Natural Born Conservative

Excellent post, sir!

2012-05-29T19:55:25.859-04:00

Excellent post, sir!

This post is about rail travel in the United State...

2012-05-25T17:20:42.556-04:00

This post is about rail travel in the United States. It's not about airline bailouts or war, and the last time I checked, Spain was bankrupt with a 25% unemployment rate. Rail usage statistics reflect not only the "popularity" of rail travel but also geography of the country. "For instance, the United Kingdom is a relatively small, densely populated country where many more short journeys are made compared to a larger, much less densely populated country such as the United States. So where rail travel might be appropriate in the Northeast, its usage is virtually immeasurable (according to the CBO) for the rest of the United States. Faster trains won't make rail travel any safer, and upgrading an obsolete mode of transportation won't make it any more popular.

We already have AmTrak, which is a National rail system, but not many people ride it, and it has required a bailout every single year since its inception. Unlike most people, I have travelled by AmTrak, many times, and it is much more expensive than flying or driving, and the idea being proposed would make it even more expensive. In my opinion it's a waste of money.

Did you see my post on Evacuated Tube Transport? At 1/10th the cost of high speed rail, and 1/4th the cost of a freeway, with top speeds of 370 mph intrastate and 4,000 mph interstate/international, silent, safe, and faster than jets, ET3’s six passenger frictionless magnetic levitation capsules are far more viable than any other form of transportation on the horizon. Why go back to rail travel, when technology offers faster, safer, cleaner and more reliable modes of transportation for a fraction of the cost? See http://larrymwalkerjr.blogspot.com/2012/04/evacuated-tube-transport-silver-bullet.html.

While I do not necessarily agree with the Obama ad...

2012-05-24T13:04:12.156-04:00

While I do not necessarily agree with the Obama administration on many things I have to point out that, while your numbers may be accurate they also cannot be very relevant. There is a form of dishonesty here that is prevalent in our society. The fact that the U.S. rail network is old , outdated and hardly user friendly makes your numbers worthless as far as predicting how many people would actually use it and the numbers of injuries and deaths simply support the idea of upgrading and making them safer. I live in an area where I have never had the chance to prefer or not prefer traveling by rail. Stating that 0.08 people actually use rail service in the U.S. is more largely due to the fact that it is simply not available and using that to prove public attitude towards any kind of rail system is just intellectual fraud. I think you could have made just as persuasive an argument without resorting to these techniques. I see that reference is made to Japan and China's huge debt related to high speed rail but I see no mention of the many bailouts the U.S. has given to certain airlines not to mention what a complete ordeal it is to fly now a days. To put it simply all I see here is another conservative backed up against the wall and grasping at any straw that comes his way. I see no mention of President Bush signing off on that 10 billion airline bailout in 2001 or the many trillions spent on war. How can a proponent of truth not at least mention Spain's very successful rail system? I never see any conservatives mentioning the patriot act either, one of the most unconstitutional acts of any president and one of the most frightening. You think the conservative politicians have got your back but when your back is turned is when you are most vulnerable my friend. The wolves aren't outside huffing and puffing they're breathing down your neck.

These sites are reporting U-3 is 11.1% as well: N...

2012-05-07T20:55:46.049-04:00

These sites are reporting U-3 is 11.1% as well:

NetRightDaily: [ April Jobs report rains on Obama’s parade ]

The American Enterprise Institute - The awful April jobs report: [ Is the ‘real’ unemployment rate 11.1%? ]

And this one says U-3 is 11.6%:

Zero Hedge - [ Real U-3 Unemployment Rate: 11.6% ]

Comment: All these links are reporting 23% or wors...

2012-05-05T15:10:23.811-04:00

Comment: All these links are reporting 23% or worse...

Response: U-6 might be 23% or worse, although it's officially 14.5% as of April. However, I'm talking about the blatant manipulation of U-3. I got into alternative measures of labor underutilization in previous posts. From my study, U-3 never really declined from it's official peak of 10.0% in October of 2009, it has rather increased from there and stands at 11.1%.

Great post here! I performed a similar analysis u...

2012-05-03T23:58:38.547-04:00

Great post here! I performed a similar analysis using chained 2005 dollars but didn't use GDP per capita and while I got similar results, they were not as dramatic as yours.

http://cosmoscon.com/2012/04/25/an-obamanomics-recovery/

The 'recovery' under Obamanomics also violates a long held economic truth that recoveries from large recessions are higher in magnitude than recoveries from minor recessions.

Per the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 27% of S...

2012-04-26T01:39:02.362-04:00

Per the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 27% of Student Loans are currently "Past Due". So does Obama's new bandaid fix the problem, or just mask it for another year? 'We don't understand, your rate is the same as it was last year, but 27% of you are still in default.' One day we'll get some permanent change around here. [Reuters]

Bravo. Unfortunately, brother, all of this is fun...

2012-04-25T19:30:07.156-04:00

Bravo.

Unfortunately, brother, all of this is funny money.

Nothing is going to change until Americans are forced into a "Come To Jesus" moment like Europe is facing right now.

I am amazed that the main people who were selling us Europe as "a place that America can only one day hope to become" - 2 years ago during the Obamacare debate are now strangely silent on the present predicament of their reference continent.

(I am secretly hoping that the far left socialist wins in France. If you thought that the socialists destroyed Spain - after riding in to power right after the terrorist train bombing in Spain in response to the nation's participation in "The War On Terror" - you ain't seen nothing yet.

France and German - assuming that the Socialist wins will be the most dramatic bi-polar opposites in the developed world. Germans have accepted their fate and scaled back their debt spending. France is being whipped into a frenzy by a guy who is about to take it out on the rich.

Can you ask for a better setup to define the character of state CONFISCATION that "Progressive-Fundamentalism"/social justice is??

If she's married, has dependents, owns a home,...

2012-04-13T20:54:01.140-04:00

If she's married, has dependents, owns a home, gives to charity, or pays a substantial amount in State taxes, she could itemize her deductions using Schedule A, which would make her effective tax rate substantially less than the 18.4% I calculated here. What I am showing is her maximum possible effective tax rate.

Paul Maass, President of Commercial Foods for ConAgra Foods, Joins Aurora Algae Board of Directors

Uh, Green wasn't (ha, ha) as Green as we thoug...

2012-03-07T23:54:55.662-05:00

Uh, Green wasn't (ha, ha) as Green as we thought! Detroit sewage contributing to Lake Erie algae bloom Environmentalists are raising a red flag after Detroit released billions upon billions of gallons of raw and diluted sewage into Lake Erie this year. The city is home to the single largest wastewater plant in the country....

No joke! The Protein Quality of Waste-grown Green Algae Algae-cereal-nonfat dry milk mixtures. (the algae and cereals boiled for. 30 minutes to make a thick gruel) and milk added to the cooked product, were sub ...

Great post. Obama has sent millions of jobs to Ch...

2012-02-17T22:09:04.093-05:00

Great post.

Obama has sent millions of jobs to China. Now he says he's is saving 100 jobs?

Does any one think the U.S. won't collapse since the U.S. won't be manufacturing anything soon? All we are doing is living on debt.

Decades of outsourcing manufacturing have left U.S. industry without the means to invent the next generation of high-tech products that are key to rebuilding its economy, as noted by Gary Pisano and Willy Shih in a classic article, “Restoring American Competitiveness” (Harvard Business Review, July-August 2009).

The U.S. has lost or is on the verge of losing its ability to develop and manufacture a slew of high-tech products. Amazon’s Kindle 2 couldn’t be made in the U.S., even if Amazon wanted to:

Amazon couldn’t make a Kindle here if it wanted to

Muito obrigado!

2012-01-26T01:00:47.205-05:00

Muito obrigado!

Este blog é uma representação exata de competência...

2012-01-25T15:22:45.165-05:00

Este blog é uma representação exata de competências. Eu gosto da sua recomendação. Um grande conceito que reflete os pensamentos do escritor. Consultoria RH

Katie - Thanks for not clicking on a single one of...

2012-01-22T15:10:28.247-05:00

Katie - Thanks for not clicking on a single one of the links embedded in my post. Most of what I wrote were direct quotes from the economists who recommended the first stimulus package passed by Bush, and who actually invented the idea. My critique is not only of the way it was carried out, but that such a program as they described, could ever be successfully carried out by a government run by either party.

I can only suggest that you click on the links and follow the chronology as I did. I was actually following all of it in real-time as it happened. Nothing in this post is a lie. Any one who concurs with what I wrote must be one who either lived through and followed along with the events as they occurred, or is likely an economist.

To a novist, I'm pretty sure none of what I wrote would make any sense at all. Anyway, thanks for your critique of my critique, but nothing you have said has changed my mind about anything I wrote. I appreciate your passion, but I also realize that passion without logic and credibility is for naught.

http://yourfuturefriendlylibrarian.blogspot.com/20...

2012-01-22T04:16:45.768-05:00

http://yourfuturefriendlylibrarian.blogspot.com/2012/01/natural-born-conservative-obama-era-of.html

You should have a "hate" option for reac...

2012-01-22T03:16:37.583-05:00

You should have a "hate" option for reactions.

It is BS that one could link tax cuts to job creation. Do you NOT realize that also during that time we were in TWO wars? Geez, maybe that lead to a couple of jobs, you think? If so, that is the EXACT opposite of a tax cut. Well, sure, you can cut, but the jobs came from increased spending, you fool. (That, if you can't follow, means more of a deficit, which leads to debt, created by the Holier-Than-Thou Bush you so love and admire.)

Your statement "If the goal is to grow the economy, create jobs, and increase tax revenues, then tax cuts are the way to go" makes zero sense. Think about it: if taxes are cut, revenues...increase? Only if you are under the delusion of trickle down economics being true, which it was found out NOT to be in...oh, when was that? ...that's right, the REAGAN administration.

I pity the people who follow your blog and believe your lies. I read it just for shits and giggles since it is so full of fallacy. YOU are part of what is wrong with America. The blind leading the blind, or the poor following the rich who persuade them to believe what they tell them so the rich can benefit. If something is too good to be true (less taxes = more revenues!), it PROBABLY IS.

And because she insisted, here's a link to my ...

2012-01-17T00:21:44.448-05:00

And because she insisted, here's a link to my spreadsheet comparing the same from 1929 to present: Civilian Non-Institutional Population vs. Labor Force - 1929 to 2011.

[Note: Annual declines in the Labor Force have occured only in the years 1943, 1944, 1945, 1951, 2009, 2010, and 2011. The declines of 1943 -1945 and 1951 were due to general declines in the non-institutional civilian population, due to war. However, the declines of 2009, 2010, and 2011 have occurred in spite of an increase of 5.8 million to the non-institutional civilian population over the period. The labor force continued to grow throughout the worst years of the Great Depression, yet according to what's being reported today, 6.5 million workers have left the labor force since 2009. This is an unprecedented and blatant manipulation of the the facts. The real unemployment rate isn't 8.5%, it's somewhere between 12.2% and 41.6%, the mean of which is 26.9%.]

Out of curiosity, have you taken either your ne...

2012-01-15T20:26:29.323-05:00
Out of curiosity, have you taken either your new min or max calculations and looked at trending?
---------------------
The BLS didn't start tracking those not in the labor, by who did or did not want to work, until 1994. However, I just created an (unadjusted) table comparing the Annual Change in the Labor Force. It's interesting to note that aside from the past three years (2009, 2010, and 2011), the last time there was a net decline in the Labor Force was in 1951. However, the decline in 1951 was due to a general decline in the non-Institutional Civilian Population. So that makes Obama's misrepresentation unprecedented. It's outright manipulation.

Here's a link to my spreadsheet, with data pulled directly from the BLS: Civilian Population vs. Labor Force - 1947 to 2011.

For more, see: Civilian Employment to Population Ratio Lowest Since Carter / Early Reagan … And Flat-lined! Employment Misery Index Increasing!

