Dear Mr. President,

Stop…just stop already. Stop with the lies. Stop twisting statistics to fit your agenda. Tell the American people the truth. Give them all the facts, not just the things you want them to hear. Stop going on TV every time someone gets shot  and pretending that the problem is with guns. Tell them the truth. Tell them the real reason you want to create more gun laws.

In your most recent video statement you claim that the US has an epidemic of gun violence, but I am not sure you fully understand that word. An epidemic is defined as a sudden, widespread occurrence of a particular undesirable phenomenon. The gun violence in the is country is certainly not sudden, in fact the rate of all violent crime in the US has continued to decrease over the last 25 years, even though the rate of gun ownership continues to increase.

In this same speech you ask congress to do something, anything to protect our kids from gun violence. So I have decided to give to you with a few suggestions for some common sense gun laws that can be implemented that would guarantee a reduction in not only gun violence, but overall violent crime. Do us all a favor and take this into consideration, you just might accomplish something worth while in your Eight years as POTUS.

1. Create a Federal Concealed Weapons License. This license would allow law abiding citizens to carry their weapons concealed anywhere in the United States. It is a proven fact that violent crime is reduced in areas with a high population of gun ownership per capita. In order to receive a Federal Concealed Weapons Permit, people would be required to undergo extensive firearms training that would include the following. Firearm safety training, use of deadly force instruction, gun law instruction, as well as hands on qualifications at a gun range and live fire exercises. These requirements along with an extensive criminal and mental health background check including mandatory refresher training to keep your license active. This will be a Shall Issue Permit to anyone who meets these qualifications.
2. Implement a Federal Law removing and banning GUN FREE ZONES. Gun free zones are the most common location of mass shooting. Please do the research and look at all of the Mass Shootings over the past 10 years. Almost all of them have occurred in Gun Free Zones. Law abiding citizens abide by the law. If the law says they are not allowed to carry a gun somewhere they follow the rules. This ties the hands of honest citizens that could potentially deter or stop a criminal who decides not to follow the Gun Free Zone law. Gun free zones do not keep people safe. FACT!!
3. Bring Firearm training back into our public schools. We can prevent accidental shootings by children and teens if we educate them. Also, many current gun owners did not receive proper gun safety training when they were young because public school firearm training was phased out in the 60’s. This lack of knowledge and training leaves easy access to firearms in the reach of children. Creating laws to punish people for improper handling and storage or forcing people to store their guns in a certain way, is not a solution to the problem, it is simply trying to fix something that can be avoided with training and education. We teach sexual Education in our schools, and because of this we help prevent unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases in teenagers and young adults. We teach our kids about the dangers of drugs and alcohol in school. This information and education carries on into adulthood.The same concept will and has work with firearms.
4.  Increase the penalty for using a gun in the act of a violent crime. I am not sure if you know this but prison is not a good enough deterrent to stop violent criminals. These people need to be threatened with something worse. Prison is like a free ride to live out the rest of their miserable, worthless lives…we need to take that away from them. If they take the life of another person in the act of a violent crime, we should take away their life. PERIOD!! Gun, knife, fists…it really is all the same. The punishment should fit the crime.

These are all common sense gun laws. I keep hearing you use that term, but you seem to lack it. Creating more laws will only restrict the freedom of law abiding citizens…that is not common sense. You, of all people, know the constitution, you taught constitutional law in college. You are a very smart man. I have to believe this to be a fact, I need to believe that we would not put a person in power leading our country that does not understand simple concepts like this. Stop being a politician for a minute and start being an American. Use some real common sense. Like this…

Common Sense…When you create laws to stop bad people from doing bad things, you remove the rights and freedoms of law abiding citizens. In no way, none what so ever, will creating more gun laws prevent criminals from breaking those laws. In fact, all of these proposed gun laws would not have prevented ANY of the recent mass shootings in our country.

Common Sense…If someone wants to break the law they will. With over 310 million civilian firearms in America (this is a very low estimate in my opinion). You cant and wont ever stop criminals from getting their hands on one, even if you were able to ban them entirely. Especially when we live in a country with open borders. Look how well the war on drugs is going for example.

Common Sense…Limiting magazine ammunition capacity and banning certain semi automatic rifles will not reduce gun violence. The very weapons your administration would like to ban (so called assault rifles) have been used in less violent crimes and used to kill less people every year than people who have been killed with blunt objects. FACT!! A gun is a tool like any other.

Common Sense…Firearms are near the bottom of the list when it comes to preventable deaths in the US. If you really care about the lives of our citizens you would focus on the real issues like our Health Care system. So far you have only made that worse for the majority of America!

So again I ask you to please STOP. Stop with the outright lies. Stop with the half truths. Most Americans have been slowly brainwashed over the last few decades into believing what politicians and the corporate owned media tell them. They are too lazy to research these issues for them selves. They believe you when you speak, they listen…so tell them the truth, be a man, grow a pair. If you want to be remembered and respected as a former leader of the free world…TELL THE TRUTH!!

Sincerely,

Dick

P.S. The above image speaks for itself…Common Sense!!

