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2013 State of the Union 29 promises and Sensible Answers

(1) "So tonight, I’m announcing the launch of three more of these manufacturing hubs, where businesses will partner with the Departments of Defense and Energy to turn regions left behind by globalization into global centers of high-tech jobs. And I ask this Congress to help create a network of fifteen of these hubs and guarantee that the next revolution in manufacturing is Made in America."  A – government doesn’t create markets, nor does it find the lowest cost solution to where goods should be made

(2) "I urge this Congress to pursue a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change, like the one John McCain and Joe Lieberman worked on together a few years ago.  But if Congress won’t act soon to protect future generations, I will. I will direct my Cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy."  A- we have 16 years of stable temperatures with increasing concentrations of CO2 and there are no viable solutions to reducing CO2 80% by 2050 as desired

(3) "So tonight, I propose we use some of our oil and gas revenues to fund an Energy Security Trust that will drive new research and technology to shift our cars and trucks off oil for good."  A – Battery storage is not an equivalent source of energy. Nat gas and propane are viable, but there is no clear advantage of these fuels when considering their concerns of Carbon.

(4) "The states with the best ideas to create jobs and lower energy bills by constructing more efficient buildings will receive federal support to help make it happen."  A – Logistical nightmare – these ideas are endless, and again the government cannot create a viable market for goods, services, or ideas.

(5) "Tonight, I propose a “Fix-It-First” program to put people to work as soon as possible on our most urgent repairs, like the nearly 70,000 structurally deficient bridges across the country."  A – previous stimulus plans made the same promises – check the Joe Biden website and see how it is going

(6) "And to make sure taxpayers don’t shoulder the whole burden, I’m also proposing a Partnership to Rebuild America that attracts private capital to upgrade what our businesses need most: modern ports to move our goods; modern pipelines to withstand a storm; modern schools worthy of our children."  A – partnership with private capital is a messy distortion to the market.  Who gets in the project?  If a better port is needed, then make the case and build it if needed.

(7) "Right now, there’s a bill in this Congress that would give every responsible homeowner in America the chance to save $3,000 a year by refinancing at today’s rates. Democrats and Republicans have supported it before.  What are we waiting for? Take a vote, and send me that bill."  A – pumping up the housing bubble will continue distortion of the market.

(8) "Tonight, I propose working with states to make high-quality preschool available to every child in America.  Every dollar we invest in high-quality early education can save more than seven dollars later on--by boosting graduation rates, reducing teen pregnancy, even reducing violent crime."  A – more money for education, this becomes an endless need.

(9) "Tonight, I’m announcing a new challenge to redesign America’s high schools so they better equip graduates for the demands of a high-tech economy. We’ll reward schools that develop new partnerships with colleges and employers, and create classes that focus on science, technology, engineering, and math--the skills today’s employers are looking for to fill jobs right now and in the future."  A – fed redesign of schools will be an expensive mess.  Certainly not free.

(10) "Tonight, I ask Congress to change the Higher Education Act, so that affordability and value are included in determining which colleges receive certain types of federal aid."  A – there has been no effort to reduce higher education costs.  I don’t see how this can possibly be a workable solution, and appears to be a nice sounding idea that will have no appreciable impact in education costs.

(11) "And tomorrow, my Administration will release a new “College Scorecard” that parents and students can use to compare schools based on a simple criteria: where you can get the most bang for your educational buck."  A – another idea of government promising they can help people because they are too stupid to know how to pick a college.

(12) "Send me a comprehensive immigration reform bill in the next few months, and I will sign it right away."  A – there are some big issues on securing the border, transition to citizenship etc, and to say send a bill is a simplistic approach that has a lack of leadership and a simplistic ring to it.

(13) "Today, the Senate passed the Violence Against Women Act that Joe Biden originally wrote almost 20 years ago. I urge the House to do the same." A – there are double jeopardy issues on being able to retry criminals and this is another example of a nice sounding bill that has tyrannical realities that are only known when details are known.

(14) "And I ask this Congress to declare that women should earn a living equal to their efforts, and finally pass the Paycheck Fairness Act this year."  A – this is already the law of the land, and the act is likely to increase gnarly lawsuits

(15) "Tonight, let’s declare that in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty, and raise the federal minimum wage to $9.00 an hour."  A – minimum wages trigger many labor contracts, and also trim the number of entry level jobs because employers can’t just up their revenues at a pass of a pen like the government can with this type of law.

(16) "Let’s offer incentives to companies that hire Americans who’ve got what it takes to fill that job opening, but have been out of work so long that no one will give them a chance."  A – fuzzy idea that sounds good, but the government has no capacity to take this on without a rat’s nest of paperwork and costs.

