A Day in the Life of the Average Middle-Class American

No doubt life in our great democracy would be chaos without our government and the many things it does to provide for us.

The criticism of big government that many of us have is that they do these things so inefficiently.

Karl, propaganda in any form....  Yes the government does many nice things, but if you could see the negative things, the waste, the special interests, etc.  you can see that we need a strong change in this area.

But let's look at the basics.  I need water but cannot drill a well where I live.  I need a septic system but must use public sewers.  I need power but pay for those that use more than me.  Do I really need 100 channels of commericals?  Our roads are great, but we pay for those daily, through gas taxes, etc.  Al-Quada is not going to hurt me, but area gangs may.  Our jails are full of those that are unwilling to change their habits.  Government though supports many of their habits.  I could go on but you get my point. 

At best government is too large too powerful, doing things that it is not empowered to do.  In the end, it will fail because it does not serve the needs of the people only special interests. 

Hi Karl - I do not think that I have been saying that government is bad.  Government is inefficient, possibly incompetent and certainly self-serving. Many of the elected officials and a lesser percentage of the bureaucrats are well meaning.  But they just do not know what they are doing - compared to the expertise available in the private sector who enjoy a different skill set because of a different method of evaluation and compensation. 

I also agree with the concept of institutionalized problems because of the corruption built in to the election system.  Not the volume of money poured into the system - just the fact that every political figure begins running for the next election before the votes are counted for this one.  I do not look for campaign finance limitations (limitation on first amendment and all that) but don't think I understand why we cannot have full, prompt and complete on line disclosure of every dollar.

And I am not sure I agree that our government programs improve the lives of our citizens every day.  I believe that our government programs injure our citizens, stifle ambition and entrepreneurship and incentivise destructive behavior.  We reward precisely the wrong actions and do irreparable harm to our most fragile members of our communities for generations at a time.  

Remember, Karl, that tax supported charity is not charity.  For government to give me a dollar in benefits they must first take that dollar by force from you.  And, in my view, the politicians of both parties that have given so generously of other peoples money are not doing so to fix anybody's problems but their own.  They are creating the give away programs, no matter who they hurt, to buy the support of certain groups in the next election or for the next generations to come.

Both parties are at fault, in my view, and I no longer know how to fix it.  

Dear Mr. Karl Marx Hess - Did you just get off the "ED SHOW"?  That a-whole just ended his broadcast the other night (when the one-ton ship landed on Mars) exclaiming "Whew, that's just what Americans are capable of when they work in unison with the government."  

That guy is the biggest sleazeball on the block and, as he and his network are known to do, left out the part that the average trip to space for NASA has been over $100b, while private companies are now shooting into space for under $1 bill.  These private companies have workforces in the low hundres.  NASA has, well, hundreds of billions in tax payers funds.

There is not one thing that the government has ever done better than private enterprise, except practice in greed, corrruption and extorion.  Moreover, the Obama Chicago team seems to make la costra nostra seem like a group of pansies.  Axelrod plays for keeps.  

You, my friend, have a gorvernmental bug up your kiester. Obama SUCKS.  Romney probably won't be much better, but he sure as hell can't be worse. 

Let's see how many millions of formerly unemployed with their 98 week checks expiring get names 'disabled' this month.  I'm freaking disabled because I am self-employed and cannot collect a dime if I go belly-up, yet I pay for tens of millions of unemployed with the measly portion I can contribute.  

Maybe someone should allow the government to spend money on oil/gas in the US, not Brazil.

You should be on the ED SHOW blog right now.  Sickening.

Karl - What part of the governmental 'tit' are you leaching from?  You have a consistent, sickening agendain every one of your non-real-estate-related posts.  Why not live a little.  Try to live a year in peace and harmony without your governent, while taking nothing from them.  Ya know  - go back to the land.  No moey in - none out.  Just wait until they start the witch hunt for you to bring you back 'on grid' paying taxes, etc.  

Livin' on the beach, enjoying life, and espousing a governent run by con-men, swindlers, crooks, liars, thieves, etc. must be a fine pasttime for you while you aren't busy entertaining your clients.

Have a nice swim.  Don't get hit by lightening on Thursday.

I will say, Karl, in full disclosure, that I accepted GI Bill education benefits 40+ years ago and I now receive Social Security and Medicare - for which, in my view, I paid a specifically identified premium into the system for fifty years. I am not aware of accepting any other transfer payment program benefits.  But even these programs would have produced a better ROI if administered by the private sector.  

I will agree with David, in content if not in tone, that I can not name any government program that does anything as well as the private sector.  The military serves honorably and accomplishes their mission to their credit but they do not function with fiscal efficiency.  Most other government programs do not even produce a favorable result, much less an efficient one.  

