Wednesday, December 30, 2009

IDEAS vs. RHETORIC

I got this new phone, so I would be able to access and edit my posts anytime I had a free minute.  Turns out a minute isn't nearly enough time, so I'm still finding it difficult to do all I have to do.  The phone is amazing, as so many are, and it didn't take an act of Congress to bring it in to existence. Nothing beats the free market, for stimulating innovation!!!
 


I really have my work cut out for me, trying to haul cars, blog, and conduct a successful Senate campaign.  I hope you are able to overlook the slow pace, and take a measure of comfort in knowing that, if the people of Ohio are GRACIOUS enough to elect me, it will be the least amount of work I have had to do in all my adult life.  So you can be sure I'll not be overwhelmed by the work.  You can also rest assured that, although I've never done anything like it before, I will be up to the task.  I've done many different things over the course of my 45 years, both for money and for fun.  I've never found anything I couldn't do, with a bit of reading and research.  I also have a talent for creative problem solving.  I'm thinking that may come in handy.



Don't get the wrong idea.  I don't think I'm the greatest at anything.  I think I'm good enough to get the job done, and I'm quite tired of settling for the half-hearted efforts of others.  I can't tell you how many times I've hired someone to perform a task, only to wind up doing it again myself.  I know that's probably not the best thing to say, as an aspiring politician.  I'm supposed to be trying to convince you that I AM THEE best person for the job.  I'm trying to give you what you've been missing for SO LONG, you don't even know you should be expecting it... HONESTY.


For too long now, we have told ourselves to just expect our politicians to lie to us.  Therefore, we don't even look for honesty anymore.  We vote for the more charismatic candidate, because it's all we have to go on.  Consequently, we get what we deserve.  If we are content to choose our leaders, based on how well they present a vague, undefined argument, that says, little more than, "something needs to be done",  why should we expect to get leaders who actually have a plan we can take confidence in.  A plan we can get on board with.


Politicians are quite adept at talking a lot without saying ANYTHING at all.  It's time we make them say what they mean, and mean what they say.  Time to expect MORE than just an agreement with us, that there is a problem in WHATEVER area.  But an actual PLAN to solve it.  If we know the plan, we can vote for the plan, charisma be damned.  Maybe THEN, we can get away from the million dollar candidates.  GOOD IDEAS SELL THEMSELVES.  If we insist on hearing good ideas rather than well presented rhetoric, we'll get better candidates, running on smaller budgets.  If we insist on candidates who tell us why we SHOULD choose them, rather than why we SHOULD NOT choose their opponent, we'll get better candidates on smaller budgets.


If we get better candidates running on smaller budgets, they will be beholden to the IDEAS, not the DONORS.  Generally speaking, large contributors typically give to both major parties.  That way who wins is less relevant. They will still have a voice that speaks louder than ours.


I'll get back to ya...


Thursday, December 10, 2009

It's STILL the ECONOMY, STUPID!!!

I have a question.  Why is it, with the number one issue on everyone's mind being the economy, our lawmakers continue to focus on health care and climate change?  The latter being such a non-issue to American households, as to be laughable.  If I ask, (or if you ask), the next person you come in contact with, to list the things they would like their legislators to discuss, I'll bet climate change, (notice they no longer refer to it as GLOBAL WARMING), won't even be on the list.

In fact, in an effort to put it on peoples list of things to talk about, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a finding, that green house gases, (the stuff we exhale when we breathe), pose enough of a risk as to require even MORE REGULATION than has already been created.

I have a theory as to why the economy is little more than a footnote in the  discussion.  I believe this is because the effect that both Nationalized Health Care and Environmental Protection legislation have on our economy present one VERY INCONVENIENT TRUTH!  This being that both are keeping businesses from doing anything that can improve our economy, in a tangible way.


You would think that, if in fact, our lawmakers were truely concerned about the condition of the average american's wallet, they would stop working so hard to empty it.  They would be saying the same things so many of us are saying, (even those of us fortunate enough to be working).  Things like, "Let's hold off on that for now", "We really can't afford it".

Everything about both the issues that seem to be dominating the thoughts of our lawmakers centers around taking more from us, both in the way of CASH and OPPORTUNITY.

I would argue that the primary reason for so many U.S. manufacturing jobs moving overseas, is to escape the ever-increasing environmental regulation.  Cheaper labor is one reason, I know.  And it IS the largest expense most businesses face.  But the cost of labor is one that can, for the most part, be controlled, and compensated for through product cost, (I'll be talking more on this in the future).  But with lawmakers, and the EPA, creating environmental standards by fiat, (not the car maker), no manufacturer in their right mind would build a new plant, anywhere NEAR the United States.

