Manuel, Dad, Grampies, Doc…Dr Mendez was a man of many names. In the spirit of full disclosure, when he got on Mrs. Mendez bad side he was also called something that translated into polite English means equine derriere.
Doc was not just a man of many names, he was also a man of many talents. Not long after I met Dr. Mendez, in a conversation in the Mendez den, he confirmed with me that it was his belief that he could in fact walk on water…he was certain, that if he just kept his feel moving fast enough he could skim along the top without going under. If anyone ever had to keep up with Dr. Mendez while he was walking in a hurry, it is not hard to take him at his word.
But in fact Doc was a man of many talents:
Surgeon: Dr Mendez spent many years in private practice and was without question a great help to all of his patients. After closing his private practice, Doc spent over ten years as Chief of the Medical staff at the State Penitentiary. In the years that preceded Dr. Mendez taking over the medical staff, the State Pen and the Commonwealth were regularly hit with malpractice law suits from inmates hoping to cash in on the treatment they had received because, well, they didn’t have anything to lose. When Dr Mendez ran the medical staff at the penitentiary, I am not aware of a single law suit from any of his patients. Why this change? Because Doc treated the inmates with respect, he listened to them, did everything he could to help them. He was their friend and they didn’t go after their friend.
Doc’s role as a surgeon also gave him certain privileges. If you ever had dinner at his house, the fact that he was a surgeon meant that he did not have to wash his hands before serving sliced turkey, London broil, or roast beef to those at his table. I recall early in our dating tenure, when I was at the weekly Sunday dinner of Roast beef after church, Doc helped fix my plate by grabbing a couple of slices of beef and putting them on my plate. He said “Dun worry, I’m a suryon” I remember wondering how long ago it had been since he had been in surgery and did being a surgeon mean he was immune to germs?
Doc was a linguist. He spoke Spanish, English, French, Italian, and Portuguese. He taught foreign language adult education classes in Henrico County for several years. However, his greatest contribution as a linguist, at least in my household, are the phrases he coined that are part of our family lexicon…”lessesstop!” “Juegos de manos son de villanos” “We are having hamburgers and hagdogs” “Dun worry” and Cindy’s favorite… “Robbing Peter to pay Pan”
Artist: Doc was a talented artist. Each of his children’s homes house his artistic creations…paintings, drawings, sculptures, carvings, and stained glass displays are just a few of the works of art he left with us. He was his own artist however, he was never worried about whether he completed all his work and he never took requests. He has a half-finished portrait of Cindy from her elementary school picture that he is going to finish just as soon as he finds the time.
Doc was a bit of a clown. No one can ever accuse Doc of taking life too seriously. For a few years Cindy and Leslie took Doc to physical therapy at St Mary’s where they ran him through the series of exercises, lifting weights and riding a stationary bike. A few times when neither Cindy or Leslie could take Doc to his physical therapy, I had to pinch hit. I am pretty sure Doc knew this was like having a substitute teacher in class. Doc never really liked physical therapy that much, but what he did like was going to lunch at “The Mexico” afterwards. When I took him to his PT, very early in the routine he would sit on the stationary bike and pretend “fall asleep” he pedaled a few seconds and fell asleep, peddled, slept. While he was “sleeping” ignoring any encouragement to finish his routine, I said – “hey Doc, let’s just skip the exercise and go get lunch”. He smiled, his eyes pooped open, he jumped off the bike and we scuttled out the door, much quicker than we had come in.
Musician: Doc was a singer, drummer, and organist. He played the drums for his belly dancing troup for many years, playing at their practices and shows. He was the drummer for a band of doctors called…The Bed Pan Alley Gang. We had dinner with Doc one night at a Mexican restaurant that had a mariachi band. We made an off-the cuff suggestion that he should sing “Beseme Mucho” with band. Not long after that, Doc sang an entire set with the band, kicking off with “Besseme Mucho”. He played his organ in the dining room at home…and when he didn’t know all the words to the songs he sang while he played he made them up as he went along. His rendition of “Popeye that Sailorman” was a family favorite, though he never learned all the words. I can’t recite all the words to Popeye the Sailorman I know what aren’t the words…I am pretty sure that “I eat all my spinach, I don eat all my spinach” aren’t the correct lyrics.
Doc fancied himself an interior designer. When he would come to visit his children’s houses he would rearrange full rooms of furniture, pictures, and knick-knacks. Often when he left we would spend an hour putting things back where they were, but not all the things, because he usually had some pretty good ideas.
Above all else, Doc was a friend. He was everyone’s friend. When we used to go out with Doc whether it was for drinks when he was playing with one of his bands many years ago or just recently for breakfast at Westbury, if he didn’t know the wait staff and the people sitting around us when we sat down, he usually did by the time we left. He would stroll around introducing himself and all of us to his “new friends” He would talk about his six children and his 15 grandchildren. He would tell them stories about what Gordo was doing in Cleveland, about Danny’s business, about Chris’ band, and about Valerie, Leslie, and Cindy’s families. When Cindy and I were in the Henrico Doctor’s and St. Mary’s maternity wards starting our family, I swear half the staff knew Doc, and the half that didn’t, knew him well by the time we left. When asked about how he knew all these people and how he had all these friends he shrugged and said “people likes me”. He was right, people did “likes him”… and we will miss him. But the last couple of years weren’t kind to Doc and the great news for him now is that he is out of his chair, back on his feet, driving his car, dancing again while he sings “beseme mucho”. I have no doubt that he was welcomed warmly on Saturday by Tope &Topa, Melys & Rubencito, Sheryl, & Pino. I am heartened by the fact that when we all see him again someday he will be rearranging someone’s room, telling stories about his family to people he just met, and he will have a half-a-dozen art projects going…none of which will be finished.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Hedge Fund Managers Hate Obama?!? What's Up With That?
I read an interesting article in The New Republic about why hedge fund managers have turned on President Obama. The article opens with a 2007 story about a hedge fund manager meet-and-greet with candidate Obama in which he was asked what he would do with the tax rates of those in the room. Obama is said to have shot back quickly and decisively for all to absorb that he would raise them. The guys who play hardball for a living had thrown Obama a high and tight fastball and he had bounced a base hit up the middle. The report is that the hedge fund managers loved him. They loved that he came from the schools they attended, they loved that he was smart, they loved that he was a change from President Bush with whom they had all grown tired. To show their love for candidate Obama they gave and raised lots of money to convert candidate Obama to President Obama.
Now, however, he is roundly despised by the lords of Wall Street and the mega-rich hedge fund managers. The author goes into great detail trying to understand why this happened and how in 3 short years could fawning affection turn into visceral hate. It is a rather long article with lots of hand wringing and analysis looking into the transformation of relations with the hedge fund community. We are treated to a walk through the policy and public statements of President Obama as well as the psyche of the self made uber-rich hedge fund lord. None of which I believe hits the mark.
