Non-cents?

Hello blog readers.  Gallagher had invited me to share some views on his new blog.  I am known as Berg, and went to school with Jon.  Fiscally we share most of the same views i.e. free market capitalism, government should be tiny and stay the hell away from my money.  Really at heart, I am socialist, it is a great ideal and philosophy.  The buck stops there though, it is an ideal and philosophy.  

Here is why I think socialism will never work.  Theoretically, everyone gets the same "stuff" regardless of what they do.  No haves or have nots.  The problem I see is this, I will even use today as an example.  You are at your job, and there are 3 other people who do the same thing you do, you are all salary and make 4,000 a month.  You want to get ahead, so you come in early everyday to get things done on time.  You become proficient at your job and are consequently given more to do.  Meanwhile one of the other guys you work with comes in "on time" and is alright at his job, just handles what he gets, then leaves.  The other guys are slackers, come in late and possibly stoned out of their minds.  They aren't good at the job, and because of that, no one gives them any challenging work, and they do just enough to not get canned.  Do you feel fine with them getting the same amount of money for doing less work?  Sacrificing less of their time?  In this situation, there is no incentive to work harder, because no matter how hard you work, and or how little you work the end result is the same.  Once you figure this out, you might just as well shut down because you will still get paid.

Free money is great and we would all love it, but it isn't a good idea.  Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps, make it on your own accord.  I am not sure when everyone decided they are entitled to getting everything for doing nothing, but it might be beneficial if it stops, I am just saying.

Let Me tell you where I sit...

...before I tell you where I stand.

I feel it is appropriate to write about who I am before I began to rant about what I think about the current state of things.

I was born and raised in Boulder, CO (I know, a true hot bed of conservatism), and have lived in Boulder County my entire life, except the four years I spent in college at the University of San Diego. I am a Catholic, but not exactly strict one (more on this later). I currently work for my families business which my grandpa purchased over 25 years ago, Smoker Friendly, in our accoutning department.

Politically, I am a registered (frustrated) Republican, but more importantly a fiscal conservative. I also am socially conservative, but I am very libertarian on Social Issues. In my ideal world, social issues would not appear in the political realm, but alas, this is not reality. I believe in God, I believe in the tenets of the Catholic faith, and I believe this is an important basis for my moral values. But Fiscal Conservatism and limited government are more important to me. I will try very hard to avoid social issues in this blog, but sometimes those issues will be discussed. Most important to me are the ideas of Freedom, Liberty, Lower Taxes and Small Government. Basically, the exact opposite of what we have seen so far in the Obama Administration, and much of the Bush administration. I supported George W. Bush, voted for him in 2004, but he was not a fiscal conservative and expanded government too far (why I am a frustrated Republican).

I decided to start this blog because I'm tired of sitting back and doing nothing, I wanted to make my voice heard somewhere, even if only to a limited audience. So I invite you to check back occasionally, read what I have thought, and include your thoughts in the comments section, no matter where you stand politically. As mentioned before, I hope to have others contribute, because, well, I know different voices always make things more interesting. ENJOY!

Conservative Phoenix

Something I wrote shortly after election day, felt it deserved to be posted....

As the 2008 election has come to a close, I had far too many thoughts to just keep them to myself. I may not be happy with the outcome of the election, but I continue to be proud to be an American. While I do not support really any of Obama’s policies, he is still soon to be OUR president. There will not be any of this “not my president” bullshit that you’ve heard spouting from the whacky left the past 8 years. I am happy to be in this country where I am allowed to stand up and oppose the men in power, in hope that we are able to get back to a government more closely aligned with my beliefs in the near future.

Barack Obama ran an impressive campaign. There is no doubting that fact. The man is eloquent, and ran the perfect race to the White House at the perfect time. He caught America at a time when there was uneasiness across the country about many things, and he ran on two things, hope and change. And a naïve America latched on to these so called “ideals”. He never truly defined hope and change, but the American people ate it up.

Why did the American public end up voting for Obama. I am afraid on some levels that I have lost some faith in the American people. I am afraid far too many people in this country voted for a personality, voted for only hope and change, and did not get educated on the issues. If your only reasons for voting Obama are the words hope and change, our if the word Bush appears in your argument, that is just as absurd in my mind as voting for McCain because Obama is black, or because his middle name is Hussein, or some other ridiculous petty thing. If you believe that higher taxes and a more socialized system are the right path, I have a fundamental difference in opinion, but I respect your right to have that opinion and have no problem with your vote for Obama. If you voted for Obama only because he is black, because of hope, change and Bush, I am very disappointed.

