Chuck on the right side
THIS IS A BLOG THAT TRIES TO APPEAL TO THE AVERAGE CONSERVATIVE CITIZEN AND HAS NO AGENDA OTHER THAN TELLING THE TRUTH AS WE SEE IT.
Sound crazy? But, it's true. Going back to the Reagan tax cuts, it has been proven that when the tax rates are made prudently lower, the government gets more revenue. Besides the Reagan tax cuts, the same thing happened when John F. Kennedy, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump made tax cuts, the government revenue increased after the tax rates were reduced. The lower tax rates didn't cause our deficits, government spending over and above the increased revenue caused the deficits.
The Democrats have accused the tax cuts initiated by former President Trump as a "gift" to wealthy taxpayers. Little do they mention that 10% of all income taxpayers pay 70% of all income taxes. As of 2022, 40% of households paid no income tax. With those facts in mind, are the so-called wealthy not paying their "fair share"? Despite those facts, liberal Democrats put their blinders on and have been using it as their "battle cry" throughout the decades up till now, as they propose to increase the rates to get more revenue, especially against high income earners who they despise and demonize (ironically, the Democrats get much of their campaign contributions from them), in order to try to appeal to the larger base of voters who are considered middle-class and poor. The Democrats keep trying to blame Trump for our burgeoning deficits by claiming that his tax rate rate cuts have benefited only the rich, but upon closer scrutiny, all taxpayers, rich, middle-class, and some poor all benefited from Trump's tax rate cuts. What the liberals (aJk/a Democrats) don't understand about economics is the principle of the "point of diminishing returns". When you raise taxes over and above where the people being taxed feel that it is unfair, they will use loopholes in the law (because they can hire professional accountants and tax lawyers) for maximizing their legal deductions, and they are able to adjust their spending patterns so that they will wind up paying less at the higher rates then they would at the lower rates. They also may vote with their "feet" by moving to a more friendly tax climate overseas, or to "no state income tax states" like Florida and Texas. With many liberals brainwashed into thinking that successful people ( wealthy people) must've gotten their riches by way of cheating or by exploiting others, they want to punish them by raising their income tax rates (the "class warfare" ploy as Barack Obama once chided business people, "You didn't make that"). Envy seems to be the major staple sin that infects most liberals. If they can't achieve what a rich person has achieved, then they want to "even out the laying field" and redistribute those monies to the less successful, that is their class warfare "battle cry". That mindset is right out of the Karl Marx and Saul Alinsky playbooks. That is also part of the DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programs that the left-wing politicians and liberal media are pushing in academia and in some corporations. So if the government wants to get more revenue, they shouldn't raise tax rates because lower, reasonable, tax rates equal increased government revenue. That's a fact. Look it up ! Conservative commentary by Chuck Lehmann
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Not withstanding the idiotic comment by Barbara Lee, a candidate for the U.S. Senate in California, who is proposing raising the minimum wage to $50 per hour, California is instituting a $20 per hour minimum wage. One has to ask this question, how many businesses will be going out of business as a result, and how many workers will be laid off, also as a result.
