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Name: Ed Bradford
Location: Pflugerville, TX
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Stimulus Money: South Carolina & Louisiana should go on Offensive

Posted by Ed Bradford on Tuesday, March 31, 2009 8:00:25 PM
South Carolina and Louisiana should go on the offensive for the Federal
funds denied them. They should take their case into the Federal courts
immediately. The US Government has no authority under the constitution
to dictate state government actions. Am I wrong about that? Where in the
constitution would that right be found? Do this under the 10-th Amendment
that many states are now reaffirming.

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Cap and Trade is Handicapping the old fashioned way

Posted by Ed Bradford on Tuesday, March 31, 2009 5:43:16 PM
Cap and trade is handicapping the old fashion
way. In the race of economies, America is the
strongest. The old fashioned way to redistribute
the "results" (e.g. golf and bowling) is to
handicap the players. America will gladly
handicap ourselves in this game so the playing
field will be more competitive. We will implement
a cap and trade system where our energy costs
rise dramatically (20-40%) everywhere. Since all
other countries won't have to do this, the
playing field will be more fair.

Our cap and trade implementation has other
intended consequences. The poorer sections of our
country, the sections with the greatest
unemployment will pay for the handicapping
because unemployment and off shoring are
frequently associated with manufacturing jobs. If the
remaining jobs create products that are more
expensive because energy costs rise,
the products won't compete internationally. The
factories will have to produce less and
therefore, become less efficient. Eventually,
factories will close. Intelligent owners of
factories will move to foreign locations and if
the tax burden is also increased for such
actions, the factory and corporation will move
leaving nothing but an import business in each
city and town.

We handicap ourselves by implementing Cap and
Trade and thereby making our economy more
expensive to operate than other economies.

Cap and trade is a tax even if it isn't labeled
as a tax. When the US Government forces a company
at the point of a gun, to pay money that is a tax.
Companies that pay the cap and trade tax raise
their prices. If all energy using companies raise
prices all people pay the tax. I don't see
any way out of that conclusion.

The "people of the United States" is our
government. Unless our government ("We the people")
starts speaking up against this handicapping, we
should not complain when our standard of living
is lowered relative to everyone else in the
world. After all, that's only fair, isn't it?

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PROPOSAL TO RESIST TAX PAYMENTS IN A LEGAL FASHION

Posted by Ed Bradford on Saturday, March 28, 2009 10:32:51 PM
People disturbed by the spending growth of our government need
to send Washington a direct and visible message. I have two ideas
on how to do that.

1. Declare a non-paid holiday with your employer and reduce your own
   pay by 1 day for the year of 2009. That will reduce the tax revenue
   to the federal government by about 1/220 or slighly less than 1/2
   percent. The escalation path for this is to do 2 days in 2010 and 4
   days in 2011, etc.

2. Delay paying your taxes until April 20. Accept the penalty, which
   is minimal, according to:

     http://www.nfib.com/object/2873424.html

   The escalation path for this method is May 20, 2010, June 20, 2011,
   etc.

Both mechanisms send a visible message to our government.


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PROPOSAL TO RESIST TAX PAYMENTS IN A LEGAL FASHION

Posted by Ed Bradford on Saturday, March 28, 2009 10:32:44 PM
People disturbed by the spending growth of our government need
to send Washington a direct and visible message. I have two ideas
on how to do that.

1. Declare a non-paid holiday with your employer and reduce your own
   pay by 1 day for the year of 2009. That will reduce the tax revenue
   to the federal government by about 1/220 or slighly less than 1/2
   percent. The escalation path for this is to do 2 days in 2010 and 4
   days in 2011, etc.

2. Delay paying your taxes until April 20. Accept the penalty, which
   is minimal, according to:

     http://www.nfib.com/object/2873424.html

   The escalation path for this method is May 20, 2010, June 20, 2011,
   etc.

Both mechanisms send a visible message to our government.


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Outsource Jobs to India. Good idea?

