Has it Worked?
That seems to be the new "hot topic" for the last few days. I don't know whether it has worked, or is still working, or not but I do know that of our four grandchildren two have already graduated from college and the other two are scheduled to graduate in December of this year. I suspect it is about as much up to the students as it is the teachers. It probably is a given that we have some less than competent teachers but for the most part you get out of anything about what you put into it. The two boys, who grew up here on the hill, were raised on the work ethics and both knew what they wanted to make of their lives well before they entered high school. They both put in a lot of time preparing themselves for their chosen fields. Is that not still the "American Way"?
What's the incentive? Too many in our current school age, or recent graduates (or dropouts), have been, or are being, raised in an environment where almost half of our citizens pays no federal income taxes and many of those who pay no taxes receive a refund check for money they didn't pay in. Why study in school, get a good job, work hard trying to get ahead and make a lot of money only to have it taken away and given to someone who doesn't even want to work? America, if not already there, is fast becoming a nation of people waiting for a handout.
We, here on the hill, have worked hard most of our lives, paid our taxes, never getting anything we didn't pay for, mostly paid for our two sons' education (both engineering) and still ask for no help (free) from any mortal. Someday, perhaps, that may change but God willing ----.
It is still hot and humid here, so much so that we can't get out and work very much. Our pole beans are still blooming some but no beans, we have a few tomatoes but none ripe yet, the squash and cucumbers are doing fairly well but we water them most days. The okra is the best of all our garden, blooming and putting on some pods. We picked about a quart of blueberries Thursday and about a half gallon Saturday. They are looking good so far. The next few weeks will probably be devoted mostly to the blueberries especially if it stays hot and muggy.
Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned.- William
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Sunday Morning
On the Hill.
A few minutes after five O'clock on another fine Sunday morning, here on the Hill, and we haven't really given much thought to writing anything to post here. We have been busy most of the week outside, except for Friday when we got a ground soaking rain, working in the iris and other yard and garden work. It has been warmer than normal for the last month and that makes it harder for us to get all the outside work done but we do what we can.
Our pole beans, planted on Good Friday, are looking good and blooming but not putting on any beans. Maybe it has been too hot and dry. We should know if the rain helped, or not, in a few days. We dug our Irish Potatoes last week and replanted the same three short rows just before the rain. Maybe they will come up. Also planted late cucumbers and tomatoes. Our earlier tomatoes and pepper are looking better. We have tomatoes that should be getting ripe before long but the pepper hasn't started blooming yet. Our cucumbers are about normal, whatever that is, but our squash, which was supposed to be yellow crook neck but turned out to be Zucchini, are doing fairly well.
In another week or two, our Blueberries should begin ripening. As we stated before, that will keep us busy for a few weeks. Right now it looks as though they will be better than usual. All in all, it has been a good first half of 2011. Healthwise, we are gettinbg older and that brings on more complaints, mostly minor, but, again, that is normal.
You may have noticed that, up to this point, we haven't mentioned anything about politics. We know that is what dominates the news but we haven't watched as much television lately and when we do it is more likely to be some of the older programs. We could use more of those.
Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
A few minutes after five O'clock on another fine Sunday morning, here on the Hill, and we haven't really given much thought to writing anything to post here. We have been busy most of the week outside, except for Friday when we got a ground soaking rain, working in the iris and other yard and garden work. It has been warmer than normal for the last month and that makes it harder for us to get all the outside work done but we do what we can.
Our pole beans, planted on Good Friday, are looking good and blooming but not putting on any beans. Maybe it has been too hot and dry. We should know if the rain helped, or not, in a few days. We dug our Irish Potatoes last week and replanted the same three short rows just before the rain. Maybe they will come up. Also planted late cucumbers and tomatoes. Our earlier tomatoes and pepper are looking better. We have tomatoes that should be getting ripe before long but the pepper hasn't started blooming yet. Our cucumbers are about normal, whatever that is, but our squash, which was supposed to be yellow crook neck but turned out to be Zucchini, are doing fairly well.
In another week or two, our Blueberries should begin ripening. As we stated before, that will keep us busy for a few weeks. Right now it looks as though they will be better than usual. All in all, it has been a good first half of 2011. Healthwise, we are gettinbg older and that brings on more complaints, mostly minor, but, again, that is normal.
You may have noticed that, up to this point, we haven't mentioned anything about politics. We know that is what dominates the news but we haven't watched as much television lately and when we do it is more likely to be some of the older programs. We could use more of those.
Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Reforming Social Security
And especially Medicare.
We have been writing e-mails, letters and blog postings for many years protesting or offering advice on various subjects facing the world. During the last three years we have limited our writing to a few subjects with the "Social Security-Medicare"delimma and "Obama Care" being high on the list. A few days ago, the news and the heat both being oppressive, we sent the following e-mail to several news anchors, mostly on Fox News, but there has been no indication that they were delivered.
"Reforming Social Security and Medicare is absolutely 'A MUST' if they are to be extended into the distant future for our younger generations. In the near future (next ten to fifteen years) there is nothing that can be done, short of cutting benefits for current retirees (run that up the flag pole and see who salutes) , that will affect the budget or our National Debt. It is already set in stone. The United States Treasury will have to borrow money to redeem those IOUs, in the Social Security Trust Fund, in order to pay current benefits which will add to the National debt but, by law passed in 1990, Social Security and Medicare are not a part of the budget as submitted by the President and they do not affect that budget in any way. You can take them out of your pie chart. Medicaid, Food Stamps and other unfunded government welfare programs are running wild and should be reined in but that is not a Social Security-Medicare problem.
Last December, during the negotiations pertaining to the Bush era tax cuts, President Obama asked for, and got, a two percentage points cut in the FICA (payroll) tax which is paid by each employee. It has been said on television (Fox News) that that cut amounted to nearly one hundred and fifty billion dollars. Again I heard on television (Fox News again) that the president is asking (could be just a trial balloon) for another cut in the FICA tax which finances Social Security and Medicare. How can anyone reconcile cutting the payroll tax or declaring a tax holiday with the fact that Social Security and Medicare are already depending on money from redeeming some of the IOUs in their Trust Fund to pay current benefits? The Trust Fund will be bankrupted much quicker if that is the course we follow. I believe the news media, especially Fox News, should do more to inform all voters what is happening in Washington. Try it, you might like it."
Neither our Senators nor our Representative will even attempt to address our concerns about the status of Social Security and Medicare and those contacted in the news media also ignore the subject. Our Senators only want to re-assure us that they won't allow our benefits to be cut and the media, for the most part, will only parrot the political line, i.e., "Social Security and Medicare are the biggest drivers of our budget deficits and National debt" and "In a few more years Social Security and Medicare will be consuming ninety percent of our disposable income."
At the very, very best that is a mis-statement and at the worst it is a lie. I believe it to be the latter.
In previous postings I wrote; I don't know if they (Washington politicians) are brain-washed, don't have a brain to be washed or are trying to brain-wash us. I still don't know the answer but I suspect it to be a combination of all three. Meanwhile, here on the hill, it is still hot and what little rain we got has dried up but there is more in the forecast. Blueberries should be getting ripe soon. That will keep us busy for several days. My working days start early (daylight) and end before noon, with time out for breakfast, but I sure can't complain about that. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
We have been writing e-mails, letters and blog postings for many years protesting or offering advice on various subjects facing the world. During the last three years we have limited our writing to a few subjects with the "Social Security-Medicare"delimma and "Obama Care" being high on the list. A few days ago, the news and the heat both being oppressive, we sent the following e-mail to several news anchors, mostly on Fox News, but there has been no indication that they were delivered.
"Reforming Social Security and Medicare is absolutely 'A MUST' if they are to be extended into the distant future for our younger generations. In the near future (next ten to fifteen years) there is nothing that can be done, short of cutting benefits for current retirees (run that up the flag pole and see who salutes) , that will affect the budget or our National Debt. It is already set in stone. The United States Treasury will have to borrow money to redeem those IOUs, in the Social Security Trust Fund, in order to pay current benefits which will add to the National debt but, by law passed in 1990, Social Security and Medicare are not a part of the budget as submitted by the President and they do not affect that budget in any way. You can take them out of your pie chart. Medicaid, Food Stamps and other unfunded government welfare programs are running wild and should be reined in but that is not a Social Security-Medicare problem.
