Gene Morphis ' View

Should conservatives support a balanced budget amendment? I don't think so. To understand why , let's review some history. Beginning with the Eisenhower era, budget compromises were always hammered out. Defense suffered some in that, but there were plenty of strong defense, conservative Democrats that kept things reasonable. With the coming of Johnson's Great Society, however, dramatic shifts began. Strong defense democrats like John Stennis, Scoop Jackson, Mike Mansfield and Jack Kennedy, retired, passed away or were pushed aside, as the Viet Nam war turned the Democratic Party pacifist. The compromises made to balance the annual budget among various government priorities moved strongly away from defense to a growing variety of social programs. This continued under Nixon and Carter. The CIA was almost destroyed by Senator Church, while the overall defense budget was dismantled, as Republicans made cuts to keep the budget balanced. However, a new theory emerged a...

Let's deal with this before the U.S. (and don't tell me it can't happen here). First, separate this into two issues: the current deficit, and the accumulated debt. The deficit should be dealt with through massive spending cuts.  Entire government agencies - at the cabinet level - should go.  If you've had experience in a company, charity, church, local or state government, school district, etc. then you very likely know one thing: to get real cuts, first the frills must go.  For employees to accept pay cuts and still give 100%, the corporate jet has to go. Same here.  The Acorns and Planned Parenthoods must go.  This isn't about whether or not they are effective.  We are broke, and therefore can't afford frills.  Then you move to the tough  stuff, and larger amounts. The goal would be to cut at least a trillion from current spending. Then, on to the accumulated debt.  There tax increases are required.  Conservative buddies...

Image via Wikipedia I miss the Nixon administration. Yes, Nixon was a crook, no question about it. And I'm a conservative, and President Nixon definitely wasn't. (Disagree? We can debate that. He was clearly more liberal than his Democrat opponent Kennedy). But along with his sidekick Henry Kissinger, he had an encompassing, completely thought out, foreign policy. Now, many conservatives didn't care for his policy - it was far too realpolitik for their convictions. And many if not most hated it, because it was a too confrontational to communism. I loved it then, and I love it more now. Look at successive administrations. Ford wasn't in long enough to matter. Carter was completely taken aback when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan and never recovered his bearings. Regan made some steps in the right direction and had a brilliant plan vis a vis the Soviets, but couldn't develop a theory for the rest of the world. Bush the elder was on course, I believe, to a compreh...

I'm rarely surprised nowadays.  I've become accustomed to actions that used to shock me, acclimated to statements I would have considered outrageous at some point. Nonetheless, I was shocked to learn that AARP said they were prepared to negotiate an increase in the age for Social Security eligibility.  That is astonishing hiatuses.  Where does AARP get any standing in this matter?  Who do they think they get to negotiate with?  In a private meeting with, say, the Majority Leader of the Senate?  Some cabinet member?  The President? Who do they send to negotiate?  On whose behalf?  Mine?  Have we acceded some Constitutional authority to them? Isn't this remarkable? Related articles AARP Pivots on Social Security Benefit Cuts (foxnews.com)

A while back, on this blog I mentioned that I had bought a couple of books based on recommendations from individuals I follow on Twitter.  Further, both had been quite different than my expectation, including one that turned out to be about advancing the alternative energy/green tech movement, and that I would post a review about it. Sustainagility is one of those books. The tagline is "How Smart Innovation and Agile Companies Will Help Protect Our Future" Authors are Patrick Dixon and Johan Gorecki. Maybe I should have perceived what it is really about - but I didn't. Rather than a business book (my supposition) it is a wide-ranging survey, analysis and set of proposals to reduce global warming. Let's set up my view of global warming, so that anyone who is interested in the review knows my biases. First, in my view the evidence that the earth is getting warmer is overwhelming. Basically, since the Little Ice Age (approx 1550-1850) the world has gradually, if i...

Once you realize that we've elected people whose idea of good judgment  is that it is OK to email pictures of their crank to women they've never met in person, you understand why I despair that we will deal with our debt and deficit problem. Representative Weiner Related articles Purported X-rated Weiner image released (salon.com)

I watched Fareed Zakaria tonight being interviewed by John King on CNN. The topic was job creation. My summary of Zakaria's points were: the Republicans are saying no to any government programs that might help, and President Obama for some inexplicable reason isn't prepared to propose the kind of bold initiatives required to get the unemployed millions back to work. Mr. Zakaria: I agree. I'll give you some bold proposals to get job creation. • Approve every outstanding offshore drilling permit, as long as rigs are in place or under construction within the next 180 days. That drilling is exempt from any EPA laws or rulemaking. • Notify the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that any plan submitted must be reviewed and approved or disapproved with specific guidance on requirements to be approved within 90 days of submission. Notify all utilities, investment groups etc. that any new nuclear plant that is capitalized and breaks ground in calendar 2011 is exempt from all env...

