[DeTomaso] ZERO PC - Maxim #1: People vote their pocket book! NPC

[doug351c]

Larry,

I agree with your Maxim #1 but here are a few other reasons, in addition to
union excesses, as to why, conservatives (i.e. the TEA PARTY) are voting
with our pocket books:

1) The unions have negotiated (extorted) pension systems and wages that
cannot be supported.  The best examples are the pensions that helped to turn
GM into 'government motors' and the recent media reports citing that, on
average, government workers make 1.8x what private sector workers make.
They also tend to have pensions that vest earlier and at a higher percentage
of salary.  If this seems like the cart pushing the horse, it is, and it's
totally unsustainable.

2) Under Obama, government expenditures have grown 22% since he took office.
Funny, I seem to remember both conservatives and liberals decrying the
budget breaking deficits during the Bush administration.  So why am I only
hearing conservative voices of opposition, now that the deficits are being
taken to a new level of insanity?  And don't tell me its because of the need
for government bailouts.  The government can't create jobs without hurting
the economy more than it helps it.  this occurs because they have to use our
tax dollars to create them.  At an average tax rate of 25% of income, it
takes 4 or more private sector jobs to create 1 equivalent gov't job.  But
wait! now that gov't workers make 2x what private sector workers make, it
takes 8x private sector jobs to create 1 gov't job!  No wonder math makes my
head hurt.  So next you'll tell me that you'll just raise the taxes on the
rich to 80%, but have you stopped to think that then they might just put
their money into a tax shelter or an overseas company instead of a US
industry that will create more US jobs?  Your liberal tax policy would then
help to accelerate the already occurring migration of businesses overseas.

3) 85% of all recent college graduates are returning to mama because they
can't find a job.  These graduates are probably too worried about survival
to be paying very much attention to the "evil union" talk that you think is
most influencing them to vote.

4) Corporations may "pay" taxes but the funds ultimately end up coming from
the end buyer of their products, which in most cases ends up being the
common man.  Corporations after all, have to make a profit in order to stay
in business.  So, in the end, if the common man is paying all the taxes
anyway, why not face facts.  Let market competition keep prices down and
just have everyone pay a 15% flat tax, with no deductions.  This would end
the tax loopholes liberals decry that the corporations and rich are getting
away with.  According to the CBO, this would be revenue neutral but more
importantly, everyone would have a stake in how much the government is
charging them in taxes.  This would create an effective public throttle on
gov't spending (can we all agree that gov't spending is a problem?).  Since
40% of all American households pay no income tax at all, they have a vested
interest in raising the income tax on the other 60%, which I'll bet includes
everyone on this forum.

5) You're missing the fact that Corporations provide a service to society in
the form of the jobs they provide to their employees and the innovative
products they create at ever lower prices in order to stay competitive.
Many of the jobs they create are jobs that never existed before (think
Microsoft and Apple).  What liberals seem to be unable to comprehend is that
market capitalism is not a zero-sum game.  As new jobs are created, a
snowball effect of demand occurs on other goods and services that benefit
all of society, not just the Microsoft/Apple type employees.  Each dollar
spent by such employees gets passed from hand to hand buying many-many other
goods and services which raises all boats.  Liberals feel that if the rich
are making money that it hurts the common man buy via market capitalism;
nothing could be further from the truth.  The Pantera aftermarket is another
example.  If there were no DeTomaso parts, the Pantera could have become a
forgotten relic in forgotten junkyards.  Instead our vendors have made a
living for themselves and we in Pantera society reap a benefit of being able
to enjoy our cars.  You say that corporations are motivated only be greed,
but market capitalism harnesses that desire for profit into something that
helps all - you just don't see it.  How many Microsofts and Apples are out
there that we are unaware of?  Technology is creating new products every day
that never existed before.

6) Conversion to the "workers of the world unite goal" has resulted in
economic stagnation every time its been tried and most of the time it has
also resulted in death on a scale that dwarfs all wars.  Do liberals really
think they're smart enough to do it right this time without the economic
loss and death?

7) Government jobs are funded by the sweat of private sector workers and the
funny thing is that when there are too many private sector workers sweating
profusely, they get hot, agitated and mad.

BTW: No name-calling, emotional responses or raised voices were used in the
production of this diatribe.

-----Original Message-----
From: detomaso-bounces at realbig.com
[mailto:detomaso-bounces at realbig.com]On Behalf Of Larry Finch
Sent: Thursday, November 04, 2010 7:34 AM
To: detomaso at realbig.com
Subject: [DeTomaso] ZERO PC - Maxim #1: People vote their pocket book!
NPC

Maxim #1: People vote their pocket book!
----------

Not really true.

People vote what they 'feel' is their pocket book.

This feeling is easily manipulated by demonizing the one Special Interest
that ultimately
DOES (and historically always has) improve the bottom line for the
workers ---- Unions.

While at the same time martyrizing the diametrically opposed Special
Interest that
has arguably zero interest in improving the workers position if it
interferes in any manner
with the unbending goal of profit-at-any-cost ---- Corporations.

The use of buzzwords such as higher taxes, government restrictions,
government regulations, Union Bosses
and other phrases solely designed to appeal to emotions have (sadly) been
shown to be very effective in
moving the Common Man (which is certainly most of us) to think (and vote) as
if he is somehow
protecting and improving his own position when in fact he is only benefiting
the corporations.

The in-your-face examples of how true this is are sadly hidden (by design)
from most voters by the cloud of
buzzword phrases heaped onto us with now nearly unlimited Corporation-funded
advertising campaigns.

NAFTA - Free (not Fair) Trade - outsourcing - downsizing - Pension Raiders -
part-time employment with
thus no benefits - privatizing -  Military Industrial Complex - tax
loopholes - offshore registering of Corporations -
S&L scandal - Wall Street Greed...........

The evidence is obvious this all is designed to benefit Corporations,  and
none of it ever "Trickles Down" to the Common Man.

But the Common Man is easily swayed with slickly-packaged,
demographically-tuned appeals to his emotions.

And if this continues there will be no Common Man left to remember what the
American Middle Class used to be.

Larry

P.S. - If you respond to this, try leaving your emotional, name-calling
rants at the door. I did.  ;-)