Posted by Ed Bradford on Friday, March 27, 2009 2:17:15 AM
IBM Draws Criticism for Job Cuts:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/03/26/ibm.outsourcing/index.html

Article says that IBM will be moving work to India where labor is cheaper.
And that's not all, Obama's doing it too:

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/64577.html

Obama and Palmisano both put economic efficiency above "keeping the work from moving off shore".

So, the question is do you want a $2,000 PC and jobs in America held by unskilled, low skilled labor or do you want to ship the unskilled, low skilled labor overseas and have a $500 PC.  You can't have both. Do you want to let the poor countries of the world just stew in the squalor of their poverty or do you want American companies to build factories where their people can get a start on the step up the economic ladder? Do you want a family of 4 to live on $300 per year or give at least one member of the family a chance at making $1,000 per year? [Read "The End of Poverty" by Jeffrey Sachs]

Democrats and Replicans like the low prices. They all buy at WalMart. If someone who thinks we shouldn't ship jobs overseas wants to convince me he isn't just interested in preserving his own job at any cost, then that person would be buying American only. I don't think there is such a person in this country, do you?

There are a number of masters a company can serve: profit, product quality, keep jobs in America, employee well being, customer satisfaction, product price, revenue, market size. Of these only job location is immaterial to the life of a company.


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Card check checks Card check

Posted by Ed Bradford on Thursday, March 26, 2009 3:12:52 AM
If Marcello and his two brothers can go around getting people to sign a
petition for a union and simultaneously, Nikita and his two brothers go
around getting people to sign a petition for NOT having a union, who
wins?

Seems like a petition FOR a union should have equal weight of one
AGAINST a union.

If such happened, the only way to resolve the issue would be to
have an election, wouldn't it? What if neither side could get more than
50% of the employees to sign?

In any case, should ECFA pass, any company that does not want a
unionized workforce and among whose employees is
circulated a petition to form a union, should immediately embark on
the same strategy but with the goal of not having a union. There
should be a race to get the most signatures.

Does ECFA or labor law cover this?



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The next big problem

Posted by Ed Bradford on Sunday, March 22, 2009 2:26:40 PM

The next big problem coming down the pike is the government employee retirement and health plans. With

guaranteed retirement benefits, it is inconcievable to me that these plans have not suffered drastically in the

past 12 months. The only thing that remains is for the problems to surface in the newspapers and for the states, counties,

cities and US Governement to tell beneficiaries that their benefits will be cut. When will this happen?

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Republicans can save the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program

Posted by Ed Bradford on Wednesday, March 11, 2009 12:00:00 AM
2009-03-11
Republicans unite. Replace the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program
with a Republican Scholarship program -- same terms. 1700 students times $7500 is only
$12,750,000. 255,000 Americans each contributing $50 would save this
program.

If someone will create a reputable account at a reputable bank, I will be
the first to contribute $50. If I knew how to do this, I'd do it now.

Ed

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FIX the CEO Problem -- CAPITALISM 2.0

Posted by Ed Bradford on Friday, March 06, 2009 1:56:55 AM
FIX THE CEO PROBLEM

The Republican party must address the CEO problem. That's the one where
a Merrill exec gets $70M in pay and the company goes bankrupt the next
day. It's the one where Jeff Immelt gets $10m in annual salary and other
compenstation and GE stock loses 90% of its value from the time he took
over as CEO.  [... and there is nothing a shareholder can do about it.]

CEO's are part of the "manager class", a closed society
of CEOs and board members that are not owners and have no
skin in the game. The manager class justifies huge salaries
with the argument "We have to be competitive with other
similar organizations". It's the same argument used to
justifiy extremely high Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac CEO pay.

The CEO problem is an embarassment for the free market system.
We have let it fester for so long, that the people are now really
mad, and the people (the government) will try to fix that problem.
I am certain it is the single largest generator of hate directed
at big business.

