Nothing Good Happens 'Til Something Gets Sold

In his marketing seminars, my big brother Jim, the Marketing Wizard, often finds himself buttressing the much maligned industry of sales and the noble professionals who engage in that challenging occupation by saying, "Nothing good happens 'til something gets sold." Mr. Obama should attend one of Jim's seminars!


Last week, the President of the United States of America; the elected leader of the greatest, most productive, most powerful nation on earth and by extension, the leader of the free world, said that if you're successful in America, you have your government to thank. You owe your success, your standing, your prosperity to bureaucrats in Washington DC and elsewhere who provided for you, the context, the structure, and the resources to make happen whatever success you've achieved.

It's an engaging viewpoint, and at first blush, it sounds reasonable enough. Government provides the infrastructure and support for your prosperity by virtue of the public education system, roads, a monetary system, police protection, and other services upon which we all rely for a well-ordered, civil society.

But think just a little deeper and you'll quickly see that the President is wrong. Dead wrong! And it's actually rather shocking that a US president would be so utterly devoid of understanding of the design and genius of the nation he leads. Stunning that he would characterize the unique American experiment in government of the people, by the people, and for the people in terms so imperialistic.

In fact, Obama is 180 degrees out of phase. He has it exactly backwards. He could not be more incorrect (or more disingenuous). And therefore, he and those who think like him could not be more dangerous to the America we have been blessed to know.

In the United States, government is not the source of power, of wealth, or even of the social order. Government is not the master. It is neither the conveyor of rights nor the purveyor of goods! In America, by divine Constitutional design, the only power the government has comes from the consent of the governed. It is not the bureaucracy that provides for the industry of the people, it is the industry of we, the people, that provides for the government we require. And when we turn that equation on it's ear as the President has done, we say 'AMEN' to the freedom given us by our Maker, and secured to us by our sacred Constitution.

No, it is NOT the government that builds roads or schools, pays police, or manages natural resources. It is you and me. We, the people. OUR industry produces the wealth that pays the bureaucrats that organize the resources to build the schools, roads, and bridges and to pay the teachers, police, and firemen. It is they that do our bidding and that serve at our pleasure; not the other way around. They very much owe their existence to us. Not we to them!

The government produces NOTHING on it's own; not one thin dime of wealth--whether schools, roads, firehouses, or the EPA. Every penny of wealth that it has, it must first receive from us--either by consent or by constraint. All of the wealth of a free society comes from the industry of the people creating vibrant markets of goods and services by pursuing their individual dreams and by fulfilling  each others' wants and needs.

Does the businessman or woman benefit from the public infrastructure and services? Of course! But do they owe their living or their success to any government? HELL NO! In fact, the success of most enterprises in America comes in spite of, not because of government. We all stand on the shoulders of those that have gone before us. In that sense, and to the degree that we value and build upon that foundation, we all should be thankful. And it is part of the reason we're willing to "pay our fair share."

But let's keep first things first. Nothing good happens 'til something gets sold. No teacher enters a classroom, no fireman climbs a ladder, and no cop walks a beat. No public road, bridge or buttress gets built, and no politician authors another unnecessary bill. All these things happen because someone took a risk to build the very first mousetrap or a better one to follow; someone spotted a need or desire and figured out a way to fill it. Only then was wealth created. Only then did a job begin. And only when that activity became PROFITABLE was there something in it for the risk-taker or entrepreneur--despite the fact that the taxman had already taken his toll!

No, Mr. President! While the entrepreneur, investor, tycoon and even the common laborer acknowledge the value of the social order and the government that keeps it intact, none owes obeisance to it. For it is WE that created IT--not the other way around!

Where is the Racism in Presidential Politics?

After Mitt Romney's forthright speech (I'm not willing to call it remarkably bold or courageous--it was politically expedient) before the NAACP on Wednesday, where the Presidential hopeful was booed discourteously by his mostly-black audience, Nancy Pelosi had the audacity to suggest that Romney strategized to incite the reaction in order to energize his racist base. If the charge itself isn't preposterous enough, I wonder what "intelligence" (and I use the term loosely) the former Speaker had to make it. Is she now clairvoyant? Can she read Romney's mind? Or does she have operatives inside the Romney campaign who can substantiate the outrageous claim. Because if she can't we are left to no other conclusion than that it is Pelosi, not Romney, who is race baiting here. What other explanation can there be? Produce your evidence Ms. Pelosi...or apologize for your insane, offensive, inflammatory remark!

