Friday, November 9, 2012

Confessions of a Reformed Conservative

For my entire adult life, I have voted as a fiscal conservative.  I viscerally believed that the government that governs least, governs best.  Consequently, through the last few election cycles, my voting decisions have been based almost entirely on which party and candidates were most likely to support debt reduction and entitlement reform.  It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me that I voted for Romney/Ryan this past Tuesday.

Obviously, Tuesday's election didn't go the way that I had hoped.  Elections are like that sometimes.  So be it; the people have spoken, etc., etc., etc.  Entitlement reform, while a huge deciding issue for me, was apparently not so for the majority of the American electorate.  Millions of voters showed up to vote for a party and a candidate that have consistently acted to expand entitlement programs over the past few years.  Other millions of voters stayed home because Mitt Romney was a) not socially conservative enough, b) not promising them enough free stuff, c) a really rich guy, or d) a Mormon and, by staying home, gave tacit approval to entitlement expansion.

Thinking on the results of the election, I had an epiphany:  I've been wrong.  Totally wrong.  Utterly and completely wrong.  The American electorate does not want entitlement reform; in fact they consistently and relentlessly vote against it and elect representatives who lack the will or inclination to enact reform.  I live in a society that has institutionalized entitlements and, through all these years, I've been tilting at windmills by basing my votes on entitlement reform.  It's time to step back and, finally, accept the will and apparent wisdom of the people.  Actually, I am going to do more than accept it.  I am going to embrace it like William Hurt embraced Kathleen Turner in Body Heat...which is a rather disturbing analogy now that I think about it.  Sorry...

In point of fact, supporting entitlement reform is no longer in my best interests.  I'm 58.  In four years, I will be eligible for Social Security, at which point, every month the U.S. taxpayers will send me a check that is roughly half of what I have been contributing every year since I started working.  Every month until I go down for my dirt nap, I will get a check, for doing nothing.  Since the wrath family DNA clock seems to max out at 90 or so, that's potentially a lot of scratch.  But taxpayer largess does not end there.  There's Medicare.  There's my lifetime pass into national parks and monuments.  There's the $1.25 taxpayer subsidized lunch I can get at the Henderson Senior Citizen Center.  Of course, the menu there is going to need some help.  I'd like to see an artisanal cheese plate with fresh fruit, a baguette, and a glass of Columbia Valley merlot or a brie, bacon, and tomato sandwich on lightly toasted six-grain bread with a pint of a nice hoppy IPA served up on a daily basis.  No matter, once my fellow seniors and I organize a few "Henderson feeds their senior citizens dog food" protests, I'm sure the city fathers will come around...it's not like its their money after all.  They'll just get more from the taxpayers.  Also, there must be a free Obamaphone program for seniors.  If not, I'll join AARP - they've been bugging me to join for, like, eight years now - and get them to make that happen.  Oh...and that comes with unlimited data, right?  I gotta be able to use my tablet when I'm having my subsidized lunch down at the Senior Center, don'tcha know?

Food stamps!  Oh, hell...I almost forgot about food stamps.  I'm going to freaking wear out the magnetic strip on my EBT card....and I'm not talking frozen pizzas here.  Look for my column in Bon Appettit, "The EBT Gourmet".

Oh...and all the young people who turned out of support a second term for our President?  You might want to think about a second job.  Actually, you'll probably need a third one, too, since part-time jobs are going to become the rule when Obamacare kicks in.  Can you do that for me?  Yeah, um, thanks...I'll buy you a (subsidized) lunch sometime.

...and then there's my mortgage.  I've been making mortgage payments for thirty years; never missed a payment, never even paid one late.  In another age, this statement would have been a point of pride, but now it's a confession of just being plain stupid.  Mortgage payments are optional these days.  I'll leave it to the administration and their pals in the mega-banks to conjure up whatever fiscal fantasy they need to keep this senior citizen on a fixed income from being foreclosed.  In the meantime, my current mortgage payment will pretty handily cover the lease and insurance on an Audi R8.  Sweet.  Thank you, Mr. President.

Yes, intellectually, I still understand that this entire system is unsustainable and becomes increasingly unsustainable as fewer people are working and more are opting for living off government largesse.  At some point, to quote Jim Morrison, "...the whole shit house goes up in flames."  I just figure that I might as well live in a nice shit house - that I don't pay for - before someone throws in the match.

28 comments:

  1. You 'da man...what a wrap-up for the week. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Honest to fuck, this is one of the few "political" posts I've ever read that I can not only understand, but that I can jump on the bandwagon and get behind and other good cliche terms that mean I GET IT and want in on the ground floor.
    Another cliche as well, but relevant because homie don't do stairs. Unless there's cheese at the top. Will there be cheese?
    (Seriously, dude, this post is perfect.)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Absolute brilliance. Sign me up!

    ReplyDelete
  4. You're so awesome! I do not think I have read through anything like this before. So great to discover somebody with a few unique thoughts on this topic. Really.. thank you for starting this up. This website is one thing that is required on the web, someone with a bit of originality!

