February 26, 2011

Welfare makes the middle class poor (Greedy Goblin copy paste)

Most low-earner, but hard-working people don't see (and no one explained to them) how the welfare leech make them poor. They say: "my tax is low, and while I'm not happy paying the state even a penny, if I would pay zero, it wouldn't help me much. I would save a couple hundred bucks a year. The big difference would be if that billionaire wouldn't be such a greedy bastard and would pay me 5K more.".

Right-wing publicists answer some techno-blabla about "salaries are also affected by the forces of supply and demand" or "we must remain competitive with China where the salaries are much lower" or "the huge tax we must pay forces us to economize" or something like that. The blue collars don't understand it and take it as bullshit. The right-wing in turn call them dumb six-pack Joes.

The problem is not that the above is "too technical". The problem is that it's wrong in the sense that it's not answering the blue-collar's question: why am I poor? "Six-pack Joe" is right that it's not tax making him poor and tax cut wouldn't help him. The right-wing and libertarian anti-tax movements fail because they cannot offer solution to the worker class. They are poor and don't want to be, especially in the country that they carry on their back with hard work.

The blue collars are right that they would be poor even if they would pay no tax and the welfare of the inactives would come from some magic source, like some foreign country would pay for it. It's not the little tax they pay make them poor. It's the welfare itself.

There are countries where the median income is $1-2000. In Hungary where I live, it's about $7K. German pensioners who have low pension in Germany, often move to Hungary and live like high-middle class from thesame low pension that Germany sends them. How?

To be rich, you don't need money. You need products and services. You need a home, you need food, you need health care, you need transportation and so on. In such countries you can buy these goods for cheap. How? Because the producers of these have no better options. I can build a good house from $20K as I can hire hard-working masons and carpenters who work for $4/hour.

Can you do the same? No, because if we would transfer the same masons to your country, they would receive $3-4000/year welfare so they would refuse to work for lousy $4/hour.

The blue-collar $20K earner is probably above the median. Every second person earns less than him. However he cannot benefit from it, as these people won't work for him. If he needs a baby-sitter, he must compete with $100K earners for the limited baby-sitter supply. He supposed to be in the middle of the food chain, in the middle of the status ladder. He is called "middle class" for a reason.

But welfare simply eliminates the people below him from the work market, making him the poorest. If welfare would be removed even if the taxes are not changed, he would instantly be much richer as (some of) the former welfare leeches would offer him services and goods for very low price. He could afford from the same money to employ gardener, baby-sitter, cook, shopping boy, maintenance guy. He could get his home and car maintained from a couple hundred, saving him buying a new one. He could have hand-made clothes fitted to his body. He could eat in restaurant every day or get cooked food from cheap basic materials at home from his cook. His town could afford to employ streetsweeps, street-gardeners, graffiti-hunting security guards, day-care workers and so on. He would live like he should: in a clean and tidy neighborhood served by servants.

Also, the social status of the blue-collar would sky-rocket. Currently he is just another poor guy living nearly on the same standard as the inactives. But if the inactives would gain no benefit, they would stand out of the neighborhood. The worker guy would be the dream of the inactive girls, the man who has his own home and decent food every day. The worker woman would be the one who wears handmade clothes instead of Salvation Army stuff like the inactives. "My mom and dad both have jobs" would be a source of pride for kids as it would mean decent clothes, computer at home, vacations sometimes and so on, while the other kids wear and eat the (surely healthy but boring) stuff the child care services provide and electronics would be only seen in school.

For a social "poorness" is relative. My granddad's favorite memory was that he had the first TV in the village. I saw it in an old photo. It was smaller than my backup screen that collects dust, it was monochrome and blurry to the limit of usefulness. But it made him the most envied guy in town for months. Making others poorer makes a social rich instantly. He would no longer has to keep up with the Joneses. He would be the Jones!

Welfare simply inflates salary. Salaries should not be measured in $. It should be measured by welfare units. If we would write a zero to every dollars, the blue-collar would make $150K, without being any more rich than yesterday. If the ratio of his salary : welfare would increase, that would make a difference.

February 23, 2011

Keri Hilson - Pretty Girl Rock


I found the styles throughout the ages great fun!

In order: Josephine Baker, Dorothy Dandridge, Diana Ross, Donna Summers, Janet Jackson, TLC

February 22, 2011

Wi ethics

So now we know that in Wisconsin being a teacher means committing fraud, forcing closed schools and using hate filled rhetoric in order to keep your Unions ability to bankrupt the state.