I'm continuously amazed and disgusted by the never-ending parade of leftists seeking to turn Tea Party patriots and other conservatives into racists despite the conspicuous lack of evidence to support their ridiculous charges.

For my part and that of every conservative I know (and I know a few!) race is an absolute non-issue. I would be every bit as happy to see a black Constitutional Conservative in the White House or any other political office, as I would a similarly principled white one--male or female, by the way. And although I can't prove that they don't exist, I don't personally know of a single conservative soul that doesn't feel the same--despite the unending, unsubstantiated accusations to the contrary from the left. 

In fact, the liberal establishment is the only constituency in America that has anything to gain by race baiting. The Democrat establishment needs to keep black Americans in tow. Hence, they continue to use this disingenuous, divisive, and destructive tactic to preserve their power. Because if Obama loses even a few percentage points of support among this group, it's AMEN to his Presidency and to the liberal takeover of America. And isn't it ironic that this would be the story in the day of Barack Obama--the first non-white President to be elected by the predominantly Caucasian American electorate. 

All that said, don't you find the almost-universal support of the President among blacks to be a bit peculiar? Fully 96% of African-Americans say they support President Obama over the GOP challenger. Really?! Who gets 96% support of anything among anybody in a pluralistic, secular society?

Are 96% of blacks as liberal as President Obama? Do 96% of them support Obamacare--the now 2.6 TRILLION dollar millstone hanging around the neck of the American economy? Do 96% of blacks really believe the President has improved their economic lot? On what grounds?! Are black Americans really sold on the virtues of welfare, unemployment, foodstamps, Medicaid, and disability insurance over a robust economy and expanding opportunity? Is that honestly the lifestyle to which this vast, united majority of them aspire? I simply don't believe it!

Do 96% of blacks agree with Obama's imperial edict adding 1.2 million illegal immigrants to the workforce to compete directly with the most disadvantaged in their own community? I don't think so. Are only 4% of blacks opposed to same sex marriage, or supportive of the compulsory infringement of religious rights, or the ever-increasing, if well-hidden taxes on the middle class? And do 96% of these Americans really agree that choice in education is a bad idea?  Do almost all blacks support Mr. Obama's "right war" in Afghanistan? Do they, like Obama, see no threat in the Muslim Brotherhood? Do they wish to see more open borders with Mexico and favor amnesty for illegal immigrants in America today?  I'd be amazed if that were true.

So, if among this 96% are many whose views Mr. Obama clearly does not represent, why do they continue to support him? Is it merely because of the color of his skin? If so, that's racism and that's NOT rational.

Heads Up People!

Obama Strategy: Divide To Conquer

Barack Obama has but one arrow in his quiver, one double edged blade in his sheath; divide and conquer. In the complete absence of any meaningful positive policy achievements, the President has only one course to victory: Divide the nation more sharply than it already is and frighten the populace into believing that his political adversaries will make matters even worse. We see evidence of this on every front:

Class Envy - the 1% against the 99%
War on Women - The great contraception scare of 2012
War on Religion - the faithful vs. the secular and specters of theocracy - forced contraception
Black vs. White - The weigh-in on Treyvon Martin and more
Education Envy - The new right to a free college education
War on Wall Street - The takeover of the greedy capitalists
Big Oil vs. Alternative Energy - If you support fossil fuels you hate the environment
Welfare vs. Jobs - Perpetuating the dependent class instead of moving people to work
Union collectivists against "BIG" business - the nationalized Wisconsin recall election
GLBT vs. Christian Conservatives - Obama's "evolved-again" view on marriage

Illegal Immigrants vs. Border Security Advocates  (aka Latino vs. White) Undocumented Youth Amnesty

Obama's strategy involves a wide variety of scares like Republicans throwing granny off a cliff, and ending an array of government benefits including care for mentally handicapped children, food for the poor, contraception for college co-eds, and healthcare for the financially disadvantaged.

Ironically, it's Obama and the Democrats' policies that will seal the fate of those benefits if the course remains unchanged, where Republicans' plans are devised to rein them in and restore them to solvency--along with the rest of the national government.

