If you have been reading from my early blogs, they dealt with the problems I am suffering from this bad economy and trying to run a Tree Surgery business: Affordable / Professional Tree Surgeons.
AT LAST---I am getting help!
Did you know that some 2 years ago the IRS put in a new tax break for large corporations? They did!!!!
What is it?
A large corporation which establishes a Foundation whose funds are available to struggling small businesses gets a break!
Small businesses, like mine, which are suffering a 30-70% reduction in earnings over the last 3 years can apply for help. I applied for $50,000-$1,000,000 in relief. Last week, I got a grant for $50,000+!!!! It will be coming to me in 30-45 business days.
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How did I get it?
I was contacted by phone as a cold call some 3 months ago. The outfit is named Turnaround Business Group, Inc. They are located in Henderson, NV, about 50 miles from Las Vegas. They said they served as the liason between small businesses and Foundations waiting to fund them.
For a fee of about 1.8% of $50,000, they serve to get together your request / represent you to the corporation / get the funds you need. Their original financial cost for services provided is $2,999.00. Send the money and they start their work with a promise that nothing further is needed until they secure, at least, half of the funds requested. At that point an additional $4,790 is needed to pay for the Sears-Roebuck size catalogue of paperwork / legal details / web site with the promise of money delivery within 30-45 days. You can repay your initial costs out of those funds.
Now you are saying, "This sounds like a scam since money is required up front!" NO!!!!!!!!
First, they provided me with contact information for the Attorney General's Office in the state of Nevada, should I wish to check them out. I was also encouraged to contact the local Chamber of Commerce and Better Business Bureau. I did! They are real and have no complaints against them.
When I could not come up with the entire $2,999.00, they were willing to accept the $2,500 I could borrow to start the process. Needless to say, when you have been operating at 30% of earnings for 3 solid years / lost your home to foreclosure / had your water and electricity turned off several times during this Depression--er, Recession--as long as you listen to government pontificaters!
It was a real struggle to find that initial money, but a kind Baptist friend who owns a finance company was willing to take the risk--as long as I secured the loan with my truck and an expensive Chipping Machine. My family had been "loaned out" trying to help me keep my house 3 years ago. This is the reality for far too many of us small business owners since our economy took a "slight" nosedive under the Bush Administration's fine regulatory practices. I say this in jest, of course!!!
I was convinced of their legitimacy the second they offered to take less than the stated fee. In addition, in the course of conversation via phone, I discovered these people have religious convictions--and it is real rather than another "come on" using religion to fake you out!
Within the stated 90-180 days they produced!!!!
Now I am finishing questionares to formulate a small part of the Sears catalogue of documents.
Here is how this Grant works:
(1) I am required to set up a non-interest-bearing checking account into which the funds go.
(2) I must make a 6-month report to the Foundation which includes copies front and back of all checks issued to fulfill my request.
(3) The Grant comes with an IRS tracking number, lest I run afoul of the taxman. It is non-taxable as long as it is spent to secure my business.
The rationale for helping small businesses to compete again:
(1) I hire and secure employees whose families get income so they can, again, support the general economy and pay their taxes.
(2) I buy equipment so the providers of such have an income. For example, Bobcat of Wilson is struggling with reduced sales and repairs. I still owe them $1,000 for repair of my A-300 machine last year. My income is such that I can't pay it. Now I can---and I am ordering a new machine with trailer to carry it! They are getting much more happy with this struggling customer! I am tired of transporting my maching with overdrive kicked out for 2 hours to service my customers in my local Beaufort County home/office.
(3) I repay accumulated debt which amounts to some $120,000. They are happy!
(4) I am able to build/lease property to house my business. Construction and Real Estate people are happy!
(5) I am able to have several billboards to fill the many which are vacant these days. The billboard/advertising people are happy!
(6) I can now bring quality tree care to people who don't yet know me. They will be happy they met me and get quality work at affordable prices!
(7) I can buy a tractor-trailer rig to get to Hufficane/Storm relief needs. They will be happy to not have a gouging contractor in place to help them recover!
I hope, by now, you see the first wisdom I have seen in this whole economic mess. At last, someone is helping small business get back on its feet! My earliest blogs were about my attempts to get federal help through my 2 NC Congressional Representative---not a single thing came my way except more of "we must help Corporate America and the Banking Industry.
Folks--Trickle Down Economics doesn't work!!! If you haven't figured that one out yet, ask a question: "If we own 61% of GM as taxpayers, why aren't all their products 61% cheaper to the taxpayers whose money was used to bail them out???"
Don't you think if the above were true, we would be buying GM products right and left so they could put their assemblyline workers back to work--plus the sub-assembly companies providing goods to that line? Check out the economy of Michigan to see if anything happened---other than Corporate Executives getting bonuses I could run my small business on for the next 5 years! IT HAS NOT HAPPENED.
The same is true of the Financial Industry: Has anyone who lost some 45% of their investment value been restored? Have any of the lying/cheating pencil pushing/creative accounting thieves gone to the Federal Pen over their clearly unlawful securities practices?
I have a Series 6 Securities Liscense and know whereof I speak. You are fingerprinted upon getting it, and the laws/guildelines are clear: "Tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth" to anyone trusting you with money management. It's just that simple, or "Go To Jail-do not pass GO" as the Monopoly game card reads!
So here is my truthful story and my encouragement that you do something besides moan and groan about "how bad things are!" You have to have a little faith and trust in an environment where "if it is too good to be true--it probably isn't." We are being totally put into a prison of doubt by illegal practices which don't seem to get punished or controlled.
If you have some controlled trust and check things out so any doubts are alayed, you might find some help. I am sure there are some schemers out there. I get emails every day from folks promising Federal Grants/education/etc.
I don't respond because I don't want all the red tape attached to Government Grants. This, however, is a Private Foundation trying to get money into responsible hands. It has some IRS controls, but I am sure there will be illegitimte grantees trying to scam the system assuming "Wall Street and Detroit got away with it and so will I." Worse becomes even worse if we give up on the promise of the Free Enterprise System, properly competing, to give hard-working people in small business a chance to succeed or fail---according to their wisdom and hard work.
Where would you rather invest---Corporate America, where books are cooked and accounting has become more than creative / where long-term experienced personnl get the age 55 "golden parachute", OR your own business which provides good services at a reasonable price????
The ball is in your court now!
Showing posts with label small business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label small business. Show all posts
Monday, July 26, 2010
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Riding Herd on Buffalos
I loved cowboy movies growing up. They were the highlight of TV as we got our first black-and-white set from Sears in the mid-50's. In fact, a kid who didn't like westerns was pretty much out of luck on any given Saturday. I remember Howdy Doody--it had a western theme? My Friend Flicka was on later with the beautiful black stallion. Finally, was my favorite: The Roy Rogers Show.
