Welcome Friends From the Millionaire Mind Intensive

  I just wanted to write a brief post to thank all of the fabnormal people I met this past weekend at The Millionaire Mind Intensive Seminar in Glendale, Arizona.  I had a wonderful time.

  As I told some of you, I would like to keep the energy going by attending or setting up regular meetings.  I heard about one that is already going.   I will check out that one within the next 10 days.  If that meeting doesn't work out, I plan to start a new one.

Any of you from the seminar that want to contact me via e-mail can do so at BigDeadlift@aol.com.

Good Luck and remember:

You Have a Millionaire Mind!!!! 

Obama's Most Serious Scandal Gets Lost In Shuffle

     Several news and opinion sources have been broadcasting several scandals about the Obama administration over the last few weeks.  It appears that the most serious scandal has been lost in the shuffle.  Attorney General Eric Holder sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee last week that stated that the United States has killed four American citizens via remote control drones.  One of these, Abdul Rahman Anwar al-Awlaki, was a child.  Only one, Jude Kenan Mohammed, had any type of legal hearing.  Mohammed was indicted (not convicted) of various conspiracy charges in 2009.
     The mainstream press and even the talking heads seem relatively silent in light of this revelation.  Yes, the IRS and the Benghazi scandals are important.  However, as a Conscious Conservative, I believe the execution of American citizens without due process strikes at the heart of what the United States of America is all about.  We take years and spend millions of dollars to make sure that criminals who have been convicted of heinous acts are not wrongfully executed  This is as it should be.  The cornerstone of what makes the United States a great nation is the concept that all are equal in the eyes of the law and all have a right to, "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness."  A murderer convicted by a jury of his peers gets the benefit of that protection.  Why shouldn't a citizen who is targeted by the administration have the same benefit?

     Just as when Roosevelt rounded up Japanese and Italian Americans, stole their land and put them in camps, the current administration seems to be banking on the fact that those who were killed all have foreign sounding names.  It seems like somebody named Barrack Hussein Obama II should know better.  

Conscious Conservative View, Taxes Are Too High

     Like millions of other proud Americans, I recently put together all of my forms, wrote my check to the US Treasury and marched my tax records down to the Post Office.  Unlike many, I decided to take a close look at my tax documents and calculate how much of my earnings actually goes to taxes each year.  Without revealing too much of my business, I will say that my family's annual income is close to the median and probably in a range with a majority taxpayers out there.

     My taxes beak down like this:

                  FICA/Medicare                                         13.3%
                  Federal Income Tax                                    9.5%
                  State Income Tax                                       2.2%
                  State/Local Sales Tax                                1.8%
                  Property Tax                                              1.5%
                  Gasoline Tax                                              1.0%
                  Utility Taxes                                               0.5%


                  TOTAL                                                    29.8%

     As you can see, about 30% on my earnings are confiscated each year by various government entities.  Include the multitude of other irregular taxes (rental car, event ticket, environmental or airport fees), this amount can easily equal 1/3 of a family's income.  I challenge everyone to just look at the categories I listed above and determine their personal tax burden.  For just about everyone, the amount is excessive.  In my case, I pay twice as much in taxes as I do for utilities, 4X as much as I pay for groceries and 8X as much as I pay for housing.  People now pay more in tribute to the government than they pay for their basic needs.  That fact as much as anything else shows that TAXES ARE TOO HIGH!!!

Conservative View--Allow Access to Ballots

     As the Presidential election approaches, it looks like America will have the choice of Obama vs. Romney (aka  Obama lite).  Across the country, Republican and Democratic candidates will fill ballots in hopes of a "coattails" victory.  America will hear the same tired ideas again and again.  It doesn't have to be this way.

     A major way that Democrats and Republicans use to maintain power is government printed ballots.  There was a time when ballots were not printed.  Voters had to either write the names of candidates on ballots or use ballots printed by various political organizations.  At that time, as little as 58% of incumbents were re-elected according to the Ballot Access News .  In modern times, usually more than 85% are re-elected.  Incumbents use restrictions of access to government printed ballots to control competition.   This leads to the same ideas from the same candidates, over and over and over again.

