By Jack E. Lohman

Our economy depends on education, as bad as it is. College budgets are easily driven up by unjustified salaries and building expansions, and even mandated classes that aren’t needed (my favorite is “liberal arts”).

We need “good” education in the health, manufacturing and technology fields, and we should quit spending money like it’s going out of style (like this $76.8 million athletic shindig at University of Wisconsin-Madison).

Let’s cut to the chase.

College tuition should be zero…

… though perhaps a token repayment on graduation could be fairly finagled. But getting into college should be weighted not by your parent’s wealth, but by the student’s intelligence and entry exams and grades in high school. I want my doctor to be smart first, and if he happens to be also be rich, that’s secondary.

Some kids really want to attend and can’t, and some don’t want to but are pressured to. So we as a nation educate a bunch of disinterested students and exclude kids who would be great.

Oh, that’s socialism???

So what? We should have more of it, at least in certain areas (like health care and education). And we have socialized police and fire and defense and K-8 schooling. Socialized health care and education has worked quite well in Sweden and other countries, though our conflicted politicians tend to avoid successes elsewhere.

Clearly, bureaucrats running education needs some intelligent handling, if that’s at all possible.

For the “people” it is great, but for ideologues and corrupt politicians it sucks. Campaign cash from teacher unions and even CEOs that prefer a dumbed-down work force that must compete with smarter countries paves the way.

So here we have it: *IF* politicians were not on everybody else’s payroll, what decisions would they be making for our country’s best interest? We’ll never correct top 1% greed, but we CAN correct political corruption. Even China has a decent start.

By Jack E. Lohman

Truth is, our politicians should be on a pedestal. We should bow at their feet, they being our protectors and leaders.

But we can’t, obviously, because they have only a 9% positive rate among the public, and are bought and paid for by private corporatists. They are as corrupt as the worst, and they write the rules for the corrupt diversion of our public assets.

Political corruption has destroyed every other country with it, and it will destroy America too. Already we rank at only #22 on the international corruption index. Yea, even those terrible “socialist” countries have us beat here.

Why are our politicians not FIRST on the list???

Capitalism can take several forms

1. Free-for-all crony capitalism is the system we now have, where politicians are more enthralled with the cash money they receive from corporate interests who want taxpayer-funded government favors.
2. Honest capitalism is unbeatable. There will always be under-the-table cash flow, but that penalty is jail time. It is the legal payola that will kill democracy.

So think about it; if you were the owner of a company, would you tolerate an employee who gave away corporate assets in return for cash on the side?

Probably not, but that’s exactly what your politicians are doing. YOU are the corporate owner (taxpayer) and THEY are your employee.

And when we need Scott Walker the most…

He’s in New York at a fundraiser sponsored by AIG’s Hank Greenberg. Collecting cash from the bad guys.

I don’t want this man promising Wisconsin assets to anyone, let alone a Fat Cat from another state. And get this: campaign cash does not flow without taxpayer giveaways! Thanks Scott!

How are you liking it so far?

By Jack E. Lohman

From Sensenbrenner’s web site ”I share the concerns of many Americans who believe that health care costs too much, insurance is unaffordable and the system needs to be reformed.  While some have advocated for the government to takeover and run the universal healthcare system, my opinion is that this would make the current situation worse and drastically reduce the quality of health care services in America.  Individual choice and free market competition – which currently do not exist – are steps in the right direction.  I support legislation to help the nation’s 47 million uninsured individuals obtain health coverage by creating a new tax credit for the purchase of private health insurance.  Health Savings Accounts also deserve the support of Congress as a way to increase access to affordable medical care.”

It’s probably best to treat this as honest ignorance, rather than a conflict of interest, which I tend more to believe.

But Sensenbrenner is correct on this!

ObamaCare is terrible and hopefully the (conservative) Supreme Court will disallow the mandates. That also destroys its funding, so it will likely die on the vine. If we are lucky.

For the Dems to pound their chest that even poor people now have coverage, when they have just passed a law mandating that these people spend part of their food money to buy a commercial product, is at best stupid and at worst corrupt.

As a former business owner, I would have loved that the government mandate that all Americans must buy my product. Now THAT would have been worth some campaign bribes.

My friend  James B. Rippy asks: “C’mon folks, we are going to force mandatory health insurance coverage on every citizen and yet we have court battles going on over the right to determine citizenship. Have we completely lost it?”

Yea, Rip, I think we have.