(17) "Let’s put people back to work rebuilding vacant homes in run-down neighborhoods."  A- nice idea, but you can’t just make it happen without huge costs and headaches. 

(18) "And this year, my Administration will begin to partner with 20 of the hardest-hit towns in America to get these communities back on their feet. We’ll work with local leaders to target resources at public safety, education, and housing."  A – again, not free, and there must be jobs to support making this work, not the government.

(19) "We’ll give new tax credits to businesses that hire and invest."  A – the real incentive to invest is a lower capital gains tax, and liberals are unwilling to allow this to happen.  Hiring happens when there is more certainty of costs, and Health Care and Dodd Frank have yanked the rug out from businesses.  The proof is in the trillions of dollars of cash in company balance sheets.  Don’t say you want to help, when your policies have proven the opposite.

(20) And we’ll work to strengthen families by removing the financial deterrents to marriage for low-income couples, and doing more to encourage fatherhood – because what makes you a man isn’t the ability to conceive a child; it’s having the courage to raise one.  A – government can’t strengthen the family.  Nobody makes marriage decisions based on a government program.  The amount of unwed babies averaging 40% for all, and over 70% for African-Americans are a stunning statistic

(21) "We are negotiating an agreement with the Afghan government that focuses on two missions: training and equipping Afghan forces so that the country does not again slip into chaos, and counter-terrorism efforts that allow us to pursue the remnants of al Qaeda and their affiliates."  A – whatever…  another magic wand with no clue how it could happen

(22) "That’s why, earlier today, I signed a new executive order that will strengthen our cyber defenses by increasing information sharing, and developing standards to protect our national security, our jobs, and our privacy."  A – this approach is inferior and should not be passed without more input – the problem of government having the main say on how the internet is secured is pretty scary. 

(23) "Now, Congress must act as well, by passing legislation to give our government a greater capacity to secure our networks and deter attacks."  A – same as 22

(24) To boost American exports, support American jobs, and level the playing field in the growing markets of Asia, we intend to complete negotiations on a Trans-Pacific Partnership. A – pass the magic wand

(25) "And tonight, I am announcing that we will launch talks on a comprehensive Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the European Union – because trade that is free and fair across the Atlantic supports millions of good-paying American jobs."  A – another feat of magic

(26) "So the United States will join with our allies to eradicate such extreme poverty in the next two decades: by connecting more people to the global economy and empowering women; by giving our young and brightest minds new opportunities to serve and helping communities to feed, power, and educate themselves; by saving the world’s children from preventable deaths; and by realizing the promise of an AIDS-free generation."  A – economic vitality is needed, and we are losing our ability to show anyone how to have a vibrant economy.

(27) "We will ensure equal treatment for all service members, and equal benefits for their families--gay and straight."  A – equal treatment?  Benefits?  Complete flip-flop on this issue of supporting gay marriage.   Pure pandering to seek wider support and show more “tolerance”

(28) "That’s why, tonight, I’m announcing a non-partisan commission to improve the voting experience in America.  And I’m asking two long-time experts in the field, who’ve recently served as the top attorneys for my campaign and for Governor Romney’s campaign, to lead it."  A – we need to really address voter fraud in this country and fully prosecute from the 2012 election.  Ohio voter irregularities were reported to Eric Holder before the election, and it was completely ignored.  Two attorneys couldn’t fix this issue if you locked them into a room with two years of provisions. 

(29)"Senators of both parties are working together on tough new laws to prevent anyone from buying guns for resale to criminals. Police chiefs are asking our help to get weapons of war and massive ammunition magazines off our streets, because they are tired of being outgunned. Each of these proposals deserves a vote in Congress. If you want to vote no, that’s your choice.  But these proposals deserve a vote.  … Gabby Giffords deserves a vote."  A – we don’t need to have a vote for ideas that have nothing to do with making children and people more safe.   This administration has a clear desire to get weapons out of the hands of the public, and we are more in need of protection than at any time in our lifetime.  

The power of the law

Do we rely on laws to do the most important things in life? I would say "NO" emphatically with many examples to illustrate. Do we rely on laws to raise our kids to be successful? To have a good marriage? To stay safe when facing danger? "NO" "NO" and "NO."  Why is there such a clamor to have more laws to help keep children more safe after a murderous tragedy? Is it a guilt offering? Connecticut has more strict gun laws than other states and those laws were broken in the latest tragedy. The push for more federal gun laws will do nothing to keep children safer. The only message that gets through to a criminal is another armed person. In example after example they end up taking their own life when confronted by an armed protector. The mall shooting in Oregon was the most recent example, and the information about that confrontation was left out of the news reports. A conceal and carry person who defied the idiotic gun free zone was the unsung hero that saved many lives. Criminals do not follow the law-period. Isn't that an obvious point?  It is unthinkable arrogance and ignorance for people to think that laws will improve safety when there are FREEDOMS to carry arms in action that have actually proven to result in greater safety and saved lives. When we want to do something as important as protecting children, we must counter it with the only force that a criminal understands; another firearm.  When the NRA says we should arm our schools, they are offering the most practical and actionable advice to really help the situation.

