Budget Cuts

Today I gotta tell ya about this neighbor lady I got.  She's a perty young thing.  Reckon you'd never guess she got growed younguns.  And you'd be equal surprised to find out she's a truck drivin' mama.  And that's the truth, Clyde.  She tells me there's a bunch of "down time" away from home cause of them "required rest breaks."  So, she puts the time to good use.

Seems she got tired of hearin' all that bullshit goin' 'round on TV and the internet.  She got real annoyed with stories about the President or Senators or government in general.  So she used that break-time to dig up some real information about what could be done to trim some of the fat in our federal budget.  She sent me some stuff here and even went so far as to say where she got it.  That way, I could see for myself.  Well, here goes neighbor.

    Governemt Salaries:
    US President            $400,000 + $50,000 non-taxable expenses
    Vice-President            $230,700 + $10,000 non-taxable expenses
    Speaker of the House        $223,500
    Majority/Minority Leaders    $193,400
    Senators & Representatives    $174,000
ref: http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/congresspay.htm

    Average Teachers Salaries:
    Elemtary Teacher         $40,088
    High School Teacher         $43,389
ref: http://www.payscale.com/research/US/All_K-12_Teachers/Salary

    Salaries for Active Duty Soldiers (with 4 years experience)
    PFC (E3)            $23,400
    Sergeant (E5)            $29,380
    Staff Sergeant (E6)        $32,742
    2nd Lieutenant (O1)        $42,030
    Captain (O3)            $59,422
ref: http://www.goarmy.com/benefits/money/basic-pay-active-duty-soldiers.html

So what do think neighbor?  Where should we start cuttin' that budget fat?  'Course who's gonna believe a truck drivin' lady and me?  I am...
Justan O. Geezer

The Blame Game

I hear tell them Chinese been blamin’ us for all the world’s money problems. And now that we got our nose lowered a notch, they got more ammunition for playing the blame game.  They say our dollar ain’t worth a yuan. (Sorry Sonny, but if you ain’t groaning, go google it.)

Well I gotta tell ya neighbor, I don’t think I’m the only one that’s plum tired of this here blame game.  Over there in Washington, we got grown people actin’ like 5 year olds. And I do mean most of ‘em.  

When previous men got to be the big dog in Washington, they accepted the responsibility that goes with that fancy oval office.  In all my years, I ain’t never heard the President of these United States blame his predecessor like I heard the last couple years.  Now I gotta admit, he don’t normally use George Bush’s name direct.  But he’s spent the last 2-1/2 years repeatin’ over and over things like, “we inherited” this problem or that.  Or “the previous administration” did such and such.  ‘Course the rest of his folks ain’t afraid of blamin’ old George by name. 

Hell, this game has got so bad our debt troubles are getting blamed on them new Republicans that just got elected in the last go-round.   It don’t matter none that they just got there!  Reckon it's their fault the National Debt has rise near 40% in the last 2-1/2 years!  Not only that, but the debt rise 20% in the 2 years ‘fore that!  And that was when Democrats controlled both houses of Congress.  Well, never mind.  I know. That was Bush’s fault.

Lately they been sayin’ the Tea Party is to blame for this credit rating downgrade.  So, let me get this straight, neighbor.  In the last 5 or 6 years, our National Debt has growed near 65%.  The Tea Party has existed for what? 1 or 2 years?  Ain’t that pretty dumb?  Reckon that’d be some of that new math they're using. 

All I gotta say to them folks in Washington is this: accept responsibility and GROW UP, DAMMIT!  Of course nobody listens to me, ‘cause 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

No entiendo

No, I ain't moved to Mexico neighbor.  But I reckon that there’s a right good title for what I got to say today.  Fer you gringos, that’s "I don't understand"  And I don't.  Not a bit.  I read where some high school principal in Nevada gave a commencement speech in Spanish.  Now, it's true that he read the speech in English first, before he done it in Spanish.  But the whole idea of readin' a commencement speech, to an American high school class, in a foreign language is just plain wrong, neighbor.

Now I know there's a whole bunch of Spanish speaking folks in this country.  Most are here legal.  In fact, the biggest bunch even come from families that were here long before we was the US of A.  Heck, even me and some of my neighbors speak some Spanish (un poco).  Fact is, we all come from someplace else - exceptin', of course, the native Americans that we run outta town.  But almost all immigrants learned English and made damn sure their young'uns learned it too.  A common language is what gives voice to people.  Language is what unites us folks.  It identifies peoples and countries.

But somewhere over the last few decades, some educated idiots been makin' noise and claimin' we gotta "diversify" and other such BS.  To me, it's really a move to split people and the country by leaving some folks out in the dark.  Not only that, but in the name of profits, businesses are contributing to ignorance by posting signs for stuff in their stores in English AND Spanish.  Guess they never looked to see the consequences up there in Quebec. Or maybe they did and don’t care as long as they make money.

I just believe it's downright un-American.  Even anti-American.  And I'm thinkin' about how all through history, a few people managed to control those who were not able to communicate.  For you, Clyde, that means readin' and writin'.  This multiple language crap just keeps some folks "where they belong" if ya know what I'm saying.  And that ain’t right.

So, no entiendo neighbor.  Reckon I never will.  But I am still...

Justan O. Geezer

Independence Day

Howdy neighbot.  I know I ain't said whole bunch lately, but today there's something real important on my mind.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!  Somewheres about 235 years ago, some Englishmen decided to dump the king and go there own way.  Some called it the "grand experiment."  We ain't got the same country it were back then, but we're still here. So far so good!  Maybe someday, folks will give up that experiment stuff and call it a success.

This here's also a good time, once again, to thank all them young'uns in the military thats out there protecting our freedoms.  Thanks to all that served in the past too.  Thanks neighbors.

Well that's what I think, even if I am...
Justan O. Geezer