But look at the meat of the issue:

Sensenbrenner is calling for a “privatized free-market system.” He obviously is a very smart congressman, but he’s not a physician and clearly shouldn’t be. Though I’m quite sure he enjoys his own gold-plated taxpayer-paid healthcare plan that he denies others.

(And yea, he’s my congressman but I no longer vote for him.)

Simply, “competition” doesn’t work in health care, especially when the insurance company injects itself between physician and patient, or has congress ordering regulations in their favor. For a price, that is.

Or when hospitals employ their own physician/referral staff, and pay them bonuses for patient admissions and the ordering of expensive tests that are not needed.

Easily 80% of patients are not qualified to judge when and when not to see a physician. Especially if they are going to be hit with deductibles or co-payments or other penalties, or it negatively affects their health savings account.

By Jack E. Lohman

Think about it. Employers pay these taxes and then add those costs to the price of their product, and we consumers reimburse them at the cash register. In a very regressive manner!

*OR* they move their manufacturing to countries with lower employee costs. Unless we give them tax subsidies that make the politicians look like heroes, which drives up campaign contributions!!!

Aren’t we lucky?

So if we cut these taxes, how do we make them up? How about taxing the top 1%? And convert this “capital gains” tax to an “income” tax (where it should be anyway) so they pay at 35% instead of 15%.

But wait, it is they who bribe our pol… sorry, fund the political campaigns!

This fact remains… our country would be better off if run by politicians who did not take cash bribes from special interests!

By Jack E. Lohman

So here we have it… American Airlines is going bankrupt because of high fuel costs, all when America’s biggest export is… get this… FUEL! All while we are gouging Americans at the gas pump, we are sending our own fuel out of the country.

Because … uh… that’s our “free market!” Fat Cats make more profits this way, which translates to more money for campaign bribes. No matter that when we import a replacement, we pay for additional transport costs.

And we argue about the Keystone XL pipeline between Canada and Texas. Forget that it may be hazardous to central U.S., it is profitable. And that translates to campaign cash. Even if — especially if — we export most of it once we refine it.

And now we have Wisconsin politicians set to give permission to new mining, all while out-of-state executives from mining company Gogebic Taconite are listed at giving $21,500 to Wisconsin politicians. It’s funny how that works.

Have these political jerks no shame?

Or better, does our electorate have no smarts? We MUST force a 100% turnover in November.

By Jack E. Lohman

It would actually be better and cheaper to fix the problem and move on to fixing our state’s economy. Even if only for government employees and paid corporate opt-ins, improved and expanded BadgerCare makes solid financial sense and would be a feather in Gov. Walker’s cap.

Let’s call it what it is: BadgerCare is a non-profit insurance system, funded by the state, that buys services from the same private hospitals and physicians that we all use.

We need this instead of ObamaCare.

Universal BadgerCare makes sense!

Yea, it’s a bad thing to some… doing what has worked so well in other countries. Like Britain’s National Health Service or Canada’s Medicare-for-all or other socialized programs. Even with their wait times (which we would eliminate), their patient outcomes are better than ours.

One of the America’s best is the V.A. healthcare system (though over-burdened at the moment). Salaried physicians and non-profit hospitals (though paid by and owned by the government). Makes all the sense in the world, but “making sense” is not high on politicians lists. Even an optional V.A. buy-in for employers would make sense.

A challenge to the business community…

Today’s healthcare costs are spread into the community and affect the whole economy and business environment. Jobs, taxes, you name it. Our current healthcare system is costing us dearly, and its cost is absorbed by all.

But think about it… 20% of your current healthcare costs are going to the bottom line. Not your company’s bottom line, but to some insurance company’s. That’s not a wise investment, and it does not help you create jobs.

With us all investing in BadgerCare-for-all, we can correct that. Call Gov. Walker!

By Jack E. Lohman

Political corruption begins about two weeks into the first term, when money must be collected for the second term.  Thus if there is no second term this corruption is virtually eliminated.

Political terms should be doubled in length but limited to ONE, so politicians don’t/can’t give away the store to (a) raise cash for a second term and (b) to do stupid things to gain votes for re-election.

We pay a heavy price for a very messy and corrupt political system. If they weren’t political prostitutes we wouldn’t have to worry about it, but they are.  For that they should be ashamed, but we should also be for re-electing them.

With this system, when politicians are newly elected, they do not have to start spending 25-50% of their time dialing for dollars, because there is no second term. They can actually start working for the people as they are being paid to do. Unique, huh?