Last December, during the negotiations pertaining to the Bush era tax cuts, President Obama asked for, and got, a two percentage points cut in the FICA (payroll) tax which is paid by each employee. It has been said on television (Fox News) that that cut amounted to nearly one hundred and fifty billion dollars. Again I heard on television (Fox News again) that the president is asking (could be just a trial balloon) for another cut in the FICA tax which finances Social Security and Medicare. How can anyone reconcile cutting the payroll tax or declaring a tax holiday with the fact that Social Security and Medicare are already depending on money from redeeming some of the IOUs in their Trust Fund to pay current benefits? The Trust Fund will be bankrupted much quicker if that is the course we follow. I believe the news media, especially Fox News, should do more to inform all voters what is happening in Washington. Try it, you might like it."
Neither our Senators nor our Representative will even attempt to address our concerns about the status of Social Security and Medicare and those contacted in the news media also ignore the subject. Our Senators only want to re-assure us that they won't allow our benefits to be cut and the media, for the most part, will only parrot the political line, i.e., "Social Security and Medicare are the biggest drivers of our budget deficits and National debt" and "In a few more years Social Security and Medicare will be consuming ninety percent of our disposable income."
At the very, very best that is a mis-statement and at the worst it is a lie. I believe it to be the latter.
In previous postings I wrote; I don't know if they (Washington politicians) are brain-washed, don't have a brain to be washed or are trying to brain-wash us. I still don't know the answer but I suspect it to be a combination of all three. Meanwhile, here on the hill, it is still hot and what little rain we got has dried up but there is more in the forecast. Blueberries should be getting ripe soon. That will keep us busy for several days. My working days start early (daylight) and end before noon, with time out for breakfast, but I sure can't complain about that. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Unusual Weather
All over the world.
Friday evening;
Our last measurable rainfall, here on the hill, was during the day on Sunday May 22nd with thunderstorms forecast for Monday night. We got the thunder but the rain mostly missed us, maybe like a big dew. There may have been one other night that we got a light sprinkle, not enough to even dampen the ground. Now, three weeks later it is getting really dry.
Since I have come to the realization that I had already passed my prime, as far as gardening is concerned, I started working in our Iris a few weeks early this year in an attempt to beat some of the worst heat. Now it looks like I picked a bad time. Last Thursday I was using my tiller in an attempt to re-work and re-set a few Iris but the ground was so hard and the dust so bad that I had to quit. Maybe it will rain soon.
After all that having been said and done, we have no legitimate reason to complain. With all the flooding through the Mississippi Valley, the tornadoes across the mid-west,south and even in some of our northern states, a little hot dry weather doesn't sound so bad. If we think about it, it could be much worse.
Sunday morning, fairly early;
There wasn't much chance in the forecast (20%) for rain last night but it paid off. We had a lot of thunder and a slow rain. It wasn't all that much, probably less than half an inch, but when it had been hot and dry for about three weeks it was a help. We didn't have to water squash and cucumbers this morning and the tomato plants we set out late yesterday afternoon are looking good this morning. Maybe that hot, dry weather pattern has been broken for a while.
Still, all in all, we haven't had it so bad and we should be counting our blessings instead of complaining about our weather. Others have had it so much worse without the complaints. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Friday evening;
Our last measurable rainfall, here on the hill, was during the day on Sunday May 22nd with thunderstorms forecast for Monday night. We got the thunder but the rain mostly missed us, maybe like a big dew. There may have been one other night that we got a light sprinkle, not enough to even dampen the ground. Now, three weeks later it is getting really dry.
Since I have come to the realization that I had already passed my prime, as far as gardening is concerned, I started working in our Iris a few weeks early this year in an attempt to beat some of the worst heat. Now it looks like I picked a bad time. Last Thursday I was using my tiller in an attempt to re-work and re-set a few Iris but the ground was so hard and the dust so bad that I had to quit. Maybe it will rain soon.
After all that having been said and done, we have no legitimate reason to complain. With all the flooding through the Mississippi Valley, the tornadoes across the mid-west,south and even in some of our northern states, a little hot dry weather doesn't sound so bad. If we think about it, it could be much worse.
Sunday morning, fairly early;
There wasn't much chance in the forecast (20%) for rain last night but it paid off. We had a lot of thunder and a slow rain. It wasn't all that much, probably less than half an inch, but when it had been hot and dry for about three weeks it was a help. We didn't have to water squash and cucumbers this morning and the tomato plants we set out late yesterday afternoon are looking good this morning. Maybe that hot, dry weather pattern has been broken for a while.
Still, all in all, we haven't had it so bad and we should be counting our blessings instead of complaining about our weather. Others have had it so much worse without the complaints. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Heat Wave or Just Summer
With no rain in sight.
