Pimps and Unions; Aren’t They Really the Same?

This is actually a reprint of a post I made on another blog, but I believe it was before it was getting any regular traffic. I also thought it was appropriate in light of the continuous government decision (they don't ask us) to give GM billions of dollars just to make it a few more months. Whether you agree with trying to save the American car companies or not, I think we all have to agree that there's got to be a limit. And what point do we cut off the addict and say enough is enough?

The reason I'm reprinting this article is because from my perspective you can't place expectations on the car companies to succeed with the billions of dollars we are giving them, without giving them the freedom to restructure the way they do business. Being forced to deal with the union is what's hurting them and the employees that are getting let go. So here goes, I hope you like it...

So before I get to what I feel are the obvious similarities between Pimps and Labor Unions, I have a very important question that I know many of you have discussed or thought about and one time or another. How is it that Pimps talk themselves into a job in the first place? Do they go up to prostitutes on the street and say “I got a proposition for you. You go find work and give me 70% of your money, and I’ll beat the crap out of you when I feel like it.” Is that how the negotiation works? Because let me tell you, agents only get 10% if I’m correct, and they actually find you work. If I were that prostitute I’d slap that pimp upside the head and tell him “hell no. Why would I give you 70%, 50%, or even 10% when I can keep 100%?” That seems like the obvious response from all prostitutes to wanna-be pimps. But somehow, there’s still a profession of pimps out there. Makes no sense to me.

Now that we’ve established that Pimps will take your money and beat you senseless, let’s look at just exactly what labor unions do for people. So they tell you they that they will negotiate your salary and benefits on your behalf. But this is obviously not a free service. Rather than charging you a one-time finders fee, they charge you in the form of union dues. And this comes directly out of your pay check either every time you get paid or once a month. And correct me if I’m wrong, in most union run companies, you don’t get the opportunity to opt out of the union to handle your own negotiations. You’re either in or you’re unemployed. Correct?

Next comes the negotiations, so after they’ve been taking everyone’s money for so long they have to make it look like they are doing more than just collecting dues every month. They need to justify their existence. So they rile up the payers of the dues and convince them that they need more of this, that, or the other and if they don’t get it, it’s worth striking over. So the union leaders go to management and make generally unreasonable demands and insist on their way or the highway. This is all in spite of the fact that management is telling them they just can’t afford all of that. But the union leaders refuse to budge because they want to look like heroes in an effort to justify their existence. So they force a strike and all the dues paying workers are forced to walk the picket line, which means they are no longer earning a paycheck. Well most of these people can’t afford to go without a paycheck, but nonetheless, this is expected so strike they must.

What happens if you try to cross the picket line? Haven’t you all seen Hoffa? And isn’t that when they were actually doing the workers some good? They beat them senseless. But since they probably have media outlets and the cops on the payroll, it’s not a big story. The only story is that they are on strike and management is being unreasonable and the union won’t budge because it is only “fair.” I tell you this, is it fair for them to take your money and then force you to not take a paycheck for a while? Is it fair for them to bitch-slap you if you disagree with them?

So then they go back to the negotiating table after a few days, weeks, or months and concede some of their demands but miraculously strike a deal with management and they are heroes, who by the way weren’t technically on strike since they were working for the strikers. So their incomes didn’t take a hit. Had you not paid them one bit of dues and not gone without a check while on strike, you’d probably be better off financially than you are with their “help.”So let’s sum up the comparison between the two:

Pimps
-Take money from the hard working Prostitutes
-Force Prostitutes to do as they say
-Beat them if they try to run away
-Provide nothing of value for Prostitutes

Unions
-Take money from the workers actually doing the work for the company
-Force union workers to follow union rules
-Beat workers who dare cross the picket line
-Provide nothing of value for workers

I think I’ve made my point.

Why Aren't We Furious?