I dreamed of owning a beautiful Palomino like Trigger. I asked Santa for Roy Rogers guns one Christmas, and got, instead, a Lone Ranger set of 6-guns while my younger brother got the Roy Rogers set. The difference was brown leather for Roy Rogers and black for Lone Ranger. His guns were light and could shoot caps. Mine were silver and 3 times as heavy. Later on, as a father it came to me that children with identical toys would be fighting all the time so our parents wisely got Santa to bring different kinds or there might be a real killing between the Scarborough boys. They were quite competitive!
I was born on March 23 and my brother came along on March 3 the following year! We were almost like twins without having popped into the world at the same time. Momma later confessed to my wife in her first pregnancy: "Don't you dare believe that old wives tale that you can't get pregnant while nursing a baby. Gene's younger brother Charles is living proof that it is a total LIE!"
My brother and I grew up when life was good. There was no A-C nor power steering. Few people had a TV--much less color. Media was more radio than TV and we spent many a night or sick time from school listening to WSB Radio in Atlanta--"The voice of the South." It's funny how things stick to a child's mind! We even survived riding in a car without seat belts or cell phone distraction! Our parents actually had enough sense to drive carefully and slow enough to be safe for their sake and us children.
Like WSM in Nashville, WSB can still be heard in a scratchy way almost anywhere in the SE United States. I still sometimes tune to 750 AM just to feel like home again. Atlanta was not yet to her first million residents. You could play all over the neighborhood safely. DeBell street in Clarkston was nothing but wall-to-wall children laughing and make believing! Anything you did wrong would get back to momma before we got home, and God help us if we did anything immoral or illegal. There was no "wait til your daddy gets home from that SC farm girl."
She would almost always make us pick our own switches! This was my first adventure in executive decision making: what is "just the right size?" If it is too little and flimsy it could cut you / if it is too stiff and big so it won't cut, it might bruise! Dear God, help me pick the right one 'cause I'm gonna get a whipping soon!
One thing I remember about the westerns were cattle stampedes. Even worse was the dreaded buffalo stampede. Where cows could bash the poor cowboy whose horse slipped, the buffalo would mash them all flat as a flitter. Cows would go around the buildings and boulders, buffalo would go through and leave nothing standing! A buffalo stampede was the most dreaded result of nature's wrath. They would spook at thunder and lightening and come over the hill after my cowboys felt the earth shake as a warning. God help the cowboy sleeping peacefully at night with his innocent herd of cows nearby when the buffalo got loose!
We had a small herd of buffalo residing near us at my last house. It was always neat to take our grandchildren by to see these massive animals. Normally children get to see them only at a zoo, but the Red Oak / Castalia area had our own herd. They were beautiful. On of the things which fascinated our small ones was the time a baby buffalo got somehow under the fence. It's momma was close to pushing down that barbed wire before the farmer discovered the little lost baby. Instead of just the momma cow pushing until the barbs hurt and stopped, a buffalo has such thick hide and companionship no fence stands a chance when the herd wants to get to the other side.
I know now why "You can't roller skate in a buffalo herd" was a popular teen song. It stimulated a funny image, but it told a serious truth: try to skate among the hairy beasts and you will get smashed!!!
Now for the application as to why I feel like I am skating in a buffalo herd these days!
Our ECONOMY is a buffalo herd to me. After some 2 years of Depression (notice I didn't say Recession) the buffalo herd of corporate America is getting all the favors, while the small businessman is seeing virtually NOTHING. At last they are talking about "tax credits" and "easier loans," but why has the buffalo herd crushed for so long.
The first response this time in Depression was massive bailouts to financial and investment firms along wit the auto industry. Instead of setting investors back on their feet and customers right, the feet of the buffalo herd crushed them more! The buffaloes running each part of those 3 herds gave themselves bonuses for running their business into the ground.
Did the customer or investor get one red cent???? Not just "NO" but "HELL NO!"
Us American taxpayers now own 61% of GM, but are their products 61% cheaper to the poor fools whose money bailed them out??? Same answer as above!!!
Has the unenforced rules and regulations of the Stock Exchange brought lyers and thieves to justice or removed their securities license from them? Again, same answer as above!!!
How many have gone to Federal Prison for depriving the typical investor of about 45% on average of the value of their investments??? Has my retired school teacher / preacher's wife mother had her portfolio restored. It was wisely managed, but where she had little or non worries, she is in a tight spot now.
I don't like that!!!
I earned a Series 6 Securities license and it wasn't easy. The test is hard and few pass it the first time. I took a course to help me after getting completely buffaloed by the books. The most helpful thing the teacher told us was that most of the multiple choice answers would be similar and more than enough were tricky with very similar answers.
HOWEVER, the way to get passed was to ALWAYS ask a simple queston: Which answer is closest to "Always tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth to the client."
I did not know all there was to know about equity management, but that 1 major concept above got me passed with a right good score the first time through---truth, whole truth, nothing but truth! I like that.
Our buffalo herd feeding grounds seem to lack too much of the above for some reason. The honest brokers and managers as well as corporate executives tossed that motto out the window and traded it for another:
Always tell the investor what he wants to hear--profits / more profits / and nothing but profits!
This is a dangerous motto.
Did you know EVERY Corporation in America has the legal right to keep 2 sets of books: 1 for the Tax Man and another for the Investor!! Guess which one shows roses and rainbows while the other shows gloom and doom. What happened to truth / whole truth / nothing but the truth? Why are not the same figures shown to both parties--pay your fair taxes and if it is bad, just tell the investor why you have learned and how you hope to improve the future!
I had my Insurance License first and then added the Securities License so I was pretty schooled in 2 professions which call for utmost honesty. That was not a hard push for me because in my childhood westerns--the good guys wore white hats and always told the truth. Even my other hero, The Lone Ranger, who wore a dark outfit had a white horse and white hat both. Roy Rogers nor the Lone Ranger would ever tell a lie to anyone. As soon as they heard about corrupt land barons or dirty business people in a town, they got seriously on their trusty steeds and ran them out.
Now, if Saturday morning cowboys reflected society 50 years later, Roy's immediate response to hearing of corruption today would be: "Let's take a survey to see what the public thinks! I'm not risking getting shot if it's not popular with the people!"
What a wuss! All of us "made in America" kids would immediately switch to the Lone Ranger and never trust Roy again! Forget his beautiful palomino and dog "Bullet" with lovely Dale Evans and Pat Brady by his side. If he tells lies and won't do anything about crime, I will never send in my cereal boxtops again for a decoder ring!!!.
Things in buffalo herd land are so bad today, we haven't even noticed our .50 box of Kellogg's cereal now costs $5 and has air blown into the mash which makes the cornflakes so we get less grain and more air in that "family size box at Wal-Mart."
Meanwhile, that poor farmer raising the grains is getting about the same price per ton as he did 20 years ago! The boys on the Commodities Exchange in Chicago are riding their Bentleys and Rolls-Royces to the airport for their corporate jets to buy oil futures in Saudi Arabia and vacation for $10,000 a day in Dubai at the same time!