I think the hedge fund community has dumped Obama because they are achievers but more importantly they are people who deliver results. They get things done. They have a daily, monthly, and yearly scorecard on their success or failure. The strategies they deploy, the decisions they make, the people they hire...all have to succeed. You know why they hate Obama? Because none of the stuff that Obama has been touting to fix the ills of the economy, the national debt, or the health care mess will work...and to borrow some of the hedge fund manager's billingsgate, people who get things done don't have time for bullshit from people who don't. I don't think the hedge fund managers would be upset if Obama raised their taxes if it fixed the debt problem, but it won't. Given the social views of many of the hedge fund community, I doubt they have a problem with a big government health care solution, if it fixed the problem, but as everyone knows, Obamacare doesn't. I don't know that the hedge fund elites hate Obama, they just have no use for him, no time for him, and they hate bad investments.
I think the author could have cut to the chase by noting that these hedge fund managers are doers and achievers with very short attention spans and little patience for bullshit. When Obama become philosopher-in-chief, professor-in-chief, and patronizer-in-chief, these type-A achievers tossed him overboard, just like they would any bad investment...which he turned out to be. They now describe him in locker room language that the author interprets as disdain and hate. But again, I think that's just the way these achievers work to get things done. They don't do focus groups, they don't fill the air with trite platitudes intended to finesse. They get things done, they fix things when they are broken. Their investment in Obama was broken. Now it is fixed.
Now, however, he is roundly despised by the lords of Wall Street and the mega-rich hedge fund managers. The author goes into great detail trying to understand why this happened and how in 3 short years could fawning affection turn into visceral hate. It is a rather long article with lots of hand wringing and analysis looking into the transformation of relations with the hedge fund community. We are treated to a walk through the policy and public statements of President Obama as well as the psyche of the self made uber-rich hedge fund lord. None of which I believe hits the mark.
I think the hedge fund community has dumped Obama because they are achievers but more importantly they are people who deliver results. They get things done. They have a daily, monthly, and yearly scorecard on their success or failure. The strategies they deploy, the decisions they make, the people they hire...all have to succeed. You know why they hate Obama? Because none of the stuff that Obama has been touting to fix the ills of the economy, the national debt, or the health care mess will work...and to borrow some of the hedge fund manager's billingsgate, people who get things done don't have time for bullshit from people who don't. I don't think the hedge fund managers would be upset if Obama raised their taxes if it fixed the debt problem, but it won't. Given the social views of many of the hedge fund community, I doubt they have a problem with a big government health care solution, if it fixed the problem, but as everyone knows, Obamacare doesn't. I don't know that the hedge fund elites hate Obama, they just have no use for him, no time for him, and they hate bad investments.
I think the author could have cut to the chase by noting that these hedge fund managers are doers and achievers with very short attention spans and little patience for bullshit. When Obama become philosopher-in-chief, professor-in-chief, and patronizer-in-chief, these type-A achievers tossed him overboard, just like they would any bad investment...which he turned out to be. They now describe him in locker room language that the author interprets as disdain and hate. But again, I think that's just the way these achievers work to get things done. They don't do focus groups, they don't fill the air with trite platitudes intended to finesse. They get things done, they fix things when they are broken. Their investment in Obama was broken. Now it is fixed.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
America That Doesn't Look Like Me
My work takes me to Northern Virginia a lot. Last week, while in NoVa, the calendar said March, but the weather outside said May, so I decided to go for a run after work. My hotel was situated in an area that has office buildings, hotels, as well as a plethora of new condos and apartment buildings. While NoVa has not been immune to the current economic doldrums, it has remained economically very healthy, especially in the technology, professional services, and government contracting business.
Anyway, I went for a run and saw lots of couples, singles, and families out enjoying the very un-March-like weather. If there is any doubt that the United States is still the land of opportunity, a stroll around Herndon will inspire you that there are people from all over the world coming to the United States to find their slice of the American Dream. While out for my run, I would guess that I saw 100+ people out enjoying the weather. I heard many dialects that I did not recognize. I saw people that looked to be from Latin, African, Middle Eastern, and Asian decent. I would guess that I saw less than 10 people that "looked like me". It was inspiring to see this world-mix of people living their dreams, enjoying what our great land has to offer. My bet is these folks are driven, risk takers, and achievers. All good.
Things came unglued for me when I saw a dad playing with his son, speaking in their native tongue, which I did not understand. The dad looked pretty athletic but threw a football like he had probably spent a lot more time kicking a soccer ball. The son was enthusiastic about learning to throw and catch. So what was the problem? Both were prominently sporting Washington Redskins gear. What's up with that? There are long suffering native residents of NoVa that kind of have to be Redskins fans. They grew up going to RFK watching Sonny Jurgenson, Billy Kilmer, Leroy Brown, Charlie Taylor, Art Monk,and Chris Hamburger. Those folks really don't have any choice. They are locked-in Redskins. No matter how futile the Redskins' efforts to regain lost glory, they are died-in-the wool fans and are essentially trapped.
I considered stopping to chat with this dad and his son. I wanted to make sure they knew that they were free agents, that just because they lived here, they didn't have to be Redskins fans. I wanted to make sure they knew about Daniel Snyder, Steve Spurrier, Gus Ferotte, Albert Hainesworth, etc. I wanted to ask if they knew about the Baltimore Ravens who played only 30 minutes farther away than the Redskins and have much better parking in addition to a much better team. I wanted to make sure they knew they could jump on any bandwagon they wanted. New England Patriots, New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers to name a few, all offered far more satisfying NFL experiences than the Redskins. I hated to see the life they were building in America sullied by becoming Redskins fans. I felt obligated to help, but then realized that this was yet another great example of why our country is a great place to live, work, and raise a family. In the United States, you are free to make all the nonsensical decisions you want. Even choosing to be a Redskins fan. Good luck with that decision, but don't come crying to me when at your retirement party you make a comment like "I never thought I would be retiring from 30 years of service without seeing the Redskins in a playoff game." There are somethings you can take to the bank. America is the land of opportunity for the willing, and the Redskins are a prime example of what happens when bad leadership meets poor execution.
Anyway, I went for a run and saw lots of couples, singles, and families out enjoying the very un-March-like weather. If there is any doubt that the United States is still the land of opportunity, a stroll around Herndon will inspire you that there are people from all over the world coming to the United States to find their slice of the American Dream. While out for my run, I would guess that I saw 100+ people out enjoying the weather. I heard many dialects that I did not recognize. I saw people that looked to be from Latin, African, Middle Eastern, and Asian decent. I would guess that I saw less than 10 people that "looked like me". It was inspiring to see this world-mix of people living their dreams, enjoying what our great land has to offer. My bet is these folks are driven, risk takers, and achievers. All good.
