How many minutes has it been since you heard someone call this the greatest country in the world? How many seconds? Did you agree? Ooops. Was it you saying that?

It used to be arguably true. We got accustomed to telling ourselves it was so. We believed it. Many of us, most of us still do.

What ruler do you use? How do we measure the relative greatness of the country? What statistics should we employ? Perhaps I should find a synonym for that last word.

Back when such a claim was believeable, we had a dynamic, growing middle class that was becoming ever better off financially. I can actually remember that far back. It began around the end of WWII. We began losing all that about 1973.

The initial kick in the stomach was the first oil embargo. Then came the second embargo in 1979. While the then price of a gallon of go juice now seems impossibly low, a sudden quadrupling of the price brought major economic disruptions and dislocations.

We weren’t prepared for the first and refused to learn any lessons before the second embargo.

Those economic inconveniences were caused by a bunch despots. They were the ones that we had forced upon people we didn’t care about in order to set our own price for stealing their only resource. We showed them that Americans could be even more destructive. The rise of own domestic neocons and the Chicago School of Tinkle Down Economics were able to accomplish what our protégés could not.

They are doing what the USSR failed to do. They are bringing us to our knees.

In 1981 we were the largest creditor nation. Now we are the largest debtor nation. Then, we were the largest exporter of manufactured goods. Now? The largest importer. Then, the largest importer of raw materials. Now, the largest exporter.

There you have it. The definition of a 3^rd-world country. Our biggest export is lumber. Georgia’s biggest export is probably white clay (I haven’t checked in the last few years). White clay? They export mostly to Japan. There it is used to make china. It’s sometimes known as kaolin, from which they also make a product like our Kaopectate.

Are We Treated Fairly?

Does our country treat its citizens fairly? The United States ranks dead last on almost all measures of equity because we have the greatest disparity in the quality of health care given to richer and poorer citizens. No. We do not have the best health care in the world. We dropped to 37^th.

That was in 2000. We dropped further but expressed out displeasure with the results, so the World Health Organization ceased embarrassing us. Money not only talks, it also can shut people up. By the way, are we still nipping at the heels of Costa Rica?

Well, how about financial fairness? Lets see. Oh. The United States ranked 64^th in income inequality (worse than Cameron, but just above Uruguay). Accounting for inflation, personal income reached its peak in 1973. Do you remember when most households needed only one wage earner?

How about freedom? According to Douglas Berman, an Ohio State law professor, “We live in a country conceived on the notion of liberty, but we lead the world in locking people up.” One of every four prisoners in the world is in our prisons. Cuba, Iran, North Korea, even China cannot match our version of freedom.

It’s Beginning To Smart

2+2=? Surely we’re the smartest, er, best educated people in the world. Out of 34 countries, the U.S. ranked 14^th in reading, 17^th in science and 25^th in math. Who was on top? South Korea. I was in Korea in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. In the 50s and some of the 60s the road from the capitol of Seoul to its international airport, Kimpo, was gravel part of the way and dirt the rest.

They have created their infrastructure almost from scratch since then. They now have the highest percentage of people with broadband and the highest internet speeds in the world. All this, and leading the world in education. We need to really work hard to come up with excuses for our performance.

The people of Minneapolis may appreciate that out infrastructure has not been one of our highest priorities. China spends 9% of their income on infrastructure. The European Union spends 5%. We spend 2.4%.

On and on, it’s the same story. it’s not easy to find something to brag about.

How Did This Happen? Why?

During the Eisenhower Adminstration the highest marginal tax rate was 91%. No one paid that much on their entire income, just on the amout above some number that few people even dreamed about.

Those “job creators” created jobs at a faster rate than at any other time. Well, at least the jobs got created faster. Those making extreme incomes don’t really create jobs. Big business doesn’t create jobs. Small business doesn’t create jobs. Government creates some jobs but consumers are the real job creators.

No business hires and invests in more production if there are no customers. The public forums are full of economic myths. Giving the wealthy and corporations more money so they will create jobs is one of the most popular, . . . and absurd.

Both parties have stocked Congress with economic geniuses. Their owners get such lunacies as NAFTA. They get tax breaks for moving jobs overseas. All this while entertaining us with campaign promises to restore good-paying manufacturing jobs.

With a few exceptions, we will not see a recovery in manufacturing jobs. They are too easy to outsource, even without tax subsidies. They are also very susceptible to loss to automation. Unless the Congress gets some members with 3-digit IQs, we will all be selling burgers and fries to each other.

If these policies are destroying the economy and not really benefiting the elite, why did they do this? It’s partly a matter of stupidity, largely a juvenile devotion to a perverted, misunderstood ideology – capitalism. We must not forget a visceral hatred of unions. They are maniacally focused on the destruction of unions.

The unions created the middle class. Even non-members profited from their employers having to compete with wages and benefits. People were able to consume. Businesses had more customers with more money. What terrible monsters those unions were.

While most were in decline, with many also losing retirement and health insurance benefits, between 1979 and 2007 the 1% increased 275%. Income disparity here is in the same range as banana republics, and worse.

How does this really benefit the elite? Do they feel safer? Is the economy more stable? While the numbers in their portfolios are larger, they are actually pissing in their own soup. Instead of owning stronger, more stable corporations, the elite are making their wealth by manipulating paper assets. Can we say, house of cards?

Our economy is consumer driven but Congress has the answer. Give the wealthy more tax cuts and impoverish the consumers.

How do the elite spend their tax cuts? They buy a private jet. Most private jets are made in Canada and Brazil. They send it to Swiss and Caribbean banks. They buy several more $7,000 British suits, $12,000 French watches, $100,000 European cars. They create jobs in the US – not.

I have heard the claim that American businessmen are very smart. We are even told we should put them in the Oval Office. Businessmen like George W. (remember his MBA)? Herbert Hoover? Four of every five businesses fail within five years. Now that takes smarts.

Kodak owned the world. They invented the digital camera. They were so smart they didn’t allow it to divert sales from their film products. Now, they are in bankruptcy court.

Those masters of the universe on Wall Street needed us peons to bail them out from the results of their intelligence. Take a few minutes and make a list of dozens of business failures caused by our super smart businessmen.

It need not be. The titans of the auto industry rewarded their own intelligence with enough to make Midas envious. They went down the tubes. With a little bit of bankruptcy, humility and government interference, a new crew was able to turn them around.

We have made too many clichés come true: our goose is cooked, we killed the goose that laid the golden egg, the chickens have come home to roost, we have seen the enemy and it is us. But we have discovered that money does not respond to the force of gravity. Rather, it responds to the force of greed.