My God!!!! The buffalo herd is thundering at us and we have no place to go! As a small businessman I am making 30% of what I did 3 years ago. I finally met another man in worse shape--he makes $300-400,000 luxury cruisers and is making 10% of what he made 3 years ago. His customers seem to be those described above vacationing in Dubai. I guess a large, beautiful, gas guzzling yacht just pales in comparison to a corporate jet and Dubai.
Does it have anything to do with buffaloes thundering down on us?????
I dreamed of owning a beautiful Palomino like Trigger. I asked Santa for Roy Rogers guns one Christmas, and got, instead, a Lone Ranger set of 6-guns while my younger brother got the Roy Rogers set. The difference was brown leather for Roy Rogers and black for Lone Ranger. His guns were light and could shoot caps. Mine were silver and 3 times as heavy. Later on, as a father it came to me that children with identical toys would be fighting all the time so our parents wisely got Santa to bring different kinds or there might be a real killing between the Scarborough boys. They were quite competitive!
I was born on March 23 and my brother came along on March 3 the following year! We were almost like twins without having popped into the world at the same time. Momma later confessed to my wife in her first pregnancy: "Don't you dare believe that old wives tale that you can't get pregnant while nursing a baby. Gene's younger brother Charles is living proof that it is a total LIE!"
My brother and I grew up when life was good. There was no A-C nor power steering. Few people had a TV--much less color. Media was more radio than TV and we spent many a night or sick time from school listening to WSB Radio in Atlanta--"The voice of the South." It's funny how things stick to a child's mind! We even survived riding in a car without seat belts or cell phone distraction! Our parents actually had enough sense to drive carefully and slow enough to be safe for their sake and us children.
Like WSM in Nashville, WSB can still be heard in a scratchy way almost anywhere in the SE United States. I still sometimes tune to 750 AM just to feel like home again. Atlanta was not yet to her first million residents. You could play all over the neighborhood safely. DeBell street in Clarkston was nothing but wall-to-wall children laughing and make believing! Anything you did wrong would get back to momma before we got home, and God help us if we did anything immoral or illegal. There was no "wait til your daddy gets home from that SC farm girl."
She would almost always make us pick our own switches! This was my first adventure in executive decision making: what is "just the right size?" If it is too little and flimsy it could cut you / if it is too stiff and big so it won't cut, it might bruise! Dear God, help me pick the right one 'cause I'm gonna get a whipping soon!
One thing I remember about the westerns were cattle stampedes. Even worse was the dreaded buffalo stampede. Where cows could bash the poor cowboy whose horse slipped, the buffalo would mash them all flat as a flitter. Cows would go around the buildings and boulders, buffalo would go through and leave nothing standing! A buffalo stampede was the most dreaded result of nature's wrath. They would spook at thunder and lightening and come over the hill after my cowboys felt the earth shake as a warning. God help the cowboy sleeping peacefully at night with his innocent herd of cows nearby when the buffalo got loose!
We had a small herd of buffalo residing near us at my last house. It was always neat to take our grandchildren by to see these massive animals. Normally children get to see them only at a zoo, but the Red Oak / Castalia area had our own herd. They were beautiful. On of the things which fascinated our small ones was the time a baby buffalo got somehow under the fence. It's momma was close to pushing down that barbed wire before the farmer discovered the little lost baby. Instead of just the momma cow pushing until the barbs hurt and stopped, a buffalo has such thick hide and companionship no fence stands a chance when the herd wants to get to the other side.
I know now why "You can't roller skate in a buffalo herd" was a popular teen song. It stimulated a funny image, but it told a serious truth: try to skate among the hairy beasts and you will get smashed!!!
Now for the application as to why I feel like I am skating in a buffalo herd these days!
Our ECONOMY is a buffalo herd to me. After some 2 years of Depression (notice I didn't say Recession) the buffalo herd of corporate America is getting all the favors, while the small businessman is seeing virtually NOTHING. At last they are talking about "tax credits" and "easier loans," but why has the buffalo herd crushed for so long.
The first response this time in Depression was massive bailouts to financial and investment firms along wit the auto industry. Instead of setting investors back on their feet and customers right, the feet of the buffalo herd crushed them more! The buffaloes running each part of those 3 herds gave themselves bonuses for running their business into the ground.
Did the customer or investor get one red cent???? Not just "NO" but "HELL NO!"
Us American taxpayers now own 61% of GM, but are their products 61% cheaper to the poor fools whose money bailed them out??? Same answer as above!!!
Has the unenforced rules and regulations of the Stock Exchange brought lyers and thieves to justice or removed their securities license from them? Again, same answer as above!!!
How many have gone to Federal Prison for depriving the typical investor of about 45% on average of the value of their investments??? Has my retired school teacher / preacher's wife mother had her portfolio restored. It was wisely managed, but where she had little or non worries, she is in a tight spot now.
I don't like that!!!
I earned a Series 6 Securities license and it wasn't easy. The test is hard and few pass it the first time. I took a course to help me after getting completely buffaloed by the books. The most helpful thing the teacher told us was that most of the multiple choice answers would be similar and more than enough were tricky with very similar answers.
HOWEVER, the way to get passed was to ALWAYS ask a simple queston: Which answer is closest to "Always tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth to the client."
I did not know all there was to know about equity management, but that 1 major concept above got me passed with a right good score the first time through---truth, whole truth, nothing but truth! I like that.
Our buffalo herd feeding grounds seem to lack too much of the above for some reason. The honest brokers and managers as well as corporate executives tossed that motto out the window and traded it for another:
Always tell the investor what he wants to hear--profits / more profits / and nothing but profits!
This is a dangerous motto.
Did you know EVERY Corporation in America has the legal right to keep 2 sets of books: 1 for the Tax Man and another for the Investor!! Guess which one shows roses and rainbows while the other shows gloom and doom. What happened to truth / whole truth / nothing but the truth? Why are not the same figures shown to both parties--pay your fair taxes and if it is bad, just tell the investor why you have learned and how you hope to improve the future!
I had my Insurance License first and then added the Securities License so I was pretty schooled in 2 professions which call for utmost honesty. That was not a hard push for me because in my childhood westerns--the good guys wore white hats and always told the truth. Even my other hero, The Lone Ranger, who wore a dark outfit had a white horse and white hat both. Roy Rogers nor the Lone Ranger would ever tell a lie to anyone. As soon as they heard about corrupt land barons or dirty business people in a town, they got seriously on their trusty steeds and ran them out.
Now, if Saturday morning cowboys reflected society 50 years later, Roy's immediate response to hearing of corruption today would be: "Let's take a survey to see what the public thinks! I'm not risking getting shot if it's not popular with the people!"
What a wuss! All of us "made in America" kids would immediately switch to the Lone Ranger and never trust Roy again! Forget his beautiful palomino and dog "Bullet" with lovely Dale Evans and Pat Brady by his side. If he tells lies and won't do anything about crime, I will never send in my cereal boxtops again for a decoder ring!!!.
Things in buffalo herd land are so bad today, we haven't even noticed our .50 box of Kellogg's cereal now costs $5 and has air blown into the mash which makes the cornflakes so we get less grain and more air in that "family size box at Wal-Mart."
