Bottom of the News… Friday, October 30, 2009

Good morning my fellow Rotarians. Today we have another candidate who will most likely share his vision and ideas for our city. And Ron, just so you know, I’m a Rotary Reporter and I don’t’ normally pick on our guests, BUT since we gave Brian Fagan some “valuable advice” we felt that “equal time” was in order so I have a few things for you to consider.

To begin a St. Petersburg, FL newspaper asked their readers for ideas on "How Would You Fix the Economy?" and “How Would You Reduce Government Expenses in Tough Times?” and here are the two top ideas.

1st Idea… Fixing the Economy
There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force, so pay each of them $1 million severance pay to retire with the following stipulations:

1. They must quit their jobs. That will create 40 million job openings, unemployment is fixed and the cost the government is way less than the hundreds of billions for their ideas.
2. They each must buy NEW American cars. Forty million cars ordered, Auto Industry fixed.
3. They each must either buy a house/pay off their mortgage, Housing Crisis fixed.
How’s that for a simple solution, maybe a smaller version could work in Cedar Rapids?

2nd Idea… Reducing Expenses in Government
When a small business hits a downturn, they have to make cuts, typically by eliminating jobs. For remaining workers they typically are motivated to find ways to work smarter, faster, etc. or they risk losing their jobs as well. This is common sense in the business world – in order to remain profitable and in business you have to make sure your expenses don’t exceed your revenues.

Why not take the same approach in government at the federal level:
1. Reduce the House of Representatives from 435 members to 218.
2. Reduce to Senate 100 to 50 (one per State).
3. Savings = $150 million/year in salaries for congressmen and staff salaries.
4. And the biggest savings = $7.5 billion in pork barrel ear-marks per year!

The remaining representatives would hopefully be motivated to work smarter and to working together more for the good of our country or risk losing their jobs as well! A common sense approach learned from businesses and families; maybe this concept could work at the local level too?

Politics Quotes
Okay, and finally, Ron a few quotes to keep in mind as your next few days unfold…
-"Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary." Robert Louis Stevenson
-"Politicians are wonderful people as long as they stay away from things they don't understand, such as working for a living." P. J. O’Rourke
-"Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book." Ronald Reagan

And there you have it, political advice, for what it is worth, just for you Ron. This is the Bottom of the News on this Friday, October 30th, 2009! ###