     What if we didn't have ballot restrictions?  What if any person qualified to hold an office could be on the ballot for that office by following a simple procedure?  That seems to be fairer and better for America than having candidates swear loyalty to the Democratic or Republican Party before they can run for office.  Won't the ballot be confusing if there are too many candidates?  Data from other countries with less restrictive ballot laws show that there are usually only five or six people on the ballot.  I think that is far better that the United States, where Republican or Democratic candidates often run unopposed.

     Doesn't a person need the backing of a Party to win?  It is easier to win an election if you have an organization like a political party backing you.  However, there are at least three alternative parties that would be ready to go if their candidates could easily appear on government ballots.  The Libertarian Party has more than 250,000 registered members and over 300 elected officials (mostly in non-partisan office) nationwide.  The Green Party is an international movement that is good at attracting high profile (Ralph Nader) candidates.  The Constitution/American Independent Party(California) has more than 400,000 registered members.  Any of these parties could support viable candidates if they could get them on the ballot.  As a Conscious Conservative, I believe this probably will not happen soon.  Democrats and Republicans are afraid of the competition.

Conservative Book List --- What's Howard Reading?

     After watching Part I and in anticipation of Part II, I've decided to read Atlas Shrugged.

     This Ayn Rand classic still holds up after 50 years.

Paul Campaign Calls Etch a Sketch Game

     The Ron Paul campaign released a new advertisement that scolds the media and other Republican candidates for talking so much about the Etch a Sketch comment when there are serious issues to discuss.  Eric Fehrnstrom, a Romney aide, used the example of an Etch a Sketch toy when referring to the difference between a primary election campaign and a general election campaign.  The press and Romney opponents jumped on the statement, trying to make it a campaign issue.  Ron Paul's  new advertisement asks if people are "tired of the games."

  

  The Paul advertisement talks about a "$15 Trillion Debt," "12 Million Americans Unemployed," and "A Country At War," as the issues candidates should be addressing.  As you can read in an earlier post, I see the Etch a Sketch issue as a Dog and Pony Show that has come to the forefront because the press and the candidates are afraid to discuss the real issues.  Ron Paul calls for discussion of "A Serious Plan To Restore America Now."  As a Conscious Conservative, I couldn't agree with him more.

Inflation Kills Social Security

     The ability of the United States Government to continue to provide Social Security benefits and when money will no longer be available to pay those benefits has been a topic of debate for longer than I can remember.  Lately, many remedies have been proposed for modifying Social Security.  Some of these include means testing, raising taxes on the wealthy and raising the age to receive benefits.  Unfortunately, I have not heard a plan to address one of the root causes of the benefit shortfall, inflation.
     The problem with inflation is simple if we look at the math.  Citizen John Q. Average gets his first job in 1972.  At that time, he earns an average salary, about $7500 per year.  That also means that he pays an average amount of about $550 per year of social security taxes.  Flash forward 40 years.  John Q. Average has now reached retirement age and begins taking his Social Security payments.  Because of inflation, his first monthly check is over $1200.  He receives more money in benefits in his first month than what he paid in his first two years!  In his first two years, he will receive as much in benefits as he paid in his first 20 years.  Because of the number of people that died before retirement age in the past and the baby boom,Social Security almost got away with this formula.  That doesn't work anymore.
     Since the time that John Q. Average started working, both wages and Social Security taxes have increased to address the solvency problem.  The math still doesn't work.  Young Susie Q. Public, who begins work this year, will pay about $2800/yr. in Social Security taxes (including her employer match).  If both inflation and Social Security benefits continue over the next 40 years as in the last 40 years, Susie's first monthly payment will be $7200.  Again, she will get more in her first month than she paid in her first two years.  We could reduce John's and Susie's benefits.  John's $1200/month in 2012 probably buys less than his grandfather's $200/month benefit did in 1972, especially of the items seniors buy most, food, fuel and medical care.  The problem with that is John and Susie should be able to expect a return after paying for all of those years.
     One of the keys to getting Social Security and Medicare costs under control is to control inflation.  Without inflation, John would get the same $200/month that his grandfather did.  That means that it would take three months for him to get back one year's worth of contributions.  His first twenty year's of contributions would make payments for almost five years.   By that time, natural attrition would make funding of future payments more likely.  As a Conscious Conservative, I can't believe that Social Security will ever be more than a Ponzi scheme unless the government first fixes inflation.