Federal Monopoly on Insane Management 7/4/p014

No private business, or organization is managed as poorly as federal government.  This is what causes annual deficits greater than a trillion dollars, $17.5Tr in debt, over $50Tr in unfunded liabilities, the anemic GDP, non-job market, high costs, and our bleak future. If federal government managed itself half as well as a dollar stores chain, the country would recover and prosper.

Ask a business why it exists; you’ll get an answer. The federal government can’t answer because of wide disagreement about the scope of its powers. Businesses don’t make a habit of making changes without evidence that they’ll work. In federal government, there is no such thing. Legislators pass laws, but an agency of bureaucrats accountable to no-one decides how to implement them. The result could be what legislation intended, or the opposite, or be so expensive it isn’t worth doing. Mechanisms to test effectiveness, provide ongoing reports, identify opportunities and implementing changes, provisions for pulling the plug, and backup plans appear to not exist.

No pizzeria going through bad times borrows money from the competition, uses it to give raises to overpaid workers, or research better pizza-making techniques, and then borrows more to pay the rent. The federal government sold debt to China and didn’t stop until the Chinese decided US bonds weren’t worth buying. The requested  2015 budget includes a 1% salary increase for federal workers ($1B) whose compensation is higher than their private sector counterparts.  At least a third of the requested 2015 discretionary budget of 1.16Tr ($39B) is for untested initiatives, (job training for disadvantaged, grants to community colleges, underwriting small business loans), new building requests, and IT systems. Congress could say no to these, but it can’t change funding for portions of legislated (mandated) programs without passing another law.

Why deliver pizza to a house a mile away when you can send it to pizza regulators in Washington who, after taking a slice or two, send what’s left to your state to schedule delivery if the customer deserves the pizza based on a long list of criteria.  That’s how federally mandated unemployment compensation works. Businesses footing the bill could pay people the way they pay severance.  Instead, companies pay federal taxes which are distributed to states that administer and enforce federal regulations.  This odd delivery system is often used in federal government. Large changes are usually not tested on a small scale and good ideas can become nightmares. The ACA, bailouts, stimulus programs and common core are a few examples that add up to tens of trillions. It’s not hard to wreck an economy if you do things this way.

You can balance the budget by eliminating or cutting departments, calling a moratorium on new initiatives, privatizing functions businesses can do (e.g. selling real estate, and job training), legislating a moratorium on mandatory government programs that are not essential (e.g. than food and shelter, medical), testing their impact and eliminating those with no impact. Streamlining processes and regulations that implement laws and testing to quantify  the impact (positive and negative) of regulations would eliminate many. Keeping more programs discretionary, implementing a process for changes in mandatory programs,  selling public land, drilling rights and mining rights, replacing the federal reserve with decentralized clearing houses, eliminating or reducing attempts to stabilize the economy through monetary policy, eliminating stimulus programs that give funds to specific businesses, cutting aid to enemies of the US and reducing all foreign aid. Legislating a flat tax for all people, businesses and organizations (nonprofit included) would reduce the IRS budget to a small fraction of what it is now.

Finding the money is the easy part. Getting commitment to run this country as well as a chain of dollar stores is not impossible but is difficult. The combined effort of elected representatives, a number of state governments, with wide organized grassroots support, could work. The commitment required, a big one; it means putting the goal of fixing this country above career, above leisure time, long hours, doing unpopular things that will anger people.  One filibuster, one legal  case, sporadic protests, will not do it. Talk will not do it. Coordinated relentless barrages of actions against the executive branch, bureaucrats or Washington insiders for corruption, for failure to represent, for illegal actions, and  a commitment to  continue regardless of apparent success could work.

Confress wakeup 7-13-14

President Obama is complaining about that "Do nothing Congress" again, this time
because Congress will not do anything to prevent illegals from giving him the 3.5 Million dollars needed to protect the US border. The MNM agree. Again not surprising. His hands are tied? If only they were.

There is an arm of the government charged with insuring that mandated funds go the intended. Plainly stated in the constitution, the power is intended precisely for times like these -- to prevent the executive branch from gaining executive power.

Congress has the power to:
   1) pass provide funds ONLY  for border control
   2) use their oversight function to insure these and other allocated monies are distributed as budgeted. This was intended to be a check on the power of the executive - to limit power a president can gain fro using all funds for whatever he wishes
   3) Repeal Bush legislation that provides preferential treatment to OTM illegals crossing the border
   4) To provide finds directly to states should the Federal Government should the Administration fail to implement mandated functions
 
These powers re not specific to immigration. They pertain to all laws. Think about how different the situation of this country would be of congress exercised it's mandated functions by auditing every agency either directly or through contracted groups outside government to insure that mandated functions are implemented and that agencies have not strayed beyond their mandated functions. In areas where agencies have strayed from mandated functions, their charter and scope could be restricted.  This had been done in the past,  is long overdue and has enormous implications for the deficit and debt in this country. For example:

   If congress found that programs intended to help poor did not accomplish these goals, such programs could be eliminated. The number of programs that could be eliminated is amazing and could include the majority of discretionary employment programs, welfare in its current form, headstart, aid to foreign countries, the Justice department and department of Indian affairs and Obamacare, the department of education, the department of treasury and the Fed, reallocating functions of the Fed that do not meet it's mandated purposes. This is just a tip of the iceberg.

  Imagine how much more effective congress would be by setting the agenda rather than waiting for problems to occur and then conducting lengthy hearings whose results are questionable and that appear more like theater than investigation.

 Nobody, no arm of government will demand that congress do its job. As this function has been used only on occasion, there would be resistance. American citizens and their representatives cannot afford to base their actions on fear or entropy, if they want their country.

 Congress wake up. America needs you

Congress

President Obama is complaining about that "Do nothing Congress" again, this time
because Congress will not do anything to prevent illegals from giving him the 3.5 Million dollars needed to protect the US border. The MNM agree. Again not surprising. His hands are tied? If only they were.

There is an arm of the government charged with insuring that mandated funds go the intended. Plainly stated in the constitution, the power is intended precisely for times like these -- to prevent the executive branch from gaining executive power.

Congress has the power to:
   1) pass provide funds ONLY  for border control
   2) use their oversight function to insure these and other allocated monies are distributed as budgeted. This was intended to be a check on the power of the executive - to limit power a president can gain fro using all funds for whatever he wishes
   3) Repeal Bush legislation that provides preferential treatment to OTM illegals crossing the border
   4) To provide finds directly to states should the Federal Government should the Administration fail to implement mandated functions
 
These powers re not specific to immigration. They pertain to all laws. Think about how different the situation of this country would be of congress exercised it's mandated functions by auditing every agency either directly or through contracted groups outside government to insure that mandated functions are implemented and that agencies have not strayed beyond their mandated functions. In areas where agencies have strayed from mandated functions, their charter and scope could be restricted.  This had been done in the past,  is long overdue and has enormous implications for the deficit and debt in this country. For example:

   If congress found that programs intended to help poor did not accomplish these goals, such programs could be eliminated. The number of programs that could be eliminated is amazing and could include the majority of discretionary employment programs, welfare in its current form, headstart, aid to foreign countries, the Justice department and department of Indian affairs and Obamacare, the department of education, the department of treasury and the Fed, reallocating functions of the Fed that do not meet it's mandated purposes. This is just a tip of the iceberg.

  Imagine how much more effective congress would be by setting the agenda rather than waiting for problems to occur and then conducting lengthy hearings whose results are questionable and that appear more like theater than investigation.

 Nobody, no arm of government will demand that congress do its job. As this function has been used only on occasion, there would be resistance. American citizens and their representatives cannot afford to base their actions on fear or entropy, if they want their country.

 Congress wake up. America needs you!

Activism

As you probably noticed the United States is in trouble and the only people who can fix it are us-- Americans. I am not saying this for effect, to get people to listen to this or that party, read my blog, vote, join this or that resistance movement. I am saying it ad nauseum, constantly, because it's true and it's the only hope this country has.

Face it.

.....On futility of immigration reform

In an ideal world, our country would have enough resources to welcome all " tired and hungry huddled masses". This is not that world.

Proponents of a socialist America are  doing  their best to make you feel guilty if you say the words “illegal alien,”. They will try  to convince you that you are a racist, child-hater who gets his/her kicks torturing children by taking them from their parents for thinking  people should not be allowed to stay in this country illegally. They will do everything they can to make you feel ashamed and guilty for thinking you are "better" than poor people and that your penance should take the form of supporting illegal immigration.

Don’t fall for the truths sold to you by people who don't have the guts to grow up,  take off their rose colored glasses,  see the world as it is and absorb the numbers of people who we would be welcoming into our borders based on their logic.