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Being born above my dad’s grocery store and being immersed in the grocery business, Summers and weekends, for many years, I thought I knew a few of its tricks. I’m now finding out how little I knew.

Admittedly, I have not had much recent connection with the industry, as my father retired about 25 years ago. He ended up in charge of a major regional chain’s warehouse.

Why have I had this recent epiphany? Why am I reading every label? I am on a diet.

When you go well past 300 pounds, particularly at my age, you begin to wonder why. I was following the standard diet guidelines and going to the Y 5 days a week. My metabolism was in the proper range and I had no tumor or other obvious reason for all of that weight gain.

I said to hell with the FDA’s guidelines. To hell with the AMA’s and Heart Association’s recommendations.

I did a ton of research and decided to eat the way my grandparents ate, before epidemic heart disease, fructose, soy everything, oleomargarine, processed foods, Cargill and ADM. I have rediscovered taste. Butter, butter everywhere. Real butter. I began eating a quarter or a third more food. I quit taking Crestor.

After 3 months of this heresy, I received the best blood test results ever. After a bit more than 4 months, now, I am approaching a weight loss of 50 pounds.

So, now I read the labels. No vegetable oils, except olive, coconut and flax seed. No bleached flours. No soy products, with one small exception. Reduce all sugars to the extent possible and totally eliminate high fructose corn syrup. No MSG.

However comprehensive that may seem, you could be forgiven for thinking that it was unnecessary to scrutinize every label. The food industry is the nation’s largest industry. That means it has more money to advertise its lies, so it can lie more. So, it does. It takes all of the supermarkets to contain all of the lies the industry produces.

A product may announce in large type that it is MSG-free. Read the label. If it includes natural flavors among the ingredients, those natural flavors are likely enhanced with MSG. So much for government-required labels being honest.

I look for a salad dressing. Soy oil is the first listed ingredient on almost all. There are even some vinegar and oil and vinaigrette dressings that boast of olive oil where soy oil is listed first and olive oil fourth. For any who are unaware, the ingredients are supposed to be listed in the order of the amount.

My favorite dressing was always blue cheese, even when it was still called Roquefort. Roquefort is made in France from sheep’s milk. They became upset when others called their product Roquefort and threatened lawsuits. That was when the others changed the name to blue cheese dressing. Almost all of these blue cheeses are now made from cow’s milk. Gorgonzola, a blue cheese from Italy is made both with cow’s milk or goat’s milk. I found one brand of dressing that listed Gorgonzola. It didn’t specify the animal source. Believe me, there is a difference.  Anyway, that dressing also was mostly soy oil. I can no longer find a store selling Roquefort in this area.

As much as I enjoy blue cheese, I thought I could avoid the soy oil by changing to one of those vinaigrettes. No such luck. Soy oil is everywhere. For the nonce I must also avoid salads, unless I bring my own olive or coconut oil and vinegar.

Meat should be meat, right? No, unless a soy bean has legs. No natural food is good enough for Americans unless it has been augmented with a soy product and blessed by those family farmers at Cargill, ADM, Tyson and their neighbors. I think I could put every thing in a supermarket that contains no soy or fructose into a single buggy and still have room for a couple of my grandkids.

Why are soy and corn products in everything? Is it because they are healthier? No. It’s for two special reasons. They are cheaper and more malleable in the laboratory. They are very productive per acre. They are easy to harvest with a minimal number of human workers. And, corn is subsidized. Why? Because the people with enough money to bribe Congress got what they wanted.

And I bet you thought they are putting all of those processed toxins into your food because they are concerned with your well-being. They eliminate the nutrients from your diet. Your body tries to get more. You consume more. You become obese. You consume more. They get richer.

Avoid low-fat, no-fat, skim and such. Fat, animal fat, is where all of the taste and nutrients are. Removing the animal fats would mean something less than tasty. They have found the solution. Sugar. Processed sugar, missing its few nutrients, replaces the nutrients that were removed. Without the enzymes found in animal fats, much of your food doesn’t get properly processed and ends up as fat or is discarded with its nutrients not having benefited your body.

Every few days, it seems, soy is said to cure another cancer, eliminate obesity, destroy cholesterol, save you from halitosis. Someone has to dream those things up. They have to get paid. They are marketing people, not scientists. Soy has some toxic properties; particularly in the amounts found in the American diet. It will help your body generate estrogen. Unless you are going through menopause, that is probably not a good thing.

I have a daughter-in-law that was a nurse. She is feeding my grandson a soy milk formula. That’s not good but my wife tells me to keep my mouth shut. Excessive soy in the diet is now the prime suspect in the premature development of 8- and 10-year old girls.

There is only one form of soy that is truly safe. Soy sauce was brewed from time immemorial in a process that takes 5-6 months. Scientists have now developed a method that produces soy sauce in two days. If the label says something to the effect that it is traditionally brewed, it’s safe. If not, save your money and protect your health.

They tell you that cereals are healthy, even the ones that are more than half sugar. Sorry. Not true. Steel cut oats are just about the only breakfast cereal that has any nutrients remaining after all of the processing. Granola? They are cereals without nutrients sugar, fructose, more sugar and honey.

If you don’t read the labels you miss all of the lies. If you do read the labels, the chances are they have tricked you into believing those lies.

Well, you think it might be a good idea to head over to the vitamin counter? Good luck. The pills are processed with large amounts of heat and pressure. In addition to oxygen, those are the prime killers of nutrients. It is estimated that the average vitamin pill or supplement contains from 0 to  5% of the claimed amount of that particular nutrient stated on the label.

It’s better to get those nutrients in your diet. Natural foods have those vitamins and nutrients and their co-factors. It is rare for nature to produce or use any nutrient as a singularity. Glucosamine won’t help your joint much on its own. You can get it and its co-factors from putting a joint bone with its fat and gristle into a crock pot and making a stew and some gravy and some stock. Those labs don’t make and factories don’t produce any co-factors.

Eat well.

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Don’t listen. They are all saying the same thing, so it must be wrong. There aren’t that many intelligent people in finance, politics and the media.

We are assured that the crash of the stock market is the result of our massive debt. Really? The market, whose computers are among the fastest in the world, took four days to react to the government’s failure to really address the debt.

Well, then the drop in the market was caused by Standard and Poor downgrading our government’s credit-worthiness. You haven’t been paying attention. That rating is supposed to tell you how good of a chance you have of getting your money back if you loan it to the government. It is not directly related to the equity markets.

Standard and poor are often referred to as average and below average.