What if we really elect a winner…

… and the public doesn’t want them ousted? Though rare, I keep thinking of jewels like Senators Bill Proxmire and Gaylord Nelson, who’d still be respected politicians if alive today.

There is a solution: an extraordinary hurdle showing strong public support of overriding the system. Let the incumbent run for a second term on two conditions: (a) that he or she collects signatures exceeding 25% of the previous vote total, just to get on the ballot, and (b) that he or she wins 80% of the total votes to win the second term.

Or whatever…

Who could complain??? It would not cost taxpayers a penny, as would public funding of campaigns. And it wouldn’t violate the constitutional problems ala Citizens United. It’s a winner!!!

But oh, if a Fat Cat has invested heavily in a politician and they want them to stay “bought,” they will object to this system. Yet if the Fat Cats double down on their money the 80% requirement will kill their chances.

If they were not taking cash bribes from both sides of the issues, business and union, I doubt that any of us would care which party is elected.

By Jack E. Lohman

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could trust NATO or some other World governing body to execute elections when a country’s strife becomes so great that its citizens are being routinely killed? By their own government! Like in Syria or Egypt II?

Let’s suppose that via a vote of the major countries they were able to say, “Now wait guys, we met and have determined that only a new vote will be fair to all and minimize bloodshed. If you wish, we will help conduct the vote. The old regime can also run for reelection and if they win it will be a reaffirmation of the citizens. And we NATO nations will help stabilize the situation.”

“But if the old regime loses it’s a turnover time, and we’ll make departure of the current regime safe and comfortable.”

And then, separate the country into regions for each religion. I think they call that federalism.

Am I looking through rose-colored glasses? Alternatively, we could just say “OR ELSE!”

By Jack E. Lohman

Rocky Anderson of the new Justice Party is an attorney and former mayor of Salt Lake City, and very well thought of. Hopefully he’ll get the 10,000 signatures he’ll need to get on the ballot in Wisconsin. One of his major issues is eliminating our corrupt political system, and he refuses all contributions over $100.

He’s also very much in favor of universal healthcare, but I expect that he knows that until we get politicians off the payroll of the insurance companies that’s DOA.

See him answer one-on-one questions HERE.

By Jack E. Lohman

So now we have the conservative Republicans trying to out-conservative the other conservative Republicans. And some are complaining about Obama imposing his views on the public, when they want to impose their own restrictions. And Republicans criticizing Obama when it is they who blocked progress!

Does that sound like a politician or what?

I absolutely abhor abortions, but I think this is a very difficult decision that must be made by the woman alone. Certainly not me and certainly not her politician! It’s hard enough as it is, spending the rest of ones life wondering whether the decision was right or wrong, perhaps regretting it, she surely doesn’t need me or some busy-body politician sticking their nose in the matter.

I won’t go hunting because I cherish life, and fortunately I’ve never been pregnant.

And this idea of taxpayers funding the Right to Life or Planned Parenthood, or Viagra or vasectomies or contraception? What part of NO TAX MONEY is so hard to understand?

Now even I’m confused. Am I a right-wing wacko or left-wing wacko?

Let the dogs fight.

And I’m a christian, though not a good one. But I’m absolutely unconcerned if the Baptists are better people than the Catholics; or vise versa. I think both the Tea Partiers and Occupiers are frustrated, and fighting against political corruption whether they know it or not.

What I really care about is whether the candidate is going to represent me or his campaign funders. I care if he is corrupt.

So far I’ve been convinced of one thing: neither Obama nor any of his Republican challengers are fit for the job.

By Jack E. Lohman

The judicious use of roundabouts makes sense, like the one at Hwy 164 and County Line in Richfield which has totally eliminated traffic bottlenecks.

But at Good Hope and Townline Rds in Lannon? Give me a break. Doesn’t there first have to be traffic? This one clearly smacks of payback to the Road Builders that contribute nearly $1 million per year to Wisconsin politicians … $174k to Governor Walker alone.

And now they are planning another in Richfield next to a school, converting a 100% 4-way stop to a 0% stop for a roundabout. Whaaatt???

Yes, rebuilding the Marquette Interchange added (temporary) jobs, though it wasn’t needed, as did the Hwy 45 southbound work in Menomonee Falls which moved the left-hand Appleton exit to the right side but kept the two-lane bottleneck.

Now all of those workers are needlessly reworking the Mitchell Airport interchange which will add probably $10 billion to the taxpayer roles.

Damn we are rich!