There are horrors in this world much worse than being poor and having trouble feeding families. Genocide [as in Hitler, rape camps, bodies hacked to death] to the tune of the tens of millions is alive and well,  people dying of feces in their water supply before hunger can get them, widespread slavery,

There are hundreds of millions of people who would love to come to this country. Excessive immigration solves nothing and simply impoverishes the lives and morale of the one country that could be part of the solution instead of the problem. An America that is strong, prosperous, proud, and free is a model for humanity. A broken former democracy can't help anyone.

The Cowboy and the Federales

" No I will not stop my animals from grazing on "Federal property" my family had before the bureau existed.

Clivan Bundy of Nevada said no to the Bureau of Land Management as they were rounding up his cattle. Not an unusual scene in the US these days of 'government overeach.' The BLS then noticed that over one hundred armed militia from surrounding states were there pointing guns at them and retreated.

 The media calls the people put their lives in the line to protect freedom  "redneck hating anti-militia people" and the other usual epithets. Old story. Isn't there anything we can do?

Ahh wait I have it1 Send the Feds to the folks that like them - Democrats 

Anti-militia people who  live in places like NY and California,  love  big government,  know that tortoises are more important than people and if that means not using millions of acres of land, well to bad . They live in righteous terror. What the world is coming to when any jerk can just buy a gun. Guns  need to handled only by trained professionals like police and soldiers and swat teams, and the Bureau of Land Management and Homeland Security.  Since they sneer at people who take a stand against thugs who wear uniforms and  since Nevada ranchers and  their friends obviously don't like the Feds  why not send the Feds to them instead?

  I'm sure folks in NY or California would  welcome the BLM with open arms . Imagine the their  joy as they watched the feds  gobble up their land, tell them what flowers they can't plant {to protect endangered plant species} where they can't go [ rare species of ants they might step on], ], where they can't build telephone poles [ dangerous bird proliferation] And that's just the beginning. Perhaps Manhattan north of 23rd Street could become a wildlife preserve. Most of the Bronx and Westchester are wetlands that need to be protected, and thousands of beachfront acres in the Hamptons and Martha's Vineyard would have to be expropriated to protect the nearly extinct Periwinkle. Some minor inconveniences well worth it.  Think of how secure they'd feel knowing that  government is expanding its power only to  do what's best for them and protecting them from us.

An open letter to the U.S. from an American Israeli

.... On the Wests Inability to understand Arab communications


As a citizen of both the United States and Israel, the dual perspective I have allows me to form a perspective that can view the actions of both countries from a distance and sometimes see and accept realities that an Israeli or an American might not see, or might have hard living with. Being outside events may allow me to see things that others don't. I am writing this based on my experiences and thoughts alone. Many Jews speak as if they represent Israel, Jews. I don't. This is my personal view, different than what you will usually read, a little long but worth a read




The west is convinced Israel is an apartheid state. We build walls, refusing to believe that Palestinians would live in peace with us if we gave them a fair deal, stopped killing their babies and stealing their land, got rid of our creepy blockade  On campuses students learn that we deserve BDS, that   Natanyahu is a crazy fanatic ,persistent about Iran when  Israel has nuclear weapons and Iran just wants peaceful nuclear energy. Our  fixation on recognition Jewish state is racist. The way we  harp on it. The Palestinians don’t. Yassir Arafat might have been a terrorist once,  but he denounced violence. How do we know? He said so. More than once.

As a Israeli American, the naiveté of Americans about Arab communication astounds me. Israelis seem like Europeans in many ways. We speak English. We start businesses. We seem at home in the west. Actually, are equally at home and not at home almost anywhere in the world. Our country is a diverse middle eastern nation, Over half of us hail from Arab countries speak Arabic; the culture, it’s rich layered nonverbal nuances, indirect manner of responses, seemingly evasive and contradictory responses that are so very different from direct western approach. We understand  ‘ arabic thought and communications’ just as we understand ‘western’.

When we hear a speech by a Muslim leader in English, we admire his PR skills  knowing  that what he is saying to his own people in Arabic is not what he is telling you. He knows that and we can detect the pride in his stance at your gullibility.  Since you seem to be oblivious to these contradictions, there  is almost no attempt to hide it in the Arab world- other than by using different languages. One needs only to read Arabic newspapers to see vast differences.

How do you manage, with all of your intelligence to miss this; to  hear  Palestinians on the west bank say“ we want peace”  in english but not hear  them chant “ we love death”   at the same time in Arabic.   How is it that Nasa’s satellites manage to not hear Iran’s former Atomic Energy director Abbasi’s  say  on public TV that Iran had concealed information on its nuclear program for years in public television because Western intelligence had used  information provided to the UN in 2006 to sabotage nuclear development.