When people sell their stock they usually buy another. That’s not what is happening right now. People are selling stock and . . . get ready for this . . . loaning it to the government. These capitalists actually think their money is safer with the government than with the private sector. Irony, thy name is capitalists.

Treasuries come in 3 forms. T-bills mature in 28 days to 1 year. T-notes mature in 1 to 10 years. T-bonds mature in 20 to 30 years. The 10-year note is the one usually referenced when the media quotes rates.

The Treasury holds auctions and the winner is, quite naturally, the one who makes the highest bid. The closer to 100 that one bids, the lower the effective interest. The government pays 100% of the face value. If the winning bid is $97, that is what the government gets.

So much money has been bidding up the prices that the last interest rate I heard, 2.14%, was an all-time record low. Lower rates mean that the government borrows money at lower interest rates. That’s to our advantage.

That was just a little side trip to educate those unfamiliar with the bond market. Despite what S&P may suggest, those putting their money on the line feel that the US Government is the safest bet. As T-bills are traded every day, it is also the most liquid asset one can hold.

The chart below is just a little further evidence that the size of our debt is not as critical as the debt hawks in Congress think it is. I removed some countries but left some that may make for interesting comparisons. There are other methods for calculating the relevant data, but in no case does the US rank higher than 6^th. If you are unconcerned about the futures of Japan, Germany, France and the UK, don’t lose too much sleep about the US debt.

Source: CIA World Factbook – updated 07-25-2011

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Ah. The good old days are returning. If you can remember The Great Depression, get ready for déjà vu.

Eighty-odd, very odd, imbeciles have done more damage to this country than we can presently foresee.

You thought that you lived in a democracy. If you count Pakistan, Mexico and Iraq as models of democracy, then you’re right.

Didn’t we once have a democracy we were proud of? Now we know that an out of control minority can get their druthers by blackmail and obstruction of the democratic process.

Everyone paying attention knows that our foremost problem is the insufficiency of money flowing through the economy. So, Washington’s answer is to take another two and a half trillion dollars out of the economy.

The basic problem of too little money in the economy means the hole of unemployment gets even deeper. The only way to increase the amount of money in the economy in the long term is to create jobs. That’s important to the jobless but it is important to the country. Cut government jobs. Cut jobs of government vendors. Cut jobs where all of the newly jobless used to spend their money.

The estimates I’ve heard are for a million or so jobs lost. I think those people are wearing rose-colored glasses or have graduate degrees in wishful thinking.

The word seems to be that, even though the debt ceiling will be raised, interest rates will rise. I’m not quite certain it will but that is a possibility.

With unemployment definitely going to increase and the prospect of increased interest rates, the most obvious reaction will be a lot of red arrows in the bottom corner of your flat screen.

Stocks will fall. I’m admittedly not a fan of gambling in casinos where the house ensures you lose and counters your bets with their own. Even if you are far more reckless than I, you must realize that now is the time to cut your losses.

It would be easy to say that the direction of the stock market is irrelevant. That’s not true. It should be but it’s not. People have been trained to look at the Dow Jones. Emotion is the dominant factor in the market. That means the market reacts based on perceptions.

It also means that reactions of businessmen and the general public are dependent upon their perceptions of what the market is doing. These two aspects feed on each other. The market will go down. Businessmen and the public will be pessimistic. They will help push the economy lower.

A failure to raise the debt ceiling would have had a more immediate and obvious detrimental effect on the economy but not necessarily worse. Comparisons are not needed here because the policies being followed by Obama and most members of Congress are headed in the same direction. It seems now that a double-dip is unavoidable.

Who’s to blame? All of us. No, we’re not all as stupid as a Washington politician but we are culpable. We are not equally guilty but, in a democracy, we, the society, get the government we deserve. Perhaps we shouldn’t have tried to get education on the cheap. We have produced too many people unable to think for themselves, unable to discern nonsense, unwilling to put any effort into parsing the spiels of con men.

Well, at least we have The Housewives of Beverly Hills and the largest butts in the world. What more could you want?

Our national trait of assuming we are the greatest in all things is insufficient to maintain the illusion much longer.

Greece, Rome, France, England. They enjoyed centuries leading their worlds. The US will not get to spend a commensurate period basking in the sun.

Unless we are willing to discard those fun house mirrors and face reality, the middle class will atrophy to a point that it can no longer be the propulsive force of the economy. We will have to get used to eating the dust of those nations that respect education, intellect and other attributes that are alien to our politicians and our electorate.

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Eureka!

There; I said it.

While everyone else is looking at pieces of the problem, I found the crux. Therein, I also found the solution.

The only catch is that our leaders have not the intelligence, inclination or interest in fixing it.

Unless you have slept through the entire debt ceiling debate you have heard someone claim that 48% of Americans pay no tax. Those who wish to protect the wealthy and the corporations from the IRS consider it to be the ultimate argument. It would still be a stupid argument even were it true.

Follow this, step by step. In their ignorance or prevarication, they have inadvertently pointed the way.

That 48% are not paying income tax, as defined by the IRS.  They don’t make enough. Don’t you envy them? They do, however, pay FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act).

FICA is composed of 12.4% of your salary going to Social Security and 2.9% dedicated to Medicare. Ones paycheck will reflect half of that 15.3% tax. In order to not scare people so much the law says that the employer covers the other half. That half is also a part of ones compensation. It is simply a hidden tax for the employee.

As a point of interest, compare that 15.3% the capital gains tax of 15% for those who gamble rather than work.

That 48% pays sales tax, state income tax, gas tax, excise taxes, real estate tax, car tax, numerous fees and more. They pay no tax? Bat feces.

Social Security and Medicare taxes are generating surpluses, which are put into trust funds, until Congress replaces them with IOUs. That means those entitlement programs are paying their own way and making loans to those programs that don’t.

Cutting back on those programs hurts those programs and makes more money available in the trust funds for the Congress to borrow. Making their slush fund larger will not encourage congressmen to economize. It solves nothing for the government nor for the people, just for the politicians. They will be back for more cuts in the future.

Well, there’s no solution there.

That leaves increasing revenue. The parasites on Wall Street are adamant they will not pay their share. So, does that mean we suck more out of those on the bottom rungs of the economic ladder? Yes.

What?

‘splain yourself, Lucy.

The cost of the federal government as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product is close to a post-WWII low. Then why are we running such debts? Because of a shortfall of revenue. This is not a problem that began in this millennium.

Some of that is easily explained by the Chicago School of Economics’ trickle down theory, an impractical joke. Cut taxes and job creators will create more jobs. But, in the real world, we have lowered their taxes and they didn’t produce; at least not in this country.

