More on "Big government isn't better"

Here's the second e-mail on the same subject which is very timely:

Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, points out some interesting statistics concerning the last Presidential election:

• Number of States won by: Obama: 19, McCain: 29
• Square miles of land won by: Obama: 580,000, McCain: 2,427,000
• Population of counties won by: Obama: 127 million, McCain: 143 million
• Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by: Obama: 13.2, McCain: 2.1

Professor Olson adds: "In aggregate, the map of the territory McCain won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of the country. Obama territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in low income tenements and living off various forms of government welfare."

Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the "complacency and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, (published Monday) with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase. If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty million criminal invaders called illegals, and they vote, then we can say goodbye to the USA as we know it.

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Big government isn't better

Following today and Wednesday are two entries from e-mails I received recently:

In 1887 Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years prior: "A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:

• From bondage to spiritual faith;
• From spiritual faith to great courage;
• From courage to liberty;
• From liberty to abundance;
• From abundance to complacency;
• From complacency to apathy;
• From apathy to dependence;
• From dependence back into bondage."

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A birthday wish to someone very special

Thank God for you and Happy Birthday to my little Irish Colleen in our 65th year together.

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Plentiful money

According to the talking heads, our economy sucks, everyone is complaining about high gas prices and there are no jobs or money to do anything. But our streets and highways are so crowded that traffic is grid-locked in most urban areas. It's going to stay like this at least until the election is over.

If the economy ever does recover and full employment does return, the roads will be so crowded we won't be able to get to work. The stimulus bills, cash for clunkers program, bail-outs and extended unemployment compensation packages along with the fact that about half the populace pay no taxes has kept the spending splurge alive and traffic heavy.

Meanwhile government officials are jetting around the country and the world in luxurious aircraft accompanied by an entourage of friends and media. They're enjoying the living standards that were once reserved for royalty. There's no money shortage in Washington. They just print more whenever they need it.

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Another political e-mail

A customer sent this recently. It's a little longer than I like to publish but it says a lot:

Bob and I have been business owners for many years, employing as many as 100 people at one time. Our employees helped to build those businesses, for which they were compensated with competitive wages, benefits, and profit sharing plans; and without our customers there would have been no business.

However, when it comes to actually building the business, we and our fellow business owners are the ones who invested our own money, put in 80 plus hours a week, went without salaries when necessary so that employees could be paid and expenses met, traveled the country seeking customers, took the hits when customers went out of business without paying, and signed personal guarantees for any loans that the businesses required for inventory, expansion, marketing, etc. Everyone who has owned a business or been self employed shares this story.

Anyone who owns a small business has helped create 75 to 80% of all the jobs in this country and has invested "blood, sweat, and tears" into making the business viable and keeping it successful. I believe Mr. Obama does not understand, or does not want to admit, this because he truly believes that our country's strength is not because of our American ingenuity, individualism, work ethic, and sense of personal responsibility. In my opinion, he believes that government is the answer regardless of the question.

He and other like minded leaders have led America to an untenable position of entitlement that has nearly 50% of this great country dependent on government programs. (Have you heard the ads soliciting new enrollees for SNAP, Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, formerly known as "food stamps?" And I won't even get started on the EBT card program that is rampant with abuse.) I believe that this goes beyond helping the poor and those with temporary needs and comes down to vote garnering.

There are many of Mr. Obama's policies and remarks with which I strongly disagree, but hearing his statement about us not doing it by ourselves lit a spark in me that I felt compelled to share. I believe that we who are like minded must do whatever we can to ensure that Barack Obama does not gain another term in office. And if you know someone who is leaning toward Obama because of social issues, try to encourage them to look beyond that to the real threat his administration poses to American freedoms, for the sake of our children and grandchildren.

Thanks and blessings.

Nancy

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A simple song

The song you will hear is from a Las Vegas Diamond Rio concert. They received a standing ovation, and do every time they perform it.

Click below:

PresidentsDay9.wmv

Here are the lyrics to the song:

In God We Still Trust

You place your hand on His bible, when you swear to tell the truth.
His name is on our greatest monuments an' all our money too.
An' when we pledge allegiance, there's no doubt where we stand:
There's no separation, we're one nation under Him.

In God, we still trust here in America,
He's the one we turn to every time the going gets tough.
He is the source of all our strength, the one who watches over us.
Here in America, in God, we still trust.

Now there are those among us,
Who want to push Him out.
And erase his name from everything,
This country's all about.
From the schoolhouse to the courthouse,
They're silencing His word,
And now it's time for all believers,
To make our voices heard.

In God, we still trust here in America,
He's the one we turn to every time the going gets tough.
He is the source of all our strength, the one who watches over us.
Here in America, in God, we still trust.
Here in America, in God, we still trust.
Here in America,
Here in America, in God, we still trust.
Here in America, in God, we still trust.
Here in America

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Is it just me?

Everyone is so busy talking, texting or e-mailing that nothing is getting done right these days. Purchases are problematic, shipments are late or not right and traffic is a nightmare with people texting or talking. You would think with all these phones you could talk to someone but just try talking to a real person at a government office, bank, cable or utility company.

If you want to hear a political dissertation on the beauty of being far left, tune in to MSNBC. On the other hand, if you want to hear about the joys of being a Republican visit Fox News. The rest of the networks all lean left. And speaking of TV, the most common expressions heard today are "Stay tuned" and "Coming up" followed by at least ten commercials.

The new iPhone® introduction has been heralded as something akin to the second coming. Lots of people are buying them so Apple will do quite well financially and stock brokers will make out like bandits. I just haven't figured out yet how talking, texting, tweeting, twittering or playing games on them is going to make a living for most of the folks who buy them.

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An e-mail from a reader

Dear Bill,

I sell carpet for a living, but I read your blog and check out your web site to keep up with the maintenance end of the business. I often find helpful tidbits that assist me in my own business even though it's not cleaning related. My compliments to the people who designed and maintain your site for its ease of navigation. And thank you for providing this excellent source of common sense information about the cleaning business and other things.

On another note, you get a bit political at times and I thank you for doing a public service for the small business community. I'm sending this in the hope you will put it in your blog since you have such a large following. If our country continues down the path to globalism (which you have written about) and socialism, we can expect drastic changes in taxation.

Current European Tax Rates:

United Kingdom Income Tax: 50% VAT: 17.5% = 67.5%
France                 Income Tax: 40% VAT: 19.6% = 59.6%
Greece                 Income Tax: 40% VAT: 25% = 65%
Spain                   Income Tax: 45% VAT: 16% = 61%
Portugal              Income Tax: 42% VAT: 20% = 62%
Sweden              Income Tax: 55% VAT: 25% = 80%
Norway               Income Tax: 54.3% VAT: 25% = 79.3%
Netherlands        Income Tax: 52% VAT: 19% = 71%
Denmark              Income Tax: 58% VAT: 25% = 83%
Finland                Income Tax: 53% VAT: 22% = 75%

Keep in mind that in spite of these astronomical tax rates, these countries can't finance their social welfare programs exclusively with tax revenues. They are all mired in gargantuan debt that threatens to collapse the European Union.

Greece has had a socialistic system for decades. Even with a 65% tax rate, they are drowning in public debt. Greece would have defaulted without billions in bailout money from the EU and the IMF which gets our tax money. 20% of the Greek population lives in poverty.

The VAT is the national sales tax that Europeans pay. Most started out at 1% or 2% and grew. A US VAT is what you can expect the current administration to propose after the election.

Bob Mathews

P.S. I just heard France is raising taxes on the rich to 70%. Does that sound familiar?

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Job "creation"

It must be "new" math they use in Washington. All of the talking heads were excited about the 114,000 new jobs "created" in September. But here are some ominous numbers from September. Those filing for unemployment compensation for the first time the week ending September 8 - 375,000; September 15 - 385,000; September 22 - 363,000; September 29 - 367,000. The total was 1,490,000. That's a long line for the people applying for those 114,000 jobs.

The official unemployment number was announced at "only" 7.8%. The Indianapolis Star used the adjective "soared" to describe the increase in new jobs. I wonder what adjective they'd use if it moved a whole percentage point? When the number was going the other way they said it was "inching." To the liberal press, it depends on the political expediency of the moment.

Do you know what precise scientific procedure the Labor Department uses to arrive at that 7.8% unemployment number? They make 50,000 random telephone calls and ask whomever answers the phone how many in the household are unemployed. Let that soak in awhile. The real number of people not working in this country must be more than 25%.

The crowd in Washington throws the word "created" around as if they were omnipotent. There is only one "Creator" and I seriously doubt that He would dwell in Washington, the headquarters of that cesspool we call politics.

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Third time around

QE 3 is not the name of an ocean liner. It means "quantitative easing" and this is the third time the Federal Reserve Bank has done it. Simply put that means the Fed is printing money to buy government bonds which have been downgraded by rating companies. This time the Fed is pumping 40 billion dollars a month into Treasury's bank account.

A simple analogy would be a family that gets into serious debt by overspending on a credit card and can't make the minimum payment. They use another credit card that hasn't yet found out they're deadbeats and they pay the minimum payment on the original card. If they get away with it, they do it a third time to make the minimum payment on the second card.

The stock market and big investment banks love the QE maneuvers and "Operation Twist" which pumped funny money into the banking and brokerage systems to keep them lucrative. The current scandal on insider trading is just the tip of the iceberg. I predict a day of reckoning is coming after the election in November. Better hunker down.