Meanwhile, that poor farmer raising the grains is getting about the same price per ton as he did 20 years ago! The boys on the Commodities Exchange in Chicago are riding their Bentleys and Rolls-Royces to the airport for their corporate jets to buy oil futures in Saudi Arabia and vacation for $10,000 a day in Dubai at the same time!
My God!!!! The buffalo herd is thundering at us and we have no place to go! As a small businessman I am making 30% of what I did 3 years ago. I finally met another man in worse shape--he makes $300-400,000 luxury cruisers and is making 10% of what he made 3 years ago. His customers seem to be those described above vacationing in Dubai. I guess a large, beautiful, gas guzzling yacht just pales in comparison to a corporate jet and Dubai.
Does it have anything to do with buffaloes thundering down on us?????
Monday, November 30, 2009
Magic money making -- NOT
It has been several weeks since I FAXed my interest in highway projects / tree clearing to Barnhill Contracting in Tarboro. I have worked for him personally at his historic church, but have nothing to report.
I keep hoping and praying, but this economy has me by the private parts. Still at about 30% of 3 years ago hanging on with my toenails and fingernails. They are all bleeding badly!
I did have a sales contact from an internet advertising agency promising 40-60 contacts off an ad with them. This time I made him put it clearly in the contract that these would be actual invites to bid jobs rather than just "hits" on the ad. We will see!
So I shall move on to more important issues: Grief and the National Economy.
I keep hoping and praying, but this economy has me by the private parts. Still at about 30% of 3 years ago hanging on with my toenails and fingernails. They are all bleeding badly!
I did have a sales contact from an internet advertising agency promising 40-60 contacts off an ad with them. This time I made him put it clearly in the contract that these would be actual invites to bid jobs rather than just "hits" on the ad. We will see!
So I shall move on to more important issues: Grief and the National Economy.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
A lead on Economic Recovery work -- MAYBE!
Yesterday was rainy and I was home all day. About 3:00 p.m. my phone rang. It was John McHugh in Raleigh.
He said my Representative to the House, Angela Bryant, had forwarded my last email sent to all my representatives. In it I asked help in finding any economic recovery places to work.
Thank you Angela Bryant for caring!!!!!
John is dealing on NC projects and referred me to http://www.ncrecovery.gov/ for the listing. In it I found Highway Contracts recently let and several are to my Tarboro friends at Barnhill Contracting. They are doing some road widening projects which require tree removal. I am faxing them today to request they place me on the sub-contractor list. I hope it works.
This proves if you yell and scream long enough, you just might get noticed.
I will keep you posted on the results!
This has been a 3-almost 4 year time of Grief for Lonya and me. The Biblical Recorder is addressing the suicide of a middle age conservative mega-church Pastor in the middle part of the state. You can find the articles with a google to Biblical Recorder Pastor suicide.
I have written several articles for consideration by the BR and several other publications. I think they give insight into this terrible state so many people are visiting these days.
I am just one of thousands loosing businesses, homes, marriages, friendships over a failed economy.
He said my Representative to the House, Angela Bryant, had forwarded my last email sent to all my representatives. In it I asked help in finding any economic recovery places to work.
Thank you Angela Bryant for caring!!!!!
John is dealing on NC projects and referred me to http://www.ncrecovery.gov/ for the listing. In it I found Highway Contracts recently let and several are to my Tarboro friends at Barnhill Contracting. They are doing some road widening projects which require tree removal. I am faxing them today to request they place me on the sub-contractor list. I hope it works.
This proves if you yell and scream long enough, you just might get noticed.
I will keep you posted on the results!
This has been a 3-almost 4 year time of Grief for Lonya and me. The Biblical Recorder is addressing the suicide of a middle age conservative mega-church Pastor in the middle part of the state. You can find the articles with a google to Biblical Recorder Pastor suicide.
I have written several articles for consideration by the BR and several other publications. I think they give insight into this terrible state so many people are visiting these days.
I am just one of thousands loosing businesses, homes, marriages, friendships over a failed economy.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
The economy--8 months later
Well, folks, some months have passed since I first posted my reflection on the economy. Nothing has really changed for me.
My Tree Surgery Company had 2 reasonable months in the Spring, but 2 weeks before July 4 the phone quit ringing altogether. I had to borrow $2,000 to keep my only home left off the foreclosure block over unpaid back property taxes. The government always gets theirs, but us working folks aren't seeing it after high expenses of overseas warfare and ever larger sums being given to industry and finance.
Question: If the American taxpayer now owns 61% of GM by their own admission, then why aren't their products 61% cheaper to the taxpayer who owns them.
Their executives have a free GM car to drive as a perk. They have given themselves large bonuses for driving their corporation into the dirt. The same is true for banks and investment firms. Don't we love the consideration from Washington and Raleigh!
Only 1 representative on a state or national level has responded in any way to my pleas. My representative to the House states he and several others are sponsoring a bill saying "no more bailouts."
It is a lot late, but maybe someone is hearing the wise observation of the Kingfisher of Amos 'n Andy fame: "If yo out go exceeds yo income, yo up keep will be yo down fall!"
Only the Federal Government can issue counterfeit bills with no gold or silver to back it! This approach proved a disaster when we fought the Viet Nam War alongside the War on Poverty. After the Johnson Administration left office, inflation reached double digit proportions. It does not work to pump empty dollars into any economy.
What does work is dollars sent to the working taxpayer. A dollar sent to him begins to circulate quickly as bills are paid and new equipment and workers are hired. The dollar goes to creditors who, in turn, pay off their suppliers, who hire back their employees to produce more goods and services.
Thus far, large expenditures have been used internally to make corporate books look good so more foolish investors will, once again, buy their stocks. It is all figures on paper with no results in the real world of keeping utilities on, mortgage paid, food on the table, and gas in the tank.
Oil companies have been hiking prices every few days since summer. Diesel, which any industrial engines require, is back to 20% higher than regular gas after a short spell of being equal or a little lower as it should be. Why are not the Energy Company executives sitting before Congress to explain to the public why diesel is not 20% lower than regular gas since it comes off the refinery line that much before gas with that much less cost?
I have received 2 solicitations to join a Class Action lawsuit to Countrywide who foreclosed my house and Windom Timeshares who foreclosed my wonderful Las Vegas based purchase which did not have property taxes attached to it. Who will really profit in this? Us who lost or the law firm bringing the action? You know the answer.
In 200 years we have recreated what our forefathers left in England and Europe: too much government intervention in private business, high taxes, and law enforcement which put the poor man in jail while the rich went free. The "land of the free and home of the brave" is not what it used to be when politicians were unpaid and considered their representation a service.
As Walter Cronkite used to say: "That's the way it is October 25, 2009."
My Tree Surgery Company had 2 reasonable months in the Spring, but 2 weeks before July 4 the phone quit ringing altogether. I had to borrow $2,000 to keep my only home left off the foreclosure block over unpaid back property taxes. The government always gets theirs, but us working folks aren't seeing it after high expenses of overseas warfare and ever larger sums being given to industry and finance.
