This site is best viewed using Mozilla Firefox browser.

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2013-06-25 09:17:07

Welcome to the July Edition of the SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal.

Please read this if you’ve ever picked up our paper: I want to thank each and every one of you out there whom have picked up this publication, read, advertised or contributed to it over the last 4 plus years. I think a lot of people have been very surprised by how much print media is very much still alive. Our advertisers are a testimonial to this (many of them can’t believe how many people READ our publications, until they participate and experience it themselves). When you put your heart into something, work hard to develop something, use your own fuel, tires and mileage on a beat up old Honda Accord to make something you believe in, it is extremely gratifying to see that so many people like and enjoy what you’ve worked so hard to produce. Or heck, even those that don’t like it for that matter. They have obviously still taken the time to read it, as they have every right to do, and we appreciate it. As we celebrate yet another Independence Day, I wanted to let you know how much this journey has meant to me. How much our advertisers mean to me, our readers, writers, staff, my wife and kids for letting me do this, the owner Charlie...everything. Even through chasing all the ad artwork, articles, photos, topics, proofing and reproofing, it’s certainly a special feeling to be doing something you love to do. For that, I sincerely thank all of you. Until next time... Jerod Norris Publisher

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2013-04-29 15:14:22

Hi and welcome to the May 2013 edition of the SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal.

First things first, our thoughts and prayers are with those directly affected by the Boston bombing. It affects us all as a Nation, but I certainly couldn’t imagine going through what they all went through. Being at the Boston Marathon, an event with so much joy, hard work and charity, just to have it end with such a cowardly act of terror. I will not give, nor do I think we need to give it as much publicity that media outlets have. Let’s report the facts, reduce the fat (all the rumors, backtracking, guessing, etc) and just report. (I saw one news channel basically showing viewers how to make a pressure cooker bomb. My hand instantly smacked my forehead.) That being said, prayers to all involved and to those that protect our country. May is here and as we head into another Summer season, the Q&A Times would like introductions to businesses or business owners actively seeking to promote themselves in the following industries: Construction, Heating & Air, Lumber Yard, Pool & Spa, Roofing, Golf Course, BBQ or catering Restaurants, and any other spring/summer related professions. I would enjoy visiting with them and learning about their industry. We may have something special for them. My contact information is 620-249-7462 or jnorris@chartmarketing.com. It’s going to be a great season! Thank you for reading.

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2013-03-25 14:38:13

Hi and welcome to the April 2013 edition of the SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal.

As we head into another Spring / Summer season, the Q&A Times would like introductions to businesses or business owners actively seeking to promote themselves in the following industries: Construction, Heating & Air, Lumber Yard, Pool & Spa, Roofing, Golf Course, BBQ or catering Restaurants, and any other spring/summer related professions. I would enjoy visiting with them and learning about their industry. We may have something special for them. My contact information is 620-249-7462 or jnorris@chartmarketing.com. Its going to be a great season! Thank you for reading.

X

From the Publisher

Charlie Traffas

2013-03-25 13:30:27

Q-What’s new now?

A-Do you remember the bad, little boy most all of us had in our “world” when we grew up? Almost every neighborhood and little town had one. Believe it or not, we even had one in my small home town of Sharon, KS. (pop. 280 when I was growing up in the 50s). We lived on the farm, but every once in awhile my brother and I got to come to town and play with the other kids. We had a very bad, little boy who lived in town. I won’t mention his name, but he was a terror. He went around pulling cats’ tails, dumping over trash barrels, unrolling rolls of toilet paper, writing on the store windows with a bar of soap, and lots of other things. Many of us were ornery, but he wasn’t just ornery…he was…well he was just a very bad, little boy. After hearing so much about all that he did from the townsfolk, Mom told me I couldn’t be around him any longer. I remember a few days before she issued me that edict, I had overheard him greeting an elderly lady as we were all coming out of Church. He said, “Good morning Mrs. _________. I hope you are having a lovely day.” I thought to myself, “Something is up. I have never heard him greet anyone like this.” A day or two later, he and several of us boys were sitting on the banks of a stream, under a bridge, south of town, doing what boys of that age do on a lazy summer afternoon. I said to him, “I heard you greet Mrs. ________ last Sunday as we were coming out of Church. You were sure nice to her.” He said, “I’m setting her up. The next time she isn’t looking, I’m going to kick that stupid cane she uses out from under her. She’ll never know what happened.” Not one of us expected to hear him say anything like that, but he did. One thing was certain, no one ever accused this bad, little boy of being lazy. He worked harder than anyone to tear things up and to spread everything he could in a negative fashion. As he got older, he got worse…much worse. From stealing, lying, smoking, drinking and vandalism…to using all kinds of vulgar and profane language, beating up younger kids, and being cruel to animals…he did just about everything bad one could think of. Many in town wondered what he would do next…and if he would ever change. Most of them thought, “As hard as he worked to tear things up, what if he put forth that much effort in a positive fashion, what could he accomplish?” What happened to him? I will tell you. We had a drug store in Sharon. Among other things, it had an old time soda fountain and a big counter case with almost every kind of candy in it. All the kids would assemble there at some time throughout each day. One summer afternoon, this bad, little boy was there and mouthed off to the owner of the drug store. He called him a bad name, in front of a whole bunch of people and kids (well, a whole bunch in Sharon was a dozen or so). I was there. The owner was as nice of a man as I had ever known. All the kids loved him and his family. But on this day, the owner had had enough of this bad, little boy…all that he had done…and his reputation. He called him out, loudly and sharply in front of everyone. The bad, little boy mouthed back and the owner came back all the stronger. This continued for two more rounds, with the last comment from the owner being louder and more assertive, “_____________, you need to know, all of us in this town will treat you the way you treat us. We will all give you the chance to prove you’re worthy of being treated kindly, but no one in this town is taking any more of what you’ve been doing.” Word spread of what happened throughout the town like a grass fire on a hot afternoon, with a 40 mile per hour Kansas wind behind it. A few days later, there was a similar occurrence down the street with the manager of a filling station. He called out this bad, little boy…again in front of a whole bunch of people. That did it. He was done. There was never a problem from him again. Being called out and humbled in front of his peers and the townsfolk worked wonders. This bad, little boy is who I think of when I think of President Obama. Everything he does propagates the negative. He distorts the truth. He divides. He deceives. He lies. He has even been caught telling a lie, then lied again saying he never told the first lie, when it was all recorded and shown to him. He espouses hate, racism and disrespect. He is abrasive and arrogant. He refuses to listen to opposing viewpoints. When he is challenged, he gets defensive. You can see his upper lip curl and the hate manifests itself in his eyes. A good example was when he was listening to Dr. Ben Carson speak at the National Prayer Breakfast. Have you ever seen more hate and anger in anyone than what he showed? Like a bad little boy, he throws a fit, yells and screams. He has infected most all of those around him. They do the same thing. Every once in awhile, you will see something happen that you think he might be changing for the better, like for the first time in months when he met with the Republican senators on the debt limit…on the same night that Rand Paul did his filibuster. Mainstream media’s headlines the next morning were, ”Obama reaches out again to the GOP.” What a joke! No matter what you see, just like the bad, little boy in my hometown, greeting Mrs. ____________ after Church, it all turns out to be a setup…politically. He cannot be trusted. I know this is a terrible thing to have to say about our President, but it will be among the truer statements you will hear over the coming months. No matter what he does…no matter how it looks…he is setting up the other side. The welfare of the United States is not a priority for him. Nor is its debt or deficit. You heard that again on March 13th, with George Stephanopoulos when he said, “…And, so, we don’t have an immediate crisis in terms of debt. In fact, for the next ten years, it’s gonna’ be in a sustainable place.” Can you believe this guy? What planet has he been living on? When the Feds stop printing money, interest rates will go to the moon. It will take all the revenue we receive to pay the interest on this “sustainable” debt, Mr. President. There will be nothing left. The welfare of the socialism he espouses and “fundamentally changing America” into an European-style, welfare state is everything to him…and he has little time left in which to accomplish it. My articles the last two months contained a statement by President Reagan, “When Americans are fully informed and have all of the facts before them, they will almost always make the right decision.” For purposes of this article, please allow me to try and inform as many of you, no matter your political persuasion, exactly what this “Sequester” really is. I continue to be blown away by so few people being able to articulate this fiasco. The “Sequester” is nothing more than the following example. Joe, who is making $65,000 a year, was told he was in line to get a 20% annual raise, which would take him to $78,000 per year. He thought, “Wow…this is great. I was paying all of my bills with what I was making, but now I will be doing a lot better.” But when Joe finally got the raise, it wasn’t the 20% increase of $13,000 per year he was told. Instead, it was only $10, 894, which came to 2.7% less of the total amount he would have been making if he had received the full 20% increase. So what does Joe do? Instead of being thankful for what he did get, he throws a fit. He yells…screams…and threatens. He calls the newspaper and cancels his subscription. He huddles his family together and tells them there will be no vacations…no more birthday parties…no more going out to eat every Sunday after Church…and that they’re going to have take the pets to the animal shelter and have them put down because they cost too much to feed. He tells the neighbors he is going to have to sell his house and move to someplace less expensive. He goes on and on. The neighbors aren’t stupid. They know what happened. They know he is now making more than he was, by a lot, and he is raising all this fuss over nothing. It is sickening to them to have to listen to him. For crying out loud, they think, he has more money than what he had last year, and he was paying all of his bills then with what he was making. What is all of this nonsense? Who is he trying to con? I have to tell you, I had never been as sad and embarrassed for our county as I was when I watched President Nixon resign on August 8th, 1974, and be flown off in a helicopter, after he lied and participated in the Watergate cover-up to the extent that he did. I so clearly remember that day, and saying to myself, “Our country will never be the same. How can any one man think he is so special, so important, so all-knowing, to do what he has done and bring down the office of the President of our great country like he has done?” Not since that time in 1974 have I experienced those same feelings…that is until I watched President Obama in the last 15 days of February before the Sequester, and since. If he didn’t look like, and act like, a pathetic, bad, little boy, trying to get his way, espousing hate, anger, venom, lies, distortions and deflections…I will eat your hat. It has been sickening. He is acting just like a little brat, along with all of his cabinet members. “If I can’t get what I want, I will throw a tantrum and cause more pain than you can imagine until you let me have my way.” Forget about the fact that he is supposed to be our leader, put on his “big boy britches,” and do what it takes to protect us and work in our best interest. It’s all a game to him. He purports to be all-knowing, and it is always his way or the highway, yet he has no experience in doing anything. All of his experiments that he throws on us have never worked in real life. The only thing he or we have to show from them are failure…in every case. They are just theories from people who wanted to “fundamentally change America” or the world. And what do we have after more than 4 years of his “all-knowing” presidency? We have the same unemployment percentage as we did when he took over, which is actually far less than what it actually is, because so many Americans have stopped looking for work, thus are not counted in this percentage. Yes Martha…we actually have more than 11% of all the people that could work, not working. In fact, we have less people working in this country today than we had working 31 years ago. We have 50 Million people on food stamps now and his government is working to bring more on as rapidly as they can. Half of all Americans pay no income taxes. Half of all households in America, receive some form of monthly check…and that is not counting anyone who receives Medicare or Social Security. We are nearly $17 Trillion in debt today, compared to the $10 Trillion we had when he took over. This debt as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product was 38% when he took over. Today it is nearly 100%. Consumer confidence was at 99.5…today it is at 69.6. The stock market is about at the same level today as it was when he took over, but only because his policies have the Fed pumping it up by printing $100 Billion per month. The attitude among investors is, “We know it’s going to end badly, but in the meantime we can make some money.” The translation of this is, “Just make sure to sell ahead of everyone else.” The world does not respect us and it does not believe us. Our allies cannot trust us. Whose fault is all of this? It is always the Republicans as a whole, the Republican majority in the House, or former President Bush. Think about it…when has President Obama ever blamed anyone other than one or more of these? He has never owned up to anything that has happened negatively as the result of his policies or his ideologies…just like a bad, little boy. He is first in line to take the credit…but he never takes the blame or says he is sorry…for anything. Now he has his act in high gear. Cancelling White House tours because of the Sequester…are you kidding me? Don’t cancel the funding of robotic squirrels, or the study on how cocaine affects Japanese quail, or the training of Chinese prostitutes to drink responsibly. Pick things that are high profile. Inflict all the pain you can. Select things you know “your press” will pick up and run with. Can you believe the smallness and audacity of this President? Here is his strategy…cancel the tours so those grade school students who planned to visit during Spring Break will go home and tell their folks how much they dislike the Republicans because they made this happen, so their folks will vote the Republicans out in 2014. It’s akin to his same strategy on Benghazi. Proclaim Bin Laden is dead and Al Qaeda is on the run. Then, when our ambassador begs for help, stick your head in the sand, right next to your incompetent, “What difference does it make,” Secretary of State, who has the vision and insight of Mr. Magoo, because it would derail your narrative. Cover it up with all of the “d” words we have used heretofore, plus two more, “duck” and “dive.” Don’t mind the dead and their loved ones. Refer to the whole incident as a “bump in the road.” Then five months later go on You Tube and say, “This Benghazi thing will be over soon. They have just about run out of questions to ask.” Of all that went down and is still going down on Benghazi, it should have been his “Waterloo.” If it doesn’t prove to be, we are all in for a ride we will all wish soon we had never taken. President Obama has less than 18 months to get the country to hate the Republicans and the Republican controlled House so bad, that they will toss them out, and have the Democrats take over the House, along with keeping the Senate Democratic majority, in 2014, so he can get his final legislative agenda in and passed before he leaves office in 2016. He will do all he can to get immigration reform, cap and trade, gun control, green energy, and every other socialistic policy or program he has up his sleeve, enacted. Forget the country…forget the economy…forget our children and the generations to come. It’s all a game to him. What a pathetic person we have in the great office to lead us…at the very time we need a leader in the worst way! He has worked so hard to tear everything apart. Like the bad, little boy in my hometown, no one will ever accuse him of being lazy. He has been one of the hardest working Presidents in the history of our country. He runs from one end of the country to the other. He mixes in all kinds of social events. He stops and gives a stump speech here and stops and gives a stump speech there, all aimed at dividing the country, pitting one group against another, acting as though he is God’s gift to mankind, and with all of his abrasiveness and arrogance…nothing ever bothering him about the lies, deceits, deflections, distortions and hypocrisy that come from his mouth. Can you imagine what he could do if he tried to make everything work? What if, instead of going around the country blaming everyone else for what is happening, and ginning up one side to hate and disrespect the other, he used his gift of eloquence to soothe the fears of Americans by saying, “We are going to work this thing out. Stay with us. It has been broken far too long. America can be great again. It will take all of us to get this country back on the right track.” And what if instead of him tearing down the opposition, he spent his time telling Americans, “The overwhelming contributor to the fiscal problems we face as a nation is entitlements. They account for 60% of what we spend. We have made promises into the future totaling nearly $100 Trillion. There is no way these promises can be met. Unless we tackle them today, the way we have come together and tackled every problem we as Americans have faced for more than 235 years, they will only become unsolvable in the future. But if we work together, we can work things out. Stay with me and Congress. Help us. Support me and our leaders. We will whip this thing. It will take shared sacrifice…but we can do it. America has always, ‘done it,’ and we can do it again.” Look at what he could do for entitlement reform…for our deficit…for our debt…for unification of our country…for rebuilding and reinstating America throughout the world to what we were following WWII, and the aftermath of the Cold War. What other legacy could any legitimate president want, other than one or more or all of these? But these are not the legacies he wants…or even cares about. I didn’t write the two following articles, but they seemed so appropriate to include here…at this time. And just in case you thought I was overly direct in my writings, it will look like my articles have been a “bowl of cream puffs” compared to these. I put these here for exclamation points to my article…and are they ever! The first was written by Mychal Massie - former chairman of the National Leadership Network of Black Conservatives-Project 21 – a conservative black think tank located in Washington, D.C. He was recognized as the 2008 Conservative Man of the Year by the Conservative Party of Suffolk County, N.Y. He is a nationally recognized political activist, pundit and columnist. He has appeared on Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, C-SPAN, NBC, Comcast Cable and talk-radio programming nationwide. A former self-employed business owner of more than 30 years, Massie’s website is mychal-massie.com. The second was written by Matt Patterson, a columnist and commentator whose work has appeared in some of the nation’s top newspapers and political sites, including the Washington Post, New York Post, Washington Examiner, American Thinker, and FOXNews.com. His work has been cited on air by Sean Hannity, quoted in Forbes, POLITICO and The Week magazine, and featured on the Drudge Report, Real Clear Politics, and RushLimbaugh.com, among many others. “The truth is I do not like the Obamas, what they represent, their ideology, and I certainly do not like his policies and legislation. I’ve made no secret of my contempt for the Obamas. As I responded to the person who asked me the aforementioned question, I don’t like them because they are committed to the fundamental change of my/our country into what can only be regarded as a Communist state. “I don’t hate them per definition, but I condemn them because they are the worst kind of racialists, they are elitist Leninists with contempt for traditional America. They display disrespect for the sanctity of the office he holds, and for those who are willing to admit same, Michelle Obama’s raw contempt for white America is transpicuous. I don’t like them because they comport themselves as emperor and empress. “I expect, no I demand respect, for the Office of President and a love of our country and her citizenry from the leader entrusted with the governance of same. President and Mrs. Reagan displayed an unparalleled love for the country and her people. “The Reagans made Americans feel good about themselves and about what we could accomplish. Obama’s arrogance by appointing 32 leftist czars and constantly bypassing congress is impeachable. Eric Holder is probably the MOST incompetent and arrogant DOJ head to ever hold the job. Could you envision President Reagan instructing his Justice Department to act like jack-booted thugs? “Presidents are politicians and all politicians are known and pretty much expected to manipulate the truth, if not outright lie, but even using that low standard, the Obamas have taken lies, dishonesty, deceit, mendacity, subterfuge and obfuscation to new depths. They are verbally abusive to the citizenry, and they display an animus for civility. “I do not like them, because they both display bigotry overtly, as in the case of Harvard Professor Louis Gates, when he accused the Cambridge Police of acting stupidly, and her code speak pursuant to not being able to be proud of America. I view that statement and that mindset as an insult to those who died to provide a country where a Kenyan, his illegal alien relatives, and his alleged progeny, could come and not only live freely, but rise to the highest, most powerful, position in the world. “Michelle Obama is free to hate and disparage whites because Americans of every description paid with their blood to ensure her right to do same. I have a saying, that ‘the only reason a person hides things, is because they have something to hide.’ No president in history has spent millions of dollars to keep his records and his past sealed. “And what the two of them have shared has been proved to be lies. He lied about when and how they met, he lied about his mother’s death and problems with insurance, Michelle lied to a crowd pursuant to nearly $500,000 in bank stocks they inherited from his family. He has lied about his father’s military service, about the civil rights movement, ad nausea. He lied to the world about the Supreme Court in a State of the Union address. He berated and publicly insulted a sitting Congressman. He has surrounded himself with the most rabidly, radical, socialist academicians today. “He opposed rulings that protected women and children that even Planned Parenthood did not seek to support. He is openly hostile to business and aggressively hostile to Israel. His wife treats being the First Lady as her personal American Express Black Card (arguably the most prestigious credit card in the world). I condemn them because, as people are suffering, losing their homes, their jobs, their retirements, he and his family are arrogantly showing off their life of entitlement - as he goes about creating and fomenting class warfare. “I don’t like them, and I neither apologize nor retreat from my public condemnation of them and of his policies. We should condemn them for the disrespect they show our people, for his willful and unconstitutional actions pursuant to obeying the Constitutional parameters he is bound by, and his willful disregard for Congressional authority. “Dislike for them has nothing to do with the color of their skin; it has everything to do with their behavior, attitudes, and policies. And I have open scorn for their constantly playing the race card. “I could go on, but let me conclude with this. I condemn in the strongest possible terms the media for refusing to investigate them, as they did President Bush and President Clinton, and for refusing to label them for what they truly are. There is no scenario known to man, whereby a white president and his wife could ignore laws, flaunt their position, and lord over the people, as these two are permitted out of fear for their color. “As I wrote in a syndicated column titled, ‘Nero In The White House’ - Never in my life, inside or outside of politics, have I witnessed such dishonesty in a political leader. He is the most mendacious political figure I have ever witnessed. Even by the low standards of his presidential predecessors, his narcissistic, contumacious arrogance is unequalled. Using Obama as the bar, Nero would have to be elevated to sainthood. “Many in America wanted to be proud when the first person of color was elected president, but instead, they have been witness to a congenital liar, a woman who has been ashamed of America her entire life, failed policies, intimidation, and a commonality hitherto not witnessed in political leaders. He and his wife view their life at our expense as an entitlement - while America’s people go homeless, hungry and unemployed.” “Years from now, historians may regard the 2008 election of Barack Obama as an inscrutable and disturbing phenomenon, the result of a baffling breed of mass hysteria akin perhaps to the witch craze of the Middle Ages. How, they will wonder, did a man so devoid of professional accomplishment beguile so many into thinking he could manage the world’s largest economy, direct the world’s most powerful military, execute the world’s most consequential job? “Imagine a future historian examining Obama’s pre-presidential life: ushered into and through the Ivy League, despite unremarkable grades and test scores along the way; a cushy non-job as a ‘community organizer;’ a brief career as a state legislator devoid of legislative achievement (and in fact nearly devoid of his attention, so often did he vote ‘present’); and finally an unaccomplished single term in the United States Senate, the entirety of which was devoted to his presidential ambitions. He left no academic legacy in academia, authored no signature legislation as a legislator. And then there is the matter of his troubling associations: the white-hating, America-loathing preacher who for decades served as Obama’s ‘spiritual mentor’; a real-life, actual terrorist who served as Obama’s colleague and political sponsor. It is easy to imagine a future historian looking at it all and asking: How on Earth was such a man elected president? “Not content to wait for history, the incomparable Norman Podhoretz addressed the question recently in the Wall Street Journal: To be sure, no white candidate who had close associations with an outspoken hater of America like Jeremiah Wright and an unrepentant terrorist like Bill Ayers, would have lasted a single day. But because Mr. Obama was black, and therefore entitled in the eyes of liberal Dom to have hung out with protesters against various American injustices, even if they were a bit extreme, he was given a pass. Let that sink in: Obama was given a pass - held to a lower standard - because of the color of his skin. “Podhoretz continues: And in any case, what did such ancient history matter when he was also so articulate and elegant and (as he himself had said) ‘non-threatening,’ all of which gave him a fighting chance to become the first black president and thereby to lay the curse of racism to rest? “Podhoretz puts his finger, I think, on the animating pulse of the Obama phenomenon - affirmative action. Not in the legal sense, of course. But certainly in the motivating sentiment behind all affirmative action laws and regulations, which are designed primarily to make white people, and especially white liberals, feel good about themselves. Unfortunately, minorities often suffer so that whites can pat themselves on the back. Liberals routinely admit minorities to schools for which they are not qualified, yet take no responsibility for the inevitable poor performance and high drop-out rates which follow. Liberals don’t care if these minority students fail; liberals aren’t around to witness the emotional devastation and deflated self-esteem resulting from the racist policy that is affirmative action. Yes, racist. Holding someone to a separate standard merely because of the color of his skin - that’s affirmative action in a nutshell, and if that isn’t racism, then nothing is. “And that is what America did to Obama. True, Obama himself was never troubled by his lack of achievements, but why would he be? As many have noted, Obama was told he was good enough for Columbia despite undistinguished grades at Occidental; he was told he was good enough for the US Senate despite a mediocre record in Illinois ; he was told he was good enough to be president despite no record at all in the Senate. All his life, every step of the way, Obama was told he was good enough for the next step, in spite of ample evidence to the contrary. “What could this breed if not the sort of empty narcissism on display every time Obama speaks? In 2008, many who agreed that he lacked executive qualifications nonetheless raved about Obama’s oratory skills, intellect, and cool character. Those people – conservatives included - ought now to be deeply embarrassed. “The man thinks and speaks in the hoariest of clichés, and that’s when he has his teleprompters in front of him; when the prompter is absent he can barely think or speak at all. Not one original idea has ever issued from his mouth - it’s all warmed-over Marxism of the kind that has failed over and over again for 100 years. “And what about his character? Obama is constantly blaming anything and everything else for his troubles. Bush did it; it was bad luck; I inherited this mess. Remember, he wanted the job, campaigned for the task. It is embarrassing to see a president so willing to advertise his own powerlessness, so comfortable with his own incompetence. “But really, what were we to expect? The man has never been responsible for anything, so how do we expect him to act responsibly? “In short: our president is a small-minded man, with neither the temperament nor the intellect to handle his job. When you understand that, and only when you understand that, will the current erosion of liberty and prosperity make sense.” Is our “goose” cooked? Is there still time to save what heretofore has been the greatest country the world has ever known? I am sure someone in Rome asked this same question in the early 5th century, before it fell in 476 AD. I will give you my answer. There is…if we will all wake up now. We must stop this bad, little boy and others like him from doing any more damage. We can do this by calling him and them out…immediately…and every time they do the things they are doing. We can never let something they do or say grow “roots.” Remember when Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina yelled out, “You lie,” during President Obama’s 2010 State of the Union speech? We didn’t have any idea then how much “right on” he was, to stop this bad, little boy from doing the things he was doing. We must always respect the office of the President, and the office of our elected officials, but that doesn’t mean the people holding these offices get a free pass for anything they want to do, or say, or for the political games they want to play. For the fourth time in three months, I will reprint Reagan’s quote, “When Americans are fully informed and have all of the facts before them, they will almost always make the right decision.” The press is supposed to do this. They are supposed to play a most valuable role in our society. It is up to them to present the facts fairly…for everyone. They are not doing this. They have not done this for a long time. They have abrogated their responsibilities in a major way. If they won’t do what has to be done…we must. There is no one left to do it…but us. Remember another quote from President Reagan, “To sit back hoping that someday, someway, someone will make things right…is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last…but eat you he will.” I have been asked, “With all of this, what do you want to have happen?” Next month, God willing...I will tell you.

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2013-03-01 14:14:40

Welcome to the March 2013 Edition of the SE Kansas Q&A Times!

Amazing things happen when a community connects. I have to say, it is very fulfilling to have a front row seat on seeing that happening throughout this publication. We have a strong community, and when I say community I mean everyone from Pittsburg, Frontenac, Girard, Arma, Cherokee McCune, Walnut, all the way to Arcadia. So it is no surprise that we would have great businesses and highly knowledgeable business owners & managers—but seeing the eager communication between residents and those businesses really highlights the value of a true community network…which is why we exist. We exist to educate, inform and/or entertain, matching potential customer needs, topics and interests, answering questions from all realms and walks of life, while pairing it with a local solution. Remember to check us out online where sharing the articles is made easy at www.theqandatimes.com – Southeast Kansas. ATTENTION BUSINESS OWNERS! Are you looking for a way to do things a bit different this year? What if I told you this publication (the one you’re reading) can help give you not only an effective, traceable advertising venue, but also a monthly voice to the MASSES here in Crawford County. If you haven’t contacted me please do so. I’m interested in learning about your business! 620-249-7462. This month, as you browse the pages of the Q&A Times, be certain to note those participating businesses and when you have the opportunity, support them with your patronage. They work very hard to serve the community and we are thankful for their efforts within this publication in providing the information you want. Finally, I want to take a moment to thank all of our readers. Your enthusiasm and continued interest for the publication inspires me. I appreciate all of your feedback! Feel free to email us at jnorris@chartmarketing.com or Jeanie@chartmarketing.com with your questions and we will match them to an appropriate, local expert. Jerod Norris Publisher

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2013-02-01 08:36:22

Thank you for joining us in this February 2013 edition of the SE Kansas Q&A Times.

Did you know that the SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal has been publishing for nearly 4 years?! Yes, that’s a fact! Special thanks to everyone who has read our publication and continues to read our publication. Please let our advertisers and contributors know you saw them here. They make this thing go ‘round.’ This month, I’m going to bring up a subject that may or may not offend you. I am never anxious to offend anyone, but I do…like you…have an opinion on many things. I just don’t get a chance to voice it that often. You may even share my thoughts. If you do or if you do not, that is fine, but I need to voice it this time on what I am observing. Why is it that while these tragic mass shootings seem to be occurring more and more, the majority of us, who are responsible and law-abiding citizens, continue to lose our freedoms? And…we are potentially being forced to lessen our own protection of ourselves and our families? When will we wake up as a country and realize our freedoms are ever so swiftly being taken away. It should scare the heck out of each of us, REGARDLESS of your political views or social circles. It should scare those who are parents, the way that some in this country seem to continually eek away and claw away at our constitutional rights. No, this article isn’t solely about “guns.” It is about all of our freedoms. What will this world hold for our children in 10, 15, and 20 years? As a parent of three, I am and will always be deeply (deeply) saddened by these tragedies. But these tragedies have happened and will continue to happen, as they have throughout our history. When the people in Washington who are protected by their own armed guards continue to take protection away from us law-abiding citizens, how will criminals be detoured? They already have an easy access to these weapons (some of which are already banned). Statistically they won’t and we will continue to be weakened as a country. Maybe this is what they want? My war-veteran grandfather is rolling over in his grave.

X

From the Publisher

Charlie Traffas

2013-02-01 08:25:41

Q-What’s new now?

