This Is The City I Love.

I don't usually write about local things, but I thought you might get a laugh about the city of Scranton, Pa. Pennsylvania has had a program for "distressed cities" that affords them some special opportunities that were designed to help them get back on their feet again. Scranton has held this designation for decades and decades. all through the prosperous years of the nineties. In fact It's hard for me to remember a time when it wasn't designated as distressed. Now being distressed during times of plenty is somewhat humorous, but during a deep recession with extended high unemployment it shouldn't be so funny. That is unless you're talking about Scranton. See, they have a mayor and a chair of city council who seem to hate  each other with a passion. Now you might say that that probably makes it difficult for them to work together. Not so. They just simply ignore anything the other does or proposes. So last year when the mayor proposed tax increases and some layoffs for this years budget, the council under this chairperson, instead, gave out substantial tax cuts with no layoffs and stated that the mayor could not unilaterally lay off anyone without councils permission. Which it presumably would not give. So part way into the year, the city was about to run out of money and the mayor laid off some firemen and police officers and maintenance workers. The story goes on and on. Now the mayor wanted to stop some retirement payment obligations, but the state Supreme Court had said he cannot do it. This sort of stuff has been going on  here for about as long as either this mayor and this chairperson have been in office. You could sell tickets if you could get the two to appear together, but you can't get them together, even for a council meeting where the chair demanded the mayor attend. He didn't. Th reason I write about this comedy is that it's so much like Washington, that you'd think both were written by the same playwright. Except they aren't plays off Broadway. Both are actually hurting peoples lives and don't seem to care. Whether it's a city council chairperson or a Senate minority leader, they both seem to hate the mayor/president enough to harm the whole city/country. Isn't it time to stop? Both?

Hey, That Foreigner Could be The Guy That Gives You A job. Or Not.

Did you know that some legislators in Washington have begun to temper their anti-immigration rhetoric? It seems that they're beginning to hear from constituents that being against immigration is hurting businesses and job creation. In a time of very high unemployment, being against businesses and job creation isn't all that great of a position to be in. Here's the  thing, being "down" on immigrants, legal or illegal, hurts many businesses, but mostly agriculture. That means rural, that means areas that had been "down" on illegals. But since laws are being passed and local law enforcement has bared down of illegals, folks are finding out that it's not such a good idea after all. Okay, but how does job creation come from immigration? Well, in Thomas L Freidman's new book "That Used To Be Us", he points out that science and math standouts are the folks that come up with the most new patents and begin the most new startup companies, all of which hire, guess what, employees. So you ask, what does that have to do with immigration? Well something like 70% to 80% of the top graduates in math and science from American colleges and universities are foreign students. But it can take up to ten years for them to get a visa to get back into America. So, many are just staying home where they start those new companies and compete with us instead of coming here and hiring Americans. I'd call that bad policy, wouldn't you? Another thing Freidman mentions in his book is the idea that people think that if their kids are better educated in their school district then the next door district, they'll be able to get better jobs. But Freidman says, it's not the school next door they must compete with, it's the school in China or India or Singapore or Denmark or all the other industrialized countries in the world. That's because we compete with these nations for jobs. Jobs go where the best educated workers live. We'd better start getting our act together, because we're way behind much of the rest of the world. And those countries we're ahead of, have cheap labor that we can't compere with either. We sort of sit between just average education and very high tech job requirements. Where do you think we sit? On the outside looking in? Could be.

What Makes A Corporation A Person?