Question: If the American taxpayer now owns 61% of GM by their own admission, then why aren't their products 61% cheaper to the taxpayer who owns them.
Their executives have a free GM car to drive as a perk. They have given themselves large bonuses for driving their corporation into the dirt. The same is true for banks and investment firms. Don't we love the consideration from Washington and Raleigh!
Only 1 representative on a state or national level has responded in any way to my pleas. My representative to the House states he and several others are sponsoring a bill saying "no more bailouts."
It is a lot late, but maybe someone is hearing the wise observation of the Kingfisher of Amos 'n Andy fame: "If yo out go exceeds yo income, yo up keep will be yo down fall!"
Only the Federal Government can issue counterfeit bills with no gold or silver to back it! This approach proved a disaster when we fought the Viet Nam War alongside the War on Poverty. After the Johnson Administration left office, inflation reached double digit proportions. It does not work to pump empty dollars into any economy.
What does work is dollars sent to the working taxpayer. A dollar sent to him begins to circulate quickly as bills are paid and new equipment and workers are hired. The dollar goes to creditors who, in turn, pay off their suppliers, who hire back their employees to produce more goods and services.
Thus far, large expenditures have been used internally to make corporate books look good so more foolish investors will, once again, buy their stocks. It is all figures on paper with no results in the real world of keeping utilities on, mortgage paid, food on the table, and gas in the tank.
Oil companies have been hiking prices every few days since summer. Diesel, which any industrial engines require, is back to 20% higher than regular gas after a short spell of being equal or a little lower as it should be. Why are not the Energy Company executives sitting before Congress to explain to the public why diesel is not 20% lower than regular gas since it comes off the refinery line that much before gas with that much less cost?
I have received 2 solicitations to join a Class Action lawsuit to Countrywide who foreclosed my house and Windom Timeshares who foreclosed my wonderful Las Vegas based purchase which did not have property taxes attached to it. Who will really profit in this? Us who lost or the law firm bringing the action? You know the answer.
In 200 years we have recreated what our forefathers left in England and Europe: too much government intervention in private business, high taxes, and law enforcement which put the poor man in jail while the rich went free. The "land of the free and home of the brave" is not what it used to be when politicians were unpaid and considered their representation a service.
As Walter Cronkite used to say: "That's the way it is October 25, 2009."
Friday, February 6, 2009
Words to my Legislators
This week I have communicated with my 2 senators: Kay Hagan (D) and Richard Burr (R).
I cncourage you to write in a similar manner. The new Federal Government is trying to figure it out and only the "Howdy Doodie Show" gave me more entertainment as a child: Clarabelle the Clown, an Indian Princess, and other characters talked with Buffalo Bob, the host. They could come up with a solution in an hour!! We have about a month. Let's help the boys & girls in Washington with some good down home advice. The same basic stuff is in both letters.
Dear Senator Burr:
I spoke with your Administrative Assistant Friday, and want to follow up in writing what I tried to convey. You have convinced me you are a fair-minded person willing to work across the great divide in the Senate. You are my advocate as a small business owner. The failed economy has almost taken me under. Since this last summer, I have done virtually nothing. My beautiful Castalia home was foreclosed. We have moved to Bath and are trying to renovate a summer cottage into a year round home. Without insulation it is often 50 degrees on cold mornings. Talking with others like myself, I have yet to find anyone happy with the current situation. How do we get out??
My father told me a real story of the Depression through which he lived. He was a Georgia tenant farmer’s son who was then Pastor of the Pendleton Baptist Church (SC). The great debate was the same as it is today: Republicans wanted to stimulate by using tax money from the top down, the hopeful Democrats and FDR proposed working from the bottom up. They won and now had to come up with some realistic programs to carry it out. I am sure many wise Republicans participated in a balanced program far from the “give aways” we had in Title XX LBJ days. I was part of the Santee-Wateree region in SC representing Lee County.
The first step involved a major small business of the day: the family farm. Their solution was to recognize there were surpluses such that crop prices were exceptionally low. My maternal grandfather--SC Democratic farmer, no holds bared-- had no market for bales of cotton. My mother remembered the front porch cluttered with bales as their place of play.
The solution: send a check based on an average estimated profit to each farmer who would place his land in the Soil Bank for a year . Thereafter, institute a Crop Stabilization Board which monitored the market and encouraged specified amounts of certain crops which would contribute to a stable farm market in the future. That worked well to the present!
The result: as soon as farmers received their government checks they went to merchants and paid off their account. The merchants, in turn, paid their suppliers the overdue bills. Those merchants could now order inventory to stock their empty shelves. Everywhere goods began to flow within a month! It was so simple and so effective. Why have we forgotten and used the old failed program of bailing out the banks and investment firms along with auto giants? These people all have CPA’s, tax lawyers, and insurance professionals whose sole purpose is to keep everything possible from being taxed. Never before had capitalism focused on the common man except to offer him an entrepreneurial opportunity to get out of poverty. Sadly, few made it.
One of my father’s favorite observations was on the question: What is the difference between a Democrat and a Republican? The answer: A Republican is just a Democrat who has become wealthy and wants to keep it all! So true. As wealth has shifted to the South, every southern state has become a majority of Republicans. I can’t blame them because the Title XX approach made poverty something to be wanted, and the current state of Welfare proves it! In my opinions “workfare” is far superior to “welfare.” Anyone who has been such a poor parent that children won’t pitch in first may deserve the cold house and bare cupboard Title XX was designed to eliminate. It has failed just as dramatically as the $7 billion wasted thus far.
If the money to banks, investment firms, and GM was working, why am I paying 12%+ on a used car recently purchased. Sadly, we were within 6 months of paying off our Chrysler Sebring when a deer jumped into it. Nationwide had a 75% loss and was required by NC law to total it. It could be easily repaired, but the NADA book showed a ridiculous low value. Further, if I could have repaired and kept it I could do so only under a salvage title which made its book value 40% of normal. This whole approach to auto repair is ridiculous in light of the current economy.
Give me the cost of one Iraq war bomb! As a small businessman, my tree company would instantly thrive. I could repay some $27,000 I owe. This is why I quit selling insurance in the same year I was recognized as Underwriter of the Year by the most outstanding chapter of Life Underwriters in NC. It took no time for Congress to vote for the President’s fiasco in Iraq. Please act just as quickly to bomb out this Depression. Check out the website: CostOfWar.com. to see the amount spent thus far!!
I turned my hobby into a profession with good Republican principles: because of economic disaster from the hurricane, no one was buying insurance--they were all paying for tree removal and stump grinding. In this instance, there was an alternative for making money. Right now I know of none outside your wise Federal help.