Although we missed most of the really bad weather, the tornadoes, flooding, etc., we did get enough rain to keep the ground too wet to work right up to or past the middle of May. Then we got a couple of showers which did little more than wet the top of the ground. Now, after more than two week without any rain and the temperature hovering over the mid and upper nineties, we are getting dusty dry here on the hill. We have been watering the cucumbers and squash for several days but even that doesn't do much good with the sun being so hot. The tomatoes and peppers are faring a little better but not growing as they should. Even the grass and weeds are not as healthy as usual. We haven't started yet but it looks as though we will need to start sprinkling our front lawn, not to make it grow but to keep it alive.
To refresh my memory and to put everything into perspective I re-read the Book of Jonah. I'm sure most people remember what God told Jonah in Chapter 1, verses 1 - 4; "Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken."
Jonah apparently thought that he could hide from the Lord but it didn't work out that way. What happened? Chapter 1, verse 15 & 17; "So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights." Then Chapter 2, verse 10; "And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land."
Chapter 3, verse 1-5; "And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go into Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey. And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them." Apparently that was just what Jonah didn't want to happen. Nineveh was the enemy so why should he be sent to preach repentance to them?
Chapter 3, verse 10; And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that He had said that He would do unto them; and He did it not." Chapter 4, verses 1-2; "But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil." Jonah said; I knew that was what would happen, that's why I didn't want to go.
Chapter 4, verses 5-11; "So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city. And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head , to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. And it came to pass, when the sun did rise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live. And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death. Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle."
Moral of the story; Jonah apparently cared more about the gourd, which he neither planted nor tended, than he did about other human beings and expected God to be the same way even though God made both. Isn't that the way most of us are? We sometimes care more about something we have planted in the ground than we do for our neighbors down the road. Like Jonah, many times we get our priorities bent out of shape and, again like Jonah, complain about things which we have nothing to do with. At least, that is the way it is here on the hill.
Meanwhile, here on the hill, it is still hot and dry but life goes on as usual. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Although we missed most of the really bad weather, the tornadoes, flooding, etc., we did get enough rain to keep the ground too wet to work right up to or past the middle of May. Then we got a couple of showers which did little more than wet the top of the ground. Now, after more than two week without any rain and the temperature hovering over the mid and upper nineties, we are getting dusty dry here on the hill. We have been watering the cucumbers and squash for several days but even that doesn't do much good with the sun being so hot. The tomatoes and peppers are faring a little better but not growing as they should. Even the grass and weeds are not as healthy as usual. We haven't started yet but it looks as though we will need to start sprinkling our front lawn, not to make it grow but to keep it alive.
To refresh my memory and to put everything into perspective I re-read the Book of Jonah. I'm sure most people remember what God told Jonah in Chapter 1, verses 1 - 4; "Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken."
Jonah apparently thought that he could hide from the Lord but it didn't work out that way. What happened? Chapter 1, verse 15 & 17; "So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights." Then Chapter 2, verse 10; "And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land."
Chapter 3, verse 1-5; "And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go into Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey. And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them." Apparently that was just what Jonah didn't want to happen. Nineveh was the enemy so why should he be sent to preach repentance to them?
Chapter 3, verse 10; And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that He had said that He would do unto them; and He did it not." Chapter 4, verses 1-2; "But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil." Jonah said; I knew that was what would happen, that's why I didn't want to go.
Chapter 4, verses 5-11; "So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city. And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head , to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. And it came to pass, when the sun did rise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live. And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death. Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle."
Moral of the story; Jonah apparently cared more about the gourd, which he neither planted nor tended, than he did about other human beings and expected God to be the same way even though God made both. Isn't that the way most of us are? We sometimes care more about something we have planted in the ground than we do for our neighbors down the road. Like Jonah, many times we get our priorities bent out of shape and, again like Jonah, complain about things which we have nothing to do with. At least, that is the way it is here on the hill.
Meanwhile, here on the hill, it is still hot and dry but life goes on as usual. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Misrepresentation Thru Misinformation
More of the Same.
"Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Understanding the Social Security Trust Funds.
By Paul N. Van de Water, October 5, 2010
In years when Social Security collects more in payroll taxes and other income than it pays in benefits and other expenses - as it has each year since 1984 - the Treasury invests the surplus in interest - bearing Treasury Bonds and other Treasury Securities. Social Security can redeem these bonds whenever needed to pay benefits. The balance in the Trust Funds thus provide legal authority to pay Social Security benefits when the Social Security Program's current income is insufficient by itself.