    My blog post ... onlineradio

    ReplyDelete
  5. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  7. 1. The objective is to arrange your passions as carefully as possible
    with your online promotion company. This is what professionals do.
    The only thing that cannot be "fixed" later is your blog and post titles.

    Is professional search engine marketing the thing that you
    need. It would cut the marketing project to fit it into your budget.
    The tips are as follows:-. Relevant keywords
    ought to be used in the alt tags. Isn't that something you and your business should be a part of. For those of us who are using the internet to make money, we all know that it is absolutely essential to get visitors out to our websites. They want to know things about how to create effective copy, general marketing tips and maybe even stuff about social media. The growth management of small business can be accomplished with SEO as an integral part of your overall Internet marketing strategy. Effective SEO techniques for Bloggers aren't any different.
    You can find several internet marketing companies across the world.
    This was the beginning of the thought process for my new
    business. SEO defined. In fact, soon, not using RDFa could
    put a site at a disadvantage. Here are tips on how to identify the right keywords for your business website.

    They are looking up the the keywords you did research
    on to find what they are looking for. This is more of an indirect way of getting direct traffic
    to your e - Bay store.

    Feel free to surf to my page - otakushp.ot.funpic.de

    ReplyDelete
  8. Tomb Raider, Mega Moolah, Mermaid's Millions, and Blackjack are some of the new Android game apps that have been released from Microgaming's partner,
    Spin 3. WIFI:Als Verbindungsmoglichkeiten ins Internet stehen Ihnen WIFI
    wireless lan zu Verfugung. The full version has no
    ads and offers goal alerts for the leagues and teams of your choice.


    Feel free to visit my web page: gratis spiele

    ReplyDelete
  9. These five free basketball game apps for the i -
    Phone will surely help you get your game on. You will eventually run into the Download Location menu with two options: Wii System Menu and SD Card.
    The player guides Phen through 10 levels of dungeon gameplay, finding a whole host
    of weapons and other items as well.

    my weblog; gratis spiele spielen
    My web site > radio sender

    ReplyDelete
  10. Usually, a brand new website takes about six months to one year to appear
    in the SERPs of Google, assuming the service provider
    is worth their salt. Once the number of back links will
    increase, web traffic flow will enhance. You can then take a hard look at the companies that come up for
    that particular keyword. The only thing
    that cannot be "fixed" later is your blog and post titles.

    SEO must be implemented by following a step
    by step process. The algorithms are not known publicly,
    but one thing is certain, is the search engine websites that the information is relevant to the purpose of the preferred
    site. Some SEO firms focus on content spinning and submitting articles.
    There are many tools online to help you research
    relevant keywords, such as the Google Adwords Keyword Tool.
    The title is supposed to explain the article, and the title is
    what your readers see when they search for content. What are the advantages of article submission.
    They want to know things about how to create effective copy, general marketing tips and maybe
    even stuff about social media. For instance, how many TV viewers then came to your car lot and purchased
    a vehicle. Let us assume that at this point you have 6 keywords.
    You can Google maps link for your website, which will be very helpful if any person search in images sections.
    In this article, I will show you the best Word - Press SEO plugins you need
    to use in order to boost your search engine rankings and get more traffic to your blog.

    As of now, Thomas Lenarz has helped many people get the information on reputed SEO companies.
    Have you been looking at your competitor's websites to see what kind of keywords they're using.
    But be aware of the traffic issue. Such companies know the best about industry and market trends.
    Yahoo style guide.

    Check out my blog - www.breakernyc.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. To effectively play and win best prices, player
    must understand play principals first. This is the Baccarat online really different, so are able to
    attract players to play Posh least $ 500 a night. There’s
    no need to go down to the regional chess hangout, or smokey bar.



    Stop by my web blog - online Spiele spielen

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hold down an app for a second, and start turning off all the apps that you
    aren't using by pressing the "minus" button. An alternate electrical power source reduces the probability that the access technique will turn out to be inoperable via strength reduction and aid conserve battery lifestyle. If a LED is used instead of a bulb, the connections will require a bit more attention.

    Here is my blog post - jbnu.ac.kr
    Also see my webpage > gratis spiele

    ReplyDelete
  13. Without the internet, this is not possible to play these novoline
    games online and even they can't live online that they perform now with public for additional characteristics and completely attractive in a delusion earth to participate in a game. If you want to enjoy the game thoroughly then you need to get on board of a reliable online bingo site to get the maximum enjoyment as well as benefit of the game. The player guides Phen through 10 levels of dungeon gameplay, finding a whole host of weapons and other items as well.

    Look at my weblog ... radiosender
    Also see my page > youtube converter

    ReplyDelete
  14. Both teams lost in a day of upsets, and
    with that loss, they were taken out of the picture for a national championship appearance.

    With the management policy of the authorities today, companies providing foreign content almost maneuver freely in the domestic
    market. Most people don't realize that the promises that are being made by manufactures are nothing more than marketing.

    Also visit my site; crysis3

    ReplyDelete
  15. The moral of the article is to make more people aware of the
    power of food, whether your preparing it or eating it. Dialogs and controls can be
    set at the click of a button and individual permissions do not take hours of
    effort or considerable technical knowledge to create or update.

