Islamist terrorism strikes the heartland of America

OMG! What a disastrous day for the progressive movement. A single incident that happened today in Oklahoma squashes so many of their dreams.

Police: Woman beheaded at Oklahoma workplace – https://news.yahoo.com/police-woman-beheaded-oklahoma-workplace-144459291.html

MOORE, Okla. (AP) — A man fired from an Oklahoma food processing plant beheaded a woman with a knife and was attacking another worker when he was shot and wounded by a company official, police said Friday.

What a horrific event for the victims and their families. I won’t even attempt to imagine what they are going through. Generally when these things happen, the progressives release their canned responses immediately afterward. If they can attack Christianity, the 2nd Amendment, global warming, women’s rights, racism, whatever fits the bill, it will be capitalized upon. However, that’s not an option in this case.

We have yet another Islamist extremist committing terrorism.

The FBI is now looking into Nolen’s background after his former co-workers said he tried to convert them to Islam after recently converting himself – http://kfor.com/2014/09/25/reports-police-respond-to-possible-shooting-near-moore-grocery-store/.

The hero in this story?

Lewis said the man then stabbed Traci Johnson, 43, a number of times before being shot by Mark Vaughan, a reserve sheriff’s deputy and the company’s chief operating officer.

A company official who was packing. Saved Traci Johnson from having her head cut off and who knows how many others.

So the progressives can’t blame the tea party or Christianity or 2nd Amendment supporters or white conservative racists or republicans and their war on women or climate change or gun manufacturers. I’m sure I’ve probably missed some more. What a disaster.

The one silver lining for the left is they can claim workplace violence. I’m sure Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton and Eric Holder will point that out when they visit Oklahoma. Oh, that’s right, they won’t be anywhere to be found on this issue. Poor Colleen Hufford and Traci Johnson didn’t have the proper credentials to allow their plight to be capitalized on.

Rest in peace Colleen Hufford. Hope you recover well Traci Johnson. Alton Nolen? Hope you rot in hell with your virgins just tantalizing out of reach. Progressives? They probably wish they had never gotten out of bed today.

Has the time come for a universal basic income?

The idea for a universal basic income for all is not new dating back to the birth of America. Certainly, the argument could be made that we already have one anyway with the various social safety net programs in place. However, the push to implement one continues on with the idea of scrapping all existing welfare programs which only reach targeted groups with one that is universal regardless on one’s situation.

Of course, this proposal raises a whole host of issues. Should each person get the same amount regardless of the cost of living where they reside? What about the number of dependents? Would there be a means test? What would the amount be and would it be indexed to inflation? And of course the big one. Where does the money come from?

Switzerland is used as a test case right now as they have accrued the minimum amount of signatures to put it on the ballot this year although a date hasn’t been set yet. The amount would be $2,800 USD per month or $33,600 per year.

The federal poverty guidelines for 2014 state that a single person would require $11,670 to reach the poverty line and a family of four $23,850. Apparently, this idea wouldn’t sit well with the $15 per hour minimum wage crowd as a full-time worker at that rate would gross $31,200 per year. The propaganda suggests that this amount is just to earn a fair living wage.

Clearly, the amount would need to be below the annual minimum wage threshold as the disincentive to work would automatically exist and if the amount were anywhere near the minimum wage, no one would ever work. Or would it? Turns out the basic income crowd want this amount handed out regardless of whether or not you’re working so the minimum wage becomes irrelevant to the argument.

What do we spend right now annually on welfare programs? Depends upon whom you ask. The Washington Post will vehemently deny that we spend the $1 trillion annually that conservative groups generally cite.

Here is the self described world’s simplest plan to implement a basic income – http://www.vox.com/2014/9/8/6003359/basic-income-negative-income-tax-questions-explain. Oh, sorry. The article never actually answers the most basic question of how much.

According to the census bureau, in 2013 we had approximately 242,470,820 persons age 18 or older in the United States of America. If we’re going to implement a universal basic income to all regardless of circumstances, this would seem to be the most logical number to use. Every single adult in the United States.

What if we followed the lead of the Swiss and doled out $33,600 per year to each one of us? That equates to over $8.1 trillion dollars annually, just a tad more than the $1 trillion dollar welfare number were arguing about now. With an economy worth an estimated $17.3 trillion annually, a basic income at that level would eat up nearly 50% of everything produced. Except that doesn’t count. Only our federal budget spending does which was only a meager $3.5 trillion last year.

Worse yet, federal revenues were only $2.8 trillion. We borrowed the rest just to spend $3.5 trillion. Can you imagine if we had to cough up $8.1 trillion for a basic income program? In fact, the biggest budget expenditure we have currently is social security at $814 billion last year, or 24% of the budget. A basic income program would be ten times the size of social security.

