Mr. Politico

Some people might be extremely interested in this where others probably don't care.  Either way I find it a compelling topic to speak on, as it is currently dominating the airways.

Bush Tax increases being extended.

People on the Far Left feel the President collapsed under the pressure to try and compromise with the Republican party.  People on the Far Right feel as though the Republicans gave into much in order to pass their agenda.

Moderates on both sides feel that someone is getting left out in the cold...

Personally, I say that the cuts are necessary.  Granted though I don't believe the Government should be taxing our incomes, I, as every politician would say, have a better idea.  But more on that later.

Right now there is basically an agreement that Congress will extend the Bush tax cuts to all classes for a few more years.  What that means is (depending on who you speak with) is either (A) Billions of dollars added to our national debt and the richest 1% will continue to be extremely wealthy and not share their money with the rest of us.  Or (B) we are extending the cuts to everyone and hoping it will help keep our economy in an upward motion.

In scenario (A) the Democrat party will try to make sure everyone knows that the top earners in the US will continue on this trend of making just an exuberant amount of money.  Because they are making this money they need to obviously be taxed more and give that money to the government where Congress (who always knows better) can use that to help fund other projects and programs.  It truly is the Robin Hood type story.  Steal from the rich and give to the poor.  There is nothing wrong with the idea of taxing people who make more money a larger percent.  Theory being that because they make such a large salary per year they can afford to pay 40-65% of it to Uncle Sam.  The Democrats are not wrong when they say that this will add billions of dollars to the deficit.  What they conveniently forget to add is that the billions being added are because we are not trimming our spending levels.  The Government runs on a neutral budget.  It is not a for-profit entity that should be ran like a business.  Nor though should it be ran like a non-for-profit entity and be scraping by every year on what we the people give.

So in order to have the tax cuts then that means that we need to cut back in other areas as well.  Which are what the Republicans and the Tea Party representatives have been voicing... however, they have yet to say what they want to cut back on...

In scenario (B) the Republican party rightfully goes on the offense saying that without extending the tax cuts further then every salary bracket will see a dramatic increase in taxes.  That would be a major downturn for everyone, as more of their paycheck goes to Uncle Sam.  That will cause the economy to slow down more due to less money being available for people to buy that must have widget of the season.

However, when a whole group holds up an almost an entire session of Congress to make sure everyone gets the same extension that is counter-productive.  But there is a reason for it.  Most of the Democrats don't mention it and unfortunately the Republicans don't really either.

THERE ARE FAR MORE PEOPLE THAT MAKE MORE THAN $250,000 THEN THOSE WHO FALL IN THE UBER RICH CATEGORY.

Let me explain.  The Democrats make sure that they say the extended tax cuts will help the mega rich stay that way.  The Republicans say it is for the good of the people.  Yet most avoid (almost like the plague) talking about that the extended tax cuts for those who make more than $250,000 are impacting business owners and more of a general populace then those who make the ridiculous money (IE the top hedge fund managers... 25 Billion split between 24 people... that is mega money).

Because there is this large group who are actual productive people in society no one wants to say they are uber wealthy, nor are they really "middle" class any more.  They are the fine group of "upper middle class".  This is the group that 25 years ago used to make 100K or more a year.  They are the ones who have worked (usually) hard and have paid dues and now get the benefit of their work.  They are the ones who when the tax increase goes up from 36% to 42% on $251,000 are really going to be hurt.

So were the Republicans really aware of this group and wanted to make sure that they were able to stay in a decent tax bracket, or did they just merely want to protect the mega wealthy and these people happened to be in the middle of a larger class war between the Reds and the Blues?

Let us discuss...

~M

I'm 18

Many people in this world have questions when they get past the wonderful age of 18... usually in the form of a Socratic question (What should I do now, How do I get there, Should I do this/that). Based upon the received answers of all the parties the person decides on a path in life and follows it. Do not fret everyone does this and will still do it until we leave this planet.

This is actually quite cleaver for that 18 year old to intuitively do this. A Socratic question is to have the person asking the question to a group of people as to challenge accuracy and completeness of thinking in a way that acts to move people towards their ultimate goal.

We do this to challenge the common understanding of what we should do in life. Do you go to college? Do you start finding a job?  Do you travel the world?  Do I join the military?  Without asking these questions how does one make a literal life defining change in their life?

We ask the questions to get confirmation that it is correct, or maybe there is new information to understand and add to our decision making process.