Obama is unquestionably the most divisive partisan President in my lifetime--bar none! That could be forgivable if his policies weren't so disastrous for the country. Here are the facts:

Unemployment has remained above 8% for over 3 years and is arguably higher since the number of workers in the workforce has shrunken to record lows. When those who have given up or withdrawn from the workforce are counted, the rate is upwards of 15%.

Budget deficits have exploded placing the nation in financial peril. With TRILLION dollar deficits 4 years in a row and a national debt approaching 16 TRILLION the nation is facing insolvency. These harrowing calculations ignore another $50 TRILLION or more in "unfunded liabilities" such as pensions and other retirement bene's for government workers--which the President is content to ignore. And, as a direct result of the endless TRILLION dollar deficits under Obama's budgetless fiscal "management" the nation's credit status has been downgraded once with the potential of further falls to come.

Speaking of divisiveness, the GOP controlled House of Representatives has passed numerous budgets and jobs bills that the Democrats under the President's and Harry Reid's leadership have refused to take up in the Senate. Who are the obstructionists?!

Dependency programs have continued to expand to unprecedented levels under Obama. The "food stamp president" now has almost 46 million Americans dependent on the federal government for their very survival. But that's just the beginning. Tens of millions more rely on extended unemployment benefits to compensate for the fact that the Obama regime's economic policies are prolonging the recession and portend a sluggish recovery, if not a double dip recession, in coming months and years.

But even this, is just the tip of the iceberg. With Obama's takeover of almost all of education funding another loan bubble is threatening to burst. The loose money policy of the United States Government in collusion with the Federal Reserve sees the dollar falling in value on world markets and the threat of inflation looms.

While Obama seeks to take credit for gains in the energy sector, those gains have taken place in spite of his Administration, not because of it. In addition to the President's disastrous over-reaction to the BP oil spill shutting down US oil production in the Gulf (most of those jobs have still not been recovered), he rejected the Keystone pipeline that would have created tens of thousands of jobs and put downward pressure on global prices. Obama continues to keep a lock on domestic production by approving drilling on federal lands and waterways at the slowest rate in decades.

The energy sector alone has the potential to go a long, long way towards pulling the nation out of the slow recovery without endangering the planet, by the way, but for political reasons he refuses to take the brakes off this powerful engine of jobs, economic growth, energy independence, and national security.

Ackerman on Obamacare

Since the Affordable Healthcare Act has been thrust front and center onto the public stage by Judge Roberts and the Supreme Court decision, I thought I'd take the opportunity to share my always-rational observations.

First, I have to chuckle at the name of this behemoth legislative juggernaut. Affordable for who, exactly? The Act, which Obama and his surrogates "sold" (or force-fed) to America with a $900 BILLION price tag is now projected to cost over $1.7 TRILLION over 10 years--more than 10% of today's "funded" national debt--for ONE program alone! We have no comprehension of that kind of a number. But it's really big! And who gets to pick up the tab? Everyone under the American sun, believe you, me!

Obamacare will be paid for on the back of no less than 21 new taxes--all of which ultimately come out of the pockets of the middle class--the very souls Mr. Obama swore to protect. Why do these costs come from the middle class primarily? Because we have the lion's share of the money. No matter how much you tax the rich, it won't cover the cost of this federal government. But the money has to come from somewhere.

If you tax corporations, they'll raise prices to consumers--the middle class--to protect their margins and their shareholders--or move elsewhere. (That's both good business and self-preservation. They have little choice.) If you try to suppress their market pricing, you'll reduce choice, value, quality, or supply--which of course, has its costs, as well--to us, the middle class consumers. If you tax the rich even more (they already pay MOST of the income taxes received by the Treasury) they'll invest less in business growth resulting in fewer jobs and less opportunity...for who? The middle class! You simply can't kill the goose and still expect to harvest the golden eggs.

The alternative, if taxation isn't sufficient, is to borrow the money from the rising generation. In other words, go into debt. This is the hallmark of the Obama administration. Currently, the federal government borrows 40 cents of every dollar it spends plunging us deeper and deeper into debt every hour. Someone will eventually have to pay the bill. This will "tax" your children and their children after them, robbing them of the product of their toil and the rewards of their industry. Is that fair? Is it what you want for them? To say nothing of who we owe the money to. America is weaker, less independent, and less secure because of our debt to foreign powers.