I will use as an example, an industry that I actually know something about...

As you know, if you've read my earliest posts, (which I encourage, as a way of learning about me as a person), I am a truck driver.  Not just a truck driver, a car hauler.  Not just a car hauler, an owner/operator.  What being an owner/operator means, is that I actually know how different things affect my bottom line.  I know, for instance, that I can haul two identicle loads, for the same rate, and infuence how much each load actually pays ME, by how I drive, where I buy my fuel, how I put the units on the truck, etc...

Over the past ten or so years, Congress and the EPA have imposed ever stringent regulation on exhaust gases and the sulfer content of deisel fuel.  You'll not hear me say, or read in my writings, that there isn't a need for SOME emission standard.  There surely is.  We have an obligation to the next generation, to leave things in as good, or better condition as we recieved from the generation before us. (This applies to the debt we are strapping them with, as well).  But there is a point of deminishing return that is being overlooked.

As these standards have been made increasingly difficult to achieve, both fuel economy and engine longevity have declined.  There are several negative affects from this.  Here are 2.

1.  I burn more fossil fuel to do the same amount of work.  This affects supply, which raises the cost of your heating oil, (it's the same stuff, more or less), and the cost of my fuel.  I build that cost in to the delivery charge.

2.  My engine wears out faster, so I have to build that cost in to the delivery charge to the dealer as well, who in turn, passes it on to YOU, when you buy a car off the lot.

EVERY COST, incurred in business is passed on to you, the consumer.  It has to be.  Otherwise, I and every other business would be... well...OUT OF BUSINESS.

LABOR... LIGHTS... EMPLOYEE HEALTH CARE... TAXES, TAXES, and more TAXES... REGULATORY FEES... YOU PAY THEM ALL!!!  So the less these things cost, the lower the price of the product.  Not to mention, the fewer ADDITIONAL EXPENSES, the more cash available to employees.


That being said... Wouldn't it make sense, for Congress to say something like, "Let's get out of the way, and let business fix the economy".?

AFTER ALL... Economy is what BUSINESS does.  Business is what the economy is.  I'll not say that every business is trustworthy and good.  But it's easier to deal with a bad company, than a bad federal government.  And a whole lot cheaper!


I'll get back to ya...

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

I can't think of catchie title for this...

HAPPY DAY!!!  The website, me-thepeople.com is up and running at last.  The biz cards are in my pocket.  Family and friends are gathering signatures to get my name on the ballot... It has been difficult, to say the least, managing so many things at one time, while also trying to earn the money to keep the bills paid.  I try to make the most of my limited time at home, by spending as much of it as I can with my wife.  Our kids, (of which we have four), are pretty much grown.  Our youngest daughter, is the only one still under our roof, and she has a pretty busy schedule.  Between school, work, and her boyfriend, she doesn't really hang around the house much either... unless she's grounded to it (that's only half joking).  She's looking forward to that day, in the not too distant future, when she writes her own Declaration of Independence.


I work on this project, (the campaign, website, and blog), generally at times when it won't take away from the relatively small amount of time my wife and I have together, (like after she's asleep, or when I'm on the road). I spent many late night hours, building a website that wouldn't launch, then, while stuck in Baltimore waiting for a load to materialize,  another 18 consecutive hours, building it again from scratch.  I see why web developers get paid well for the work they do.  Please have a look.

"WHY IS HE TELLING ME THIS"?  You must be asking yourself.  "WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ME"?


JUST ONE REASON.  I want you to know me.  I want you to trust me.  I heard someone say today, (referring to today's politicians), you can't trust what they say, when they're in CAMPAIGN MODE.  Trouble is... they are ALWAYS in campaign mode.  I have said before, (and it is the tag line for ME THE PEOPLE), that I want to change the way politics is done.  I MEAN THAT.  This land is FULL of fine men and women, who would make GREAT leaders.  They don't want to take on the task, because they are either afraid of the media, or just don't want to get that... ... SOILED?.


The United States of America possesses the best and brightest minds the world has to offer.  A precious few of these are willing to go to the lengths it takes to get elected, in the political climate we have been in for the past half century.  We are all suffering for it.  We are no longer being governed by the best among us, (not that I consider myself to be the best among us).  We are being RULED by mediocre minds at best.  We have to turn the corner on this somehow, and soon.  We are all riding the same train, and it's about to run off the track.  While we are all fighting amongst ourselves, those mediocre minds are stoking the boiler. (I know, I know... we don't use steam engines anymore).  If we don't find a way get our minds off the condition of the upholstery in the dining car,  and on to the condition of the track...


Our future, the future of our children, and grandchildren, holds in store...  A TRAIN WRECK.


I'll get back to ya...