The In$ide $tory Of Handing Over Our Pen$ion$ To Wall $treet.

Because Social Security is getting cut down, you choose to put your money in an IRA…  Since doing percents are easy with amounts starting with a one and ending in zeros, let us assume you choose to put $100,000 in an IRA for 20 years…. The Wall Street firm will charge you 2%. You think, $100,000?  2%, ok … $2,000 over 20 years that’s nothing.. I’ll still have 98% plus interest over 20 years…

You think?  This is Wall $treet we’re talking about……

So take this interest compounding calculator. … Seriously, you need to do this.  Right click it into a new tab  so your computer doesn’t have to download flipping back and forth….

Add $100,000 as principle.   No new additions on the first round.  Time Frame: 20 years. For the interest rate put in negative 2. Since you are going to be receiving only 98% of your earnings on a yearly basis, a negative 2 works better than having to do the extra step latter and subtracting two totals.

Hit total…  At 2% compounded off that $100,000 you originally placed,… after commissions all you will have left is $66,760… Wall $treet takes 1/3 of what you earn…..

Not convinced?  Let’s go a different way.  Let’s say you will average 7% increases with a 2% commission… We’ll do it in two steps.  We will use the calculator to figure out what we would have earned at 7%, and again, what we would have earned at 5%.  We will subtract the two to see how much Wall $treet is taking out from your future…

At 7% increases we would have earned $386,968 over 20 years with no additions after the initial deposit.  At 5% increases our total maxes out at $265,329.   That 2% costs us…..$121,639 dollars…. The same 1/3  as above….

The argument can be made that since we agreed to it in the beginning and never got it, the commissions really doesn’t cost us anything.  But if we change the wording so we say that it costs us $121,599 in “potential earnings” that clears that hurdle and if probably a more truthful line..  But there is no question …. these calculations show us how much Wall $treet intends to make when our retirements go their way instead of coming through Social Security….

We now remember why Franklin D. Roosevelt went with Social Security in the first place.  Those who saved across all their lives, can not afford to live after they stopped working.

Man Of The Year

Although the year is barely out, we do have our first nomination for the spot to be announced in December 2013.  With the Kinder Morgan Deal now on hold semi-permanently, even they are pointing to our hero of the year as the man most responsible for allowing the port to remain state owned….

I can say it was Julius Cephas who was behind almost every move to combat the loss of good jobs at our port.  He is being pointed out as the villain by the capitalists at Kinder Morgan.  In Delaware’s eyes, that elevates his hero’s stature even more…

In truth, he is no villain and knowing him, he will probably shun the acclimations being made by us common folk as being our hero.  In his eyes, he was just doing what needed to be done because no one else was there at that very moment to do it, and as that task swelled, it took a lot out of him….

Capitalists always need a villian.  But it was the “truth” which actually is what killed this deal.  Kinder Morgan WAS going to cut back on jobs, and their change of heart and blaming Julius instead of others, points exactly to the core of their problem with our port… …

People in Texas, do not understand unions.  They simply can’t fathom or understand how there can be an actual law that lets people strike and shut you down, whenever you try to pay them less..  In their eyes, you work for what they want to give you and if it is too little, ..humph.  go elsewhere….

The second culprit (after the “truth”),  was our office of economic development.  We gave Kinder Morgan too many “eager” signals that set us up as being seen as an easy pick.  They truly thought they could waltz in, pick up a top notch East Coast Port for a song, and we would eagerly give it up…  Again, that was because everything was done in secret.  Had a meeting been forthcoming in the very beginning,  Kinder Morgan might have moved on earlier when it became readily apparent, that southern Texas practices do not bode well in the Northeast…

Of course, being a corporation, they will blame the whistle blower.  (Ironic since the whistle blower of Enron works for them)..   Of course.  It is not like they find anything immoral in taking a state asset for a song, in firing those skilled dock workers, and replace them with some Spanish speaking Texans who never even heard of a union….

And Julius did blow that whistle. .  Like Rose on the Titanic, he took the whistle off of Jack (pun intended), and blew softly at first, then harder, and harder.   Gradually the sound registered on others ears….

Without Julius, Bob Marshall would not have pushed through Senate Bill 3.  Without Julius, most of the links showing up in everyone’s blog, would have not been found.  Without Julius, the case for protecting workers would not have even made the rounds of the Norman Oliver show….

