Corporate Welfare & Disasters

You ever get a hankerin’ for a 400hp car that could get ya from whoa to 60 mile an hour in 6 seconds AND get 100 miles to a gallon to boot? Ain’t that every teenager’s dream? (And maybe a certain geezer too.) Well, they got ‘em now, son. ‘Course they ain’t cheap. ‘Bout $100,000 for one. And them dealers ain’t in every town like Fords and Chevys. But it ain’t no joke either. This here Fisker Automotive Co. out there in California is sellin’ a sport sedan out there right now.

I hear tell these Fisker fellas got some mighty slick engineers too. Like instead of designin’ that car from scratch, first they went shoppin'. They looked for what they could use that somebody else already made. You know, like door handles and windshield wiper motors and such. Tain’t like they stole nothin’. They’re just payin’ to use somebody else’s parts. Just like you and me neighbor. A trip to the Ben Franklin might save a body one heap of work, ya know?

Reckon they got some slick businessmen too. I mean, you’d think somebody that sells $100,000 cars, could do it without getting no government bailouts or loans. Sure over my head neighbor, but back in 2009, the good old US Department of Energy give ‘em a loan for $529,000,000! A little extra change in your pocket can't hurt none.

That Dept. of Energy is real good at loanin’ out our money. They also give a $465,000,000 loan to Tesla Motors. Maybe you ain’t heard of them either. Tesla is another California company that makes an electric roadster that sells for even more than that Fisker car. And even though it cost more, only 2 people can ride at a time.

Nobody's sayin' when these loans gotta get paid back. Ain’t even heard if they gotta pay interest on 'em. Anyway, that Energy Dept. got a heap more money stashed away to “loan” to big companies like Fisker and Tesla. In fact, they got $8 billion set aside, all totaled!

Here’s the best part neighbor. First them politicians in Washington fixed it to “loan” our money to companies that make expensive cars. Them that us folks can’t afford. Shucks, I could buy 2 cars and a new diesel pickup 4x4 for what one of them cars cost. And now, they’re playin’ games with the money that’s supposed to help them folks that got wiped out by disasters like that Joplin tornado and that hurricane Irene. Them Republicans want to take somewhere's 'round $1 billion of that automobile company bailout/loan/welfare money and use it for the disaster relief. Naturally the Democrats don’t cotton much to that idea and plan to block that disaster aid until Republicans give the welfare money back to the big corporations. They’d rather add that $1 billion to the national debt instead.

Now hang on there a minute Jethro. I know I’m getting’ old, but this here is a might confusin’. Democrats are for the working man. Republicans are for big business. Ain’t that what we been hearing all these years? So why are Republicans taking money from big business to give to folks in need? And why are Democrats holdin’ out until big business gets their welfare back? Reckon I gotta go over to the couch and ponder this for a while. In the meantime, remember, I am…
Justan O. Geezer

National Debt

Well neighbor, we done it.  Yessir we done set another record.  And it’s official.  Accordin’ to the folks over at the US Treasury Dept., our national debt is now over $10 TRILLION dollars!  They say it happened back on Friday afternoon while I was out mowin’ some grass.  And not only that, but they’re claiming we’re addin’ over $34 BILLION more to that debt EVERY DAY. 

If that ain’t enough to knock your socks off, think about this - over 60% of that is owed to foreign countries.  Mostly to China and Japan.  Sure looks like Secretary Geithner ain’t hidin’ nothing either.  The Treasury Dept. even admitted that the national debt rise by $3.7 trillion dollars since January 20, 2009.  And you know what day that was.  That’s almost 60% in less than 18 months!

Always thought I could stand my ground against most anything, but this is down right scary, neighbor.  Next thing, they’re goin’ want me to pay up my “share.”  Like the younguns say, “No way.” They’ll never find me in the cellar.

Justan O. Geezer

Budget Cuts & Blaming

Reckon I'm on a budget kick, neighbor.  Maybe cause I gotta keep tighting my belt so much.  Anyway, I just read somethin' in the Washington Examiner.  Gotta love that internet thing.  Lets me read newspapers from all over.  'Course I got a heap of trouble trying to read that Le Parisien or Nasz Dziennik.  But I manage to find enough English writ papers around.

I was just readin' about President Obama's "non-campaign" trip up in corn country.  They say he's claimin' he "reversed the recession, avoided a de-pression and got the economy moving again" (all by himself don't ya know).  Kinda brings back memories of how Al Gore invented the internet (also all by himself).  Anyway, it didn't take but a heartbeat till he was back to blaming the economy on someone else.  Like them Arab uprisings and Japanese tsunamis and such.  Then the President says, "The problem is that we've got the kind of partisan brinksmanship that is willing to put party ahead of country."  That'd be his way of sayin' the Republicans done it.  Reckon he already forgot how he was vowing to veto any bill where Congress did NOT add more taxes.  And that was right up till 'bout 2 weeks before that famous default day the TV was talkin' about.   That man sure 'nough has a short memory.