American strategists views on Israel-Palestine and the interests of  U.S. betray a surprising misunderstanding of  how Arabs communicate. Experts who inform U.S. strategy actually  base the policies they recommend on the public statements of  Arab terrorists in English.

As a clear enemy of the U.s. the case of El Quaida is especially relevant leaders say in public in English.   Ossama bin Laden son of an Egyptian billionaire says that his identity was shaped by the Palestine Israel conflict, Zawahiri ,  directs followers to support Palestinians in their struggle against Israel describe and these statements are taken at face value t Why and I quote “because they said so-- straight from the horses mouth -- both of them so it must be true.Right? Anybody living in the middle East would find this shocking.

    If you accept what you are told, it is not surprising that you conclude peace- between Palestine and Israel would would not  replace fury completely but would considerably diffuse anger. Are you really that naive?

    Don’t your political strategists know how to play poker?  When you buy oil do you just pay the first price quoted, not realizing that price is  lie, that there are many layers of lies and somewhere between one of those lies and another you settle on some agreement. Never ever do you take a statement at face value.

    Despite evidence to the contrary, westerners refuse to believe the a bible, that the Koran sanctions lying? Why? Because they are constantly told by people who proclaim themselves to be Moderate Muslims ( and therefore must be) that Islam is a peaceful religion and that they speak the truth. They are able to not only get away with this, but convince westerners that they are the true victims, that they are violent because they have no other option, that they and only they have a right of return generations after a war ended. Success  makes such a  lie all the more delicious, masterful, a gem to be proud of.  The Westerner who believes this nonsense earns no respect. He is an easily manipulable absurd idiots, to be laughed at and all the more despised for this weakness.  They know you belief what they tell you, that a suit, a tie and good English will convince you they are moderates leaving the, freedom to say what they wish in Arabic. They find this more absurd then we do.

When Abbas publicly lied to Kerry and told him that the organizations he had joined were not UN related and then went on Palestinian TV and announced that they were the next day, he gained honor from his people because he humiliated America by humiliating Kerry. This  insult was directly aimed not at us but at the US. How very odd that it passed you by. That when Abbas continued to rub it in by ignoring you other than to make demands , you stepped into his shoes, played  his role and offered something of your own - a deal you knew we would not refuse. Pollard. And however infuriating, however much we knew we shouldn’t we put one even just one of our own first before Arab terrorists. The Ayatolla of Iran was amused at what he perceived as our weakness. Iranian students were not.  They marched against the Ayatolla and told him in no uncertain times acting to help his own people the way Israel did was the type of admirable action they wanted to see from him.

Kerry told us time and time again that recognition of Israel was not important. As citizens in the South were again being hit by rockets from Gaza due to the failure of  the U.S. and Morsi to fulfill their obligations, and because we made ‘peace’ with Abbas who was promptly replaced by Hamas Kerry pressured ranted on about our unhelpful actions and said, besides Arafat made said he recognized Israel years ago. Yassir Arafat lie?

The U.S, must have missed the Television interview interview  with Arafat’s bodyguard of many years, also on public TV and translated on-line ion Memri-TV. Arafats bodyguard was asked whether Ariel Sharon was right when he used to say that Arafat was a pathological liar. Did he lie in your presence? asked the interviewer. Oh yes, said The bodyguard. noting that it was Mubarak the most moderate of Muslims, first Nobel Peace Prize winner for mid-east peace, who would call Arafat after a bombing in Tel Aviv and tell him to “denounce it or they will screw you.”  The bodyguard then goes on to say what many have said before and somehow Westerners cannot manage to grasp. Lying in politics is permissible by the Koran,  Lying to nonbelievers is not only permitted but at times required to advance the cause of Islam to gain the trust of non-believers in order to draw out their vulnerability and defeat them. 

In the end the west will suffer because of their refusal or inability to grasp this.  We will stop warning you since your response is to blame us.  It is not in our interests to keep pointing out again and again and again that the long range missiles Muslim countries are collecting are not for us. Their hate for you will not change  if  Israel and the Palestinians reach some agreement.  In fact, if we were no longer there as a distraction the utter hatred solely directed towards you will surprise you.

We expect you to deny this,  to believe that your problems in the middle east are our fault and that if only we retreated to suicidal borders , everything would be fine for you. LIke many before you suffer from “Appeasementitis” - a contagious disease  American leftist Jews and some leftist Israelis have acquired, borne our of  a guilt that gives absurd levels of power to people who in reality have none.