Redistributing federal budget monies is only a partial solution. Private wealth must be tapped as well (retirement funds anyone?).

This exercise in futility is funny until you realize that so many people are serious about it. I mean, what if we just took the $1 trillion the left claims is pie-in-the-sky and divided that up amongst our 242 million recipients? That’s only $4,124 bucks a year. Think that wouldn’t send the $15 minimum wage crowd over the edge? That’s chump change to them.

The bottom line is that the seemingly eternal quest of the socialists is that spending other people’s money still doesn’t get us to nirvana. If they ever want to get serious about it than the full-fledged approach of communism is the only way. All wealth must be confiscated and handed out to the masses. And we all know how that approach turns out.

What is the most wasteful, inefficient, unproductive entity ever devised by man? That would be your United States Federal Government

Think the federal government needs to “do more” on the behalf of the American people as our POTUS is so fond of saying?

Fact is that not only do all of those federal regulations infringe upon our liberty, they also come with a real cost. Most people have heard of Tax Freedom Day, the day in which the nation has earned enough money to satisfy its tax bill for the year. In 2014, that day was April 21st – http://taxfoundation.org/article/tax-freedom-day-2014-april-21-three-days-later-last-year.

Unfortunately, it gets worse. many people don’t realize there is another, less well-known measure called Cost of Government Day. This is the day in which tax burdens at all government levels are satisfied including the cost of those massive regulations from the video. In 2014, that day was July 6th – http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/peter-roff/2014/07/03/cost-of-government-day-reveals-the-burden-of-taxes-and-regulations.

Over half a year worked to pay for what? National defense? We await Sept. 11th with baited breath to see where the Islamists will attack us at will. Infrastructure? Crumbling. Education? Over-priced and far under-performing. Jobs? If you’re happy with a perpetual welfare state filled with part-time service sector jobs. Healthcare? Obamacare is the contrived death of the private healthcare industry and the best medical treatment system the world has ever known.

By any measure, our experiment with a behemoth all-powerful centralized bureaucracy has been an abject failure. And an expensive one to boot.

 

Labor takes Labor Day off in the birthplace of unions

No Labor Day activities were held in Flint – http://www.abc12.com/story/26421133/no-labor-day-activities-were-held-in-flint

FLINT (WJRT) – 9/1/14 Flint has long been known as a leader in the labor movement. But on Labor Day there were no rallies, parades or picnics to celebrate the holiday in the Flint area. Union members say there are three factors contributing to absence of Labor Day activities. Lack of membership, lack of money and a lack of commitment.

Last year at Flint Sitdowners Memorial Park, about 300 people, including union members and politicians were on hand. But this year the park was vacant. No celebration, no applauding the sacrifices made by Sitdowners. Union members say it was a cost cutting move.

“It’s just all the downsizing and the union has got to figure ways to cut costs so they can keep all the programs going,” said Doug Trouten, Local 651 retiree.

Thirty years ago there were approximately 80,000 UAW members in the Flint area. Today there are about 8,000. In 2010 Crossroads Village was filled with UAW members. There was a parade and a picnic. That was the last year for the gathering at Crossroads.

“On Labor Day the UAW would sponsor a picnic out here and it just got to the point, it was the cost and the members coming out,” said Trouten.

At Crossroads this year, there were no banners announcing Labor Day, no red, white and blue bunting. You couldn’t tell it was a holiday.

“I don’t see any of my UAW friends here,” said Barbara Erler of Swartz Creek.    

“People have different interests I guess,” said Bea Samson of Flint Township.

“Oh, its absolutely an important holiday. It’s what makes our engine tick around here. And it’s very important for people to take time to recognize that,” said Jeff Sabolish of Flushing Township.

 UAW Local 599 held a picnic Saturday in Flint to celebrate its 75th anniversary. But other than that there were no labor celebrations in the Flint area.

Meanwhile, in la-la land

President Obama used Labor Day to tout the country’s economic gains under his leadership and make an election-year case that higher wages and other progress for workers can only be achieved through a Democrat-controlled Congress.

“American workers and the American economy are better off since I took office,” Obama told a crowd filled with union supporters at the annual Laborfest event in Milwaukee – http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/09/01/obama-on-labor-day-touts-economic-gains-under-his-leadership-is-mum-on-pressing/?intcmp=latestnews

Seems kinda tough to ever make any progress when you have a POTUS that is delusional. But you can say the same for Big Labor. Like any addict, until you can admit you have a problem, no solution is possible.