OK, 'nough of that. What I really wanted to talk about was how we can get that federal budget back in line.  Reckon I don't really want to know what that "non-political" trip is costin' us.  But did you notice how he's gettin' around while not campaigning?  He's on a bus.  At first that seemed right friendly that he'd take a bus, just like some folk going to the State Fair.  But that ain't no ordinary bus, friend.  That there is "Greyhound One."   It got custom built by the Prevost company.  Yep, them's the folks that make the fancy buses for rock stars and millionaires.  And guess where that bus was made neighbor.  Quebec, Canada!  Guess we don't build buses here no more.  They say the Secret Service paid $1.1 million dollars for that bus.  And they bought a spare one too, so double that.  Must be one hell of a nice ridin' bus.  You'd think they coulda converted one of them yella school buses for a bunch less.  By the way, they didn't say if that price was before or after they added all their armor plating and fancy security stuff.

I know what you're thinkin' Sam, "What's a couple million greenbacks when the country is already trillions of dollars in debt."  Well neighbor, my long-gone Pappy used to say, "A penny saved is a penny earned."  We ain't savin' nothing are we?  And there's a bunch ot my neighbors ain't earnin' nothin' either.  You can bet this budget thing is gonna come up again, but till then, I am...

Justan O. Geezer

The National Debt Joke

I ain’t no math whiz neighbor, but I gotta tell you, them Washington jokers are pullin’ one over on us AGAIN!  Think about it, Cuz.  They’re gonna raise the debt ceiling a couple trillion dollars and then they’re gonna cut spending a couple trillion dollars.  Sounds like a fair deal, don’t it?  Well, you’re wrong, partner.  Dead wrong.

First off, that raising the debt ceiling they been fightin’ over?  They’re plannin’ on spending all that there money in the next year and a half!  Yep.  The one side’s been insisting on the increase being big enough so’s the wheels don’t fall off again before the next election.  So, are they thinkin’ ‘bout you and me or themselves?  What happens after that election?  Just call the local smithy or wainwright?

And that ain’t the half of it.  All them spending cuts?  They’re gonna cut at least as much as they raise their spending.  Right?  Wrong again, Sam.  Them spending cuts is gonna take ten years to get done.  And what "cuts" means ain't that their gonna NOT spend the money.  It means they're cut back on the additional spending they was planning!

Reckon I know enough ‘rithmetic to do this math.  10 years to do the "cuts."  1-1/2 years to spend the same amount of money.  To me, that means an 8-1/2 year problem.  Of course that’s just me and I am…
Justan O. Geezer

Young'uns Health Study

One of my neighbors told me about a postcard he got t'other day from "The National Children's Study."  The card told him he was goin' to be getting some more mail from them, 'cause they was coming to do "recruitment" in his community.  Well first off, he thought it was one of them scams 'cause he ain't never heard of them before.  So, being the kind of guy he is, he decided to do some checkin' up.  Turns out it's some kind of study about young'uns and their environment and genetics and stuff like that.  It's being done by the government.  The National Institute of Health.  Reckon that's a right good idea though, seeing as how we got all them epidemics of asthma and autism and dyslexia and stuff goin' on.


He found out that even though he'd never heard of this here study, it'd been around for 11 years!  Congress "authorized" it way back in 2000 and they been spendin' money on it ever since.  First, they spent 7 years and almost $50 million during a "study phase."  Friend, you can be darned glad it don't take a farmer 7 years to decide if he wants to plant corn up on the hill or over by the creek.


And that was just the beginnin', neighbor.  For the last 4 years, they been in a "implementation phase."  In case ya don't know, that's the part where they actually start doin' something.  'Course anytime they go and use a big word like that instead o' just sayin' they're finally gonna do it, it's time to grab your waders.  So far they spent over $552 million on doing this study.  And it ain't nowhere near done!


So anyway, my neighbor had a question.  He said, "If I just got this card now, and they've already been at it 11 years, when are they going to finish and how much more is it going to cost?"  Sorry neighbor, but that's a couple of dumb questions all rolled up in one.  Yessir, you know it's gonna cost a bunch more and it'll be obsolete when it's done to boot! 


You know me, friend.  I got my own questions.  Not just what's takin' so long?  Or how come it costs so danged much?  But, ain't there another way?  Wouldn't ya think it'd be a whole lot easier to just add some questions to the Census?  ('Course with all that studying, they missed the last census.)  Or maybe they could ask them insurance companies to do it?  Them insurance companies already got records on ever'body anyway.


I know.  I know.  Too simple.  But Hell, I'll be long gone 'fore they git done. That's the way I see it friend, but remember I am...
Justan O. Geezer