A-For the past several years I have shared with you my opinions and those of others on a myriad of domestic topics…including but not limited to the declining strength of the US Dollar as the world’s reserve currency, the presidential campaign, the economy, critically-needed tax and entitlement reform. They all share a common denominator…the fiscal soundness of our country. Although it may sound terribly materialistic, I will promise you…the fiscal soundness of our country must be in place before we can ever lead the world diplomatically, politically or militarily. I just don’t see many countries paying attention to what countries like Nigeria, Finland, Greece, Italy, Venezuela, Argentina and others, that are in as deep as trouble as they are, have to say about anything. Maybe you do. Last month I shared with you the things that can happen under Martial Law, as the result of the National Defense Resource Preparedness Executive Order issued by President Obama in March of 2011. This month, I was going to pick up where I left off, bringing in how this “fiscal cliff” deal and “debt ceiling” negotiations to kick the can down the road might play in this Executive Order…but I can’t. Over the past few days I have reached the “tipping point” of how much I can take. I have been close for a long time, but with the President’s recent inaugural address, I had to do something. I have to let it out or it will consume me. Lucky for me I have this column as an outlet. It may not be perceived the same by all or some of you…but at least you won’t be offended. You won’t be reading it (smile). So in regards to what I was going to write about, I will do as Ol’ Mike Oatman (my mentor at Great Empire Broadcasting and KFDI) used to say, “We’re gonna’ let that dog hunt for a lil’ bit.” This month I want to talk about two people who have changed our country for the worse…in ways that will seemingly…at this writing…forever rule…and how they have led so many to do likewise. If it was just me not liking someone or not liking what someone said or did, I wouldn’t waste my time. I would say to myself as I say to others, “Get over it.” But when it comes to changing our country decidedly for the worse…I will take all of the time it takes and load my “inkwell” to the full mark. These two people are President Obama and Bill O’Reilly of Fox News. I didn’t realize until just recently why I get the same feeling when I hear either of them speak. I finally understand…they’re both cut from the same “block of cheese” insofar as their characteristics and mannerisms. Thank God O’Reilly does not share Obama’s ideologies. I would imagine by the time I am through you will ask rhetorically and sarcastically…“Why don’t you tell ‘em what you really think, Charlie?” If you would allow me to respond then…I would say, “I did.” One more thing…before you fire off your “hate” emails and phone calls, read it all. I haven’t stated anything here that is untrue. First…President Obama…because of him and the manner in which he has operated and does today…it is now acceptable to outright lie about anything and everything in our society. It doesn’t matter what you have said previously, you can now say whatever it is you want to say for any and every purpose; then you act like you never said what you said before; and if you are asked why your position or statement has changed, you bring up something that happened in the past, that has nothing to do with anything being discussed, thereby deflecting the question, diverting the questioner, and demonizing him or her for having an opposing view to yours. Never…under any circumstance…answer the question. I can’t believe that this is going on…that the press is not holding him accountable to what he said before…and that we Americans are standing by letting it happen. It is as disgusting as anything I have ever witnessed in politics. His entire campaign for President lasted a full 8 years…the four years he was supposed to be a Senator from Illinois, and the four years he was supposed to President. That’s all he did was campaign…for eight years! He didn’t like being President the first four years…and he doesn’t like being President now. He only likes the chase and demonizing anyone who doesn’t share his view on any topic. When he taught and lectured at the University of Chicago, he never experienced any dissent. If he received it, he just threatened to fail those who held it, or he did fail them. His statements and experiments didn’t have to be well-thought-out. He would say or do something, and regardless of the foundation of the same…regardless of the chances of it being correct or successful…he would lecture and teach with absolute authority. No one dared to take an opposing view, or challenge him. It is during this time when he developed his cocky, prideful, stubborn and arrogant persona, which he uses more now and stronger than any other tool in his arsenal. I do not want to think about getting through the next four years having to listen to him…and I know I won’t get through eight years if the rumblings of a third term are true. I literally get a feeling as though I am going to throw up when I hear him talk on any subject. I am not alone…and it’s not just from Republicans. I have heard half as many on the left as the right say the same thing. He has almost no experience in anything. Everything he does is a lab experiment…war…peace…our military…the economy…health care…jobs…business…the world. He is the biggest pretender and con artist there has ever been…in my opinion…in any political office. To top it all off…he doesn’t know “beans from apple butter” about leadership. He doesn’t lead. He doesn’t unite. He divides. In a time when our country needs more unifying than ever...more leadership...he just announced his “legacy tour” where his senior campaign staff (Gibbs, Cutter, Axelrod and Messina) will go around the country, in full campaign mode, demonizing the House Republicans for not adopting his stance on all of the issues at hand (i.e. taxes, spending cuts, gun control, immigration, entitlement reform, etc.). To have listened to all that went down during the campaign, then what he said in his inaugural address, and then to have to listen to more lies, distortions, deflections, rhetoric and demonizing from him and this team is going to be more than many can take. As this continues, our country will become more divided than it ever has been. This is the only thing he knows how to lead…an effort to divide the country. And all of his followers are following like never before. I could give you two dozen examples of his lying and distortions, but you will get my point with four of the most recent. 1. How does a man take the oath of office for President and swear to God, to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and then says what he said in his inaugural speech? He said the Founding Fathers did not mean what they wrote. The Constitution needs to be a living and breathing instrument, and it needs to be continually interpreted as to its meaning. One of his first statements in his speech was, “Today we continue a never ending journey to bridge the meaning of the words (in the Constitution) with the realities of our time.” Whose realities? His? He made it clear, that if you agree with him and his interpretation of things, you are good. If you disagree...you are evil. You’re not just wrong. You are morally wrong. Do you have any doubt what the next four years will be like for us and our country with this man and his team? The Judicial Branch is supposed to interpret the Constitution…not him. With his executive orders and actions, he bypasses the Legislative Branch. He really believes he can do it all and demonizes anyone who takes an opposing view. We just had four years of the biggest “I” President in our history. It will be even more so…if you can believe that…over the next four years. 2. Throughout the last 8 years, he campaigned to support the middle class by taxing the wealthiest 1%. Now, the end of the year tax rates are in and the ”bean counters” have discovered, that not just 7/10ths of one per cent of taxpayers are going to see their taxes go up, but 78% of all Americans will see their taxes go up! What does the mainstream media do? They kick the story to page 44 in print and don’t even show it on the TV news. Americans have no idea what is coming. This is one of the things I hear from the left. “He said our taxes wouldn’t go up. At the minimum it’s going to cost us $1,600 (or some other amount) in less money we have to spend.” The number is on top of $3,000 from households that have both people working full time. When confronted on the issue, he and Jay Carney, his press secretary say, “All of us are going to have to buckle down and pay more.” “But Mr. President, that wasn’t what you said.” 3. Obamacare will be fully enacted in less than one year. There are more than 2,700 pages in this law, with more than 2.8 Million words (four times that of the Bible) and more taxes, fines and penalties coming for Americans and businesses than anyone could ever imagine. In fact, to accompany this law, there are now more than 13,000 pages of new rules and regulations, with more being added almost daily. It is absolutely ridiculous. What businessperson in his or her right mind is going to invest in hiring more people or expansion not knowing what these are and how they will affect their business? Nothing in regards to this law is turning out like he said it would, or as he promised. Health insurance premiums haven’t gone down. In fact, since the first of the year they’ve gone up across the board by 28%. For those in their 20s they’ve gone up as much as 42%. For those in their 30s they’ve gone up as much as 36%. The word is that the younger ages in “droves” have said they will drop their health insurance, instead preferring to pay the fine. Few of them get sick anyway, and if they do, they can buy it at the time they need it. Have you ever heard anything so crazy? That is like not having homeowner’s insurance, but as you’re standing on the street watching your home burn down, you can buy a policy covering it. That is not insurance. That’s a gift…paid for by you and other “homeowners” (taxpayers). In order for the law of insurance to prevail, the loss must be uncertain to occur. Obamacare must have the youth in the mix to keep the overall costs down. If they leave, the costs for everyone else goes up. This is a spiral that will spin out of control to a level no one can imagine. But you don’t have to worry if you contributed to President and his campaign, you got a waiver. Labor unions…representing 543,812 workers…received waivers. Private employers…who donated to the Obama campaign…representing 69,813 employees…were granted waivers. They don’t have to comply with Obamacare. Have we all been lulled to sleep on what President Obama said on so many occasions, how Obamacare will control health care costs and keep insurance premiums down for all of us? Is there anyone that cares anymore? 4. It was the President’s own commission…Simpson Bowles…who recommended $3 in spending cuts for every $1 in revenue increases (taxes). Even though he didn’t accept their findings, this was the “balanced approach” he talked about for the last three years of his campaign. Then somehow…late in the campaign…it went to $2 in spending cuts for every $1 in revenue increases. Then, in December, it went to $1 in spending cuts for every $1 in revenue increases. Guess what he threw at America on New Year’s Eve? It was revenue increases only and no spending cuts. He said we would talk about spending cuts later. Now is later. He isn’t talking spending cuts at all. He is talking more revenue increases…more taxes. He hasn’t even begun to bring up spending cuts to get us balanced fiscally. Instead, he is saying he’s not going to have any more spending cuts because he has already made more than $1 Trillion of them over the next 10 years. Are you ready for a little math? That’s only $100 Billion per year in savings. He is planning to spend more than 13 times that amount over what we take in. Isn’t this something? How stupid does he think we are? Maybe a better question is…”How stupid are we?” A big part of his $1 Trillion in spending cuts over the next 10 years includes us not fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We decided more than two years ago we weren’t going to continue these wars, yet he is still counting what we would have spent over the next 10 years if we were fighting them! It’s like deciding not to build a cheese factory on the moon and counting the cost of what it would have taken to do the project as cuts in spending. The most recent polls (1/21/13) overwhelmingly show (83%) that Americans believe spending is out of control. Yet his entire inaugural speech was full of social issues…not the debt and the deficit. I stated in my November 1st column prior to the election, that the most dangerous things we will have if he is re-elected, is the appointment of the Supreme Court Justices and his Executive Orders. On the latter, at press time, “Uncle Joe Biden” announced, that if the debt limit increase gets stalled in Congress…now or after the “can” is kicked down the road a couple of months, President Obama will issue another Executive Order to raise it on his own, under the guise of the 14th Amendment. On the same day, President Obama announced 23 new Executive “Actions” on gun control. When making the announcement, he surrounded himself with children. Isn’t that wonderful? Nothing is sacred to him. He exploits the murder of children with children. If this isn’t bad enough, afterwards, the NRA put out a commercial stating that he has his own children in schools that have armed guards, but he doesn’t support having armed guards for other schools. The White House went all out attacking them, saying the President’s children have no business being included in an advertisement for anything. What hypocrisy! Other people’s children are okay to exploit but his are not? Some say there is a limit as to what he can do with all of these Executive “Actions” or Orders in these areas. One would think so, but if no one stops him, can he not do anything he wants to do? An analogy of what is happening to our freedoms is like a blast of air from the nozzle of an air hose…the kind you use to put air in your tire. It is initially so forceful that you cannot put your hand or finger over the end of it. But then you add a baffle and bend the air just a bit. You then baffle that air flow just a bit, then again, then again, then again. By the time you baffle that initial blast of forceful air several times, you have nothing left. To heck with the other two branches of government of the United States. President Obama is so intelligent, so all-knowing, so much in control of things…he can run it all. And he is now more arrogant, more aggressive, more stubborn and less fearful of anyone and anything than he ever was in his first term. We will remember these days. It is all happening under our noses. Few if any are saying anything. The press, for all intents and purposes…is silent. Americans have grown apathetic. People say, “It’s just the way he is,” or “That’s the way it’s going to be.” No folks. It’s not. It doesn’t have to be this way. We are Americans. This is our country. Stand up and fight for it now…or lose it! While you may doubt this statement, I have never been more sincere in this column…the only true words I have heard from him in the last 8 years and 10 days is that he would fundamentally transform America. He most surely has…and I believe the biggest transformations are yet to come. Then, there’s Bill O’Reilly…he is the most prideful, ill-prepared, ill-tempered, unqualified, con artist and ego-maniac, in the position he is…than anyone who has ever occupied a position like his before. Does this sound familiar? He and President Obama are alike in so many ways insofar as characteristics and mannerisms. Bill O’Reilly loves to hear himself speak. He is the only one who knows anything. He interrupts. He yells. He pouts. He chastises. He is ill-prepared in many of the subjects he discusses. The only area you can usually be sure that he has prepared is his Talking Points, but it is always laced with the con of it being fair and balanced. He gets three times worse when he is in front of women. It is a joke. But that’s not all. He has turned our country, those on the left AND the right, into doing the same thing. The national scene is full of lies, distortions, deflections, deferrals and demonizing from all sides. Look at how people talk when being interviewed today on MSNBC, CNN, Headline News, CBS, NBC and ABC. They all talk fast and hurriedly, as if they’re going to be pulled off the stage by a hook whether there is an interviewer, questioner, or not. There is not a bucket of civility among all of them. Why? Because they think who whoever it is who is interviewing them or asking them a question is going to interrupt them and demonize them. Why? Because Bill O’Reilly has made it “the thing” to do. Society has changed because of what these two men have done. No one did these things 10 years ago, or if they did…it was miniscule when compared to what it is today. No one did them 5 years ago to the extent they are done today. Now it is everywhere…and it’s getting worse. Lies, distortions, deflections, demonizing…everyone interrupts each other and there is no respect shown for anyone. It’s not only on TV, but radio too…and not just in news and politics, but also in sports and everyday life. This country has been “Obama-ed” and “O’Reilly-ed” and we will be much worse off in the future because of it. Why don’t you tell ‘em what you really think, Charlie? I did.

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2013-01-02 14:35:40

Welcome to the January 2013 Edition of the SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal. Myself and everyone here would like to wish you and yours a very safe, happy, and prosperous New Year! "Thank you" is a term that is often loosely tossed around and used daily...but I want to give a very special THANK YOU to all who continue to read, contribute, and advertise in this publication. You made 2012 very memorable and we're looking forward to 2013! Want to try something new for your business marketing efforts in 2013? Contact me personally, I'd love to visit. 620-249-7462 or jnorris@chartmarketing.com. Be safe out there! Jerod Norris Publisher

X

From the Publisher

Charlie Traffas

2013-01-02 12:27:19

Q-What’s new now?

A-For the past several years I have shared with you my opinions and those of others on a myriad of domestic topics…including but not limited to the declining strength of the US Dollar as the world’s reserve currency, the presidential campaign, the economy and critically-needed tax reform. They all share a common denominator…the fiscal soundness of our country. Although it may sound terribly materialistic, I will promise you…the fiscal soundness of our country must be in place before we can ever lead the world diplomatically, politically or militarily. I just don’t see many countries paying attention to what countries like Nigeria, Finland, Greece, Italy, Venezuela, Argentina and others, that are in as deep as trouble as they are, have to say about anything. Maybe you do. Last month I shared with you a piece written by Jim Garrison, president of State of the World Forum and Wisdom University, on the Huffington Post (certainly not a “right” leaning entity), on March 21st, 2012. Garrison is the author of America as Empire and a dozen or more other books on world affairs. This article deals with one of those Executive Orders issued by President Obama that few Americans are aware of. It was issued by him in mid-March of this year (2012). It is called the National Defense Resource Preparedness. I knew about this article and its contents long before the election on November 6th, but it would have been a moot point to bring it up before President Obama was re-elected, as all Executive Orders can be rescinded by a new President. You can read this again by going to www.theqandatimes.com and clicking on Recent Issues, then clicking on December 1, 2012. I ended my article last month by saying… “There is so much going on that we know so little about. I feel all Executive Orders should be scary, for each is issued by one person, with no approval by Congress, and with no oversight…but I’ve never known any to be more scary than this one. What is Martial Law? What does it entail? With us being as close as we are to so many things that could make this order become a reality, it might be good to know. That will be my topic for next month.” Before I begin…I received several emails and calls from readers both supporting and attacking my article last month. Some of the ones attacking the article stated that my information was false, that there was in fact no such Executive Order issued by President Obama, and that I was needlessly scaring people. While I have answered each of these charges and accusations directly, let me state for everyone…all Executive Orders are issued by the President. There should be no source more credible than the White House site itself. The Executive Order that I referred to in last month’s issue is there…on the official White House site…in its entirety, signed by President Obama. You will find it by going to http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/03/16/executive-order-national-defense-resources-preparedness. As I stated to each of them, I will also state here…I try and check everything that I include in my articles from at least two sources. Such was the case with this Executive Order. I am sure it is hard to believe that such an order exists, but it does, exactly as I have presented. I am exhausted from all of the hate and divisiveness that has occurred over the past several months. I might be the “least intelligent” one in the room, but I am surprised that now…weeks after the election…this is worse than ever. Is this really what politicians think Americans want…or what we will stand for? For how much longer? It literally makes me sick to my stomach when I have to listen to even one “jab” or “slam” from one side against the other…but now it’s an everyday occurrence, if not multiple times each day. I am providing the information below to you…not out of hate…not out of vitriol…not out of any desire to get a “pound of flesh” of any kind…but rather, for the sole purpose of informing you. Maybe you have a place to get this kind of information…maybe you do not. I have had hundreds of readers write, call, email or tell me in person they do not and they appreciate receiving it here in this publication. If this article serves no other purpose than to make you aware of things, it will be successful. Then, were I to be you, I would go check things for yourself, with sources you trust as much or more than mine. Below are the worst things that can happen under Martial Law. I have taken this information from several places. If you look to the Internet, you will have no problem finding what I found using Google search, as most all articles on Martial Law refer to the same passages. Some of these passages are attributed to and based upon some of the writings by Giordano Bruno, a 16th century Italian philosopher. Others are based upon what authors and pundits like Paul Krugman of the New York Times and others like him have written and researched. Each event below does not have to happen. Each does not have to happen to the degree described. But each event can happen. The U.S. Federal Government under both the Bush and Obama administration has made it perfectly clear that in the event of almost any major disaster scenario, including economic and environmental, they see the institution of Martial Law as not only viable, but inexorable. That’s not my word. That is their word. Inexorable means “not able to be moved by persuasion,” or “relentless.” From legislative actions like the Patriot Act and the Enemy Belligerents Act to continuity of government programs such as Rex 84 (formerly classified) and Presidential Directive PDD 51 (currently classified, even from Congress), all the precedents have been put into place to allow the Executive Branch to implement military oversight of civilian affairs, dissolution of Constitutional liberties, even the end of Miranda Rights and the right to a speedy impartial trial as protected under the Sixth Amendment. In some cases, government legislation allows for the rendition and torture of American citizens as combatants, all for the greater good, of course. Some in this country dismiss such bills and directives as abstract novelties that don’t constitute any real threat to our freedoms or to our daily life. You may too. People have a tendency to assume that the atmosphere in which we live today will remain the same tomorrow and always. Many of us never consider that dramatic, even violent change in American domestic policy, is possible on a moment’s notice. The same can happen on the global front. More than a year ago, I wrote articles over several issues about the possible fall of the US Dollar and it losing its status as the world’s reserve currency and what could happen if it did. An event such as this, or a “currency war” (where many countries, simultaneously faced with mounting debt and terrible economies, devalue their currency to prop up their exports, to make them more attractive on the global market); or an improperly-thought-out policy, issued by the administration, dealing with the terrible tragedy in Connecticut; could trigger the full or partial effects of this Executive Order…overnight. The continuity legislation now in place shows that our government, under the direction of corporate globalists, is not only prepared to implement a military lockdown of this country, they fully anticipate that such an event will occur in the future. This month I will talk about how Martial Law will most probably be presented to the citizens of the U.S., how it would likely evolve and progress, and what the ultimate end result will be. We will then talk about the two biggest problems we face in this country…and what if anything…can be done to solve them. Bruno’s philosophies state, “In the days to come, it will be good to know, tyranny does not always burst through your front door wearing body armor and brandishing an assault rifle. Sometimes, it waltzes through your living room and sweeps you off your feet. Sometimes it wears a glad mask that promises warmth and safety. Sometimes, tyranny invites you out to the ‘party’ and makes you feel like you belong. Never leave your ‘drink’ unattended around tyranny. Regardless of how apathetic the public may seem at any given moment, the majority of them at their core hate false authority backed by thuggish jackboot mentality when directly faced with it, and will not capitulate to despotism easily. That is just the way we are. Revolution is in our blood (though now slightly diluted), and it is an undeniable aspect of our national psyche.” Widespread and immediate military control of U.S. streets would be met with a fury the world has never seen. If Martial Law were ever to be achieved by the Federal Government, it would have to be presented to Americans gradually, as absolutely reasonable and necessary to their personal well being not to mention that of their families. Globalists would have to twist the reality of Martial Law into a tapestry of fuzzy logic and two dimensional rationalizations, making the action appear almost mathematically evident. They would also need a crisis on a scale nearly beyond belief. The U.S. is on the verge of many such crises. The economic health of this country is blatantly unstable, and even some mainstream analysts who called us all “fear mongers” as late as a few months ago are now reluctantly admitting that some form of collapse is probable. The financial life of America hangs by the thinnest of threads, and any moderate disaster at this stage will most definitely send it spiraling out of control. Am I trying to scare you or anyone else? No. Not at all. What incentive would I have? You might say, “To sell papers.” You would be wrong. I give them away. Actually, hot topics cost me more money than do “less than hot” ones, because of all the extra papers I print that I give away to those who call for extra copies. You say, “To hurt President Obama.” You would be wrong again. He is now my President and he will be for the next four years. Some say by the time we get to the end of his second term, he will have found a way to run for a third term. I don’t know about this. I hope this is not true because that is not the way it is supposed to be unless our Constitution is changed, but this is not what this article is about. I will say however…without any hate whatsoever…that many times I feel his actions are akin to a lab experiment. I can say this…okay? The last I checked, we still have the freedom of speech. You see, few of us would ever object to anything as long as the results are contained in a lab, for as long as they are confined they can be discussed, modified and/or changed before the “real deal” is released to the public and can cause any damage. Among the biggest problems we have today is that his “lab” is the real world. With no testing, or with results of testing that have not been successful in the past, he puts his same actions and theories out into the real world. This is most unfortunate, especially when it is accompanied by an arrogance unlike any other President we have had in the history of our country. He has already issued the Executive Order of National Defense Resource Preparedness. It is in force until it is rescinded by another President. Isn’t that something? It is the way it is going to be until another President rescinds it. There was no action by Congress. There is no oversight. It is the law…for now. However, I am not going to let my right arm get upset at my left arm and injure it. Take it to the bank…anything that hurts President Obama hurts our country. We all need him to lead now more than ever. I love our country. We all love our country. But just as you would need to be told about the possibility of the dam breaking when you live below it in the valley…and the possible ramifications if it does…you need to know about this Executive Order and what Martial Law can bring. Remember, not each of these has to happen, or happen to the degree described. But each can happen…and it is up to only one person, or a handful of people, to solely determine the cause to trigger this order. 1. Detention without charges. Expect precautionary arrests, pre-crime prosecution, warrantless no-knock home invasions and mass relocations. Should anybody believe mass relocations is a stretch, recall the forced removal of Japanese Americans from the western coastal states to inland camps. Recall Civil Defense in World War II and the Cold War was about more than blackouts and bomb shelters, it was authorized to relocate populations of whole regions should the order be given. Also expect Bills of Attainder, i.e., laws which designate criminal demographics rather than criminal activities, meaning criminalization of those parts of the citizenry they identify with dissent or opposition. 2. Confiscation of property. This includes wealth in any form: bank accounts, stock portfolios, bonds, retirement funds including 401ks, croplands, the family car, real estate…especially if adjacent to federal facilities or major bridges or power transmission nodes or international borders, or maybe if it even has a nice view some Diversity Director really likes, etc. Expect industries or entire sectors of the economy to be nationalized, railroads and power plants for example. Expect private or commercial stocks of rare earths, precious metals, fuels and such to be seized as “strategic materials.” Recall confiscation of privately held (i.e., “hoarded”) gold in the 1930s using the Trading With The Enemy Act of 1917. 3. Restricted travel. Expect a standard universal identification system, curfews, travel permits amounting to internal passports, no-travel lists, security checkpoints and a priority system for users of each mode of travel. Expect “refugees” and “domestic terrorists” being transported to “resettlement centers” to have a high priority. Parts of the interstate highway may be intermittently or permanently closed to civilians. Automobiles built before GPS devices and other self-reporting black boxes may command a premium. Expect indirect travel restrictions. Recall new automobile tires weren’t merely rationed in the US during World War II, they were unavailable, although freely sold to anybody in Canada and Mexico, and “anybody” included border state residents and black marketeers. 4. Restricted communications. Expect disinformation, anti-rumor campaigns, on-site advisors for editors and news broadcasters, and protective custody for dissident commentators. Internet access will be throttled back and conditional as will be alternative forms of communications, amateur short wave radio for instance. Some opposition sites will be covertly run by the regime as “honey pot” sting operations. Wikileaks is a likely template. During World War II it was illegal to photograph rail and seaport facilities or the like. Expect photography in formerly public areas to be presumed evidence of domestic terrorism, especially of official interactions with civilians, as will be possession or circulating such photos or videos. 5. Weapons confiscation. Expect revocation of licenses and permits, an expanded list of proscribed weapons, muzzle loaders, bows, knives, even sporting slingshots. Expect the usual confiscation tactics: amnesty collection drives, tracing ownership through registrations and vendor records of accessories purchases, incentives to inform authorities of weapons possession or ammunition trading and the like. Many “doomers” with buried weapons will be unpleasantly surprised at how public their stash really is. Zero tolerance in the schools foretells the spirit of Martial Law toward weapons. Zero tolerance originated in occupied Europe where, say, merely handling the rusted remains of a gun found among the rubble meant on-the-spot execution. 6. Centralized allocation of commodities and goods. Expect rationing of all goods, including food, clothing, fuel, water, and electricity. Expect the rationing system to be complex, ever-changing, incentivized and corrupt. Favored persons, activities and businesses will be generously supplied “in the interest of the greater good.” Anti-hoarding laws, already in place, will ensure a general improvidence and dependency. They allow citizens to stock provisions for about the same time period as the DHS recommends for emergencies, seven to ten days. Coincidence? 7. Citizen surveillance. Expect the “See something, Say something” campaign to become a fully developed citizen surveillance system along the lines of Cuba’s Rapid Action Brigades with “guidance” on reportable instances using “public service” announcements. The IRS’s “whistle blower” program may be a template for structured rewards. Participation in the black market (formerly, free market) is likely to be high on the list, including barter or transactions involving precious metals, even for otherwise legal goods or services. Expect abuse of the citizen surveillance system for personal advantage, extortion or revenge. 8. Price, wage and currency controls. Expect prices and wages to be capped and money transfers to be restricted and closely monitored. Currency is all but untraceable, look for replacement by small denomination scrip and auditable instruments similar to SNAP EBT cards for all else. The $100 bill is the largest circulating denomination precisely because it is inconveniently small for large purchases. Expect ruinous currency controls, a form of confiscation to keep wealth from accompanying its owner, used by totalitarian states to prevent escape or to impoverish dissenters when expelled. Next month, God willing, I will be back and share with you some more things relevant to this that you need to know about…regardless of your political persuasions.

X

From the Publisher

Charlie Traffas

2012-11-19 09:39:46

Q- What’s new now?