Things came unglued for me when I saw a dad playing with his son, speaking in their native tongue, which I did not understand. The dad looked pretty athletic but threw a football like he had probably spent a lot more time kicking a soccer ball. The son was enthusiastic about learning to throw and catch. So what was the problem? Both were prominently sporting Washington Redskins gear. What's up with that? There are long suffering native residents of NoVa that kind of have to be Redskins fans. They grew up going to RFK watching Sonny Jurgenson, Billy Kilmer, Leroy Brown, Charlie Taylor, Art Monk,and Chris Hamburger. Those folks really don't have any choice. They are locked-in Redskins. No matter how futile the Redskins' efforts to regain lost glory, they are died-in-the wool fans and are essentially trapped.
I considered stopping to chat with this dad and his son. I wanted to make sure they knew that they were free agents, that just because they lived here, they didn't have to be Redskins fans. I wanted to make sure they knew about Daniel Snyder, Steve Spurrier, Gus Ferotte, Albert Hainesworth, etc. I wanted to ask if they knew about the Baltimore Ravens who played only 30 minutes farther away than the Redskins and have much better parking in addition to a much better team. I wanted to make sure they knew they could jump on any bandwagon they wanted. New England Patriots, New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers to name a few, all offered far more satisfying NFL experiences than the Redskins. I hated to see the life they were building in America sullied by becoming Redskins fans. I felt obligated to help, but then realized that this was yet another great example of why our country is a great place to live, work, and raise a family. In the United States, you are free to make all the nonsensical decisions you want. Even choosing to be a Redskins fan. Good luck with that decision, but don't come crying to me when at your retirement party you make a comment like "I never thought I would be retiring from 30 years of service without seeing the Redskins in a playoff game." There are somethings you can take to the bank. America is the land of opportunity for the willing, and the Redskins are a prime example of what happens when bad leadership meets poor execution.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Republicans...The Chicago Cubs of Politics?
Before the resurrection on the Boston Redsox as a baseball A-list franchise, the Chicago Cubs and the Boston Redsox were the hallmarks of baseball futility. Both franchises were cursed, the Redsox by The Bambino, the Cubs by a goat. The Redsox broke the curse of The Bambino winning not one but two world series championships. The Cubs meanwhile continue perfecting the art of the futile. The late, great Chicago columnist Mike Royko made the obscure theory of the “Ex Cub Factor” famous in 1990 when he proclaimed that the dynastic Oakland A’s of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s would lose the world series to the over-matched and middling Cincinnati Reds.
For those not familiar with the Ex-Cub Factor, the curse works like this - any baseball team that makes the world series with 3 or more ex-Cubs on their roster will lose the world series. Since 1946 this has held true for 13 of 14 world series teams with 3 or more ex-cubs on their world series roster. Only the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1960, on a fluke homerun by light hitting second baseman Bill Mazeroski bested the Ex Cub factor. However, in the only series to defy the Ex Cub Factor, the winning Pirates were outscored by the Yankees 55-27 over the seven game stand. Even when bested, The Ex Cub Factor gets in its shots.
In 1990 the country yawned in anticipation of the coming world series which was nothing more than a coronation of the Oakland A’s who made a laughing stock of the San Francisco Giants in the 1989 series, beating them convincingly four games to zero. However, late in the season, the A’s added their 3rd ex-Cub to their roster, seemingly daring the the Ex Cub Factor to show itself. Only long suffering Cub fan Mike Royko spotted this critical roster gaffe by the A’s and predicted certain victory for the Cincinnati Reds. Not only did the Reds win the world series, but in a defiant show of force, the Ex Cub Factor made a mockery of the 1990 series and the Red won in a route, four games to none.
I think the republicans might have their own curse, maybe it’s the “retread candidate curse”, but watching the GOP presidential circus is making me think they are starting to resemble the 1990 Oakland A’s. I don’t think that in modern times there has been a more vulnerable sitting president than President Obama. His polling numbers are beyond awful. His disapproval ratings are higher than his approval ratings. 70% of the country feels the country is headed in the wrong direction. Even his personal likability numbers are hitting new lows. The economic recovery that should have been has been muted by his over bearing tax and regulatory policies. Unemployment is so bad that unemployment numbers only go down when the number of people who quit looking for work goes up. The CBO has rescored his healthcare plan and published what everyone with half a brain already knew, that healthcare costs and the deficit will go up not down when Obamacare becomes the law of the land. Obama spiked an oil pipeline that would bring more North American oil to the United States and produce thousands of private sector jobs to appease his environmental base…and so on and so on….Obama makes Jimmy Carter look like a reasonable successful president.
However, given the republican field, when most anyone outside of a circus clown could beat president Obama in November, I would bet you $ 100 right now, that the republicans are going to nominate one of a only handful of people living today who cannot win in November. Newt Gingrich? Really? Six months ago, I suspect that the Obama’s were lamenting their last Christmas in the White House and how much they were going to miss vacationing around the world on the taxpayer’s dime. I imagine today they are measuring for new drapes and looking forward to hosting sweet 16 birthday parties in the White House for the First Daughters.
Maybe I have this wrong. Maybe the republicans really aren’t the political versions of the Chicago Cubs. Maybe they aren’t cursed by an Ex Cub factor or a Retread Candidate Curse. However, no one, and I mean no one outside the state of Ohio thought the Reds could beat the A’s in 1990. While the 2012 presidential election is there for the taking in 2012, on a silver platter, if Newt is the nominee, I suspect the republicans will give it back.
Marvelous Marv Throneberry was one of the worst fielding first basemen in baseball history on one of the worst teams in baseball history, the 1962 New York Mets. A story is told that after a game in which he committed his usual 2 errors, the last of which, a dropped routine popup, cost the Mets the game, there was a birthday celebration in the clubhouse for one of the Mets players. Each player had a piece of cake with the exception of Marvelous Marv. Legend has it that Throneberry complained aloud that everyone had cake and he had none. Marv’s legendary manager Casey Stengel looked at Marv and blurted out for the entire clubhouse to hear “We was gonna give you a piece of cake, but we was afraid you was gonna drop it!”
Why does this story make me think of the republicans? Why does the Ex Cub Factor make me nervous? Maybe I am just missing baseball season. Maybe I am overly pessimistic. However, I just have a strong feeling that the republicans are expecting to get a piece of cake this November…but I think they are gonna drop it.
For those not familiar with the Ex-Cub Factor, the curse works like this - any baseball team that makes the world series with 3 or more ex-Cubs on their roster will lose the world series. Since 1946 this has held true for 13 of 14 world series teams with 3 or more ex-cubs on their world series roster. Only the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1960, on a fluke homerun by light hitting second baseman Bill Mazeroski bested the Ex Cub factor. However, in the only series to defy the Ex Cub Factor, the winning Pirates were outscored by the Yankees 55-27 over the seven game stand. Even when bested, The Ex Cub Factor gets in its shots.