Your constituent in Bethel who is a small new Chevrolet dealer had his inventory taken and doors closed about two weeks ago. His success was short. His hopes are crushed. His flashing expensive electronic sign by Highway 33 to Greenville has two panels. The enclosed pictures express his thoughts, although he is a dedicated Republican. It could read: Richard Burr and Congress came to my rescue---come in and buy a new car at small town prices! Some re-using of the old programs with new creative thinking could benefit all of us . Call me if I can offer some suggestions as a small business owner. You might consider an Advisory Committee composed of some constituents with good heads and a direct connections hurting from top down economics of your fellow Republicans and Democrats. How long does it take to admit the last bailout failed miserably to help any regular citizens struggling every day to get by.
Question: What is the difference between a Depression and Recession?
Answer: A Recession is when my neighbor lost his job. A Depression is when I lost mine.
No one is paying for tree work these days, hence this is a Depression for me. You receive a regular check which is generous, and Congress even gave itself a far richer retirement than Social Security. Would it be a wise thing right now to rejoin Social Security as an example? Share in the fact there is no Social Security Trust Fund thanks to Johnson spending wildly of the War on Poverty and the Vietnam War at the same time. Where did you get the money for Iraq??? We are worse after spending far beyond the Tax income which funded it. The Federal government is the only legal counterfeiter in the US because you can print more money which is not backed by the gold reserve. The economic result will be the same ungodly inflation we had in the 70’s.
You will blame Obama, but the real ones to blame are those who created a deficit which defies my ability to count. Let’s get real. Let’s get together as American citizens represented fairly by all our representatives in Congress. Bring some good level-headed conservative thinking to balance the funding of programs which help us now on a temporary basis. If it works, vote it. If it has failed, drop it: Drop Iraq, drop any federal program which does not produce results, do not spend money you do not have except to get out of this crisis.
My first question at the Title XX meeting was: For every dollar collected in taxes in Lee County, how much comes back? Washington red tape lets those inside the beltway live royally while the taxpayer gets, I suspect, about 40 cents back in federal help. Any private business would fail quickly with such amounts going to the owner.
We have recreated in 200 years exactly what our rebellious forefathers left behind in England and Europe. They were tired of paying for the King and his Advisors to live in the castle while they lived in poverty--cold shacks, little food, disease, and walking while they rode fine horses and carriages. After all, they were supposed to help the peasants. Every time they had to bow while the King, Knights, and Tax Collectors rode by. If they didn’t the IRS of the day would throw them in prison. As they bowed they cursed and spit on the ground without giving any respect for the fat cats!!
My father told me a real story of the Depression through which he lived. He was a Georgia tenant farmer’s son who was then Pastor of the Pendleton Baptist Church (SC). The great debate was the same as it is today: Republicans wanted to stimulate by using tax money from the top down, the hopeful Democrats and FDR proposed working from the bottom up. They won and now had to come up with some realistic programs to carry it out. I am sure many wise Republicans participated in a balanced program far from the “give aways” we had in Title XX LBJ days. I was part of the Santee-Wateree region in SC representing Lee County.
The first step involved a major small business of the day: the family farm. Their solution was to recognize there were surpluses such that crop prices were exceptionally low. My maternal grandfather--SC Democratic farmer, no holds bared-- had no market for bales of cotton. My mother remembered the front porch cluttered with bales as their place of play.
The solution: send a check based on an average estimated profit to each farmer who would place his land in the Soil Bank for a year . Thereafter, institute a Crop Stabilization Board which monitored the market and encouraged specified amounts of certain crops which would contribute to a stable farm market in the future. That worked well to the present!
The result: as soon as farmers received their government checks they went to merchants and paid off their account. The merchants, in turn, paid their suppliers the overdue bills. Those merchants could now order inventory to stock their empty shelves. Everywhere goods began to flow within a month! It was so simple and so effective. Why have we forgotten and used the old failed program of bailing out the banks and investment firms along with auto giants? These people all have CPA’s, tax lawyers, and insurance professionals whose sole purpose is to keep everything possible from being taxed. Never before had capitalism focused on the common man except to offer him an entrepreneurial opportunity to get out of poverty. Sadly, few made it.
One of my father’s favorite observations was on the question: What is the difference between a Democrat and a Republican? The answer: A Republican is just a Democrat who has become wealthy and wants to keep it all! So true. As wealth has shifted to the South, every southern state has become a majority of Republicans. I can’t blame them because the Title XX approach made poverty something to be wanted, and the current state of Welfare proves it! In my opinions “workfare” is far superior to “welfare.” Anyone who has been such a poor parent that children won’t pitch in first may deserve the cold house and bare cupboard Title XX was designed to eliminate. It has failed just as dramatically as the $7 billion wasted thus far.
If the money to banks, investment firms, and GM was working, why am I paying 12%+ on a used car recently purchased. Sadly, we were within 6 months of paying off our Chrysler Sebring when a deer jumped into it. Nationwide had a 75% loss and was required by NC law to total it. It could be easily repaired, but the NADA book showed a ridiculous low value. Further, if I could have repaired and kept it I could do so only under a salvage title which made its book value 40% of normal. This whole approach to auto repair is ridiculous in light of the current economy.
Give me the cost of one Iraq war bomb! As a small businessman, my tree company would instantly thrive. I could repay some $27,000 I owe. This is why I quit selling insurance in the same year I was recognized as Underwriter of the Year by the most outstanding chapter of Life Underwriters in NC. It took no time for Congress to vote for the President’s fiasco in Iraq. Please act just as quickly to bomb out this Depression. Check out the website: CostOfWar.com. to see the amount spent thus far!!
I turned my hobby into a profession with good Republican principles: because of economic disaster from the hurricane, no one was buying insurance--they were all paying for tree removal and stump grinding. In this instance, there was an alternative for making money. Right now I know of none outside your wise Federal help.
Your constituent in Bethel who is a small new Chevrolet dealer had his inventory taken and doors closed about two weeks ago. His success was short. His hopes are crushed. His flashing expensive electronic sign by Highway 33 to Greenville has two panels. The enclosed pictures express his thoughts, although he is a dedicated Republican. It could read: Richard Burr and Congress came to my rescue---come in and buy a new car at small town prices! Some re-using of the old programs with new creative thinking could benefit all of us . Call me if I can offer some suggestions as a small business owner. You might consider an Advisory Committee composed of some constituents with good heads and a direct connections hurting from top down economics of your fellow Republicans and Democrats. How long does it take to admit the last bailout failed miserably to help any regular citizens struggling every day to get by.
Question: What is the difference between a Depression and Recession?
Answer: A Recession is when my neighbor lost his job. A Depression is when I lost mine.
No one is paying for tree work these days, hence this is a Depression for me. You receive a regular check which is generous, and Congress even gave itself a far richer retirement than Social Security. Would it be a wise thing right now to rejoin Social Security as an example? Share in the fact there is no Social Security Trust Fund thanks to Johnson spending wildly of the War on Poverty and the Vietnam War at the same time. Where did you get the money for Iraq??? We are worse after spending far beyond the Tax income which funded it. The Federal government is the only legal counterfeiter in the US because you can print more money which is not backed by the gold reserve. The economic result will be the same ungodly inflation we had in the 70’s.
