Future Tense

Here we are gently creeping into 2012. The year that will inevitably be the end of the world. According to the Mayan's, or even Harold Camping. I used to listen to Art Bell a number of years ago when my shift work made his overnight radio program easily accessible. He used to talk about what he called "the quickening". It was his impression that technology, world events, political change, etc. were changing faster than ever. Whether this was actual or perceived was difficult to quantify but none the less interesting. I find that my perception of the world is changing as well. I'm not going to give it a moniker like "the quickening" but it does seem that events are moving at a more rapid pace. That may be due to the increased access to information and information delivery. The twenty four hour news cycle and all news cable channels give the impression of constant "breaking news" and "alerts". Natural disasters can be viewed in real-time like the Japanese tsunami. 9/11 was essentially a live event. I recall getting ready to leave for work as the second plane plowed into the towers live on Fox News. News headlines are fed to our phones and displayed on monitors in coffee shops, restaurants and gas pumps. Twenty five years ago I had no thoughts of retiring from my current job. It was just the next best job that came along. I'm now three short years away from being eligible to retire. My frustration is mounting daily with the economic situation of this job. The feeling of being "trapped" here until I retire. I could actually leave now and have the same pension benefit that I would in four years. The reason for staying is the dang retirement medical coverage. That in itself is a HUGE reason for staying. My actual wage has diminished to where I am earning a mere fifteen cents an hour more than I did when I got hired twenty five years ago. I am tempted to forego the retirement medical coverage and get a job with a wage I can survive on. Working overtime is not the way I want to increase my income stream. I treasure my days off. Having a job with lousy hours and ridiculous days off used to be offset by a decent wage that made it worth the sacrifice. No longer do I see it being "worth" anything. The company has stripped us of our hard earned benefits under the guise of keeping the doors open. Yes, this is an industry in it's death throes. I hope it can cling to existence for just a few short years.

Racing Towards the Future

Nearly three months having passed since I last wrote, I return with trepidation. I skimmed over my last few blog entries to get an idea of where my head was in the last quarter. In the midst of my father's passing was where I found myself. In the time that has slipped by since then there have been a number of events that have given me pause. They deal with daily life, work, family and future.

A new union contract at my place of employment has put a new perspective on a great deal of my daily life. The changes from the previous contract are significant. Top of the list would be a nine percent pay cut coupled with a completely new health care package that involves new costs and restrictions. There was also the loss of a week of vacation and the elimination of the job I currently perform. That doesn't mean I lost my job, it means I have to bump a less senior person off their job and take that one. While this has happened numerous times in the past, the current incarnation of the procedure lends itself to a paradigm shift in my overall perception of my job and near term future.

I have an opportunity to get a class A commercial driver's license with this change. I have had a class B license for about twenty years and have had the occasion to use it on the side for part time employment to supplement my income. Obtaining a class A license that will accompany me when I retire from the company in a few short years will provide an additional opportunity for work once I actually do retire. Wait...doesn't retirement mean ceasing to work? Well, at most times and in most economies it does. However, living in the San Francisco Bay Area the cost of living is astronomically high. I have been fortunate enough to earn enough so that my wife has been able to stay home and raise our kids and be a homemaker once they were old enough to fend for themselves. Now that the kids are (mostly) out of the house, my pay has descended to levels slightly above the rate I was making twenty five years ago when I started here. That does not bode well for the future. I want to be able to retire and live comfortably on my pension and whatever income I may need to earn to supplement that.

The new health care package involves changing from a PPO with little or no restrictions on who or where we went for care as long as they were in the network to an HMO. Previously we had no co-pays for office visits or medications. Great coverage you say? Yes it was. We paid dearly to maintain our coverage. Our contractual pay raises were diverted to pay for the rising costs of our health care coverage. Our new HMO has co-pays for office visits and prescriptions. We are able to stay in a Teamster plan so we retain our retirement healthcare benefit. That is essentially the only reason I stay at my current job. Sad but true. The few years I need to reach retirement are what keeps me there.