I just read the other day, or maybe it was yesterday, that there is a bill in some state house up for consideration that classifies a fertilized egg as a human person. Now before you jump all over me, let me say that this entry is not about whether or not this makes sense. And by the way it is referring to human eggs, so you can go ahead and have your chicken eggs over easy in the morning. Personally I like mine poached, on toast. No, rather, it got me to thinking about corporations.  Ya see, human persons start out as fertilized eggs. So I was wondering, how do corporations start out? I mean if they are people too, then how do they start out? Do they face the same dangers of not being conceived if birth control measures are used? And once born, do they breast feed or are they bottle fed? These are the kinds of questions that keep me up at night. Like, if human children have pediatricians, do corporation people have oaktreeicians? Where do you take a sick corporation? And at what age do corporations start school? Are they even required to attend public school? Does all of this sound silly? Well just how do you think it sounds calling corporations, people? If you have a house warming party, would it be improper to not invite your next door neighbor, Walmart? And what about your daughter's wedding? If DuPont is attending, I'm not. And when Jiffy-Lube moves in on the other side, there goes the neighborhood. That's the problem with the Supreme Court. They always leave more questions unanswered than they answer. Wouldn't it be nice if they just once gave us an answer that made sense and actually settled the matter once and for all. But no, they have to beat around the bush, presumably waiting to hear how the party in favor wants it settled. Supreme Court Justices are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate as you all know. Maybe they should be appointed by the corporate people and confirmed by the tree it took to give birth to that corporation. That's because ,after all, they're just a piece of paper, people.

What's All This Class Warfare About, Anyway?

Ya know why there's so much distrust and anger in America today? Well the Congressional Budget Office just completed a study showing that the top 1% have increased their income by about 275% adjusted for inflation, but the bottom 20%  income grew by only 18%, over the last 30 years.  Also, the top 20% now make more than the bottom 80% combined. But that's not what really has folks so upset. Here's the thing. The folks at the top, the top 20%, the ones who prefer to be known as the Job Creators, are the people who decide how much money the folks at the bottom, the 80%, will be paid. If the bottom 80% don't like it and they ask for more, the top 20% can just say no. If the bottom 80 demands more, the top 20 can just ship the jobs overseas, happily so. The thing about that is that the top 20 then make even more and the bottom 80 make even less. But even that isn't what's the problem. The problem is that if you don't have any say in what you make and the top 20 are willing to take unfair advantage of that fact, and they do, you tend to get mad as hell. But what's even worse then that, is the fact that the government has pretty much made all that income disparity possible. In fact the government is the entity that caused it to happen, intentionally. It must have been intentional. They changed the rules so nothing else could happen. How did they do it and why? Well the how is because they changed the percentage the top 1% and 20% pay in taxes. They now pay a lower tax percentage then they did thirty years ago. And a lower tax percentage means lower taxes which means you keep more money. The Why is a little more conjecture. My guess is that politicians get more campaign donations from the top 1% and 20%, in fact that's a proven fact. When you're a professional politician, campaign donations are necessary to stay in office. STAYING IN OFFICE IS THE REASON FOR BEING A PROFESSIONAL POLITICIAN. Therefore you have to do the bidding of the ones who provide your "bread and butter", so to speak. It ain't rocket science. Although the pros would like you to think it is.

Ahhh Yes. I Smell The NRA Again.

Well good ole NRA is at it again. Yep, never let it be said that the NRA would pass up any opportunity to make things more dangerous for Americans. Now it's a bill before the House of Representatives that wants to make it possible for anyone with a permit from any state to carry it in any other state, any time. For instance a New Yorker, who must pass a rigorous set of requirements designed to eliminate all but the most trustworthy before obtaining a permit to carry a concealed firearm, would then be allowed to carry that concealed firearm in a state like Tennessee or Montana where, presumably, you must be able to prove you are actually alive to obtain the permit. Well that doesn't sound so bad. The problem is that the folks from those states and similar states could then carry in New York, or Massachusetts. Let me ask you this, If you need to carry a concealed firearm for protection, why would you want to go to places like New York or Massachusetts in the first place? Why not stay at home and hide under the blankets? The next thing they'll want, is to be able to carry them on commercial airplane flights. You think I'm kidding? They won the right to carry in national parks and bars. What do you think is the next step in the natural progression of self protection? It's air transportation where actually using that gun could imperil the lives of everyone on board, that's what. Then it's probably a law that would require everyone over the age of 10 to carry a concealed firearm. Oh yeah? Well let's see what's up the NRA's sleeve in the years to come. It's not likely to be in the best interests of the American citizen, that's for sure. As I've said before, the NRA was formed to work on behalf of sportsmen and foster opportunities for the sportsman to participate in the peaceful enjoyment of using and owning sporting firearms. So why are they so interested in non-sportsman issues?  I wonder, again if it has anything to do with the huge financial donations from gun manufacturers and the gun manufacturer's desires to sell as many different firearms as possible? You betcha.