You will blame Obama, but the real ones to blame are those who created a deficit which defies my ability to count. Let’s get real. Let’s get together as American citizens represented fairly by all our representatives in Congress. Bring some good level-headed conservative thinking to balance the funding of programs which help us now on a temporary basis. If it works, vote it. If it has failed, drop it: Drop Iraq, drop any federal program which does not produce results, do not spend money you do not have except to get out of this crisis.
My first question at the Title XX meeting was: For every dollar collected in taxes in Lee County, how much comes back? Washington red tape lets those inside the beltway live royally while the taxpayer gets, I suspect, about 40 cents back in federal help. Any private business would fail quickly with such amounts going to the owner.
We have recreated in 200 years exactly what our rebellious forefathers left behind in England and Europe. They were tired of paying for the King and his Advisors to live in the castle while they lived in poverty--cold shacks, little food, disease, and walking while they rode fine horses and carriages. After all, they were supposed to help the peasants. Every time they had to bow while the King, Knights, and Tax Collectors rode by. If they didn’t the IRS of the day would throw them in prison. As they bowed they cursed and spit on the ground without giving any respect for the fat cats!!
Sincerely,
Gene Scarborough
Gene Scarborough
This week I have communicated with my 2 senators: Kay Hagan (D) and Richard Burr (R)
Dear Senator Burr:
I spoke with your Administrative Assistant Friday, and want to follow up in writing what I tried to convey. You have convinced me you are a fair-minded person willing to work across the great divide in the Senate. You are my advocate as a small business owner. The failed economy has almost taken me under. Since this last summer, I have done virtually nothing. My beautiful Castalia home was foreclosed. We have moved to Bath and are trying to renovate a summer cottage into a year round home. Without insulation it is often 50 degrees on cold mornings. Talking with others like myself, I have yet to find anyone happy with the current situation. How do we get out??
My father told me a real story of the Depression through which he lived. He was a Georgia tenant farmer’s son who was then Pastor of the Pendleton Baptist Church (SC). The great debate was the same as it is today: Republicans wanted to stimulate by using tax money from the top down, the hopeful Democrats and FDR proposed working from the bottom up. They won and now had to come up with some realistic programs to carry it out. I am sure many wise Republicans participated in a balanced program far from the “give aways” we had in Title XX LBJ days. I was part of the Santee-Wateree region in SC representing Lee County.
The first step involved a major small business of the day: the family farm. Their solution was to recognize there were surpluses such that crop prices were exceptionally low. My maternal grandfather--SC Democratic farmer, no holds bared-- had no market for bales of cotton. My mother remembered the front porch cluttered with bales as their place of play.
The solution: send a check based on an average estimated profit to each farmer who would place his land in the Soil Bank for a year . Thereafter, institute a Crop Stabilization Board which monitored the market and encouraged specified amounts of certain crops which would contribute to a stable farm market in the future. That worked well to the present!
The result: as soon as farmers received their government checks they went to merchants and paid off their account. The merchants, in turn, paid their suppliers the overdue bills. Those merchants could now order inventory to stock their empty shelves. Everywhere goods began to flow within a month! It was so simple and so effective. Why have we forgotten and used the old failed program of bailing out the banks and investment firms along with auto giants? These people all have CPA’s, tax lawyers, and insurance professionals whose sole purpose is to keep everything possible from being taxed. Never before had capitalism focused on the common man except to offer him an entrepreneurial opportunity to get out of poverty. Sadly, few made it.
One of my father’s favorite observations was on the question: What is the difference between a Democrat and a Republican? The answer: A Republican is just a Democrat who has become wealthy and wants to keep it all! So true. As wealth has shifted to the South, every southern state has become a majority of Republicans. I can’t blame them because the Title XX approach made poverty something to be wanted, and the current state of Welfare proves it! In my opinions “workfare” is far superior to “welfare.” Anyone who has been such a poor parent that children won’t pitch in first may deserve the cold house and bare cupboard Title XX was designed to eliminate. It has failed just as dramatically as the $7 billion wasted thus far.
If the money to banks, investment firms, and GM was working, why am I paying 12%+ on a used car recently purchased. Sadly, we were within 6 months of paying off our Chrysler Sebring when a deer jumped into it. Nationwide had a 75% loss and was required by NC law to total it. It could be easily repaired, but the NADA book showed a ridiculous low value. Further, if I could have repaired and kept it I could do so only under a salvage title which made its book value 40% of normal. This whole approach to auto repair is ridiculous in light of the current economy.
Give me the cost of one Iraq war bomb! As a small businessman, my tree company would instantly thrive. I could repay some $27,000 I owe. This is why I quit selling insurance in the same year I was recognized as Underwriter of the Year by the most outstanding chapter of Life Underwriters in NC. It took no time for Congress to vote for the President’s fiasco in Iraq. Please act just as quickly to bomb out this Depression. Check out the website: CostOfWar.com. to see the amount spent thus far!!
I turned my hobby into a profession with good Republican principles: because of economic disaster from the hurricane, no one was buying insurance--they were all paying for tree removal and stump grinding. In this instance, there was an alternative for making money. Right now I know of none outside your wise Federal help.
Your constituent in Bethel who is a small new Chevrolet dealer had his inventory taken and doors closed about two weeks ago. His success was short. His hopes are crushed. His flashing expensive electronic sign by Highway 33 to Greenville has two panels. The enclosed pictures express his thoughts, although he is a dedicated Republican. It could read: Richard Burr and Congress came to my rescue---come in and buy a new car at small town prices! Some re-using of the old programs with new creative thinking could benefit all of us . Call me if I can offer some suggestions as a small business owner. You might consider an Advisory Committee composed of some constituents with good heads and a direct connections hurting from top down economics of your fellow Republicans and Democrats. How long does it take to admit the last bailout failed miserably to help any regular citizens struggling every day to get by.
Question: What is the difference between a Depression and Recession?
Answer: A Recession is when my neighbor lost his job. A Depression is when I lost mine.
No one is paying for tree work these days, hence this is a Depression for me. You receive a regular check which is generous, and Congress even gave itself a far richer retirement than Social Security. Would it be a wise thing right now to rejoin Social Security as an example? Share in the fact there is no Social Security Trust Fund thanks to Johnson spending wildly of the War on Poverty and the Vietnam War at the same time. Where did you get the money for Iraq??? We are worse after spending far beyond the Tax income which funded it. The Federal government is the only legal counterfeiter in the US because you can print more money which is not backed by the gold reserve. The economic result will be the same ungodly inflation we had in the 70’s.
You will blame Obama, but the real ones to blame are those who created a deficit which defies my ability to count. Let’s get real. Let’s get together as American citizens represented fairly by all our representatives in Congress. Bring some good level-headed conservative thinking to balance the funding of programs which help us now on a temporary basis. If it works, vote it. If it has failed, drop it: Drop Iraq, drop any federal program which does not produce results, do not spend money you do not have except to get out of this crisis.