This brings me to my next thoughts. The rhetoric was repeated time after time that this election was about more than race. I think it is quite evident that is NOT true. I thought this country was past the race issue, but apparently most of this country is stuck in the past. It is obviously deplorable the situation black people faced in this country for hundreds of years, and people who continue to judge on race should simply be ignored. These people are simply morons. I agree, it is a great thing that this nation has a black president. I just think he is the wrong man, no matter if he is black, white, green or purple.

I am afraid the direction that the most liberal senator will lead our country in the next four years. Obama has an unquestionably liberal record, and with the support of a radically liberal Speaker of the house and a democratic dominated senate, I am scared that our free capitalistic country is in trouble. The American government in its current state is one of the most inefficient entities in world history. How is growing an inefficient entity by remarkable amounts and throwing tremendous amount of money at ineffective programs supposed to make them function better. Problems are not fixed by increasing spending, especially when my tax dollars are what is being thrown at them. Socialism does not work, and that is the path that we are currently on. Why have we had the greatest technological advances in world history in these great United States? It is not because the government has thrown money at what they decide is worthy. Technological advance comes through competition. Man strives to be there best in a capitalist society where the market decides what the best answer is. One succeeds and advances are achieved in a society that breeds competition. Socialism just leads to malaise, and, well, failure. The Soviet Union rings a bell here.

This brings me to my next train of thought. All hope is not lost. Remember that the night is darkest before the dawn. I still believe America is that shining city on the hill, a beacon for the rest of the world to follow. The last time a candidate ran on Change was 30 years ago, when Jimmy Carter was elected. Remember the greatest president of the 20th century, Ronaldus Magnus followed President Carter. I think the historical parallels are too hard to ignore. A republican president that most of America was against, Nixon preceded Carter. (Remember Ford was never elected, he only took office because Nixon was so shamed he had to resign.) A majority of Americans were disillusioned with the Republican Party. The parallels to the George W Bush presidency are hard to ignore. Reagan returned conservatism to prominence following a failed democratic presidency following a disgraced Republican presidency.

What does this mean to me? I have hope for the future of conservatism in America. The Republican Party has lost its way. Conservatism has fallen to the wayside. And it isn’t just with the selection of a liberal republican presidential candidate in John McCain. It has even been hard to find in the spend, spend, spend GW Bush presidency. There are things I have stood behind the president on. But his exorbitant spending and government expansion are not among them. The Republican Party finishes it failure today with a senator in Phoenix (mythological symbolism to follow). But out of the ashes the party will be reborn, a return to the conservatism, a return to the party of Reagan believing in America as that shining city on the hill. The McCain campaign was dead in the water, until a governor from the Great state of Alaska gave hope to the conservative movement. Governor Palin gave conservatives in this country hope that conservatism can still stand tall in this country. And she does not stand alone. Explore Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal further hope for the future of this country. And I too have been inspired. I am no longer content to just sit around and talk about what I think. I believe there is no greater time for action for conservatism than now. Out of the ashes the phoenix of conservatism is prepared to rise again, to lead this country back to prominence, becoming a beacon once again, Reagan’s shining city on the hill. I remain proud of this country and believe that we are still great, and we can remain great, and become greater. God bless Ronald Reagan, God bless the conservative ideals and leaders, and God bless America.

I'm Mad as Hell...

...and I'm not going to take it any more.
As Obama is blabbering on at this exact moment, I couldn't think of a better time to launch a blog I've been meaning to start for a little while now. I don't know how often I will post, only whenever I feel up to it, which means I could go a week without posting or I could throw down multiple blogs entries in a day.

I'm hoping to discuss my thoughts on the frightening road to Socialism our beautiful country is heading down. I believe that we are on a path to disaster, but that is not our guarenteed outcome. We must return to the conservative values of our nation's founders all the way up to Reagan, and believe in a free market seperated from government intrusion. I'll give a post in the future about more of my core beliefs. I hope to have friends weigh in too.

Quick side note: Obama just said he wants every American to take at least one year of higher education. Made me think of one of my favorite quotes from everyone's favorite Judge Smails.