Before I close I will address a common reaction from people who read what I’ve written. Westerners are not naive;  they choose to blame Israel for their problems. The fact that westerners make the same errors when dealing with Arabs when Israel is not involved argues against this.  Motives are, however,  irrelevant. Whatever the socio-psychological causes, the west acts as if Arabs and westerners communicate in the same way, take their public statements at face value and look no further. 

This policy is as dangerous and perhaps more dangerous to west than Israel.  International theatre substitutes for action as Iran develops nuclear arms, as Egypt plans on doing the same with Russia’s help. Other countries with follow. Despite their vast oil reserves they will say they are doIng all of this for energy.

The United States has opened its  border to terrorists who pass as hispanics and cross the Mexican border. The Muslim countries bury their hatchets annually to review their plans to Islamize the west. Stage one is to use and leverage democracy
as a tool to spread Islam, respect for  and fear of Islam, and
irradiate criticism or acts against Islam in western countries, while verbally diminishing the power of competitive religions. In the west, they are on track. If you have any doubts, go to a college campus, search youtube for anti-Catholic, anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim, and you will get your answer.

  I challenge you to compare the level of your democracy to ours. Israeli Muslims have the same rights as other citizens,  are members of the Knesset, and have freedom of speech even at the expense of security. As Pollard languished in your prisons, we released hundreds of terrorists  to demonstrate our “good faith” to Palestinians”  We regularly treat people from Gaza in our hospitals. We have no free speech zones and break of demonstrations [Jewish and Aran equally] when they become violent.
  Since our survival is at  stake we come to our senses when pushed to far. We are opening our eyes. We do not appreciate the recent anti-semitism spreading across Europe nor the violence, nor the fact that traditionally Jewish French Jews are in danger going to the synagogue; they are forced to come to Israel because France, an alleged  democracy, allows this to happen, We do not appreciate an English MP daring to call Gaza a warsaw Ghetto and Hamas Freedom fighters. What about the British genocide against the Irish people. What about the refugee camps of Holocaust survivors the British created to stop surviver of Nazi death camps from entering IsraelWe do not appreciate U.S news, the Pravda of the U.S, singling out AIPAC as if it were the only lobby when your entire form of government is based not on representative democracy as much as payoffs from big business. What happened to your first amendment freedom if the press or equal right to pursue  happiness. Neither to we appreciate discrimination that would never be tolerated against other groups.  ‘hate crimes’ are more than 7x more common against Jews than any other group in the country but hate crimes against Jews receive no attention. Jewish groups conducted the white house. When a response was finally received  said that calling Jewish students Nazis,  substituting a swastika for the star of David in the Israeli flag,  allowing Arab students to build mock walls,  mock machine guns, and even physically harm Jewish students are acceptable activities that a college student should be expected to put up with.  This could never happen In Israel.

At this juncture Israeli politicians are still largely European. They hang onto a delusional beliefs that the west and the United States in particular are their best friends, as if international politics were a high school dance where special relationships develop. They have convinced themselves that Israel cannot survive without the United States-- and endlessly speak about  common interest and special relationships. But this is changing.

We will not be sacrificial lambs to your inability  to perceive reality nor will we forever shoulder the blame for all of your problems.  Israelis are seeing through motives of the U.S,  Your president Obama and his band of  Muslim Brotherhood white house advisers have helped us to see reality The next generation of leaders will not take alliances with the west as a given. Having scant memories of diaspora, they do not share a desperate need for a ‘sponsor’. If it were up to me, we would forgo your  financial and other “help” today.  Politicians , in any country, do not act quickly. It will take longer but we will go our own way.

Abbas and the Arab world are suspicious about your motives. So are we. Not only because you seem to not care whether our country’s borders are suicidal, not only because you push aside our need to be recognized as a Jewish state as petty when Palestine, hoping to be an Arab state demanded that no Jews be left there, not only because it was Your president who publicly announced that our settlements are illegal without so much as a word to us. when a country funds all sides in a conflict, the last thing they are interested in is peace.

If you continue managing your country the way you are now, if you continue to censor news, lie to your people about China’s success, cripple innovation in the name of a clean planet, allow the Sierra Club lobby to cripple your coal industry, and your oil, force businesses into insolvency because you have proclaimed carbon dioxide to be an evil planet destroying gas based on bad science, agriculture lobbies, fortune. If you continue reward those businesses that are the worst performers under the guise of some  twisted version of economic stimulus, and  too big to fail absurdity, sell your gold mines to China, you will go down.

We will not come along for the ride and we will not be sacrificial lambs to your ability or unwillingness to understand and/or address Arab communications.