The minimum wage was never meant to be a “living wage” that proponents claim for someone supporting a family, it was meant mainly for teenagers looking for extra spend money, and retired people looking to supplement their pensions and savings. For teenagers, it is a means of getting experience in the business world which hopefully will give them experience for future employment. Think of how many of today's business executives started out as minimum wage workers, and have risen through the ranks to become successful in the companies they worked for as a minimum wage worker, or who have been successful in other businesses as a result of their work experience as a teenager or college student? For me, as I worked my way through college, I got a part-time job at the prevailing minimum wage (at that time $1.00 per hour), and have never regretted that experience that I received doing that job. My main career in life (besides owing and operating a coin-operated laundromat) was that of a business education high school teacher who used some of that experience in the curriculum I taught for over 30 years. When California's $20 per hour minimum wage law goes into effect, two major things will occur. Number one, many businesses who hire entry level employees, will have raise their prices to meet the higher costs of doing business, with the result of possibly losing customers, and eating into their business income. In addition, many people who worked at those companies, mainly teenagers and senior citizens, will be laid off or their hours will be cut back. Secondly, many small companies or stores will go out of business since they'll be unable to make a profit as a result of those extra operating costs of doing business. To answer the proponents of the government mandating higher minimum wages, I'd ask this question, wouldn't it be better for a worker to be employed at, let's say, $10 per hour than to be unemployed at $20 per hour? Let the free market prevail in letting employers set their own wage rates as they see fit, and are able to encourage workers to join their company or store. If they can't find workers at the wage they offer, they'll have to raise them to attract employees, but that should be their decision, not the governments decision. Our country has an inflation rate that is up around 20% from 3 years ago. By instituting the higher minimum wage it will encourage the inflation rate to increase more, as the prices of goods and services will also increase. It will be like a domino effect upon our economy making it difficult for the average American to make ends meet. Can you imagine WalMart paying a “greeter” $20 per hour to say “Welcome to WalMart”? It has been reported that MacDonald's “Big Mac” meal now costs $18. Can the average MacDonald's diner really afford that? So when the minimum wage is increased in California and around the country, or even the ridiculous amount of $50 per hour as proposed by that California Senate candidate, the negative effects upon our country will be profound. We should let the free market prevail, and the government should keep its hands off, as their record of government interference has been disastrous in practically all endeavors they get involved in. There are two many people in our country that want us to play with the “Socialists” playbook, which hasn't worked in our country or anywhere else in the world. We are a constitutional democratic republic, not a pure democracy, if we can keep it, as the erudite founding father, Benjamin Franklin, once proclaimed. Let's hope we can keep it. Conservative Commentary by Chuck Lehmann As a prelude to the 2024 presidential election, Sleepy Joe Biden has been going around the country proclaiming that "Bidenomics" has been a roaring success and you'll get more of the same if you reelecthim as president. According to most polls, Biden's "more of the same" is exactly what the people are afraid of, they don't want the"snake oil" he is touting. Besides the uptick of the stock market, which many have said was a result of the expectation of the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates to give Sleepy Joe a gift to his
reelection campaign, but for the "Average Joe" who is living paycheck to paycheck, and trying to keep his head financially above water, he doesn't think "Bidenomics" as that what Biden is touting as a big success, is really a stinkeroo. This dour economic situation that most of us face today, started when Biden was sworn into office as president. Starting right out of the starting gate of his Administration, Sleepy Joe Biden canceled many of Trump's executive orders that were working just fine, just before COVID hit the United States. These foolish decisions by Biden included the closing of the Keystone Pipeline and halting more energy exploration on government property thus setting off price increases for energy across the country, and as a result, inflated the the prices on the necessities of life (food, shelter, and clothing) which has outpaced employee pay, thereby putting the middle class and working poor at a disadvantage in trying to make ends meet; in addition, he reinstated the Paris Climate Accords and declared a 'War" on fossil fuels thereby causing our transportation costs to rise rapidly; he also indicated he was going to institute more regulations on businesses; and he went about spending taxpayer money like a "drunken sailor (my apology to drunken sailors). Even though inflation has subsided a bit, the prior increases are still in effect and are unlikely going to come down soon (rents and mortgage rates etc.). We are now over $34 trillion in debt with little expectation of being able to lower our debt obligations in the near future. With the onerous influx of over 8 million illegal migrants into our country along with the estimated 2 million "gotaways", it has exasperated our quest to become fiscally prudent as we are now taking on the responsibility of taking care of and supporting them around the country, especially in sanctuary states and cities run by Democrats. As we approach the November election, this immigration problem will be front and center as the campaign's face the electorate. As the influx of illegal migrants (and deadly drugs) has mushroomed under Biden's policies, it will be a major hurdle for the Democrats to overcome. Many minority communities feel that they have "been