The wealthy and the corporations not pulling their own weight makes us justifiably angry but something else they have been doing is of greater import. Something else has been far more insidious, far more destructive of the country, the economy and the people.

You’re angry that we bail out the gamblers, the freeloaders, the parasites. You wonder what they could have done that was worse.

They set about to destroy the unions. They largely succeeded. The middle class was the strength of our economy and thereby the foundation upon which our status as the superpower has been based. The middle class came about only through the existence of the unions.

They didn’t stop with their victory over the unions. They set about dismantling the entire middle class. Our highest inflation-adjusted personal income happened in 1973. The oil embargoes of 1973 and 1979 started the descent. Trickle down and deregulation turned a temporary setback into a decline and fall of at least a couple of generations.

The relative size of the middle class has shrunk. That 48% not earning enough to pay income taxes is your proof. Masses of people continue to be booted from the middle class. Wages and salaries are not keeping up with inflation. Fewer people make enough to contribute to the non-FICA revenue.

So, the government remains the same relative size while revenue decreases. Simple subtraction. Too much subtraction. Too many negative notations.

The real solution is to make it possible for more people to attain and remain in the middle class. Then they will make enough to get the attention of the IRS. Then the government will have sufficient revenue. Wow! A revenue increase without a tax increase.

Our leaders can try this and try that. They can try all of the solutions they want. Some may work. Most won’t. Regardless, unless we reverse the decline of the middle class those other solutions will just buy more time for us to endure the decline of our country and its economy.

I didn’t promise an easy or quick solution. It will take time. But, it is the only long-term solution. Will it happen? Not unless we try something new – electing competent grownups.

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Yes, I’m back from vacation. I know. You didn’t even realize I was gone.

Well, it wasn’t really a vacation. It was 9 days at Fall Creek Falls State Park with about 70 of my wife’s relatives. No it wasn’t as bad as it sounds.

Actually there is a little good came about while I was there. Perhaps I should relate that before preaching on the topic of the day. Each family is assigned a meal to cook. They either produce their specialty or whatever is easiest to prepare for that size of a mob. Hot dogs and hamburgers are de rigueur for the 4^th. Diet food, it ain’t.

That’s the problem. I overcame seven books on economics in the past couple of months. Why? Research on my next book.

I needed a break. So, I did some Internet searching for ideas on nutrition and downloaded to my Kindle 3 books that seemed to make sense. Okay. So it’s my form of recreation.

Actually, as age and weight have crept up I have been tested for diabetes, metabolic rate, tumors, everything. It’s nice to know I don’t have any of those problems but there were no definitive answers. Nothing seems to work.

The good news? Having just begun reading 2-3 days before the trip, I was far from having mastered the subject. Again, their wasn’t any diet food in sight. Considering those conditions, I am shocked that I lost over 7 pounds. I was not reducing calories. None of it was the fluid loss that causes many diets to look good the first week or so. The theory is that it’s what you eat, not how much and that your body will find its own ideal weight. I hope so.

I didn’t starve. I didn’t explore the great outdoors. My arthritic joints and ever-present cane have trouble navigating a round trip to the rear of a Walmart. But now, back to the topic of the day.

Dancing On The Ceiling

What is going to happen with regard to the debt ceiling? What will happen if it isn’t raised? The truth is that no one knows.

But, how do I answer the question? I am neither a prophet nor a fortune teller. They are different. Prophets don’t predict the future. Most everyone misunderstands. A prophet passes on messages from God to the people. Most fortune tellers are gypsies.

Neither Oral Roberts, nor Bob Jones, nor Jerry Falwell’s Liberty Bible College is on my résumé. I am not a gypsy. I’m just going to rely on my unfamous (infamous?) ability to see through political BS.

First, they will not recognize the unconstitutional nature of the debt ceiling law. Politicians prefer complex and obscure machinations. They offer opportunities to hide from and/or misrepresent to their constituents what they are really up to. They are not fans of Occam’s Razor.

The debt ceiling will be raised. The Republican leadership in the Congress publicly assured Wall Street that it would. The Democrats’ action was never in doubt. Both are owned by the casinos and have heard  their master’s voice.

There possibly is a horsefly, or the rear of a centaur, in the ointment. Eric Cantor has put Speaker Boehner under siege in his quest to satisfy his ego, his desire for John’s job. To do this, he has decided to sell his soul to the Tea Party. Why is it so common for a centaur to be looking to the rear?

By some counts, Eric can muster more votes from their caucus on this issue than can John. Eric hopes that will translate to votes for John’s office. That explains Mitch, over in the Senate, showing the white flag with his Rube Goldberg proposal.

Dissension among the Republicans in the House has given Obama a chance for victory. I have trouble crediting the White House with mature, nuanced strategizing but they have made a helpful move or two; even if by accident.

This hullabaloo about the debt ceiling is mere political posturing. It has been brought in to the game solely for political reasons. The last Bush raised the ceiling 7 times. St. Ronny did it 17 times – yes, 17. There should be a clear-cut severing of the problem and the play.

Obama should say that the question of the debt ceiling will stand on its own. Vote it up or down. Let the people decide who is jeopardizing the world economy.

Since I see it as almost a given that the ceiling will be raised, what remains in question is the timing. The financial world may be foolhardy gamlbers with other people’s money but they are cowards when their own neck in on the block. They are getting skittish.

One final point. The Treasury has actually borrowed more money from the Social Security and Medicare trust funds than from China or anyone else. That money may have been borrowed by Congress but it isn’t theirs.

If creditors are to get paid while others stand by, Social Security and Medicare should be at the head of the line. They are just getting back their own money. That is not the same as the oil, agricultural, drug and other industries holding out their hands for subsidies.

The President has been speaking about the possibility of Social Security checks not going out on time. That is pure political theater. It is scare tactics. No group shows up at the polls in higher percentages than do seniors. No one wants to alienate them. Enjoy the show but live in reality.

Just remember the problem. Our economy is sick because there is insufficient blood (money) flowing through the system. Sending money to China and not letting seniors put it back into our economy would be the height of stupidity.

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What caused the debt? That sounds like an easy question. Could that be the problem?

One would hope that our “leaders” could get their arms around a simple question. Well, apparently we never learn.

The short-bus riders on The Hill are pretending to deal with what to do about the debt. It seems logical to ask the question in the title of this article before addressing any possible solutions. Knowing how you got here might be helpful in finding your way back.

Back to the initial debt question.

Even conservative economists acknowledge the role the tax cuts of the early aughts played in eliminating the surplus and creating a major portion of the debt. No rocket science required. No dispute, except among those who prefer playing politics and maintaining “Their” seat in Congress.