Years ago I could say that I actually enjoyed my job. We still had the worst schedules of anyone in the valley but in the past we earned enough to make it worthwhile. We had five weeks of vacation that was well deserved. This job takes it's toll on your body and your home life. You essentially live on the opposite side of the clock from the rest of your family. The middle of my work day is the middle of their night. I'm punching out and heading home when their alarm clocks are ringing. If one makes it to retirement they most assuredly posses numerous surgical scars from repairs of rotator cuffs, knee ligaments or replacements, back surgeries. The list goes on. I earned a good wage and had good benefits so subjecting myself to the rigors of the job seemed worth it since I kept a roof over our head, food on our table and we seemed to have a decent amount of disposable income. There was also camaraderie with the other guys I worked with. We could have fun, work hard and earn a good living. Fast forward to the present day.

I recently found out that I qualify for P.G.&E.'s low income rate assistance. That was an eye opening moment. I realize the industry I work in is breathing it's last gasps of breath. I know for sure that the company I currently work for does not care one bit for the struggles of it's workers. It's their bottom line. Cut, reduce, consolidate. Whatever needs to be done so the profit margin maintains some elusive level. At the moment I'm reevaluating the basic services that we bring into our home in order to see which are necessary and which are luxuries. I find us shopping more at Dollar Tree and looking for bargains in even more earnest. Juggling bill payments between paychecks seems to be my part time job now.

I don't want this to sound like I am whining because I honestly am not. I am trying to frame my current point of view and how it affects my perception of the future. I can't hardly stand the wait until I can leave this place. I know I can get an exponentially more satisfying job than this one doing something I like to do for a company that appreciates my efforts. We are currently viewed by management as overpaid. The same way they view the contractors who actually deliver their product. They are trying to cut the rate of pay to just above the point where a contractor would want to quit because it's not worth their time and effort. Here's a thought...reward your workers for the hard work they do and make them want to work for you. I know that won't happen so I've resolved to "make it through" the last few years I have to put in. Sad commentary on twenty five years of life.

The silver lining is that once I leave here, "my future's so bright, I gotta wear shades"!

Relevant "Quotes Of The Day"

In the course of human events there are times when each of us experiences self doubt and ones thought processes come to a screeching halt. Today when attempting my latest in a long line of incredibly overdue blog posts, I was planning on penning my own opinionated tome on the current public debate on health care "reform" being proposed by Comrade Obama. Unfortunately the incessant monotonies of life crashed in on me and squashed any hope of creating an intelligently written post on the subject. In response to this failure I chose the most rational direction to proceed. That direction was to the dreaded "Quote of the Day". I must say, however that these quotes are especially relevant to the current political climate of the country.

I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like
A man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.
-- Winston Churchill

Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But
Then I repeat myself..
-- Mark Twain

Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys
To teenage boys.
-- P.J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian

Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short
Phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it
Stops moving, subsidize it.
-- Ronald Reagan (1986)

If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it
Costs when it's free!
-- P.J. O'Rourke

No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in
Session.
-- Mark Twain (1866)

The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to
Fill the world with fools.
-- Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)

What this country needs are more unemployed politicians.
-- Edward Langley, Artist (1928-1995)

AND LASTLY...
A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong
Enough to take everything you have.
-- Thomas Jefferson

Very Disturbing Article Indeed

When the Russian newspaper Pravda runs a column that pronounces American capitalism is dead, one should stop and contemplate the course this country is taking. Pravda is the former state run newspaper of communist Russia. It was the mouthpiece of the regime.

"American Capitalism Gone With A Whimper" is the title of the opinion piece. This headline wouldn't stir any controversy if published in any right leaning conservative publication. It would be par for the course, even considered preaching to the choir. Published in Pravda makes it an entirely different animal.

Stand up, speak out. Contact your representatives. Call them out when they drop the ball or can't seem to tell the truth because they are too caught up in their own lies. Don't let them dictate the direction this country is headed as if no one cares. That may be asking too much. There is a multitude of citizens who are actually too busy watching American Idol and following the sleazy exploits of the pointless lives of Hollywood schmucks to care about the little details like freedom and liberty.

Failure Of Socialism

From The New York Times - November 13, 1857
Click "View Full Article" under the first paragraph.

Even going back 150 years it was obvious that Socialism is a failed political system. Coming from a commentary in The New York Times makes it all the more poignant.

The sheeple were swindled in this last election cycle. The President ran his campaign as a "hopey changey" moderate. He portrayed his far left agenda as change. He used languge to prod the electorate into voting against George Bush but not particularly for him. Well, he won and now we have our cake and we are being forced to eat it too. The Hopey Changey" Administration now owns most of the financial industry, the auto industry and is making a hard charge for the healthcare industry.