There were many helpers. Bob Marshall, Nancy Willing, Norman Oliver, Norinda, Helene Keeley, Al Mascitti, Liz Allen, John Kowalko, and (an other blogger too shy to be mentioned here). When one looks back through all of them one sees from everywhere, there in the center of the universe,  stands a normal human being just like us, known to most … as Julius.

There will come a time when a better deal will arrive.  Could even be this year. There will come a time when a suitor who does care about Delaware, who does care about unions, about human beings, about those businesses on the outside, and who will want to upgrade the port for everyone’s interest, not just their own… And that suitor in this day and age, could even come from abroad.  Germany is very committed to union labor, to the environment, to being a good neighbor…. There are a great many possibilities out there that are immeasurable…. We definitely dodged a Texas bullet with this one….

When that suitor arrives… Julius’s stature will be set in cement….  For he did nothing really Herculean, except argue the truth…  He didn’t lie.  He didn’t connive,  He didn’t threaten….

That was done by our office of economic development.  Instead and unlike them, Julius told the truth.  He told the truth to anyone who would listen.  He told the truth enough, so many “did” listen….

And that is why, he  deserves this nomination as Delaware’s Man of the Year.  I know it is early into 2013, but great things just do not wait!!….

You will hear smears that Julius tubed the deal… I saw the letter and it is already out on WDEL and the Delawareonline’s News Journal… But as an impartial blogger, I can tell you exactly what killed this deal.

It was “the truth”.  The truth of what this deal would cost us Delawareans….. is what turned the tide and caused the outcry that rose up against it….

If Kinder Morgan really wanted this deal, they could have easily said… “we are expanding and putting 5 new berths out into the river.  We are buying the port for the bargain price of $5 billion.   We need those businesses outside the fence because the jobs we get, will soon be too big, we can’t do it ourselves.  We will keep the union just as it is;  Wilmington needs good jobs and we are going to do our part….  We are also going to contribute into an emergency fund to be used for any spill or environmental accident that takes place under our tenure….

Kinder Morgan could have done any of those things, … and didn’t…. The blame doesn’t lie with Julius after all…. Especially when you consider the following…

This Economic Council erred on Fisker Automotive.  Then it erred on Bloom Energy.  Then it tried to Kinder Morgan us out of our port…..   Someone rushed in  with a save to make sure that last one didn’t happen.

That person is now hereby nominated for Delaware’s Person of the Year…….

NRA’s Hit List — Pop!Pop! Pop-Pop-Pop….. And I Got One Left For You, Buddy!

So, I know the title gives it away, but what do the:
Ambulatory Pediatric Association,
Gray Panthers,
Congress of Neurological Surgeons,
National Association of Chain Drug Stores,
United Methodist Church,
General Board & Church Society,
Drew Barrymore – Actress,
Christie Brinkley – Model,
Doug Flutie – NFL player,
Art Garfunkel – Singer,
Helen Hunt – Actress,
Britney Spears – Singer,
James E. Carter – Former President,
C. Everett Koop – Former Surgeon General,
A & M Records,
Ben & Jerry`s Homemade, Inc.,
Blue Cross Blue Shield – Kansas City,
Hallmark Cards,
Kansas City Chiefs,
Levi Strauss & Co.,
Sara Lee Corporation,
Southwestern Bell Telephone- St. Louis,
St. Louis Rams,
Stoneyfield Farms Yogurt,
The Christian Publishing Society,
Gannett News Service,
Motorcycle Cruiser Magazine
and the YWCA of the U.S.A…….

all have in common?

They are listed along with a couple of thousand other well known people, organizations, and American businesses, as being an ENEMY of Wayne LaPierre and the NRA….

Can you still tell me with a straight face that these aren’t kooks, or weirdos, or crazies? The NRA is the pond scum of America. I’m all for legitimate gun rights as everybody knows… but fellow gun owners? These guys ain’t doing you no favors!

Courtesy of Reuters per Daily Kos

Red Line Israel

Israel is going forward with 1200 new settlements on the West Bank.

Expect the truce to end tomorrow afternoon as rockets arch the skies.

Once again, Israel takes advantage of what it believes is the US’s inability to think for itself.

Our proper response, is to demand they stand down. When Israel says no, tell them our support for their country depends on no new settlements. If they go ahead, they do it alone; tell them as of now we begin our withdrawal in one week…. We stop when we hear they have voted to stop all new settlements.

This is not about friendship; we will always have a love for Israel. It is about business. Every insurance company has the right to decide whether to insure an at-risk beach property, or not. The United States of America is Israel’s insurer of their right to exist. Israel’s actions have simply made it too costly to continue our relationship….

