Million vs Trillion

From World Magazine - August 15, 2009 issue.

Dollar signs

It may have sounded significant when President Obama last week proposed ways to reduce government spending by $100 million. But with the federal budget deficit nearing $2 trillion, $100 million is less than meets the ear.

Jack Uldrich at jumpthecurve.net gives an example of the difference between 1 million, 1 billion, and 1 trillion in his futurist lectures. He asks readers and listeners to think about seconds going backwards . . .

• 1 million seconds ago = 12 days ago
• 1 billion seconds ago = 30 years ago
• 1 trillion seconds ago = 30,000 b.c.

Cash For Clunkers

The "Cash For Clunkers" program was supposed to last until November, OR until the allotted $1,000,000,000 for the program ran out. Why are we now being told something different?

AZ Congressman Jeff Flake's Washington Post Editorial

A Way Out of the Wilderness

Well, we Republicans have just made history. Not the type of history we wanted to make, mind you, but history nonetheless. Not only did we lose the White House but, after losing our House and Senate majorities in 2006, we followed it up last night with even steeper losses in Congress.

In January, Democrats will enjoy lopsided congressional ratios not seen since the 1970s. Let's face it: We Republicans are now, by any reasonable measurement, deep in the political wilderness.

The temptation for Republican members of Congress today will be to assume the role of the post-Watergate Republicans of 1974 and accept minority status as a permanent condition. Indeed, the terrain is more difficult for us now than it was in 1992. Then, Republicanism was still largely defined by the Reagan years. Today the party is defined in the public mind by the Bush presidency. We've got a steep hill to climb.

Much of the backroom maneuvering and media speculation in the coming weeks will focus on identifying new standard-bearers for the party. This is important, and after a second straight drubbing, the House Republican leadership should be replaced. But the far more critical task is determining what standard these new leaders will bear.

I suggest that we return to first principles. At the top of that list has to be a recommitment to limited government. After eight years of profligate spending and soaring deficits, voters can be forgiven for not knowing that limited government has long been the first article of faith for Republicans.

Of course, it's not the level of spending that gets the most attention; it's the manner in which the spending is allocated. The proliferation of earmarks is largely a product of the Gingrich-DeLay years, and it's no surprise that some of the most ardent practitioners were earmarked by the voters for retirement yesterday. Few Americans will take seriously Republican speeches on limited government if we Republicans can't wean ourselves from this insidious practice. But if we can go clean, it will offer a stark contrast to the Democrats, who, after two years in training, already have their own earmark favor factory running at full tilt.

Second, we need to recommit to our belief in economic freedom. Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations" may be on the discount rack this year, but the free market is still the most efficient means to allocate capital and human resources in an economy, and Americans know it. Now that we've inserted government deeply into the private sector by bailing out banks and businesses, the temptation will be for government to overstay its welcome and force the distribution of resources to serve political ends. Substituting political for economic incentives is not the recipe for economic recovery.

Most House Republicans opposed the recent bailout and will be in a strong position to promote economic freedom over central planning as the Obama administration stumbles from industry to industry trying to determine which is small enough to be allowed to fail and which is not. Since timetables will be in vogue, perhaps Republicans could even insist on a timetable for getting the government out of the private sector.

There are, of course, other pillars of the Republican standard -- strong national defense, support for traditional values and the Second Amendment -- but these are not areas where voters question Republican bona fides. In any event, as we have seen over the past several months, economic woes tend to subsume other concerns. We shouldn't complain. We can now play our strongest hand.

In some respects, raising a new standard was made easier by yesterday's rout. The Republican Party is not bound by election-year promises made by its presidential nominee. More important, the party is finally untethered from the ill-fitting and unworkable big-government conservatism that defined the Bush administration.

This is not to say that it will be an easy transition. Congressional Republicans picked up some unattractive habits over the years in an effort to hold on to power. Whether it was relying on the redistricting process to help us choose our constituents, using the appropriations process as an ATM or passing legislation -- such as a generous prescription drug benefit and a bloated farm bill -- to pacify individual constituencies, these habits and voting patterns will be hard to break.

But there is reason for Republicans to feel optimism. Politically, America remains a center-right country, and America loves a chastened and repentant sinner. As surely as the sun rises in the east, the Democrats will overreach.