In his first 100 days in office, Obama has spent more than the Dubya Administration did in eight years. Where is the outrage? Obama increased the size and scope of our military commitment in Afghanistan. Where is the outrage? I could go on but I won't because my blood pressure is rising.

Most of the folks I correspond with probably disagree with my politics. Maybe I should stick to trains and photography. Discussing politics and religion is always dangerous territory. I have some wonderful friends who vehemently disagree with me about politics. That's healthy. We are still friends yet political adversaries. Our votes and voices are our weapons agaist the "enemy".

The New Fifty Dollar Bill

Have you seen the new fifty dollar bill that the Treasury is producing??

Federal obligations exceed world GDP

Hey! Thanks for the "hopey changey" thing there! We have definitely "changed" the country forever. I don't say that in a good way. Click the post title to read the article. The US federal deficit exceeds the GDP (gross domestic product) of the entire world! Anyone feel a bit nervous about their future yet? Take a look at the citizens guide to the 2008 Financial Report of the United States Government. It's surely a depressing read so take your meds first!

We might hope to see the finances of the union as clear and intelligible as a merchant's books so that every member of Congress and every man of any mind in the union should be able to comprehend them, to investigate abuses and consequently to control them.

President Thomas Jefferson to Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin - 1802

What Has This Country Become?

I don't know who we are anymore. The corrupt band of criminals in Washington D.C. have co-opted my children's children's future. These bastards spending money on their whore's like there's no tomorrow. Sorry for the language but that's how I equivocate this fiscal travesty that's happening. Feel free to see where some of YOUR hard earned income is going. Here I am working and trying to get by at my trivial "job" while these bastards are giving criminals BILLIONS of dollars so their companies won't fail. Somehow they are too big or too important to fail. Excuse me...if you are crooked and run your company into the ground, it should fail!! After it fails YOU should go to jail and get a maximum sentence in the general population. Then you can become Bubba's bitch and see how it feels to be a regular Joe. You can get it just the way the rest of us are getting it. Scum bags. I understand that this is not the "me" that you are used to reading. It IS the me that is incredibly pissed off!

I learned today that all the employees of our company are required to take one week off without pay before the end of March. Hello? Washington? Where's our bailout? I know that a week without pay is better than no job at all. However, why don't they give me my tax money back instead of spending "$150,000,000 to provide emergency relief to eligible producers of livestock, honey bees, and farm-raised fish to aid in the reduction of losses due to disease, adverse weather, or other conditions, such as blizzards and wildfires, as determined by the Secretary".

Corrupt Bastards - Every one of them!!! You people need to wake up! You get what you vote for. If you voted for one single incumbent, I can only hope that you are looking back at your voting propensity with great dismay. The Founding Fathers are churning in their graves.

I'm signing off to go have a siezure in the quiet comfort of my padded room.

Hilarious!

Well, actually it should make you cry because it's so doggone true!


In The Know: Should The Government Stop Dumping Money Into A Giant Hole?

Senator Obama's Four Tax Increases for People Earning Under $250k

Incredibly easy to understand article about the proposed Obama tax increases and the subsequent lies about those making under $250,000 a year not getting a tax hike. I have not read or heard a better description of the Obama obfuscation and outright lying regarding his tax policies.

Click the post title to read the full story.

It's Only A Matter Of Time

My job for the last 22 years has been in the print media. Specifically circulation. While the circulation of the paper I work for has declined exponentially over the last few years, it remains afloat through a series of sales/mergers/acquisitions. There has been an increased effort to promote the "eEdition", an online version of the paper that looks identical to the print version. The difference being you can click on links such as advertising or articles or you can download coupons, etc. This "eEdition" is just another step in the progression away from a "manufactured" product distributed by employees and contractors. The Christian Science Monitor has announced that they will no longer print their daily newspaper and become an online only publication. This does not bode well for my future in this line of work.

