Pete Stark

How do you like living in an age where government and not the free market is where money is to be made. This is why DC is currently booming – big government isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, so many people are jumping on the gravy train. This explains why DC’s unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the nation, not to mention the housing market is going strong (the second-strongest in the nation). Now we are getting this report from the Washington Business Journal that CEOs in Washington DC saw an average pay increase of 37%, while the nationwide average was 5.5%. Here are some of the details:

It found that the 25 top performing D.C.-area companies posted a median increase in shareholder returns of 85 percent, significantly lower than the median for top performing companies nationwide of 98 percent. Yet the CEOs of those local companies got a 37 percent increase in compensation, compared to just a 5.5 percent increase for CEOs of top performing companies nationwide. Local CEO pay hikes were second only to those of Atlanta CEOs, who received a 45 percent bump in compensation.

Make no mistake .. I am not demonizing the wealth earned by these CEOs. However, it is a bit odd that the CEOs surrounding Washington DC – the epicenter of our imperial federal government, ruled by a lover-of-all-things-government – are fairing far better than the rest of the country.

It is a town swarming with people like Fortney “Pete” Stark. I’m sure you’ve heard his quote by now. At a townhall meeting in California he declared, “The federal government yes, can do most anything in this country.” That mentality is pervasive throughout Washington. It is pervasive throughout the people who are making policy, influencing policy, enforcing policy and interpreting policy. Our federal government has managed to takeover entire industries and create laws that are not based on the Constitution but on what they deem to be “fair.” To people like Pete Stark, Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank … government exists in order to do things for people, rather than simply protect the people and their inalienable rights. Once the job description for a politician became about redistributing wealth and resources, about promises of goods and services, that is the point when our government’s role changed forever. Who knows, it’s probably too darn late to change it again.

MAXINE WATERS

CREW “Most Corrupt” list

In its 2009 report, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) named Waters one of the 15 most corrupt members of Congress. She was also included in their 2005 and 2006 reports.

Presentation of the Mace

On July 29, 1994 Waters was challenged for making inappropriate remarks during a one-minute speech. She then ignored the Chair’s request to suspend speaking until the point of order was settled. Rep. Robert Walker (R-PA) rose and called out “get the Mace,” to restore order. The Chair kept pounding the gavel and finally stated, “the Chair is about to direct the Sgt-at-Arms to present the Mace!” Waters then suspended, and the Chair was able to rule on the point of order without having to resort to the Mace.

Opposed KTLA license renewal

After the Los Angeles Times published allegations of nepotism against her and an expose of the King Drew Medical Center, Waters asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to deny a waiver of the crossownership ban, and hence license renewal, for KTLA-TV, a station the newspaper owned. Claiming that “The Los Angeles Times has had an inordinate effect on public opinion and has used it to harm the local community in specific instances,” Waters requested that the FCC force the paper to either sell its station or risk losing that station’s broadcast rights. Such challenges, according to Broadcasting & Cable, “raise the specter of costly legal battles to defend station holdings…. At a minimum, defending against one would cost tens of thousands of dollars in lawyers’ fees and probably delay license renewal about three months.” Waters’ petition was ultimately unsuccessful; the station’s license next expires in 2014.

Los Angeles riots of 1992

During the Los Angeles riots of 1992, Waters appeared on television as a commentator. Waters said “If you call it a riot it sounds like it was just a bunch of crazy people who went out and did bad things for no reason. I maintain it was somewhat understandable, if not acceptable. So I call it a rebellion.”

Relatives’ business interests

In December 2004 Los Angeles Times showed that Maxine Water’s relatives had made more than $1 million during the preceding eight years by doing business with companies, candidates and causes that Waters had helped. Her reply was: “They do their business and I do mine.”

Involvement with OneUnited Bank

Waters’ husband is a stockholder and former director of OneUnited Bank, and the bank’s executives were major contributors to her campaigns. In September 2008, Waters arranged meetings between U.S. Treasury Department officials and OneUnited Bank, so that the bank could plead for federal cash. It had been heavily invested in Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and its capital was “all but wiped out” after the U.S. government took them over. The bank did secure $12 million in Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) money. The matter is currently being investigated by the House Ethics Committee.

Confrontation with Dave Obey

On June 25, 2009, Waters got into a fight on the House floor with fellow Democratic Congressman and Appropriations Committee Chairman Dave Obey of Wisconsin. After the House floor had largely cleared following a series of votes, Waters and Obey split apart from a heated conversation about an earmark requested by Waters for a public school employment training center in Los Angeles that was named after herself. Obey rejected the earmark as violating policies against so-called “monuments to me.” Waters revised her request to go to the school district’s whole adult employment training program, so the district could decide whether the money would go to the school named after herself. Nonetheless, Obey let it be known that the earmark would be denied. She approached him and complained, shouting, “You’re out of line!” while walking down toward the well in the House chambers. Obey shouted back, “You’re out of line!” before turning and walking away, but stopped, turned back toward Waters, and shouted, “I’m not going to approve that earmark!” He again turned away while Waters huddled with members of the Congressional Black Caucus and was overheard saying, “He touched me first.” before being escorted into the cloakroom. Obey went to talk with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer when Waters briefly returned again, telling her colleagues, “He touched me.” before returning to the cloakroom. An aide to Waters said that Obey had pushed her while Obey’s spokesperson, Ellis Brachman, placed the blame on Waters for escalating the situation.