The Republicans should shut up about Rep. Weiner.  No comments.  Dodge any questions.  Or say "Resign?  That is up to the Representative and the citizens of NY".  Why?  Frequently in business a company is better off with a severally wounded competitor than a bankrupt competitor.  The assets of a bankrupt competitor may end up in strong hands, creating a stronger, tougher competitor.  Same here.  Weiner is now a non-factor.  Formerly a Lib Democrat attack dog, he is now discredited and completely marginalized. If he quits, his seat will most certainly be filled with another far-left Dem.  Why push for that? Republicans should let him stew and be a thorn in the opposition party's side.

Mr. Gingrich: I watched your interview on Meet The Press. The whole thing, live. Mr. Gregory asked you hard questions. I thought you handled them rather well. He was tough on your history of ugly divorces. You responded humbly. But you did undermine Rep. Paul Ryan, and in a harsh way. And you quite clearly talked about health care, clarifying your point of view on coverage after Meet The Press showed a video from their archives (they are really good at digging up old, on-the-record stuff). In that video clip you supported mandatory health care. (I understand the concept of mandatory healthcare; otherwise I don't know how the freeloader problem is ever resolved. But if we are ever going to restore any powers to the Commerce Clause, I don't see how a Federal mandatory program is Constitutional. The courts will eventually let us know.) Overall, I thought you did quite a good job. Then I heard you this week on Rush Limbaugh's radio show. If I hadn't watched Meet Th...

Here in Texas we've passed a law requiring a sonogram before an abortion. Now I don't think America should take any national pride in the number of abortions, but they are at least currently legal. The one thing we are sure of is that, as a country, we have more debt than we can handle, and it is compounding away. My questions are, first, who pays for those sonograms? And second, did this really have anything to do with abortion, or are some TX state reps getting some monster kickbacks from the companies that make sonogram equipment? Related articles Texas law forces abortion seekers to get a sonogram (rt.com)

It is always sad when a CEO stays too long.  Ask someone who witnessed the last days of Peter Grace at W.R. Grace.or Richard Fuld at Lehman.  That is what we are witnessing at Microsoft.  Gates' buddy and long-time CEO Steve Ballmer has stayed long beyond his usefulness.  While Apple shares continue to set records, MSFT is about where it was in 2,000. And after squandering $6 billion of shareholders' money on aQuantive, and attempting to buy even more of Yahoo, MSFT is offering $8.5 billion for Skype.  How is MSFT going to get a return on that?  Answer : they don't know.  Ballmer is flailing around looking for something that can help. Steve, you are now acting like a crazy man.  Time for you to leave.  Resign.

OK - conservative buddies: The President deserves plenty of credit for getting OBL.  Yes, President Bush authorized interrogation techniques that probably helped. But, the raid could have backfired.  Remember the raid authorized by President Carter?  Disaster.  If that had happened, we would have pilloried the President. Give credit where credit is due.  He took a big risk.  He earned this time.

Representative Weiner, appearing on some Bill Mahler show, indicated that Glen Beck followers were shoeless and toothless. Mr. Beck's radio and TV shows both occur while I'm at work, so I don't get to watch or listen very often.  However, when I do I usually find him entertaining or provocative.  Do I agree with everything he says? Of course not. I do agree with his assessment of the sorry state of the country's financial condition. And I have all my teeth. And, Representative Weiner, I'll compare shoe inventories with you, anytime you'd like to have a closet comparison. And my closet contains many pair from U.S. manufacturers Alden and Allen Edmonds... Related articles Anthony Weiner speaks - again - obsesses over Glenn Beck (bellalu0.wordpress.com)

I've been reading Sustainagility while smoking an absolutely delicious Perdomo Reserve Champagne.  Much of this is a commentary on our times.  First, I'm blogging about it - not likely ten years ago.  Second, I bought the book sight unseen from Amazon.  And third, I bought the book on a recommendation from someone I've never met, but who recommended it on Twitter. It is a very different book than I presumed.  If I had bought it in an old-fashioned book store, I would have looked at the jacket and probably declined.  I thought it had more to do with how businesses could become more agile.  But in truth, it is much more about the environment, global warming, alternative energy and the like.  I've found it to be interesting and relatively balanced, although the authors make some assertions about the capability of governments that I find incredible, and throw hundreds of billions of dollars around like dimes. It is good enough that I'm still readin...