A- For the past several months I have shared with you my opinions and those of others on a myriad of domestic topics…including but not limited to the declining strength of the US Dollar as the world’s reserve currency, the presidential campaign, the economy and critically-needed tax reform. They all share a common denominator…the fiscal soundness of our country. Although it may sound terribly materialistic, I will promise you…the fiscal soundness of our country must be in place before we can ever lead the world diplomatically, politically or militarily. I just don’t see a lot of people paying attention to what countries like Nigeria, Finland, Greece, Italy, Venezuela, Argentina and others, that are in as deep of trouble as they are, have to say about anything. Maybe you do. Like it or not, we have a President in place for the next four years…and all is the same as what we have had for the last four years. We still have the same balance of power in the House, and almost the same balance of power in the Senate. After a fight like the one we all had to witness for more than a year…full of hatred, venom and more negativity than any other previous campaign…President Obama ended up saying the right thing in his victory speech in Chicago, early on the morning of November 7th. He said, “…and whether I earned your vote or not, I have listened to you, I have learned from you, and you’ve made me a better President. And with your stories and your struggles, I return to the White House more determined and more inspired than ever about the work there is to do and the future that lies ahead.” He has said the right thing many times before…but we all know what followed. I hope this time he means it, but it seems doubtful. As the old saying goes, “It is difficult for a leopard to change its spots.” If the past is any judge, as soon as he experiences anyone disagreeing with him…it will be his way or the highway. I pray not. Before I share with you something you need to know that many of you may not know…let me state…things will never again be like they were before this election…for three reasons. 1) With no way to defend his record, the Obama campaign decided in August of 2011 their strategy would be to “Kill Romney.” They did…and it worked. Negativism has been vindicated. It will now be the way campaigns are fought. Substance will take a back seat. You will also see the field grow much smaller of those who are qualified and make an attempt to run for office. As I was watching the speeches following President Obama’s victory, I was reminded of the movie “Patton”, when George C. Scott said, “No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country, he won it by making the other poor, dumb bastard die for his country.” 2) As I have said in previous issues…we are now at a “tipping point.” Today, we have just under 50% of all American households receiving a check of some kind from the Government (other than Social Security). If you project the same growth of these households into the future as what we have had over the past 4 years…by 2016 we will have 53% of all American households receiving some type of government assistance. Mark this down…it will never happen that a person who is receiving assistance will vote for someone who advocates taking it away, if they have a choice to vote for someone who advocates continuing it and adding to it. 53% will always win over 47%. 3) This was a billion dollar advertising campaign from each side…but that’s just the “paid-for” advertising. If you put a value on all of the unpaid-for attacks by the mainstream press against Romney for being a felon, murderer, cheat, killer of jobs, liar, and a greedy businessperson with no concern for the middle class…and the free rides it gave President Obama on things like the economy, jobs, Fast and Furious, the Stimulus, Obamacare, the Leaks, “You didn’t build that,” and Benghazi; it is estimated to be in excess of $9 Billion! Carl Von-Clausewitz, a Prussian General in 1850 said it best in his book, “On War”, “All other things being equal, a force of 10,000 men will always win over a force of 5,000 men.” I would have to believe it is even more true for a 10 to 1 advantage. Okay, so what is it that you need to know that you may not know? I promise, it is not a rehash of the election. Most of us have heard enough of that stuff for a lifetime. It is the ramifications of what has happened and the situation in which we find our country. I stated in the November issue (available at www.theqandatimes.com), other than the appointment of anywhere from 2 to 4 Supreme Court Justices over the next four years and the Executive Orders that will be issued, it really didn’t make any difference who was elected President insofar as fixing the fiscal problems we have in our country. Neither President Obama nor Governor Romney, and their legions that follow them, had or have solutions that will work. We are now in the midst of an administration that swears they have a bigger mandate than the people who voted for those who won seats in the House and Senate, that will only serve to divide the country even more; more messes that have to be explained (or covered up) on the Petraeus affair and the Iran drone attack; and a lame duck Congress, with the “right” full of hatred for those on the “left” because of all of the things that were said and done over the past two years. These are the people the rest of us have to debate and fix this “fiscal cliff” that is facing us. This is not a good situation for any of us, or our country. So I still stand with what I told you last issue. You need to know what needs to be done, understand all of it as to why, and support it with all of the passion and enthusiasm you can muster when you are called upon, and/or have a chance to voice it. But you also need to be prepared for the things that may happen. Since we are not currently in the midst of an appointment of a Supreme Court Justice, but we are on the brink of some gigantic fiscal problems unlike any we have ever seen before, let me share with you information I feel you need to have. I will do so with the following article, written by Jim Garrison, president of State of the World Forum and Wisdom University, on the Huffington Post (certainly not a “right” leaning entity), on March 21st, 2012. Garrison is the author of “America as Empire” and a dozen or more other books on world affairs. This article deals with one of those Executive Orders issued by President Obama that few Americans are aware of. It was issued by him in mid-March of this year (2012). It is called the National Defense Resource Preparedness. I knew about this article and its contents long before the election, but it would have been a moot point to bring it up before President Obama was re-elected, as all Executive Orders can be rescinded by a new President. Now you need to know about it and do what you need to do to protect yourself, which we will talk about later. Here is his article…in its entirety… “President Obama’s National Defense Resources Preparedness Executive Order of March 16 does to the country as a whole what the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (2012 NDAA) did to the Constitution in particular – completely eviscerates any due process or judicial oversight for any action by the Government deemed in the interest of ‘national security.’ Like the NDAA, the new Executive Order puts the government completely above the law, which, in a democracy, is never supposed to happen. The United States is essentially now under martial law without the exigencies of a national emergency. Even as the 2012 NDAA was rooted in the Patriot Act and the various Executive Orders and Congressional bills that ensued to broaden executive power in the ‘war on terror,’ so the new Executive Order is rooted in the Defense Production Act of 1950 which gave the Government powers to mobilize national resources in the event of national emergencies, except now virtually every aspect of American life falls under ultimate unchallengeable government control, to be exercised by the President and his secretaries at their discretion. The 2012 NDAA deemed the United States a ‘battlefield,’ as Senator Lindsey Graham put it, and gave the President and his agents the right to seize and arrest any U.S. citizen, detain them indefinitely without charge or trial, and do so only on suspicion, without any judicial oversight or due process. This new Executive Order states that the President and his secretaries have the authority to commandeer all U.S. domestic resources, including food and water, as well as seize all energy and transportation infrastructure inside the borders of the United States. The Government can also forcibly draft U.S. citizens into the military and force U.S. citizens to fulfill ‘labor requirements’ for the purposes of ‘national defense.; There is not even any Congressional oversight allowed, only briefings. In the NDAA, only the President had the authority to abrogate legitimate freedoms of U.S. citizens. What is extraordinary in the new Executive Order is that this supreme power is designated through the President to the secretaries that run the Government itself: • The Secretary of Defense has power over all water resources; • The Secretary of Commerce has power over all material services and facilities, including construction materials; • The Secretary of Transportation has power over all forms of civilian transportation; • The Secretary of Agriculture has power over food resources and facilities, livestock plant health resources, and the domestic distribution of farm equipment; • The Secretary of Health and Human Services has power over all health resources; • The Secretary of Energy has power over all forms of energy. This Executive Order even stipulates that in the event of conflict between the secretaries in using these powers, the President will determine the resolution through his national security team. The 2012 NDAA gave the Government the right to abrogate any due process against a U.S. citizen. The new Executive Order gives the government, through the Secretary of Labor, the right to proactively mobilize U.S. citizens for ‘labor’ as the government deems necessary and to coordinate with the Secretary of Defense to maintain data to coordinate the nation’s work needs in relation to national defense. What is extraordinary about the Executive Order is that, like the NDAA, this can all be done in peacetime without any national emergency to justify it. The language of the Executive Order does not state that all these extraordinary measures will be done in the event of ‘national security’ or a ‘national emergency.’ They can simply be done for ‘purposes of national defense,’ clearly a broader remit that allows the government to do what it wants, when it wants, how it wants, to whomever it wants, all without any judicial restraint or due process. As Orwell famously said in 1984, ‘War is peace. Peace is war.’ This is now the reality on the ground in America. Finally, the 2012 NDAA was hurried through the House and Senate almost like a covert op with minimal public attention or debate. It was then signed by the President at 9:00 PM on New Year’s Eve, December 31st, 2011, while virtually nobody was paying attention to much other than the approaching new year. This new Executive Order was written and signed in complete secret and then quietly released by the White House on its website without comment. All this was done under a President who studied constitutional law at Harvard. It is hard to know what to say in the face of such egregious disregard for the integrity of what America has stood and fought for since its founding. It is hard in part because none of us thought such encroachments would ever happen here, certainly not under the watch of a ‘progressive’ like President Obama. At one level, the prospect for war with Iran is probably an immediate justification. But the comprehensiveness of the Executive Order, like that of the 2012 NDAA, speaks to something much deeper, more sinister. I would suggest that this Executive Order, like the NDAA, has been in the works for some time and is simply the next step in the logic of the ‘global war on terror.’ Our political elites have come to consider democracy an impediment to effective governance and they are slowly and painstakingly creating all the democratic legalities necessary to abridge our democratic rights with impunity, all to ensure our ‘security.’ Of such measures do republics fall and by such measures tyrants emerge. The only thing that really remains is the occasion to test the new rules of the game. Perhaps that will be war with Iran, perhaps some contrived emergency, or perhaps, as long as the public and media remain asleep, no occasion will be necessary at all. It will just slowly happen of its own accord and we, like the frog in the pot of slowly boiling water, will just sit there and be consumed by our own turpitude.” What are some of the other triggers of this Executive Order? As the article states, anything…or nothing…can trigger it. Maybe it will be the US Dollar losing its status as the world’s reserve currency; or hyperinflation hitting because the Fed is printing so much money to cover our debt; or this “fiscal cliff” putting us back into a recession; or war breaking out in the Mid-East; or if there is something that happens on the world stage because of the “greater flexibility” President Obama has now since the election is over; or… I feel all Executive Orders should be scary, for each is issued by one person, with no approval by Congress, and with no oversight…but I’ve never known any to be more scary than this one. What is martial law? What does it entail? With us being as close as we are to so many things that could make this Order become a reality, it might be good to know. That will be my topic for next month.

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2012-11-07 11:09:16

Welcome to the November ’12 issue of the SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal. Thank you for joining us.

I said it last month and I will say it again. In media, whether it be Print, TV, Radio, Internet, or whatever it is, you can always tell when election season is nearing. We get hit up with campaign ads, promises, which person voted for what numerous times throughout the day. All of these ads are in an effort for a particular candidate to get within the good graces of YOU, the voter. In our efforts here at the Q&A Times I wanted to take somewhat of a different approach, that often other media outlets will not do (or will do, but on a much lesser basis). Ads are an effective tool and you will find them within this publication, but what about the actual person running for these political seats or particular job? What about proposing a solution to a problem or issue? Often in media the candidate will only have 15 or 30 seconds to get their message across, or a maximum of 50 words to answer in print. This is why you get the common (I want to create jobs and lower taxes) answer. Doesn’t everyone say that? I, myself would be more interested in learning how they are actually going to achieve the things they propose or say. Wouldn’t you? It is my hope that within this issue we can award you one final opportunity to connect with the candidate of your choice, helping you the voter decide. The candidates are afforded to providing a clear answer and/or solution toward what their future efforts are if being re-elected, or would be if becoming elected (and they are not sugar coated). Some of the interviewed questions began last month and are concluded within this issue. For those that answered all five of their questions last month, they will discuss additional important voter topics this month. Please join us once again in the political section where we ask the questions, they provide the answers, and you the voter get your last opportunity to decide. When the time comes please get out there and vote, it is more important than ever! Also found within this issue are timely topics, new contributors and those Q&A columns you have grown fond of (or dislike for that matter). Lastly, I’d like to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving! Thanks as always for reading, and a very special thanks to all of our contributors. Please let them know you recognized them within our pages!

X

From the Publisher

Charlie Traffas

2012-11-01 14:35:28

Q- What’s new?

A- In order to get the most out of this month’s column, you will have to go back and read the columns of the past two months (September ’12 and October ‘12). After reading them you will understand the statement, “Say it ain’t so Joe.” You can do this by going to www.theqandatimes.com, and click on recent issues. In March of 1980, while I was at KFDI Radio, I put together a group of sponsors that brought former California Governor Ronald Reagan, and Republican Presidential candidate at the time, to Wichita for a “Salute To National Agriculture Day,” at the Cotillion Ballroom. It was a huge event that had one of those “gotchya” moments that appeared on national media throughout the rest of the campaign. Roger Mudd of CBS News asked Reagan about his stance on “parity.” Reagan didn’t understand “parity” like he should have and he stuttered and stammered, thereby embarrassing himself. Although I was also embarrassed for him and for the sponsors that presented the event, I chose to remember another comment he made that same day. He said, “If the American people are properly informed, they will most always make the right decision.” In my article this month, I will try and provide as much proper information as possible, and ask for your help doing something we all need to do. It is shocking and stunning to me when I consider the amount of time, energy and effort that has been spent on worthless rhetoric from both the Obama and Romney campaigns. Nothing of what is being proposed will work to the extent it needs to work insofar as solving our nation’s biggest domestic problems…balancing our budget; stopping deficit spending; paying down the debt; creating jobs; getting the economy moving again through the creation of a pro-business climate; stopping the waste, fraud and abuse; keeping us strong as a country with a strong defense; and putting firm footing under the entitlement programs of Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid. I know, by now you have to be sick and tired of hearing about all of this stuff, but hopefully this article will be a breath of fresh air…because I am not just going to talk about these things…I am going to give you some solutions for these problems that can be implemented within 60 days. Then I will tell you what each of us needs to do. Please stay with me. I am not sure who it was that was the first to say in this presidential election, “If we ever needed leadership, we need it now,” but truer words have not been spoken in a long time. We must have a team in place that understands solving these problems is its most important affair. This team must adhere to the modus operandi of, “Plan the work…work the plan.” But with all of what Washington has been for so many years, and with what these two campaigns have been saying, it doesn’t look to me like this is going to happen. Let me tell you why… May God bless him, but President Obama doesn’t have a clue as to how to go about solving these problems. He hasn’t had any kind of a plan since he was first elected in 2008. His idea of a business plan is a set of drawings for an office. Since the first order of business is to “Plan the work,” and he has no plan…nothing is going to get done in these problem areas. And, as I stated in the October issue, his eyes are on a much bigger prize…one we can’t get into now. The Benghazi embassy situation, leaving 4 Americans dead, including our Ambassador, Christopher Stevens, with all of the lies, distortions, deflections and cover ups…is reprehensible…and so representative of the arrogance and manner in which he has run his administration, in so many areas and on so many fronts…domestically and globally. He and his team have not earned the right to be re-elected…end of story. Is Governor Romney and his team any better? Fiscally? Yes. And there is something to be said about “pulling a quarterback who is flailing” and putting one in the game who is “chomping on the bit” on the sideline. Other than that, I can’t promise a lot. I just know he would be better than what we have for the shape we’re in. Sadly, Governor Romney, his team and their plan won’t fix what needs to be fixed either. After months of listening to his handlers about not being specific, he is now getting more so about what he says he will do, but there’s no “beef” in what he advocates. His getting more specific amounts to saying, “We will have some vegetables for dinner,” instead of saying, “We will have dinner.” I understand specificity gives fuel to the opposition for its attacks, but you have to present it in a way that cannot be attacked or refuted like, “Surely you will agree that the sun comes up in the East, don’t you?” It can be done. Governor Romney is now saying his plan will be to reduce all tax levels by 20%, while closing most of the deduction loop holes. This isn’t the brightest plan ever advanced. Does he say it will bring in more revenue? No. Does he say it will cause more jobs? No. Does he say it will take care of our entitlement programs? No. Does he say it will solve our housing crisis? No. He throws out a blanket, political statement like this thinking it will be a “seed that falls on fertile ground,” and all it is…is more “worthless rhetoric.” His 5 point plan of committing to energy independence, deficit reduction, education, improving foreign trade and championing small business by cutting taxes and regulations is equally unspecific. It’s the same thing we have gotten from President Obama since he began running in 2007. Governor Romney, there are a lot of us ready for any kind of change over what it has been…but tell us what you are going to do in these problem areas…and present us with the numbers proving why your solutions will work. I have stated frequently in this column that there is no business in the world bigger than the US Government. Calvin Coolidge said it best in 1925, “The business of America is business.” We need someone in charge immediately who understands business more than we need anything; but Governor Romney, what business did you ever run successfully, that when you were asked, “What are you going to do to increase sales?” did you reply, “We are going to reduce our prices”? Is this all you’ve got? How is this going to solve the problems? There isn’t a board of directors on the planet that would accept such a statement from the company’s CEO without documentation as to what it will do for increasing revenue. In the 2008 election, we had a guy who couldn’t recite a simple, four-line poem written in iambic pentameter without stuttering. So we elected a guy who baffled and dazzled us with his “big hat no cattle” promises, of which if 1 in 25 have been kept, I will buy you a hot dog. This time, we have a guy to run against him, managed by a bunch of handlers in Massachusetts, who have to be as stiff-necked as any I have ever seen, who have been told by thousands what to do, but who are seemingly going to ride this deal down into failure. Maybe…maybe not…but it looks that way to me. I am writing this article before the final debates are finished, and you will be reading it after they’re all finished…so maybe something big will happen…like the parting of the “Red Sea,” before the election…but even if it does…the American public deserved better than to have to wait for it until election eve. So…unless this big deal occurs…I don’t think it makes much difference who wins, insofar as solving these problems, because neither side has the solutions that will solve them, and a divided government (where one party does not control the House, Senate and White House) is in store for us again. The only things we have to be concerned about are the executive orders that will be made (President Obama has made almost as many in 4 years as President Bush made in 8 years), and the appointments of anywhere from 2 to 4 Supreme Court Justices over the next four years. These two things will change our country more than anything has ever changed it before, but without some immediate, fiscal-management tools put into place, we may not last long enough as a country to be affected by them. How sad is this? For now, I will submit, it is more important than anything for each of us to know what needs to be done, and to voice these aggressively to our elected leaders when they commence wasting time again on the things that will not work. We cannot afford to have things locked in neutral for four more years, with partisan politics…bickering…and demonizing one side against the other. If they are, we will not be here in 2016 as we are today. Surely, somehow we will avoid going over the “fiscal cliff” that will take place after the elections, and before the end of the year…even if we just “kick the can down the road” for a few months. After all, procrastination is something our elected officials do better than anything else. But when all of the nonsense begins again, with all of the worthless rhetoric…we must mount a cry together, “Say it ain’t so Joe. We’ve had enough. We are out of time. We need to do something and do it now. If there is one thing you have all proved, it is that none of you are the ‘sharpest knife in the drawer.’ Listen to us…the people! It is time to be a public servant…instead of a party servant.” As I said earlier, nothing of what we have heard from either side will work. The Romney/Ryan ticket advocates cutting current spending by $250 Billion per year; cutting tax rates by 20%; and closing loopholes and deductions. These will leave us $32 Trillion in debt by 2022, and this assumes interest rates stay as they are, which is impossible with all of the money the Fed has printed and is continuing to print. The Obama/Biden ticket advocates keeping spending as it is (going in the red more than $1.2 Trillion per year with current spending, and even more when figuring in Obamacare); increasing income taxes on those individuals making $200,000 per year and couples making $250,000 per year from 35% to 39.6%; and taking capital gains taxes up from 15% to 20%...or higher; plus a myriad of other tax increases to individuals and businesses. This will leave us $43 Trillion in debt by 2022, again assuming interest rates stay the same. Can you imagine what either scenario would be if inflation of 10% hits us…or hyperinflation of 20% or more? The “fat lady” will have sung. Below are the things that will work. They must be implemented immediately. They can be implemented within 60 days…and no, I am not crazy. Do you remember how quickly America united following the bombing of Pearl Harbor as we entered World War II? We haven’t seen this kind of patriotism and unified effort since. While nothing can equal the tragedy of such a terrible loss of life; we need that same spirit in each of our bellies for this fiscal tragedy now. We are Americans. We still have the ability to do this. It is as much a part of our souls as our love for our grandparents, parents and children, and our love for the great country in which we live. Our very way of life is at risk…and that of our loved ones. We need it now…and with the right strategies, solutions and rallying cry…we can do it. Here are the things we need to vociferously profess and support: We must have more revenue. Increasing taxes on the wealthiest will not do it. The only way to get it is with an immediate, general tax reform. Our present tax system is broken. Even if the most wealthy Americans would have their taxes increased by 25%...and NO ONE is advocating this…it would not bring in enough revenue to cover what we are spending. We would continue to run Trillion dollar deficits, thereby running up the national debt even further. We have to change the basis of our tax system. We do that by abolishing every federal tax we have in place…personal income tax, corporate income tax, capital gains tax, Medicare and Social Security taxes for both the individual and the company, estate tax, gift tax and excise tax. We replace these taxes with a FairTax of 23% on every new, personally-consumed product and service in the United States, with no exemptions of any kind. This FairTax would be collected at the point of sale by the seller of the product or service. One fourth of one percent would be retained by the seller, then the seller would immediately send the balance on to the state. The state would retain one fourth of one percent and immediately send the balance on to the Federal Government. There would be no FairTax on business-to-business transactions of products or services. There would be no FairTax on used products. Each head of household (individual/family), regardless of income, would receive a monthly pre-bate payment to pay the FairTax equal to poverty-level expenditures to enable the necessities of life (food, medicine, clothing, etc.) This monthly, pre-bate payment is based upon family size only. It is not based upon income. There is no “means” testing for this pre-bate payment. Every American citizen qualifies for it. Imagine, each of us paying no more Federal Taxes for anything. Imagine your take home check being gross wages, or nearly gross wages, if there was no Federal Withholding, no Social Security, no Medicare, and no Federal Tax deductions of any kind. Imagine businesses putting all of their capital into the purchase of new equipment, locations and employees, instead of peeling off a huge chunk for all of the Federal Taxes. How fast would our economy (gross domestic product-GDP) grow? How many jobs would be created? You know how some of us pay estimated quarterly Federal Taxes? We would not do this any longer. How many tens of millions of dollars have been spent on the debates and politics over the past 3½ years, of all of these different federal taxes, that would be moot if this FairTax was enacted? Extension of the Bush Tax cuts…moot; estate tax…moot; Social Security reform…moot; Medicare reform…moot; increasing taxes on the rich…moot; increasing taxes on business…moot; Capital Gains tax…moot; and so much more…all moot. Take away all of these and ask yourself, “What would we have gotten accomplished if our elected representatives had not spent all of the time and money on these things that they did?” Would the FairTax generate the revenue we need? Yes. To begin with, it would bring in $800 Billion more than what we’re bringing in today. In 2012 total revenue from all sources will be $2.2 Trillion. Our GDP is approximately $16 Trillion. 81% of our GDP is personal consumption, which equates to $13 Trillion, on which the FairTax would be assessed. 22.85% of this (which is the percentage after the seller of the product/service and the state take their one fourth of one percent) comes to $3 Trillion. That works out to be $800 Billion more than what we take in now! But revenue would significantly increase thereafter! Why? Because there would be no payroll taxes (Medicare and Social Security) for business, no corporate income tax, no Federal excise taxes and no other Federal taxes. Business in America would boom. Businesses from around the world would stand in line to do business here. We wouldn’t have to worry about our balance of trade. Exports would far exceed imports. We wouldn’t have enough people for the jobs it would create. Instead of our GDP growing at the anaemic levels it has of an annual rate of less than 2%, try plugging in a FairTax of 22.85% on 81% of our GDP with a 3% growth rate, 4% growth rate, or even a 5% or more growth rate. A 5% increase in GDP of $16 Trillion would bring in more than $3.2 Trillion in revenue immediately. A sustained 5% growth rate in GDP would bring in more than $5 Trillion…annually. This would be real revenue…and the HOTTEST and most VIBRANT economy we have ever seen in the history of this country. Why would we want to help business? For not only the reasons that are listed above, but as business thrives, more and more people would make more and more money…owners and employees alike. The more money they would make, the more they would spend. The more they would spend, the more FairTax revenue. People who make the most in business, like owners and upper management, would pay a 23% FairTax on every new product/service they buy, with no exemptions. There would be no more “biggies” that escape paying taxes. This is the progressive tax we have all looked for. People who make more spend more and would pay more in FairTax. People who make less spend less and would pay less in FairTax. But since most people, including the very poor, do not pay any income taxes now, how would they be able to afford an additional 23% consumption tax? First, to those employed, no one would have any more Federal Tax deductions on their pay check. They would receive gross pay instead of net pay after these deductions. If the current, take-home, household income of a family of four is $50,000, this alone would put nearly $10,000 back into their hands (enough to pay the FairTax on more than $43,000 worth of new products and services purchased during the year), which is almost all of what they would have to spend in the first place. Second, there are the monthly pre-bate payments based solely on household size. The Federal Poverty Level Spending for a family of four in a household, for the essentials, is approximately $22,000. 23% of this is $5,060. To those who are on a lower amount of take-home, household income…say for instance the $22,000, their monthly pre-bate payment will pay the 23% FairTax on all of the new products and services they purchase in a year. With the monthly pre-bate payment and no other Federal taxes like Medicare and Social Security, this would be “expenditure neutral” for all lower income households. And remember, no one pays the FairTax on used products they purchase, so it could even be an increase in disposable income for lower income households. This monthly pre-bate payment program would cost the country approximately $460 Billion per year. I will tell you how it would be paid for in just a bit. What would we do about cutting spending? After observing Washington for the past dozen years or more, I am now convinced, a balanced budget amendment will not work. We must go further. You see, a balanced budget amendment will never get us out of the problems we’re in, as it would limit spending to what we take in, and at best…Washington would spend all we take in. With all of the revenue this FairTax would bring in, we cannot spend it all. We must have a surplus to pay down the debt and regain the confidence of our foreign creditors as well as those Americans who hold US Debt. We would therefore have a “Spending Cap Amendment,” of 17% of the GDP. As this FairTax would begin to blossom, we would be able to spend more, because 17% of a bigger number is a bigger number to spend, but we would hold to the 17% cap of GDP. This one move would restore our global credit rating over night; put lobbyists to work doing something to affect our GDP instead of what they are doing; wipe out the deficit; build a surplus to shore up our entitlement programs; and pay down the national debt in an accelerated fashion from this point forward. With no more federal taxes, what will happen to all of the tax attorneys, CPAs and IRS agents that will no longer be needed for what they were doing, or primarily doing? Some of them are going to have to find something else to do, or something else to do in addition to what they do. This is taken care of too. Every existing tax attorney, CPA, Income Tax Preparer and IRS agent, who opts-in during a limited and defined registration period, would be given full access to all of the information on every dime that is being spent and planned to be spent by the Federal Government. Each of these could apply their unique talents and skills to stopping waste, fraud and abuse. It has been estimated by those on the right, left and in the middle, including our President, that 20% of what we spend goes to waste, fraud and abuse. This is in excess of $700 Billion per year. If there are 100,000 tax attorneys, 50,000 CPA and Income Tax Preparers, and 100,000 IRS agents that opt in (and that would include all of them there are opting in); and we would give them each 25% of what they are able to save for the waste, fraud and abuse we no longer have to pay, each would easily earn more than $500,000 per year. This should provide each of them with a pretty good living while directly contributing to our country’s bottom line with the 75% we don’t pay out to them as savings (reclaimed). Can’t you just see those people and entities that these folks go after for this waste, fraud and abuse? Once the abusers see them coming…they would hold up their handkerchiefs in surrender and say, “I’m sorry. I will give it all back.” They might be able to reclaim all of the $700 Billion. These folks would only be added to the unemployed if they do not have the skills and talents we and they thought they did, or if they do not want to work. This reclamation, plus the immediate increase in revenue from the FairTax of $800 Billion, plus all of the savings of what experts say it costs to collect, manage and enforce our current tax system of $462 Billion per year, would pay the $460 Billion for the monthly pre-bate payment to every household in America described earlier, plus our entire national defense budget, and all of the interest on our national debt. Keep in mind this is at the onset…before we experience the dynamic growth in our GDP and the increased revenue that will occur because of it. By the way, isn’t it a shame that we spend $462 Billion a year to manage, collect and enforce our taxes on our current system, and have absolutely nothing to show for it to ourselves and the rest of the world? Do you know that the 22nd largest economy in the world is Sweden, and their entire GDP is $457 Billion! We waste more on managing, collecting and enforcing our taxes than Sweden produces. What other problems would or could be solved with these in place, and what other stances would we take domestically and globally? Illegal Immigration - No one in their right mind, with a thimble full of compassion, would send 14 million illegal immigrants back to the country from which they came. Yes, it wasn’t right that they came here in violation of the way they were supposed to come here; but who committed the bigger sin? If a child isn’t supposed to push a chair over to the cookie jar, climb up and get a cookie, and one time Mom dusts the child’s britches when she sees the child do this, and the next time, when on the phone, she shakes her finger at the child…mouthing “No,”…the child is confused. How is the child supposed to react? The messaging was inconsistent. Both the government and the companies that employed the illegal immigrants were wrong for not enforcing the laws on the books and failing to comply with them. What were the illegal immigrants supposed to do? The messaging was inconsistent. The child is confused. The illegal immigrants are confused. They are already here. We would get them an ID card and let them stay and work. Their ID number would put them in the back of the line with all of those waiting to become citizens, but they would continue to stay here and work until their number came up. There would be plenty of work to go around. This country is going to be great again. They would know that if they violate the law, they would be sent back to where they came from and never be allowed back. This would work for most of those contemplating such a violation. The rest are all good people to begin with. We would enforce the border so no more would come in without doing it the way our laws on the books state they have to do it, but we would take care of those already here. In regards to social benefits for them, we would let this new tax reform work and we would be able to afford it. We wouldn’t have to worry about it. After all, if there are 14 million illegal immigrants here now, that’s only a 4% increase in our population. What would we do with a 4% increase if it came from within our borders over a 10 year period, which is what has occurred with the illegal immigrants over the last 10 years? Would we tell them there is no room or benefits for them? Would we load them up and ship them to the Outback Area of Australia or some other country that would take them? Most all of these people who came here illegally are good people. God made them just like He made you and me. We need them. They did what anyone would do in their situation. They looked for something better than what they had. No one stopped them. They have put roots down here. They have families now. We would put them to work and let them provide for their families, while being placed on a pathway to citizenship. National Defense - We would adopt and adapt a national defense policy that would work in synch with our credo, God and our resources: 1. We believe in peace through strength. Don’t mess with us and any of our allies…including Israel. If you mess with them you mess with us. 2. Respect our citizens that reside in your country, and those of other countries. Consider us like the reformed “bully” on the playground. While we could whip any one of the “kids,” we have chosen for now not to do so. But if someone messes with one of them, we will do whatever it takes so it will never happen again. 3. We’re not into nation building. This is where our involvement in the business of those we assist…ends. We would make things so you could rebuild your own nation. Foreign Aid - We would recognize what countries can do and cannot do in their own countries. We wouldn’t ask them to do something they cannot do. But we would expect them to do everything they can do. We would be there to assist, but don’t jack with us. Take care of business and we would be there for you. We would only provide aid to countries who always have the best interests of the USA in mind. Play both sides of the table and you can “color us gone”…immediately. We would take the aid we were giving you and use it to pay down our national debt…and we would send you a big “thank you” along with our “good-bye.” Energy - We stand for energy independence. Far too many decisions of our blood and treasure have been made over the past 50 years based upon getting our energy from somewhere other than our own resources. If we have shoddy practices in place while going after this energy, kick those companies to the curb and get on with being energy independent for those that know how to do it right. We wouldn’t let someone “without manners sit at our table at 4 H Camp.” We wouldn’t let someone work in the energy business who is messy and has no “manners” either. Abundant and affordable energy will always be a centerpiece of our economy. Get out of the way and let it happen…domestically. Help The Poor and Disenfranchised and They Would Help Too - We would see a brand new and vibrant economy. There would be plenty of aid for all of those who could not help themselves; but if they are not sick, between the ages of 18 and 65, and could work, even if they are disabled, in order to continue receiving the aid…they would do what they could do or they would not receive the aid. And don’t tell me the disabled cannot work. They are some of the best employees…and among the most loyal. I have worked with them and more than a dozen Wichita companies for whom they work for many years. They want to help too. Everyone who isn’t sick can do something that the Federal Government is now paying to have done. These include things like relieving a home care aide that is being paid by Medicare or Medicaid; sewing a uniform; stuffing envelopes at home; picking up litter on a highway; assisting in any type of infrastructure work for which they are qualified; sorting mail for the post office; cleaning buildings; washing vehicles; doing laundry; anything the Federal Government pays for now. They pay approximately $37.50 per hour for this type of work. How do I know? Because the average rate paid by the private sector for these things is $15 per hour, and the Federal Government, because of all its waste, fraud and abuse, averages paying 250% more for things than what you and I pay. That works out to $37.50 per hour. Now watch these numbers work. There are 320 Million Americans. 23% are under 18. 13% are over 65. That leaves 205 Million Americans. Of these, approximately 35% receive government assistance from “means-tested” programs like food stamps, housing assistance and Medicaid, and another 14% are on Social Security Disability (SSDI). That equates to 100 Million Americans. Let’s say 5% of these are sick at any given time and cannot work. That leaves 95 Million Americans. If each of these gave only 2 hours per week in these kinds of services, reducing the Federal Government’s expenses, it would save $370 Billion per year. If each gave 4 hours per week, this one move could save us $740 Billion per year, which would wipe out more than 60% of our deficit! Imagine the strength and camaraderie of our country with everyone who can…giving something to help out…in time, talent or treasure. Let The Free Market Work - Entrepreneurism and the free market have made happen what we all enjoy in America today. Yes, greed has crept into much of it and this is unacceptable in anyone’s book, but the original statement is true. Products and services that survive the test of consumers, that continue to cater to the needs of consumers, that are priced affordably and competitively…will flourish. Those that are not will be tossed aside. That’s the way it’s been since our country began. This is how it always must be. Health insurance is a big part of this. Obamacare has little to do with health insurance. Rather, it is a massive, 2,300 page, redistribution of wealth program packed full of more regulations than anyone has been able to count. It will cost hundreds of billions of dollars. It will not save anything. The bureaucracy required to run it will make every other program in the country seem like a local chapter of FFA. Obamacare must be repealed…and this time…done properly…without the shoddy way it was put into effect the first time. We would have a solution for health insurance in place that works for every other product and service in every other segment of our society. Disregard state boundaries. Let buyers of health insurance shop for the best plan there is for them in the country, their families and their situations. Eliminate pre-existing conditions, and the dollar and time limits of benefits. If you are an insurance company and in the insurance business, you take them all…both those with “hiccups” in their health and the healthy ones. The principle of insurance works best for all when the risk pool is large. Companies that control their costs and take care of their insureds will prosper. Those who don’t will fall by the wayside. Individual and corporate greed is bad…but no worse than it is for the Federal Government to get in the middle of everything we do. Entrepreneurism and the free enterprise system are good. If you can’t agree with this…there is no room for you here. It doesn’t matter what you occupy…you will not be changing America into a third world country. Get out. Go occupy a cave in Africa, Indonesia, Finland or Norway, or wherever, and roast the porcupine you caught two days ago over a wood fire for dinner. There’s a better world out there for all of us than the one you are trying to espouse. We’re going to make it happen…with or without you. 100% Full Support for the Constitution - The Constitution is the way it is and the way it would be…until it is changed. That means each and every sentence…and each and every amendment…is the way it is. It will be respected by all. Laws are made by the Legislative Branch. These laws are interpreted and applied by the Judicial Branch, and executed and enforced by the Executive Branch. If the laws on the books are not going to be enforced, unilaterally for all, they would be abolished or changed…but until this would be done…this is the way it is…end of story. None of us know what will happen on November 6th, whether President Obama will be re-elected, Governor Romney will be elected, or which party will control the House and the Senate. There are 8 possibilities. But no matter how it ends up…one thing is certain…we cannot have a “do nothing” government again for 4 more years like we have had the last 4 years, or one that spends its time on “worthless rhetoric” and things that will not work. Stand up. Let them know what has to be done. This is America. These people work for us. These are the right things to do.

