![\"clip_image002\"](\"http:\/\/jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/clip_image00269.gif\" "\\"clip_image002\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nIf something can\u2019t go on forever, it will stop. The US exponential growth in spending and deficits cannot go on forever.<\/p>\n
The US budget system has a built in exponential rise in spending: that is, under the rules, any appropriation to any department that doesn\u2019t include a rise is counted as a cut, and a freeze or actual decrease becomes for the lobbyists a \u201cdrastic cut\u201d and generally \u201cbalancing the budget on the backs of the poor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Orange County sanitation workers earn an average of about $100,000 a year. That includes part time workers. That\u2019s a bit high for public service employees in California but not outrageously so. That\u2019s state and county, but it\u2019s indicative. In general public service employees including federal have guaranteed jobs paying a good 25% more than they would earn in similar private employment subject to layoff.<\/p>\n
Tax reforms are important, and both Cain and Perry have tax reform plans; but before the US will get out of this hole it has to stop spending money we don\u2019t have. What I want to hear from the candidates is just what they will cut, not what they will do about taxes.<\/p>\n
At least the candidates seem united in denouncing Dodd-Frank, ObamaCare, Sorbanes-Oxley, and much of the regulatory spate that has plagued us. Cutting regulations \u2013 freedom \u2013 is a more sure way out of this economic mess than adjusting taxes, and the most attractive part of Perry\u2019s plan is that he wants to exploit American resources and move toward energy independence. Low cost energy and freedom will get us out of this economic hole, but not if we continue to spend more money than we take in. We\u2019re not borrowing for the future. We\u2019re spending like drunks.<\/p>\n
If something cannot go on forever it will stop. But it can go on long enough that the stop comes too late. As in bleeding.<\/p>\n
Ron Paul\u2019s plan is the most drastic. http:\/\/blogs.wsj.com\/washwire\/2011\/10\/17\/ron-pauls-economic-plan-cut-5-cabinet-agencies-cut-taxes-cut-presidents-pay\/<\/a><\/p>\n None of the candidate plans will be adopted unchanged. All will have many adjustments. They are all moving in the right direction. And any of them is preferable to four more years of this.<\/p>\n Newt and the Next-in-Line Problem<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.americanthinker.com\/2011\/10\/newt_and_the_next_in_line_problem.html<\/a><\/p>\n "Of the remaining viable candidates, there is only one who is not a part of the establishment, has laid out a viable plan to rescue the country, is not intimidated by the mainstream media or the Democrat smear machine, is knowledgeable of how to get drastic changes through the congressional legislative meat grinder, is more than capable of overwhelming Barack Obama in a debate, is experienced in foreign affairs, has a record of conservative legislative accomplishments, and can articulate to the American people as to where he will take the country. It is time for the Republican primary voters to rediscover Newt Gingrich."<\/p>\n I thought this would entertain you. Certainly as I examine the flawed candidates, Newt has gone from my no possible way category to my consider category.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Gingrich\u2019s flaws are mostly personal, and certainly no more severe than Cinton\u2019s were. He\u2019s generally still the smartest man in the room whatever room you\u2019re in, and his conservatism is principled and founded on good historical knowledge. His major political flaw is a tendency to say things that he doesn\u2019t mean and can\u2019t really defend, but which seemed like a good idea at the time. In many cases they are ideas he hasn\u2019t thought through. <\/p>\n This is a virtue in most circumstances, but it\u2019s not a virtue when done in public. It\u2019s one thing to be a Global Warming Skeptic who thinks there ought to be more conservative participation in the Climate Change debate; it\u2019s quite another to participate in an Al Gore fund raising ad. That\u2019s so far from a virtue as to raise suspicion of a temporary lapse of sanity. You don\u2019t induce the Pelosi-Gore camp towards fair play by trying to set an example for them. That kind of negotiation only works within small communities, the sort of society that academia once was when everyone has a shared dedication to finding the truth. There is precious little of that in academia, less in American politics, and about zero in the world of international politics.<\/p>\n Newt Gingrich has many outstanding virtues.<\/p>\n \u201cThis day is called the feast of Crispian\u201d<\/p>\n http:\/\/thisainthell.us\/blog\/?p=27169<\/a><\/p>\n "Brandon reminds us that today is Saint Crispin\u2019s Day and the anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 during the Hundred Years War and immortalized in Shakespeare\u2019s \u201cHenry V\u201d who gave us the \u201cBand of Brothers\u201d speech."<\/p>\n Worth remembering.<\/p>\n Graves<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n I\u2019ve been meaning to work these into an essay, but I haven\u2019t. They are worth your attention. I\u2019ve been saving them in open Firefox tabs, and I have to cut those way back since Firefox keeps crashing on me. You can\u2019t keep a lot of tabs open for a long time. What\u2019s needed is an automatic way to add a bunch of tabs into a pull down list attached to a bookmark-like tab but is for temporary bookmarks. Or maybe I just need to study the problem better.<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.theregister.co.uk\/2011\/10\/14\/esa_amateurs_spot_near_earth_asteroid\/<\/a><\/p>\n http:\/\/www.timeshighereducation.co.uk\/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=417361&c=1<\/a><\/p>\n http:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/stories\/0911\/64612.html<\/a><\/p>\n http:\/\/hotair.com\/archives\/2011\/10\/18\/celebrated-redistributionists-discover-healthy-respect-for-private-property\/<\/a><\/p>\n http:\/\/www.infowars.com\/state-department-agitator-advising-occupy-movement\/<\/a><\/p>\n http:\/\/us1.campaign-archive2.com\/?u=a08314c42670c972d435f9af0&id=9163420691&e=b825265d5a<\/a><\/p>\n http:\/\/www.aipnews.com\/talk\/forums\/thread-view.asp?tid=19857<\/a> (hormesis)<\/p>\n View 698 Tuesday, October 25, 2011 If something can\u2019t go on forever, it will stop. The US exponential growth in spending and deficits cannot go on forever. The US budget system has a built in exponential rise in spending: that is, under the rules, any appropriation to any department that \u2026 Continue reading <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n\n
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