Rule of thumb: If a politician considers his career more important than the well-being of the people or the country, he/she does not belong in any public office.

Should American corporations enjoy loopholes that let them snub their noses at our country? Other countries aren’t so considerate. They use our government’s protection, services, infrastructure, airports, ports, education of their employees and enjoy other benefits of being and operating in our country.

Over two-thirds of the largest paid no corporate tax. They are freeloaders. They are parasites. And, many still get subsidies. Even some foreign corporations have discovered how to do the same. That means that you are paying their way. It means you are subsidizing them to send our jobs overseas and pay taxes to other countries. It’s difficult to fully appreciate your generosity.

Our glorious new Secretary of Wars is visiting our money in Iraq and Afghanistan. He tells us that we are close to defeating al-Qaeda. After only 10 years and we are close to defeating them? All 24 of them? Why not throw in another couple of hundred thousand and finish them within this decade?

They tell us they are drawing down a couple of squads this year from the 100,000-plus US troops over there. Why didn’t they mention our mercenary forces? They actually outnumber our troops. Whatever, I have been told in the utmost of secrecy that those military operations added somewhat to our present debt.

The oil industry needs subsidies? Enough said.

There have been various other expenses. We average consuming 170 pounds of sugar every year for every man, woman, child in this country. Aren’t we sweet? But, that just isn’t enough. Somehow, that industry just can’t survive without my pocket change. Ooops! They do survive without it. They get some of that Chinese money that puts us in debt.

If it were only the sweet guys. But, no. You either don’t have enough fingers and toes to count those struggling to get by on corporate welfare, or you belong in Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum.

Luckily, I already had 3 years of Chinese language courses in grad school. I can beg in their native tongue.

Cargill, Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM), Land O’Lakes, Monsanto, Dole, Chiquita, Perdue Farms. These are needy family farmers that can’t afford to increase their fleets of corporate jets as much as they would like unless you go deeper into debt. Please, consider helping your neighborhood agricorp.

One more biggie; the drug lords. Medicare Part D. That needn’t cost the government any money, except they agreed to refrain from negotiating with the pushers and pay whatever their asking price is. Medicare is much larger than the Veterans’ Administration. They could have a lot more bargaining weight than the VA, which pays half as much as Medicare.

So, where do we cut?

That’s easy. First you cut Medicare and Social Security. Why? Because old geezers don’t need no stinking private jets, or sufficient and decent food (cat food is cheap and convenient), or full doses of their meds. They can move in with their kids. If those kids are unemployed they can squeeze out a little to help with the mortgage.

Neither Medicare (except Part D) nor Social Security has added a single nickel (or yuán 元) to the national debt. They are paid completely from taxpayer contributions via the payroll tax. Both are, and have been, running large surpluses. Those surpluses are projected to disappear in the future; Medicare, in about 12 years, or so. Social Security in several decades. Whatever, neither has contributed to our present debt problem.

We can save a few farthings by cutting the funding to such frills as air traffic control, highway maintenance, matching funds to states and local governments for practically everything they do (cops on the beat, firemen on pumpers, education, etc.), courts, passports, parks, prisons, paychecks for the troops we claim to support, the FBI, airport security, medical research, subsidies to hospitals and too many more to list.

The President says the Social Security checks may not go out on time next month. I might get upset if they decide not to send my Social Security checks. The IRS charges penalties if my taxes are late. Does anyone have any ideas about what size of a penalty I should impose?

Are our “leaders” serious? Are they planning and preparing for any of those doomsday scenarios that  are no longer unthinkable? Since it has never happened before, we really can only guess at what we will face. No. They are not planning and preparing. No. They are not serious.

Pay Up.

That first item I mentioned as playing a major role in creating our present mess needs revisiting. We have the lowest income tax rates in more than 60 years. Low taxes means the creation of jobs, so we are told. Then why are we creating the fewest jobs of the last 6 decades in the decade since the latest tax cuts? Because that old saw is a lie. With all of the misinformation, ideological nonsense and other lies getting the attention of the media, it’s time to cut through the BS and look at the realities.

For real? That’s the top marginal rates for the wealthiest taxpayers? Actually, not. That fails to take into consideration two fairly important factors. The wealthy have more deductions than those seniors without a private jet (by the way, those jets are deductible). They have so many it pays them to compensate CPAs and tax attorneys very well to make sure they don’t miss any.

The other factor is that most of the wealthiest don’t work for most of their income. They let their money work for them. That’s called capital gains. That little scam is taxed at less than working for a living. The capital gains tax rate is only 15%. Money gets a nice little benefit when it works. You don’t when you work.

You might be interested in a couple of further points about the other countries listed on these graphs. First, surveys have shown that the citizens of each of those countries are significantly happier with their lives than are Americans. Second, the overwhelming majority in each of those countries prefer their health care system to the American system. Are we missing something?

But, Mitch McConnell just repeated on the tube, with 9.2% unemployment, it isn’t the time to raise taxes, particularly on those poor benighted job creators. Well, have I got news for you. All of those other countries in the graph above that have much higher taxes, are all also doing better with employment. Look for yourself.

Note: Since this graph was constructed US unemployment has increased .5%. The others are the same or lower.

Social Security and Medicare are entitlements. We are entitled because we pay for them and were promised, by law, that we would receive them.

So, our “leaders” decide to make those who are entitled to be paid bear the burden while those who are not entitled cavort in their private jets and enjoy unconscionable incomes and subsidies. The 400 wealthiest are worth as much as 150,000,000 Americans on the other end. Yet, many pay no income tax.

We partied on a credit card for the past 30 years and the loudest voices scream for more tax cuts. I’m getting just a mite upset with some of my fellow Americans for wanting more tax cuts so we can consume our way out of debt, while damning everyone but themselves for the debt and proclaiming their patriotism. The new American motto seems to be, “No pain, just gain.”

I was not totally into the celebrations of this 4^th of July. I am not quite in the mood to lead everyone in a chorus of, I’m Proud to Be an American.

Will our honorable representatives treat us fairly? Surely, you jest. I’m inclined to agree with Jay Leno, “If God had wanted us to vote, he would have given us candidates.”

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I am not a fan of ceilings. Well, at home is good. Maybe in most any building.

But that’s not the kind that we have as the subject today. We’re talking about the debt ceiling of the federal government. It’s possible one or two people may not be as familiar with this issue as they think.

For instance, we are the only country in the world with a debt ceiling. Another minor point is that a debt ceiling is unConstitutional. Now, are you ready for some football . . . er, uh, facts?