Cost of Class Envy

We have "receivers" who benefit from the hard work of "developers.". Developers have worked hard to leverage technology and energy to make a high quality of living. What is deeply troubling in our current culture is that successful developers are now being called on to pay more and this is considered more "fair". Pretty soon the developers will decide that the risks they have taken are not worth it and will cash out of their unique business. When this happens it cuts off the path of transferring the invaluable skills of being a developer to a receiver. When the developers are demonized as being evil because of their success, the cultural divide is aggregated. The skills of developers are extremely valuable and not easy to transfer to the next generation even in a calm supportive environment. There is a lot more at stake in our current situation than dealing with a fiscal cliff. This is matter of risking cutting off the priceless skill sets of developers and not realizing it until they have all cashed out, retired and moved to Costa Rica.

Liberal legislation recipe.

After much thought on this over the years, i have come up with the constrict of a liberal legislation recipe. The pattern is clear in the two most egregious examples in our time. The affordable care act (Obama care) and the Wall street reform and consumer protection act (Dodd Frank). These two bills are creating levels of uncertainty in the economy due to the complexity and unknown costs. Companies are sitting on trillions of dollars and have no confidence to invest or spend because of these bills and the resulting stagnant economy.

Here is the recipe. 1- create catchy name for the bill stating the solution to a nagging issue 2-write 2,000 plus pages of endless confusion weaving in an increasing level of government oversight and control. 3-allow great latitude in regulations to be written so nobody really knows the final outcome of the bill. 4- make cost projections based on the most optimistic assumptions. 5- create smooth talking points declaring success as the outcome when the bill is signed 6- watch for signs of concern as bill is implemented and keep bringing forth talking points with declaration of victory over the nagging issue 7- demonize anyone raising issues against the legislation as those being against solving the stated problem. 8- seek a long enough period of embedding the legislation into the fabric of society and business to make it more difficult to unwind. 9- refuse to consider implications of how the bill is actually working and revert back to original talking points and demonization when needed.

This recipe approach needs to end and will not have as much traction when America is better educated on constitutional and economic matters. The age of being a taker dependent on the state must be replaced by the. If or of freedom and sound growth driven economic policies.

Economic recovery - how did we get here?

The tech bubble was driven by unending optimism on expected productivity increases from technology. Early growth in this was real because we did experience a huge increase in productivity due to automation and computers. Bubbles are a reality of making a market honest and pushing the value back to its real number. The housing bubble was the driver in the 2008 crash and this was driven by a policy to back mortgages with a gov funded agency (Freddie/fannie) and making mortgages to individuals who did not have adequate means to repay. If banks were left to themselves to make loans to those with adequate credit(their ticket to sustainability), we wouldn't have seen this crash. The fake increases in prices for many years was driven by the shortage of supply because more houses were being bought than were available. Social policies demanding "fairness" created the gov backstop and fueled this high demand. We now are faced with a situation where the housing bubble needs to return to true values but the pain of this is very hard to face. There is likely more potential for real economic growth from increased domestic oil production. Jobs here, dollars spent here, secondary services abound. Initiatives for solar energy have wasted tax payer dollars. Finding another means of generating electricity does not provide net economic growth. The supply is currently domestic and it shifts jobs from coal mines to other production lines. Businesses are speaking with their actions of showing the huge uncertainty of future costs and not hiring because of the hallmark legislation of this administration. Reagan saw historic job growth by lowering taxes of the richie rich from 70% to 35%. This administration is boldly trumpeting the idea that the rich need to pay more. The top 10% of wage earners pay over 40% of the taxes. Nobody gets an improved economic outcome from the government, except the crony capitalist such as the solar industry. The lack of recovery truly is the responsibility of this administration.

What is Discipleship?

Raising kids and making other disciples is basically teaching people to fight their own flesh, the world system and the devilish forces. One needs to reject lies, believe God's word, don't live by feelings or cave to impulses. Filled with God's truth in the head, the mouth, and the heart, the power of God overcomes the "big three"(flesh, world, and devil) to avoid sin, work hard, and influence others. Self has to die. Humility that brings God's grace is shown by disclosing weaknesses to trusted warriors and praying like a tornado.