A little bit of socialism is okay. Those who cannot work due to physical or mental injury/handicap should be helped. And sometimes people are laid off. It's unfortunate, but it happens.
But those who are physically and mentally able to support themselves should not be allowed to become dependant on the system. To that end, here are some guidelines I'd like to see implemented:
1. Welfare benefits are limited to nine months, contiguous. If a person loses his job, regardless of reason, he has nine months of support. During those nine months, it is up to him to find another job. I think nine months is a nice compromise: six months might not be enough time for some people, while one year might be long enough for a person to become "hooked" on the government teat.
2. There may be no jobs available in a person's "trade" in that nine-month span, but it is likely that if a person is willing to try something different -- and is dilligent in his search -- that he can find a job. Working this job, he can continue looking for something in his desired industry.
3. Encouragement of charitable organizations taking over after that nine-month welfare stint has run out. If a person is trying to find a job but cannot, for whatever reason, we could help hook him up with a charitable organization. The charitable organization could get some sort of tax credit for taking him off the public books. Charitable organizations may also be called on to help those who do find work but who are either underemployed or are not making enough money to keep up.
I think the above three could help reduce the welfare state by providing incentives for people to find work and become responsible for themselves and for espousing private charity if they cannot find work (or while the work they do find is not enough). The bottom line is, we need to stop feeding dependancy. People need to be productive.
Forthwith I will leave politics out of this blog; this will not become a political rag.
More Bowl Predictions:
BCS CG: Oregon 41, Auburn 38
Sugar: Ohio State 34, Arkansas 31
Orange: Stanford 27, Virginia Tech 21
Fiesta: Oklahoma 35, UConn 17
Capital One: Alabama 23, Michigan State 17
Cotton: LSU 20, Texas A&M 16
Outback: Penn State 24, Florida 23
Gator: Michigan 37, Mississippi State 27
Holiday: Nebraska 41, Washington 20
Alamo: Oklahoma State 49, Arizona 42
Peach: Florida State 24, South Carolina 21
Other: Notre Dame 27, Miami 20
Other: Boise State 45, Utah 34
Other: Iowa 17, Missouri 14
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
I'm Back!
My last post was some time ago -- some three years ago. I had tried posting but had forgotten the URL, how to find my page, how to log in, etc. As I sat there, once again longing for my blog, I was shaken with insightful memory: like a bolt out of the sky, I remembered the URL. My login ID and password took a bit of work, but at any rate, here I am.
Okay, where to start?
Well it's Bowl Season 2010-2011, the most wonderful time of the year (thank you, ESPN).
My beloved Wisconsin Badgers have made it back to the Rose Bowl after a 10ish-year hiatus. We have a three-game winning streak in the Game, and with 70,000 Badger fans turning the stadium into Camp Randall West, I think we can do it again. The Red Sea might be an apt metaphor for what we'll see in the Rose Bowl -- red everywhere.
Wisconsin has been known for a strong running game. It's our reputation: we have big lines, we have good backs, and we run the ball until you can stop it. But this year it's been taken to another level: this year the Badger O line is perhaps the best in my lifetime. Some experts have said that we could run on the Houston Texans. While that might be a tad of a stretch, I think it's fair to say that Wisconsin's running game is arguably the most effective in college football right now, and when you combine it with the uber-efficient passing game led by Tolzien/Kendricks/Toon, ours is one bad mutha of an offense. Great line, three-deep with high-quality tailbacks, and a good passing game = nightmare for TCU.
Go Badgers!
Ugh, the tax plan thing in Washington is such a hassle.
The Democrats want to add a year to unemployment benefits so people can continue to be paid not to work (which is really not much of an incentive to get back off the couch...), while the employers of most of us have their taxes increased. Um... isn't that bass-ackwards? Shouldn't we be rewarding success and punishing failure? Or at least not subsidizing laziness? And why does it seem that Washington, or at least the Left, act like they own our money? "Oh, no, you can't keep your tax cut; it would cost us our money."
Excuse me, but whose money is that, exactly? The person's who earned it! Yes, in this country, where we value economic liberty, what a person earns (or owns legally otherwise) is his. Not the government's. Instead of reaching into taxpayers' pockets for more money to waste, they ought to look into ways to CUT SPENDING. Earmarks, pork -- do away with them. Period. If you want money for some small program in your state, write a bill and have it debated on the floor of the House and the Senate. I could personally care less for bike lighting in West Virginia; I sure don't want that coming out of my pocket. Let the state solicit donors, fer cryin' out loud.
Into this Capitaliam vs. Socialism feud has been injected Lord Jesus Christ. So many on the Left have seen fit to label Jesus a Socialist. That is flatly wrong, and unsupported by Scripture.