Yes, Virginia, the Congress of these United States, in their infinite wisdom, made us the only country in the world subject to such a nonsensical, unnecessary and useless stricture.

It isn’t merely a matter of embarrassment. It represents a potential threat to this country, and the world, that can only be guessed at. Why would they put us in so precarious position? Why would they so jeopardize us?

The debt ceiling took years to develop. It was intended to help the United States Treasury. The original intent was laudable. Its present misuse as a political weapon is despicable.

Until the time of WW I, ‘The Big One,” Congress would authorize each specific debt that was incurred. For a couple of decades, efforts were made to provide the Treasury an easier way of dealing with debts. Those efforts were formalized into a law in 1939 that provided for a debt ceiling. No good deed goes unpunished; particularly when the good deed doer has no idea what they are doing.

Most debt is incurred by action of the Congress. However, the executive branch can cause some debt. Even the courts can subject the government to debts, intentionally or not, as the result of some rulings.

However debt may be incurred, if it is legal, the Treasury must, by mandate of the Constitution, pay that debt. The Constitution makes no allowance for failure to pay any and all legal debts.

Additionally, while the above is stated quite explicitly, the Constitution is what the Supreme Court says it is. In 1935 the Supreme Court very clearly ruled that Congress did not have the power to cause any legally incurred debt to go unpaid. There would, otherwise, be no way to promise the “full faith and allegiance of the United States” to any obligation.

Those great patriotic worshipers of the Constitution may tell the Treasury that they can’t pay any bills once the ceiling is breached. They need to actually read the Constitution. It would help if they would also read an occasional ruling that the Supreme Court hands down.

While the above is true and easy to understand, there is a political consideration. It is very unlikely that any Secretary of the Treasury would be willing to be seen as defying Congress. It’s a sure bet that Secretary Geithner and any of his predecessors and successors see, or saw, their only option being to bow to Congress and pretend they have the final word.

Hey. We have a president who used to be a professor of Constitutional Law. Surely he’s familiar with the original part of the Constitution. Surely he read all of way down to Section 4 of the 14^th Amendment. But, even though he may know better, he has no more political room for maneuver than the Secretary of the Treasury.

We are stuck under the thumbs of the super patriots who don’t understand most of the Constitution and disagree with everything they do understand.

Now, we hear that there is a certain amount beyond which the Treasury will be barred from borrowing. We are told that once the cash on hand runs out the Treasury will be barred from paying any bills or other obligations. Were that it was that straightforward.

They say that our armed forces personnel, those on Social Security and many others cannot be paid . . . but guess who can. Did you say banks? You are either absolutely brilliant or at least have a realistic perception of the way our system works.

How do they justify that? Ask them. The IRS collection personnel will continue to be paid as you and I will still be required to come up with the wherewithal to keep those bankers bonuses flowing.

Okay, you say. What’s so bad about not raising the debt ceiling? The truth is, we don’t know. I can recall nothing even close to this happening before. We have no real analog for guidance. We must depend on educated guesses.

Some of the guesswork can provide a relatively high degree of confidence. We know the level of greed that guides the majority of players. We know the inane ideology they will use to rationalize their actions. We know that fear mongering will likely set new standards. Put them all together Dr. Frankenstein.

Usually, interest on the debt is one of the largest items in the annual budget. It continues to be while significantly diminished. You may have heard that interest rates are at historic lows. That has allowed us to borrow at very low cost for the past few years. It is obviously to our government’s, and taxpayers’, benefit to extend those low interest rates as long as we can.

That makes sense, you say. Won’t we? Many in and out of Congress are determined that we pay higher rates. How could they be so unconcerned for our country’s economic well-being? Some because they are ideologues. Some for putative political advantage. Some for both reasons.

It is difficult to understand the ‘thinking’ of some politicians. They are owned by the banks. The banks love the essentially free money they can borrow now. The banks have told their representatives not to shut down the government. They likely will obey their orders but for the sake of their ideology and their ever credulous constituencies they want to push it to the brink.

The banks, our creditors and other major financial entities relying on our “full faith and allegiance” will begin to get fidgety at some point before the actual deadline. The automatic, ideologically-based response will be to raise interest rates. Our government, we the taxpayers, will lose those low interest rates ahead of the final due date.

Here we have the true believers screaming that the debt is too large. They threaten massive cuts to every program that helps the middle class and sustains the poor. Though our taxes are the lowest in more than 60 years, they bemoan such an intolerable tax burden on the top 2% and are willing to increase the debt for their benefit.

Now comes the kicker. They are willing to cause the government’s interest rates to increase incurring additional debt in the hundreds of billions. Don’t forget to send these self-described debt haters a thank you note.

Why all of the concern by the banks, China, the Saudis, the Brits and all of the other major players? Because the US Dollar is the currency of the realm. Everyone puts their “full faith and allegiance” into the Dollar. Everything in international trade is denoted in the Dollar. There is the stability required for the financial world to function because there is a common coin.

So, just replace it with the Euro. You may not have heard that several members of the European Community are experiencing even greater financial discomfort than are we. Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Portugal and others. This is putting heavy stress on the stronger national banks of the Community. There is not inconsiderable talk of some members leaving the Euro. Some even talk of abolishing it.

That doesn’t sound to me like a promising alternative. What about gold? Give me a moment. Let me stifle my paroxysm of giggling.

The Washington Monument measures 55 feet on each side at its base. It stands 555 feet high. All of the gold ever gathered by mankind in its entire history would equal about one-third of the volume of the Washington Monument. That doesn’t seem to be all that much. Use that as the basis for finances of the entire world? And that doesn’t even take into consideration how much would be needed for the egos of both the rich and poor in Rolexes and teeth.

Allow me to translate that for sports fans. The playing field for football is 300 feet long and 160 feet wide. This, of course, doesn’t include the end zones. All of the gold gathered in the history of mankind would stack up on that playing field a bit less than 11½ feet high, barely higher than the crossbars on the goalposts.

People usually fail to take into consideration how advantageous it is to have our currency accepted as the de facto world standard. When OPEC quotes prices in Dollars we have both a slight real and a psychological advantage. We are, to a degree, insulted from most of the zigs and zags of currency values. In many cases, the cost and convenience of currency exchange works to our advantage as tourists or direct buyers from other countries.

If the world holds our credit worthiness or solvency in question, the pedestal of world superpower will start to crumble at an alarming rate. Our national strength has always been intimately yoked to, indeed based on, our perceived economic dominance.

It is impossible to quantify the potential damage from shutting down the government, to us and everyone else. The loss of the standard will mean economic turmoil around the world until a new system can be developed. The present system developed in the aftermath of WW II and was possible because the rest of the world was prostrate. I don’t recommend revisiting those conditions.

