise business decision. They, as all businesses should, either sink or swim based on their decision.
null
Now Representative Wexler of California is subpoenaing executives of several large corporations because they have taken a charge against their records because of the recently passed health care reform. It seems that the Congressman is upset these companies are tainting the public’s perception of the new program. Never mind these companies are required by law to declare this new expense to shareholders.
Now Senator Schumer has asked a court to prevent an airline from charging $45 for carry on luggage. This thought process has become the norm for the Democrats in Congress. The free market should determine if this airline has made a wise business decision. They, as all businesses should, either sink or swim based on their decision.
null
Monday, April 12, 2010
open registration
How can the President and his Democrat cronies expect to retain control of Congress when recent polling shows that the majority of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction? The answer is in the legislation that is currently being written by Sen. Chuck Shumer and Congressman Barney Frank.This legislation is known as "open registration". Open registration will allow the government to register to vote anyone and everyone that receives social assistance of any kind. Estimates of the number of adult illegal immigrants in the United States range from ten and one-half million to 17 million. Most if not all of these illegal immigrants receive some type of assistance ranging from free lunch programs for their kids to welfare to food stamps to WIC and Medicaid. All of these illegals will now be registered to vote and will have a say in determining who our next President will be.
Open registration will also override some states laws that prohibit convicted felons and mentally disturbed people from voting. This legislation will place the burden of proving these people are not qualified to vote on the government instead of making these people prove they deserve the right and the privilege of voting.
Whatever happened to registering to vote and showing a photo identification at the voting poll. The Democrats now believe they have found a way to add 20 to 30 million voters to their core voting base.Almost 50% of Americans pay no taxes and in fact receive some type of benefit from the government and will not vote out the politicians that provide these benefits, adding these previously ineligible voters to the rolls will give the Democrats a majority that will be extremely difficult for conservatives to overcome.
Dictatorships are born this way. Shrewd leaders know that a populace that is dependent on the government will not change or overthrow the government that provides their existence.
Carl D. Goodson
Open registration will also override some states laws that prohibit convicted felons and mentally disturbed people from voting. This legislation will place the burden of proving these people are not qualified to vote on the government instead of making these people prove they deserve the right and the privilege of voting.
Whatever happened to registering to vote and showing a photo identification at the voting poll. The Democrats now believe they have found a way to add 20 to 30 million voters to their core voting base.Almost 50% of Americans pay no taxes and in fact receive some type of benefit from the government and will not vote out the politicians that provide these benefits, adding these previously ineligible voters to the rolls will give the Democrats a majority that will be extremely difficult for conservatives to overcome.
Dictatorships are born this way. Shrewd leaders know that a populace that is dependent on the government will not change or overthrow the government that provides their existence.
Carl D. Goodson
Saturday, April 3, 2010
When I awoke this morning I noticed the crawler that was creeping across the bottom of the news cast was touting the Presidents plan to expand the area of offshore waters that are open for the exploration of oil.
Critics of the expansion of drilling claim that it would take at least five to ten years for increased drilling activity to impact the price of oil. While I know this is true I also know the sooner we get started the sooner more Americans will find well paying jobs. The oil and gas industry is directly responsible for 9.2 million jobs (1) and the expansion of the industry to its full potential could easily create another nine million jobs.
Environmentalist worry that drilling will cause pollution of the oceans but the fact is that natural oil seeps on the ocean floor account for 60% of all oil in North American waters while releases from oil platforms account for only about one percent of the oil in these same waters (2).
I have been employed in the offshore oil and gas industry for most of my adult life so when I heard this announcement I was cautiously optimistic concerning the long term economic benefits this act would provide our nation. With our unemployment rate continually hovering near 10% coupled with the fact that our economy loses over three hundred billion dollars per year to foreign oil companies and governments would seem to indicate the expansion of drilling activity in offshore waters would be a common sense proposition. Results of some of the most recent polling demonstrate that the majority of Americans support offshore drilling by a 72% to 28% margin while 59% of Americans believe drilling should be allowed of the coast of California and the New England states (3).