    Whatever your reasoning may be, a well-crafted family blog can be a great way
    to keep up with what's going on with the members in your family.

    Also visit my web site; http://www.phpfoxtech.com/index.php?do=/profile-34676/info/

    ReplyDelete
  16. Rhapsody Radio offers an on demand streaming music service for people who know exactly what they want to listen to.

    The objective is to provide a programming format that would
    cater to people who prefer something that is different. The BDP-S185 is equipped with Bravia Internet Video;
    which is Sony.

    Feel free to surf to my blog - internet radio

    ReplyDelete
  17. The key items to look for when choosing an online broker:.
    You will not need a college degree, real-estate
    license, or spiffy dark colored suit. We have provided these reptile products such as meal worms and super worms proper nourishment.



    my web-site :: buy

    ReplyDelete
  18. In most cases they are, but when it comes to updates, patches, etc to the mmorpgs.
    If you don’t have much skill in programming, but
    still think that creating and developing games is the most suitable for you, there
    are special courses that will give you training in graphic designing, game development,
    and computer animation. Next Jim Deacove developed a few of
    his own board games based on the principles of cooperation,
    group strategy and joint problem solving.

    My blog :: relevant web page

    ReplyDelete
  19. Upon examining some etymological dictionaries, one can conclude that games are a
    creative expression of the human spirit through the creation of
    an activity that has an entertaining, instructive and competing
    element. Then came the ultra-popular Arkham games, that place you, like never before, into Batman's shoes as he skulks around and knocks hoodlums heads together (literaly). Well, you can have that same chess engine on your Android mobile phone, courtesy of Droid - Fish.

    My web-site Email Console

    ReplyDelete
  20. According to current estimates the cosmetics and toiletries industry is worth
    over US$45 billion to US$66 billion worldwide.
    Again, be careful when using the vinegar as some people may have an
    unpleasant reaction to the acid in the vinegar.
    It is an organ of elimination which proceeds too many of the waste-products which have
    been produced as a result of bodily processes in
    sweat through the pores.

    Also visit my webpage - Beauty

    ReplyDelete
  21. Try downloading a game demo prior to purchasing the actual game so
    that you can determine if you're going to enjoy it. Your best bet is to choose a video card that is just one or two steps down from the number one card now. Many games have role-playing incorporated and from the young age kids quickly learn from your heroes they choose to be.

    Also visit my web site: Read the Full Piece of writing

    ReplyDelete
  22. Try simple games and check how your internet connection is and then move on play more games.

    Aside from the obvious difficulties of pitching so brilliantly in such a high pressure situation, Larsen's feat is even more impressive when one considers that the Dodgers had four future Hall of Famers in their lineup: Duke Snider, Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella and Pee Wee Reese. But what happens when a player runs out of race tokens.

    Here is my webpage please click the following post - www.californiachief.com

    ReplyDelete
  23. 99, while the Sansa Clip+ has an entry price of $39.
    Just a few evenings ago we were at a meeting with other volunteers to find out more about RSVP: the Retired Senior Volunteer Program.
    This was a live performance recorded by Dutch national television,
    2 April 2011 (therefore it isn't fully cough free), by four pianists: Elisabeth Bergmann, Marcel Bergmann, Sandra van Veen, and Jeroen van Veen.

    My webpage :: chillout

    ReplyDelete
  24. I’m not that much of a online reader to be honeѕt but your blogs reаlly nice, keep
    it up! I'll go ahead and bookmark your site to come back later on. Many thanks

    my homepage; Lloyd Irvin

    ReplyDelete
  25. Greatе piеcеs. Keep pоsting such kіnd οf info on уοur blog.

    Ӏm reаlly impressed by yοur sitе.

    Hello therе, You've performed an incredible job. I'll cеrtaіnly digg іt
    and іn mу oρinion recommend to my friends.
    I'm confident they'll be benefited from thiѕ web ѕite.


    Hеre is my wеbpаge reputation management

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hey just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in your post seem to be running off the screen in
    Opera. I'm not sure if this is a formatting issue or something to do with browser compatibility but I figured I'd
    post to let you know. The design look great though!
    Hope you get the problem fixed soon. Cheers

    My homepage ... novoline tricks

    ReplyDelete
  27. This method of fishing also has a by-catch of non-target species such as sharks, dolphins, turtles, and other
    non-target fish species. The 360 Series from Aqua-Vu is specifically designed with a rugged encasement for ice fishing.
    Garmin Accuracy and Innovation Leads You to the Fish.



    my web page; http://www.flash-2000.ch/forum-baby/Baby/profile.
    php?mode=viewprofile&u=2481 ()

    ReplyDelete
  28. Thanks for your personal marvelous posting!
    I really enjoyed reading it, you will be a great author.

    I will always bookmark your blog and will often come
    back later on. I want to encourage yourself
    to continue your great writing, have a nice evening!

    Feel free to visit my homepage: mp3 player mit aufnahmefunktion

    ReplyDelete