SAVE THE RICH

With most of the country all of a sudden noticing that the public sector is not a self supporting, sustainable entity, many public officials are casting their greedy eyes toward that nebulous class known as "the rich". It's the same gaze you see in the eyes of the thug holding up a liquor store or 7-11. The main difference is that the rhetoric accompanying the stalking is shrouded is self righteous fiction. False premises and faulty reasoning.

California, which prides itself on leading the nation in making feel good laws based on junk science and compassion should be a model for others about what not to do if you want to thrive. Apparently the opposite has occurred. The same reasoning clouds Washington that clouds Sacramento. They are killing jobs and putting people out of business.

When you have companies running away from your state, with its draconian regulations and licensing requirements, and unemployment rising, raising taxes on everything business, and everything personal has a bad result. The overall market suffers, shrinks, and tent cities grow.

All the work I have done has been for people and firms which are wealthier than myself. I realize that this is not always the case in life, but it has been in mine. Should those entities have enough of their wealth confiscated to pay public workers, study fish farms, or whatever it is that tax spenders do, then there is a risk that money will no longer be budgeted to pay me to make art out of refurbishing outdoor furniture, fixing foofoo "water closets" or any number of projects that have lately kept me afloat.

The rich are the friend of the independent operator. Definitely the friend of those who sell them goods or labor. Of course, if you are part of a government agency, you'd rather just take their money at gunpoint to keep yourself in potato chips. If it does away with jobs which would have some mutually agreed, voluntary basis, well, eggs get broken when you make an omelette.

If you aren't dependent upon maintenance of totalitarian, paternalistic/maternalistic agencies which obtain their income by involuntary contributions, then it would serve you well to actively do what you can to protect the rich. It's the new "save the seals". The beauty of it is, that by saving the rich, you increase your chances of becoming rich. Although it is denied in some circles, tax revenue has a better chance of increasing long term when the stranglehold is loosened, so that making money, hiring people, and creating new things and enterprises is not penalized.

Don't fall for the "misery loves company" mentality when it comes to wealth. If we're all poor there's no one to pay you to become obsessive compulsive over fixing teak furniture.

These are very peculiar times. Saving the rich is one step toward saving yourself. I still don't know exactly what defines rich. I think it varies, but didn't Obama or one of those guys cap unrich at 200K, meaning over 200k per year makes you rich? Or was it 75K? I guess it depends on the day and how you interpret what is said.

All We Have to Fear is This That and the Other

Often, when my own condition and life freak me out or worry me, I turn to current events. At least in that arena I can see the right and wrong of it. Besides it is encouraging to know that even total reprobates and morons can achieve great wealth and acclaim, often with no discernible redeeming qualities whatsoever. I submit for review Ted Kennedy. Case closed.

It could freak a person out, the way there seems to be a frenzied carnival atmosphere in the seats of government in this country. Then again, it could have the perverse benefit of allowing one who has no roots, very little wealth or property, and no one under his care to feel damned lucky he doesn't have to watch what he's worked for over a few decades erode and get confiscated before his eyes. What if I had been a Jeep dealer who was brazen enough not to be a generous contributor to the Democratic party or the Obama campaign? Chances are far better than even that my dealership would have been one to get the axe, regardless of performance. It seems the list of those who stay and those who go follows that formula. Not surprising except in how obvious it is.

To some degree I fear for my health, but I've already lived longer than I thought I would. Not because I'm unhealthy but because I'm a chronic misfit and must be crazy. So, if I did have some issue I can only hope it is legal for me to pay as I go, should I decide to seek care. Most likely I'd look for the quick way out in the case of anything major. I hope I don't have to confront that circumstance for a long time, if ever.

Mostly what there is to fear is the threat of force (guns) should one not bag his trash correctly, separating various items properly etc. All these little behavior mandates, all in the name of the larger good, are enforced by implied force, and if you push it, directly by force. It's all ultimately enforced at the point of a gun. That's actually why I don't condone socialism. It has to be accomplished by force. I'm all for voluntary generosity. To clarify, since the word "volunteer" is beginning to take on the same meaning as involuntary servitude, when I use the word "voluntary", I mean an act done of one's own volition, not under duress of any kind, neither rewarded or penalized in any official manner.

A company selling land in Arizona advertises that Az is fast growing and only 17% of the land is private. I fear that. Parks are dandy, but some of this stuff has gone a little bit awry. If not private then what is it? I learned in my travels that nominally public land is as likely to be a forbidden zone as not. So, they use the term "public" loosely. That's kind of scary, when you consider just how much of the US is off limits to private use.

I fear tendonitis, clowns, government officials with power, officials with guns, a gullible public, Islamic PR, the wicked witch of the West, bears, militant religious groups of any belief, racial tribalists, 3rd world drivers, and Barney Frank policies. Various combinations of the foregoing tend to put a damper on the idea of being free and mobile. I also fear that there may be no like minded unencumbered future significant others out there who, of course, would be hot as a fire cracker as well. Like minded is probably putting it a bit strongly. Like minded enough not to drive me nuts or vice versa. Lots of nice people disagree with my assessment of things 100%. They lack insight, but think that I do. I forgive them.

It's probably a phase which I'll outgrow. Until then, I'm a little nervous about what comes next.