thrown under the bus" in favor of the illegal aliens getting the "goodies" they expected to have received as legal citizens. So, when Biden and his cronies, pass out their "rose colored glasses" in touting "Bidenomics", don't be fooled by the "happy talk" by Biden which doesn't come close to reality. Most reputable polling companies show that about 70% of the public thinks that our economy is not going in the right direction. In the past, it has been shown that the people "vote their pocketbooks", which is a bad omen for Biden and the Democrats running in Congressional and Senate races, and who have supported the principles of "Bidenomics" . The electorate in November 2024 must use their common sense, and vote for their economic self-interest by electing those that brought you that great economy 4 years ago, before COVID hit, and it was not Sleepy Joe Biden and the Democrats. Let's bury "Bidenomics" and place it on the scrap heap of history, because it was all .symbolism over substance, with a dash ofB.S thrown in from the very beginning. Conservative Commentary by Chuck Lehmann Those words were spoken by the loquacious Senator, John Kennedy, of Louisiana at the last CPAC Convention. I presume he was referring to the present Biden Administration and certain members of the House and Senate who support the policies of the Biden Administration. It seems that common sense has taken a vacation from the workings of our government. What should be up is down, and what should be down is up, and it is stupid to try to foist policies on the populace by our government that simply do not work.
Look around you, what do you see? A great democratic republic in disarray, where half the country thinks the other half is either nuts or stupid. After Biden's victory in 2020, he said he would be a uniter and not a divider. Has he fulfilled his promise or has he made it worse? He has demonized the phrase “Make America Great Again” (MAGA), thereby throwing about half the country under the bus by claiming that those supporters want to threaten our democracy (again we are not a democracy we are a democratic republic). By using that inflammatory rhetoric, is he trying to bring unity back into our political dialogue or has it had the opposite effect? The Democrats condemn Donald Trump as being a divisive force in our country, but never look upon themselves as being the main one's at being divisive. As the old saying goes “the Democrats talk a good ballgame” but they don't live up to the ideals they profess to have of accepting differing thoughts or opinions. What are the policies of the Biden Administration that would come under the category of being “stupid”? The first thing that comes to mind is that on the first day of his administration he canceled most all of Trump's executive orders, whether they were working or not. They included the termination of the Keystone Pipeline; putting a moratorium of energy exploration including fracking; requiring masks on federal property; rejoining the World Health Administration; freezing student debt collection; extended foreclosure and eviction moratoriums; rejoined the Paris Climate Accords; extending legal protection for “dreamers”; canceled the Mexican border wall and the remain in Mexico agreement with Mexico; he paused the deportation of illegals etc. If these Biden executive orders don't fall under the category of stupid then I don't know what “stupid” is. After he was in office, he had to hire cabinet secretary's and staffers as most presidents have done, but Biden used the divisive policy of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) as the guideline for the hiring of personnel in his administration. As a result, the quality of his appointments have proved to be underwhelming and in many cases less than competent. “ The proof is in the pudding” as the old saying goes, it seems meritocracy was thrown out the window and in its place was DEI. A perfect example of someone who was clueless in doing his job is Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, who on many occasions has testified, with a straight face, that the southern border was secure from an invasion of illegal migrants and tons of deadly drugs (mainly Fentanyl). Since Biden was sworn in as president, it is estimated that 8 million illegals have been apprehended and released into our country unfettered, along with countless “Gotaways” – illegals who were not apprehended by the Border Patrol). He along with the incompetent Vice-President Kamala Harris, were both in charge of the border, have proven that being stupid is the rule and not the exception in the officials that make up the Biden Administration. You go down the list of people working for Biden and his administration, and it's one disaster after another. Another example of stupidity was when Biden had the chance to nominate someone to an opening on the Supreme Court. Instead of saying he'd appoint the most competent legal mind available (regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation), he said he would nominate a black woman tho the Supreme Court, thereby eliminating about 95% of the American public from possible consideration. He chose a black woman, Katanji Brown Jackson, who when interviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee and asked to define a woman, she could not give a definition. Another case of DEI, and someone who became our next Supreme Court Justice. Heaven help us. Well, with all that I've stated, what can the voters do this coming November to bring back sanity into our government. One thing for sure, elect people who are competent and are sticklers for abiding to our Constitution, in others words, don't vote for “stupid”. Conservative Commentary by Chuck Lehmann Ever since the unfortunate George Floyd incident, the left-wing lunatics have been pushing an organizational framework called DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion). It is supposed to seek, “fair treatment” and full participation of all people, particularly groups who have historically been unrepresented or subject to discrimination on the basis of identity or disability”. This organizational framework has taken hold in many educational institutions and in “woke” corporations around the country. To many, this is a form of “reverse discrimination”, as it has promoted equity, for some, in place of equality, for all.
