Cutting the deficit

Take a look at this video.  It really highlights how ridiculous it is to think that we are making progress when we cut $100 million of spending.  Come on!  It's time to get serious about cutting spending and we need to cut all spending -- from medicare to social security to defense to welfare to education to everything.  It needs to begin with downsizing government and getting government pay and benefits on par with the private sector.

This is a quick video that clearly illustrates how small a $100million cut is:

http://www.wimp.com/budgetcuts/

Education Problem

The following is a great article in the Washington Post.  It really points out the issues of our educational system.  This same article could be written about our government unions.  The time for unions has passed because they didn't stay relevant.  I believe that unions were one of the reasons that this country became so great, but they are now one of the reasons that we are in major trouble.  In Rockford, we have a huge deficit that our government officials are trying to tackle.  They went to the fire department and asked for wage concessions.  The fire union said no.  They then tried to reduce the number of fire personnel on a truck from 4 to 3 and the union managed to block the move in court. 

Now, the government has gone to the police union because we need their approval to change insurance providers and save $800,000 per year.  The police union isn't sure even though benefits and coverage doesn't change.  Come on!  If I had to get every decision approved in my business, I would have been forced out of business years ago.  This is what is happening to our government.

It's time that the unions in this country become relevant again by actively participating in the business of solving problems and keeping businesses (education or government) profitable and viable.  If they are not willing or able to become relevant, we the people (sound familiar) need to take our government back.

Do take the time to read this.  This is really a great ariticle written by educators:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/07/AR2010100705078.html

The War on Terror

OK -- let me say first that I am basically a wimp like most of our politicians who are afraid to say what they really think.  So, I would never write or say what was said by a British housewife in a letter to the editor that she sent...... but, I do think that she make some excellent points and that too often we are so concerned about saying something that won't offend anyone that we don't say anything.

If we are a society with no dissenting opinions or who only say things that won't offend anyone, will we become bland?   I don't know.

Read and judge for yourself -- please do add your positive and negative comments.

http://www.arguewitheveryone.com/war-iraq/141553-letter-british-housewife-newspaper.html

By the way, this article wasn't written by a British housewife, but she is the one who forwarded it to her nephew and it started circulating back in 2005.