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J & J celebrates

More than 900 associates and their families gathered on the 15th of September at the North Georgia Agricultural Fairgrounds to celebrate J&J Industries' 55th anniversary. Besides prizes and entertainment, many long time employees were honored for their service.

David Jolly, President and CEO said, “J&J is so much more than just a carpet manufacturer. It’s a family of people dedicated to an idea and to each other. This commitment is what makes us strong, and it’s only right that we recognize our Associates and take every opportunity to thank them. Our Family Day is one small part of helping people spend time with their families and re energizing a spirit of community with their fellow employees.”

In 1983, Jim Keener, who is now retired, came to our annual convention and pleased the crowd with a surprise announcement that J & J Industries would be the first carpet manufacturer to publicly endorse the Bane-Clene® System. On several occasions over the years we had tours of their manufacturing facilities in Dalton by Bane-Clene operators from around the world. The friendliness of J&J's staff and management always impressed me.

Congratulations to J&J on their 55th and may you have many, many more years of success.

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Proud of them

Congratulations to Sam & Gaye Levine, owners of G. Fried Carpet & Design of Paramus, N.J., a Bane-Clene® customer for fourteen years. G. Fried is collaborating with CFA (Center for Food Action of Englewood, NJ) to sponsor a food drive.

G. Fried has been in business for 35 years and is sponsoring the event as a way of giving back to a community that had been so good to them. Donated food is given to help feed those hurt by the bad economy, needy children and seniors struggling on fixed incomes.

Their cleaning division is offering a 20% discount for on-location carpet cleaning and 10% on area rugs and their carpet store will give a 5% discount on purchases for those who drop off food. If you're in that area Call 201 967 1250 for store hours and a list of food they need.

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Invista announcement

“Our customers continue to tell us that nylon 6,6 fibers still have the best long term performance in soft flooring. Nylon 6,6 fibers are the optimum ‘go to’ fibers for the broadest variety of color schemes and offer a luxurious soft ‘hand’, excellent resiliency, durability, abrasion resistance and texture retention.

“But, now some consumers are looking for good performing value products that will live up to their expectations in terms of durability, stain resistance and ease of cleaning. Because of this, we tested more than 100 products of different constructions and weights that are representative of the market and selected the handful that meet our Stainmaster product specifications and satisfy those consumer needs.”

Call me an old stick-in-the-mud, but I hate to see change in something that has been so good. A source close to the industry tells me that the new Stainmaster line will have polyester and nylon products. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that the song that was sung in the '70s, '80s and early '90s when the carpet industry was on top of the heap?

Literally tons of cheap blends were dumped on the market and guess what? Yep! The market dissipated. As cleaners, we don't have any say in what the mills produce, but we are obligated to watch the performance of new products, especially blends, and report to our customers on their performance and cleanability. Keep your eyes open and let me know what you see.

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E-mail asks if we're better off

Bill,

Remember all that "Hope and Change" talk from 2008? Well here is the change!

In January 2009 the average price of a gallon of gas was $1.83. Now it's $3.44 - an 84% increase. The number of unemployed was 11,616,000, now it's 14,485,000 - up 24.7%.
Long term unemployed were 2,600,000 then, now there are 6,400,000 - up 146.2%.

Median household income was $50,112 now it's $49,777 - down 0.7%.
Number of food stamp recipients were 31,983,716, now there are 43,200,878 - up 35.1%.
The poverty rate in 2009 was 13.2%, now it's 14.3% - up 8.3%.

Unemployment benefit recipients were 7,526,598, now 9,193,838 - up 22.2%.
Bank failures in 2009 were 140, last year 164 banks failed - an increase of 17.1%.
National debt in 2009, $10.627 (T)rillion, Flash...it just passed 16 (T)rillion

Francene "Frankie" Sandlin

Thanks for the cheery e-mail Frankie. Even though I doubt the accuracy of some of the figures, they're probably a lot closer to being right than they're wrong. While the numbers are shocking, here's a web site that will really make you shake in your boots:

http://www.usdebtclock.org/

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Bank loans

Small companies looking for loans in August found some. The overall volume of applications and approval rates were up at small banks where loan approvals increased slightly to 47%. But big banks, those that got most of the big bail out funds and have $10 Billion or more in assets, granted only 10% of their loan requests from small businesses.

Alternative lenders such as accounts receivable financiers, cash advance lenders and Community Development Financial Institutions approved 64% of loan requests for small business. Naturally there is no record of business the loan shark community did or of the number of loans that were given to small business people by friends and relatives.

The latest "QE" is doling out 40 Billion a month and big banks are hoarding the cash. One of the really big ones just announced they're cutting 30,000 jobs over the next two years. Meanwhile top execs will get their bonuses while taxpayers pick up the unemployment compensation tab. The message is simple. A small business should not do business with a big bank.

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