While I am enjoying dinner this evening and watching the nightly news I am disappointed to discover the President is opening only a small portion of our country’s available oil rich outer continental shelf. He is leaving off limits the oil rich waters of the Pacific Ocean and the near coastal waters of the State of Florida.
This action is a decision that has angered both the Republican Party and the President’s anti-drilling Liberal base and places the President in the middle of an argument that has persisted for years between pro-drilling factions and anti-drilling environmental protection groups. True conservatives in the Republican Party believe this action does not go far enough, that it is still places too many oil rich lands off limits. Environmental groups that supported Mr. Obama’s Presidential campaign sees this action as a stab in the back because the promises he made to emphasize “green” renewable sources of energy and curtail oil drilling seem to have been abandoned.
When I was growing up my father taught me the middle of an argument was never a good place to be, that you would catch heck from both sides. The President obviously was not taught this. The President has once again managed to simultaneously anger conservative opposition groups and his liberal base of supporters.
There is a wives tale that says cats have nine lives. One has to wonder how many political “lives” this President has remaining.
Carl Goodson lives in Clute, a suburb of Houston TX and is the author of “Letters to the editor: What is your government doing to you?”
(1) www.energytomorrow.org/Industry_Jobs.aspx
(2) http://books.nap.edu/html/oil_in_the_sea/reportbrief.pdf
(3) www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/offshore_drilling/72_support_offshore_drilling_59_favor_it_california_and_new_england
Critics of the expansion of drilling claim that it would take at least five to ten years for increased drilling activity to impact the price of oil. While I know this is true I also know the sooner we get started the sooner more Americans will find well paying jobs. The oil and gas industry is directly responsible for 9.2 million jobs (1) and the expansion of the industry to its full potential could easily create another nine million jobs.
Environmentalist worry that drilling will cause pollution of the oceans but the fact is that natural oil seeps on the ocean floor account for 60% of all oil in North American waters while releases from oil platforms account for only about one percent of the oil in these same waters (2).
I have been employed in the offshore oil and gas industry for most of my adult life so when I heard this announcement I was cautiously optimistic concerning the long term economic benefits this act would provide our nation. With our unemployment rate continually hovering near 10% coupled with the fact that our economy loses over three hundred billion dollars per year to foreign oil companies and governments would seem to indicate the expansion of drilling activity in offshore waters would be a common sense proposition. Results of some of the most recent polling demonstrate that the majority of Americans support offshore drilling by a 72% to 28% margin while 59% of Americans believe drilling should be allowed of the coast of California and the New England states (3).
While I am enjoying dinner this evening and watching the nightly news I am disappointed to discover the President is opening only a small portion of our country’s available oil rich outer continental shelf. He is leaving off limits the oil rich waters of the Pacific Ocean and the near coastal waters of the State of Florida.
This action is a decision that has angered both the Republican Party and the President’s anti-drilling Liberal base and places the President in the middle of an argument that has persisted for years between pro-drilling factions and anti-drilling environmental protection groups. True conservatives in the Republican Party believe this action does not go far enough, that it is still places too many oil rich lands off limits. Environmental groups that supported Mr. Obama’s Presidential campaign sees this action as a stab in the back because the promises he made to emphasize “green” renewable sources of energy and curtail oil drilling seem to have been abandoned.
When I was growing up my father taught me the middle of an argument was never a good place to be, that you would catch heck from both sides. The President obviously was not taught this. The President has once again managed to simultaneously anger conservative opposition groups and his liberal base of supporters.
There is a wives tale that says cats have nine lives. One has to wonder how many political “lives” this President has remaining.
Carl Goodson lives in Clute, a suburb of Houston TX and is the author of “Letters to the editor: What is your government doing to you?”
(1) www.energytomorrow.org/Industry_Jobs.aspx
(2) http://books.nap.edu/html/oil_in_the_sea/reportbrief.pdf
(3) www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/offshore_drilling/72_support_offshore_drilling_59_favor_it_california_and_new_england
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