When did we as a nation decide it was ok to let our government hijack us and take over? Both candidates had the opportunity to end this campaign by coming out against this bail-out. No one expected Obama to, but McCain, he could have come out against this ridiculous bill and been outspoken against encouraging irresponsibility in this country on a corporate level and on and personal level. This campaign would be over if he had done that. But he didn't. He was too chicken and decided to go with the flow on this one and once again "reach across the aisle." If I hear anymore about "reaching across the isle," I'm going to hack a hair ball. That's not to say they don't need to work together but they aren't supposed to rob us and then try and convince us why it's necessary to take money from us and redistribute it to the irresponsible. On top of that after they pull that off against our will, they keep giving them more money after the fact.

The best thing McCain can say now is that he will stabilize the market by buying back bad mortgages and renegotiating them at fair market value. Well what about the good mortgages that potentially are no longer at "fair market value?" How is that fair to the rest of us. How do I benefit from paying for their "bad mortgages" to be renegotiated while the government (aka you and me) picks up the difference? Why don't you come up with something real that will help the average American? Like the fair tax? You know all about it. That's the most "bipartisan" solution out there and yet you who "reaches across the aisle" can't even publicly suggest this as your tax solution to help the American people.

And yet we joe citizen sit back and do nothing like our hands our tied. Is this what you want America? Do you want the government to take over our banks? Next comes the auto industry, then slowly everything else and before you know it, we are all government employees paying 60%-70% or more in taxes just to support their inefficiency. We better get pissed off. We better not let them take our power away from us. One of the best suggestions I've heard is to vote the incumbent out regardless of party affiliation. Not a bad idea unless the incumbent really has voted consistently in such a way to reduce the size of government and protect the tax payers.

I'd like to suggest starting by voting for me and Riley. If anyone tries to bring up such ridiculous legislation, Riley will show her teeth. If they vote for it she will attack until they change their vote and learn their lesson for the future.

Don't get complacent. You no longer have to choose between the lesser of two evils. Because I'm not evil. I'm tough and firm, and I really will fight for you the tax payer.

Where's the "Thank You" After Robbing Us?

Here's how your representatives either failed you or stuck to their guns.

Luckily my representative stuck to his guns when both of my senators bailed/caved to the corruption of a government high on power. So did Ron Paul. Good for them.

Just know I wouldn't put you tax payers on the hook and try to insult your intelligence by throwing a couple of tax breaks your way. You'd get those tax breaks without being forced to pay $700 Billion against your will. Lola and Riley aren't messing around and won't tolerate that type of economic terrorism.

Oh and don't buy the whole "tax payer investment" rhetoric. You will never ever see any of that money back. You will never get a check in the mail. Even though based on the population of about 300,000,000 people in the United States we should each get at least $2333 back per person. Although that should only go to families that actually pay taxes every year between now and "making that money back." Or should be prorated based on how many of those years those families pay taxes. And we should all get that back with interest. But that's not going to happen. Because they need to fund nationalized health care which by the way they'll still have to raise your taxes to pay for. So a family of 4 that pays taxes every year between now and then would get a check in the mail for at least $9332 plus interest. This is outside of their regular filing.

Have a great weekend because the value of your money is about to take a nose dive. Oh and welcome to the life of Europeans. But that's what 80% of you want right? Because you have no idea what's really going on over there.

How Your Senators Voted

I might consider moving to Kansas, Wyoming, Alabama, Louisiana, or Mississippi since those are the only states where both Senators listened. The "No Votes" are listed in red below. Your representatives will be at it again so don't forget to keep writing or calling.


