5 Stages of Grief, Economic Twist

Lately there has been a lot of yelling that the country isn’t broke. This morning it became apparent to me that the country is going through the stages of grief with regards to the economy.

  1. Denial, Denial is pretending the problem doesn’t exist or cannot be seen. Many are currently doing that, ignoring how bad the financial situation really is.
  2. Anger, Anger has been expressed over and over by both people who are still in stage one, as well as people in stage 3.
  3. Bargaining, People on both sides of the isle are trying to bargain their way out of the inevitable truth. There is no money to borrow to fix this. It’s going to take sweat blood and tears.
  4. Depression, Often this stage and the next are rolled together. It’s questions like Joe’s that get asked when you realize bargaining is no longer useful and the depression of the truth sinks in.
  5. Acceptance, You realize this is going to hurt, there is nothing that can be done, but it’s better to take your licks now than let it grow and hurt more later.

The sooner you realize the gravity of the situation, the better. That’s steps 4 and 5 folks, steps 1-3 are merely trying to prolong the inevitable. In order to be able to survive this, cuts are going to have to be made and people are going to have to accept that. Is it going to hurt, yes, but some times in order to get better you have to go through some pain.

HB 1016, SB5112 Hearing Update

The hearing for HB 1016 was yesterday. HB 1016 is the same as SB 5112.

Only five people were able to attend, however just like with the previous hearing all were in support of the bill.

There was an industry rep who manufactures suppressors, he was the one who testified in favor of the bill. The statement out of the executive session of the committee was a “Due Pass” recommendation. The committee chair feels that it will most likely pass.

Here is the audio video from the hearing:

Quote of the Day – Joe Huffman (03/09/2011)

There is something I learned in chess a long time ago which holds true in the gun games I play and it’s true in politics as well . It’s more important to not lose than it is win. Let the other guy take the chances and you win when they screw up.  -Joe Huffman,

[I find this fits quite well with my comments on open carry.  The focus needs to be on not losing.  Our enemies will screw up on their own and when they do we can capitalize on their failure.  Why expend energy and effort accomplishing a goal when your enemy can give it to you?  Especially since when expend energy like that you risk making the mistake yourself.  -B]

Who do you really work for?

Even as the economy has recovered, social welfare benefits make up 35 percent of wages and salaries this year, up from 21 percent in 2000 and 10 percent in 1960, according to TrimTabs Investment Research using Bureau of Economic Analysis data.

The government is taking a third of everything you make to do with as they see fit.  You are a slave to the system, all that time and effort you spent getting a good job was for naught.  You would actually probably be better off just living off the government dole.  The government is spending out of control and it is the hardworking American tax payer stuck with the bill.  I seriously wouldn’t care if tomorrow they announced all the social programs were shut down.  I’m sick of the government redistributing the fruits of my labor to others by the threat of force against me.  It is nothing more that “legalized” theft.

A Government Within It’s Means

Mr. Obama, some of us are confused by your weekly address.

We need a government that lives within its means without sacrificing job-creating investments in education, innovation, and infrastructure.

(Emphasis mine)  Mr. Obama, that statement does not mean what you think it means.  The deficit has tripled since you came in to office.

obama-deficit-2011

Not to mention the month of February 2011 has the largest deficit in history.   It was so big in fact, that it was bigger than the entire deficit from 2007.  The government cannot create jobs, all it can do is take money and redistribute it to others under the guise of creating jobs. 

Why did the deficit need to triple?  It is not the government’s job to innovate and it is not the government’s job to provide education either.  The interest from the debt is going to reach a point where it is unmanageable.  In order to live within your means sometimes means cutting things that you think are necessities but are actually luxuries.  Many have been learning this fact first hand while Obama and family has been out playing golf and globe trotting.

If you want to be within the means of our country, you need a surplus big enough to destroy sizeable amounts of the debt.  Will it hurt, yes, but a small amount of pain now is preferable to the total economic collapse that awaits if things don’t change.

H/T Alan who posted the Gateway Pundit article on GBC.

Utah is taking the wrong approach.

Story: a 17 year old pregnant girl pays a 21 year old guy to beat her in order to cause a late term miscarriage.

