Our leaders have failed at a national balanced budget. They do not even begin to address whether we are anywhere near the possibility of a balanced budget. Charges are flying back and forth about whether anyone wants to cut Social Security and/or Medicare as some demagogue the issue. It is time to take a simple “helicopter” view at what is actually happening. In 2022, our federal government spent $6.48 trillion. The breakdown: 1. Social Security — $1.22 trillion, comprised of three parts: Payments to seniors $1.03 trillion, $144.7 billion for disability; $48.4 billion – other. 2. Defense – $1.03 trillion, composed of $759.8 billion for defense and $271 billion for veterans. 3. Medicare $756.1 billion. 4. Transfers to states – $1.21 trillion. 5. Transfers payments – $619.3 billion. Only $36.3 billion of that is paid for by the recipients as those are payments related to unemployment insurance. 6. Interest payments – $483.5 billion. The government received $5.03 trillion in revenue: 1. Payroll Taxes – $1.50 trillion comprised principally of $1.09 trillion Social Security and $344 billion for… Read More

The poor and low-income folks of America receive many government subsidies. But here’s one subsidy that few people are aware of.

Social Security retirement checks are HEAVILY subsidized for low earners. Moreover, for those whose earned income (adjusted for inflation) averages above about $126,000 (called “AIME”), they get ZERO money back on their 6.2% SS payments (12.4% for the self-employed) on that “excess” income confiscation.

Essentially, those annually earning more than $126,000 up to $160,200 in 2023 will find that 100% of their SS payments (6.2% each, paid by both employer and employee) above $126,000 are to help subsidize the low wage earners who pay VERY little for their benefits. The high-income payers will get not one dime extra for these higher payments. This 2:40 minute videois a good summary of the SS program, though the numbers are not up to date. There are three tiers of payouts, based on one’s annual earnings (though the specific figures in the video are… Read More

You, like I, certainly are stunned that there would be a day in the United States where people are talking about banning certain forms of speech and branding it as “hate speech.” As someone who is a free speech absolutist, I find the entire matter repulsive. I applaud that the opportunity to offend me by speech exists. It is an essential American freedom. First, let’s define a “free speech absolutist.” One can’t encourage violence against a group or a person. One can’t yell “fire” in a crowded place when there is no emergency. Other than that, Americans are free to speak as they wish. The problem with hate speech is it is in the eye of the beholder. For example, almost any time Elizabeth Warren or our current White House press secretary says something, I want what they are saying banned. What is said by the head of the NEA or AFT (teachers’ unions) almost universally is hate speech to me and is likewise racist. Any of the people whining and saying there is hate speech that needs restricting is a perfect example of people who actually need to be stifled. It is a good bet they can’t possibly think of anything they say qualifies… Read More

Americans are so detached from the products we buy in a grocery store we have little clue why they cost what they do. We recently toured a cheese manufacturing plant outside of Venice, Italy. We saw the trucks roll up to the factory with the milk that is used to make 100 million pounds of cheese annually. Then we saw what it took to make the fifty different kinds of cheese and the facilities where the cheese had to be stored to be aged for nine months or more before being put on a truck. A special truck delivers the finished product to an airplane that ships it to the United States where it is then shipped around the country to be delivered to your grocery store. There are even more costs added to the price of the cheese and that is what this column is about. One of the biggest elements for product costs in America is lawsuits. We have a complex legal system that is often abused by people for their own financial purposes. That causes the many forms of insurance a company pays, including liability and worker’s compensation, to soar thus driving up the cost of goods for us all. A recent study by the Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform… Read More

Being Anti-Semitic seems to be en vogue these days, not that it every really went out of style. Even while our governments were focusing on anti-Asian or anti-Muslim or anti-black hate crimes, the Jews were still at the top of the hate crime statistics. The question is: who is the biggest threat to the Jews in America – the Left or the Right? It is important to lay down some ground rules for this. No matter the source, Anti-Semitism is intolerable. As a reader, you probably know my history on this subject and know I do not accept hatred of Jews from any source. I have written on this subject many times over the forty years of my columns. Our federal government and an array of left of center groups want you to believe the problem comes from White Supremacy on the right. That is despite the recent attempt by Democrats to defend a virulent anti-Semite from being removed from a Congressional committee she should never have been on. There are several problems with this theory. The groups they focus on are made out to have a vast network, but not if you read the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) study on the issue from 2015. They state that the… Read More

Our society has created a class of people with too much time on their hands. That has caused such recent sensations as the USC School of Social Work determining the word ‘field’ should be banned from the lexicon because of “possible racist connotations.” Another decision that affects society is legislatures determining how pay should be handled by private entities because of some perceived potential inequity. The issue at hand is new laws requiring inclusion of the salary range for any open positions. Nothing irritates some people, especially me, more than having state legislators tell people how to run their businesses. It is particularly galling since few have ever worked in private industry and fewer have run a business with all the accompanying challenges. California’s legislators are not the first to wade in on this particular subject. Colorado adopted a law in 2019. As these matters go, it spread like a swarm of locusts even before there is time to analyze the effects of the new decree. New York City, which envisions itself a state as California envisions itself a country, was next to step into this mire. California had to follow… Read More

It is not often this column takes a position that is at least semi-quixotic, but sometimes one must take a stand and hope that some others join the cause. The FBI is so out of control and counter to what its real mission is that a new agency needs to be formed with new leaders, new personnel, and a revised mission. The FBI is akin to a federal police force, meaning a group of detectives enforce federal laws while working in conjunction with municipal and state law enforcement particularly where criminal activities cross state borders. Recently the agency’s mission has significantly changed. 9/11 was the catalyst the organization’s change. Robert Mueller took over as FBI director on September 4, 2001. To state the obvious, the events soon after were a startling beginning to his career (as the agency’s sixth director). As he stated in his presentation to a House subcommittee on September 14, 2006, “After the September 11 attacks on America, the FBI priorities shifted dramatically. Our top priority became the prevention of another terrorist attack. Today, our top three priorities—counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and cyber… Read More

Americans barely knew nor thought about Ukraine until Vladimir Putin’s Russian forces invaded the country, which then erupted into the largest land war in Europe for at least 75 years. The vast majority of support for Ukraine has been supplied by American, led by folks who just 50 years ago were devotees of the anti-war movement. Let’s take a look. We can pretty much agree that Russia’s actions are barbaric and something we thought we moved past in the civilized world. We can also pretty much agree that Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s elected leader, has been steadfast in his defense of his country. We can also agree that the Ukrainians have put forth a valiant effort to rid themselves of the Russian invaders without asking for America or its allies to supply troops. They have told the world: “give us arms and we will fight and win the war.” There is not much dispute on these points. My concern is that anyone espousing something other than blind allegiance and support to Ukraine is branded as a malcontent and thus misguided. Many elected officials and some members of the press (on both sides) are pointing at these people as traitors to the cause.… Read More