X

From the Publisher

Charlie Traffas

2012-10-02 13:37:33

Q- What's new?

A- In order to get the most out of this column, you will need to have read last month’s column. Only then will you understand the statement used throughout, “Say it ain’t so Joe.” You can do this by going to www.theqandatimes.com, clicking recent issues, pulling up the September ’12 issue and reading my article beginning on Page 1. Before I get to some solutions next month…I have a few more “Say it ain’t so Joes” for this month, along with some comments on events that are happening throughout the world. Even though some of them may seem like old news, you will hear and read about them all again between now and the election. When you do, you will have the facts. And just in case you are going to maintain that this article contains one or more untruths…be sure when you call or email, you can also tell me what it is or what they are and why. You won’t get a lot back from me if you don’t. The only things that should happen between now and the election are ramifications of current policies and the debates. We will see how much they affect it all. Thus far, all we have from both sides is mostly “worthless rhetoric.” I will make my case as to “why” as I continue. While it will always be the will of God for whatever happens to our country, our lives and the entire world, He wants us to ask for things to be His will, and pray for His will to be done, that He make us an instrument of His will, and that He give us the grace to accept His will. This may offend some of you, and that’s okay. Your issues with it will only be temporary, as it will be proven to everyone to be more true than the sun coming up in the East tomorrow morning…that is if God wills it to come up. First let’s take a more simplified look at what is going on. President Obama and the Democrats are asking for 4 more years. Former President Clinton maintains that because he participated with a bipartisan Congress in balancing the budget and creating a surplus 15 years ago, President Obama can do it too. While this may appear to some of you, on first blush, akin to “pushing a noodle up a hill,” let me just say…as inept, incompetent and inexperienced as President Obama seems to be at times, he is much more astute than most give him credit. The biggest reason why things are not fixed is because his focus is on a much “bigger prize”…and because of this, he has gotten himself involved in what should be a very close election. This is not to say his ideology could ever fix things, but even if it could, he has not done the job that was required of him. Not having a Jobs Council meeting since January when we have 23 Million people unemployed or underemployed; only attending 44% of his daily security briefings for the country; his disregard for the Simpson-Bowles recommendations for our economy when it is hurting like it is; the way he handled the debt ceiling negotiations increase a year ago that led us to the “taxmageddon” we are facing between now and the end of this year; the downgrade in our credit; and the other ways he has gone about doing the things he has done…is not indicative of someone who is attentive, diligent and worthy of the position. If someone is going to be a “maverick” in the way he or she does a job…it had better work, whether he is “among the most sophisticated consumers of intelligence on the planet” or not. It has not worked. No president in history has approached his job the way President Obama has approached his. I doubt that anyone…left, right or independent…will refute this. At press time, in addition to all of our domestic woes, we had the murders of our ambassador, Chris Stevens, and three other Americans in Libya; the storming of our embassies in Egypt, Yemen, Iraq, Tunisia, and riots, uprisings, murders and injuries in more than two dozen other hot spots throughout the world; the “red line” request to President Obama by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu for Iran to stop their nuclear program, that he has ignored; the failure by President Obama to meet with Netanyahu about the same in spite of more than 140 bipartisan requests from lawmakers that he do so; the terrible human tragedies that are still occurring in Syria; and so much else. It is hard to believe that all of these happening at the same time are a coincidence. The White House says all of these are the result of an anti-Islam movie. Really? It’s not a movie. It’s a 14 minute trailer...and it’s been on YouTube since July. I would think if it was all about a message, as soon as that message was out there, the riots and uprisings would have begun, wouldn’t you? Why did they wait three months? What is going to happen when the Bin Laden movie comes out in a couple of months? And all of these uprisings and attacks have nothing to do with what are proving to be the administration’s naive and toothless policies, right? From now on will we have to fade the action of any group in the world who wants to take issue with something someone says or writes? What kind of a world will this be? And where is the mainstream media in all of this? Following these events, their news was full of ridicule for Governor Romney and little about what was happening and why? President Obama has taken his “eye off the ball” big time…the “ball” that was more important to him than anything. This “bigger prize” he seeks is an article series in itself, but I won’t go into it now. You just need to know that getting re-elected to a second term is paramount for him. Now it doesn’t matter that he and the Democrats asked for the job 4 years ago, saying they could fix the problems of the country…and things are the same or worse…because the “mess was much bigger than they thought,” which I will also address in this article. They are asking for 4 more years because they feel their way is the way it needs to be. They believe that big government is the answer to fix the nation’s problems. They believe in equal outcome based upon the principles of socialism…whatever it takes for society to exist and prosper should come as taxes from successful businesses and from those people who have been successful in business. They outwardly state, “Government is the only thing that we all belong to.” The “haves” take care of the “have nots,” regardless whether a person works, works hard, or doesn’t work at all. They believe this process must be managed by a big government…because only a big government…with lots of people in lots of positions…will know what is best for everyone. They believe that a nation cures its problems from the bottom and the middle up, when this big government steps in and takes from the top, giving it to the bottom and the middle, along with money it pumps into the economy. This is known as Keynesian economics. It doesn’t work. It never has. Europe is reeling from it now. Although Romney and the Republicans’ talking points say they want a smaller government, I wonder sometimes. What they have “sown” is large too…but not to the degree of the Democrats. They want a government that for a large part, gets out of the way, so the free enterprise system (business) can be successful without manipulation. They believe in equal opportunity based upon the principles of capitalism…whatever it takes for society to exist and prosper should come as taxes from everyone, with more coming from successful businesses and from those people who have been successful in business, but with rules and regulations in place that are pro-growth, so business thrives…the economy grows…and even more revenues are collected to take care of everyone who needs taking care of…without a huge government bureaucracy to manage the process. This approach has worked well in our country for 236 years. They believe that government belongs to the citizens…not the other way around. Both sides think they are right…which is the way it should be, and as far as I am concerned, neither side is a “bad guy” until that side demonizes a person from the other side for having a view counter to theirs. But as bold as this might sound, the win in November is not about who gets to be President. It’s much more about the added “bonus” that goes to the winning side. This added “bonus” is the right to appoint anywhere from 2 to 4 Supreme Court Justices over the next four years. If President Obama wins, this could easily trigger the biggest “fundamental transformation our country” has ever seen, with changes, modifications and/or repeals of several Amendments to our Constitution, including but not limited to the First, Second, Fourth, Tenth, Eleventh, Twenty-Second, and Twenty-Third, plus a preponderance of executive orders that could change things more quickly than legislation could ever do. The right to make these appointments and invoke these executive orders will prove to be much bigger than anything else that is at stake in this election. Here is why it is not, what everyone has been saying, “All about jobs and the economy.” Earlier I used the phrase, “worthless rhetoric.” I will put some “pants” on this. Neither side is proposing solutions that will fix our country’s problems…but most would never know. From all the show and talk, one would believe that one side or both have the answers to solve the problems we face…and do we ever have some whoppers. We have more than $16 Trillion in national debt. We will overspend again this year (of the $2.2 Trillion we take in) by $1.3 Trillion. It is projected to be much more in the years to come, which all adds to our existing $16 Trillion debt. Our entitlement programs (Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security) will be insolvent in a handful of years. We have 23 Million people out of work, with more than 47 Million people on food stamps. Estimates as high as 6 Million people have left the work force in the past 3 ½ years because they couldn’t find a job. Regardless of the actual number, we now have the lowest number of people that are employed since 1981. This is an amazing statistic. Here with all of the births we’ve had, all of the immigration…legal and illegal…all of the technology, all of the inventions, all of everything…our economy is so bad with so many people out of work, that we have no more employed than we did more than 30 years ago! It is estimated that 20% of what we spend goes to waste, fraud and abuse. A bipartisan report just published at press time said there is $700 Billion in waste, fraud and abuse in health care alone. How sick is this? That is our entire defense budget…before the cuts that will take place in the upcoming “taxmageddon!” Foreclosures are at an all time high. A record number of college loans are in default. Most people have been groomed by politicians to hate those people with an opposite or counter view to theirs on any issue. Nothing is getting done in Washington, DC, and if it is a split government again after this election (either party failing to control the House, Senate and the White House), nothing will get done over the next 4 years. The world does not think, respect or believe we will be there if they need us…as they have thought for the past 70 plus years. It has also been that long since our nation’s defense has been as weak and diluted as it is today…and will be tomorrow. The biggest reason why the US is still the most relevant “player on the planet” is because the US Dollar is the world’s reserve currency. But the printing presses are reducing this relevance each day. We cannot continue to print Trillions of dollars (actually we add zeroes to the magic balance sheet) without it coming back to haunt us in a big way in the future. The Federal Reserve just announced the third round of quantitative easing (QE3). In addition to the $2.3 Trillion pumped in since President Obama took office, and the $45 Billion per month we are continuing to pump in through the end of the year called Operation Twist, beginning immediately and with no designated end date, they will buy an additional $40 Billion per month of mortgage backed securities. If there was ever an admission by this administration that its policies are not working...this is it. Am I the only one who thinks that there is so much going wrong on so many fronts…that it all has to be planned and not just a coincidence? If not, how could anyone who has had anything to do with this mess, ever ask to keep the job they have in the part they play? Think about this for a moment before you answer. Just as the old saying goes, “It’s later than it’s ever been,” so too is the statement, “The problems we face today are bigger now than they have ever been in the history of our country.” Last month I explained why our budget cannot be balanced under our current tax code. This isn’t hate folks, and it isn’t spin. It is for real. The budget cannot be balanced…EVER…under our current tax code. Even “Paul Revere Ryan”, the supposed budget guru, cannot provide a date that the budget can be balanced under the Republican’s plan, except, “…somewhere down the line in the 2040s…”. He stutters worse than Mel Tillis ever did when he is asked. President Obama, fresh off getting “bitten” on most every promise and commitment he has made since he began to run for President in 2007, doesn’t even state that the budget can be balanced or when. Take this to the bank…this country will not be as it is today…if the budget cannot be balanced quickly…and that means within the next four years. No matter who is elected…if our tax code stays the same…we will have continual deficit spending, which means a continual piling on to our national debt of $16 Trillion. The Democrats want to spend more and increase taxes on the wealthy, but they are not advocating a big enough tax increase to do any good, as revoking the Bush tax cuts on those making more than $200,000 ($250,000 households) will only bring in an additional $70 Billion per year, making this year’s deficit $1.23 Trillion, not counting their additional spending. The Republicans are wanting to cut spending and keep all of the Bush tax cuts in force, but they have only figured out how to cut spending by $120 Billion, so with none of the $70 Billion coming in from the increased taxes on the wealthy, this year’s deficit under their plan would be $1.18 Trillion. The difference between both plans on the budget is $50 Billion per year. Now while that would be a nice “pile” for several thousand of us, it is “peanuts” when compared to our problems. Yet this is all we have heard for months, “Increase taxes on the wealthy,” “Pay your fair share,” and “Don’t increase taxes on anyone.” It’s all a whole bunch to do about nothing, and look at all of the valuable time that is being wasted. It is all “worthless rhetoric,” surrounded by lies, distortions, deflections and detractions by both sides. “Say it ain’t so Joe.” Here is one of the top distortions, deflections and deceits that has been thrown upon the American people ever since President Obama was sworn in…and no one…most of all Governor Romney, Paul Ryan and any of the Republicans are telling it like it is. What is wrong with them? Why would anyone use generalizations and innuendo to refute something when they could use the facts? President Obama and the Democrats are continually talking about the “mess” that they inherited from the Bush administration. Really? In spite of all you have heard…let me present the facts…and before you classify me as being hateful, you should know that these have never been denied by anyone in the Obama administration or by the Democrats. They are facts. The day the Democrats took over was not January 22nd, 2009 when President Obama was sworn into office. It was January 3rd 2007, two years earlier. On this day, the Democrats took over the House of Representatives and the Senate, at the very start of the 110th Congress. This was the first time the Democrats controlled both the House and the Senate since the end of the 103rd Congress in 1995. On this day, the DOW Jones closed at 12,621.77. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate for the previous quarter was 3.5%. The Unemployment rate was at 4.6%. The National Debt was at $10.7 Trillion. Who wouldn’t trade these numbers for today’s? Yet what do we hear from the Obama campaign? We are better off today. Really? Do I need to repeat the problems we have that I listed earlier? We didn’t have any of them 4 years ago to the extent that we have them today. On the day the Democrats took over, Barney Frank took over the House Financial Services Committee and Chris Dodd took over the Senate Banking Committee. The economic meltdown that happened 15 months later was in what part of the economy? You guessed it…the banking and financial services sectors! $5.6 Trillion of toxic loans were dumped on the economy from the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fiascoes, whose policies were advanced by President Clinton during his second term. President Bush asked Congress 17 times to stop Fannie & Freddie…starting in 2001…because it was financially risky for the US economy. And in all of this…who took the third highest pay-off from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? It was then presidential candidate Barack Obama. And who fought against reform of Fannie and Freddie in early 2009? It was newly elected President Obama and the Democrat Congress, especially Barney. The budget process and expenditures originate in Congress, not the White House. Policies originate in the White House, then Congress acts up on these policies. The party that controlled Congress from January 3rd of 2007 through January 23rd of 2011 was the Democrats. In November 2010, the Republicans won the majority of the House, but the Democrats still controlled the Senate and the White House. The Democrats have controlled the budget process for all budgets from 2008 through 2011, even though the country has not had a budget in more than 3 ½ years because our beloved Harry Reid won’t bring one up for a vote in the Senate. The Democrats have made the statement about the “mess they inherited” so many times without any rebuttal from the other side, it has been accepted as being the way it is. “Say it ain’t so Joe.” In those first two budget years (2007 and 2008) that they took over, the Democrats had to contend with George Bush, which caused them to compromise on spending, when Bush somewhat belatedly got tough on spending increases, which I have vociferously faulted him for in this column. But in 2009, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid bypassed President Bush entirely, passing continuing resolutions to keep government running until Barack Obama could take office. At that time, they passed a massive omnibus spending bill to complete the 2009 budgets. And where was Barack Obama during this time? He was a member of that very Congress that passed all of these massive spending bills, and he signed the omnibus bill as President to complete 2009. If the Democrats inherited any deficit, it was the 2007 deficit, the last of the Republican budgets. That deficit was the lowest in five years, and the fourth straight decline in deficit spending. After that, Democrats in Congress took control of spending, and that includes Barack Obama, who voted for the budgets. If President Obama inherited anything, he inherited it from himself. In a nutshell, what he is saying is, “I inherited a deficit that I voted for…and then I voted to expand that deficit four-fold since January 22nd, 2009.” Not only is Washington broken, and most all its politicians, but the Romney campaign people who are in charge of messaging to get out to the public have proven them selves to be anything but the “sharpest knives in the drawer.” Who would allow an improper message to continue with no counter message…when a factual counter message exists? Their failure to provide the same “waters” and “fertilizes” continued spreading of the same old rhetoric. Now that rhetoric has “roots” and it is harder than ever to pull them. “Say it ain’t so Joe.” Remember the Obama Super PAC (Priorities USA) ad that showed a person (Joe Soptic) who was blaming Romney for the death of his wife, who had died from cancer? The Washington Post puts out a rating on all campaign ads and assigns a “Pinocchio” rating of 1 to 4 for each ad insofar as distortions and lies. This ad achieved the highest rating of 4 “Pinocchios.” You need the full details on this. Since no one has ever presented all of the facts in one place, I will present them now. Romney was CEO of Bain Capital, a venture capital company he and two other partners founded in 1984. What do you suppose the CEO’s job is for a private or public company? If it’s not maximizing the return on investment, or ROI, the position does not need to be filled, as there is nothing else more important for a CEO to do. Bain Capital turned its focus in the early 90s to leveraged buyouts and growth capital companies. This means that they looked for companies who were bankrupt, or almost bankrupt, that they could buy for a good price, invest capital, manpower, operations and marketing (retooling), and turn the company around and sell it for a profit, or continue to operate it profitably. Read this again. Bain Capital looked for companies that were bankrupt…or almost bankrupt…that they could turn around. Without Bain Capital these companies would not “make it,” or certainly would not “make it” to the extent that they could or did. In some cases they knew immediately and had to shut down the company. In otherer cases, they had to go in and “re-tool.” The “re-tooling” process includes a look at and changes to sales, operations, projections, labor, assets, short and long term liabilities, and a whole lot more. If they could change and modify things, increase the investment and make it produce, they did. If not, they shut it down and put the resources and assets they had planned to use for that company to work in other situations. Guess what? Every business owner throughout the history of man has done the very same thing. The owner of the business makes a determination of whether or not he/she can change or modify things in such a way for the limited amount of resources they have invested to produce an acceptable return. If things can be changed or modified, it is done and he/she tries that for awhile. If it can’t be changed, the business is shut down and whatever resources are left, are used in another venture. That’s capitalism and entrepreneurism. There is nothing to apologize for. If a business can make it by relocating, or having other companies provide products and services to them (outsourcing) at a lower price than they do them selves, they do it. Every business outsources. Every aircraft plant outsources. Every manufacturer outsources. Radio and TV stations outsource. Retailers outsource. Using temps in a company is outsourcing. Using a home health aide from a home health provider is outsourcing. My company outsources web development to other companies, one of which is overseas. Who is so shallow that they don’t understand this and wants to make it an issue? I have the answer…those very same people who have never built anything, created a job, or hired anyone to do anything in their life. If they had, they would understand this. Since Bain’s beginning, they have invested in all size of companies. Some of the bigger ones you might recognize are AMC Entertainment, Aspen Education Group, Brookstone, Burger King, Burlington Coat Factory, Clear Channel Communications, Domino's Pizza, DoubleClick, Dunkin' Donuts, D&M Holdings, Guitar Center, Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), Sealy, Experian, The Sports Authority, Staples, Toys "R" Us, Warner Music Group, The Weather Channel and more. The US Government, the largest “business” in the world, would be most fortunate to have Bain Capital apply the same processes to it as it did the companies in which they invested. It is unbelievable to me when I hear Washington politicians criticize Bain for the prudent and fiscal methods of operation they employ and their track record, when they are in charge of the terrible mess that our Government is in. To go on… Bain acquired GST Steel in Kansas City, MO in 1993. Bain also had a steel plant in Georgetown, SC. The company was not doing well at the time of the purchase, and per the CEO of the company at the time, would have gone bankrupt had not Bain invested the $125 Million it invested in trying to turn it around. Bain merged two other steel companies it had bought earlier into this company to form the new GST Steel. Romney left Bain Capital six years later in 1999 to run the 2002 Olympics. GST Steel was shut down by Bain Capital in 2002 after fading three years of cheap steel being imported from China into this country. It and 31 other steel companies in the US closed between late 2001 and early 2002. Joe Soptic was employed by GST Steel. When it was closing, he was given an opportunity for a buyout of his job, but he refused it. He went to work as a janitor for a school. He got insurance for himself but did not cover his wife, because his wife had a job with her own health insurance. In 2003 she had a minor accident and left her job. Did you get this? She left her job in 2003, a job that provided her with health insurance. She could have taken COBRA, or an individual policy, but did not do so. Further, Joe Soptic did not make the decision to include her on his health insurance that he had from his job. In 2006...three years later...she went to her doctor complaining of pneumonia-like symptoms. She was diagnosed with cancer and died 22 days later. Once diagnosed, she lasted 22 days. She could have had the greatest of all “Cadillac” health policies and it would not have saved her life. These are the facts…void of spin. I know all of the stuff in this ad is terrible…despicable…and full of lies and distortions, but I want to go back to Joe Soptic who told the story. I lost my wife, Brenda, to cancer in early March of this year. She was my entire world and the love of my life. Surely Joe’s wife meant the same to him. Now, I don’t know whether the %^!s that used him and his situation paid him, or just took advantage of him…but one thing is certain…Joe will have to sit there for the rest of his life and think about his wife, his and others’ memories of her, and the dishonor that has befallen her as the result of all of this. May God bless you Joe. My loss continues to hurt me each day like “ripping flesh,” but I thank God I don’t have this pain compounded by thinking I let people like these…use me and my situation…and ended up hurting all of my and others’ memories of Brenda. “Say it ain’t so Joe.” In addition to all of this stuff, there is so much happening behind the scenes that we “out-of-touch-dummies” are not privy to. Here’s just one example, and I’m sure there is just as good of an example from the other side. Do you remember the “Occupy” movement when it took over a park in New York City last Fall? The park is called Zuccotti Park. I wondered at the time how someone could take over a city park, cause all of the trouble that was being caused, and the city not do something about it. I recently read why. It isn’t a city-owned park. It is a park owned by a Canadian company called Brookfield Properties. All of this recently surfaced in an article examining loan guarantees that have been made by the Obama administration. It turns out that Brookfield Asset Management, a subsidiary of Brookfield Properties, got a $160 Million loan guarantee within 10 days of when the “Occupy” movement took over Zuccotti Park. Now that may seem like a large number but not really, as Brookfield has more than $70 Billion in assets. What did it need with a $160 Million loan guarantee? I don’t know. They didn’t say. But here’s more. Do you know who was just hired as an attorney for the firm? It is Vice-President Joe Biden’s son. Maybe that’s just a coincidence. And it’s probably also a coincidence that Mayor Bloomberg’s live-in girl friend is on the Board of Directors. And as a final coincidence, instead of the last billions of the Obama Stimulus going back in to pay down the national debt, three weeks ago it was all given to Brookfield Properties. The “Occupy” movement was back in Zuccotti Park and Wall Street on Monday, September 17th. On what I hope is a completely unrelated note, of all the swing states in this election, three of them may be the much more important than the rest. The company that owns the equipment that will be tabulating the votes in these three states in November is owned by George Soros. I wonder what a global, multi-billionaire mogul like Soros wants with a company that tabulates votes? Have you ever heard of the statement, “It’s not the people who vote that counts; it’s the people who count the votes?” Do you know who said it? It was Josef Stalin. “Say it ain’t so Joe.” Next month I will be back with much more, just in time for your consideration prior to casting your vote.

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2012-08-30 08:08:43

I don't know about you, but it is hard not to get excited about fall. Actually, I’ll ANY fall day over those dawg days of summer…Any day. Why? Because the weather cools down, school is back in session, businesses seem to revive, people are refreshed, people are moving around, going to this town or that town for a school function or event, it’s just great. I know the traveling part can be hectic if you have active kids or student athletes, but you get the point. What I’m trying to say is fall is exciting, and I think you will feel that excitement in this issue.

For many of us, that same fall excitement equals one thing— FOOTBALL. I’m talking knuckle in the dirt, shoulder pad poppin, blood, sweat and tears excitement of Americas #1 sport, and what Crawford County has embraced as the “Football Capital of Kansas”. Crawford County is indeed the Football Capital of Kansas, and we have you covered in this issue. If you never read an article again within these page, please be sure to check out the 2012 football preview (and the “themed” emphasis of this edition) by our own Mark Schremmer. It’s been a lot of hard work and to be honest, I’ve been giddy about putting this together for a looong time. So to finally have our own preview of all our Crawford County high school teams, as well as our defending Division II National Champion Pittsburg State Gorillas is a personal dream come true. Thanks as always to all of our contributors within this issue. And please let them know you recognized them within our pages! Good luck to ALL our area teams, wishing you a safe and successful season whether you play football, volleyball, run cross country, debate, band…Anything. Lets go! GO CHIEFS! Jerod Norris Publisher

X

From the Publisher

Charlie Traffas

2012-08-29 13:15:52

Q- What’s new?