In 1990 the country yawned in anticipation of the coming world series which was nothing more than a coronation of the Oakland A’s who made a laughing stock of the San Francisco Giants in the 1989 series, beating them convincingly four games to zero. However, late in the season, the A’s added their 3rd ex-Cub to their roster, seemingly daring the the Ex Cub Factor to show itself. Only long suffering Cub fan Mike Royko spotted this critical roster gaffe by the A’s and predicted certain victory for the Cincinnati Reds. Not only did the Reds win the world series, but in a defiant show of force, the Ex Cub Factor made a mockery of the 1990 series and the Red won in a route, four games to none.
I think the republicans might have their own curse, maybe it’s the “retread candidate curse”, but watching the GOP presidential circus is making me think they are starting to resemble the 1990 Oakland A’s. I don’t think that in modern times there has been a more vulnerable sitting president than President Obama. His polling numbers are beyond awful. His disapproval ratings are higher than his approval ratings. 70% of the country feels the country is headed in the wrong direction. Even his personal likability numbers are hitting new lows. The economic recovery that should have been has been muted by his over bearing tax and regulatory policies. Unemployment is so bad that unemployment numbers only go down when the number of people who quit looking for work goes up. The CBO has rescored his healthcare plan and published what everyone with half a brain already knew, that healthcare costs and the deficit will go up not down when Obamacare becomes the law of the land. Obama spiked an oil pipeline that would bring more North American oil to the United States and produce thousands of private sector jobs to appease his environmental base…and so on and so on….Obama makes Jimmy Carter look like a reasonable successful president.
However, given the republican field, when most anyone outside of a circus clown could beat president Obama in November, I would bet you $ 100 right now, that the republicans are going to nominate one of a only handful of people living today who cannot win in November. Newt Gingrich? Really? Six months ago, I suspect that the Obama’s were lamenting their last Christmas in the White House and how much they were going to miss vacationing around the world on the taxpayer’s dime. I imagine today they are measuring for new drapes and looking forward to hosting sweet 16 birthday parties in the White House for the First Daughters.
Maybe I have this wrong. Maybe the republicans really aren’t the political versions of the Chicago Cubs. Maybe they aren’t cursed by an Ex Cub factor or a Retread Candidate Curse. However, no one, and I mean no one outside the state of Ohio thought the Reds could beat the A’s in 1990. While the 2012 presidential election is there for the taking in 2012, on a silver platter, if Newt is the nominee, I suspect the republicans will give it back.
Marvelous Marv Throneberry was one of the worst fielding first basemen in baseball history on one of the worst teams in baseball history, the 1962 New York Mets. A story is told that after a game in which he committed his usual 2 errors, the last of which, a dropped routine popup, cost the Mets the game, there was a birthday celebration in the clubhouse for one of the Mets players. Each player had a piece of cake with the exception of Marvelous Marv. Legend has it that Throneberry complained aloud that everyone had cake and he had none. Marv’s legendary manager Casey Stengel looked at Marv and blurted out for the entire clubhouse to hear “We was gonna give you a piece of cake, but we was afraid you was gonna drop it!”
Why does this story make me think of the republicans? Why does the Ex Cub Factor make me nervous? Maybe I am just missing baseball season. Maybe I am overly pessimistic. However, I just have a strong feeling that the republicans are expecting to get a piece of cake this November…but I think they are gonna drop it.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Summer of Love Part II? Maybe Not
I was 5 years old during the Summer of Love. I didn't know it was the summer of love. For me, 1967 was the summer of learning how to ride a two-wheel bike and catch a baseball. I didn't know where San Francisco was or that there was a war in Vietnam. I always felt like I kind of missed out on something, by being around during the Summer of Love, but too little to have any idea of what was going on.
This might be part of the reason why The Occupiers have been so interesting to me. While they are literally a poor-man's version of the hippie revolution of 1967, I guess they are the closest thing we have today to counter-culture. I thought maybe the Occupy Movement had enough cachet, enough backbone, and enough conviction to become relevant and recreate some of the social awareness of the Summer of Love. I am a big enough person to admit when I am wrong. I wouldn't insult the Summer of Love by comparing the Occupy movement with it.
There is no more trite cliche than "you can never go back home"...I guess it could be extended to say you can never go back to 1967 either...no matter how filthy you look or how badly you smell. I was in Boston on business a few weeks ago and made it a point to visit "Occupy Boston". What a letdown. Occupy Boston was essentially city of tents that should have been put in the dumpster back in 1967. I don't know if Philip Morris is the official sponsor of the Occupy movement, but when I went to visit it was mostly a bunch of folks who needed a shower standing around bumming smokes from each other. Maybe they were on a break or something, but there wasn't a lot of protesting going on. No chants, no drums, no human microphone speeches. The only activity was a couple of occupiers making a sign letting people know that they needed donations of blankets, coats, socks, men's & women's underwear. I noticed they left soap off the list. I thought about asking if they forgot about toiletries in general, but I was wearing a suit and tie that day and presumed that they probably weren't that interested in hearing my suggestions. They probably should have added cigarettes to the list too, because they looked like they were running low, but again, I didn't want to seem like a butt-insky. In addition to the signs asking for donations of things they needed, there were lots of other signs making ridiculous statements or suggestions like "People before profits" "no electoral college" "tax the greedy, feed the needy" "We have jobs, we need revolution" They have jobs? really? I didn't know camping out in Boston was a job. A little solid advice for them...if they want to keep that job they better quit hanging around smoking cigarettes and get back to work. There were some clearly self-serving signs like "Outlaw Student Debt"...I wonder who wrote that one.
I was really disappointed in the occupiers I saw. Maybe, like the Redsox of old, the Boston Occupiers are just lousy occupiers...the cellar dwellers of the occupy movement. However, I also spent a fair amount of time on the OWS website reading and chatting with occupiers on their forum. Again, major disappointment. Rational ideas and realistic solutions are absent from the OWS debate, pushed aside by calls for a ban on currency and a return to essentially a barter economy. Really? Barter economy? That's how we are going to get out of the nation's financial mess?
Whether they know it or not, the occupiers have some legitimate gripes. The government is out of control. The cozy relationships between Wall Street and Washington are an abomination of our treasured capitalist system. Crony capitalism looks after the fat cats often to the detriment of those trying to work their way up the ladder. What is their solution? Asking for handouts, demanding that debt be illegal, and accusing George Bush of planning 9/11 are not solutions. They are lunacy. Also, camping on private or municipal property making a nuisance of oneself is no way to make an impact on society. I know the occupiers hate leadership and any sense of authority through a hierarchy, but if they want anyone to take them seriously, they need leadership, they need a message, and they need an agenda. Absent any of these they are just smelly loiterers who are running low on smokes. I doubt there are many five year old kids today who are going to look back and feel like they missed something because they were too young to be an occupier.