There was an interesting and thought-provoking article in January 3rd Barron's by long-time trader Victor Sperando. Mr. Sprerando's core thesis is that there is a level of current government borrowing to spending (e.g. borrowing to fund a deficit) that is associated with hyper-inflation. And, more specifically, the U.S. is now running at that level. Let's suspend that discussion for a moment and focus on the accumulated debt, which is approximately $14 trillion. If those notes and bills were to carry an interest rate of 5%, which is certainly not outlandish, the annual carry would be a whopping $700 billion. That, of course, wouldn't be amortizing the loan (paying any principal), but rather would be analogous to paying the minimum on one's credit card bill. How could this debt ever be repaid? There are four ways: 1. The method that Republicans seem to be placing their hopes on: that the economy grows so fast while spending remains so constrained that our cu...

Image via Wikipedia Our leaders, our political pundits (sadly including many of our conservative talk show hosts) and most especially members of Congress seem to have difficulty with math - and we have a major math problem. While the focus is on the deficit - and that certainly is important - what really matters is the total debt. Let's look at the important numbers. The Federal Reserve yesterday released U.S. Household Net Worth. The sum of all the assets of all the household in the U.S., less the credit card, mortgage, auto loan, etc. debt is about $55.9 trillion. Since stocks and bonds are ultimately owned by individuals, that represents all the companies, certificates of deposits, houses, land, gold, jewelry, timber, automobiles, guns, baseball card collections, art, oil wells, farms, ranches, camp grounds, office towers, apartment buildings, malls, pensions, boats and motorcycles in the country. On the other hand, the accumulated U. S. debt is $13,800,000,000,000. That is...

I received some comments from Professor Kim on my previous, when Logic is Abandoned, post: Food for thought. I'm confused. My job for the past 20 years has been to identify the best segments or targets to market my products against. Once identified, often using demographic data such as gender, age, household size, or income, I would then discriminate and send certain offers based on consumer profiling. I would not send offers for petfood to men, nor promotions for bridal gowns to older women. You see, we know that it is ridiculous, inefficient, and wasteful to send the wrong offer to the wrong person. So....using past data we profile. And based on the profile, we determine if you are somebody who will receive a marketing message or not. Profiling is at the heart of what marketers do. We call it segmentation, but it is essentially determining the likelihood of different groups to want your product or service. I believe it is only responsible to segment / profile. And I ...

I remember clearly when I realized my government was going to abandon logic.  Not long after the passage of some anti-discrimination laws, the insurance industry lost an important trial.  An insurer was charged with discrimination on the basis of sex, because life annuities paid less per month or year for women than men.  Court ruling: clearly discriminatory.  But the data on life span is abundant, robust, and unchallenged.  In the U.S., women, measured by average length of life, by the median, or any distribution measure one can use, live longer than men.  Over their life then, they would receive just as much.  Logic and math didn't matter however. That was clearly a portent.  The lemming -like behavior of TSA is Exhibit #1.  First, a whack job gets some explosive Nikes made up, and now, we must all go barefoot through security.  Now, because some nut case wrapped his penis with C4 and tried to use his underwear as a fuse, we all can g...

According to the Office of Management & Budget, the deficit is trending to $1 trillion, 171 billion.  While the accumulated debt is $13 trillion 727 billion.  That's $13,727,000,000,000.  So, while the new House Republicans are talking about $100 billion plus of cuts, they really should be talking about $500 billion to matter.  The with a lot of breaks, perhaps tax revenue will grow to get to a break even.  However, to pay off the debt requires a surplus in the range of $250 billion for 55 consecutive years. I don't see how that happens without a lot more tax.  Otherwise, us Baby Boomers are taking it in, and our grandchildren get the bill - it is way to big for just our children...

In the wake of the Republican Party winning a majority in the House of Representatives, what is the responsibility of the Conservative Citizens who elected them? Slightly over four years ago, the Republicans began the slide that resulted eventually in the election of a first term Senator from Illinois to the Presidency, along with significant majorities in both chambers. I was making long drives frequently at that time, and remember my violent reactions to whiny-assed Republicans appearing on Sean Hannity's radio program, proclaiming how much worse things would be if we didn't re-elect them.  My reaction was that, since they had failed miserably and completely, they couldn't run on a record of accomplishment.  Instead of making progress on immigration - an issue of importance to conservatives - they had engaged in internecine fights over which proposal was more like amnesty.  Abandoning free market principles, they supported tariffs on Canadian lumber and steel from...