The Message Problem ....

Republicans continue to scratch their heads in trying to figure out what happened last November.  While the finger-pointing continued for several months ... they finally decided that they needed to look at themselves to figure out what went wrong.

Their conclusion?

It's a message problem.

Good, they finally realized ... wait - What?

Let me see if I get this straight.  They think that they lost track of how to convey their message to the American people.  They believed that Obama and the Democrats have a better reach, can articulate their message better and sold the American people on the Path we're on.  The Republicans look to themselves as failing to deliver the message to the American people that would've swayed them to their side.

But there's a problem with that analysis ...

... it's not a message problem.

... it's a belief problem.

If you took a long line and called it the spectrum of politics, the Republicans are in full retreat to their side of the spectrum.  Democrats have shifted more central and that's why a lot of libertarians and many progressive conservatives swung to the left this past election.

A message problem is: "you're confused with what I'm telling you, let me try to put it a different way."
A belief problem is: "you're not thinking along the same lines I am."

And Republicans are notoriously blind and deaf to that notion.

Take health care reform as your example.  The majority of Americans want it.  Majority - which means not just the Democrats or the left-leaners ... this also includes a lot of conservatives - the majority.  Republicans have battered the process - not because they LISTENED to what their constituency said ... it's because they LISTENED to those who are lining their coffers handsomely.

The Republicans have become the advocate for big corporations - and they don't blink an eye at that or try to deny it ... they KNOW that's who they are advocates for because the majority of Americans are signing on with the Democrats.  If you took campaign finance reform - and did away with rich corporate donations - I'm doubtful the Republicans could muster anything beyond a bake sale...

So how did this shift happen?  Reagan won in the 1980's because he continually reached to the center ... and that won him two terms.  It's the same basic formula that Obama has used ... and if the Democrats were smart (not saying they are - but if they were) - then they will keep working the formula they will inherit.

As for Republicans - my only advice is this: start listening to the American people and start paying less attention to those holding the bling at the end of the line.  Remember who you represent - and who the founding fathers told you to represent.  Corporations is not a word in the Constitution, nor is the word "business" or "capitalism."  You guys keep waiving the Constitution like it's a flag - but you fail to administer your own responsibilities to our fabled document.

I dream of a day when our representatives start representing the people that pull the levers every election cycle.  I realize it's a pipe dream - but you have to start somewhere, right?

The Bartender - Taxation .... fraud

(seen this before - but good for laughs another time around...)

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100…

If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this…

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.

The fifth would pay $1.

The sixth would pay $3.

The seventh would pay $7..

The eighth would pay $12.

The ninth would pay $18.

The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that’s what they decided to do..

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve ball. “Since you are all such good customers,” he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20″. Drinks for the ten men would now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men? The paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share?

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by a higher percentage the poorer he was, to follow the principle of the tax system they had been using, and he proceeded to work out the amounts he suggested that each should now pay.

And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% saving).

The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% saving).

The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% saving).

The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% saving).

The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% saving).

The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% saving).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings.

“I only got a dollar out of the $20 saving,” declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,”but he got $10!”

“Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a dollar too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more benefit than me!”

“That’s true!” shouted the seventh man. “Why should he get $10 back, when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!”

“Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison, “we didn’t get anything at all. This new tax system exploits the poor!”

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had their beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and government ministers, is how our tax system works. The people who already pay the highest taxes will naturally get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas, where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier. It's not so much people mind helping out, but when you have a government that spends $1 Trillion more than it takes in, it is not a revenue problem, it is a spending problem. Get that in check and I am with you.

But in that analogy - it's the 10th man that keeps promising to pay the bartender - but never does. He keeps benefiting from the beer he drinks, but the comes to pay up the 10th man is full of excuses ... "the Swiss have my money," "I have stockholders to answer to," "the big spill wasn't really my fault, but I'll give you a $20 for it and we can call it good", "I really don't think it's fair that I should be limited to three yachts this year because last year I could buy four," "I'm G.E. and have lost so much money - I shouldn't have to pay my bar bill."

According to your analogy every time the bartender comes with the bill - the 10th man dashes out the door because he feels like he's paid his fair share ... even though his dad, his grand dad and great grand dad all paid the bartender promptly each and every time. It's a legacy every generation has embraced to make the tavern a better place for the next generation.

Problem is - the tavern has been subject to the promises of a lot of people who are in the same class like the 10th man. Each time the bartender threatens to raise the price of their drinks - they keep threatening to leave and go to the Swiss bar or the Cayman Island bar. So the bartender keeps accruing debt so that at least he has some people coming in. Because he knows the 10th man has money - he offers incentives (even though he can't afford them) "free meals," "half-priced shots," "free ride on the buckin' bronco" ... but like where we are today - eventually no one will lend the bartender any more money because he's tapped out. Finished. Dried up.

All of the 10th men out there - have ALREADY taken their money, their capital and their jobs out of the country. We've been hemorrhaging for decades now ... because the 99% of us believed that if you give the 10th men their tax breaks, incentives, tax subsidies - the jobs will come.

They haven't.

I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but the 35% tax rate on the rich is the LOWEST rate since we were in high school. When we were born - 1969/70's ... the tax rate was 70%. When there isn't enough revenue - we borrow - and that's why we have the deficit that SOARED in the 80's and where we are today. It's the rate Republicans are fighting for today.

Ever since Reagan did his little trickle-down economic trick ... tax revenue dropped, the country had to borrow and the deficit soared. Companies did invest in American jobs because tariffs and other trade embargoes were in place to ensure that the jobs stayed home. When the Great Big Outsourcing began - the jobs left - and companies were STILL rewarded with lower tax rates.

If history teaches us anything - we should be investing at home first. We already have a man running for the Presidency that has embraced the ideal of taking your money elsewhere ... and I hate to disagree with you but that sends the wrong message to the country.

The fact we can have this discussion, the fact you can choose your career, own a car, own a home, freely leave the country on vacation, move, buy 10 flat screen TV's along with the sledgehammer to smash them up, send your children to wherever you want ... all makes it about freedom ... not socialism.

But I do agree with you on something though. A beer summit would do wonders to resolve this ... the more trashed everyone is - the less painful it feels like some days.

Cheers!

Socialism, really?

...yeah because capitalist greed has really worked out since the R's controlled the barn, hasn't it....

...unless you enjoy 9.x% unemployment, a fledgling housing market and wages that have actually gone down while corporate profits continue to rise while they enjoy the lowest tax rates in 60 years.

Yeah - I don't think you're grasping what Marxism actually is because it's a nice portable talking point that lacks any real depth of understanding of what it means to be a Marxist or a Socialist.

- Do you still have the right to own things?
- Do you have the right to own an automobile?
- Do you have the freedom of choice to determine where you can live?
- Do you have the freedom to choose who you can socialize with?
- Do you still have the right to leave the country's borders whenever you want?
- Do you still have the ability to voice your opinion? To vote? To criticize your elected officials?
- Do you still have the right of self determination?
- Has the government told you what you can and can't achieve in life?
- Does the government instruct you that you'll be a laborer with no chance of being an artist or a entrepreneur or a doctor or an accountant?
- Does your public school system advocate serving the state and to dedicate themselves to serve their leader faithfully?
- Does the government prohibit how you worship to your god of choice?
- Do you still enjoy receiving your news from Fox?

Next time you want to fling the Marxist/Socialist banter ... take a moment to understand exactly what that means. Don't become easy prey to a mere talking point mishap.