This might be part of the reason why The Occupiers have been so interesting to me. While they are literally a poor-man's version of the hippie revolution of 1967, I guess they are the closest thing we have today to counter-culture. I thought maybe the Occupy Movement had enough cachet, enough backbone, and enough conviction to become relevant and recreate some of the social awareness of the Summer of Love. I am a big enough person to admit when I am wrong. I wouldn't insult the Summer of Love by comparing the Occupy movement with it.
There is no more trite cliche than "you can never go back home"...I guess it could be extended to say you can never go back to 1967 either...no matter how filthy you look or how badly you smell. I was in Boston on business a few weeks ago and made it a point to visit "Occupy Boston". What a letdown. Occupy Boston was essentially city of tents that should have been put in the dumpster back in 1967. I don't know if Philip Morris is the official sponsor of the Occupy movement, but when I went to visit it was mostly a bunch of folks who needed a shower standing around bumming smokes from each other. Maybe they were on a break or something, but there wasn't a lot of protesting going on. No chants, no drums, no human microphone speeches. The only activity was a couple of occupiers making a sign letting people know that they needed donations of blankets, coats, socks, men's & women's underwear. I noticed they left soap off the list. I thought about asking if they forgot about toiletries in general, but I was wearing a suit and tie that day and presumed that they probably weren't that interested in hearing my suggestions. They probably should have added cigarettes to the list too, because they looked like they were running low, but again, I didn't want to seem like a butt-insky. In addition to the signs asking for donations of things they needed, there were lots of other signs making ridiculous statements or suggestions like "People before profits" "no electoral college" "tax the greedy, feed the needy" "We have jobs, we need revolution" They have jobs? really? I didn't know camping out in Boston was a job. A little solid advice for them...if they want to keep that job they better quit hanging around smoking cigarettes and get back to work. There were some clearly self-serving signs like "Outlaw Student Debt"...I wonder who wrote that one.
I was really disappointed in the occupiers I saw. Maybe, like the Redsox of old, the Boston Occupiers are just lousy occupiers...the cellar dwellers of the occupy movement. However, I also spent a fair amount of time on the OWS website reading and chatting with occupiers on their forum. Again, major disappointment. Rational ideas and realistic solutions are absent from the OWS debate, pushed aside by calls for a ban on currency and a return to essentially a barter economy. Really? Barter economy? That's how we are going to get out of the nation's financial mess?
Whether they know it or not, the occupiers have some legitimate gripes. The government is out of control. The cozy relationships between Wall Street and Washington are an abomination of our treasured capitalist system. Crony capitalism looks after the fat cats often to the detriment of those trying to work their way up the ladder. What is their solution? Asking for handouts, demanding that debt be illegal, and accusing George Bush of planning 9/11 are not solutions. They are lunacy. Also, camping on private or municipal property making a nuisance of oneself is no way to make an impact on society. I know the occupiers hate leadership and any sense of authority through a hierarchy, but if they want anyone to take them seriously, they need leadership, they need a message, and they need an agenda. Absent any of these they are just smelly loiterers who are running low on smokes. I doubt there are many five year old kids today who are going to look back and feel like they missed something because they were too young to be an occupier.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Optimism Misplaced?
Not everyone is a big dog person, but I am. I think dogs are great. It's not that they don't have their downside, but on balance dogs are a big "thumbs up". We have had a cocker spaniel for about 8 years. She is a great little dog. While she gets a little put out when she has to spend time in the back yard by herself and sometimes she just can't seem to relax, she is an eternal optimist. I think that is what I like about dogs most. They are by their nature very optimistic creatures. Whenever I see my dog, she is wagging what's left of her clipped tail at a furious pace. No matter what she has been doing or thinking, when she sees any of her family members she is filled with optimism. Is she going to get a meal? Are we going out to throw the Frisbee? Is she getting a treat? Are we going for a walk or a ride in the car? More often than not, she is disappointed and she is not getting one of the handful of activities that make her day. However, every time she sees one of us, she is as optimistic as the last that something good is going to happen.
I think UVa football fans share a lot in common with my dog. We are eternal optimists. We have to be. Every year we begin the season with unreasonable if not unbridled optimism. Sometimes our optimism is rewarded with great games like this weekend's win against a very good, previously undefeated Georgia Tech team. Other times, our optimism is dashed in games like our loss to a solid but over matched Southern Mississippi team. We were very optimistic going into that game. Statistically we were the dominant team. Between the 20 yard lines we were by far the better team, yet we found a way to lose the game. Then there are games like our win against the Idaho Vandals. We dominated the game. We were not just the better team, but the much better team, yet we barely won...in very unsatisfying fashion. I think in dog terms the Idaho game has to be a lot like when my excited dog realizes that her optimism is going to be rewarded by going for a ride in the car...only to find out that the car ride is actually a trip to stay at the vet's kennel while we go away for a week at the beach.
I think that the time is upon us, when ever optimistic yet long suffering UVa fans are about to start getting more treats and less rides to the vet. While this team still has a long way to go to deliver consistently competitive performances against both mediocre and strong programs alike, we are clearly on the right path. Our kids look faster, more often than not they are in the right position, but most importantly, they have a tremendous determination. There is no "quit" in this team. I have seen them make some dreadful mistakes only to bounce right back with a reciprocal stellar play. Mike London and his staff are getting good kids who can play into the program. With only one full recruiting class under his belt and a second due to arrive next summer, we are starting to see the tide turn in our favor. I am sure we have some more rides to the vet in our future, but I can see are a lot more treats and Frisbee sessions in our future than I can recall in a number of years. Is my optimism misplaced? Only time will tell. However, I can state without question that my optimism is as high as it has been in many years.
I think UVa football fans share a lot in common with my dog. We are eternal optimists. We have to be. Every year we begin the season with unreasonable if not unbridled optimism. Sometimes our optimism is rewarded with great games like this weekend's win against a very good, previously undefeated Georgia Tech team. Other times, our optimism is dashed in games like our loss to a solid but over matched Southern Mississippi team. We were very optimistic going into that game. Statistically we were the dominant team. Between the 20 yard lines we were by far the better team, yet we found a way to lose the game. Then there are games like our win against the Idaho Vandals. We dominated the game. We were not just the better team, but the much better team, yet we barely won...in very unsatisfying fashion. I think in dog terms the Idaho game has to be a lot like when my excited dog realizes that her optimism is going to be rewarded by going for a ride in the car...only to find out that the car ride is actually a trip to stay at the vet's kennel while we go away for a week at the beach.