The politicians, most of them, are presently playing games with this issue for some expected political advantage. It’s time to realize that it isn’t a game and hope some adults come to the fore.

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Maybe not you, maybe not me, but tens of millions of people need jobs. It’s not just them that suffer from the lack of a job. Most have families.

It isn’t even limited to them. It affects the entire economy. That means it affects you and me.

Foreclosures mean the Great Recession lasts longer. More foreclosures means your home is worth less. Want to move? Lots of luck. You just discovered that you don’t own your house. It owns you.

Congress is our enemy. They shot down the elimination of tax incentives for moving jobs overseas.

The Republicans were very successful in the last election cycle. How? By promising jobs. How many job creation bills has Boo-hoo Boehner introduced in HIS House? None. Really? Not a single one.

Well, that may not be exactly true. Those family values bills he keeps giving time and attention to might create . . . Well, probably not.

Paul Ryan’s budget is predicted to end the deficit in Fiscal Year 2052 and only cause the loss of 2.5 million more jobs initially. That 2052 date is just to end the annual budget deficit. The national debt would be with us until 2087. We’re going to have to have a party to celebrate.

One representative tried to defend that by misstating that the number of jobs lost would only be 250,000. Then he claimed that the entire 250,000 would all be state and local government jobs lost.

He laughed as he claimed that was good, since they needed to go out and get real jobs. The ones that don’t exist? Who are these good-for-nothings that need to get a real job? Policemen, Firemen, Teachers. I can think of quite a few others on the government payroll who should get a real job. I wish I had saved the clip of that interview to share.

Maybe Peter King can help. His committee has announced another round of Muslim radicalization hearings. Maybe some Muslims will get pissed off and leave. Someone could pick up one of their jobs. I need to send him a thank you note for devoting all of his time to such a high priority.

Congressmen have successfully prevailed upon the SEC to ease back enforcing those new laws to restrict derivatives. That means that Wall Street will need a few dozen more parasites. Is someone keeping count of all our representatives are doing for us by making job creation their number one priority?

If we’re are not going to get more jobs from family value legislation, sending jobs overseas or by eliminating police, firemen and teachers, how are we going to increase the number of jobs?

Banks are sitting on $1.9 trillion that they refuse to loan out in this country. Other businesses are sitting on another $2 trillion that they are refusing to invest in job creation. In fact, big business is where most of those jobs losses are from. Sorry. No help from that quarter.

How about small business? Sorry. Did you know that a many of the small businesses are created by big businesses? They back some employees in start-ups for their own advantage; to get various breaks. Transferring one of their employees to a small one they create does not increase the number of jobs.

With most health care tied to employer-based insurance policies, would be entrepreneurs are reluctant to leave the nest. It happened to me in the 1970s. It is even greater a barrier now, with the high unemployment rate. Also, they can’t get necessary start-up funding.

Even that bastion of conservatism, Time Magazine, realizes that entrepreneurs are not going to be our salvation. They have an article on five myths of our economy. Let me provide a paragraph from that article:

Entrepreneurship is still one of America’s great strengths, right? Wrong. Rates of new-business creation have been contracting since the 1980s. Funny enough, that’s just when the financial sector began to get a lot bigger. The two trends are not disconnected. A study by the Kauffman Foundation found an inverse correlation between the two. The explanation could be tied to the fact that the financial sector has sucked up so much talent that might have otherwise done something useful in Silicon Valley or in other entrepreneurial hubs. The credit crunch has exacerbated the problem. Lending is still constrained, and the old methods of self-funding a business — maxing out credit cards or taking a home-equity loan — are no longer as viable.

That 1980s date mentioned in the article just happens to coincide with the frenetic push for deregulation initiated by St. Ronny, which lead to credit default swaps and other derivatives, ‘no doc’ mortgages, rescission of the Glass-Steagall Act, quadrupling of the Wall Street share of the economy and the other contributions to the economic mess. I would disagree with the article’s placing of the blame on Wall Street sucking up all of the talent. It sucked up the money. They pay more in bonuses than they invest.

Let me describe a typical small business start-up in the present. It’s an underfunded, one-man consulting firm. It doesn’t manufacture anything. It may operate out of a home office. The person may prevail upon a relative to help out. Most of these ‘entrepreneurs’ are doing this because they have no other choice. They come mainly from the unemployed and underemployed. Most will fail. It hardly seems right to count most of these as small businesses or think of them as hiring employees.

A significant number of these are financial advisers. They aren’t telling their clients anything that will help their clients. As when they were employed by the financial firms, their script is limited to advice that will benefit those in the industry. There has been a slight increase in business for CPAs. Many of these new businesses need the services of a CPA to keep them out of trouble with the IRS.

To continue carrying the burden of the real estate situation may very well lead to a double dip. With the government, the banks, big businesses and small businesses unable or just refusing to create jobs, it’s difficult to see how a double dip can be avoided. It’s hard to contemplate the misery that long-term unemployment will cause.

Our “leadership,” both public and private are sitting on their hands, They have no personal financial worries beyond reducing or avoiding taxes. I wish the rest of us lots of luck.

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We all agree.

Everyone thinks that the government’s primary responsibility is to help us. Well, at least some of us.

The problem is that we don’t agree on who the government should help. Some say help those who need help. That’s just silly.

It’s the upstanding parasitic plutocrats who will create a few more jobs in Canada, France or Brazil when they use your gift from the federal storehouse to acquire their next private jet. Mubarak set a new standard for them with nine of these upper class necessities, these ultimate penile substitutes.

The Enemy?

If your career choice is being a moonshiner, growing marijuana or holding up Seven-Elevens, government is your enemy. Otherwise, it shouldn’t be.

People are going around shouting that the government is your enemy. Listen carefully. They aren’t saying just that the government has done or is doing something to harm them – beyond requiring them to pay taxes, of course. They are saying that the very concept of government is your enemy.

Perhaps when they grow up they will appreciate the words of Oliver Wendell Holmes, “Taxes are the price we pay for civilization.” Perhaps not. Many demonstrate an apparently unbridgeable gap they must conquer to comprehend civilization.

“A society is judged by how it treats the least among them.” That rule has been attributed to Gandhi, Churchill, Truman and many others. Whomever, it is the very basis of civilization. Although, archeological evidence shows that our “barbaric” Cro-Magnon antecedents went to great lengths to care for members of their group needing assistance. It would seem that too many of our contemporaries have regressed a few score millennia.