CALIFORNIA
Barbara Boxer (D) Yes; Dianne Feinstein (D) Yes.
Alabama
Sessions (R) No; Shelby (R) No.
Alaska
Murkowski (R) Yes; Stevens (R) Yes.
Arizona
Kyl (R) Yes; McCain (R) Yes.
Arkansas
Lincoln (D) Yes; Pryor (D) Yes.
Colorado
Allard (R) No; Salazar (D) Yes.
Connecticut
Dodd (D) Yes; Lieberman (I) Yes.
Delaware
Biden (D) Yes; Carper (D) Yes.
Florida
Martinez (R) Yes; Nelson (D) No.
Georgia
Chambliss (R) Yes; Isakson (R) Yes.
Hawaii
Akaka (D) Yes; Inouye (D) Yes.
Idaho
Craig (R) Yes; Crapo (R) No.
Illinois
Durbin (D) Yes; Obama (D) Yes.
Indiana
Bayh (D) Yes; Lugar (R) Yes.
Iowa
Grassley (R) Yes; Harkin (D) Yes.
Kansas Brownback (R) No; Roberts (R) No.
Kentucky
Bunning (R) No; McConnell (R) Yes.
Louisiana
Landrieu (D) No; Vitter (R) No.
Maine
Collins (R) Yes; Snowe (R) Yes.
Maryland
Cardin (D) Yes; Mikulski (D) Yes.
Massachusetts
Kennedy (D) Not Voting; Kerry (D) Yes.
Michigan
Levin (D) Yes; Stabenow (D) No.
Minnesota
Coleman (R) Yes; Klobuchar (D) Yes.
Mississippi
Cochran (R) No; Wicker (R) No.
Missouri
Bond (R) Yes; McCaskill (D) Yes.
Montana
Baucus (D) Yes; Tester (D) No.
Nebraska
Hagel (R) Yes; Nelson (D) Yes.
Nevada
Ensign (R) Yes; Reid (D) Yes.
New Hampshire
Gregg (R) Yes; Sununu (R) Yes.
New Jersey
Lautenberg (D) Yes; Menendez (D) Yes.
New Mexico
Bingaman (D) Yes; Domenici (R) Yes.
New York
Clinton (D) Yes; Schumer (D) Yes.
North Carolina
Burr (R) Yes; Dole (R) No.
North Dakota
Conrad (D) Yes; Dorgan (D) No.
Ohio
Brown (D) Yes; Voinovich (R) Yes.
Oklahoma
Coburn (R) Yes; Inhofe (R) No.
Oregon
Smith (R) Yes; Wyden (D) No.
Pennsylvania
Casey (D) Yes; Specter (R) Yes.
Rhode Island
Reed (D) Yes; Whitehouse (D) Yes.
South Carolina
DeMint (R) No; Graham (R) Yes.
South Dakota
Johnson (D) No; Thune (R) Yes.
Tennessee
Alexander (R) Yes; Corker (R) Yes.
Texas
Cornyn (R) Yes; Hutchison (R) Yes.
Utah
Bennett (R) Yes; Hatch (R) Yes.
Vermont
Leahy (D) Yes; Sanders (I) No.
Virginia
Warner (R) Yes; Webb (D) Yes.
Washington
Cantwell (D) No; Murray (D) Yes.
West Virginia
Byrd (D) Yes; Rockefeller (D) Yes.
Wisconsin
Feingold (D) No; Kohl (D) Yes.
Wyoming
Barrasso (R) No; Enzi (R) No.

If you're interested how your Representatives voted on Monday, it's too big to print here.

Food for Thought, Never to Forget

Check out this article regarding the bail out of wall street from Time.com.
www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1845209,00.html
For those of you that don't want to bother reading it, I have copied the last paragraph for your reading pleasure to sum it up. "Let the poorly managed, overly risk-taking financial institutions fail! Always remember that Wall Street and the real economy are not the same thing."

Don't forget people, it's still not over. They are going to continue to try and use your tax dollars to pass some sort of bail out. Keep writing your senators and representatives to let them know you oppose any kind of "loan" or however they want to spin it, with your tax dollars.

Gas prices. Don't get complacent because they are coming down some. I realize they have agreed to let the ban expire on off shore drilling. But let me remind you of a simple fact of why this is so important. Billions of dollars are being sent to the middle east to support our demand for oil. This is money that we will spend regardless, but it is currently helping their economy. Just think what a boost it is to our economy if we stop sending it overseas and start to spend that money in our own economy.

Health Care. Here's a quote that you never ever ever want to forget about when talk comes up of nationalizing health care:

"If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free!"

P.J. O'Rourke

Just remember nothing is free when it comes to the government. And the only people out there to pay for it is you and me. Be careful what you ask them to take care of because they will likely do it less inefficiently than you could yourself, or someone else for you.