As long as we Republicans are willing to admit our folly, get back to first principles and work like there's no tomorrow, we've got 'em just where we want 'em.

It's almost over!

I'm thankful that this election season is almost over.  If this Presidential election was any precedent, the media will start obsessing about the 2012 election sometime in March of 2010, and they'll tell us again that this is the most important election of our time.  And then again, it will appear as if there isn't any other news in the whole world for that period of time.

My "official" predictions...

Obama wins presidency.

Democrats retain control of House and Senate, but Senate will not be filibuster-proof.

There will not be any coupons in the paper for "post election stress disorder" from psychologists like there was in 2004.  

Don't complain about the baseball season...

Some things to ponder...

Periodically I hear someone say that the reason they don't like baseball is because the season is so long. Let's put this in perspective. Compare the 2008 Presidential election cycle. The first primaries in the nation were about two months before spring training even started. A World Series champion will be crowned a couple of weeks before the November election. And that's just the "official" election season. By the time November rolls around, candidates will have been campaigning for nearly a year and a half. Are you weary of the obsession with the election? I am, and I am even a recovering political junkie. Do you think the American public is weary of election coverage? Go to cnn.com and foxnews.com and click on the "Most Read" articles and see how many articles are listed there that are about the election. So, I'm tired of the election already, and my cynicism of politicians grows by the second.

I simply shudder at the possibility of a McCain/Romney ticket. I honestly wouldn't know who to vote for in that situation.

I find it insulting that I get requests for campaign donations from multi-millionaires. It's especially insulting to me since I already pay a portion of their salary (around $170k), and they're currently not working, and haven't been working since who knows when. If you saw your company CEO panhandling outside your office, would you give him any money?

It's idiotic to me that a Congressional panel would question big oil about their profits considering the high gas prices. The federal government rakes in something like 65 cents per gallon, while big oil profits about 8 cents a gallon. Maybe U.S. citizens should form a panel to question Congress about not working for their own money.

If Obama wins the Dem ticket, this will be the first time since 1976 that a Clinton or a Bush has NOT been on a Presidential ticket in some capacity.

Obama, Clinton, and McCain come from a legislative body that boasts a 18.7% approval rating with a 80% disapproval rating (as of yesterday, 5/21). Think we're going to get a good President?

Are the feds going to use our tax dollars to bail out the airline industry again? U.S. Airways is predicted to go bankrupt very soon - mostly due to the legendary and stunning leadership of CEO Doug Parker.

Why does the war in Iraq and Afghanistan seem to be a "non-issue" in this election?

How much does increasing gas prices actually affect you? Figure out how many miles you drive on average in a year. Divide that figure by your average gas mileage. That result gives you the total gallons per year you consume. Now, if you want to figure out how much a 25 cent increase in the price of gas affects you on a monthly basis, multiply your total yearly gallons consumed by .25, then divide that number by 12. For example, for every one dollar gas goes up, I pay $55.56 per month more. If we're pinched because of an extra $55 per month, gas probably isn't our biggest problem. (not that I like paying $3.62/gallon, don't get me wrong)

The IRS has sent some stimulus checks to the wrong addresses. If the IRS came to audit those same people, do you think they would be able to find the correct address on the first try?

Arizona governor Janet Napolitano re-named a Phoenix landmark to commemorate a fallen Iraq war veteran on the basis that she was Native American. Why is the only "official" tribute (that I know of) to the Navajo Code Talkers in all of Arizona is in a Burger King in Kayenta? And why is there no significant monument in Arizona (that I know of) that commemorates Ira Hayes - a Native American who was in Joe Rosenthal's famous flag raising photo on Iwo Jima? Hayes eventually died of his emotional wounds from Iwo - face down in a mud puddle south of Phoenix late one night after a drunken card game. I have the utmost respect for our veterans, but you don't do things like that simply for political expediency.

Since the conspiracy theorists claim that W didn't win the last election, does that mean he can run again?

I said in a prior posting in February that I would abstain from a political posting until mid-November. Well, I lied. I followed the example of politicians (sorry, I digress). So, this is (was) the "mid-November" political posting. My prediction - either way we get a useless chump for President, no need for another posting about the election...