Jesus told us -- as individuals -- to give of our own time and money. Jesus did not condone the state stealing from some and giving that money to others. That is not biblical. Stealing is expressly forbidden; it's one of the Ten Commandments. "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's" was to tell us to pay our taxes, to obey the law; it did not condone the government wasting that money. The Good Samaritan is a story of a person -- not the government -- stopping to help a person in need of help. I don't believe there are any stories in the Bible of a state agency helping people. It's all about individual giving. Not only can you personally minister to the person, but you are the one choosing to give your own money; it's not taken from you at virtual gunpoint. (if you think you have a choice in regard to paying taxes, be sure to look me up -- I'll be your pen-pal when you're in prison on tax evasion.)
This was, is, and should remain an economy based mainly on free-market Capitalism (AKA Free Enterprise). Free Enterprise is the American ideal. This system preserves economic liberty, rewards success, and punishes failure -- rather than disrespecting people's right to own money and property, rewarding failure, and punishing success... the way of Socialism. Free Enterprise frees up money for us to spend, invest, and start businesses. Free Enterprise encourages entrepreneurialism, which creates jobs, investment opportunities, and good products at low prices. Socialism encourages sloth.
Arg, that's enough.
Okay, prediction: Wisconsin 31, TCU 24.
If I don't post again, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! And... GO BUSH TAX CUT EXTENSION! hehe
Okay, where to start?
Well it's Bowl Season 2010-2011, the most wonderful time of the year (thank you, ESPN).
My beloved Wisconsin Badgers have made it back to the Rose Bowl after a 10ish-year hiatus. We have a three-game winning streak in the Game, and with 70,000 Badger fans turning the stadium into Camp Randall West, I think we can do it again. The Red Sea might be an apt metaphor for what we'll see in the Rose Bowl -- red everywhere.
Wisconsin has been known for a strong running game. It's our reputation: we have big lines, we have good backs, and we run the ball until you can stop it. But this year it's been taken to another level: this year the Badger O line is perhaps the best in my lifetime. Some experts have said that we could run on the Houston Texans. While that might be a tad of a stretch, I think it's fair to say that Wisconsin's running game is arguably the most effective in college football right now, and when you combine it with the uber-efficient passing game led by Tolzien/Kendricks/Toon, ours is one bad mutha of an offense. Great line, three-deep with high-quality tailbacks, and a good passing game = nightmare for TCU.
Go Badgers!
Ugh, the tax plan thing in Washington is such a hassle.
The Democrats want to add a year to unemployment benefits so people can continue to be paid not to work (which is really not much of an incentive to get back off the couch...), while the employers of most of us have their taxes increased. Um... isn't that bass-ackwards? Shouldn't we be rewarding success and punishing failure? Or at least not subsidizing laziness? And why does it seem that Washington, or at least the Left, act like they own our money? "Oh, no, you can't keep your tax cut; it would cost us our money."
Excuse me, but whose money is that, exactly? The person's who earned it! Yes, in this country, where we value economic liberty, what a person earns (or owns legally otherwise) is his. Not the government's. Instead of reaching into taxpayers' pockets for more money to waste, they ought to look into ways to CUT SPENDING. Earmarks, pork -- do away with them. Period. If you want money for some small program in your state, write a bill and have it debated on the floor of the House and the Senate. I could personally care less for bike lighting in West Virginia; I sure don't want that coming out of my pocket. Let the state solicit donors, fer cryin' out loud.
Into this Capitaliam vs. Socialism feud has been injected Lord Jesus Christ. So many on the Left have seen fit to label Jesus a Socialist. That is flatly wrong, and unsupported by Scripture.
Jesus told us -- as individuals -- to give of our own time and money. Jesus did not condone the state stealing from some and giving that money to others. That is not biblical. Stealing is expressly forbidden; it's one of the Ten Commandments. "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's" was to tell us to pay our taxes, to obey the law; it did not condone the government wasting that money. The Good Samaritan is a story of a person -- not the government -- stopping to help a person in need of help. I don't believe there are any stories in the Bible of a state agency helping people. It's all about individual giving. Not only can you personally minister to the person, but you are the one choosing to give your own money; it's not taken from you at virtual gunpoint. (if you think you have a choice in regard to paying taxes, be sure to look me up -- I'll be your pen-pal when you're in prison on tax evasion.)
This was, is, and should remain an economy based mainly on free-market Capitalism (AKA Free Enterprise). Free Enterprise is the American ideal. This system preserves economic liberty, rewards success, and punishes failure -- rather than disrespecting people's right to own money and property, rewarding failure, and punishing success... the way of Socialism. Free Enterprise frees up money for us to spend, invest, and start businesses. Free Enterprise encourages entrepreneurialism, which creates jobs, investment opportunities, and good products at low prices. Socialism encourages sloth.
Arg, that's enough.
Okay, prediction: Wisconsin 31, TCU 24.
If I don't post again, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! And... GO BUSH TAX CUT EXTENSION! hehe
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