Debt held by Social Security by contrast, provides information about the adequacy of the program's dedicated financing. Debt held by trust funds does not have the same broader economic significance as debt held by the public. Since it does not need to be financed in private credit markets, it cannot lead to a refinancing crisis. As legal authority to spend money in the future, it is essentially similar to legal authority to meet spending commitments for other entitlement programs that are not financed through Trust Funds and are not included in measures of Federal debt. In addition, an increase in Trust Fund balances that provide authority for higher Social Security expenditures in some distant year is not equivalent to issueing more publicly held debt to finance additional spending today. If additional spending authority leads to more Federal borrowing at sometime in the future, that borrowing will add to debt held by the public when that spending occurs. (note; will add to National debt --- when that spending occurs).
Debt held by the public is a measure of the Federal Government's overall financal health. It represents money that must be borrowed and periodically refinanced in private credit markets; Interest payments on that debt represent a current drain on Government resources. If the specter of excessive debt led investors to lose confidence in United States Government securities, Federal interest cost could increase substantially, with potentially troubling implications for United States and world economies."
Even Representative Paul Ryan misrepresents the part Social Security and Medicare plays in our budget deficit by stating that they are the biggest drivers of our National debt and in a few more years these two, so-called, entitlements, if not reformed, will be consuming almost all of the budget. If, by a law passed in 1990, they are not a part of the budget as proposed by the president or by congress then how can they consume it? The only way they can become a part of the general budget and our National debt is when the Treasury begins borrowing money to buy back those Government Securities (IOUs) that are in the Social Security Trust Fund so as to pay benefits to retirees and disabled.
I can only speculate as to what their political motives are for filling the airways with such propaganda but one could very well be an attempt to cover up their own, at the least, incompetence. How will they explain away all that extra borrowing? If they can convince enough people that it is all the fault of a bad system initiated by President Roosevelt in 1935 and then made worse in 1965 by the adding of Medicare by President Johnson they may still have a chance of coming out of another crisis smelling like a rose. Right now it still smells like a barnyard to me. Can you not smell it?
We, here on the hill, are having to stay in most of the day on account of the heat. We try to get what little work it takes, to keep it looking like someone lives here, done very early in the morning then stay in under the air conditioner. The garden and flowers still look fairly well but there is no rain in sight. That may not be good for us here. Thanks for your time and input. stay tuned. - William
"Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Understanding the Social Security Trust Funds.
By Paul N. Van de Water, October 5, 2010
In years when Social Security collects more in payroll taxes and other income than it pays in benefits and other expenses - as it has each year since 1984 - the Treasury invests the surplus in interest - bearing Treasury Bonds and other Treasury Securities. Social Security can redeem these bonds whenever needed to pay benefits. The balance in the Trust Funds thus provide legal authority to pay Social Security benefits when the Social Security Program's current income is insufficient by itself.
Debt held by Social Security by contrast, provides information about the adequacy of the program's dedicated financing. Debt held by trust funds does not have the same broader economic significance as debt held by the public. Since it does not need to be financed in private credit markets, it cannot lead to a refinancing crisis. As legal authority to spend money in the future, it is essentially similar to legal authority to meet spending commitments for other entitlement programs that are not financed through Trust Funds and are not included in measures of Federal debt. In addition, an increase in Trust Fund balances that provide authority for higher Social Security expenditures in some distant year is not equivalent to issueing more publicly held debt to finance additional spending today. If additional spending authority leads to more Federal borrowing at sometime in the future, that borrowing will add to debt held by the public when that spending occurs. (note; will add to National debt --- when that spending occurs).
Debt held by the public is a measure of the Federal Government's overall financal health. It represents money that must be borrowed and periodically refinanced in private credit markets; Interest payments on that debt represent a current drain on Government resources. If the specter of excessive debt led investors to lose confidence in United States Government securities, Federal interest cost could increase substantially, with potentially troubling implications for United States and world economies."
Even Representative Paul Ryan misrepresents the part Social Security and Medicare plays in our budget deficit by stating that they are the biggest drivers of our National debt and in a few more years these two, so-called, entitlements, if not reformed, will be consuming almost all of the budget. If, by a law passed in 1990, they are not a part of the budget as proposed by the president or by congress then how can they consume it? The only way they can become a part of the general budget and our National debt is when the Treasury begins borrowing money to buy back those Government Securities (IOUs) that are in the Social Security Trust Fund so as to pay benefits to retirees and disabled.