Quote of the Day - "Senator Government"

It could be classified as a "gaffe" for Senator McCain in last nights debate but I see it literally as a Freudian slip. He was responding to one of Obama's acusations and he referred to him as Senator Government instead of Senator Obama. He is as he's being described. He wants government to take over the healthcare industry (boy, that would work really well!) and create a Nanny State where all American's could nurse at the federal government teat. He wants the sheeple to rely on government for all of their wants and needs because government knows best. Obama mocked McCain's healthcare plan saying healthcare costs are on average $12,000 a year and McCain will only be giving a tax credit of $5,000 towards that. Obama wants to foot the healthcare bill for everyone while giving 95% of the people a tax cut. What drug is he still smoking?? How are 95% of American's going to get a tax cut if 40% of Americans DON'T PAY ANY TAXES! Here's how...those 40% of Americans who don't pay taxes will receive a check, courtesy of the 60% of Americans who DO PAY TAXES!! Tell me that's not socialism and the redistribution of wealth. We don't pay taxes to fund a Marxist charity program, we pay them to fund the military, protect our borders and provide specific needed services (police, fire, etc).

Obama Audio Supporting Bad Loans

From the horses mouth....

And The Plot Thickens

Here's an article from MediaCircus.com that has some history of Obama's legal carreer. He sued Citibank to force them to make bad loans to people who could not afford them under the Community Reinvestment Act. The suit alleged Citibank was redlining.

Wake up people....connect the dots!!!

Watch the video in the previous post. It will make your head explode!

Excellent Explanation....

....of how the country got into this financial mess on the Glenn Beck website. He gives a historical accounting with reference links to the information he provides.

Barney Frank - Incapable of Telling the Truth

Here's a story from the Boston Globe, and one from Bill Sammon on the FOX News website showing just how disgusting a politician this man is. I happened to catch him on Bill O'Reilly's radio program the other day. While Bill did lay into him heavily and hardly give him a chance to respond, when he did he would point fingers and harken back to 1994. This slimy excuse for a human being simply refuses to admit that he had anything to do with the current mess we are in. He blames the "free market".

Pathetic. Throw the bums out. All of them!

It's All In The Accounting

I've been hearing more and more about how the impending "bailout" could be avoided by simply changing some of the regulatory language for the industry. Currently they are under Mark to Market rules (warning - possibility of article induced dizzyness after reading linked Wikipedia page). This article from the L.A. Times has more of a laymen's description. This one from the Phoenix Business Journal has detail about the current (Tuesday 9/29/08) talk of easing the mark to market rule. The Times Online piece has some good historical background on the current situation.

It seems to me (IMH-uneducated-O), that if this bailout can be accomplished without costing taxpayers a trillion dollars, that should be the course to take.

Where Did This Financial Crisis Come From?

Essentially any and all Washington politicians are to blame for not really doing something before it was too late. However, we can specifically blame Bill Clinton. I know, I know, here comes the "Clinton hasn't been in office for eight years! Why do you always try to pin things on him" response.

Here's how the seed of this debacle was planted.

"...(This) crisis can trace its roots to Bill Clinton’s signature on legislation making it easier for minority constituents with bad credit to obtain mortgages. In 1995, he had his Treasury Secretary, Robert Rubin, rewrite the lending rules for the Community Reinvestment Act, opening the flood gates of mortgage lending to unqualified borrowers.

This legislation, in effect, applied affirmative action to the lending industry, which is to say that the current crisis is NOT a “free market failure” but the result of socially engineered financial policy by the central government. The financial markets welcomed their new customers with open arms, fueling a real estate boom across the board.

These so-called “subprime mortgages,” which were offered at variable interest rates, were widely perceived as good investments. Investors used the high-risk instruments to secure assets in other markets fueling profits for investment banks and mortgage lenders. The subprime market thus expanded rapidly and the mortgage instruments were used by other firms as collateral for investments in stocks, commodities and the like.

Unfortunately, no one questioned the pell-mell regulatory system of oversight for these transactions until large cracks appeared in our economy’s foundation, the first being the collapse of Countrywide, the nation’s largest subprime lender. Then banks and mortgage lenders large and small began downsizing, dumping assets and closing their doors. Bear Stearns filed for bankruptcy. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, holders of trillions of dollars in mortgages, were bailed out with 200 billion taxpayer dollars. Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, and insurance giant AIG was given an $85-billion taxpayer prop to keep it solvent.

From an article at The Patriot Post by Mark Alexander

Why Aren't We Drilling Here??

Can someone tell me why we don't have oil drills in the ground in Montana and North Dakota? Click the post title for details.

Here's more information from the USGS.

California High Speed Rail

Here's a page that has some very cool conceptual animations of the proposed California High Speed Rail system. I think we are certainly ripe for this as a state. Gas is becoming ridiculously expensive and airlines are cutting back on flights and increasing fares due to fuel prices. I think it's definitely an idea whose time is long overdue.