About November

I've heard that one gets more conservative as one ages. Something about preserving one's own wealth rather than giving it to those more needy or less able to generate wealth. Worse yet---giving it to the government in the form of taxes----horrors and shudders!!!!!!!

Maybe I'm bucking the trend but I find myself becoming more liberal in terms of social issues but still fairly conservative in fiscal matters. But I do believe that the primary function of government to protect its citizens. You'll get no argument from me that there is a lot of waste in the government sector. But the recent remarks from the co-chair of the commission studying the deficit and social security to lessen the government stake are just so wrong-headed I could spit. As I recall, in the second term of the last Republican president there was a similar push to privatize retirement savings and wind down Social Security. Imagine if it had happened-----how much did your 401-K lose in 2007-2009----less than the Dow, then congratulations; more---then how many years did it add before you can retire---or even, can you retire without Social Security???

I have less than 65 days until I retire. I'm working my way through funding options so I can continue to feed the oh-so-dearly-loved Pirate Dogs, with some food also available for the humans in the household. Since I can collect S.S. at 62, this is going to work. The benefits are reduced but it will be do-able and actually fairly comfortable. But if the previous administration had its way, my employer would be stuck with an employee on the verge of burn out for another six or seven years, not to mention my defined benefit, i.e., pension plan, income would suffer. If I retired at 66 or 67, I would lose several years of good commission income and actually be in WORSE financial shape than by retiring early. Sort of the opposite of what the demagogues of anti-government benefits preach.

Lots of pre-mid-term chatter about Obama the Muslim Socialist. One comment---listen with your ears, process the information with your brains, and give the sitting president the support he deserves. I hated the bail-outs but 1) they were enacted by the Republicans and 2) they worked because of the policies and decisions of Barack Obama. Don't take the word of a blogger and Pirate Dog lover. Follow this link to The Economist editorial leader from the 8/21-8/27/2010 edition. Read it, think about it, and you'll realize it's true. Right now the no-brainers have the floor and the screeching is deafening. Please don't let it deprive you of your right to a choice come November as it has deprived Alaska of its incumbent senator or KY of a real chance for change. I don't hear policies or solutions coming from the talk-show hosts or the opposition leaders---just noise and obstruction.

November is the first referendum we have on the decisions we made in 2008. Were it not for politics as usual in Congress and the "Just Say NO" clique, we might even have unemployment down to a sustainable level and a real recovery in progress. Don't blow the November mid-terms. Let's give our leaders the chance to finish cleaning up the Bushian nightmare. Don't give your vote to those who would make us relive it.