I think that the time is upon us, when ever optimistic yet long suffering UVa fans are about to start getting more treats and less rides to the vet. While this team still has a long way to go to deliver consistently competitive performances against both mediocre and strong programs alike, we are clearly on the right path. Our kids look faster, more often than not they are in the right position, but most importantly, they have a tremendous determination. There is no "quit" in this team. I have seen them make some dreadful mistakes only to bounce right back with a reciprocal stellar play. Mike London and his staff are getting good kids who can play into the program. With only one full recruiting class under his belt and a second due to arrive next summer, we are starting to see the tide turn in our favor. I am sure we have some more rides to the vet in our future, but I can see are a lot more treats and Frisbee sessions in our future than I can recall in a number of years. Is my optimism misplaced? Only time will tell. However, I can state without question that my optimism is as high as it has been in many years.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
The Economics of Shovels
Obama always talks about "shovel ready" projects. He likes to tout shovel-ready jobs that he can fund with money the govenment borrows from abroad... or at least he always talks about the first part of that statement. I wonder if Obama ever used a shovel or understands a shovel's value in the market. I am sure he undertands the theory of the shovel and maybe even the physics of the shovel, but does know why we need shovels or know all of the things I can do with a shovel? Based on his speech yesterday about raising taxes yesterday, I don't think he knows anything about shovels other than that if he needs one, he should be able to come over and take mine.
I think Obama's speech yesterday was a complete capitulation to the economic doldrums we have seen since 2008. A campaign speech versus a policy speech, the subtext of Obama's speech was that you can't get more by earning it in our economy today. Instead, you can get more by taking from the mean guys...the millionaires and billionaires. The president told us that the way for us to get more for everyone is to take it from someone else. How is that going to work?How is that leadership?
The president snarked "it's not class warefare, it's math" Really? For someone who is supposed to be so smart, he doesn't seem to be very good at math. Beyond all the false comparisons in the "Buffett Rule" and his ommissions about double taxation of corporate taxes, how can he miss the simple math that the federal spending has far outpaced the capacity for even the most robust economy to support it? How did he miss that math? How can the president miss the math that job creation is essentially zero. What is the math behind creating jobs by taking money from one pocket and putting it in another? Did the president quanitfy the lost jobs and economic output in our domestic energy industry? Where is that math?
I think the only math problem the president has is that the math behind his proposals doesn't work.
I think Obama's speech yesterday was a complete capitulation to the economic doldrums we have seen since 2008. A campaign speech versus a policy speech, the subtext of Obama's speech was that you can't get more by earning it in our economy today. Instead, you can get more by taking from the mean guys...the millionaires and billionaires. The president told us that the way for us to get more for everyone is to take it from someone else. How is that going to work?How is that leadership?
The president snarked "it's not class warefare, it's math" Really? For someone who is supposed to be so smart, he doesn't seem to be very good at math. Beyond all the false comparisons in the "Buffett Rule" and his ommissions about double taxation of corporate taxes, how can he miss the simple math that the federal spending has far outpaced the capacity for even the most robust economy to support it? How did he miss that math? How can the president miss the math that job creation is essentially zero. What is the math behind creating jobs by taking money from one pocket and putting it in another? Did the president quanitfy the lost jobs and economic output in our domestic energy industry? Where is that math?
I think the only math problem the president has is that the math behind his proposals doesn't work.
Monday, September 19, 2011
A Jobs Bill that Doesn't Cost a Dime...and will fill Govt Coffers
I don't have many rules in my staff meetings. However one rule I do have is that you can't gripe about something without an idea or suggestion to fix the problem. I don't like President Obama's jobs bill nor his plan to pay for it. I don't dislike it because I don't like Obama or because I favor rich fat cats. I don't like his plan because it won't work. It has not worked in the past and it won't work now. This position is not political or personal, it's just reality.
If I make this comment, it is now my obligation to propose an alternative that will work. None of this is new, nor is it brain surgery.
1) The Tax Code - scrap it in total and start over. Propose a new tax system that at its inception will be revenue neutral. Tax all income above the national poverty rate at a single rate - likely less than 20%. No deductions for mortgages, charitable contributions, child credits, nothing. Corporations pay the same rate...and they get a one time tax holiday to repatriate foreign earnings at 10%. 1% national sales tax that requires a 3/4 majority in congress to raise. Everyone pays at a lower rate and they can do their taxes on the back of a cocktail napkin.
2) Obama Care - Scrap it and start over. Everyone outside of the Obama administration, his cheerleaders in the mainstream media, and his storm troopers at Salon, MoveOn, etc knows that this is a bad plan. Using the media analogy of passing legislation is like making sausage, if we made sausage when passing Obamacare, then we made a bad batch of sausage and it is giving the American economy a stroke. Scrap this bad plan and start over. There are laudable ideas in the 2000 pages of Obamacare, great, use them and a starting point, but getting this boot off the neck of the economy will create millions of jobs.
3) Invest in domestic energy production - Our high energy prices equate to a surtax that we transfer to the OPEC nations every day. Drill offshore, drill in Alaska, mine oil sand and shale and we will drive our energy costs down. We will create real jobs - we won't have to make up fictional statistics about "saved" jobs, rather we will create real jobs in an industry sector that his been shackled by our government for years.
You know how much these ideas cost? Nothing.If Obama announced this as his new plan, markets would soar, energy prices would drop, unemployment would trend down. Let's not forget the other consequence of this plan...government revenues would soar. I am not an advocate of starving the government, but rather than doubling down on policies that have failed and spending money we don't have, why not give this a whirl. The results can't be any worse than the proposal on the table. If Obama proposed this, his second term would be secure. Heck, I'd probably vote for him if he could get this plan passed before the 2012 elections. Want to put the ball in the Republicans court and see if they bounce it off their knee out of bounds? Try this plan and see what those guys do. I know what I would do, I'd high-five my buddy Obama.
If I make this comment, it is now my obligation to propose an alternative that will work. None of this is new, nor is it brain surgery.
1) The Tax Code - scrap it in total and start over. Propose a new tax system that at its inception will be revenue neutral. Tax all income above the national poverty rate at a single rate - likely less than 20%. No deductions for mortgages, charitable contributions, child credits, nothing. Corporations pay the same rate...and they get a one time tax holiday to repatriate foreign earnings at 10%. 1% national sales tax that requires a 3/4 majority in congress to raise. Everyone pays at a lower rate and they can do their taxes on the back of a cocktail napkin.
2) Obama Care - Scrap it and start over. Everyone outside of the Obama administration, his cheerleaders in the mainstream media, and his storm troopers at Salon, MoveOn, etc knows that this is a bad plan. Using the media analogy of passing legislation is like making sausage, if we made sausage when passing Obamacare, then we made a bad batch of sausage and it is giving the American economy a stroke. Scrap this bad plan and start over. There are laudable ideas in the 2000 pages of Obamacare, great, use them and a starting point, but getting this boot off the neck of the economy will create millions of jobs.
