Hope 'n Change

So...let's hope that this is a hugely misguided trial balloon. According to Reuters...the new JOBS bill coming out of congress will likely carry a $80B price tag ($$ to be taken from those with jobs). If you read the details below...it reads EXACTLY like what you would expect when one attempts to create jobs....you know...stuff like extending "jobless payments and healthcare subsidies for the unemployed". Correct me if I am wrong...but how exactly does giving money to unemployed people create jobs (or incentive to find a job)? Oh, that's right...they are just following Doogie's guidance. Let's just hope that this will change...

Senate jobs bill extends Medicare payment rates -text

Tue Feb 9, 2010 2:44pm EST

Related News

• Factbox: Reconciling U.S. Senate, House healthcare bills
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WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - A jobs-creation bill that could pass the Senate this week would delay a scheduled 20 percent reduction in doctor payments under the Medicare health-insurance program, according to a copy of the text obtained by Reuters.

BONDS

The bill also extends soon-to-expire jobless payments, healthcare subsidies for the unemployed and highway-funding programs, according to the text of the bill, which has not yet been introduced

And there she goes...

Table Talk

There is a standing tradition in our home...we eat dinner together and say a prayer together. But this is usually where all our allusions of great parenting stop. Tonight was no exception. You see...we have been having a particularly difficult time with Kade and Payton lately ... and their unending desire to make everyone laugh at the table through making bodily noises. We usually let the first offense go with just a warning but the second lands their butts in time-out. Tonight Kade fell victim to the 2-strike policy. Upon returning to the table from timeout:

Dad: "Kade, why did you go to time-out?"
Kade: "Because I burped at the table."
Dad: "What do you say?"
Kade: "Excuse me."
Dad: "I think you should say that you are sorry to the table."
Kade: Immediately looks down at the table and says with a straight
face...you guessed it..."I am sorry table"

Ahh...I should have known that was coming.

Kade is apparently an Evil Republican...

The past few weeks The Mrs. and I have been introducing Kade and Payton to the world of allowances. Now...seeing as how we are both well educated people who work honestly to put food on our table, we are vehemently opposed to the concept that our children are "Entitled" to an allowance. There are many people out there proffering advice on how to handle the whole allowance issue. One mainstream opinion seems to be that you should always give the allowance at regular intervals, like a paycheck. But...here is the rub that I have with this theory. That assumes that your child is as responsible at doing their chores as working adults (or...far yet worse, it simply assumes that your child is "Entitled" to an income because they walk the planet - something that far too many adults also currently believe). Reality is that a 3 year old and a 6 year old are not 100% dependable to do their chores every day. So...the Mrs. has fashioned nice chore charts which, when completed, can be redeemed for their allowance. I know...we are mean parents... expecting that they actually "do something" to earn some money....

Anyway, both Kade and Payton completed their first chore charts last night. This was the moment that they had been waiting for...they were very excited to be "getting their money". Coincidentally, Kade's school has been collecting $1 Haiti donations from students. So we asked Kade if he

would like to give $1 of his $5 allowance to Haiti. His response: "No........who is Haiti?" - [since his first response was "No", there is no question that he is an Evil Republican]. Jen took the time to explain that it was a place near Costa Rica that had a terrible earthquake, most of the houses and buildings collapsed and many people were hurt and even died. She then took him to the computer and showed him where it was on the map...and pulled up some pictures of the aftermath. At that point, she asked if he would like to help the people he saw on the computer by donating one of his hard earned dollars at school the next day. And being the Evil Republican that he is...he naturally said..."yes!". And thus, he just contributed 20% of his first paycheck to charity... very evil indeed (and don't forget to look at Obama's and Biden's charitable track records)!

Oh...on a separate note...in case you didn't catch Obama's pledge to "focus on Jobs and the economy" at the State of the Union...here is a great article about how his administration is "considering several steps that would review the legality of the controversial Bowl Championship Series". I am dying to hear how that is going to stimulate

the economy...unless they are planning to begin taxing collegiate sporting events. Oh wait...don't laugh...Doogie and the CBO are already working on it! (FYI - The CBO was asked to look at this by the Senate Finance Committee...chaired by...you guessed it...Max Baucus...who just happens to be trying to find revenue to fund...what was that...oh yeah...ObamaCare!! Hmmm...interesting...if you go all the way to the end you will see this (emphasis mine):

"Even reclassifying certain types of income might fail to be effective if the policy was intended to apply only to athletic departments. Unless the treatment of such income was consistent across the entire university, strong incentives would remain to shift income taxable to the athletic department to the nontaxed portion of the university. However, reclassifying certain types of income as unrelated, and therefore taxable, would have the advantage of focusing directly on the types of revenue that are associated with the relatively few highly commercial athletic departments rather than on the majority of athletic departments that engage in little commercial activity. "

Read that as...you need to make sure that you classify certain high income streams (from pg. 10: "such as corporate sponsorships or royalties from sales of branded merchandise") as taxable (and oh by the way...make sure there is a law preventing those slimy universities from unscrupulously shifting that revenue to other tax-exempt buckets)...and then bleed them dry. Wow - if that were the case...then why not double the fun by super concentrating those "high income streams" in something like...say...a prolonged playoff system where the highest grossing universities get to play...say...5 games instead of one??? Hmmm...now that sounds like an effort to tax universities...that should be good at lowering the cost of education. Ans as for all that new found revenue? It would obviously be immediately put to work generating JOBS! And there you have it. My 20 minute conspiracy for the night.

