Spending

Last fall as a group of us at work were eating lunch outside a road crew came by filling potholes. Three guys were on the crew one driving the truck the other two were shoveling asphalt patch and patting it down in the holes.  We commented to ourselves that it didn't look like they were doing a job that would last. Sure enough as spring rolled around the holes were bigger and deeper. The one hole became especially large 4 feet long by 18inches wide and down to the original brick road surface. After the towmotor got stuck in it last week the boss went to Home Depot and bought a few bags of asphalt patch. In about ten minutes he had the worst holes filled and packed down so it might last, time will tell.

So what does this have to do with spending. Actually I'm not sure but it does show the wasteful nature of government. The road crew was probably making in excess of 20 dollars a piece not counting administration and benefits that is sixty dollars an hour for the three man crew. To make matters worse they didn't even do a good job. The boss spent around twenty bucks and did a superior job.

I believe this is why there is so much waste in government, not that all government workers do shoddy work. It is more than that it is built in inefficiencies, excessive administrative costs, pensions that are overly generous and tax payer funded, workers that display a level of entitlement that leads to lackluster performance.

Contrast that with my employer he cannot afford do the job wrong and pay for it over and over again. We don't often get the opportunity to see side by side projects done both publicly and privately and there outcomes. People take for granted that things must be done by the government when sometimes a job can be done better and cheaper by private individuals.

Now I know that not everybody can or should be fixing there own roads but many of the things we expect of government could probably be outsourced to private companies and be done better and cheaper. States and cities are moving towards this slowly at least half the cities in northern Ohio no longer pick-up their own trash either they contract with a trash hauler or the leave it up to the individuals to contract their own trash removal.

We need to get back to the idea that we only ask the government to do the things we absolutely can't do for ourselves.  I believe if were honest with ourselves the list of thing we honestly need the government to do is a pretty short list. A list that has been expanded to encompass many things that are just nice to have done for us.

St. Patrick's Day

Celebrated day
So I'll be donning my green
Happy St. Patty's

How to make decisions

Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio who many people thought might be Romney's running mate has come out this week in favor of Same sex marriage. Whatever your position on this issue this is what's wrong with American political leaders. Not because I am opposed to SSM but because of Portman's reasoning. Portman changed his life long views on marriage because his son told him he is gay.

Many of the people who settled in the U.S. and became our founding fathers left Europe to avoid oppression. When setting up the government and writing the constitution they wished to keep the law makers from making laws that do not apply them as well as us, no ruling class. Sadly we see the exact opposite all the time political leaders talking down to constituents and receiving special privileges.

So why is this relevant to Portman's decision because his reasoning is based only on how it is going to effect him and his family. Until we get back to the idea that governments job is to do whats best for the country we will have gridlock and distrust. As it stands today much legislation is passed solely for the purpose of getting re-elected and not for the good of the country.

Freedom

Recently we have been having a national debate about gun control. Before that it was a conversation about free speech when the Supreme court decided corporations were protected by the first amendment. We all have our reasons for proposing restrictions or the lack there of on guns or speech but we should always keep freedom in mind.

When the constitution was written there was much debate on whether or not the states would adopt it as law of the land. Realizing that it was an uphill battle the Bill of Rights were added to make it more palatable. The Bill of Rights however aren't so much about rights they are really the guarantor of our freedom. As you read them you can sense the distrust of government and the wish to reign it in and keep it reigned in. A free press,guns and other limitations on government are the only things that enable us to keep our freedoms.

I'm not a big one for quotes but I think Daniel Webster said it particularly well, "It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions...There are men, in all ages...who mean to govern well.but they mean to govern. They promise to be kind masters but they mean to be masters... They think there need be little restraint upon themselves...The love of power may sink to deep in their own hearts." The quote is from a speech defending the Constitution and is part of the preface in a pocket copy of the U.S. Constitution.

Liar or Fool

President Obama in his State of the Union address made many proposals more infrastructure spending ,free preschool for all and many others. Now not all of them were spending proposals  such as his plea for more gun control but most would cost something. He urged the Republicans to get on board and support his plans for the country stating that he figured out how to do all these things without increasing the deficit.

Now we could debate the merits of each individual proposal but we can't make things up. When you have this many new programs and you haven't been able to balance the budget before this how are we supposed to believe that all of a sudden the deficit will remain unchanged.

I call BS either he is a liar or a fool or thinks the American people are fools.

Women in the military

Women have been serving and dying in support roles for our military going all the way back to our countries founding. My question isn't whether or not they can do the job on the front lines but if they should. I may be old fashioned saying this but it seems society is healthier when it puts a premium on protecting women. I believe this attitude promotes respect for women and what they mean and do for society.

Will we be looking at this as a victory for women in ten years only time will tell but I doubt it.

What

Reading the paper Saturday morning I came across an article that made me say What!. In the article Congresswoman Marcia Fudge of Cleveland is railing against GOP congress members.This quote really got me she said "They don't understand it's governments job to take care of the people". Maybe this is the key difference between liberals and conservatives because I sure don't believe I need the government taking care of me. Now there are certain functions the government takes on that are necessary roads,police, the military and such for keeping us free from anarchy.

I sure don't think most people want Mommy and Daddy government that the liberals propose not if they truly think about it.