3) Invest in domestic energy production - Our high energy prices equate to a surtax that we transfer to the OPEC nations every day. Drill offshore, drill in Alaska, mine oil sand and shale and we will drive our energy costs down. We will create real jobs - we won't have to make up fictional statistics about "saved" jobs, rather we will create real jobs in an industry sector that his been shackled by our government for years.
You know how much these ideas cost? Nothing.If Obama announced this as his new plan, markets would soar, energy prices would drop, unemployment would trend down. Let's not forget the other consequence of this plan...government revenues would soar. I am not an advocate of starving the government, but rather than doubling down on policies that have failed and spending money we don't have, why not give this a whirl. The results can't be any worse than the proposal on the table. If Obama proposed this, his second term would be secure. Heck, I'd probably vote for him if he could get this plan passed before the 2012 elections. Want to put the ball in the Republicans court and see if they bounce it off their knee out of bounds? Try this plan and see what those guys do. I know what I would do, I'd high-five my buddy Obama.
Friday, September 9, 2011
The Minimalist
I have never been what I would consider a minimalist. If the fit of my suit britches is any indication lately, I am anything but a minimalist. I have also never been a good distance runner. In fact I have never finished a distance race of any note in anything higher than the bottom 15% of finishers.
So what is the intersection between these two realities? I would like to run one last marathon before I hang up my distance running pursuits. I will be fifty when I make this last race attempt. Maybe the appeal of the alliteration is the appeal...a final and fifth finish at fifty has a nice ring to it. However, I am not built for distance running. Short stocky legs, thick build, a catcher's speed, distance running is not my natural state. If my survival in the wild depended on my speed, I would meet my Darwinian demise in short order.
After four marathons in the past 9 years, I am starting to ache. When I go for my sporadic runs of 4 or 5 miles today...I ache. My knees ache, my ankles ache, my left heel aches.
Over the past few months, I read articles about how barefoot running was the new craze for distance running. If you had aches and pains while running, the solution was minimalist running, natural barefoot running. I was a skeptic to say the least. Then I started to see articles about minimalist shoes that simulated the effect of barefoot running, delivering all its benefits while protecting your feet from rocks, pavement, etc. I was curious. Was this a way to get the benefits of barefoot running without the risk of gashing the bottoms of your feet or worrying about running on hot pavement?
I bought a pair of New Balance Minimus shoes last weekend. I have done three runs of roughly 3.5 miles in these "barefoot" shoes. While the jury is still out on whether or not they cure the aches and pains I had running in traditional shoes, there is no question that they created new and acute pains in my legs by using muscles I never knew I had in my calves and thighs. Apparently, running barefoot promotes an entirely new gate in one's running stride. It is almost like learning to run all over again. When I woke up in the morning after my first "barefoot run" I felt like I had run a full marathon...getting to the bathroom was a struggle, not because of exacerbation of the normal aches, but I had new and acute strains that were greatly amusing to my lovely wife who found the whole idea of minimus shoes and simulated barefoot running a little bit "out there".However, after 20+ years of marriage, she has learned to find the humor in my experiments.
I am not sure how this story will end. I am going to try to do 4 miles tomorrow morning in my barefoot shoes. It is my intent to run the 2012 Richmond Marathon in barefoot shoes. I am not a minimalist, nor a good runner. It is my hope that combining these two negatives will have a positive result. If you see me running in these ridiculous looking shoes, I expect to be heckled, so don't hold back, any humorous heckling will take my mind off my aching calves.
So what is the intersection between these two realities? I would like to run one last marathon before I hang up my distance running pursuits. I will be fifty when I make this last race attempt. Maybe the appeal of the alliteration is the appeal...a final and fifth finish at fifty has a nice ring to it. However, I am not built for distance running. Short stocky legs, thick build, a catcher's speed, distance running is not my natural state. If my survival in the wild depended on my speed, I would meet my Darwinian demise in short order.
After four marathons in the past 9 years, I am starting to ache. When I go for my sporadic runs of 4 or 5 miles today...I ache. My knees ache, my ankles ache, my left heel aches.
Over the past few months, I read articles about how barefoot running was the new craze for distance running. If you had aches and pains while running, the solution was minimalist running, natural barefoot running. I was a skeptic to say the least. Then I started to see articles about minimalist shoes that simulated the effect of barefoot running, delivering all its benefits while protecting your feet from rocks, pavement, etc. I was curious. Was this a way to get the benefits of barefoot running without the risk of gashing the bottoms of your feet or worrying about running on hot pavement?
I bought a pair of New Balance Minimus shoes last weekend. I have done three runs of roughly 3.5 miles in these "barefoot" shoes. While the jury is still out on whether or not they cure the aches and pains I had running in traditional shoes, there is no question that they created new and acute pains in my legs by using muscles I never knew I had in my calves and thighs. Apparently, running barefoot promotes an entirely new gate in one's running stride. It is almost like learning to run all over again. When I woke up in the morning after my first "barefoot run" I felt like I had run a full marathon...getting to the bathroom was a struggle, not because of exacerbation of the normal aches, but I had new and acute strains that were greatly amusing to my lovely wife who found the whole idea of minimus shoes and simulated barefoot running a little bit "out there".However, after 20+ years of marriage, she has learned to find the humor in my experiments.
I am not sure how this story will end. I am going to try to do 4 miles tomorrow morning in my barefoot shoes. It is my intent to run the 2012 Richmond Marathon in barefoot shoes. I am not a minimalist, nor a good runner. It is my hope that combining these two negatives will have a positive result. If you see me running in these ridiculous looking shoes, I expect to be heckled, so don't hold back, any humorous heckling will take my mind off my aching calves.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Doing Homework
Since no one likes to do homework while they are on vacation, I thought I would do my patriotic duty and do Obama's homework for him. BTW, I don't care if Obama is on vacation. He should get a vaca like anyone else. From a political point of view his timing and location are a bit odd, but it's his vacation, I don't care where he goes. If I were in charge of his public persona though, I would have suggested a working staycation to show solidarity with those who are having a tough time in the current economy, but it is his vacation, he can do whatever he wants, I really don't care However, since he is on vacation, the least I can do is prepare a jobs plan for him to present after labor day. If he actually does this, he will be elected to a second term, without question. So it would be my suggestion that he take this plan, turn it into a speech and get ready for his second term.
A job creating plan does not have to cost a dime, so there is no stimulus, no presents for corporations, and no need for infusions of foreign cash. Here we go:
1) Overhaul the tax code - I am sick and tired of social engineering through the tax code and it doesn't work, it is a drag on the economy. Governments trying to pick winners and losers in the market and the economy through tax policy has been an abject failure and has left us a tax code that is far too complicated and ineffective.