Utah’s solution: criminalize miscarriage caused by “reckless behavior”.

What defines reckless behavior?  Supposedly the Utah law makers just want to prevent such an atrocity from happening again.

There are several factors that should be addressed before jumping straight to amending the current laws on the books.  First, look at the reasoning behind the girl’s actions, her boyfriend threatened to leave her if she didn’t do something about the baby. Second, what is her mental status considering she paid someone to beat her up?  Third, she must have a super low self esteem is she is willing to stay with the asshole of a boyfriend.

The consequences that could come down from this new law would include criminalizing women who don’t actually do anything wrong.  Women who have a miscarriage could be brought under scrutiny by the courts and possibly have charges brought against them for a natural cause of death.  These women don’t need the emotional and psychological burden added to them by the legal system.  They will already be under a slew of emotions just from the loss of a miscarriage.  A miscarriage does not equal abortion no matter how one looks at it.  An abortion is intentional, a miscarriage is a naturally occurring tragedy for the mom.

Another example of collective bargaining

Another example of the games unions play in maximizing their leverage to get their way occurred Hawaii.

HECO executives said the strike would slow efforts to restore service to about 8,000 Oahu homes and businesses, mostly in the Ewa Beach area, that were without power last night.

It reminds me of the games Fox plays with different cable and satellite providers just prior to the Super Bowl.  Fox had done the same thing in the past with Time Warner and Comcast.  The crisis is created when the most customers will be in trouble.  Whether or not the raises are justified are inconsequential, people get very upset when their lights don’t come on with a flip of a switch.

If you get enough people to yell and scream, who don’t actually know or understand the facts, who are inconvenienced by your strike, they will support you to end it as quickly as possible.  People who do this are despicable, dishonest, and should just be terminated from their jobs.  This is nothing more than leveraging a crisis for extortion and using it to get their way. 

Hope is Not a Plan

There  are a couple common sayings where I work.  Many of these sayings are extremely flexible and can be applied just about anywhere in your life.  Here are three of my favorites.

  • Hope is not a plan

Hoping that something does or doesn’t happen isn’t a solution to the problem.  This goes for anything from fiscal crisis to violent crime.  Some hope that they will not become the statistical anomaly, however hope is not a plan.  It does nothing to prevent or alter the outcome regarding the events concerned.  Hoping a man doesn’t stab you while he’s mugging you isn’t really a plan to solve your problem.

This can be seen with other things as well.  Hoping a child doesn’t drown isn’t a plan, that’s why there is rescue equipment at most pools.  Hoping a kitchen fire doesn’t happen isn’t a solution to deal with the problem should one occur, instead many have fire extinguishers in their kitchen.  Hoping a tire doesn’t go flat on your car doesn’t prevent it from happening, that’s why you carry a spare.

This also goes for dealing with legislation, both good and bad.  I’ve been following HB 1016 and SB 5112 so closely and contacting those I should because hoping it will pass is not going to make it so.

A plan is a series of actions one is going to take to solve or prevent a problem.  Hope is merely trying to wish the problem away or out of existence. 

  • Wait is not a verb

While the word “Wait” can be used as a verb, it is not actually an action.  It is used to indicate the absence of action.  Waiting for someone else to solve your problems is never a solution.  Waiting to do something is like letting a positive feedback loop run while providing no negative feedback negating none of it.  Eventually the problem will be so big you can do nothing about it.

Some would rather wait for someone else to solve their problems.  Some do this because they want to feel morally superior, others do it because they feel waiting isn’t a  problem.  The fact is though, problems get worse over time if nothing is done.  Calling someone else to solve your problem is still waiting because you’re not doing anything.

  • If you want to see the future, invent (create) it

If you want to see the future of something you care about, then create it.  Don’t wait for someone else to create it for you, they may even create something that you really dislike.  From a rights and freedoms perspective you can help cement the future.  You can work to get legislation changed, you can work to gather information and rally others, there are numerous things  that can be done to create your future.

Back when I was still growing up, the future was still quite uncertain regarding gun rights.  Thankfully many throughout our culture have stepped up to create the future we have now and are still working so the future is even brighter than it is now.

Can anyone think of any others that should be added?