I personally can't state with certainty on which way a person should choose to go.  I have friends who have done each one of those and has had their own success and failures.  Myself, I choose the college path.  That path allowed me to cram four years into five through two schools.  With that education I was lucky enough to find a decent job right away.  That decent job then allowed me to travel overseas, afford me to get married, travel back overseas and now have a home and a wonderful baby boy.

Will that be the same path that you will have by going to college?  I can't say yes or no to that.  But what I can say is that college is a great way to find what you do enjoy (though it is a rather expensive option to do so.)

But here is an interesting question.  In today's world of high unemployment and skidish employers, who says college is the right answer?  Do you need to have a higher education to volunteer?  Do you need a higher education to blog/write articles freelance style (probably not but as you can tell from my writing I probably could have benefited from some further education in English/Writing)?

I personally know that several high paying jobs that a person can do with either A.) No training other then personal work experience, or B.) Very little training (for certification purposes).  So there are options available, without going into the possible debt of college, of getting a fairly decent job.

At the same time if college is something you are really wanting to be apart of, what about the military?  Why not have Uncle Sam pay for some/all of it?  (Not like they aren't used to spending money...)  Now granted I know the military is not something everyone feels is the right fit.  But for those who are considering it, talk to people and get an idea if it is right for you.

Just remember one thing.  You're 18 and you should enjoy it.  You have your entire life ahead of you regardless of your choices.

Wow Life just got more interesting

Hello World!

Well more like hello me, but hopefully that will change right?  When I originally started this idea of a blog, I wanted to put thoughts and topics of conversation out to the public for discussion and dissemination from my view point.  Granted my view point might not be as high as others on the mountain of life, nor is my view probably the best.  But what I offer is a unique view.  Especially now.

I AM A FATHER!

My wife gave birth to our first baby on November 5th 2010 at 1:35am.  This is huge!  I am now not the most immature person at home!

Geoffrey Mark Stratemeier has come into the world and blessed my wife and myself with his wonderful personality.

(Yes I know he is only 5 weeks old but still.)

So with this now in mind, the blog will be modified slightly.  Meaning, not only will I continue with the current concept of the blog, but I am also going to provide a weekly touch point for my son.  These touch points are going to be called "Through my Father's Eyes".  In these posts I will be addressing my son with what is currently going on in the world and hopefully providing him insight as to the issues of today and resolutions of tomorrow.

Please let me know what you think.

Welcome to the universe...

So you have questions... I have insight. (For legal reasons according to my lawyer I can't say I have answers.)

As stated before, life is quite complex. I won't even pretend to have the answers. But I have done a few things in my life that I think I can help others when these problems come to them. Since I am only in my twenties, please don't ask me what life was like from a first hand experience in the 1930's as I will only be able to regurgitate what was assigned in school or I decided to read on my own.

What I can tell you about myself is this:

• Married to a wonderful woman for almost 2 years
• Currently living and working in England (American by birth)
• Crammed 4 years of college into 5
• Have worked for 2 separate companies working on the same product
• Political in the sense that I believe the only people who care about America's future are outside of Washington DC
• Enjoyed a great childhood

Ok that being said, what can you expect from me? Well it's simple, you get insightful posts on a weekly basis. The topics of the posts will range from college ("Do I work?", "Should I go Greek?", "How involved should I get?") to economy ("What's up with my 401k?", "What is a 401k?") to politics ("Blah blah blah Republican.", "Blah blah blah Democrat.") to general rants and discussions on life topics.

A few notes on these topics though...

1. I am not politically correct. Though I will not try and offend people I do not go out of my way to make sure you aren't offended. There are just too many people in the world with too soft of skin that get too much...
2. My grammar/punctuation is not the greatest. Hey I am a product of the U.S. Public school system, deal with it.
   
3. The topics won't always be interesting to everyone. So if there is a topic of interest that you might want to hear my thoughts on, by all means let me know, maybe we can collaborate on it.
4. Politics and religion will be discussed time to time on here. Realize that I will not engage in a fiery diatribe debasing people's opinions. What I will provide is hopefully an unbiased look into these subjects and sponsoring thoughtful debates.
5. Each subject will be OPINIONS with facts thrown in. Please do not use this for a report that you forgot to write and blame me for the A minus, not everything I write is A+ work here.

Any as always if you have questions or comments do not be afraid to email me.

~M