I can only speculate as to what their political motives are for filling the airways with such propaganda but one could very well be an attempt to cover up their own, at the least, incompetence. How will they explain away all that extra borrowing? If they can convince enough people that it is all the fault of a bad system initiated by President Roosevelt in 1935 and then made worse in 1965 by the adding of Medicare by President Johnson they may still have a chance of coming out of another crisis smelling like a rose. Right now it still smells like a barnyard to me. Can you not smell it?
We, here on the hill, are having to stay in most of the day on account of the heat. We try to get what little work it takes, to keep it looking like someone lives here, done very early in the morning then stay in under the air conditioner. The garden and flowers still look fairly well but there is no rain in sight. That may not be good for us here. Thanks for your time and input. stay tuned. - William
Thursday, June 2, 2011
When One Plus One
Is still one.
Just over 16 months ago I stumbled into this blog and now, after falling several times, I am still feeling my way. When I first began writing I knew nothing about what it took to keep going in the right direction and haven't learned too much in all those months. I was using a computer which belonged to someone else (I had a Hotmail address) and I was checking other blogs when I noticed the invitation to "create blog". I clicked on it and, as they say, the rest is history. One day, with nothing else to do, I attempted to become "a follower" of the blog I was checking but never did get it right. What I ended up with is becoming a follower of myself and didn't, at least at that time, know how to delete it. I just gave up and left it there. Imagine my surprise when, a few days ago, I found a real follower on my blog postings. I have had a few comments posted (good and not so good) and an e-mail or two but nobody else has had the nerve or where-with-all (like myself) to become a follower.
That is my explanation as to why one plus one is still one and I'm sticking by it. As for us, here on the hill, everything is as well as could be expected. It's too hot to get out and work much so we try to start early, then come in and hunker down under the air-conditioner for the rest of the day. Everthing in the garden is still growing slowly and the blueberries are, to this point, better than usual. They should be getting ripe in the next couple of weeks. The grass and weeds seem to like this kind of weather but the beans, pepper, tomatoes, squash and cucumbers aren't doing as well.
I welcome any comment, good or bad or even indifferent, so let me hear from you. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Just over 16 months ago I stumbled into this blog and now, after falling several times, I am still feeling my way. When I first began writing I knew nothing about what it took to keep going in the right direction and haven't learned too much in all those months. I was using a computer which belonged to someone else (I had a Hotmail address) and I was checking other blogs when I noticed the invitation to "create blog". I clicked on it and, as they say, the rest is history. One day, with nothing else to do, I attempted to become "a follower" of the blog I was checking but never did get it right. What I ended up with is becoming a follower of myself and didn't, at least at that time, know how to delete it. I just gave up and left it there. Imagine my surprise when, a few days ago, I found a real follower on my blog postings. I have had a few comments posted (good and not so good) and an e-mail or two but nobody else has had the nerve or where-with-all (like myself) to become a follower.
That is my explanation as to why one plus one is still one and I'm sticking by it. As for us, here on the hill, everything is as well as could be expected. It's too hot to get out and work much so we try to start early, then come in and hunker down under the air-conditioner for the rest of the day. Everthing in the garden is still growing slowly and the blueberries are, to this point, better than usual. They should be getting ripe in the next couple of weeks. The grass and weeds seem to like this kind of weather but the beans, pepper, tomatoes, squash and cucumbers aren't doing as well.
I welcome any comment, good or bad or even indifferent, so let me hear from you. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Flag Waving
Not My Style
In the days leading up to and during May 30, 2011, I saw a lot of flags. The same thing takes place on various other holidays, July 4th and November 11th especially. I have no problem with flag waving. In fact, I have no problem with whatever a person does with the flag if it was bought and paid for by that person but I would have somewhat different feelings if I, in any way, had money or blood invested in it.
To all of those who would or will say that too much blood has been invested in our United States Flag to allow it to be dis-respected in any way, I respectfuly disagree. Many of my ancestors were in the colonies long before the idea of the stars and stripes, as a flag, was even conceived. As for my Native American Heritage, I no longer long to see the white man's blood spilled on the field of battle and it has been years since I've had the urge to take a scalp.