A- For the past few issues I have written on senior care and how it is mostly a matter of risk management. God willing, I will come back to this subject later to address more of the questions that I have received. But for now I need to take a break to write about some things that have been occurring during the past few weeks on the political stage between our two presidential candidates, their campaigns, the parties and the press. There is just so much a guy can take…or this guy anyway. I know I process things differently…and sometimes a little more “weirdly” than most, but as I was considering all of these things that have been taking place, I was taken back to the Chicago Black Sox scandal of 1919. Yeah, I know…I am “different”…but that’s where I went. For those of you who may not remember it or remember exactly what happened…let me brief you. The Black Sox Scandal took place during the play of the World Series of 1919. Eight members of the Chicago White Sox (imagine that…Chicago!) were banned for life from baseball for intentionally losing games, which allowed the Cincinnati Reds to win the World Series. The conspiracy was the brainchild of White Sox first baseman Arnold “Chick” Gandil, who had longstanding ties to petty underworld figures. Gandil enlisted several of his teammates, motivated by a dislike of club owner Charles Comiskey, whom they perceived as a tightwad, to implement the fix. Comiskey had developed a reputation for underpaying his players for years. You see, under the MLB reserve clause back then, players either had to take the salary they were offered, or they couldn’t play Major League Baseball, as they were property of the original team, and no other team was allowed to sign them. The most notable of all of the players was the White Sox star outfielder, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson. In fairness, he was always mentioned as a participant, though the level of his involvement is disputed even unto present day. The story goes that after the trial, as “Shoeless” Joe Jackson was walking out of the courthouse following his guilty plea and conviction, a young boy, glove and ball in hand, sitting on the steps, looked at him and said, “Say it ain’t so Joe.” What I will present over the next few issues will be an ongoing analogy to this scandal using my opinions, of which this column has always had plenty. In that respect, it’s good to be the owner. These articles may get a little more “direct” than previous articles…but intentionally so. As I stated…there is just so much a guy can take. With all that has happened over the past nearly four years, and particularly over the past few weeks, I see a different America emerging than the one our Founding Fathers designed; the one our parents and grandparents worked so hard to build and preserve; the one for whom our veterans fought and died; and the one we hoped to pass along to our children and their children. I don’t think there are nearly enough people paying attention to what is going on…and those who are paying attention are not doing nearly enough to let others know. I will plead guilty to the latter…and try to remedy it by this series of articles. I might also mention that while I have friends and associates that won’t go to any movie for several reasons: and others who won’t go if there is anything other than a “G” rating; there is a movie playing presently that depicts much of what is going on. The movie is titled, “The Campaign.” While the language is offensive and some of the story lines are lewd and most improper, it tells the story of what is happening in politics today. If you can pardon me for all I have warned you about and get past it, it would be good for you to see it. The hate…divisiveness…corruption…greed…waste…lies…fraud…abuse…and moral decay…have finally all come together over the past few weeks to put this county in downward spiral where it looks like there is no way out. Those who we have elected, from the President to the most junior member of Congress, are out trying to get re-elected. They don’t have time to do the work of the people. By Labor Day, the President will have campaigned 49 out of the last 52 weeks. Nothing is getting done. The outright lies and distortions are a part of nearly every statement or speech from all sides. All we get is boatloads of politics with no substance. If it was ever time to tell it like it is…the time is now….without any reservations. Folks, our country is broke. Under our current system, we couldn’t balance the budget if we shut down the government and just kept our promises of paying what we call our mandatory expenses, such as the interest on our debt, and the entitlements of Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare. These payments total $2.5 Trillion for 2012, and the total goes up an average of $128 Billion per year thereafter. Our total revenue from all sources in 2012 is $2.5 Trillion. This means in “promises” alone, we spend all of the income we receive. But we will spend $3.8 Trillion this year. We borrow every dime of the additional $1.3 Trillion that is spent for all of the rest of the Government expense, including but not limited to things like the President, his staff, his wife’s staff, their trips, all of the czars, the cabinet positions, departments and staffs for all, the House of Representative, the Senate, all of their support people, the infrastructure, defense, EPA, FBI, CIA, homeland security, drug and alcohol enforcement, education, transportation, healthcare, energy, agriculture, labor and all of the rest. Again, if we totally stopped all of this expense, which means shutting down the Government, we still could not balance the budget, as someone will have to be paid to write the checks to our “promises.” Next year, we would create $128 Billion more deficit with the increases in our “promises”…with the Government shut down…and add to our debt even more! How sick is this? Yet all we are getting is empty rhetoric from all sides. This rhetoric is full of innuendo, lies, distortions, insults, scorn and deflections. We can debate when it all started, but as far as I am concerned, the “bottom of the barrel” negativism we see today began with the stated “Kill Romney” modus operandi by the Obama campaign more than a year ago. And has it ever worked! Each time they yell, “Smoke,” Governor Romney and his campaign jump up and scream, “Fire,” all the while nothing is getting done; there is no debate on the issues; and we continue to head over the fiscal cliff. Have you noticed how almost no one answers the questions that are asked any longer? It’s like they don’t hear them. They immediately change the conversation to another topic and go off on their own spin of whatever it is they want to talk about. When a solution to a problem is advanced, it is not met with honest debate. It is viciously attacked. It is always viciously attacked. Mind you those doing the attacking have no solution to the problem raised. They have no plan. They just know to attack anything from the other side. If it stays this “dirty knife fight” for the balance of the campaign, the Democrats win…hands down. They do it much better. Romney and Ryan have no idea what they’re up against. Chicago wrote the book. You know what? While I am at this point, I have to tell you…I have no idea why Governor Romney, who is worth more than $250 Million, is even running for President. If you would have an honest debate with me void of hate and accusations you can’t prove, you would say you don’t understand either. He certainly doesn’t need the salary of the office. He also doesn’t need any more to “fill his sack.” Why would he put up with all of the %^/! he has to put up with…if he didn’t sincerely want to do something about the direction of our country? Think before you answer this. Please…don’t give me the standard answer from the left that he wants more power, or he wants to hurt America, or he wants to further the agenda of big business, or he wants to step on the downtrodden. That won’t wash…and you know it. He sees what anyone with vision sees…we’re heading over the fiscal cliff. Although he is no “Cross of Gold Speech” giver like Williams Jennings Bryan, I think he is trying to do whatever he can to prevent it. I don’t think he sees a new world order…or a fundamental transformation of America…or a way for the rich to get richer and take it out on the poor. When those opposed say extending the tax cuts to rich are at the expense of the poor and middle class, I am blown away by their ignorance. The poor and the middle class aren’t paying any Federal Income Tax now, and if they are it is a miniscule amount. It is a ridiculous comeback. I have seldom seen a household making $45,000 per year or less provide any jobs to anyone, other than maybe something like babysitting or lawn mowing. Have you? Stop the class warfare thing! Enough is enough. And, of all the running mates Governor Romney could have tagged, he tagged the one (Paul Ryan) who could do the most to right the ship of getting a dialogue of substance…but I don’t think it will happen. Why? One, the hate and divisiveness are too much; and two, even if the dialogue could be changed to fix the things needing fixed, since the budget cannot be balanced, it would all be a moot point with our current tax system in place and how we run the government. Ryan may be the present day “Paul Revere” and be able to warn us of what is coming, but he and Romney are suggesting we use a “sling shot” to stop it. That “sling shot” is to keep the same tax system in place and try to move around the piles to get it all fixed. It won’t work. If you need two cups of flour to make a cake and you only have one, you can move around the piles of the other ingredients all you want and the cake isn’t going to be a cake. You’ve either got to go get the other cup of flour, or reduce all of the other ingredients to make a smaller cake with the flour you have, and settle for the fact that it is going to feed less people. God allowed the “sling shot” to work for David against Goliath, but it is highly doubtful He will do the same this time, considering all of what is happening in our country mentioned previously. That of course is not to take away the power of the right kind of prayer, which is always the best tool we have. Other than this…or in combination with this…there is only one way out of the terrible mess we are in. It is a strategy composed of three parts. One – an immediate and total overhaul of our tax system; two – strong, fiscal management in the areas of spending and stopping waste, fraud and abuse; and three – pro-growth policies established so our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) can grow at a sustained level of 4%. Other than God intervening with another “sling shot,” this is our answer, and unlike all of the “big hat-no cattle chin boogey” we are getting from all sides…I will guarantee it will work (more explanation to come). Add to all of this, in the most comprehensive piece of legislation ever passed in our history (Obamacare), there are “icebergs” of regulations and changes coming, meaning all we have seen thus far are the “parts” that are sticking out of the “water.” There are some real “monsters” below the surface, that will do all President Obama ever promised…that of fundamentally transforming the United States of America. You’ve heard it for the past several decades, but it has never been more true. I believe that what will happen on November 6th will be the most significant event that has ever happened in our country insofar as its future. No matter how it turns out, it is doubtful this “voice” will be here much longer. Whether it is stomped out; gets an offer it can’t refuse; or succumbs/surrenders to what is coming..its future is more finite than ever…so if you don’t agree with what I have to say…relax…it will all work itself out. If it doesn’t, it may not matter anyway. Israel set a deadline of September 25th as a date for us to declare to Iran that we mean business insofar as them continuing their nuclear program. Will Israel attack in October? I am reminded of the famous Israeli saying, “Those who know don’t talk and those who talk don’t know.” If they do, we may not get to see if the Mayans were right on 12/21/12. It is hard to believe…after 236 years…this country could have been mis-managed as bad as it has by those we elected to manage it. Here are the “players” for my analogy. The Black Sox Scandal itself is all that is going on between the two presidential campaigns, the two candidates, the rest of the Washington politicians and the political factions in our country. “Shoeless” Joe Jackson is America, and what is happening to it, its opportunities, its values, its name, its prestige and credibility, at home and around the world. The boy is all of us, our children and their children, and all of our hopes and dreams of what America has always been and what we thought it would always be. There is a new country coming than the one we have loved and cherished. Here are some of the reasons why, even though these have already been aired…they will raise their ugly heads again before this campaign is through: While none of us were alive during the first 100 years of America’s existence, most of us studied her history. We read about the Founding Fathers and what they went through in establishing her as a sovereign and independent nation, originally composed of 13 colonies, changing them to states in 1776, adding more and more up until 1959 with the additions of Alaska and Hawaii, completing our present day number of 50. We studied why she was established, and the principles on which she was established. Not one of our Founding Fathers, as well as each and every person who signed the most important documents in her history, had any problem using words like “…endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…” and “…one nation under God…” According to a poll taken on July 26th, 54% of Americans would vote for an Atheist for President. “Say it ain’t so Joe.” Each of our Founding Fathers understood, agreed and allowed in the Constitution for there to be differences of opinion, but none of the three branches of the government were to be more important than the other. All were to respect the others and the duties of each. They would all work together, through a system of checks and balances, to govern our country administratively, legislatively and judicially. Nowhere was it written or implied…or even contemplated…that the primary function of an elected official was to spend the majority of his/her time once elected…seeking re-election…but that’s what we have today. “Say it ain’t so Joe.” Each agreed that a central government was necessary for our free society, but it was never to be bigger than society itself. It was always supposed to play a support role…and never take the lead. “Say it ain’t so Joe.” Our government was to be a government of the people, by the people and for the people. It was recognized that the government would produce nothing. The government cannot create a single job, product or service that contributes one dime to our gross domestic product. It never was intended to be anything but a third party, funded by tax dollars from society, with powers granted to it by society, to insure things got done for society. To do this, people were to be appointed and elected to serve in positions. Government was never to be the “dog” and society be the “tail.” What we have today is akin to a board of directors (society) hiring a CEO (government elected officials) for the company they direct, and the CEO running the company the way he wants to run it, as opposed to the way the board of directors hired him to run it. He got the job by promising in his “interview” to do it the way they wanted, but once hired, he immediately set out to do it his way and no one on the board is doing anything about it. “Say it ain’t so Joe.” Food stamps were something that came about in the early 60s so people would not starve. Getting food stamps was something that was always looked upon as the last resort to being able to feed one’s family. In the early to mid-70s, 1 out of every 50 Americans was on food stamps. Today, 1 out of 7 are on food stamps! What’s more…there is a multi-million dollar advertising campaign running now, of prime time ads and commercials targeting more and more people, telling them how great food stamps are and how to go about getting them. 108 Million Americans are on welfare as of August 1st, 2012…and this number does not take into account those who are on Medicare and Social Security. That is 30% of our entire population! “Say it ain’t so Joe.” Unemployment benefits used to be given for 26 weeks. People would hide the fact that they were receiving unemployment benefits. It wasn’t something to be proud of. Now they are given for as long as 99 weeks…with even some cases extended beyond this. It used to be that you had to check in weekly and list the businesses to whom you applied and document that you were actively looking for work. These are no longer requirements. Long term unemployment benefits have produced “chronic” long term unemployment. I have had three positions open in my company for more than two years. I have spent several thousand dollars advertising these positions. I used to get 10 times more applicants when unemployment was 4% (back in 2004 under Bush) than I get now when unemployment is 8.3%. With more people unemployed you would think I would get plenty, right? These positions all pay a minimum of 25% to 75% more than what unemployment benefits would be, yet I get no applicants. If I do get them and hire them, they work for a few days and leave. I am sure some would say it is me, my company, the jobs, or the jobs’ requirements that are too tough, but part of what we do as a company is consult other businesses in their marketing and operations. I hear the same thing from these companies continually. They post openings but get no applicants. If they do happen to hire someone, most work a few days and then do not come back. “Say it ain’t so Joe.” Today, when unemployment benefits run out, people are applying for and being approved and granted Social Security Disability (SSDI) benefits. In 2007 there were approximately 8 million people receiving SSDI benefits. Today, there are nearly 37 million…and more are being approved each day! There are at least three, separate, national, marketing campaigns running presently that are advertising that they can assist people in getting SSDI benefits. “Say it ain’t so Joe.” On the day that changed everything (June 28, 2012), Supreme Court Justice John Roberts remodeled the Affordable Health Care Act and pronounced it constitutional…not as it was written and submitted under the commerce clause…but under the authority of Congress to tax. Now it doesn’t matter whether I am for or against this “Obamacare,” or whether I am for or against any other piece of legislation that follows the same path…or whether YOU are for or against any of this. What we had was one man, who by his own words is “supposed to call balls and strikes and not get into taking sides in the ballgame,” who knew his decision could not be appealed or challenged, rewrite the law to make it constitutional. How could he have done such a thing? What will ever stop the very same thing from happening in the future on any piece of legislation? “Say it ain’t so Joe.” Distortions serve as deflections and end up being deceits. Here is a good example. Most recently President Obama was in Ohio and said, “My administration has been responsible for the largest percentage increase in manufacturing jobs in Ohio since the 90s.” Upon analysis, we find in 2007 there were 500,000 people employed in Ohio, which was up 90,000 from a year earlier. That is a 21.9% increase. Since then, unemployment has taken it down to 300,000 employed. This means that at the bottom, 200,000 people had lost their jobs. In the past 18 months, 75,000 jobs have been added. That’s a 25% increase. Now 25% is a larger increase than 21.9%, but look at the distortion. One situation has 500,000 employed, and the other has 375,000 employed with 125,000 unemployed. Depending upon which side you move and when you move it, you can make numbers can work for anything you want to say. Don’t get me wrong. I am for even one job being added, and I don’t care who is responsible for adding it, but why not just tell the truth without distorting it, and misrepresenting things? But that’s what most politicians do isn’t it, whether they be Republican or Democrat. Every statement one of them makes has to be checked out for accuracy. Few ever tell the truth anymore…and if they do…you had better be listening closely because something other than the truth is coming next. Most of the time you won’t hear two truths back to back. “Say it ain’t so Joe.” Recently, on the floor of the Senate, where one cannot be sued for libel, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said, “The word’s out that Romney has not paid any Federal income taxes in the last 10 years.” He is demanding that Romney provide these returns and doesn’t understand why he doesn’t immediately do so. My first comment is about the venue of the comment. I do not believe the institution of the Senate has ever been used for such an obvious political gesture by anyone, at taxpayers’ expense. Does anything go now? What methods will not be used to deflect the conversation away from what the people say is what this election is all about…jobs and economy #1, corruption #2, and our debt/deficit #3? But what does Romney do? He stutters around and says, “Mr. Reid needs to reveal his source.” Governor, it doesn’t take a degree in rocket science to advise you in this situation. First of all, why would you respond at all to the likes of Harry Reid? Secondly, how can you continue to get yourself into this type of dialogue? It’s like everyone is telling you to keep the focus on the issues at hand and you don’t know how to control it. Thirdly, if you were going to respond, the answer should be, “Why would I provide anything more than what the law requires, which is the financial disclosure statement I have already submitted? So you and everyone else on the left and mainstream media can dissect every line item and use it to keep the conversation away from what it should be about…the dismal economy, high unemployment, the huge deficit, the spiraling national debt, corruption and the terrible job President Obama has done? Further, if I ever was going to provide more than what I have submitted, I would put all of my tax returns you want on the same pile as your tax returns, along with the tax returns from all of the 535 people in Congress, the college records of President Obama, the information regarding the leaks from the White House, and all of the subpoenaed records from Fast and Furious that Eric Holder has refused to present, that the President eventually evoked executive privilege to protect. When all of this is on the same pile, everyone can investigate everyone and mainstream media can fill their programming with the results, as we all ‘sail into oblivion.’ Oh, by the way Harry, I had a credible source tell me the other day that on one of your recent tax returns, you deducted the expense for counseling from a psychiatrist after you beat your wife a few years ago. Can you please provide the return that shows the details of this?” Maybe a final comment Romney should make is, “I don’t understand. Since you can stave off a subpoena from Congress at any time you please; make an executive order to go outside of Congress to get whatever it is you want; and evoke an executive privilege any time you wish; why don’t you just order the IRS to produce copies all of my tax returns that you want; release them to mainstream media…your most stalwart supporter…let them go through them with a microscope…find something I did wrong…prosecute me…put me in jail…and make it impossible for me to serve if I am elected? That sounds like the way you would do it in Chicago. Why haven’t you thought of this?” As I entertain the thought of this last suggestion…realizing how inadequate Romney is to deliver an immediate “counter punch”…and now with Paul Ryan able to step in if Romney can’t serve…maybe it wouldn’t be too bad of a deal, so long as it would happen after Romney is elected. Again, a 4 year old could defend himself/herself better than Romney, and the 4 year old wouldn’t have to be told what to do. “Say it ain’t so Joe.” As this publication was preparing to go to press, an Obama Super PAC (Priorities USA) ad began running showing a person (Joe Soptic) who was blaming Romney for the death of his wife, who had died from cancer. The Washington Post puts out a rating on all campaign ads and assigns a “Pinocchio” rating of 1 to 4 for each ad insofar as distortions and lies. This ad achieved the highest rating of 4 “Pinocchios.” Don’t think the Romney campaign are saints. They received a “Pinocchio” rating of 4 too in their ad of taking the work out of Welfare. They too distorted the facts. Here are the facts on the Joe Soptic ad…with no spin…just in case it comes back around before the election, since no other source has presented them that I have seen. Romney was CEO of Bain Capital, a venture capital company he and two other partners founded in 1984, turning their focus in the early 90s to leveraged buyouts and growth capital companies. This means that they look for companies who are bankrupt, or almost bankrupt, that they can buy for a good price, invest capital, manpower, operations and marketing, and turn the company around and sell it for a profit, or continue to operate it profitably. Does everyone have this? Companies that are bankrupt…or almost bankrupt…are their targets. Without Bain Capital these companies would not “make it,” or certainly not “make it” to the extent that they could or did. Since Bain’s beginning, they have invested in all size of companies. Some of the bigger ones you might recognize are AMC Entertainment, Aspen Education Group, Brookstone, Burger King, Burlington Coat Factory, Clear Channel Communications, Domino's Pizza, DoubleClick, Dunkin' Donuts, D&M Holdings, Guitar Center, Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), Sealy, Experian, The Sports Authority, Staples, Toys "R" Us, Warner Music Group, The Weather Channel and more. The US Government, the largest “business” in the world, would be most fortunate to have Bain Capital apply the same processes to it. It is so unbelievable to me when I hear Washington politicians criticize Bain for the prudent and fiscal methods of operation they employ and their track record, when they are in charge of the terrible mess that our Government is in. We would do well to employ these same methods of operation…immediately. To go on… Bain acquired GST Steel in Kansas City, MO in 1993. Bain also had a steel plant in Georgetown, SC. The company was not doing well at the time of the purchase, and per the CEO of the company at the time, would have gone bankrupt had not Bain invested the $125 Million it invested in trying to turn it around. Bain merged two other steel companies it had bought earlier into this company to form the new GST Steel. Romney left Bain Capital six years later in 1999 to run the 2002 Olympics. GST Steel was shut down by Bain Capital in 2002 after fading three years of cheap steel being imported from China into this country. It and 31 other steel companies in the US closed between late 2001 and early 2002. Joe Soptic was employed by GST Steel. When it was closing, he was given an opportunity for a buyout of his job, but he refused it. He went to work as a janitor for a school. He got insurance for himself but did not cover his wife, because his wife had a job with her own health insurance. In 2003 she had a minor accident and left her job. Did you get this? She left her job in 2003, a job that provided her with health insurance. She could have taken COBRA, or an individual policy, but did not do so. Further, Joe Soptic did not make the decision to include her on his health insurance that he had from his job. In 2006 she went to her doctor complaining of pneumonia-like symptoms. She was diagnosed with cancer and died 22 days later. Once diagnosed, she lasted 22 days. She could have had the greatest of all “Cadillac” health policies and it would not have saved her life. These are the facts…void of spin. I know all of the stuff in this ad is terrible…despicable…and full of lies and distortions, but I want to go back to Joe Soptic who told the story. I lost my wife, Brenda, to cancer in March of this year. She was my entire world and the love of my life. Surely Joe’s wife meant the same to him. Now, I don’t know whether the %^!s that used him and his situation paid him, or just took advantage of him…but one thing is certain…Joe will have to sit there for the rest of his life and think about his wife, his and others’ memories of her, and the dishonor that has befallen her as the result of all of this. May God bless you Joe. My loss continues to hurt me each day like “ripping flesh,” but I thank God I don’t have this pain compounded by thinking I let people like these…use me and my situation…and ended up hurting all of my and others’ memories of Brenda. “Say it ain’t so Joe.” I will be back with more, “Say it ain’t so Joes,” next month, but when it’s all done…I won’t just be a “whiner” and relate the problems. I will have some solutions in my pocket.

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2012-08-02 11:58:52

Welcome to the August ‘12 Edition of the SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal.

We exist to educate, inform and/or entertain, matching potential customer needs, topics and interests, answering questions from all realms and walks of life, while pairing it with a local solution. Thank you, as always, for thumbing through our pages. This month, you’ll find articles on anything from grain storage, hard drive failure, to how to make beer can chicken. Every article contains a gem of information, so you will want to read, save, and share them all. If for some reason something offends you, it’s no big deal, just move onto the next. Remember to check us out online where sharing the articles is made easy at www.theqandatimes.com – Southeast Kansas. *FOOTBALL EDITION - Do you want to be apart of our September Football issue? If you are a business owner that likes to support your local school/schools or you have a message that you would like to communicate to local students or parents, please contact me at 620-249-7462. We will be doing an in-depth overview of each of our local high school football teams (as well as our defending National Champion Pitt State Gorillas), along with our prediction on where their season will take them. We will close this issue NO LATER than August 15th! THANK YOU to our readers! I appreciate all of your feedback and want to ask that you keep the steady stream of questions and comments coming. Feel free to email us at jnorris@chartmarketing.com or Jeanie@chartmarketing.com. If you are looking for a way to add fresh, new life to your business, consider becoming part of the Q&A Team. Our contributors have the opportunity to share their knowledge and reach out to the community in a highly effective, personal, one-on-one format. What are you waiting for? Call me to find out more (620) 249-7462. Until next month, best and be well. Jerod Norris Publisher

X

From the Publisher

Charlie Traffas

2012-08-02 09:08:06

Q- What’s new?

A- I am always glad to be asked. A couple of months ago I took a break from other topics I have written about over the past few months, and wrote about a subject that I have spent much time in the past and even more time recently, counseling users and influencers of users, in regard to their possible need for long-term care and how to manage this risk. Long-term care is the type of care one receives outside of a hospital. You have your health insurance or Medicare to pay for doctors and hospitals, but once you leave the hospital, you are like most people and probably have very little coverage from your health insurance or Medicare if you need extended care in a senior care residence or at home. If you require skilled care, which is the same kind of care you receive in the hospital…that care that is performed under the supervision of a registered nurse, 24 hours a day…you may have some benefits under Medicare and your Medicare supplement, but not for long. Most senior care however is the type of care that is less than skilled, such as assisted living, memory care and care provided by CNAs and CMAs. Whatever you lack in coverage will be at your expense. When you no longer have the ability to pay, Medicaid can take over, but lots of things in your life will change. Here is a question I recently received and my answer. Q- Several years ago you wrote an article on long-term care. At that time, it wasn’t something pressing for my wife and I so we didn’t do anything. Now we’re in our late 60s. We just recently went through a long-term care confinement for her Dad of four years and my Mom for 7 years. Neither of them had any type of insurance to pay for the care. We couldn’t believe the costs. We went through everything my Mom had and most everything of what her Dad had. We are considering whether or not we need to get a long-term care policy. Would you reprint that article? A- Thank you for your question. I wrote this article 8 years ago. I am honored that you remembered it. I have updated the information. If you already have a condition that forecasts a high likelihood of needing long-term care, you’ve gone a long ways towards answering your question yourself. Some of these conditions might include but not be limited to such things as high blood pressure, heart conditions, arthritis, cancer, memory impairment, etc. Since you have to be medically underwritten for a Long Term Care policy, if you already have one of these conditions, you may not be able to qualify for a policy…but you need to know if you can qualify and what to do if you can’t. If you are now in good health…how big is the threat then? My answer is…as the title of this series says…it’s always a matter of risk management. In the earlier issues in this series, we talked about three of the four ways to manage the risk. That of avoiding it, retaining it and reducing it. Last month we began discussing the fourth way of managing the risk…that of transferring it to an insurance company by buying a Long Term Care policy, and the different things to look for in these types of policies. This month we will talk more about these and their premiums. Q- What does a Long Term Care insurance policy cost? A- With all due respect I often give two answers. The first answer is “A Long Term Care insurance policy doesn’t cost… it pays.” The second answer is “It depends upon lots of things such as age, condition of health at time of application, and how much of your income and assets you want to protect. But suffice it to say, if you have something to protect…such as income…assets…independence…peace of mind…or those and that of your family…at the very least…you will want to find out.” Younger adults (40 to 60) can buy a lot of long-term care protection for a relatively small amount of premium. My wife and I were in our mid 40’s when we took out our policies. Our combined premium was less than $140 per month. Because of the tremendous increase in utilization of these types of policies by all people over recent years, the premiums have increased substantially. Today’s policy premiums are higher, and particularly higher the older you are when you apply, but you will not have paid in as long as those who bought their policies at a younger age, so it all works out about the same. But policies today are different than the policies we bought back then, as you learned in the previous articles in this series. Let me give you an example of a policy today for a couple that would be in their late 60s and the premium for the same. You buy a long-term care policy by buying so many dollars worth of benefits payable per day. Let’s use $125 per day, with a 5% inflation rider, which means the benefits go up each year, at the rate of 5%, compounded annually. The average age the “window” begins to open for needing long-term care is 83. If both the man and wife were 69, it would be an average of 14 years before they would “actuarially” experience the need for long-term care. Please keep in mind, it could be much earlier, or later…as 83 is just the average age of those beginning to need long-term care. While $125 per day would not be enough in benefits to even cover today’s cost, in 14 years, $125 per day in benefits turns into $247 per day, when compounded at the rate of 5% annually, which is more than $7,500 per month. This amount would come a lot closer to covering the cost of care in the future than $125 per day will today. If this joint policy was taken out with a zero day elimination period (which means benefits will be payable immediately), with comprehensive benefits (for home, nursing home or assisted living), and the benefits payable for life for both the husband and the wife (which is considered to be one of the best policies as no one ever knows how long someone will need benefits), the premium for both would be around $14,000 to $17,000 per year. I know, that’s a bunch…but don’t quit reading yet. Let’s get our arms around some bigger numbers. What causes a long-term care confinement? Many things can cause a long-term care confinement, such as strokes, cardiovascular disorders, cancer, kidney related impairments, memory impairment such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, and a host of other illnesses, afflictions and injuries. While the average length of stay for a long-term care need is approximately 4 years, it could be longer…much longer…and of course it could be shorter too. Costs for long-term care have increased at the rate of approximately 3% per year for the past 30 years. It is not out of the ordinary to see costs as high as $60,000 to $100,000 per year or more today…per spouse, and of course much more than this in the future. If the need for care is 4 to 5 years, that could be a half million dollars…for each spouse. If the need for care is longer, it could be a million dollars or more for each spouse. Here is what I mean about getting our arms around bigger numbers. Let’s say you buy a joint policy for the two of you and pay for it for 15 years before you need it, and the premium for this joint policy is $17,000 per year. This means you will have paid a total of $250,000 or thereabouts for a policy that will cover each of you for your lifetime, should either of you or both of you need the care. One of many benefits of a Long Term Care policy is the 90 day waiver of premium. This means that once benefits have been payable under the policy for 90 days, you no longer have to pay the premium on the spouse who is receiving the benefits. Some policies have a joint waiver or premium, meaning you don’t have to pay either premium on either spouse, once one spouse is receiving benefits, after 90 days of benefits being payable under the policy. These are exceptionally nice. You pay for the policy until you need it, then it pays for your care and you don’t pay for it as long as you are receiving benefits. In order for long-term care insurance to be insurance, like any insurance, the loss must be uncertain to occur. This is why you have to be medically underwritten for a policy. If you already have cancer or haven’t been cancer free for 5 years, have had a recent stroke with residual paralysis, have debilitating arthritis, or have any condition that requires or will soon require long-term care, you can’t qualify for a policy. Again, go back to the first articles in this series. The risk is the half million to a million dollars or more per spouse per year that a need for long term care may cost. Buying a policy is one of the four ways one manages this risk. You trade a small certain loss, which is the premium, to the insurance company, so they will pay the large uncertain loss, which could be a huge amount. You may be able to plan for and handle a premium of $1,000 to $1,100 per month. But getting hit with a monthly bill for long-term care for $5,000 to $10,000 or more, or double that if you were both confined, would be tough for anyone to plan for…and survive financially for very long. Couples sometime look at buying a Long Term Care policy as pre-paying for the cost of their care, at a greatly discounted rate. In the above example, the $250,000 that was paid for the joint policy may only equate to 6 months of care for one spouse in 15 years. A joint policy with lifetime benefits could pay several hundred thousand dollars, or even several million dollars, as there is no limit. Quite often I work with couples who have several hundred thousand dollars or more in fairly liquid net worth. Sometimes they are earning pretty good rates in a CD, mutual fund, or an annuity that was taken out a few years ago. Quite often they don’t need the earnings, so they reinvest these earnings back into the principal. If they experienced a need for long-term care, their entire investment could go pretty quick. I say to them, “Maybe it makes sense to take the earnings off your investment, or most of the earnings, and buy a Long Term Care policy that will insure your investment would not have to liquidated, in the event of a need for long-term care. Annual earnings on most CDs, annuities or mutual funds would only pay for a few weeks of long-term care, but these earnings, or a portion of these earnings could easily purchase a Long Term Care insurance policy that would protect everything… or most everything…from now on. Generally speaking, unless you have more money than you could burn, you will never find a better use for interest and earnings on an investment than by buying a Long Term Care insurance policy that protects it all, or at least…most of it.” Let me give you an example. Suppose a couple has $500,000 invested in a CD, mutual fund or an annuity that was taken out several years ago. Let’s assume it is earning 4%. Rather than take the earnings, the couple has chosen to put the money back into the principal. It may be a qualified plan where there are no taxes on the earnings and these earnings are growing tax-deferred; or it may not be a qualified plan and these taxes must be paid now; or maybe these earnings are tax-free. For the sake of this example, let’s not consider the tax ramifications of the earnings. So the 4% return on the $500,000 of $20,000 is being put back into the principal. Now, the coming year, the new principal amount of $520,000 earns 4%. Is this the most prudent use of the $20,000, or the new amount of $20,800? Or, would it make more sense to take the earnings and buy a Long Term Care policy for both of you? If one or both of you had a need for long-term care, the principal may not last very long. By taking the earnings and buying a policy, you much better protect the investment. Next month, God willing, my final article in this series, I will talk more about the process I suggest using when seeing if you can qualify for a Long Term Care policy. I also hope to make some comments on what is going on politically in our country and some things I think that need to be done between now and the November elections.