Indeed infrastructure work adds jobs… temporarily. But they are also taxpayer-funded jobs, thus we are pulling from one pocket to stuff the other. And satisfy the road builders and politicians, of course, sending money again from the poor to the rich.

I just love that about Wisconsin politics.

But think about this for a moment.

Instead of continually extending unemployment benefits, why not pull a Tommy Thompson? Not work-for-welfare, which was great, but let’s help these unemployed workers get re-educated in different fields… like health care and technology.

Sensible education at taxpayer expense! ONCE … not over and over!

Think about it!!! Investing to get people OFF of the unemployment rolls rather than sustaining a bad situation!

By Jack E. Lohman

After all of the greed plays out and there are no more public assets to capture, and it gets too risky to stay here, the Fat Cats and their politician co-conspirators will depart for their own safe island.

Yea, but who is going to protect them from the greed of their security guards?

I don’t think I’d want to create that for my family, especially with more guns than ever being sold today. Where are their heads?

Most CEOs are pretty decent people…

But why are the 80% of good guys not controlling the 20% who are crooks? And why are our politicians in with the bad guys??? (Aside from “that’s where they get their campaign dollars.”)

This is not a pretty picture…

America will soon join the growing list of countries whose people are rebelling against their corrupt governments. If not a rebellious takeover, which most certainly will bring out the guns, then a military coup of America’s government is inevitable.

Constitutional right to free speech? Don’t even think of it.

But it doesn’t have to be that way…

And it won’t be if we are smart in 2012. How about this:

Let’s publicize all of the spending on a per-candidate basis, and then vote against the one that had the most outside spending. Let’s make them pay a price for their corruption!

By Jack E. Lohman

The benefits of hydraulic fracturing can range from totally positive (jobs!) to totally negative (water contamination). To blindly support or oppose this new mining technique without honest evidence is not just foolish, but could be deadly.

First up are the scientists, some of whom have accepted cash grants from the industry and discount all claims of harm. And some scientists who argue that fracking is unsafe, but stay away from disclosing the financial conflicts of interest of their buddies.

Then there are the politicians who pocket the campaign dollars disbursed by the fracking industry, all to buy deregulations, and to spout this “wise and safe” form of energy claimed by the hand-picked scientists. Prostitute is too good a word for them.

And then there’s the Mainstream Media, the John, which laughs all the way to the bank as they pocket the bribes that pay for the political ads. Where is the FCC when you need them?

So no, I don’t buy the sugar-coating and refuse to drink their Kool-Aid.

It is not a pretty sight

I want to know if fracking is as safe as the industry claims, and I want my board of directors (our politicians) to assess this without taking campaign bribes from that very industry. Too much to ask for?

Our problem is the same on every issue critical to the survival of the U.S. economy… political corruption. Get rid of the current political crooks and perhaps we can eliminate campaign bribery. A 100% turnover in 2012 is necessary, regardless of party.

By Jack E. Lohman

That just sucks.

.

.

Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry will not be on Virginia ballot

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry have failed to qualify for Virginia’s March 6 Republican primary, a development that adds to the challenges faced by the recent frontrunner in the GOP presidential race.

They failed to get 10,000 signatures to get on the Virginia ballot.

How are you liking it so far, guys

By Jack E. Lohman

To be clear, our problems are not “government” or “corporations,” as these are artificial entities.

Our problems are due — 100% — to the greedy leaders of each, CEOs and politicians, who have found a slush fund that is funded by other people… the public they should be protecting. Most certainly by their taxes but also in many cases by their 401(k)’s and housing values.

For the record I support the Walker recall and the protests by the right-wing Tea Party and left-wing Occupy groups, and even our local Citizens for Responsible Government. Because they are all anti-government-corruption, whether they know it or not.

I want them ALL nipping at their heels and keeping politicians on their toes.

Think about it!

Would we be in so many damnable wars were it not for the fact that our politicians are paid by the defense industry to be hawks rather than doves?

Would our nation’s economy be so trashed were it not that our politicians gave away the store to the companies that preferred their products be assembled with foreign labor at one-tenth the cost?

So here we go again!

Bottom line: I simply don’t care what happens in the presidential elections. Whether Obama wins or he doesn’t, he’ll be no different from any Republican that may win. I prefer an independent, but so many plan on running that only Ranked Choice Voting would allow a win. But our politicians have stacked the deck against even that.

Most important to our nation is a complete turnover in congress! No current politician should remain, either in the Senate or House or the state legislature.

But we have lefties believing their guy is honest and righties believing the same, when neither is the case. They all must go.