Slippery Slope, Smoke-Screen, or Both?

With the recent "drama" of the mortgage industry bail-out in session, I saw some news last night that infuriated me, but it was bed time and this presidential candidate needs her rest. Especially when she's infuriated so she can form rational thoughts to share with you. This wasn't overlooked on talk radio today which we can be grateful for. But I'm convinced 90% of Americans weren't listening or paying attention. But they should be. You all should be. This affects you and the future of this country.

"A bill set to be passed by Congress and signed by President Bush as early as this weekend—separate from the controversial Wall Street bailout plan—includes $25 billion in loans for the beleaguered Detroit automakers and several of their suppliers." (Click on the quote for the full story from usnews.com.)

So not only are we bailing out the poor business and personal practices of banks and their lendees, now the auto industry has their hand out saying "what about us." The hope is that you won't notice since $25 billion is a trivial amount compared to $700 billion. I don't know where congress comes from but where I come from 50,000 smart people could probably retire on $25 billion or be dang close to it. That's a lot of money! If that $25 billion were going to the banks, it would still be unacceptable in my book.

What industry is next? You can't give government money to one and not expect the others not to come pounding at your door.

When will you people get infuriated by this trend by our senators and representatives to increase the size of government so large, that you have no choice but to depend on them? You should be fighting this to your grave if you care about your children and grandchildren. Don't give into their out of control practices. Government interference is what got us into this mess to begin with, how can government interference possibly be better than letting the free market work it out. Granted times might be tough for awhile, but the resiliency of the American people will prevail.

If American auto makers can't keep up with the quality and demand of the foreign auto makers, tough luck. The American people shouldn't be forced to keep them alive. They should figure it out on their own or go away.

If I am elected, any garbage like this making it to my desk will be vetoed. But not before publicly humiliating every single member of the house and senate who voted in favor of it. You can be sure of that. Dog's honor...

Government is NOT the Answer to Your Problems

Whether you believe in creation or the big bang, government was not there to help the first people on earth gather their food, build their houses, and fix any damage to them after a storm. They worked hard to do this on their own and looked for ways to improve things on their own. How do you think we've come so far? Over time, left to their own devices private citizens have learned how to improve processes and methods to develop technology far beyond the imagination of the first people on earth. All without the help of government.

Families came together to help raise their own, not intrude on other families to insist that it be done one superior way. That's not to say children shouldn't be defended if they are severely injured or sexually abused. But a parent should be allowed to discipline as they see fit. Parents should take responsibility for raising their kids to be productive, responsible, members of society, not depend on the government to do it. And if hard times fall on a family member, the family should come together to help them out. That's not to say they should enable them to be lazy, drug addicts, or something else. But it used to be that families and churches provided the temporary help for their members to help them during the hard times that happen and celebrate with them when they make it past those hard times.

When this is left to the government, it will cost way more than necessary and they will seize your money to help someone you may not care to help whether you want them to or not. When did government become the solution? Everyone should know by now that if left to the government, things like charity, education, food, clothing, etc etc are executed in such an inefficient manner that it should be criminal how much of our hard earned tax dollars are wasted.

History has taught us this over and over and over and yet we still let politicians try to buy our votes by promising us this and that. With our money no less, with the exception of those that don't pay taxes.

We all have choices and we should be expected to live within our means rather than rely on the government to bail us out every time we make a bad decision. The same goes for corporations. They shouldn't be bailed out every time they enter in to bad decisions. And now because they did, responsible tax payers are footing the bill for it. That isn't right. Companies that make bad decisions should be allowed to fail and go away. People that make bad choices should be allowed to fail. If you don't experience failure, how are you going to learn to make better decisions the next time around? And how are you going to reassess your situation to make cut backs to live within your means if you've been taught that it doesn't matter, "big brother" will bail you out?

Personal Responsibility should be demanded of all of us, not just those who take pride in it. You can't change history but you sure can learn from it. Well you should learn from it to change the future.