X

From the Publisher

Charlie Traffas

2012-08-01 12:21:58

A couple of months ago I took a break from other topics I have written about over the past few months, and wrote about a subject that I have spent much time in the past and even more recently, counseling users and influencers of users, in regard to their possible needs for long-term care and how to manage this risk. Long-term care is the type of care one receives outside of a hospital. You have your health insurance or Medicare to pay for doctors and hospitals. Once you leave the hospital, you may have a small amount of coverage from your health insurance or Medicare, if you require skilled care, which is the same kind of care you receive in the hospital…that care that is performed under the supervision of a registered nurse, 24 hours a day. But, for the most part, you have little if any coverage for care less than skilled care, which is the kind of care given in an assisted living residence, memory impairment care facility, nursing home or care at home. Whatever you lack in coverage you will bear the expense. When you no longer have the ability to pay, Medicaid will take over, but lots of things in your life will change. Here is a question I recently received and my answer. Q- A few years ago you wrote an article on long-term care. At that time, it wasn’t something pressing for my wife and I so we didn’t do anything. Now we’re in our late 60s. We just recently went through a long-term care confinement for her Dad of four years and my Mom for 7 years. Neither of them had any type of insurance to pay for the care. We couldn’t believe the costs. We went through everything my Mom had and most everything of what her Dad had. We are considering whether or not we need to get a long-term care policy. Would you reprint that article?

A- Thank you for your question. I wrote this article 8 years ago. I am honored that you remembered it. I have updated the information. If you already have a condition that forecasts a high likelihood of needing long-term care, you’ve gone a long ways towards answering your question yourself. These conditions might include but not be limited to such things as high blood pressure, heart conditions, arthritis, cancer, memory impairment, etc. But what if you are in good health…how big is the threat then? My answer is…it is always a matter of risk management. Last month we talked about three of the four ways to manage a risk. That of avoiding it, retaining it and reducing it. Last month we began discussing the fourth way of managing a risk…that of transferring the risk to an insurance company by buying a Long Term Care policy, and the different things to look for in the same. This month, we will continue. Q- Are the premiums for a Long Term Care insurance policy deductible? A- This again is dependent upon whether or not you have a ‘qualified’ or a ‘non-qualified’ policy as defined by The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, also known as HIPA ‘96, or the JR 3103. You can no longer buy a ‘non-qualified’ policy in the state of Kansas, but I will address the issue anyway. This act separates Long Term Care insurance policies into two types… ‘qualified’ and ‘non-qualified’. A ‘qualified’ policy has a portion of its premium that is tax-deductible (in accordance with the act), and a ‘non-qualified’ policy does not. All policies purchased prior to December 31, 1996, have been grandfathered as ‘qualified’. Here is the way HIPA ‘96 was written originally. If a policy is ‘qualified’, it means that it meets the benefit criteria set forth by HIPA. For instance, if a policy is ‘qualified’, you can treat a portion of the premiums as medical expenses, and they will be tax-deductible according to the following schedule, if the total of all non-reimbursed medical expenses exceed 7 1/2% of your adjusted gross income. Here are the deductible amounts for the 2012 tax year: Age during Tax Year Being Figured: Amount of Premium that is Deductible *: Age 40 or less $350 Age 41-50 $660 Age 51-60 $1,310 Age 61-70 $3,500 Age 70+ $4,370 * The above amounts increase most years to the nearest multiple of $10, based upon the medical component of the Consumer Price Index. It may change, however, if inflation growth for long term care services is greater. The act goes on to address issues such as: Penalty free withdrawals to purchase Long Term Care insurance are not available from ‘qualified’ plans such as 401(K), 403(b), IRAs, 457s (government programs). Long Term Care policies cannot be included in a cafeteria plan under Section 125; nor can long term care services be reimbursed by a Flexible Spending Account. Long Term Care insurance premiums are, however, an acceptable expenditure for the new medical savings accounts that this law makes available to the self-employed people and small businesses under 50 employees. Integration features of the act if more than one policy is owned, and how they would be figured together for tax- deductibility purposes. and more... But what does it all mean? In most cases the 7 1/2% of adjusted gross income cap is going to be the biggest barrier in making this a relevant issue. Most people do not itemize. If they do, most do not have non-reimbursed medical expenses over the 7 1/2% cap. If you already have medical expenses at that point or beyond, qualifying for a Long Term Care insurance policy may be somewhat difficult. Remember, all policies are medically underwritten. The act, upon first glance, seemingly tends to favor non-indemnity policies. It does not. As you have been told all of your life, “it is better to make more income and pay the taxes, than to make less and pay less in taxes”. An indemnity policy indemnifies you in benefits against the premium you paid. You get what you paid for. A ‘qualified’ policy (one that is tax-deductible up to the limits stated above, which are now higher due to automatic adjustments, and after the 7 1/2% of adjusted gross income threshold is reached through non-reimbursed medical expenses), can only stay a ‘qualified’ policy if the following conditions are met: Medical Necessity cannot be a trigger for benefits under a ‘qualified’ policy. Medical necessity means your doctor has decided that due to whatever reason or reasons (may or may not be medically related), you are in need of long term care. Not having this as a ‘trigger’ for benefits is not in the best interest of the Insured, as it is the way most people qualify for benefits under a Long Term Care insurance policy. The second way most people qualify for benefits under a Long Term Care insurance policy is meeting the ADL test. ADLs (activities of daily living) are different for each policy; but in the case of ‘qualified’ plans, the ADLs are more stringent. The Insured must need assistance from another person, walker or wheelchair, to perform at least 2 of the following: eating, toileting, transferring to or from bed or chair, dressing and continence. Furthermore, a licensed health care practitioner must certify that the Insured will be unable to perform these ADLs for at least 90 continuous days. This again is not in the best interest of the Insured, as the Insured may have purchased a ‘qualified’ plan, but when he/she is in need of care, it is very possible the care may not be needed for 90 days. An example of this would be hip or knee replacement surgery where, following surgery, the Insured needs some assistance at home or in a nursing home for a few days or weeks, but not necessarily for 90 days. Even if the Insured purchased a zero-day elimination policy (to be discussed in more detail later), no benefits would be payable under the policy, unless 90 days of care are needed and certified by the practitioner. The third way most people qualify for benefits under a policy is through a diagnosed cognitive impairment. A ‘non-qualified’ plan allows for the doctor to prescribe long term care based upon his or her findings. This ‘trigger’ under a ‘qualified’ plan is much more severe, in that the cognitive impairment must be measured by clinical evidence and standardized tests... again, potentially making it much more difficult to qualify for benefits. Q: Why don’t I just buy a Home Health Care policy, since I do not want to go to a nursing home anyway? A: For the very simple reason that you, or your loved ones, cannot predict the illness, affliction or injury that will necessitate long term care. If you do need skilled or heavy care, the present day cost of that care in the home could be as high as $8,000 to $15,000 a month, or more. The reason why the cost of this care in the nursing home is less is because the charges are spread over several residents requiring the same level of care. It is always better to buy a nursing home policy that also pays benefits in the home, than to buy a home health care policy that will not pay any benefits in the nursing home. Q- What is the difference between the levels of care provided in a nursing home? A- All nursing homes are licensed for one or more levels of care by their respective states. The basic difference between these levels of care is the amount of time a registered (or licensed) nurse must be present while the care is given. You will find these levels of care fall under one of three categories: Simple Care... also known as Personal or Custodial Care, or Assisted Living with medication monitoring, does not require the presence of a registered nurse. Most of the work is performed by CNAs (Certified Nurses’ Assistants) or CMAs (Certified Medical Assistants). The current, average daily cost for this care in this area is approximately $160 or more per day. Supervised Care... also known as Intermediate Care, requires the care be administered in the presence of a registered nurse at least 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. The current average daily cost for this care in this area is approximately $180 or more per day. Skilled Care... also known as Heavy Care or Critical Care, requires the care be administered in the presence of a registered nurse 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The current average, daily cost for this care, in this area is $210 or more per day. Q- How many dollars in daily benefits should I buy? A- That depends upon the answer to several questions. For instance... what is your guaranteed monthly income, not counting earnings on investments? How much of your income, assets and/or estate are you trying to protect? Are you married? If so, how much money would the non-confined spouse need each month if the other spouse was confined in a nursing home? How old are you... your spouse? How does inflation enter into the equation? For instance, if you are in your 60’s, it may be 20 to 25 years before you need this type of care (actuarially speaking). If inflation averages 3 ½% per year, rates will double every 20 years. Buying a policy that only pays benefits equal to today’s costs may only be enough to pay half of the total bill when you need it. It would therefore make much more sense to buy an inflation rider. If on the other hand you are in your mid to late 70’s or older, buying a flat amount of benefits equal to or a more than present day costs may be the best for you. Q: How long a benefit period should I buy? A: Some agents recommend a defined period of time, say for 2 or 3 years (meaning once you begin receiving care in the nursing home or at home, the policy will only pay benefits for 2 or 3 years). I do not understand why. If you can qualify for a Long Term Care insurance policy, how does anyone know what the illness, affliction or injury is going to take place that will require a long term care confinement? You are buying the policy to preserve and protect your income, assets, peace of mind and independence, as well as those and that of your family. Why would you only want to protect it all for 2 or 3 years, then still risk losing everything and going on Medicaid? Most all of us know people who have been in a nursing home for several years. If one can afford the relatively small difference in premiums between a defined benefit period (i.e. 2 or 3 years) and lifetime benefits, lifetime benefits will always make the most sense. A Long Term Care insurance policy is supposed to reduce stress. Stress will not be reduced when you know the benefits of your policy or your spouse’s will end after 2 or 3 years. Q- Should I buy a policy with an elimination period? A- I advise against it because it is not a given that Medicare and your Medicare supplement will pay for the first 100 days in a nursing home. As was stated earlier, if you need a care other than Skilled or Heavy Care, you have no benefits at all from Medicare and your Medicare supplement... and remember, over 75% of all people receiving care are receiving a care less than Skilled, Heavy or Critical Care. I adamantly advise against an elimination period if the elimination period is not a lifetime elimination period. For instance, if you purchased a policy with a 100-day elimination period, and you had to meet this elimination period every time you entered a nursing home, it would mean the cost for the first 100 days of every confinement would be the responsibility of the Insureds. You would not be too happy if you had paid on a Long Term Care insurance policy for several years, and then found that you had to pay the first several thousand dollars before that policy would pay a dime. The difference in premiums between a zero-day elimination period (which pays the daily benefits the very first day and what I recommend), and a 90 or a 100 day elimination period is a few percentage points higher, but most insignificant if you would have to pay the costs for that first 100-day period, especially if you would have to pay them every time you entered a nursing home and on each spouse. You will never realize enough in premium savings to justify the expense for the first 90 to 100 days, even with only one confinement in a lifetime, let alone more than one. Q- Should I buy a policy that has an ‘automatic-daily benefit-increase for inflation’ rider? A- Again, what you need to consider is the same as the answer to the earlier question... “How many dollars in daily benefits should I buy?” We know the majority of people (using today’s numbers) do not enter a nursing home until their mid to late 80’s and early 90’s. If you are 78 and buying a nursing home policy, it may be a better idea for you to buy a flat rate amount of daily benefits that you can afford, rather than a lesser amount of daily benefits with an inflation rider. If on the other hand you are 63, it will probably make a lot more sense for you to purchase an inflation rider, as nursing home costs could easily double present day costs by the time you are ready to enter a nursing home. Some of the same questions asked in the daily benefits question would be good to ask about buying an inflation rider, only from the posture of you being the age you will be at the time you most probably will enter a nursing home. There are two types of inflation riders... simple and compound increases. Some companies offer both. Most all policies use the rate of 5%. The difference between the two can be appreciable. A simple increase of 5% on a $150 a day policy means that the daily benefits will go up each year by a flat $7.50 a day. A compound increase of 5% on the same $150 a day policy would be a 5% increase on each previous year’s amount. Q- What does ‘90 day waiver of premium’ mean? A- Most all of the better policies have this provision. It means that after benefits have been payable under the policy for 90 continuous days, the premium is waived. A handful of companies waive both premiums for the husband and the wife, as soon as one of them begins receiving benefits. Most companies only waive the premium on the confined spouse. Some companies only waive the premium for a nursing home or assisted living confinement. Some of these companies also waive the premium for a home health care confinement. Q- What about benefits such as ‘bed reservation’, ‘ambulance’, ‘prescription drugs’, etc... should I buy a policy based upon these things? A- No. They are a lot like a car dealer throwing in floor mats or undercoating on a new car you just purchased. These of course are nice to have, but of very little importance in the overall policy. Sometimes, these are the benefits some agents talk the most about. Again, there are many things much more important, as you can see from the detail provided in several areas. Q- I have heard about a benefit called a ‘paid-up survivor’ benefit. What does it mean? A- A paid-up survivor benefit is a most attractive benefit, yet seldom found in most other types of policies. It means that after a certain period of time of owning the policy, generally 4 or 5 years, if one spouse should die, the premiums are paid-up for the life of the surviving spouse. This benefit is included in a couple of the better comprehensive policies without any additional cost. In most policies, there is a charge. This benefit is particularly valuable when there is a disparity of age between spouses, or when the monthly guaranteed income would be significantly reduced if one spouse died. Next month we will talk about the costs of a long-term care policy.

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2012-06-20 16:40:50

Welcome to the SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal I have to say—I am really excited about this edition. Along with all of the expertise columns we normally include, this month we have developed a very special Agriculture section focusing on agriculture interests, information and concerns. Agriculture really is the backbone of our country, and I am proud to live in a place where agriculture touches most everyones’ daily lives. It is one of the ties that binds our country together and one of the things that makes this country great. I would like to thank Josey Jr. World Champion barrel racer, Kylar Terlip from Frontenac, for giving us her time and interviewing for this issue. You will love getting to know Kylar, and find her determination inspiring. Congratulations to her and her achievements. As always, you will find the issue packed full of relevant information, as discussed and answered by local experts. Be sure to check out Richard Smiths’ article on new vs. old car safety. I think you will find the information startling and very interesting, I know I sure did. You will also find some fantastic recipes in this issue, perfect for summer gatherings. We get many requests for favorite recipes and cooking tips and our contributors are always happy to oblige. Speaking of requests, I would like to thank our readers for taking time to email us with their questions. Your concerns are very important to us and the local expert contributors. If you have a question you would like answered, please email me at jnorris@chartmarketing.com or our assistant editor, Jeanie Erwin at Jeanie@chartmarketing.com. The SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal is all about connecting our residents to the wealth of information possessed by our local experts and business owners. No other publication directly reaches residents in the same thorough, and personal way. No other publication directly involves both residents and businesses in the direction of content. We always welcome new experts, so feel free to give us a call if you would like to share your knowledge and connect with our community. 620-249-7462 Jerod Norris Publisher The SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal

X

From the Publisher

Charlie Traffas

2012-06-20 09:51:29

A couple of months ago I took a break from other topics I have written about over the past few months, and wrote about a subject that I have spent much time in the past and even more recently, counseling users and influencers of users, in regard to their possible needs for long-term care and how to manage this risk. Long-term care is the type of care one receives outside of a hospital. You have your health insurance or Medicare to pay for doctors and hospitals. Once you leave the hospital, you may have a small amount of coverage from your health insurance or Medicare, if you require skilled care, which is the same kind of care you receive in the hospital…that care that is performed under the supervision of a registered nurse, 24 hours a day. But, for the most part, you have little if any coverage for care less than skilled care, which is the kind of care given in an assisted living residence, memory impairment care facility, nursing home or care at home. Whatever you lack in coverage you will bear the expense. When you no longer have the ability to pay, Medicaid will take over, but lots of things in your life will change. Here are some questions I have received and my answers. Q: A few years ago you wrote an article on long-term care. At that time, it wasn’t something pressing for my wife and me so we didn’t do anything. Now we’re in our late 60s. We just recently went through a long-term care confinement for her Dad of four years and my Mom for seven years. Neither of them had any type of insurance to pay for the care. We couldn’t believe the costs. We went through everything my Mom had and most everything of what her Dad had. We are considering whether or not we need to get a long-term care policy for us. Would you reprint that article?

A- Thank you for your question. I wrote this article 8 years ago. I am honored that you remembered it. I have updated the information. If you already have a condition that forecasts a high likelihood of needing long-term care, you’ve gone a long ways towards answering the question yourself. These conditions might include but not be limited to such things as high blood pressure, heart conditions, arthritis, cancer, memory impairment, etc. But what if you are in good health…how big is the threat then? My answer is…it is always a matter of risk management. Previously, we talked about three of the four ways to manage a risk. That of avoiding it, retaining it, or reducing it. Last month, we began discussing the fourth way of managing a risk…that of transferring the risk to an insurance company by buying a Long Term Care policy, and the different things to look for in the same. This month, we will continue. Q: Are the premiums for a Long Term Care insurance policy deductible? A: This again is dependent upon whether or not you have a ‘qualified’ or a ‘non-qualified’ policy as defined by The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, also known as HIPA ‘96, or the JR 3103. You can no longer buy a ‘non-qualified’ policy in the state of Kansas, but I will address the issue anyway. This act separates Long Term Care insurance policies into two types… ‘qualified’ and ‘non-qualified’. A ‘qualified’ policy has a portion of its premium that is tax-deductible (in accordance with the act), and a ‘non-qualified’ policy does not. All policies purchased prior to December 31, 1996, have been grandfathered as ‘qualified’. Here is the way HIPA ‘96 was written originally. If a policy is ‘qualified’, it means that it meets the benefit criteria set forth by HIPA. For instance, if a policy is ‘qualified’, you can treat a portion of the premiums as medical expenses, and they will be tax-deductible according to the following schedule, if the total of all non-reimbursed medical expenses exceed 7 1/2% of your adjusted gross income. Here are the deductible amounts for the 2012 tax year: * The above amounts increase most years to the nearest multiple of $10, based upon the medical component of the Consumer Price Index. It may change, however, if inflation growth for long term care services is greater. The act goes on to address issues such as: Penalty free withdrawals to purchase Long Term Care insurance are not available from ‘qualified’ plans such as 401(K), 403(b), IRAs, 457s (government programs). Long Term Care policies cannot be included in a cafeteria plan under Section 125; nor can long term care services be reimbursed by a Flexible Spending Account. Long Term Care insurance premiums are, however, an acceptable expenditure for the new medical savings accounts that this law makes available to the self-employed people and small businesses under 50 employees. Integration features of the act if more than one policy is owned, and how they would be figured together for tax- deductibility purposes. and more... But what does it all mean? In most cases the 7 1/2% of adjusted gross income cap is going to be the biggest barrier in making this a relevant issue. Most people do not itemize. If they do, most do not have non-reimbursed medical expenses over the 7 1/2% cap. If you already have medical expenses at that point or beyond, qualifying for a Long Term Care insurance policy may be somewhat difficult. Remember, all policies are medically underwritten. The act, upon first glance, seemingly tends to favor non-indemnity policies. It does not. As you have been told all of your life, “it is better to make more income and pay the taxes, than to make less and pay less in taxes”. An indemnity policy indemnifies you in benefits against the premium you paid. You get what you paid for. A ‘qualified’ policy (one that is tax-deductible up to the limits stated above, which are now higher due to automatic adjustments, and after the 7 1/2% of adjusted gross income threshold is reached through non-reimbursed medical expenses), can only stay a ‘qualified’ policy if the following conditions are met: Medical Necessity cannot be a trigger for benefits under a ‘qualified’ policy. Medical necessity means your doctor has decided that due to whatever reason or reasons (may or may not be medically related), you are in need of long term care. Not having this as a ‘trigger’ for benefits is not in the best interest of the Insured, as it is the way most people qualify for benefits under a Long Term Care insurance policy. The second way most people qualify for benefits under a Long Term Care insurance policy is meeting the ADL test. ADLs (activities of daily living) are different for each policy; but in the case of ‘qualified’ plans, the ADLs are more stringent. The Insured must need assistance from another person, walker or wheelchair, to perform at least 2 of the following: eating, toileting, transferring to or from bed or chair, dressing and continence. Furthermore, a licensed health care practitioner must certify that the Insured will be unable to perform these ADLs for at least 90 continuous days. This again is not in the best interest of the Insured, as the Insured may have purchased a ‘qualified’ plan, but when he/she is in need of care, it is very possible the care may not be needed for 90 days. An example of this would be hip or knee replacement surgery where, following surgery, the Insured needs some assistance at home or in a nursing home for a few days or weeks, but not necessarily for 90 days. Even if the Insured purchased a zero-day elimination policy (to be discussed in more detail later), no benefits would be payable under the policy, unless 90 days of care are needed and certified by the practitioner. The third way most people qualify for benefits under a policy is through a diagnosed cognitive impairment. A ‘non-qualified’ plan allows for the doctor to prescribe long term care based upon his or her findings. This ‘trigger’ under a ‘qualified’ plan is much more severe, in that the cognitive impairment must be measured by clinical evidence and standardized tests... again, potentially making it much more difficult to qualify for benefits. Q: Why don’t I just buy a Home Health Care policy, since I do not want to go to a nursing home anyway? A: For the very simple reason that you, or your loved ones, cannot predict the illness, affliction or injury that will necessitate long term care. If you do need skilled or heavy care, the present day cost of that care in the home could be as high as $8,000 to $15,000 a month, or more. The reason why the cost of this care in the nursing home is less is because the charges are spread over several residents requiring the same level of care. It is always better to buy a nursing home policy that also pays benefits in the home, than to buy a home health care policy that will not pay any benefits in the nursing home. Q: What is the difference between the levels of care provided i n a nursing home? A: All nursing homes are licensed for one or more levels of care by their respective states. The basic difference between these levels of care is the amount of time a registered (or licensed) nurse must be present while the care is given. You will find these levels of care fall under one of three categories: Simple Care... also known as Personal or Custodial Care, or Assisted Living with medication monitoring, does not require the presence of a registered nurse. Most of the work is performed by CNAs (Certified Nurses’ Assistants) or CMAs (Certified Medical Assistants). The current, average daily cost for this care in this area is approximately $160 or more per day. Supervised Care... also known as Intermediate Care, requires the care be administered in the presence of a registered nurse at least 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. The current average daily cost for this care in this area is approximately $180 or more per day. Skilled Care... also known as Heavy Care or Critical Care, requires the care be administered in the presence of a registered nurse 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The current average, daily cost for this care, in this area is $210 or more per day. Q: How many dollars in daily benefits should I buy? A: That depends upon the answer to several questions. For instance... what is your guaranteed monthly income, not counting earnings on investments? How much of your income, assets and/or estate are you trying to protect? Are you married? If so, how much money would the non-confined spouse need each month if the other spouse was confined in a nursing home? How old are you... your spouse? How does inflation enter into the equation? For instance, if you are in your 60’s, it may be 20 to 25 years before you need this type of care (actuarially speaking). If inflation averages 3 ½% per year, rates will double every 20 years. Buying a policy that only pays benefits equal to today’s costs may only be enough to pay half of the total bill when you need it. It would therefore make much more sense to buy an inflation rider. If on the other hand you are in your mid to late 70’s or older, buying a flat amount of benefits equal to or a more than present day costs may be the best for you. Q: How long of a benefit period should I buy? A: Some agents recommend a defined period of time, say for 2 or 3 years (meaning once you begin receiving care in the nursing home or at home, the policy will only pay benefits for 2 or 3 years). I do not understand why. If you can qualify for a Long Term Care insurance policy, how does anyone know what the illness, affliction or injury that is going to take place will require in a long term care confinement? You are buying the policy to preserve and protect your income, assets, peace of mind and independence, as well as those and that of your family. Why would you only want to protect it all for 2 or 3 years, then still risk losing everything and going on Medicaid? Most all of us know people who have been in a nursing home for several years. If one can afford the relatively small difference in premiums between a defined benefit period (i.e. 2 or 3 years) and lifetime benefits, lifetime benefits will always make the most sense. A Long Term Care insurance policy is supposed to reduce stress. Stress will not be reduced when you know the benefits of your policy or your spouse’s will end after 2 or 3 years. Q: Should I buy a policy with an elimination period? A: I advise against it because it is not a given that Medicare and your Medicare supplement will pay for the first 100 days in a nursing home. As was stated earlier, if you need care other than Skilled or Heavy Care, you have no benefits at all from Medicare and your Medicare supplement... and remember, over 75% of all people receiving care are receiving a care less than Skilled, Heavy or Critical Care. I adamantly advise against an elimination period if the elimination period is not a lifetime elimination period. For instance, if you purchased a policy with a 100-day elimination period, and you had to meet this elimination period every time you entered a nursing home, it would mean the cost for the first 100 days of every confinement would be the responsibility of the Insured. You would not be too happy if you had paid on a Long Term Care insurance policy for several years, and then found that you had to pay the first several thousand dollars before that policy would pay a dime. The difference in premiums between a zero-day elimination period (which pays the daily benefits the very first day and what I recommend), and a 90 or a 100 day elimination period is a few percentage points higher, but most insignificant if you would have to pay the costs for that first 100-day period, especially if you would have to pay them every time you entered a nursing home and on each spouse. You will never realize enough in premium savings to justify the expense for the first 90 to 100 days, even with only one confinement in a lifetime, let alone more than one. Q: Should I buy a policy that has an ‘automatic-daily benefit-increase for inflation’ rider? A: Again, what you need to consider is the same as the answer to the earlier question... “How many dollars in daily benefits should I buy?” We know the majority of people (using today’s numbers) do not enter a nursing home until their mid to late 80’s and early 90’s. If you are 78 and buying a nursing home policy, it may be a better idea for you to buy a flat rate amount of daily benefits that you can afford, rather than a lesser amount of daily benefits with an inflation rider. If on the other hand you are 63, it will probably make a lot more sense for you to purchase an inflation rider, as nursing home costs could easily double present day costs by the time you are ready to enter a nursing home. Some of the same questions asked in the daily benefits question would be good to ask about buying an inflation rider, only from the posture of you being the age you will be at the time you most probably will enter a nursing home. There are two types of inflation riders... simple and compound increases. Some companies offer both. Most all policies use the rate of 5%. The difference between the two can be appreciable. A simple increase of 5% on a $150 a day policy means that the daily benefits will go up each year by a flat $7.50 a day. A compound increase of 5% on the same $150 a day policy would be a 5% increase on each previous year’s amount. Q: What does ‘90 day waiver of premium’ mean? A: Most all of the better policies have this provision. It means that after benefits have been payable under the policy for 90 continuous days, the premium is waived. A handful of companies waive both premiums for the husband and the wife, as soon as one of them begins receiving benefits. Most companies only waive the premium on the confined spouse. Some companies only waive the premium for a nursing home or assisted living confinement. Some of these companies also waive the premium for a home health care confinement. Q: What about benefits such as ‘bed reservation’, ‘ambulance’, ‘prescription drugs’, etc... should I buy a policy based upon these things? A: No. They are a lot like a car dealer throwing in floor mats or undercoating on a new car you just purchased. These of course are nice to have, but of very little importance in the overall policy. Sometimes, these are the benefits some agents talk the most about. Again, there are many things much more important, as you can see from the detail provided in several areas. Q: I have heard about a benefit called a ‘paid-up survivor’ benefit. What does it mean? A: A paid-up survivor benefit is a most attractive benefit, yet seldom found in most other types of policies. It means that after a certain period of time of owning the policy, generally 4 or 5 years, if one spouse should die, the premiums are paid-up for the life of the surviving spouse. This benefit is included in a couple of the better comprehensive policies without any additional cost. In most policies, there is a charge. This benefit is particularly valuable when there is a disparity of age between spouses, or when the monthly guaranteed income would be significantly reduced if one spouse died. Next month, we will talk about the costs of a long-term care policy.