One of the biggest proponents of this framework is the federal government in conjunction with the Biden Administration. Most of Biden's picks for cabinet, judicial, and government positions have gone to applicants who meet the principles of DEI, as to whether they check off the boxes of race, gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. If they do, then they are appointed regardless if they are qualified or experienced for the job. At one time prior to DEI, our country mostly favored merit and competence over only the aforementioned race, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation to hire or promote people within their organizations. That seems to have taken a back seat when these organizations look to to hire people for positions in their schools and corporations today. A perfect example is how the Biden Administration has gone about filling positions in all of the government positions that they are responsible for. His cabinet and cabinet assistants seem to all check off the boxes under the guidelines of DEI. Instead of choosing applicants on the basis of their competence, experience, and expertise, most of the hires of the Biden Administration have been chosen on the basis of the DEI framework. The consensus among many is that the makeup of the Biden Administration has been a disaster, as mediocrity has taken the place of excellence. Some primary examples of appointees lacking crucial credentials to do their jobs competently are, a disgruntled, passed over Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, as a highly partisan Attorney General, who has weaponized the Justice Department against a political opponent; Pete Buttigieg, a gay failed Mayor of So. Bend, Indiana, who had no experience at his job as Transportation Secretary; Jennifer Granholm, former Governor of Michigan, who had zero knowledge of energy as Energy Secretary; Alejandro Mayorkas as Homeland Security Secretary, who has been responsible for allowing into our country over 8 million illegal migrants and tons of the deadly drug Fentanyl; and Xavier Becerra, a former Congressman, as Health and Human Services Secretary, to cover the Hispanic box; Of course, mention should also be made of Assistant Secretary of Health and Human services, Rachel Levine, who fits into the favorable box of being transgender. There are others not fit to lead in their jobs, but you get the point. In addition, when Biden had the opportunity to nominate a Supreme Court Justice, he said he would only nominate a black woman to fill the position, bypassing anyone else who might be considered, he selected black Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who when grilled by the Senate Judiciary Committee, when asked what the definition of a woman is, she couldn't answer that simple question . Can you believe that? And she's now a Supreme Court justice. His hires remind me of the book written by Laurence J. Peter in the 1960's called the “Peter Principle”, which is defined as where a person, in life and in an organization, eventually reaches his/her level of incompetence,, a common thread relating to most of Biden's hires in his administration. That is one reason why, according to many polls evaluating the performance of the Biden Administration in its first three years in power, that 70% the citizens polled feel that the country is going in the wrong direction, and part of the reason is the infusion of DEI in the policy making decisions of the Biden Administration and in corporate America. In conclusion, DEI is a framework of causing more animosity among many individuals and groups, instead of unifying the disparate groups that make up our population. It seems the powers to be are striving for mediocrity by using DEI in conducting their school curriculum's and hiring, or by companies, instead of striving to maximize their potential, are giving in to the “woke” philosophy of DEI, thereby contributing to the angst and anxiety of the average citizen. So let's change DEI to the more appropriate word, DIE. Conservative Commentary by Chuck Lehmann |
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