Thanks to Congress BP is only liable for the first $75 million in cleanup costs then who do you think pays? That's right the US taxpayer. I don't understand. This is not a natural disaster, we know what and who caused it. If you want to socialize this corporations loss the States affected should pay. Of course we all know that won't happen. Much like the corporation they derive benefit from the oil but when there is a problem they are no where to be found. So, it is left to the people from the affected states to pay for the clean-up and continue to pay high prices at the pump.
When you think about it the oil business is a pretty sweet deal. The producers rent land from us (Federal land, US taxpayer), sell us a product at high cost, and then ask us to fund any clean-up due to the manufacture of the product. Wow only in America. You could call this business model Socialism except there is no for the good of the public involved. No, it is all about what is good for the corporation.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Oil leak in the Gulf
Hey TEA party Patriots where are you on the oil leak?
I think that it is about time that companies take responsibility for the manufacture and distribution as well as the sales of their products. These companies when complaining about taxes say that they are the engine of the country and as such do not derive anything from the government. But yet they want roads built, they want the government to condemn property so that they can build a factory, mine, oil well,…they want taxpayer money to build the factories, mines, oil wells,… they want government to clean up their mess. It would be one thing if BP and the rest of the oil companies put money into a fund for the inevitable cleanup, but they don't. I find this whole thing incredibly ironic. When you have industry and an estimated 30% of the population screaming about socialism you have a company that caused the largest ecological disaster in recent times asking for the evil government to help. Isn't that by its very nature SOCIALISM!. They have the money to go on the open market and buy the resources to clean this mess up and if they don't their share holders should have to cover the cost. We keep hearing that we're entitled to our money because we took the risk, what risk, having your uncle step in and clean up your mess.
I think that it is about time that companies take responsibility for the manufacture and distribution as well as the sales of their products. These companies when complaining about taxes say that they are the engine of the country and as such do not derive anything from the government. But yet they want roads built, they want the government to condemn property so that they can build a factory, mine, oil well,…they want taxpayer money to build the factories, mines, oil wells,… they want government to clean up their mess. It would be one thing if BP and the rest of the oil companies put money into a fund for the inevitable cleanup, but they don't. I find this whole thing incredibly ironic. When you have industry and an estimated 30% of the population screaming about socialism you have a company that caused the largest ecological disaster in recent times asking for the evil government to help. Isn't that by its very nature SOCIALISM!. They have the money to go on the open market and buy the resources to clean this mess up and if they don't their share holders should have to cover the cost. We keep hearing that we're entitled to our money because we took the risk, what risk, having your uncle step in and clean up your mess.
A few things about Madison
As you know I don't live in Madison. There are a few observations that I have being an outsider. First the biggest fans of UW athletics are people who never went to school there. Second is the obsession about everything that Madison governmental units do by people who don't live in the city. Case in point, the Madison school budget. My attitude is yeah they are short and they are going to have to do something about it. But I over hear all of these conversations about how the Madison teachers should get a pay cut, that our taxes will go up, and that the board won't make the tough choices. The problem with these comments is that they come from people who don't live in the school district. Another one is the Edgewater Hotel project. The proposal will use a lot of TIF money to finance. This is such a non-issue for us non-residents but these non-residents obsess over this like it is their town spending the money.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Born in East LA
The new Arizona immigration bill has got me thinking a lot about Cheech and Chong's Born in East LA (lyrics, trailer, movie). How does an American citizen prove that they are an American? We are not required to carry our papers. To listen to the right, drivers licenses are not acceptable (however, when I got mine I had to use a birth certificate). To listen to the birthers, a "certificate of live birth" is not enough. They probably wouldn't think that a passport is enough (the President has one). So what are the brown colored people in Arizona going to use? Some of these families have been here before Arizona was part of the US. Everyone knows that this law will be unfairly enforced on the hispanics just like in the Cheech and Chong song/ movie. What if the hispanic police officers in Arizona decide to start pulling over people for being white while driving and asking them to prove citizenship. I would think that it would be probable cause when you cannot produce the required documents. My guess is that the law would be short lived.