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2012-06-01 08:44:36

Thank you for joining us for the June, 2012 issue of the SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal. We appreciate you thumbing through our pages each month. As I’ve said in the past, throughout these pages you will find helpful information from local experts, as well as some timely, informative and/or opinionated articles from time to time. If for some reason something offends you, it’s no big deal, just move onto the next. In that case, I have to discuss something... As many of you know, in early April the Obama administration ordered the Labor Department to apply child labor laws to family farms. Under the rules, children under 18 would be prevented by the federal government from working “in the storing, marketing and transporting of farm product raw materials” and prohibited “places of employment would include country grain elevators, grain bins, silos, feed lots, stockyards, livestock exchanges and livestock auctions.” This would make the roles in which many children have participated for centuries a criminal offense. In addition, the government would further insert itself in that the new rules would revoke approval of safety training by groups like 4-H and FFA and replace them with a 90-hour federal government training course. Essentially, the government would be training farmers in the business of farming and the disciplines which have been passed along for generations in addition to telling them who can do what jobs in the working of that business. The whole thing makes perfect sense, right??? Well, fortunately thousands of people complained about this parental exemption, as well as the government’s attempt to side-wind its way into the “management” of farming. After taking a pummeling, the Labor Department acknowledged its overreach, perhaps in an attempt to neutralize what is only one of many hot button attempts at “helping” Americans parent their children. Now, to be honest this has nothing to do with political parties or race, or gender or whatever...to me, even on the most basic level this is a concern. Young people learn a lot from doing chores on the family farm (or any family labor job for that matter). They learn life qualities such as responsibility, physical endurance, what it actually means to work and earn their money, and the value of a dollar. At the very least, even if the lesson learned to that child is the mere fact that farm life (or hard labor) is not the life for them, they take those lessons with them onto whatever profession they choose later in life. What is the lesson learned if we potentially take this away through these government regulations? On the deeper level, this means much more to rural America than meets the eye. The fight is not done. Watch for this issue to be “repackaged” and reintroduced in the near future.

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2012-04-20 08:10:26

Thank you for joining us for the May 2012 issue of the SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal. Always glad to have you and a very special thanks to all who make this publication possible. OKAY… I’m not sure how many others feel this way, but it’s just my opinion and I have to say—I am fed up with mainstream media feeding off all the negativity in the world. Even worse, where no negativity exists, it is to be grown, manufactured, molded, and then manipulated as absolute truth. In my opinion, they dictate or have a hand in nearly everything that is wrong in this country, including the status of the economy. And America, it seems, is all too ready to draw a whole conclusion from half a story. We are far too ready to have others do the thinking for us. So, unless media doesn’t care about humanity, and simply only cares about sales and stories, while thriving off of violence, why not bring about more topics that are GOOD for America? What has brought this rant out in me? Well…the most recent example is the Trayvon Martin case. Now, I am not assuming what is truth in this case or the guilt or innocence of those involved. What I am referring to is how the media presents part of the story or manipulates what you see and hear to cause a certain reaction. Let me say that again, “I am referring to how the media presents part of the story or manipulates what you see and hear to cause a certain reaction”. In this instance, using older pictures of both parties, one to look younger and smaller, and in the case of the shooter, an old picture where he was younger, bigger, and stronger. Even in light of the media overly manipulating and editing the 911 recordings, controlling what the public hears, and the public still does not hold them responsible for irresponsibly reporting. When you think about the implications of that, it is staggering. It is not just in current event news, information is manipulated in the “reporting” of sports, celebrities, the economy, and much more. Perhaps we sold out long ago and there is no turning back, I don’t know. Media is “owned” and is a money making venture. It provides what sells no matter if it hurts an individual or the entire nation. Is it that we have an insatiable desire for whatever is bad in the world? Is it that we feel obliged to believe that the negative so far outweighs the good? I, to this day, do not believe so. When the public is in control, for instance on Facebook, why are most posts positive, bright, funny and loving life? When was the last time you went to a movie where in the end, evil wins? Doesn’t happen, which tells me we still long for good in this country. I will be the first to admit, there is plenty of room for improvement in our society. PLENTY. However, I believe it is time to get back to looking for good in America, in our communities, and in our neighbors and not succumb to the negativity and the whole anti-American culture that surrounds and/or fuels it. Where there is bad, I am willing to look at it in light of the truth. I do not want it packaged for me in controversial terms or manipulated information. Please just report things and let the proper authorities do the investigating. More than that, the good and strength of America deserves more recognition than a simple side note. It is high time we get back to thriving off our ingenuity, not off of the trials and tragedies of others. Thank you all, I had to vent! Please enjoy this publication and I sincerely appreciate you picking it up and reading us each month. Jerod Norris Publisher The SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2012-03-23 09:12:18

Welcome to the April Edition of the SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal. You are much appreciated for picking up our publication and reading it on a monthly basis. Thank you for joining us... If you have never read my business partner Charlies’ “What’s New” column, I encourage you to please do so this month. This edition is in loving memory of Charlie’s late wife Brenda, who recently passed away. I didn’t know Brenda really well, but I did get to witness pieces of her and Charlie’s relationship during the last year or so, all during her fight with cancer. All I can say is she was a true inspiration, a total sweetheart, and I never saw her frown once. Each morning she would come down, greet us all, then give Charlie that loving smile and a kiss, wishing him and all of us well before she went on with her day. I know that she will be extremely missed, but I also know that she left the world a better place than when she found it. Something Charlie will and forever appreciate. My condolences to him and his family... As the publisher, I have to say that I have the best job around. What could be better than connecting readers to local answers and solutions to their problems or general areas of interest? We are all about community in a time when others have long forgotten the value and power of connection. That is what makes SE Kansas so different, and that is what makes this publication different than any other. You may (or may not) like or necessarily agree with some of the things found within these pages...I don’t know...but more than likely after reading several columns as well as those you’ve come to expect, you will have a sense of connection with its contributors, as you already have. Thank you all for being such a valued part of this community of readers, workers, leaders and volunteers. Speaking of volunteers, be sure to dig in to the publication and read the article by Stephanie Webb of Mosaic who answers a reader’s question about volunteerism. She offers some great ideas on ways you can make a difference in your community. Elsewhere in the publication, you will find a wealth of valuable tips on things like factoring in long-term care by Seth Holder of Edward Jones, and how to rock a retro wardrobe by Ruth Wegner of Everything Sew Sew. I would like to thank our contributors for providing all of our timely content. They are the heart of the publication because they are passionate business owners and community leaders who have invested their lives into the community. Also, thank you readers for all of your questions. Please keep the questions coming! If we do not have the answers, we will happily find experts within the community. Please direct questions to myself, Jerod, at jnorris@chartmarketing.com or my assistant editor Jeanie Erwin at Jeanie@chartmarketing.com. OFF TOPIC - Congrats to the PITT STATE GORILLAS Women’s Basketball team. What a great season! You made us very proud! - Dear Kansas City Chiefs, please TRY and make us proud (or me) in this years NFL Draft... Finally, please “Like” us on Facebook for timely updates and contests. Jerod Norris Publisher The SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2012-02-28 08:18:08

Welcome to the March 2012 Edition of the SE Kansas Q&A Times, Amazing things happen when a community connects. I have to say, it is very fulfilling to have a front row seat on seeing that happen throughout this publication. We have a strong community, and when I say community I mean everyone from Pittsburg, Frontenac, Girard, Arma, Cherokee, McCune, Walnut, all the way to Arcadia. So it is no surprise that we would have great businesses and highly knowledgeable business owners & managers—but seeing the eager communication between residents and those businesses really highlights the value of a true community network…which is why we exist. We exist to educate, inform and/or entertain, matching potential customer needs, topics and interests, answering questions from all realms and walks of life, while pairing it with a local solution. One of the things I love most about what I do is that it represents a true cross-section of our lives here in SE Kansas, from everyday concerns and work to food and entertainment. This month, you’ll find articles on anything from agriculture, making cake pops and foster parenting, to tips on your car’s ABS. Every article contains a gem of information, so you will want to read, save, and share them all. Remember to check us out online where sharing the articles is made easy at www.theqandatimes.com – Southeast Kansas. This month, as you browse the pages of the Q&A Times be certain to note the participating businesses and when you have the opportunity, support them with your patronage. They work very hard to serve the community and we are thankful for their efforts within this publication in providing the information you want. Finally, I want to take a moment to thank all of our readers. Your enthusiasm and continued interest for the publication inspires me. I appreciate all of your feedback and want to ask that you keep the steady stream of questions and feedback coming. Feel free to email us at jnorris@chartmarketing.com or Jeanie@chartmarketing.com with your questions and we will match them to an appropriate, local expert. Jerod Norris Publisher The SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2012-01-26 15:13:45

Welcome to the February edition of the SE Kansas Q&A Times! Is it as difficult for you to believe as it is for me that here we are two months in to the New Year already? I have to say, I have the best job in the world. How many people do you know that get to meet so many of the great people that create the fabric of community, or celebrate the endless list of unique business that form our distinct home and heritage? Not many. I am proud to be a part of this area. This month, I have the pleasure of connecting you to the thoughts, advice, and information from a great group of local industry professionals and the services that keep our community strong. Please join with me in showing them our support with our patronage. Within these pages you will find timely advice on finances, real estate, farm implements, animal care and much more. Since our content is hyper local, you can count on it to apply to you and to real life issues faced in our area. That is what makes the Q&A Times so different and so special. Finally, if you are looking for a way to add fresh, new life to your business, consider becoming part of the Q&A Team. Our contributors have the opportunity to share their knowledge and reach out to the community in a highly effective, personal, one-on-one format. Call me to find out more (620) 249-7462. Remember to “Like” our Facebook page to be included in local announcements and entered into monthly prize drawings from local businesses! Thank you all for reading, Jerod Norris Publisher The SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal

X

From the Publisher

Charlie Traffas

2012-01-25 13:56:18

Q: What’s new?

A: I am always glad to be asked. I must tell you, in all of what we’ve been through as a country, I doubt I have ever been as sad and sick as I have been these past several months of watching the Washington politicians, on all sides. Maybe you are as well. First, it was the President’s refusal to accept the recommendations of the bi-partisan, Bowles-Simpson commission last year; then all of the hoopla and partisan bickering that went on with the extension of the Bush Tax Cuts; then this year’s vote in August to increase the Federal debt limit; then the failure by the Super Committee to accomplish anything; then the “Jobs Bill” that our President has spent millions of dollars going around the country advocating…and the press covering…where the only thing to come out of it has been the recent payroll tax cut legislation, which to date has provided the average household in America with about $168…certainly not a “huge savings” for most households…and most certainly nothing to do with businesses creating a single job because of it; then our President’s disregard for our Constitution, our laws and our process with his, “We can’t wait” campaign, where regardless of what our Constitution, laws and process says, he is moving forward like a dictator in what he is doing…and getting away with it. It leaves most of us to wonder, “What is next?”; then his most recent maneuver to “table” the Keystone XL Pipeline…again bogging up the legislative agenda, failing to do the things to make us energy independent, and playing politically to the environmentalists…just in time for his re-election; and everything else that our elected officials have done…and have failed to do. Personally, I think it is all too coincidental, for what is happening not to all be planned, but that’s just me, I could be wrong. You will see what I mean though if you Google Cloward & Piven, two professors from Columbia University, who put forth a plan in 1966 to socialize America by overwhelming the system with Government spending and entitlement demands, all the while fostering extreme partisanship so no one helps anyone get anything done. It all turns into a mountain of chaos, and most look to the government to give them what they want. Is this what was meant by a “fundamental transformation of America?” For one of the most enlightening 15 minutes and four seconds you will spend in a long time to help you understand what is going on, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxDwT55rmIw&feature=youtu.be. Ed Griffin, author and political lecturer makes a case why there is little difference between the parties, or the right and the left, and why there has been little difference for decades. Regardless of what they all say, and the words they all use to describe what they do and what they stand for, and to demonize the opposition, they both favor a big, strong, powerful, centralized government. We, the electorate, go back and forth and end up as “puppets” to their rhetoric and their actions, but nothing changes. We have more government intrusion into our lives, we spend more, we are more regulated, we become more of an entitlement society with each passing month, and at the end of our “day,” it will be this big government that will supposedly solve all of our problems. This situation is a mirror image of what Rome was like before its Fall in 476 A.D. If it has been some time since you’ve read this, do yourself a favor. Google it too. You will be amazed at the similarities of what is happening now in our country and in Rome 1,536 years ago. You will also see how little their governing bodies were able to accomplish at the end of their days. Virtually nothing is getting accomplished in Washington DC…all due to the political games that are being played. Most all of our elected officials are in a perpetual “election” mode. When I see people who we have elected to represent us, play these political games, all under the auspices of “doing it for the working men and women of our country,” I get more sad and more sick. Then there are the Tea Party stalwarts. While I too, adamantly believe in smaller government, civic responsibility, and the elimination of excessive taxes, the national debt and excessive spending, I am not going to do so at the expense of doing what needs to be done. I am there to do my job as an elected official. I’m going to do my job. I am not going to shut down the government. The art of negotiation is through the art of compromise. Good faith and flexibility must be on both sides of the table in any negotiation. Most of the time we see neither. Instead of bowing their necks and saying “No” to any increase in taxes, they must aggressively counter with tax reform. I do not see this happening. In the 2010 mid-term elections, it was “throw the bums out.” There were those who advocated replacing every elected official we had. But how does that do any good if all we do is replace them with more of the same? We may have replaced them with worse of the same. While many say it’s too late and that what we have to replace what is happening is already set…maybe not. I remember the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Oilers had a guy named “Krazy George” as one of their most ardent fans. Most people thought he was crazy. Most people may think I am crazy too, for the things I propose and what I am getting ready to propose, but in my opinion, we still have time to do more than just gripe and complain. I know in regards to myself, like some of you and many other Americans, I could never withstand the vetting process to be elected to any type of position because of all they could “dig” up. I don’t think I have too much serious baggage, but it’s kind of like a 70-year old man pulling off his shirt at the beach…most don’t want to do it if he doesn’t have to. But there are good people out there who could withstand it. Maybe we don’t have to sit here on our duffs and watch this great country go down the tubes. Maybe the time is exactly right with 27% of all Americans saying they’re Republicans, 31% saying they’re Democrats and 42% saying they want no label…that they are Independents. Maybe it’s the perfect time to meld our positions. What if we made this happen? What if we began a brand new political party that could “catch fire” as quickly as a lit match would ignite a pool of gasoline? It would be called the Write-In-Party (WIP). Coming from the world of marketing, I can tell you…it is rare when a name of anything includes a description of what it is and a call-to-action too. It’s credo would be, “Just do what’s right.” It would be a party based upon “individualism,” which means…let the majority of the people decide what is best for us, our families and our country…and then have elected representatives carry it out. I believe this is what Lincoln meant when he said, “…a government of the people, by the people, for the people…” Here’s why it would work. We wouldn’t have to worry about getting on the ballots throughout the country. Why? Because for every elected position, there is already a place for a “Write-In-Party Candidate.” It’s on every ballot, in every voting precinct, in every state. All we would have to do is coordinate millions of Americans filling in the same name. Would that be tough? Not if we would all be united. Who would the candidates be? They could be affiliated with any political party now…Democrat…Republican…Libertarian…any party. They could be current office holders; ones who are seeking office; or ones who never thought about running until they heard about the WIP Party. All they would have to do is sign on and support the below WIP Platform, with the added caveat that at the end of the day, his/her job would always be to do his/her job…and that is to act. What if this were to be the WIP Platform? An Immediate General Tax Reform 1. Our present tax system is broken. Even if the most wealthy Americans would have their taxes increased by 25%...and NO ONE is advocating this…it would not bring in enough revenue to cover what we are spending. We would continue to run deficits, thereby running up the national debt even further. A few weeks ago, the President asked Congress to increase the debt limit by $1.2 Trillion, as the increase last August to $15.2 Trillion has been used up. Four days later, for what can only be political purposes, the President withdrew the request. One week later, it was back on. It is another political game. Float it out there. If someone doesn’t yell too loud, advance it. If they do, keep floating it. Before long it will be an accepted fact that it is going to be increased. We must have immediate tax reform. The WIP Platform would support the abolishment of every Federal tax. These taxes would be replaced with a FairTax of 23% on every new, personally-consumed product and service in the United States, with no exemptions of any kind. Each head of household (individual/family), regardless of income, would receive a monthly pre-bate payment to pay the FairTax equal to poverty-level expenditures to enable the necessities of life (food, medicine, clothing, etc.) This pre-bate payment is based upon family size only. It is not based upon income. There is no “means” testing for this pre-bate payment. Every American citizen qualifies for it. The citizen/family must prove they are indeed a citizen of the USA. There would be no FairTax on used products. This FairTax would be collected at the point of sale by the seller of the product or service. One fourth of one percent would be retained by the seller, then the seller would immediately send the balance onto the state. The state would retain one fourth of one percent and immediately send the balance onto the Federal Government. There would be no FairTax on business to business transactions of products or services. This FairTax would replace: A. All Personal Federal Income Tax; B. All Social Security Taxes paid in by both employees and companies; C. All Medicare Taxes paid in by both employees and companies; D. All Federal Estate Taxes; E. All Corporate Income Taxes; and F. All Capital Gains Taxes. Imagine, each of us paying no more Federal Taxes for anything. Imagine your take home check being gross wages, or nearly gross wages, if there was no Federal Withholding, no Social Security, no Medicare, and no Federal Tax deductions of any kind. Imagine businesses putting all of their capital into the purchase of new equipment, locations and employees, instead of peeling off a huge chunk for all of the Federal Taxes. How fast would we grow? How many jobs would be created? You know how some of you pay your estimated quarterly Federal Taxes? You would not do so any longer. How many tens of millions of dollars have been spent on the debates and politics over the past 18 months of all of these different Federal Taxes, that would be moot if this FairTax was enacted? Extension of the Bush Tax cuts…moot; Estate Tax…moot; Social Security reform…moot; Increasing taxes on the rich…moot; Increasing taxes on business…moot; Capital Gains Tax…moot; and so much more. Take away all of these and ask yourself, “What would we have gotten accomplished if our elected representatives had not spent all of the time and money on these things that they did?” Since we use the Q & A format in all that we do, let me do a few Qs and As for you, so you will better understand this FairTax and how it relates to you and your situation. Q: But I don’t pay any taxes now. Would this FairTax make me pay? A: Let’s take a look. You will get a pre-bate payment each month from the Federal Government to pay the FairTax on essential, poverty-level expenditures to enable you to purchase the necessities of life (food, medicine, clothing, etc.) of new products and services that you buy each year. You will also have no deductions from your paycheck for any Federal Taxes, such as Federal Withholding, Social Security or Medicare. Even though you will pay the 23% FairTax on all new products and services you buy, you will have more disposable income each month than what you do presently. Q: Our present, household, after taxes, annual income is $50,000. Are we going to experience less cash at the end of the month with this FairTax? A: Let’s take a look. First, you will no longer have any Federal Withholding, or any other Federal Taxes, such as Social Security or Medicare taken out of your paycheck. This will cause you to have substantially more take-home pay…approximately $12,800 more. Add to this your monthly pre-bate payments and, even though you will pay the 23% FairTax on all new products and services you buy, you will have more disposable income than what you have now. Q: Our present, household, after taxes, annual income is $125,000. What will this FairTax do to us? A: Again, let’s take a look. You will have no Federal Taxes (i.e. withholding, Social Security, Medicare, etc.) withheld from your paychecks, which will result in your household, annual income being substantially more…approximately $50,000 more. Add to this your monthly pre-bate payments and, even though you will pay the 23% FairTax on all new products and services you buy, you will have more disposable income than what you have now. You are also a household that would typically pay capital gains taxes on investments. You would pay no more capital gains tax. Q: Wait a minute, how can everyone have more disposable income but we still take in more revenue? A: Isn’t it amazing? Presently 56% of all Americans now pay $500 or less in income taxes. With this FairTax, everyone will pay on all new products and services they purchase, with no exemptions of any kind. There will be no more exemptions or loopholes for anyone. If you purchase new products and services, you will pay a 23% FairTax on them at the point of sale. When you a 23% “key” off our Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the sum of all the goods and services we produce in a year, with 81% of the GDP in personal consumption, some big things happen with the numbers and with the revenue. Q: So one can avoid paying this FairTax if they don’t buy any new product or service; or if what they buy is used? A: Exactly. Would the FairTax generate the revenue we need? Yes. To begin with, it would bring in $676 Billion more than what we’re bringing in today. In 2011 total Federal Revenue from all sources was $2.1 Trillion. Our GDP is approximately $15 Trillion. 81% of our GDP is personal consumption, which equates to $12.15 Trillion, on which the FairTax would be assessed. 22.85% of this (which is the percentage after the seller of the product/service and the state take their one fourth of one percent) comes to $2.776 Trillion. That works out to be $676 Billion more than what we take in now! But revenue would significantly increase thereafter! Why? Because there would be no payroll taxes (Medicare and Social Security) for business, no Corporate Income Taxes, no Federal Excise Taxes and no other Federal taxes. Business in America would boom. Businesses from around the world would stand in line to do business here. We wouldn’t have to worry about our balance of trade. Exports would far exceed imports. We wouldn’t have enough people for the jobs it would create. Instead of our economy (GDP) growing at the anemic levels it has of an annual rate of less than 2%, try plugging in a FairTax of 22.85% on 81% of our GDP with a 3% growth rate, 4% growth rate, or even a 5% or more growth rate. A 5% increase in GDP of $15 Trillion would bring in more than $2.9 Trillion in revenue. A sustained 5% growth rate in GDP could bring in more than $5 Trillion…annually. This would be real revenue…and a HOT and vibrant economy. Why would we want to help business? For not only the reasons that are listed above, but as business thrives, more and more people would make more and more money…owners and employees alike. The more money they would make, the more they would spend. The more they would spend, the more FairTax revenue. People who make the most in business, like owners and upper management, would pay a 23% FairTax on every new product/service they buy, with no exemptions. There would be no more “biggies” that escape paying taxes. This is the progressive tax people have looked for. People who make more spend more and would pay more in taxes. People who make less spend less and would pay less in taxes. But since most people, including the very poor, do not pay any income taxes now, how would they be able to afford an additional 23% consumption tax? First, to those employed, no one would have any more Federal Tax deductions on their paycheck. They would receive gross pay instead of net pay after these deductions. If the current, take-home, household income of a family of four is $50,000, this alone would put nearly $18,000 back into their hands (enough to pay the FairTax on more than $78,000 worth of new products and services purchased during the year), which is more than what they would have to spend in the first place. Second, there are the monthly pre-bate payments based solely on household size. The Federal Poverty Level Spending for a family four in a household, for the essentials is approximately $22,000. 23% of this is $5,060. To those who are on a lower amount of take-home, household income…say for instance the $22,000, the monthly pre-bate payment they will be sent will pay the 23% FairTax on all of the new products and services they purchase in a year. Remember, no one pays the FairTax on the used products they purchase. This monthly pre-bate payment program would cost the country approximately $460 Billion per year. I will tell you how it would be paid for in just a bit. What would we do about cutting spending? After observing Washington for the past dozen years or more, I am now convinced, a balanced budget amendment will not work. We must go further. You see, a balanced budget amendment will never get us out of the problems we’re in, as it would limit spending to what we take in, and Washington would spend all we take in. With all of the revenue this FairTax would bring in, we don’t need to spend it all. We must have a surplus to pay down the debt and regain the confidence of our foreign creditors as well as those Americans who hold US Debt. We would therefore advocate a “Spending Cap Amendment,” of 17% of the GDP. As this FairTax would begin to blossom, we would be able to spend more, because 17% of a bigger number is a bigger number to spend, but we would hold to the 17% cap of GDP. This one move would restore our global credit rating over night; put lobbyists to work doing something to affect our GDP instead of what they are doing, not to say anything of wiping out the deficit; and the building of a surplus to pay down the national debt in an accelerated fashion from this point forward. What about all of the tax attorneys, CPAs and IRS agents that will no longer be needed for what they were doing, or primarily doing? Some of them are going to have to find something else to do, or something else to do in addition to what they do. We have this taken care of too. Every existing tax attorney, CPA, Income Tax Preparer and IRS agent, who opts-in during a limited and defined registration period, would be given full access to all of the information on every dime that is being spent and planned to be spent by the Federal Government. Each of these could apply their unique talents and skills to stopping waste, fraud and abuse. It has been estimated by those on the right, left and in the middle, including our President, that 20% of what we spend goes to waste, fraud and abuse. This is in excess of $700 Billion per year. If there are 100,000 tax attorneys, 50,000 CPA and Income Tax Preparers, and 100,000 IRS agents that opt in (and that would all of them there are opting in); and we would give them each 25% of what they are able to save out of our coffers out of the waste, fraud and abuse we no longer have to pay for; each would easily earn more than $500,000 per year. This should provide each of them with a pretty good living while directly contributing to our country’s bottom line with the 75% we don’t pay out to them as savings (reclaimed). Can’t you just see those people and entities that these folks go after for this waste, fraud and abuse? Once they see them coming…holding up their handkerchiefs and saying, “I’m sorry. I will give it all back.” They might be able to reclaim all of the $700 Billion. These folks would only be added to the unemployed if they do not have the skills and talents we and they thought they did, or if they do not want to work. This reclamation, plus the immediate increase in revenue from the FairTax of $676 Billion, plus all of the savings of what experts say it costs to collect, manage and enforce our current tax system of $462 Billion per year, would more than pay the $460 Billion for the monthly pre-bate payment to every household in America described earlier, plus our entire national defense budget, and all of the interest on our national debt. Keep in mind this is at the onset…before we experience the dynamic growth in our GDP and the increased revenue that will occur because of it. By the way, isn’t it a shame that we spend $462 Billion a year to manage, collect and enforce our taxes on our current system, and have absolutely nothing to show for it to ourselves and the rest of the world? Do you know that the 22nd largest economy in the world is Sweden, and their entire GDP is $457 Billion! We waste more on managing, collecting and enforcing our taxes than Sweden produces. Pro-Life I don’t want to spend a lot of time on this. I just want each of you to take this test. First for Christians…imagine the time immediately after your death. You find yourself in front of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is getting ready to pronounce an eternal sentence of Heaven or Hell on you, based upon all you did throughout your life, and the condition of your soul when you took your last breath. Would you really stop Him and say, “Oh, by the way Lord, before you go any further, I want You to know that I have always thought, and still think, it is okay to end the life of the unborn.” If you wouldn’t do it then, don’t do it now. Although our Lord is going to judge each and every person who has ever lived, some may not think so. Perhaps to those of you who are Non-Christians, Atheists, Agnostics or Pagans…this may appeal to you more. You hold firm to the belief that the reason why people should do what is right in society is because all of society benefits. Your test is to ask yourself these two questions: One, are we as humans any different than any other creatures on this earth? And two, if you believe that we are, shouldn’t this life be preserved and respected more than any other life of any other creature? What right do you…or anyone else…have to take it? If you believe a human life is no more special than a frog, a chicken or a goat…then the WIP Party may not be for you. Stop the Hate, Racism and Greed Every member, candidate and elected official of this new WIP Party would get three strikes in violation of promulgating hate, racism and/or greed, before they’re out for good. The test for talking about someone would be that the person getting ready to do the talking, asks himself/herself, “Is what I am getting ready to say true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?” If he/she could answer, “Yes” to each, it is okay to say whatever he/she was going to say. If not, he/she keeps his/her “pie” closed. Use the same analogy on the Pro-Life position above. If you wouldn’t say you support hate and racism before our Lord is getting to judge you for all eternity, don’t do it now. Greed is the “mother” of all sins. Each member would know our credo, “Just do what’s right.” This means if you are getting ready to do or say something, imagine a person (such as your mother) to be a little bitty person standing on your shoulder, watching and listening to all you do and say. If you wouldn’t do or say what you’re getting ready to do or say, it’s not right so don’t do it. If you would go ahead and do it or say it, knowing that person is watching, it is right. All you have to do…is just do what’s right. Think about it. How hard could this really be? The first time you would infract this, you would get a warning from the Party. The second time you would get your final warning. The third time, you would be out of the Party. If it’s an outright serious breach of ethics, morals or legalities, there would be no first two warnings. You’re “Gone City, Oklahoma.” Everyone would turn in everyone…just like the programs, “Turn in a pusher,” …and “Neighborhood Watch.” It wouldn’t be long before this nonsense stops. 100% Full Support for the Constitution The Constitution is the way it is and the way it would be…until it is changed. That means each and every sentence…and each and every amendment…is the way it is. It will be respected by all. Laws are made by the Legislative Branch. These laws are interpreted and applied by the Judicial Branch, and executed and enforced by the Executive Branch. If the laws on the books are not going to be enforced, unilaterally for all, they would be abolished or changed…but until this would be done…this is the way it is…end of story. Illegal Immigration No one in their right mind, with a thimble full of compassion, would send 14 million illegal immigrants back to the country from which they came. Yes, it wasn’t right that they came here in violation of the way they were supposed to come here; but who committed the bigger sin? If a child isn’t supposed to push a chair over to the cookie jar, climb up and get a cookie, and one time Mom dusts the child’s britches when she sees the child do this, and the next time, when on the phone, she shakes her finger at the child…mouthing “No,”…the child is confused. How is the child supposed to react? The messaging was inconsistent. Both the government and the companies that employed the illegal immigrants were wrong for not enforcing the laws on the books and failing to comply with them. What were the illegal immigrants supposed to do? The messaging was inconsistent. The child is confused. The illegal immigrants are confused. They are already here. We would get them an ID card and let them stay and work. Their ID number would put them in the back of the line with all of those waiting to become citizens, but they would continue to stay here and work until their number came up. There would be plenty of work to go around. This country is going to be great again. They would know that if they violate the law, they would be sent back to where they came from and never be allowed back. This would work for most of those contemplating such a violation. The rest are all good people to begin with. We would enforce the border so no more would come in without doing it the way our laws on the books state they have to do it, but we would take care of those already here. In regards to social benefits for them, we would let the WIP platform work and we would be able to afford it. We wouldn’t have to worry about it. After all, if there are 14 million illegal immigrants here now, that’s only a 4% increase in our population. What would we do with a 4% increase if it came from within our borders over a 10 year period? Would we tell them there is no room or benefits for them? Would we load them up and ship them to the Outback Area of Australia or some other country that would take them? Most all of these people who came here illegally are good people. God made them just like He made you and me. We need them. They did what anyone would do in their situation. They looked for something better than what they had. No one stopped them. They have put roots down here. They have families now. We would put them to work and let them provide for their families, while being placed on a pathway to citizenship. National Defense We would adopt and adapt a national defense policy that would work in synch with our credo, God and our resources: 1. We believe in peace through strength. Don’t mess with us and any of our allies…including Israel. If you mess with them you mess with us. 2. Respect those citizens of and residing in your country, and those of other countries. Consider us like the reformed “bully” on the playground. While we could whip any one of the kids, we have chosen for now not to do so. But if someone messes with one of them, we will do whatever it takes so it wouldn’t happen again. 3. We’re not into nation building. This is where our involvement in the business of those we assist…ends. We would make things so you could rebuild your own nation. Foreign Aid We would recognize what countries can do and cannot do in their own countries. We wouldn’t ask them to do something they cannot do. But we would expect them to do everything they can do. We would be there to assist, but don’t jack with us. Take care of business and we would be there for you. We would only provide aid to countries who always have the best interests of the USA in mind. Play both sides of the table and you would “color us gone”…immediately. We would take the aid we were giving you and use it to pay down our national debt…and we would send you a big “thank you” along with our “good-bye.” Energy We would stand for energy independence. Far too many decisions of our blood and treasure have been made over the past 50 years based upon getting our energy from somewhere other than own resources. If we have shoddy practices in place while going after this energy, kick those companies to the curb and get on with being energy independent for those that know how to do it right. We wouldn’t let someone without manners sit at our table at 4 H Camp. We wouldn’t let someone work in the energy business who is messy and has no “manners” either. Abundant and affordable energy will always be a centerpiece of our economy. Get out of the way and let it happen…domestically. Help The Poor and Disenfranchised We would see a brand new and vibrant economy. There would be aid for all of those who could not help themselves. But if they could work, or if they could do work in the community, they would be required to do what they could do or they wouldn’t receive the aid. If they are on welfare, they will do what they can…whether at home licking stamps…or in their neighborhood working on a project for the betterment of society. If they are on unemployment, while they are seeking employment, they would do community work until they could find a job, all the while attending a business-led training program to teach them the skills they need to get re-employed. If they don’t…and they don’t…they don’t receive unemployment. We have lots of things to do, work to be done, people to be taken care of, and all kinds of things to be painted, cleaned and weed-eated. The time for doing nothing…is over…if you can do anything. It would be like WWII. We would all be united in a common cause. There would be something for everyone to do. Find what it is you can do and do it. Let The Free Market Work Entrepreneurism and the free market have made happen what we all enjoy in America today. Yes, greed has crept into much of it too and this is unacceptable in anyone’s book, but the original statement is true. Products and services that survive the test of consumers, that continue to cater to the needs of consumers, that are priced affordably and competitively…will flourish. Those that are not will be tossed aside. That’s the way it’s been since our country began. This is how it always must be. Health insurance is a big part of this. Obamacare has little to do with health insurance. Rather it is a massive, 2,300 page, redistribution of wealth program packed full of more regulations than anyone has been able to count. It will cost hundreds of billions of dollars. It will not save anything. The bureaucracy required to run it will make every other program in the country seem like a local chapter of FFA. The WIP Party would endorse the complete repeal of Obamacare. We do not want to wait to see if the Supreme Court strikes it down first as being unconstitutional. We would have a solution for health insurance in place that works for every other product and service in every other segment of our society. Disregard state boundaries. Let buyers of health insurance shop for the best plan there is for them in the country, their families and their situations. Remove pre-existing conditions, and the dollar and time limits of benefits. If you are an insurance company and in the insurance business, you take it all…both those with “hiccups” in their health and the healthy ones. The principle of insurance works best for all when the risk pool is large. Let companies market their plans nationally. Companies that control their costs and take care of their insureds will prosper. Those who don’t and don’t will fall by the wayside. Individual and corporate greed is bad…but no worse than it is for the Federal Government to get in middle of everything we do. There would be no room for any of this in the WIP Party. Entrepreneurism and the free enterprise system are good. If you can’t agree with this…there is no room for you in the WIP Party. Further, the WIP party would promise all…it doesn’t matter what you occupy…you will not be changing America into a third world country. Get out. Go occupy a cave in Africa, Indonesia, Finland or Norway, or wherever, and roast the porcupine you caught two days ago over a wood fire for dinner. There’s a better world out there for all of us than the one you are trying to espouse. We’re going to make it happen…with or without you. Do Your Job as a WIP Party Elected Official Yes, the above would be our platform, but we are also a democracy where the majority rules. The test for you would always be, “Did you do what you thought was right?” This “hooey” about you banding together and holding our process down and hostage would not work for you in this Party. Do your job! As a member of the WIP Party…you’re going to have to do your part…but it would not be that difficult. If you are one who could support all of the above, you’re in the new WIP Party. You wouldn’t have to sign anything. We do not have time. Rather, you would need to email others about joining. They wouldn’t need to sign anything either. We have made the process very easy. The email you send is all ready written and will tell them to go to our new website, www.theqandatimes.com. They can pull up this publication and read this article in its entirety from the “Recent Issues” page, February 2012 Issue. Hopefully they will support that for which we stand and email others. Here is how we would propagate this, but first a tip. Do you know why most email prayer chains fail to go any further than a dozen or so? The initiator always wants you to send it to 10 people. Most of us don’t know that many people we could trust with the color of our underwear. All you would have to do to make this propagation work is click the big link on the home page at www.theqandatimes.com titled Send this email to two people. When the email pops up, send it to two people. They are blind copies. No one will know who you sent your emails to. They would do the same, and those they send it to would do the same, etc. The person who sent it to you would be copied on the emails that you send so they would know their part is complete, but they would not know who you sent it to. (here is a copy of that email that pops on our home page, that you and they would send to two people, one who resides in the state in which you reside, and the other who resides in any other state) Dear Concerned Citizen of the USA, I felt you may be as interested as am I in the health and future of our country. If so, here is an opportunity to be a part of something big and necessary for the same. Go to www.theqandatimes.com. Once there, click on the “Recent Issues” tab. Click on the “February 2012 Issue” for either of the editions listed. Read and digest the article that begins on the front page titled, “What if we made this happen?” If you can support what is written, the WIP Platform, and the method of propagation described in the article, click the big link in the middle of the site’s home page titled, “WIP Email To Send To Two People.” When it pops us, complete the blanks. You will type in the email address of one person who resides in the state in which you reside, and one person who resides in any other state. Neither will know of the other as these are “blind” copies. Your name will be automatically added to the bottom of the email. Then, check back to this same site prior to the November elections, for a state-by-state listing of all of the candidates endorsed by the WIP for each position in the House, Senate and President of the United States, as well as the candidates for your own state offices. All you will have to do at that time is click the link and print a listing of these candidates and take this list with you when you vote, writing in the WIP candidate for each position. If you are not interested in participating in this effort, please reply back so I can send this email to another person who might be. Thank you for your consideration. (your name will automatically be included here) No one would quit his/her efforts until they have assurances from two people they are going to participate. If, as we move forward, one quits, the person who got them involved initially must replace them. This is all you have to do…for now. Yes…it is a pyramid…but the prize in this pyramid is saving our country from what is taking place. How fast would it work? The Q & A Times touches more than 100,000 households and businesses each month. If each would do his/her part in the next few days, and everyone they send it to would do the same, and everyone they send it to would do the same, etc., we would have run out of households in America before the 8th level, and we would have built a network that would dwarf all of the other networks out there…added together…for the delivery of news, information and education. You read correctly. Add all of their audiences together…CNBC, CNN, HLN, FOX, ABC, NBC, CBS…and they have only a fraction of the audience we would have. You would not have to worry whether those you send the email to are Democrat, Republican, Libertarian or any persuasion in between. This would not be a Democratic, Republican or Libertarian platform. It would be a melded platform. How many people do you think would support a platform that increases everyone’s disposable income…creates a budget surplus…pays down our national debt…restores fiscal soundness…shores up the confidence in our creditors…strengthens our defense…stops waste, fraud and abuse…takes care of the illegal immigrant problem…fiscally controls our foreign aid…thwarts hate, racism and greed…gets our three branches of government working separately but as one like they were intended to work…allows the Constitution to be the way it is and the way it is going to be for everyone who chooses to lay his/her head down in this great country, until it is changed…stops the underhanded and sweetheart deals that politicians and their lobbyists have brewed up for themselves and their cronies…takes care of all of the social needs of our country…and puts us in synch with God for the only reason we are here to begin with? I believe I can promise…any sane, reasonable, logically-thinking individual, without regard to present party affiliation, absent of hate and a lover of America would not have a problem with it. Let me tell you why. At the core of the Democratic Party is its stance for an abiding faith in the judgment of hardworking American families, and a commitment to helping the excluded, the disenfranchised and the poor strengthen our nation by earning themselves a piece of the American Dream. At the core of the Republican Party is its stance for preserving a free society, free trade, the sanctity of human life, limited government, low taxes, a minimal bureaucracy, a strong national defense, protecting private property rights, and the concept that government should do for individuals only those things they cannot do for themselves. At the core of the Libertarian Party is its stance to seek a world of liberty, a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others. Respect for individual rights is the essential precondition for a free and prosperous world, that force and fraud must be banished from human relationships, that only through freedom can peace and prosperity be realized, and that each person has the right to engage in any activity that is peaceful and honest. The WIP Party platform would handle each of these stances and more. Would there be there be conflicts? If you would want there to be conflicts there would be. If you are a sane, reasonable and logically-thinking individual, you would understand that this must be a melding of all stances, that would do all that each stance wants to accomplish. As soon as we would have our millions of WIP supporters connected, we would establish a way to draft those candidates who would support the WIP platform in its entirety, for each of the races in the states, as well as the 536 elected Federal positions (435 in the House, 100 in the Senate and 1 for President). I have a plan for that too, but it’s a moot point if we don’t get a lot of folks connected quickly. When the list of candidates is complete, all you would have to do is come back to the site (or a site we would build under www.write-in-party.org which I already have) prior to the election, print off a list of all of these WIP candidates and take it with you to the voting booth. One thing all would have to remember is that when he/she writes-in their names on the ballot, each must write it exactly as it appears on the list, with the middle initial, and WIP behind the name, or the election officials will not count it. For instance, if Sam Johnson is written in, since there are too many Sam Johnsons out there, the voting officials will not count a vote for the Sam P. Johnson WIP we are endorsing, if you merely put Sam Johnson. Do we have to accept what is happening to our country? I don’t think so. Most of us have been lulled to sleep thinking, the worst can’t happen here. But it is happening…right under our noses. If this WIP effort would be successful, it would be the biggest landslide election in the history of our country, for every elected position, from all parties, from all of us…all coming together and melding our stances, something our current elected officials are not doing and do not understand. There will have never been a louder and clearer message than the one we would deliver. I cannot do all that will need to be done by myself, nor can I afford it. I can however, ride shotgun over this project as much as I can to see if what we’ve been hearing is “big hat no cattle,” or if millions of Americans really want to do something about it. One big benefit of this WIP approach, is if we can get as many millions of voters connected as we should, from all parties, as quickly as we need to get them…we won’t need $500 Million to $1 Billion for traditional TV advertising. The vast majority of our communication would be handled through email. We would be the leanest, most powerful, political party in the history of the country. It all depends upon how many of us each do our part…as it should. Rather than continue to sit in your morning coffee group, at lunch, or with your buddies after a round of golf having a beer and just bad mouth the situation by saying things like, “Boy, it sure is getting bad isn’t it?”, and asking rhetorical questions like, “What are we to do?”, you can do something….right now. All that has to happen over the next few days is to see how many we can connect. If only a few participate, we will all know just how important these things are to the majority of us, and we will see what type of world awaits us. Regardless, I will be back in touch with you to let you know how it is going. Well…what do you think? Am I “Krazy Charlie” or does any of this make sense? One thing is certain…as opposed to the endless rhetoric we are getting from all of those who represent us, this is an idea…and a plan…full of solutions…that will work! How long has it been since we’ve gotten anything like this from Washington? Maybe you have an idea and a plan to implement it that will solve these same problems. Let me hear it. If not, and you are ready to do your part on this effort, you can go to our site, www.theqandatimes.com …click the big link for the email message that is waiting for you…enter your two email addresses…and press send. At the very least you will be able to say…you did something more than just gripe and complain.