It is not our choice if Israel goes forward with settlements. They get to choose their future. Our only duty is to precisely define the options so they completely understand all consequences….. That precisely worded statement, is that if they do so, they do it without any of our help or aid.

Republicans Surrender Economic War: Concede Defeat

Anyone who has read this blog over time, knows I’m all about the numbers. If it comes down to what people say, versus numbers, I’ll always take numbers and I’ll always be right. Of course sometimes you have to probe the numbers of the other side, to be sure the other side didn’t (erroneously) switch a minus sign, or divide when they should have added, but if anyone were to analyze past writings of mine, they could only concur, that numbers speak volumes…

In the Bush years I called out that the numbers weren’t matching up; we were headed for a gigantic meltdown and we did. I called for all (who listened and got out in time) to get back into the stock market at 6600 because it would reach bottom the next day and bounce upward, and it did. I called out that our economic well being was based upon removing the upper tax cuts, keeping the lower ones, and we instead, we got the Tea Party because some nuts out there still don’t read this blog.

So, as everyone knows, if given enough time, and pointed in the right direction, a person with one leg can hop towards and eventually reach the finish line. Basically the set back caused by the Tea Party Republicans, has caused us to have to complete the second half of the Obama years, on one leg….

Now, we are seeing Progress that will continue, unless the Tea Party is able to knock out our other leg….. The Romney/Ryan budget does exactly that on a macro scale. (One would expect that from someone who grew up in a little town and has never learned there are other ways to do things.)..

One of the most credible sources out there these days, is the Federal Reserve of St. Louis. Consisting almost entirely of Republicans, when they say things are going well, I will tend to believe them. And they are excited by the latest returns. I borrowed these from the Business Insider, but just seeing them in sequential order, is like art, a beautiful thing for a numbers person to behold…..

Yes, to change the lyrics off a CCR song, ” I see a GOOD moon a’rising….” The only thing that can derail this economy off its tracks, is any major Republican victory in November… Barring that, we are on our way…..
Obama and the Democrats did pull us out of the worst Recession (it would have continued as a Depression if Republicans had been in power) since the Great Depression…..

Trust the numbers: only with continued Democratic leadership, will the money keep coming back…..

Romney Staffer Admits: Television Reality Show “Storage Wars” Inspiration for Campaign Tactics

Courtesy of A&E’s Storage Wars

Now along with the binder’s flap, a staffer on Romney’s team used the Storage Wars themed show to describe Romney’s economic plan….

In this show, bidders get a minute to look at a storage locker, and then bid on its contents, mostly unseen. Sometimes they get lucky. Usually the hit nothing but dirt…. sometimes spectacularly.

But its the idea that we gamble on not knowing , simply making a bet that we don’t know how it will work out.

Only problem is, we tried that once. His name was George W. Bush.

Doesn’t it make more sense to put our faith into something that IS working, and tweak it a little so it works a little faster, than throw away all this progress and put our bet on something we have no idea of what we will soon be getting?

Two More Sponsors Pull Out of Debates

Two more sponsors on the position that the debates shut out Gary Johnson, pulled their sponsorships US News and World Reports, reports.  Three are out.  Seven remain.

Phillips Electronics and the YWCA who were hit with a massive email campaign, yanked their sponsorships over their concern that these debates were partisan and not non-partisan as originally intended.  The debate commission being a 501 (c) (3) organization,  requires sponsors for its funding, and the loss of two more sponsors will impact it greatly.

The bi-party commission had excluded Gary Johnson because it stated he did not meet the 15% threshold level previously set.   There is increasing concern across this nation that the dual bi-partisian commission is intent on keeping third party candidates out of debates.  Doing so, would make them partisan and thereby violate the stipulations of their tax status.

The Gary Johnson campaign has a lawsuit on the docket to open the debates to third parties.  It appears the court will not overrule the debate commission.

However the loss of a major sponsor could change the tune of the debate commission.  The loss of two, could change it faster.

Note:  the following sponsors remain.  Please email them to withdraw as well.

Anheuser-Busch
Howard G. Buffet Foundation
Sheldon S. Cohen
Crowell & Moring
IBWA
Kovler Fund
Southwest Airlines

At What Price, Loyality?

This is going to my hard core Republican friends. Why are you still supporting Romney?