Capitalism needs to release a new version, Capitalism 2.0 that fixes the
CEO problem and a number of other problems. What other problems you ask?
I ask you "Is capitalism perfect?" I have never heard anyone think a
completely free market or "capitalism" was perfect. No one (Dems or
Repubs or Rush or Sean or Laura) has mentioned this dirty secret of the
free market system (capitalism). Capitalism 2.0 should be one of the
theoretical paths to pursue for 2012. Fix capitalism so most Dems and
Repubs can recognize the improvements and, perhaps reluctantly, admit
that the improvements are good and do not have to be forced on society
and companies by a bigger government.

Create a study whose mission is to define Capitalism 2.0 that assumes
the least possible government participation.

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Dear Michael Steele

Posted by Ed Bradford on Thursday, March 05, 2009 12:32:55 AM
Dear Michael Steele

Thank you for fixing your misspoken words about Rush Limbaugh. Now
to complete your mission, you should also say that you do agree with
Rush and you hope Barak Obama fails in his mission to convert our
country into a socialist state.

  All Americans should pledge:

  "I hope Obama fails in his death of the free market attempt."

Obama's government expansion and spending are bad, but
the two issues won't move the masses. What will move the masses
is when Michael Steele shows up in the poor sections of a city
and talks to real people explaining exactly how the Stimulas
effects them. Tell them where the $800 billion dollars is
going. Tell them the verifiable truth. Bring a well recognized
Republican with you. Bring a different one to each city.

Does road building help the problems found in the Bronx? Does bridge
building help Watts?  Will stimulus money cure the school graduation rate
of the inner city?  Talk to them. They will come and they will listen.

Above all, tell them the verifiable truth.

Ed Bradford
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Raise the Minimum Wage Now

Posted by Ed Bradford on Wednesday, March 04, 2009 12:03:02 AM
New Minimum Wage Proposal

The federal minimum wage is $6.55 per hour effective July 24, 2008; and
$7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. This is woefully unsufficient
for a fair and decent living. Today, you can hardly eat on such a
minimum wage and there are many millions of Americans living in almost
abject poverty on this wage. This is wrong.

I am going to suggest something radical. The UAW has brought an
enormous amount of stability and comfort and middle class values
to auto workers for 60 years. Many auto workers retire comfortably
in their 50's and continue receiving medial benefits. The current wage
for the typical auto worker is $39.90 per hour, not including benefits.

What I suggest is that the minimum wage be raised to $39.90 per hour
equal to the UAW. The benefits of unionization should be distributed to
all unskilled labor, not just auto workers. This will help win a major
battle in the War on Poverty.

Now is the time for change.
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A New Smoot Hawley Like Tariff on Labor

Posted by Ed Bradford on Monday, March 02, 2009 10:22:40 AM
The President proposes eliminating tax subsidies on off shore labor. I'm not sure what exactly he is talking about, but here is one discussion of the Earnings Before Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) line on your income tax return:

http://www.tutorial-reports.com/business/outsourcing/india/advantages.php

If the EBITDA line on your tax return is the issue, then
the President wants to raise the tariff on, not computers, not automobiles, but labor. Labor performed overseas would be "fair"-ized to what?  The union wage standards of the United States? Inflicting a tariff on labor will have the effect of significantly raising the prices of services used by all in America and America alone. Such a tariff would cripple the one sector of today's economy that is poised to grow substantially -- the IT service sector. The increased prices will distribute themselves throughout the economy and  will take the place of new job formation. American companies will be handicapped in international competition and the Obama Depression will deepen and lengthen.

For the working poor in this country, and the unemployed, this means fewer opportunities because jobs will not be created because money that might have been used to expand business in America will, instead go to the government who will consume 10% of it just paying for its own administration of the money and then be used to build a road or bridge to ... where? Remember the factory that was going to be built with the money can't be built because the money went to the government to build a road to the non-existent factory. Would you rather have a factory or a road?

To the legislators of America:

Think long and hard before starting a trade war. Hoover did it, FDR ever so slowly removed it and America had unemployment rates at 20% 8 years after FDR came into office.

To the people of America:
Compel your government to pay for training and education not start a trade war. If a trade war is started, you life and mine will become more difficult and the Obama Depression will last longer.


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