Gaffes

On February 24, 2010, in congressional hearings with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, Maxine Waters, despite serving on the Financial Services Committee, revealed she is completely unaware of the difference between the Federal Reserve ‘discount rate’ and ‘federal funds rate’.

Earmarks

Citizens Against Government Waste named her the June 2009 Porker of the Month due to her intention to obtain an earmark for the Maxine Waters Employment Preparation Center.

Poverty

I joined a new forum last night, it doesn’t happen often but it does happen from time to time.

I ran across this post

One of the Founding Fathers, another example of his genius:

For my own part, I am not so well satisfied of the goodness of this thing. I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. — I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it.

In my youth I travelled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer.

There is no country in the world where so many provisions are established for them; so many hospitals to receive them when they are sick or lame, founded and maintained by voluntary charities; so many alms-houses for the aged of both sexes, together with a solemn general law made by the rich to subject their estates to a heavy tax for the support of the poor. Under all these obligations, are our poor modest, humble, and thankful; and do they use their best endeavours to maintain themselves, and lighten our shoulders of this burthen? — On the contrary, I affirm that there is no country in the world in which the poor are more idle, dissolute, drunken, and insolent.

The day you passed that act, you took away from before their eyes the greatest of all inducements to industry, frugality, and sobriety, by giving them a dependance on somewhat else than a careful accumulation during youth and health, for support in age or sickness.

In short, you offered a premium for the encouragement of idleness, and you should not now wonder that it has had its effect in the increase of poverty. Repeal that law, and you will soon see a change in their manners. St. Monday, and St. Tuesday, will cease to be holidays. SIX days shalt thou labour, though one of the old commandments long treated as out of date, will again be looked upon as a respectable precept; industry will increase, and with it plenty among the lower people; their circumstances will mend, and more will be done for their happiness by inuring them to provide for themselves, than could be done by dividing all your estates among them.
When I read the post it all seemed to make sense and I wondered how anyone could argue with that, to my surprise many came and many disagreed with the common sense that was left in the above post.

So, I responded with the below.

I don’t live in the US, I live in Colombia S.A and I see people every day sitting and waiting for someone to help them.

At 8 years old I use to go to the coffee farms with my mother to pick coffee to help support the family. It was only my sister, my mother and I trying to support 2 younger brothers and a younger sister.

At the age of 14 I was kicked out of the house to fend for myself because I wanted to go to school and there was no way to support me.

Today I own my own business and employ about 20 people; my 2 brothers and sister are still sitting and waiting for someone to support them. I’ve tried giving all them jobs, but they just don’t like sitting in an office all day.

The difference in me and them (other than I live good and they are still poor) is that I had to work my way out of where I was and they were being given everything.

They don’t understand why I don’t give them a car or help them get a better house, I am bad because the only help I want to give is giving them a job.

Now…here is what I find sad.

Someone on the forum asked the question,

What are Ben Franklin’s credentials as an expert on poverty reduction?

I guess I’ve got no credentials either, living in it and with it every day is nothing compared to some rich kid that went to school to learn about it.

RPS Worldwide

RPS Worldwide

Okay, so I had my first depth collection agency call me today and I have to say someone needs to educate them on how to go about collecting a debt.

1. Find out if anything is even owed before you start accusing people of things.

Jay calls up and starts accusing me of hiring a company to design a website and then refusing to pay for it. He had it half right, I am the one that designed the website and his client is the one that refused to pay for it.

2. First party agencies typically get involved earlier in the debt collection process and have a greater incentive to try to maintain a constructive customer relationship. That’s from Wikipedia

When I tried to explain everything to Jay and help him get his facts straight he hangs up on me. Come on Jay, grow up. Jay also claimed to be an attorney but then that was just Jay getting his facts confused again.

I call back and ask for his boss and I get William. I guess they hire people at RPS Worldwide based on how immature and disrespectful they can act.
Here are the facts for the RPS Worldwide employees.

I might have refunded the money up until the point that you idiots called up and showed your level of intelligent. As it is now I’d spend $10,000.00 to keep from paying $2,000.00. Had you been nice I might have refunded the money even though I don’t owe the money.

Had you guys looked into the matter a little more you could have be shown the finished site and seen that your client owes me money. But again, you decided to act like asses before finding out the facts.

So…to anyone thinking about hiring RPS Worldwide, I’d rethink the matter. In life things happen, I’ve seen people down on their luck one day and on top of the world the next. If a customer owes you money sending a bunch of immature asses after them will only make things worse.

In this case I don’t even owe this guy money, he owes me money and had he not called RPS Worldwide I would have tried to work something out with him, even a refund. But as it stands now RPS Worldwide has made me mad enough to come here and write this post about them.

Figure out away to get your money back without hiring RPS Worldwide, they will only make matters worse.

Nancy Pelosi Scares Me

“But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy.”

That is like saying ” Sign the contract first, then we will let you read it.