1) You know he is not going to win.
2) You know as the election heats up, his Bain Capital experience will make Republicans untouchable for decades.
3) You can’t pin down where Romney stands on anything.
4) He tied his dog to a car.
5) He stands with black people and says “Who let the dogs out, woof, woof.”

Most of you are telling me, “I certainly can’t vote for Obama. I guess I’m not voting for President this time.”

Let’s say, just for argument sakes there was a presidential candidate out there who says to have good government you need: …………………

1. Become reality driven. Don’t kid yourself or others.
Find out what’s what and base your decisions and actions
on that.

2. Always be honest and tell the truth. It’s extremely
difficult to do any damage to anybody when you are
willing to tell the truth–regardless of the
consequences.

3. Always do what’s right and fair. Remember, the more
you actually accomplish, the louder your critics become.
You’ve got to learn to ignore your critics. You’ve got to
continue to do what you think is right. You’ve got to
maintain your integrity.

4. Determine your goal, develop a plan to reach that
goal, and then act. Don’t procrastinate.

5. Make sure everybody who ought to know what you’re
doing knows what you’re doing. Communicate.

6. Don’t hesitate to deliver bad news. There is always
time to salvage things. There is always time to fix
things. Henry Kissinger said that anything that can be
revealed eventually should be revealed immediately.

7. Last, be willing to do whatever it takes to get your
job done. If you’ve got a job that you don’t love enough
to do what it takes to get your job done, then quit and
get one that you do love, and then make a difference.

Honesty. Integrity. Principal.

Sounds good so far. Let us say just for argument, he had chief executive experience. Let us say just or argument that he once ran a state, one of the fifty in this union. Let us say while governor, this is what he did…..

During his tenure, New Mexico experienced the longest period without a tax-increase in the state’s entire history.

1) He cut the rate of government growth in half,

2) Left the New Mexico state government with a budget surplus and 1000 fewer employees (without firing anyone),

3) Privatized half of the prisons in the state,

4) Brought a state-wide school voucher system to New Mexico.

5) Vetoed 750 bills (more than all the vetoes of the other 49 Governors in the country at that time, combined) with only 2 overrides, earning him the nickname Gary “Veto” Johnson.

6) In 1999, Johnson became the highest-ranking elected official in the United States to advocate the legalization of drugs.

7) Shifted Medicaid to managed care.

ISN’T THAT WHAT YOU WANT? ISN’T THAT WHAT WE NEED?

Can you not think of a better way to show your lack of enthusiasm over a wealthy capitalist buying his way to the top of your ticket, by voting for someone who has character, who does what you’ve always wanted, a doer, not a talker?

And to think…. you were simply just going to throw your vote away.

His name is Gary Johnson. He is the new party’s candidate for President.

Remember Republicans. It is your values that are important. If your party has given up and moved on from your values, don’t think you have to be loyal to the word…. “Republican”… What you have to be loyal too, is yourself. Always. Never lie to yourself.

You don’t need to waste your vote on Romney. You probably need to find more about this guy, Gary Johnson, and then throw your support behind him.

Don’t worry it is not one of the two parties on whose ticket he is running. Remember, at one point in time, the Republican Party was a once a third party too. One that went mainstream because of its core values, its principles resonated with everyday American People.

Morality Versus Political Campaigns

Often we tend to get caught up in the hyperbole of political campaigns… without taking the time to realize these are people just fighting for their “lives” and taking hold of any weapon being handed them…..

Today, Rush Limbaugh called a university-coed a hooker, whore, and told her to spread her legs into a camera because he wanted to see…..

Today, Rick Santorum got heated over a DJ’s phone call that questioned whether or not he’d put any rational thought into his “no sex” plank he was promoting….

Today, with the death of Brietbart, we see a lot of people on both sides saying quite a few bad things about him.

One has to see these exchanges in the context of a battle..   One would not be surprised to hear similar heated exchanges if the trash talk going back and forth were between the overly drunk fans of the the Islanders say,  vrs. those of the Stanley Cup worthy Flyers,  or the Romo-Copped-Out Cowboys vrs. the Eagles Dream Team, or  the cry-baby Yankees vrs. the best baseball team of all time: the Phillies….  Trash talk before a game is an American past-time.   One would assume that if politics were to leave its ivory tower, it too would have to adapt to the rules of the playing field on which all of America was accustomed…

Problem is:  it is a distraction from what needs to be said and is not…  ”Washington: we have a problem and it needs to get fixed… Which of you knows how to do it?”