Just your ordinary trip to the SSA

Let me preface this entry by saying that this one is for senor J.T. (yes, Mr. Kentucky Royalty). I really hope a lion or tiger has not gotten him yet...

Yesterday I finally made the trip that I have been dreading. I needed to head on down to the local Social Security Administration branch to apply for a SS#/card for Avery (you see, it is kind of hard to do your taxes without it...well, at least correctly - unlike our Treasury Secretary...). To start...I had to sit in the waiting area for a little over an hour. That was an experience in and of itself. A couple of observations. First, there was the obligatory Purell dispenser at the door - which nobody used despite being in the grips of the worst epidemic of ALL time. Second, there were two beautiful portrait pictures of both Obama and Biden staring at me - as if they were personally there to re-assure me that this would be an efficient government operation. Third, there were about 20 signs on the walls telling people NOT to use their cellphones for security reasons - apparently the Framingham SSA office is a prime terrorist target in the making. Fourth, there was not a single sign in just one language...they were all in English and Spanish....go figure, no Mandarin or French. Fifth, there was a really annoying Chubby Checker sign staring at me ... I am very glad I can share that one with you. Lastly, there were a LOT of loud Latino ladies in the waiting area jibber-jabbing in Spanish as we waited. Their conversations were really interesting. Mainly stemming around how they were here to "get their money". Lovely. One even went so far as to tell the others that she needed to get into a car wreck so she could "get her money"...too bad she didn't buy a Toyota huh. Hmmm...knowing Spanish does have it's uses after all ;-)

But the real meat of the matter was what happened next when I was finally beckoned by the almighty SSA agent. I am sure that they saw me and thought...trouble! You could see it in the ladies eyes...she had me pegged as one of those folks trying to game the system. Don't worry...I had had over an hour with Chubby and Obama 2.0 to prepare ... I was ready for the fight!! (cue theme music from The Good, Bad and the Ugly):

Agent: She opens with a challenge. A flat toned statement of "What do you want?".

R: "A social security card for my daughter. She was born overseas and so I need to get one issued"

Agent: "How old?"

R: "11 months."

Agent: "She doesn't have one already?"

R: "Nope."

Agent: "Birth certificate."

R: "Well, here is her CRIBA..."

Agent: quizzical look...slight head tilt...

R: "Her Consular Report of Birth Abroad..."

Agent: Looks at CRIBA..."This is a birth certificate."

R: "Uh...ok." (I was tempted to ask her if it was the same kind of birth certificate that the fine gentleman with his picture on the wall also possesses ... you know...Obama 2.0's...but I didn't dare up the ante too fast here...)

Agent: "I will need a form of identification for her."

R: "Sure - here is her passport."

Agent: "No sir, I need a valid form of identification."

R: "I am pretty sure that a passport is valid identification, ma'am."

Agent: "Don't you have something like an immunization record?"

R: "Huh? You are aware that a passport is proof of citizenship and allows you to enter this country right? That is why we needed to get her a passport - issued by the very same government you work for - so we could come back to the US. Are you confused by the fact that she has a passport and not a SS#? "

Agent: "Yes. Are you sure she does not have a SS# already?"

R: "I am sure. You see, the state department is not in the business of issuing social security numbers. They are pretty busy making sure that the good guys get to come to the country and the bad guys stay away. They were focused on the CRIBA and the passport. The rest is your job."

Agent: "hold on please"...she goes to the back to check with here superior...comes back..."ok sir, you are right. A passport is an acceptable form of identification."

R: "Good to know."

Agent: I think she is starting to pick-up on some sarcasm at this point. "Sir, now I need to see your identification."

R: "Sure...here is my passport." I am pretty sure that she detected my delight as she looked into the big ass grin on my face when I said that!

Agent: "Ok, everything looks in order this should just take a minute."

Personally, the ignorance I can look past. I mean...come'on. How many times are they ever confronted with a situation like mine...you know...the kind where everything is actually done right? Judging from the Latino ladies conversations...I am betting it is a pretty rare occurrence. The piece that really grated me the wrong way was the fact that an immunization record was considered valid proof of identification. Are you kidding me? I am pretty sure I have a suggestion for my new state Senator...Senor Brown...maybe we should take a closer look at how easy it is to get on the Social Security gravy train???

Gotta love the good old SSA!

Kade's 6th Birthday (20 photos), by Jennifer Cavagnaro

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