February 18, 2011

Arms control

In the wake of the lunatic who went on the Arizona shooting spree we saw no end of the media fixating blame on all but the shooter.

This was followed by an MSM assault of the second amendment right to bear arms.

One of the more amusing exchanges I saw involved an elected official and a TV journalist. The topic was having a limit of 10 shot clips instead of 30. The elected official, to his credit, did not assume the premise. While the journalist, apoplectic, tried to spring the trap over and over.

I pondered the same journalists reaction if his said restriction of our freedom had come to pass. And another unfortunate incident occurred. Given his premise he would, no doubt, praise that the law had resulted in a better outcome then Arizona...

While we are in the fantasy land lets presume the following. A crazed gunman decides to carry out a shooting spree. He buys his guns and ammo and sees that the 10 round clip will impede him. So he puts in some time and trains like this guy:



Or

While purchasing he opts for a 30 round clip. Figures 30 is huge and does not bother...

In the second fantasy the 30 round clip, potentially saves lives.


So much for fantasy...

February 14, 2011

The Legend of Zelda (1987) Trailer

Truly, words can not justify what you are about to witness, but I’ll give it a whack anyway: A brilliant mashup trailer of 80s teen movie moments all smoothly tied together into a video game character love story. You’re going to nostalgia so hard, you have no idea.

February 08, 2011

White House White Board: Austan Goolsbee on Startup America


This shows you just how little the White House understands business...

So I wonder how will Obama's idea, for bridging the valley, affect the market? What will the outcomes be? Who are the competition to your idea, and how will beat them without using the force of the Federal Government to make an unfair or biased competition? How will your plan help weed out bad ideas?

February 06, 2011

Mr. Fix-it

I have had the pleasure to know many handy people. My Pop, for instance, can do anything required to build a building. His mind is a fascinating amalgamation of structural facts and applied engineering. The master bedroom add-on electrical and plumbing would have been much more difficult without him.

My entire family can wield hammer, saw, wrench and screwdriver with the best of them.

Also I have friends like Byron, Steve, Jim, Dave and Steve T. who also have that knack for building and repairing. Due to my access to these folks I have gleaned quite a bit of know-how. Enough to be proficient and to have confidence in what I can, and more importantly cannot, do.

In my department at work. I have emerged as the defacto fix-it guy. Getting all the Televisions running on the loop, making sure the computers are functional from the various members who have tried out there skills.

Yesterday, I opened and one of the first members to seriously look at the laptops wanted to try out a new Toshiba, laptop. This model had come in during my days off and was not set up correctly. Luckily I was able to find that booting with the 9 key pressed allowed you to restore the system. Good tip..

February 02, 2011

On going being on and going.

I have a feeling of glee as I pick out what shorts to wear for work. This is especially whimsical during the winter months. I have my ankle socks and undershirt out on the bed ready for post daily hygiene ritual.

I know that sometime during the day someone will remark on how cold it is, wondering how I could be dressed this way. Truth be told, I really do not feel cold during my work day, dressed in this fashion.

Also, I have ridden a bike 5 plus miles earlier that day. This gets curious reactions as well. The entire trip, for me, is between 15 and 20 minutes depending on various factors. I am wearing a jacket, tuuk, gloves and my shorts. By the time I lock up my bike and enter the facility my legs have warmed up comfortably. Some people see my ride as one of necessity as I possibly have no vehicle. Others see me as a green warrior combating the evil oil cartels. And then I could be some fitness nut trying to hold back the wages of time.

Why do I ride? That is more complex then I have fully rationalized. I do enjoy not seeing $$$ go into the tank of a vehicle. Not to mention there is a lack of wear and tear as well. Also, being a tad eccentric in the eyes of others has an appeal to my Ego. The fitness reasoning has its place as well.

I recall, not to long ago, struggling up the 4% grade that awaits me. Now I have great satisfaction of power up that hill with aplomb. The traffic forces you to be very alert and possibly carves new pathways into my aging grey matter. By deference of probabilities I have avoided many a mishap. Also, many new skills of a near acrobatic nature have manifested in regards to jumping up curbs and quick redirection.

The underlying theme for my dressing down in the cold and riding my bike to and fro has to be happiness. I am really enjoying this particular time in this particular place.

Yet there is a tinge of guilt for having this much fun.