Single individual tax rate of 17.5% (I have some flexibility on the optimal rate) for every dollar earned above the poverty rate. No deductions for anything, no loopholes for anyone. No real estate interest rate deduction, no earned income tax credit, no nothing, no deductions, no credit. Everyone can figure out their tax liability with a pencil and paper and 5 minutes of time.
Corporate tax rate of 15%. No loopholes, no deductions. Income on foreign operations and investments can be repatriated at 15%. A rush of cash will come back to the US for investment in the business.
1% national sales tax on everything except food and medicine. This will make sure that everyone is vested in and paying into funding government. The more you consume, the more you pay into the system. Any attempt to raise this rate will require a 3/4 majority of both houses of congress.
2) Repeal Obamacare. Face it, this is bad legislation adding to both the uncertainty and cost of doing business. It has been scored by the CBO as adding a trillion dollars to the national debt over the next ten years. The plan is a loser and an example of bad government. Admit it and set about fixing the problem. Stat over. Get non-partisan instustry experts to weigh in. Commit to a market-based system of competition across the national landscape. No protections for healthcare providers within state lines. Everyone providing healthcare must compete nationally.
3) Raise social security and medicare benefit eligibility to 70 years old for anyone under 50. People are living longer and pulling way more out of these programs than they paid in. That's wrong. Raise the age at which folks start to pull benefit out of the system, which will grab a few more years of contributions and maybe we can start getting these runaway programs under control. I would also start some level of means testing that would reduce benefits to wealthy retirees. The wealthy retirees would still receive a reduced level of benefits - they have to, they are owed. They paid into the system for years, they are entitled to at least the amount of their payments into the system plus interest compounded at the risk free rate over the course of their working careers. However, if I have done well and have a very good retirement income, I should not pull more out of these soon-to-be insolvent systems than I paid in. I could have several levels of testing to try to best align people's retirement incomes with the funds they paid into the system over their working careers.
4) Corporate welfare stops. Farm subsidies, ethanol subsidies, manipulating commodity prices, tax breaks for pet industries, etc. The government should not be in the business of picking winners and subsidizing industry it deems more worthy than others. Business will either succeed or fail on its own. That is what free markets are about. Let them do their jobs.
5) Foster domestic energy development. Drill off the coasts, in Alaska, and in the Gulf of Mexico. Harvest oil shale and coal. Authoize new nukes and refining plants. We can be energy independent in 10 years. Get it done by letting business go to work creating our own energy. If solar & wind energy is part of that equation, great, I hope it does well, but it has to compete with the next best alternative. No intervention by the government to provide an advantage of one energy source over another. Imagine the rush of investment and hiring in an energy sector that is unfettered by capricious and punitive government regulation.
There you go. A plan that will spur economic growth and make every ones April 15th a lot less stressful. It will drive up tax revenues and hiring by creating an environment in which capital and investment are rewarded which will result in massive investments in business which will result in very brisk hiring.
More jobs, more tax revenues, and far less debt. Seems like a no-brainer to me. I want Obama to enjoy his vacation, so I did his homework for him. I don't expect any thanks, but I am looking forward to participating in the coming economic boom.
A job creating plan does not have to cost a dime, so there is no stimulus, no presents for corporations, and no need for infusions of foreign cash. Here we go:
1) Overhaul the tax code - I am sick and tired of social engineering through the tax code and it doesn't work, it is a drag on the economy. Governments trying to pick winners and losers in the market and the economy through tax policy has been an abject failure and has left us a tax code that is far too complicated and ineffective.
Single individual tax rate of 17.5% (I have some flexibility on the optimal rate) for every dollar earned above the poverty rate. No deductions for anything, no loopholes for anyone. No real estate interest rate deduction, no earned income tax credit, no nothing, no deductions, no credit. Everyone can figure out their tax liability with a pencil and paper and 5 minutes of time.
Corporate tax rate of 15%. No loopholes, no deductions. Income on foreign operations and investments can be repatriated at 15%. A rush of cash will come back to the US for investment in the business.
1% national sales tax on everything except food and medicine. This will make sure that everyone is vested in and paying into funding government. The more you consume, the more you pay into the system. Any attempt to raise this rate will require a 3/4 majority of both houses of congress.
2) Repeal Obamacare. Face it, this is bad legislation adding to both the uncertainty and cost of doing business. It has been scored by the CBO as adding a trillion dollars to the national debt over the next ten years. The plan is a loser and an example of bad government. Admit it and set about fixing the problem. Stat over. Get non-partisan instustry experts to weigh in. Commit to a market-based system of competition across the national landscape. No protections for healthcare providers within state lines. Everyone providing healthcare must compete nationally.
3) Raise social security and medicare benefit eligibility to 70 years old for anyone under 50. People are living longer and pulling way more out of these programs than they paid in. That's wrong. Raise the age at which folks start to pull benefit out of the system, which will grab a few more years of contributions and maybe we can start getting these runaway programs under control. I would also start some level of means testing that would reduce benefits to wealthy retirees. The wealthy retirees would still receive a reduced level of benefits - they have to, they are owed. They paid into the system for years, they are entitled to at least the amount of their payments into the system plus interest compounded at the risk free rate over the course of their working careers. However, if I have done well and have a very good retirement income, I should not pull more out of these soon-to-be insolvent systems than I paid in. I could have several levels of testing to try to best align people's retirement incomes with the funds they paid into the system over their working careers.
4) Corporate welfare stops. Farm subsidies, ethanol subsidies, manipulating commodity prices, tax breaks for pet industries, etc. The government should not be in the business of picking winners and subsidizing industry it deems more worthy than others. Business will either succeed or fail on its own. That is what free markets are about. Let them do their jobs.
5) Foster domestic energy development. Drill off the coasts, in Alaska, and in the Gulf of Mexico. Harvest oil shale and coal. Authoize new nukes and refining plants. We can be energy independent in 10 years. Get it done by letting business go to work creating our own energy. If solar & wind energy is part of that equation, great, I hope it does well, but it has to compete with the next best alternative. No intervention by the government to provide an advantage of one energy source over another. Imagine the rush of investment and hiring in an energy sector that is unfettered by capricious and punitive government regulation.
There you go. A plan that will spur economic growth and make every ones April 15th a lot less stressful. It will drive up tax revenues and hiring by creating an environment in which capital and investment are rewarded which will result in massive investments in business which will result in very brisk hiring.
More jobs, more tax revenues, and far less debt. Seems like a no-brainer to me. I want Obama to enjoy his vacation, so I did his homework for him. I don't expect any thanks, but I am looking forward to participating in the coming economic boom.
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