Confucius, 孔夫子 K’ung Fu Tzu, is credited with one that is complimentary to it, “In a country well governed poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed wealth is something to be ashamed of.” According to the old sage, the poor in this country have no reason to hide their faces.

These political Neanderthals, these libertarians, these juvenile acolytes, or adulators, of the late comedian Ayn Rand are profoundly anti-civilization.

If you are of the persuasion that the United States is, or should be, a civilized nation, you must also write them off as anti-American, despite their propensity for wrapping themselves in the flag. Also, egocentric political ideologies that object to helping those in need are in contradiction to Christianity and other religions. Caring for those in need is, simply, the litmus test for determining whether one is truly civilized, truly a patriot and truly religious.

Most of these people are unaware of how anti-civilization, anti-American, anti-Christian they are. From either intellectual laziness or incapacity, they have partaken of the political pablum fed to them by those who are full, knowing members of those categories. They are simply fools and tools. Some of the true villains are those I address next.

The Smartest Man On Wall Street? In Washington? Anywhere?

The geniuses pictured above all played major, definitive roles in bringing about the worldwide economic meltdown that we continue to enjoy. Did you remember to send them thank you cards?

Some fight under the banner of the Democratic Party. Some fight under the banner of the Republican Party. Actually, they are on the same side. They all fight the class war against us.

Do these parasites really believe what they infect the world with? It’s difficult to know. They do formulate the themes of the propaganda. We must remember, it’s not that uncommon for people who create and purvey lies to be taken in by their own handiwork.

They agree on all major policies. They all want big business to be unfettered. Their “Golden Age” is sometimes called the Era of the Robber Barons.” They have modified their image since the turn of the last century but they are direct descendants of those that hired the Pinkerton National Detective Agency to murder people who wanted enough to feed their families and educate their children for the better life they dreamed of for them.

The Newest Wonder Boy

Now the media have a new darling. Once again we are being told how this backwoods bozo is the master of the national budget.

Of course they leave out a few details. They use the journalistic equivalent of PhotoShop to turn Miss Piggy into Helen of Troy.

Did they tell you that he received over half a million dollars from the insurance industry? Did they tell you that ranks him above all other US Representatives from Wisconsin. It also ranks him above both of that state’s Senators.

Forget that he’s a prostitute. Capitol Hill is teeming with them. My initial thoughts about him brought to mind the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. It’s hard to explain why. The Scarecrow was aware he had no brain. He wanted a brain.

They have almost nothing in common. And besides, the Scarecrow was too good of a dancer to end up on a reality show. This pitiful wannabe is likely to follow the career path of Tom Delay.

The Congressional Budget Office is a nonpartisan entity of Congress. It is responsible for providing all members their analyses of bills having an economic impact. In fact, it is generally acknowledged to lean just a bit to the right.

The CBO says that Ryan’s budget will cost a minimum of 700,000 jobs. That’s no big deal because those are jobs of government employees and those of suppliers to the government.

Another party that frequently weighs in is the Republican Study Group. It is a group of self-styled financial experts from among the Republican members of the House. They announced that the loss of those 700,000 jobs was a positive development. They say that since most of those losing their jobs are highly skilled and college graduates, putting them into the job market will further depress wages. You see, this group is not too smart. They often make such public pronouncements, that tell us what their real intentions are.

Exactly what is Mr. Ryan promising from his magnum opus? He tells us it will save Medicare. Presently, Medicare has a 20% co-pay. I, as many others, cover that with a private ‘medigap’ plan. Adding in monthly premiums, the average senior will pay as much as 22-25% of his or her medical costs. Ryan’s plan is estimated by the CBO to cost seniors at least 68% once it is phased in.

This means that most seniors will do without needed care or lean on the younger members of their family. Also, the procedure will be drastically changed. He proposes giving each senior a $15,000 voucher with which to purchase an alternative to Medicare coverage. Anyone pricing such individual plans will either laugh or cry uncontrollably.

While Mr. Ryan is generous enough to index that $15,000 for inflation, he uses the index for an almost overall inflation rate that comes in around 2%. Medical cost inflation runs from 2.9% up into the double digits. Another factor is that these plans will be purchased annually. That means that each year the rate will be further increased by the factor of age.

Not only is that amount completely unrealistic, it requires, as he puts it, ever-aging seniors to negotiate coverage details each year. They must do this with an industry famous for its perfidy; famous for its ability to increase the complexity of its products beyond outsiders’ comprehension – always to their advantage.

There are other features of his budget plan that target seniors, in addition to those aimed at children, the poor, the middle class, college students and their families, hell, everyone not in the economic top 10%.

Well, all those spending cuts will reduce our deficit. Ooops. Actually, the deficit will increase for the first 10-12 years. The budget might possibly be balanced in 70 years. I can’t wait. Seriously, I can’t wait.

With all of those cuts, why will it take his plan so long to reach its putative goal? You must remember some items, defense, for instance, will increase.

The cuts are described as modest at $4.3 trillion. I bet you thought to yourself, “Myself, that’s a bunch of cutting.” Don’t forget with whom you are dealing. The plan calls for $4.2 trillion in tax cuts. Oh. That explains a lot.

The nominal corporate tax rate, at 35% is second only to Japan. Mr. Ryan wants to reduce that to 25%. Instead of just swallowing that load, let’s take a slightly closer look at corporate taxes.

That 35% in the nominal rate. That means the law says that is the rate. Reading deeper into the tax code will bring to light a forest of deductions, exemptions, subsidies and other goodies. The ‘real’ rate then seems to become about 17%. That puts the US corporate tax rate at a much more competitive level. That puts it well into the lower half of developed nations.

Look at the chart. It would show a lower percentage but it only covers 1950-2003.

But we can’t stop at 17%. When 68% of corporations pay no tax (think General Electric’s nearly $15 billion untaxed), it lowers the effective rate even further. A quick calculation puts the effective rate at less than 5.5%.

If corporations are still moving jobs, capital and profits overseas at 5.5%, I’m guessing that lowering the nominal rate to 25% will not eliminate the deficit.

Those treating the government as their enemy may be on to something. Their aim should be slightly adjusted, however. It’s their own little darlings; their own ideological “friends” that are the enemy. It is the Paul Ryans who we and the government need protection from.

Mr. Ryan named his little plan The Path to Prosperity. He failed to say whose prosperity. I don’t think he liked the stories of Robin Hood. He seems to have identified with the Sheriff and King John. Somehow, rob from the poor and give to the rich just doesn’t have the same ring to it – at least not to me.

But, what do I know? After all, he is the media’s newest fair-haired Wunderkind*.

*German: Child Prodigy

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