The reality of this situation is that the State of Arizona passed a law that is not enforceable and likely unconstitutional. It violate the equal protection clause, but with this court you never know. A better law would have been to require e-verify, which is already optional Federal law. E-verify requires the employer to verify citizenship and fill out an I-9 form.
This country does not have an immigration problem they have an employer problem. If the employers would not hire illegals there would be a lot less illegals in the country. Everyone concedes that most illegals have some type of job. Most of these jobs are in the underground economy of work for cash. Much of this work is done below minimum wage as well. I say we solve our emploer problem and go a long way towards solving the illegal immigration problem. It maynot result in the 12 million going back but it should result in many leaving.
The critics of such a proposal will say that they will stay and collect welfare. Again, where does it say that welfare payments can go to illegal immigrates. Citizenship should be checked when you sign up for benefits. N0w we just have the children born in the US to illegal parents to worry about. In these cases a path to citizenship should be made available.
It seems ridiculous that Cubans are granted citizenship immediately upon setting foot in the US whereas everyone else has to go through a lengthy process. This has got to change as well.
The reality of this situation is that the State of Arizona passed a law that is not enforceable and likely unconstitutional. It violate the equal protection clause, but with this court you never know. A better law would have been to require e-verify, which is already optional Federal law. E-verify requires the employer to verify citizenship and fill out an I-9 form.
This country does not have an immigration problem they have an employer problem. If the employers would not hire illegals there would be a lot less illegals in the country. Everyone concedes that most illegals have some type of job. Most of these jobs are in the underground economy of work for cash. Much of this work is done below minimum wage as well. I say we solve our emploer problem and go a long way towards solving the illegal immigration problem. It maynot result in the 12 million going back but it should result in many leaving.
The critics of such a proposal will say that they will stay and collect welfare. Again, where does it say that welfare payments can go to illegal immigrates. Citizenship should be checked when you sign up for benefits. N0w we just have the children born in the US to illegal parents to worry about. In these cases a path to citizenship should be made available.
It seems ridiculous that Cubans are granted citizenship immediately upon setting foot in the US whereas everyone else has to go through a lengthy process. This has got to change as well.
Banking Bill Dies
Sen. McConnell could not understand why we vote on a bill that would not address the problems with the banking industry. Gee Mitch how long have you been a Senator? The vote was for whether there could be debate. Can't have discussion and the chance to amend the bill. You could of had discussion and then killed the final version before there was a real vote. Could it be that he feared that he would not be able to hold together the 41 votes? Could it be amendments that would reinstate the regulations of the FDR administration might be popular? Could it be that the people want the financial markets regulated and realize that what is proposed doesn't go far enough. I'm glad that they didn't pass this bill but they need to pass something and it should be soon before the banks collapse again.
Reflections on Earth Day
As I think about all of the things that were done to raise the environmental awareness of the population on this the 40th anniversary of Earth Day I couldn't help but wonder where was Sarah Palin? Was she breaking ground on a new oil well with Sen. Inhofe? Was she blasting a mountaintop in Virginia? How about helping loggers clear cut part of Alaska? Or maybe she was "hunting" wolves from helicopters in Alaska? It seemed strange that there was no mention about what the biggest environmental critic in the country was up to on Earth Day.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Commuting by bike
It is no secret that I bike a lot. It also is no secret that I don't live close to work. Days when I ride it is about 20 miles one way after driving about 15 miles. Now comes this proposal from the Mayor of Madison that the goal is 20% by 2020. Currently the city is at a little over 2%. My contention is that you don't have 20% of the population who are even recreational cyclists. It is a great goal but I just don't see the numbers to draw from. The cycling community is quite small although the people who complain about us make it sound like it is 100% of the residents of Madison. A better solution would be to see if we could get 20% of school kids (not counting the University) to ride to school.
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