Just Who Should We Blame For Falling Behind?

There are some things I just don't understand. Some questions I have. Like for instance, why don't we provide returning soldiers from active duty with the training and skills they'll need in order to get a decent job? Hey, for that matter, why don't we provide that kind of training in skill sets for everyone who's out of work? To match those industries looking for workers. And how about this? Why don't colleges and universities and even trade schools do the same? Why is it that colleges, universities, trade schools and even high schools keep cranking out students that simply aren't ready for the next step in their lives? If a graduating senior in high school is going to college, why aren't they ready for college work? But how about if they plan on entering the workforce right out of high school? What has public school provided them with so they can actually land a job other than flipping burgers? I keep reading how we've fallen behind the rest of the world in education. How in the world could this have happened? I mean, how hard is it to keep a step ahead of the rest of the world? We held a substantial lead for decades. What changed? Who's at fault? Now, I really don't want to know who's at fault, unless the same fools are still in charge. What I want to know is who hasn't been keeping their collective eyes on the ball? And only if they're still in charge of that. Some say it's the immigration policies that has kept out immigrants we really need. Some say it's industry that hasn't kept education informed or worked with education. Some will say anything to shift the blame away from themselves. What I want to know is when is somebody going to do something about it. Our elected officials don't seem to have the faintest idea how to solve the problem. Hey, they don't seem to even be able to ask the right questions of the right people. But if not them, then who? Whom shall we trust to get the job done. What does the "job" entail? I think it's time for education, government and industry to sit down and figure this thing out. Once and for all. At least for the near term. But then lots of folks don't want the federal government involved in local issues of education. Well let me tell you, local issues haven't been attended to locally so it's time to bring in the big horses. Some say it's not industries responsibility. But industry is the first to suffer and the first to complain about the lack of skills. It's time for industry to get involved. And don't let education off the hook either. Education should be looking for ways to better prepare these young people to perform in the workplace, not just waiting for somebody to tell them it's time to change. And then anguishing over it. Everybody is anguishing over this problem, but nobody is fixing the problem. Yet. And then there's the parents. There's far too many parents who just don't really pay much attention to their children's education. As long as the kids maintain a certain grade average, they're satisfied. It may be buggy whips, but as long as there's an "A" in it, then it's okay. Does this sound like a harsh assessment of the situation? I meant it to be.

What Is It About High Tea and Occupation?

Every article I've read tells me the same story. The Tea Party and the Occupy Wall Street both agree on about 80% of everything. Now the fact is that only the rank and file members of both groups agree. The leadership of the Tea Party, the Republicans and the Religious right, and those who would become the leadership of the Occupy movement, the Democrats and the Unions,  believe that there is little or no agreement. Does that sound familiar to you? Republicans and Democrats, and by that I mean our esteemed leadership, can't agree on anything. So, what is it that the regular members of both movements agree on so much? That things are screwed up, that's what. The only difference is that the Tea folks think it's the government that's to blame while the Occupy group are convinced its Wall Street and bankers that are at fault. Ya know which side is right? The Tea Party is right. The Occupy Wall Street is right. But how can both be right? It's simple when you think about it. Wall Street owns the government. Both Republicans and Democrats get their financing for campaigns and various outings and perks from the folks on Wall Street and at the Banks. And politicians never bite the hand that feeds them. There are other big donors too, but they fall into the main category too. Oh politicians give a brief  'tip of the hat" to the electorate during elections, but that tip is but the tip of that iceberg. Mainly they bow and grovel to the folks that own them. It's interesting to understand why they're owned by such folks. See, the thing is that what they crave most is to remain in power. That power that comes with being a part of the Congress of the United States of America. or being the president to a lesser degree, is like nothing else on earth. But it takes loads of money. The reason the presidency is a lesser degree is that it's limited to two terms, while you can stay in congress forever if you have the money to get reelected. Once you've served as president, that's it. If you're in Congress, you make the laws or break the laws, or change the laws, or you would if you could all agree, which you can't, but you can still make loads of money and open broad opportunities should you ever get defeated and want a high paying job as a lobbyist or public speaker. That and the work week is short and the work season is shorter.