On November 1, 1951 I, along with my comrads-in-arms from the 11th Airborne Division, walked in the desert at Yucca Flats, Nevada within two hours of the Atomic Bomb test known as "Buster-Jangle". We were less than seven miles from ground zero at the time the bomb was detonated. (See posting dated February 27, 2010). There is no doubt in my mind that we were delibertly exposed to the radiation generated by that explosion in order to study the effect atomic warfare would have on troops if encountered in future wars. For about fifty years we lived under the threat of being tried for treason if we talked, even amoung ourselves, about that experience.
I served my time during the Korean Conflict - Police Action which wasn't a war. All my time was spent here in the States, helping to reactivate the 11th Airborne Division, but if I had been in combat I would have been fighting for my Country because my family helped build it. I would have been fighting for our Constitution (even though I might not fully agree with parts of it) because it is what keeps us free. It is more important now than ever before. I wouldn't have been fighting for a flag or for any of our elected officials. I have no confidence in any official, including my own Senators and Representative, who say one thing and does another or in most cases - nothing.
In a statement recognizing July 16, 2002 as a "National Atomic Veterans Day of Remembrance", President George W. Bush compared the Atomic Veteran's exposure to a nuclear radiation, as being as grave as any war veteran who was wounded in action, in both instances, standing in harm's way while doing his duty, and protecting The United States of America.
That was almost nine years ago. It is up to Congress to act on this lack of recognition but there is no hurry. Almost all of us human guinea pigs are already dead. A few more years and it can be completely forgotten.
By this time you probably suspect that I'm not a flag waver but, on the other hand, I don't support any action which could normally be viewed as desecration of anything which represents this Country.
I know this posting has been somewhat rambling but; "If you don't really want to know / then don't ask. / If you detect a note of bitterness / just let it pass. / My country right or wrong / I must love it. / For only God and family / goes above it."
Here on the hill, everything is about as usual, just getting hotter and drier. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
In the days leading up to and during May 30, 2011, I saw a lot of flags. The same thing takes place on various other holidays, July 4th and November 11th especially. I have no problem with flag waving. In fact, I have no problem with whatever a person does with the flag if it was bought and paid for by that person but I would have somewhat different feelings if I, in any way, had money or blood invested in it.
To all of those who would or will say that too much blood has been invested in our United States Flag to allow it to be dis-respected in any way, I respectfuly disagree. Many of my ancestors were in the colonies long before the idea of the stars and stripes, as a flag, was even conceived. As for my Native American Heritage, I no longer long to see the white man's blood spilled on the field of battle and it has been years since I've had the urge to take a scalp.
On November 1, 1951 I, along with my comrads-in-arms from the 11th Airborne Division, walked in the desert at Yucca Flats, Nevada within two hours of the Atomic Bomb test known as "Buster-Jangle". We were less than seven miles from ground zero at the time the bomb was detonated. (See posting dated February 27, 2010). There is no doubt in my mind that we were delibertly exposed to the radiation generated by that explosion in order to study the effect atomic warfare would have on troops if encountered in future wars. For about fifty years we lived under the threat of being tried for treason if we talked, even amoung ourselves, about that experience.
I served my time during the Korean Conflict - Police Action which wasn't a war. All my time was spent here in the States, helping to reactivate the 11th Airborne Division, but if I had been in combat I would have been fighting for my Country because my family helped build it. I would have been fighting for our Constitution (even though I might not fully agree with parts of it) because it is what keeps us free. It is more important now than ever before. I wouldn't have been fighting for a flag or for any of our elected officials. I have no confidence in any official, including my own Senators and Representative, who say one thing and does another or in most cases - nothing.
In a statement recognizing July 16, 2002 as a "National Atomic Veterans Day of Remembrance", President George W. Bush compared the Atomic Veteran's exposure to a nuclear radiation, as being as grave as any war veteran who was wounded in action, in both instances, standing in harm's way while doing his duty, and protecting The United States of America.
That was almost nine years ago. It is up to Congress to act on this lack of recognition but there is no hurry. Almost all of us human guinea pigs are already dead. A few more years and it can be completely forgotten.
By this time you probably suspect that I'm not a flag waver but, on the other hand, I don't support any action which could normally be viewed as desecration of anything which represents this Country.
I know this posting has been somewhat rambling but; "If you don't really want to know / then don't ask. / If you detect a note of bitterness / just let it pass. / My country right or wrong / I must love it. / For only God and family / goes above it."
Here on the hill, everything is about as usual, just getting hotter and drier. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)