Also cross referenced at: Labor Force Contraction with Obama

NeilsSon - That's because the -5,063 figure is...

2012-01-07T12:37:37.268-05:00
NeilsSon - That's because the -5,063 figure is an annual total, whereas the -4,243 figure represents the February through December total, the month after inauguration. Most stats attributed to a potus' first year in office are presented as beginning in February.

Larry, The 2nd and 3rd charts contain different t...

2012-01-07T12:31:11.491-05:00
Larry,

The 2nd and 3rd charts contain different totals for 2009, i.e. -5,063 and -4,243.

SMurphyROI@gmail.com

Dagong Global, China's Rating Agency, further ...

2012-01-05T21:32:42.645-05:00
Dagong Global, China's Rating Agency, further downgraded the USA's Credit Rating to single "A" on 8/3/11 (Announcement on Dagong Downgrading the Credit Rating of the USA ). Is it fixed yet?

"Under your model of the industry the total c...

2011-12-29T13:31:08.394-05:00
"Under your model of the industry the total cost of all business tax preparation, accounting, and related legal services, and hence the income to everyone in the country working in those industries is around $16 billion. That means that the 1,762,000 accountants in the country have an average yearly salary of about $9000. Do you think that is even close to true? Or are they more likely to make ten times as much?"
----
No, under my theory, the amount actually paid out, in real dollars actually spent, is around $44.4 billion. Since 2010, everyone who prepares tax returns for a fee, must now register for a PTIN with the IRS, including office assistants who may not actually prepare returns. So we know there are around 900,000 in the tax preparation industry (awaiting for latest figures). Thus, under my theory the average pay for tax preparers would be around $49,333.33. However, the average salary for tax preparers is actually $36,000. Meanwhile, the average seasonal H&R Block preparer makes $9.67 per hour, or slightly less than $20K per year.

As far as small business record keeping, we do the bulk of that here. Only about 4% of my business clients actually do their own accounting with QuickBooks. Most have better things to do, like running their companies. For another small percentage, from my perspective, I would hardly call throwing every last receipt they can find into a shoe box, and dropping it off on my doorstep, a huge drain of time and resources. It was like that 30 years ago, and it's still the same today.

Bottom Line: $44.4 billion is reasonable; $400 billion is outrageous.

Natural Born Conservative

Excellent post, sir!

This post is about rail travel in the United State...

While I do not necessarily agree with the Obama ad...

These sites are reporting U-3 is 11.1% as well: N...

Comment: All these links are reporting 23% or wors...

Great post here! I performed a similar analysis u...

Per the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 27% of S...

Bravo. Unfortunately, brother, all of this is fun...

If she's married, has dependents, owns a home,...

Paul Maass, President of Commercial Foods for ConAgra Foods, Joins Aurora Algae Board of Directors

Uh, Green wasn't (ha, ha) as Green as we thoug...

No joke! The Protein Quality of Waste-grown Green Algae Algae-cereal-nonfat dry milk mixtures. (the algae and cereals boiled for. 30 minutes to make a thick gruel) and milk added to the cooked product, were sub ...

Great post. Obama has sent millions of jobs to Ch...

Muito obrigado!

Este blog é uma representação exata de competência...

Katie - Thanks for not clicking on a single one of...

http://yourfuturefriendlylibrarian.blogspot.com/20...

You should have a "hate" option for reac...

And because she insisted, here's a link to my ...

Out of curiosity, have you taken either your ne...

For more, see: Civilian Employment to Population Ratio Lowest Since Carter / Early Reagan … And Flat-lined! Employment Misery Index Increasing!Also cross referenced at: Labor Force Contraction with Obama

NeilsSon - That's because the -5,063 figure is...

Larry, The 2nd and 3rd charts contain different t...

Dagong Global, China's Rating Agency, further ...

"Under your model of the industry the total c...

For more, see: Civilian Employment to Population Ratio Lowest Since Carter / Early Reagan … And Flat-lined! Employment Misery Index Increasing!

Also cross referenced at: Labor Force Contraction with Obama