Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2011/03/13
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]George, That is because, at the core, these things are very simple if you want to be prudent. The complications are caused by people not wanting to take other dissenting views into account for a variety of reasons - whether on the left, centre and right. I really suspect that the solution to Wisconsin is somewhere in the middle, and both sides Government and the Unions) take extreme positions hoping to reach there as a face saving compromise - which in the short term leads to a lot of dissonance I do not deny that Governments get hijacked by special interests - they do all the time - and it does not matter what form of Government either. At least in Democracies, we get a chance to throw the bums out - if the majority of citizens voting deem it fit to do so. If we do not like the end result, tough luck, that is how elections work! I am afraid, coming from India, I have total distaste for Government bureaucracies and employees - they are by and large inefficient, lazy, corrupt and open to all types of political patronage, and we could well do without them as they do not provide the services they are supposed to provide for us anyway. Of course there are exceptions that work very well - the postal services and railways to name two that come to mind, but by and large they are totally dispensable! Cheers Jayanand On Mon, Mar 14, 2011 at 9:50 AM, George Lottermoser <imagist3 at mac.com>wrote: > > On Mar 13, 2011, at 9:19 PM, Jayanand Govindaraj wrote: > > > take a loan (in the USA a municipal bond) to build a school (it is an > > asset, not an expense), and charge the fees required to pay for expenses > and > > pay back the bond, just like a business entity will do. If there are > > negligible or subsidized fees, then you have to have higher taxes - you > > cannot run these things on a deficit indefinitely - in cash flow terms, > this > > is called "diversion of funds' or a 'funding mismatch' - it will > definitely > > lead to bankruptcy at some point. > > > Jayanand, > > Throughout this discussion we've thrown simple analogies, metaphors, > business models, > economic formulae and government funding schemes into a strange stew pot. > > Allow me to clarify: > > Here in Wisconsin we have moved way beyond balancing budgets, municipal > bonds and cash flow terms. > > For the past three weeks thousands of citizens have stood in the capitol > rotunda every day; > culminating with between 150 - 300,000 demonstrating in the streets > yesterday. > > 14 honorable democratic senators stood before that throng to receive its > expression of gratitude for their strength and courage; > while the governor required 6 unmarked police cars to get him to a fund > raiser in a norther boarder town with a population of 2,700. > In that town between 2,000 and 3,500 citizens greeted him with, "NO!" > > The governor installed body canners and bag searches in our capitol > building for the first time in our state's history. > The citizen majority petitions for the recall of 8 republican senators. > In my district alone they have acquired 49% of the required signatures > within one week's time; with 7 weeks to go. > 149,000 have pledged to petition the governor's recall ASAP (January 2012) > with 10 months to go in that effort to arrive at 540,000. > > The citizen minority also petitions for the recall of some of the > democratic senators. > Though that energy is so low that I can't find who, where or when through > google. > > The people are telling the governor in no uncertain terms, "This is our > state. > We were here before you got here. We will be here long after you're gone." > The governor, and his legislative supporters, respond with no regard for > their petitioners. > Today we learned that the republican senator from Fond du Lac county > lives with his 25 year old mistress, who was a staffer and former lobbyist, > in Madison - outside his district - not legal. > His former maid signed his recall petition and says his x-wife will too. > > We're talking about things way beyond budgets here; > and in Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Maine, Florida and beyond. > > These republican governors have overreached; > and the labor majority intends to return their governance to that > of, for and by the "people." > > Mark these words, times and places as historically significant. > Yesterday was the largest rally for labor in this country's history. > > Regards, > George Lottermoser > george at imagist.com > http://www.imagist.com > http://www.imagist.com/blog > http://www.linkedin.com/in/imagist > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >