The Political Housewife - Dag Nab It

I just wanted to make a few quick points:

1. On Obama's spending plan: It is a scary number. - In general, I think we need less government spending, not more. However, I voted for Barack Obama for a reason. Not because he is black, but because for the first time since I can remember, actually since Ronald Reagan, the things that come out of his mouth make sense.
   
   Reagan took office during a time of recession but still began an unprecedented defense build-up which created unprecedented deficits. It was a time when America was perceived to be weak and vulnerable by the rest of the world which creates a very dangerous situation for US AND the rest of the world.
   
   In the end, Reagan was right. The economy grew, the deficits subsided, and we went on our merry way. Oh yeah, the Soviet Union collapsed and lots of people got to stop living under repressive dictatorships.
   
   Obama took office at a time when our financial system was on the brink of collapse. He was FORCED to take extreme measures - all of you complaining about him would be screaming at the top of your lungs if he had not done so. Because this is what your life would have looked like:
   I am not exaggerating or being dramatic, the economy was about to go into a tailspin. We are not out of the woods yet, but for the time being, it seems we may have averted disaster.
   
   It would have been nice if Obama had been able to inherit a government in control of its spending, but the previous administration, despite being the party supposedly advocating fiscal conservatism, had already spent us into a hole. They did so by lying to us. The monies spent on Iraq were not included in the official budget deficit figures.
   
   If you want less of a deficit, talk to your representatives in Congress. I got an email from Barbara Boxer bragging about how she had secured big subsidies for almond growers in California. I am still not sure why I should think it is a good thing for my tax dollars to be given to almond growers instead of getting to keep them myself. But then I will not be voting for Barbara Boxer or any of her democratic ilk.
   
   
2. I am tired of half-wits that don't have 10% of the intelligence that Obama does, blathering on and criticizing his every word. I heard what he said about his criteria for choosing a new supreme court justice. It was a very reasonable, rational explanation of how he would go about it. I understand Obama has some experience in the area of constitutional law. I wonder how many of those TV idiots can spell "constitution".
   
   
3. What we really need to be concerned about is the trend of state governments to completely ignore the will of the people and enact legislation, such as the legalization of gay marriage, which the public clearly does not want.
   
   
4. For Californians: If you vote for Propositions 1A - 1F, please get in touch with me because I have some great deals on a bridge in Brooklyn and some land in Florida. I will sell them to you for 2 cents on the dollar! What a DEAL!
   
   
5. To Gavin Newsom: It will be a cold day in Hell before I would consider voting for you to be Governor of California.
   
   
   RH
   

Retro Housewife Survival Guide - Taxes - Know The Facts

I was snooping around the OECD statistical site the other day - what can I say - the geek in me is alive and well - and I happened upon a lovely little chart which compares taxes as a percentage of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) for a selection of different countries. I found this chart very interesting - and somewhat surprising. The biggest of the surprises is that the US pays a larger percentage of its GDP than France or Germany - two countries that are often tossed into the "Socialist Ring" by the wing nut commentators who see Socialists behind every bush. Both France and Germany have a national health care system (national - not nationalized although I am not very knowledgeable about France's system so I could be wrong there.)


What a big joke on us! - No surprise that Scandinavia pays the biggest share in taxes - they never met a social program they didn't like - but there aren't that many of them¹ anyway and they are too busy working on their tans in Southern Europe to be a relevant comparison to the USA. The France and Germany thing was a huge surprise though. I would love to have Germany's health care system here in the US - and the numbers above seem to indicate that it is possible without taxing oneself to death. Still, one has to wonder just what we are spending all of our tax money on - we sure do not have anything close to the level of social services that Germany has - when I lived there the government was throwing money at us at every turn.

And the nursery schools! You would not believe the nursery school and Kindergarten my kids went to in Munich. My daughter went mornings from 8 - 12 (she was 4 and turned 5) and my son went twice a week for a few hours (he was 2 and turned 3). This was enough to give me some "Me time" because other than teaching a few English classes, I wasn't employed outside the home. (My son was actually enrolled full time, it cost us about $100/month for what could have been full time childcare, which pretty darn cheap.)

My son's Kinderkrippe (Nursery school) had one caretaker for each 8 children enrolled. These ladies were all licensed and trained to be doing what they were doing. Here is a copy of all that goes into their training.

The also manage to keep their roads in good repair in Germany - granted we have longer roads to build - but they have to keep theirs up to German standards - so my guess is that it evens out.

War is expensive. We fight a lot of wars. Maybe that's where we are tossing our cash out the window.

Finally, one surprising and extremely annoying statistic was that of our neighbor Mexico. They pay less than 5% of their GDP in taxes - compared to our 15%. In other words, we here in the USA pay 3 times the taxes as a percentage of GDP than Mexico does.

3 Times!

Mexico pays the smallest percentage on the whole list. So, when, for example, I hear Arnold our governor telling me to vote for propositions 1A - 1F - which are going to raise my taxes - I really must object. I know that we here in Kalifornia are paying to educate a fair number of illegal aliens from Mexico and children of illegal aliens who are born here - which we also pay for - how many exactly is a number we are not allowed to know.

I will be voting against propositions 1A - 1F because what those politicians in Sacramento are trying to pull on the Californian people is nothing short of criminal. I also really have to wonder just who is funding all of the Latino lobbies pushing amnesty and "fighting" for all of the social benefits to be extended to illegal aliens.

It seems to me that if they really cared about the Mexican poor, they would fight to have the rich in Mexico pay their fair share in taxes so that these people could have a decent life in their own country. But they don't. I would not be at all surprised to find a money trail from Mexico to political activists in this country. After all, why should the rich in Mexico pay for social programs for the Mexican poor when we are stupid enough to do it? Keeps their taxes nice and low.

BTW, Mexico has 9 official billionaires (not counting drug lords) - as does Switzerland and Sweden.

RH

¹(It is my belief that a socialist or even communist system only works well in small populations - like a family: Mom and Dad are the Politburo and the KGB and everything they earn belongs to the children, who they spend a good portion of their time spying on and trying to control. The children are required to tow the party line or else they'll get sent to Siberia (their rooms) limits are placed on the children's freedom of speech, and they are only allowed to view party approved television programs. Mom and Dad love all the children the same, regardless of talent and ability bestowed on each child.)

Daily Coupons:

1. Save on Rubbermaid - up to 40% off sale here at ReStockIt.com now through April 30
2. Restockit coupon code: Take 5% off Orders Over $75 at ReStockIt.com. Excludes Sheds and Technology. Use Coupon Code: AF9521.