My first question at the Title XX meeting was: For every dollar collected in taxes in Lee County, how much comes back? Washington red tape lets those inside the beltway live royally while the taxpayer gets, I suspect, about 40 cents back in federal help. Any private business would fail quickly with such amounts going to the owner. We have recreated in 200 years exactly what our rebellious forefathers left behind in England and Europe. They were tired of paying for the King and his Advisors to live in the castle while they lived in poverty--cold shacks, little food, disease, and walking while they rode fine horses and carriages. After all, they were supposed to help the peasants. Every time they had to bow while the King, Knights, and Tax Collectors rode by. If they didn’t the IRS of the day would throw them in prison. As they bowed they cursed and spit on the ground without giving any respect for the fat cats!!
Sincerely,
Gene Scarborough
Dear Senator Burr:
I spoke with your Administrative Assistant Friday, and want to follow up in writing what I tried to convey. You have convinced me you are a fair-minded person willing to work across the great divide in the Senate. You are my advocate as a small business owner. The failed economy has almost taken me under. Since this last summer, I have done virtually nothing. My beautiful Castalia home was foreclosed. We have moved to Bath and are trying to renovate a summer cottage into a year round home. Without insulation it is often 50 degrees on cold mornings. Talking with others like myself, I have yet to find anyone happy with the current situation. How do we get out??
My father told me a real story of the Depression through which he lived. He was a Georgia tenant farmer’s son who was then Pastor of the Pendleton Baptist Church (SC). The great debate was the same as it is today: Republicans wanted to stimulate by using tax money from the top down, the hopeful Democrats and FDR proposed working from the bottom up. They won and now had to come up with some realistic programs to carry it out. I am sure many wise Republicans participated in a balanced program far from the “give aways” we had in Title XX LBJ days. I was part of the Santee-Wateree region in SC representing Lee County.
The first step involved a major small business of the day: the family farm. Their solution was to recognize there were surpluses such that crop prices were exceptionally low. My maternal grandfather--SC Democratic farmer, no holds bared-- had no market for bales of cotton. My mother remembered the front porch cluttered with bales as their place of play.
The solution: send a check based on an average estimated profit to each farmer who would place his land in the Soil Bank for a year . Thereafter, institute a Crop Stabilization Board which monitored the market and encouraged specified amounts of certain crops which would contribute to a stable farm market in the future. That worked well to the present!
The result: as soon as farmers received their government checks they went to merchants and paid off their account. The merchants, in turn, paid their suppliers the overdue bills. Those merchants could now order inventory to stock their empty shelves. Everywhere goods began to flow within a month! It was so simple and so effective. Why have we forgotten and used the old failed program of bailing out the banks and investment firms along with auto giants? These people all have CPA’s, tax lawyers, and insurance professionals whose sole purpose is to keep everything possible from being taxed. Never before had capitalism focused on the common man except to offer him an entrepreneurial opportunity to get out of poverty. Sadly, few made it.
One of my father’s favorite observations was on the question: What is the difference between a Democrat and a Republican? The answer: A Republican is just a Democrat who has become wealthy and wants to keep it all! So true. As wealth has shifted to the South, every southern state has become a majority of Republicans. I can’t blame them because the Title XX approach made poverty something to be wanted, and the current state of Welfare proves it! In my opinions “workfare” is far superior to “welfare.” Anyone who has been such a poor parent that children won’t pitch in first may deserve the cold house and bare cupboard Title XX was designed to eliminate. It has failed just as dramatically as the $7 billion wasted thus far.
If the money to banks, investment firms, and GM was working, why am I paying 12%+ on a used car recently purchased. Sadly, we were within 6 months of paying off our Chrysler Sebring when a deer jumped into it. Nationwide had a 75% loss and was required by NC law to total it. It could be easily repaired, but the NADA book showed a ridiculous low value. Further, if I could have repaired and kept it I could do so only under a salvage title which made its book value 40% of normal. This whole approach to auto repair is ridiculous in light of the current economy.
Give me the cost of one Iraq war bomb! As a small businessman, my tree company would instantly thrive. I could repay some $27,000 I owe. This is why I quit selling insurance in the same year I was recognized as Underwriter of the Year by the most outstanding chapter of Life Underwriters in NC. It took no time for Congress to vote for the President’s fiasco in Iraq. Please act just as quickly to bomb out this Depression. Check out the website: CostOfWar.com. to see the amount spent thus far!!
I turned my hobby into a profession with good Republican principles: because of economic disaster from the hurricane, no one was buying insurance--they were all paying for tree removal and stump grinding. In this instance, there was an alternative for making money. Right now I know of none outside your wise Federal help.
Your constituent in Bethel who is a small new Chevrolet dealer had his inventory taken and doors closed about two weeks ago. His success was short. His hopes are crushed. His flashing expensive electronic sign by Highway 33 to Greenville has two panels. The enclosed pictures express his thoughts, although he is a dedicated Republican. It could read: Richard Burr and Congress came to my rescue---come in and buy a new car at small town prices! Some re-using of the old programs with new creative thinking could benefit all of us . Call me if I can offer some suggestions as a small business owner. You might consider an Advisory Committee composed of some constituents with good heads and a direct connections hurting from top down economics of your fellow Republicans and Democrats. How long does it take to admit the last bailout failed miserably to help any regular citizens struggling every day to get by.
Question: What is the difference between a Depression and Recession?
Answer: A Recession is when my neighbor lost his job. A Depression is when I lost mine.
No one is paying for tree work these days, hence this is a Depression for me. You receive a regular check which is generous, and Congress even gave itself a far richer retirement than Social Security. Would it be a wise thing right now to rejoin Social Security as an example? Share in the fact there is no Social Security Trust Fund thanks to Johnson spending wildly of the War on Poverty and the Vietnam War at the same time. Where did you get the money for Iraq??? We are worse after spending far beyond the Tax income which funded it. The Federal government is the only legal counterfeiter in the US because you can print more money which is not backed by the gold reserve. The economic result will be the same ungodly inflation we had in the 70’s.
You will blame Obama, but the real ones to blame are those who created a deficit which defies my ability to count. Let’s get real. Let’s get together as American citizens represented fairly by all our representatives in Congress. Bring some good level-headed conservative thinking to balance the funding of programs which help us now on a temporary basis. If it works, vote it. If it has failed, drop it: Drop Iraq, drop any federal program which does not produce results, do not spend money you do not have except to get out of this crisis.
My first question at the Title XX meeting was: For every dollar collected in taxes in Lee County, how much comes back? Washington red tape lets those inside the beltway live royally while the taxpayer gets, I suspect, about 40 cents back in federal help. Any private business would fail quickly with such amounts going to the owner. We have recreated in 200 years exactly what our rebellious forefathers left behind in England and Europe. They were tired of paying for the King and his Advisors to live in the castle while they lived in poverty--cold shacks, little food, disease, and walking while they rode fine horses and carriages. After all, they were supposed to help the peasants. Every time they had to bow while the King, Knights, and Tax Collectors rode by. If they didn’t the IRS of the day would throw them in prison. As they bowed they cursed and spit on the ground without giving any respect for the fat cats!!
Sincerely,
Gene Scarborough
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