And while I say I no longer know how to fix it - I do have an opinion on how to start - elect a Congress and a President that will treat the debt as the greatest danger facing us; remove most regulations that stifle free enterprise and let our economy grow to meet the challenges we face; achieve energy independence by encouraging domestic production; encourage use of fossil fuels until new technologies are developed and ready for application as determined by the market forces; get the government out of the game of picking winners and losers in the economy; Let the House of Representatives by their own rule making authority require single issue legislation and require that all appropriations refer to a line item in a properly passed Congressional budget (or require super majoritys for exceptions of an emergency nature).  Revise and simplify the tax code, eliminating social engineering, special interest provisions and remove death tax and capital gains provisions.  As the economy gets off its knees, begin the bipartisan process  of reducing the size of government and its spending and elimination of certain agencies.  Sunset all transfer payment programs  every five years unless they are reauthorized. Implement zero-based budgeting in all agencies. Repeal Obamacare and replace with provisions that really address health care costs and delivery rather than merely controlling payment processes (tort reform and interstate insurance pools); more emphasis on the States to innovate and experiment with affordable health care programs.  

Karl, I have it on reliable authority that the Federal government should be responsible "to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity."  

We need to decide whether our government is to provide equal opportunity which is supported by the Declaration of Independence or equal outcomes - which in my view is the position of Mr Obama - which is, also in my view, a perversion of our system and is closer to China and other Communist countries.   But half of our country seems to want option B these days.  

This may be an example of what you get from me when I have not had nearly enough sleep. 

He has acted as an Appraiser on behalf of the Courts of the State of New York and the City of New York as well as the United States Bankruptcy Court in the Southern and Eastern Districts.

 He has acted as Auctioneer on behalf of the Supreme Court of the State of New York and the Public Administrators of various counties.

Sounds like someone is "leaching" off the government. Biting the hand that feeds you in blog comments while a proud accomplishment in profile. 

Speaking of The Ed Show, I've got a grand idea for a new show that is bound to be a hit!

"Angry Ignorant Guy" starring David Farrell.

Hey, if Glenn Beck can pull it off ...

So many things wrong with this blog and that article. I don't have time to disect the entire article, but here are a couple of pointers:

1. We are a Republic, not a Democracy. Republic is the rule of law, where a Democracy is mob rule. So part of the government's role is to uphold contracts, which include property rights. So that takes care of arguments like 7:00 AM.

2. If you are an egg producer and you create a product that kills your clients, you will be out of business due to loss of clients and legal issues. So the free market, not government, will protect the people. There goes 6:45.

If there are any points you want to discuss, let me know and I will come back and visit them.

Karl, you simply have to get off this middle class kick.  You know Uncle Marxie wanted the middle class eliminated!  He envisioned a bunch of robot proletariats run by a few two legs!

You need to get this right buddy!

Can I recommend this site:

www.twelvestepstocomedownfrommiddleclassthinking.org

Just go in, say, "Hi, I'm Karl," and the group will chime right in.  After the 12th step is completed, call me.

Very nice Karl, now for the rest of the story?.............?????????????????????????????????

As you know, I was a'joshin' you.  And you forget the invisible foot proposed by Uncle Miltie - that's the foot of gubment intrusion.

"The point of this blog is to point out all the things where government has a positive impact on our daily lives"

The real question is what is the role of government.

"and if anyone thinks that the 'invisible hand' would protect the citizen-consumer from corporate malfeasance is living in a fantasy world."

I think you got your economic theories mixed up. However, true free market capatilism will protect the consumer. Even a company that has established a monopoly on a good or service is a good thing to have in a free market.

"

"The point of this blog is to point out all the things where government has a positive impact on our daily lives" ... And you talk about our fantasy world?  Can you show me any government program that has had the desired effect within the proposed budget? Can you show me government economic regulations that worked? Rick Perry's (Texas Governor) best line from the earlier campaign,"Are you really better off than you were five trillion dollars ago?" Thanks for your post, Karl, but I still believe that free enterprise and minimal government intrusion is a better way.

Good morning Karl;  no response to my post above? 

How about The government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy
appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other.
- Ronald Reagan

"It's just a question of who that government benefits...if you want the government to benefit corporations and the wealthiest at the expense of the rest of us, vote Republican. If you think that the government should institute policies that benefit everyone, including the middle class, vote Democratic."

That's not true. Both parties have grown government. Prescription drug coverage under Bush is an example that proves your statement wrong.

What you fail to understand that government must take away from the people in order to provide a good or service. Like the founding fathers stated, it is like fire, a necessary evil.