In sports you have a definite measure over which team is better:  one team wins on the field.

The reality is a bit more confusing in politics.

The research and hard work IS getting done by members of the press, but no one out there is absorbing the data.

For example, how many of you know that Gingrich’s plan explodes the deficit by 7 trillion more than Obama,  Santorum’s plan explodes the deficit by 4 trillion more than Obama, and  Romney’s plan will cost 2 trillion more than Obama’s plan…..

That is important.  You should know this…. Hearing it for the first time?  Exactly my point……

How many of you know that Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will have to have adjustments if they are to stay solvent?  Its the equivalent of a $1000 car payment on an income of $2000 a month.  The other bills not getting paid, are taking a back-seat….

The three Republicans know and say this, but… Obama and the Democrats have so far gotten a break on facing up to this….  Hearing it for the first time?  Exactly my point…..

Where we need to go with this, is responsible journalism.  The trash talk needs to be called for what it is… Hell, if ESPN calls it out;  why can’t CNN?

“Just for fun, here is some trash talk from around the political arena today” (Show Clips of Rush, Santorum,  Breitbart-haters.)   Now the real news is this:  The US can’t pay it’s bills unless they raise taxes on the wealthy, unless they keep discretionary spending where it is, and unless they increase the funding by 2% each from both employers and employees segments on their payroll deductions for FICA, Medicare/Medicaid…..  Only this full court press can balance the budget by 2021.

Currently only the platform of Obama comes close to meeting this objective…”

That is what is required of our Fourth Estate; work like that is what we pay them to do…  Had we had that in 2000, I don’t think the policies of Bush would have slipped through unnoticed as we instead debated leadership styles, ease and comfort, and who we’d rather drink beer with…..

And so….. we got what we voted for…..

Mission Accomplished……

(Overheard in background (before mic shuts off)… “That was easy; I think that went over well… Now back to the trash talk;  got any new stuff?…..)

Gay Is Good And Arizona Congressman Proves It

Bottom line: in order to run for Congressman, Paul Babeu had to hide he was gay….

Why is that?

Why…. is…. that?

Why?

Here you have a good man, good enough to run for Congress, who for reasons beyond his control prefers a long term relationship with someone his same gender, and if he is to run, he has to pretend he is not gay?… Even to the point of “deporting” his former friend?

Why?

Why does someone so esteemed in society; someone who spoke before CPAC last week; someone on the front of the immigration war; someone whose image is right next to John McCain’s, for heavens sake, surely one of the best human beings that Arizona has to offer…..

Why does he have to hide the biggest part of who he is?

Perhaps you don’t see how huge this is?

We have a conservative, anti immigration sheriff, in a very conservative town, in a very conservative state, who was about to embark upon the career of his life…. who had all the qualifications, who had all the support….. IN OTHER WORDS HE WAS JUST AN AVERAGE NORMAL CANDIDATE….. except for the fact that he was gay…

While no one knew he was gay….. he was a hero… a leader…. a person looked up to?…

Point is; being gay makes not one bit of difference… If you are considered one way because you keep your gayness hidden, and then considered another way because it has come out, then the problem is obviously NOT WITH YOU….

IT IS WITH THOSE OTHERS WHO THINK BEING GAY IS NOT NORMAL….

So you have a normal guy, who, after his gayness comes out is…. still a normal guy…. it proves all those detractors who oppose any equality for gays…. WRONG…

If you don’t believe gays are people… you are wrong.
If you believe gays have something wrong with them, you are wrong.
If you believe gays are liberal commie pinko’s… you are wrong.
If you think gays can’t hold or shoot a gun…. you are wrong.
If you think gays aren’t Christian enough…. you are wrong.
If you think gays can’t be real men…. you are wrong.
If you think gays are sinners….. you are wrong.

Obviously there is nothing wrong with gays… Paul Babeau cuts that argument down forever….

From this point on… no conservative can say there is something wrong with gays.. (listening Gov. Perry?) and get away with it…

Because the truth is: there is nothing wrong with gays.. There is something very deeply, sickly wrong with a party that is… anti gay…..

Paul Babeau proves the Republican party is full of hypocrites. For it was only for the fact that he felt he had to hide who he was for his party of fake people, that forced his hand to threaten his ex to stay quiet….

Damn shame, he couldn’t have just let it all hang out….. and still run as a “so-what” Republican in high esteem…..

There is nothing wrong with Paul.. There is something wrong with Republicans…. ‘Cause Paul Babeu just proved it……