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2011-12-27 11:28:59

Welcome to the January edition to the SEK Q&A Times, Okay, three words: Pitt State Gorillas. Enough said? What a great way to end 2011 and start the New Year. Congratulations to the National Champions! It feels really good to say that! Here at Q&A Times we are looking forward to another great year of sharing timely information and special savings from all of our contributors. As you read the Q&A Times, please make note of the contributor and make a special effort to support them with your business. As you do, you support the foundation of our community. As always, you will find a wealth of helpful information within these pages generated by reader comments, questions and general topics or interests. If you are looking to begin the new year starting a new business, check out the article on buying commercial real estate. There is so much to consider before you take the plunge! For those of you considering redecorating, you’ll find some great tips on furniture and new looks for less. From pet tips & party hints, to farm & home, you’ll find it all within our pages. In case you haven’t noticed, the SE Kansas Q&A Times is different from other publications. Connecting with our readers and plugging them into the community is our top priority. If you have any questions that you would like answered, please feel free to contact us. You can reach us by phone, email and of course you can find us on Facebook. Be sure to go there and give us a “like” to stay on top of local announcements and drawings in between editions. For business owners looking to start the new year with a bang, consider advertising with Q&A Times today. No other publication offers the same sort of effective exposure or reaches as many people as does this publication. Give us a call. Thanks again to all of our readers. Wishing everyone a healthy and very Happy NEW YEAR! Bring on 2012! Jerod Norris Publisher The SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2011-11-17 16:03:44

Welcome to the December edition of the SE Kansas Q&A Times! Wow…Earthquakes shaking Kansas?! Felt by many in Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri; what more do we need to remind us the value of family, friends and community? Perhaps there is no better way to bring our attention to the things that matter most this holiday season. I hope this finds all of you doing well and enjoying the advantages we have here in SEK. This month, you’ll find a wealth of timely information provided by our contributors. Be sure to check out each article for holiday tips, advice…well…basically anything and everything that we are familiar with here locally. The coupon section is VERY popular so be sure and take advantage of what these businesses have to offer! Don’t need any of the products or services? Cut them out and give them to a friend (or parent, grandparent, kids, etc). As we wrap up this year and look toward 2012, I want to thank you for making this publication a valued part of the SEK community and look forward to the ways we can serve you in the New Year. Along with those local faces and columns you’ve grown fond of within these pages, you’ll see many new faces in the following months, with plenty of great new information provided by local experts. As always, we want to thank you for supporting the contributors of this publication with your patronage. You make a difference and play a role in keeping it strong and thriving. Finally, I would like to wish everyone the very best this Holiday season (can you believe 2011 is nearly over?!). Special thanks and warm wishes to those of you with family & friends in the military, who have sacrificed so much and whose absence is especially felt during the Holidays. Thanks again for a great 2011, see you in 2012! Like us on Facebook… Jerod Norris Publisher The SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2011-10-20 10:15:35

Welcome to the November issue of the SE Kansas Q&A Times First, I would like to wish everyone in our community a very happy Thanksgiving. It is my hope that each of you have many things for which to be thankful and spend your holidays surrounded by friends and family. On a personal level, this season brings to mind the many things for which I am grateful, including my family, friends and the extended community of friends —you, our readers. I feel very fortunate to be part of a publication so embraced by the readership. Thank you for inviting us into your homes and business, and for your active involvement in the publication. This month, you will find tons of information to help you through the season. Be sure to check out the answers to our reader’s seasonal questions on topics like holiday decorating, tips for caregivers and mouth watering holiday treats and meats. Also, find out how to make your home and your presents gleam with holiday cheer without the hassle. If you love savings (who doesn’t nowadays), don’t miss the coupon section where you’ll find great meals, deals, and retail steals from trusted local businesses. The SE Kansas Q&A Times represents a highly effective medium bringing businesses and the general public together in one publication. It is also the perfect way to reach the community to announce special events or promote special offers. We work a month in advance, so keep us in mind a bit early so we can be sure to get it into the correct and timely issue! Contact us today to find out about many cost effective opportunities offered by the Q&A Times. Don’t forget to “Like” us on Facebook to become apart of great deals, contests and monthly prizes to our followers! Finally, and most importantly, please support the businesses of our advertisers and contributors with your patronage. They represent the finest in the community and are ready to serve you. All the best, Jerod Norris Publisher The SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2011-10-06 08:33:06

Welcome to the August edition of SE Kansas Q&A Times! As you browse through these pages, you will notice that we are growing. Even in this digital age, we all value the connection that timely content provided by those in our own community provides. As the publisher, I can say, that it is so satisfying to have such great group of contributors who are eager to share their knowledge as well as readership that truly appreciates the content. This month, our industry experts have provided incredible tips on everything from health to home improvement. As business owners that live in our community, they are intimately aware of the issues that matter most to area residents. Over the last month, we have enjoyed getting to know you better through Facebook. Thank you so much for taking the time to "Like" our fan page and leaving comments. We value your thoughts and love to hear from you. You may recall that we are running a contest for a choice of $25 gift certificates from Chatters, Fat Daddy's or House of Wings. Please like our fan page for your chance to win. The contest ends soon and the winner of last month's contest will be randomly chosen and announced soon. This month, for those who haven’t, “Like” our fan page for your chance to win a $20 gift certificate to Chicken Annie's in Girard! Search “SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal”. Free food to another local favorite! As always, we would like to encourage our readers to visit the establishments or our generous contributors and thank you for your support! Lastly, many of you know that we welcomed a new baby girl into the Norris household! Anderson Belle Norris arrived on July 5th weighing 7lbs 7oz. Mother and baby are doing great, and we are thrilled to have her in our life. Thank you all for the well wishes on Facebook and by email. You are the reason we make SE Kansas our home.

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2011-10-06 08:31:41

Welcome to the July issue of SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal. As always, you will find a wealth of useful information and have the opportunity to become more familiar with our local businesses. The Q&A Times is a place of community, and we are here to support you. We would like to thank, as always, or wonderful industry contributors. They have provided helpful tips on everything from fireworks safety & home construction, to how to market your business effectively. You will not want to miss a single article, and more than likely you’ll find a familiar face within these pages. We here at SE Kansas Q&A Times are thrilled at wonderful response we are getting from our readers. It has been such a joy to experience this positive interaction that we want to extend the fun. Yes. I finally caved and now, you can reach us on FaceBook! Ask questions, send ideas and even be alerted to special deals, events, and contests. This month, one lucky winner will be drawn from all new FaceBook follower “Likes” from July 1st- July 31st and win a $25 gift card to Chatters, Fat Daddy’s and/or House of Wings in Pittsburg! So go to FaceBook and type SE Kansas Q&A Times in the search, hit "Like" to follow us and win! All of us here wish our readers a wonderful 4th of July Holiday, and a special thanks to all of those who have sacrificed so much for our freedom. Until next time, Jerod Norris Publisher SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2011-10-06 08:30:00

Here at Q& A Times we are gearing up for the holiday season. To help you prepare and get in the holiday spirit, this issue features many practical tips from food preparation to gift suggestions. In honor of the season, we would like to express our thanks to all of you that read the publication, and to our experts that answer questions and share their knowledge within these pages. You truly have made this a community meeting place, and we are very grateful for your participation. We hope you will find this issue helpful, and wish you all a meaningful holiday season. Your suggestions and feedback are always appreciated. Until next month, Happy Holidays! Jerod Norris Publisher Season’s greetings

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2011-10-06 08:28:28

Welcome to the October issue of the SE Kansas Q& A Times! As always, this issue brings a wealth of information and cost cutting deals to your door. Just to tease you a little, you will find everything from mouth-watering recipes to helpful workout tips and much, much more. As always, our coupon section is filled with awesome deals from our contributors and advertisers, many of which are not offered elsewhere. If you appreciate the content, we have a wonderful community of contributors to thank—your local business owners! Please support them with your business and let them know that you saw them in the Q & A Times. At the Q&A Times, we would like to extend ourselves to area business owners and invite you to consider running your holiday specials here in our publication, which reaches 9,600 homes and businesses throughout Crawford County. There is no better way for your potential clients and customers to learn about you and your services. Contact us today to find out more about what the SE Kansas Q & A Times can offer your business. Did you know that the Q & A Times is on Facebook? Give us a "like" and stay on top of local events, news, and money saving deals. Finally, thank you to all of our contributors for their efforts, and you our readers for your continued support and enthusiasm for this publication. Keep the feedback coming. Jerod Norris Publisher SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2011-10-06 08:26:52

Welcome to the September issue of the SE Kansas Q & A Times! The Q & A Times has been growing! I would like to thank our readers for their continued enthusiastic interest in this publication as well as our contributors for their hard work and provision of such valuable local information. Finally, I would like to thank our advertisers. Please support them with your patronage. This issue is packed full of great information on everything from home construction concerns to repurposing items in home décor. Also, any active citizen will not want to miss the information on Via Christi orthopedic services and Orthopedic Surgeon Danny Reveal, MD. As always, we encourage your questions and feedback. Be sure to follow us on Facebook where you can get local updates between issues and engage other area residents on local concerns. Thank you for joining us,

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2011-10-06 08:25:16

Welcome to the June 2011 Issue of the SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal. I hope to find you well as we approach the summer months. Memorial Day is the day we have set aside to honor veterans, military heroes and the loved ones that gave their lives in service to our country. Traditionally, it is also the start of summer festivities. While you are planning those family gatherings or backyard BBQs, make some plans to attend the Pittsburg Avenue of Flags held at Highland Park Cemetery. The event is a wonderful way to honor our service heroes as well as take part in something both meaningful and memorable. Started March 14th 1972, through support of a veterans organization, the event includes the spectacular display of nearly a thousand flags and special keynote speakers. The event also includes the reading of the names of those whose lives have been lost in recent military conflicts. However you choose to celebrate Memorial Day, remember to do so by honoring those who have lost their lives for our great freedoms. What: Pittsburg Avenue of Flags When: What, when where: May 31st from 5am - 4:30pm (when they begin to retire the flags). Where: Highland Park Cemetery

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2011-10-06 08:23:56

Welcome to the May 2011 edition of the Q&A Times. I'd like to thank our great contributors for all of the timely and useful information which they provide. It is great to be part of such an active community of people willing to share their knowledge and experience. I was thinking; as hard as the recession has been on everyone, something good has come of it. The biggest change is the renewed interest in both saving money and supporting local economies. Businesses are reaching out to the community in a more personal way and residents supporting them with their patronage. I'd like to thank you all for supporting our advertisers. When deciding where to do business, think of them first. This month, be sure to take some time to check out the new coupon section where our advertisers will treat you with special deals that you will not see anywhere else. When you redeem your coupons, be sure to give the proprietor a big thumbs up for their participation and willingness to cut us some great deals. While still in the developing stages, the coupon page is sure to grow! If you're a business owner and are interested in adding to this section or hearing more about our publication, please contact me personally. Until next time... The very best to you and yours, Jerod Norris Publisher | SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2011-10-06 08:21:22

Welcome to our March 2011 Issue of the SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal. Within these pages you will find a community of familiar, local faces bringing business owners and the general public together in an educational, interesting and interactive approach found nowhere else. I hope you join us inside. With this being a March Issue, it sure hasn't felt like "Spring" here locally. I hope everyone has overcome the recent winter storms (and that it's not snowing when you receive this) and I find you and yours doing well as we (hopefully) start seeing some nicer, more comforting weather... With that, I'd like to refer back to the title of this column and introduce you to the following... Crawford County Coupons If you're a business owner, or you know of a business that has a great bargain, special, or monthly discount on select items, meals, oil changes, apparel, whatever it may be - please contact me. Starting in April we will be presenting a section of this publication where you, the reader, can come to find great deals and bargains locally. This section will be dedicated to discounts or monthly specials of or in access of 20% - 50% off. You will come to find this section on a dedicated page each month, every month. This will be a space specifically designed to take advantage of discounted prices that local businesses have to offer. The SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal is directly distributed to every business and EVERY household with income in access of $25,000. Our total circulation in Crawford County is in excess of 9,600 businesses and residences, which is 31% more than the local daily paper’s circulation on ANY day of the week. These coupons can be 20% - 50% off on an item at a local store, a certain dollar off an oil change, great specials on lunch, dinner, you name it! FULL COLOR COUPONS, cost efficient to the business, beneficial to consumers, and directly mailed to our complete circulation at no cost to the reader. So if you are running a special or would like to simply "sample" what the Q&A Times can do for your business, let’s visit. As always, enjoy the publication and keep the feedback coming.

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2011-10-06 08:20:05

Welcome to our February 2011 Issue of the SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal. Each month we do our best to get in-depth with business owners and managers to educate our audience over what it is they (and their business) actually "do". Sometimes the articles are technical, other times they are entertaining, and other times we get the opportunity to provide great local information that is rarely attainable from any other resource. As is the case this month. This month we hear from Blake Benson, Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce President as he provides us with an in-depth look at local businesses in 2010 and what’s in store for local businesses in 2011. You wouldn't believe what we have at our disposal, right here in our backyard! What about our local Real Estate market? Do you ever wonder the statistics on home and properties sold in our area? How does 2011 look for SE Kansas? Robert Cobb of Cobb Realty provides us with an in-depth look at what was in 2010 and what could be for 2011. In our area, many people have a vested interest in livestock. Do you know what Trichomoniasis is and how it can affect your herd? Dr. William Morland of Girard Animal Hospital explains how this disease is beginning to emerge as a problem in our area, and what can be done to prevent and/or treat the disease. This is merely a sample size of articles and information provided in each issue of the SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal. We are a community bringing the general public and business owners alike together in one publication. More than likely you will know one or more people involved in bringing this publication to your mailbox. Please support our advertisers, and feel free to voice your opinion on what we are bringing to the area. Enjoy the publication. Jerod Norris Publisher The SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal

X

From the Publisher

Jerod Norris

2011-10-06 08:18:39

Welcome to the January 2011 issue of The SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal. I speak for all of us here when I say that I hope you and yours had the very happiest of holidays, however you may have celebrated them. Can you believe it is nearly 2011? I would like to thank you for making the first months of our publication a Southeast Kansas hit. We look forward to continuing to grow in 2011 and your feedback is always welcome and appreciated. We certainly get a ton, so feel free to voice your opinion, whether it be good OR bad! Within these pages it is our goal to provide you with a read that is both interesting and educational, provided directly to you from the mouths of local experts throughout numerous industries. In each Q&A Times issue you will find articles discussing topics on anything from home improvement to health care. We have developed a community that allows readers and business owners alike to become a part of the publication, and more importantly, the conversation. It is my hope that you find this publication of value, continuing to seek us and read us in 2011. If you would like to join us, contact me personally. I always enjoy sharing what we do. Thanks so much and here's to the New Year! Cheers. Jerod Norris Publisher SE Kansas Q&A Times Journal