But wait! There IS one way out...just print the money! Pay off the debt with worthless dollars! Sounds good, but it's the cruelest tax of all--inflation, the hidden tax--robbing the people of their buying power to pay the bills of an excessive and overreaching government; to pay for the illusory "FREE LUNCH." And, of course, those to whom we are indebted will resist this option with all the means at their disposal.

So you see, there are no winners in this game (except perhaps the ruling elite). We all lose together--the middle class most of all.

But there is yet another option. Scrap this 2700 page "comprehensive" Federal takeover that attempts to micro-manage virtually every aspect of healthcare, inserting the government between the provider and the patient; and replace it with a series of common sense, market reforms that address important issues like the role of insurance, portability of coverage, pre-existing conditions, cost, competition, liability and tort reform, availability and access. There are numerous solid and workable proposals on the table to address these issues and expand both access and quality of care for individuals while lowering costs, without a federal takeover of 1/6 of the nation's economy. That's the best, most efficient, effective, and Constitutional way to address the needs of the roughly 10% of Americans who lack access to affordable care. And that's rational!

Is This the Future of America?

I'm not a big fan of Sean Hannity, but he definitely ate this guy's lunch. What's more important, however, is the mentality of too many of our youth; aka the "leaders of tomorrow." If this mentality prevails in the rising generation, is there anything but anarchy in our future? The "free love" hippies of the 60s and 70s are the Progressive bureaucrats and international corporatists that are "transforming" America today. Left unchecked, their misguided and entitlement-minded progeny will "lead" the nation "forward" into outright anarchy or social justice and economic tyranny tomorrow. Have a look

"Romney Effect" Boosts Economic Outlook

The very prospect of Mitt Romney assuming the helm of the largest, strongest economy in the solar system is already causing the sun to shine a little brighter!  New claims for unemployment benefits are in decline. Hiring appears to be on the rise. Consumers are feeling moderately more confident and hence, are spending more. And businesses, anticipating the demise of Obamacare, are beginning to feel a little more optimistic about their long term prospects and plans. Way to go Mitt!

Of course, Obamanites will protest: "Wait a minute, if you're going to blame Obama for the recession (which of course was ALL Dubya's fault) then you've got to give him credit for the run-around...er...I mean turn-around!"

WRONG-O DONKEY BREATH! We Americans are a resilient bunch. The recovery was inevitable from the day the Federal Government lost their grip and screwed the pooch in the first place. We ALWAYS pick ourselves up and move on. No thanks necessary to FDR, GW Bush, BH Obama, or anyone else. It's just a matter of how we do it and how long it takes. And for that, the Washington frat boys deserve far more of the blame!

"Okay!" they bray, "Then what the crap has Romney done to deserve any credit? He's just a candidate, and a lousy one, at that!"

Excellent question! To which I answer, 'Absolutely nothing...yet. Which is far more than Obama has done to help the situation.'

But here's the truth. Obama and Democrats, with a fair dose of help from big government Republicans have done just about everything wrong since Obama took office. Even before that, both the growth and explosion of the housing bubble which precipitated the recession, can be laid squarely at their feet. Dating back to Jimmy Carter and accelerated by William Jeff, the affordable housing initiatives forced lenders (Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac) to extend copious amounts of credit to people who clearly, were unqualified. Of course, the banks resisted at first, but with Uncle Sam holding out an open checkbook and promising to back the risky loans, they figured, "what the hell?" That's kinda like handing a shot of whiskey to an alcoholic and acting surprised when he drinks it! So the party was on.

Washington is notorious for making all the wrong decisions when it comes to "managing the economy" which they have no business doing in the first place. That's why the best results accrue when they DE-manage; like Reagan deregulation, de-taxation, and de-federalization (aka privitization) or Gingrich/GOP style welfare reform and budget reform.

The prospect of de-management or UN-federalizing the economy via the repeal of Obamacare, reduction of federal agencies and programs and constructive tax reform as is portended by the prospect of a conservative administration under President Romney, has markets hoping for better future outcomes and hence, beginning to move again. It is, indeed, the Romney Effect!