I recently posed the question on my Facebook page about the latest push by the Anti-Gun Left. The newest tactic that they are trying to push is to keep anyone who is on Americas “Terrorist Watch List” or “No Fly List” from being able to purchase a firearm. A few brave soles gave me their opinion and stated a reason why this is not only a bad idea, but some even had the knowledge as to why this is against the law. And as usual, not one single person who agreed with this tactic had enough balls to comment and/or give me their opinion. Which I completely expected.

Trey Gowdy is the U.S. Representative for South Carolina’s 4th congressional district. During an oversight committee meeting, he grilled a Department of Homeland Security Representative about the subject of Due Process on this matter. Here is the YouTube Link. Trey Gowdy Due Process.

Mr. Gowdy make a great point in this video. In order to be placed on the Terror Watch List or No Fly List, there is no Due Process afforded to an American citizen. If you are placed on this list, you must appeal the American Government to be removed from the list. If our government was to use these lists to keep American Citizens from purchasing a firearm, they would be denying said citizen of their Second Amendment Right without Due Process…This is against the law.

I know I harp on the Second Amendment A LOT. And I do this for good reason. The Second Amendment is the only constitutional right afforded to all Americans that is constantly under attack. Luckily for us we have some politicians that are as defensive as I am when it comes to our Basic Human Rights and our Constitutional Rights. Unfortunately these Constitutional Advocates are becoming fewer and fewer as time progresses.

I believe this is mostly in part to the push in our country that is demanding everyone to get a College Degree in order to be successful in life. And as we all know colleges are Liberal Factories. Pushing for Big Government, creating a population of drones that they can control. Hence the attack on the Second Amendment. This Right that the founding fathers gave us to protect ourselves against Government overreach. Our government will continue to attack the Second Amendment until they find a way to repeal or abolish it. It is a long term scheme to gain control over the population, and it is working.

I know, I know…It sounds like a conspiracy theory…and in some ways it is. I am of above average intelligence and I have lived and worked long enough to see through this smoke screen. People are afraid, most wont admit it, but they are. We are afraid to let our kids play outside unattended. We are afraid to say what we are thinking because we might offend someone or hurt their feelings. And thanks to the main stream media and the US Government we are deathly afraid of GUNS!

Here is a chart showing types of preventable causes of death in America.

See here…near the bottom of the list is Firearm deaths, and most of those are self inflicted suicide deaths. So why the big push for increased gun laws? Any sane logical person would look at this list and think, firearms are at the bottom of this list and are not as important as say tobacco deaths right? Why has our government not completely banned tobacco? They have done it with many other drugs, why not this one? I will tell you why. We need people to die, we need all of these people to die every year. Can you imagine trying to sustain a population if these people didn’t die? And of course TAXES…It is always about the MONEY!!

So call it a conspiracy theory, call it whatever you want. Logically speaking why else would the government be so hell bent to keep Americans from buying guns? Look back at my previous Gun Control postings. The biggest push now is to ban High Powered Assault Rifles and High Capacity Magazines…this is 100% “Feel Good” politics. It is a proven fact that very few people are killed every year because of these above mentioned, so called High Powered Assault Rifles. The government wants to ban them because they are the best tool in which to defend yourself against government overreach. There can be no other reason. If someone can prove my theory wrong, please do.

In closing I just want to encourage all of you that might read this to do your own research. By that I mean, don’t rely on mainstream media for your information about gun statistics, gun violence or gun deaths. Don’t rely on them for ANY truthful information. If you are anti-gun, take a step back out of your “Safe Place” for a while and read about them. Read the statistics. Go to a gun range and learn to use one. Teach your kids about proper handling and gun safety, stop sheltering them. You teach your kids how to use other tools, like knives for example. Everyone teaches their kid how to safely and properly use a knife…crazy thing is…more people are killed every year in the US with a knife then with one of those scary High Powered Assault Rifles. More gun control is not the solution, more gun knowledge is the solution.

Dick

Well it is back in the media again after another unfortunate highly publicized shooting at a college in Oregon. The Gun Grabbers are at it again. This of course got me into many heated debates in the social media world. It seems that there are still quite a few people out there that don’t seem to get it. They don’t seem to understand why the 2nd amendment was placed into our constitution by the founding fathers, what it means or why more gun restrictions won’t do any good.

I read a pretty good opinion article the other day that shows that there is no direct correlation between Homicide rates and gun laws state by state. Here is the link to the article.Gun Laws vs. Homicide Rates. The writer gave a good explanation about where he gathered the information and why he used the statics that he did. For those of you that are too lazy or just don’t feel like furthering your education that much…I will give you a brief synopsis on the information he shared.

The writer decided to use the statistic of total homicides as opposed to gun homicides, which I agree with. He also decided not to use all gun deaths in his example, for reasons I also agree with. (I am not going into too much detail, if you want more…read the damn article) As for the gun law statistics, he used the gun law scores and grades from the Brady Campaign. This is a listing of scores based on how strict or how relaxed gun laws are by state. The results are not what most people would expect. Based on the data and looking at the scatter-plot, it is clear that there is no correlation between gun restrictions and the number of homicides in each state. The information that is being given to us by the Liberal government and our Commander in Chief a skewed. They are using all gun deaths as their basis of comparison, which includes homicides, suicides, accidental, and even self defense deaths…all gun deaths. They don’t want you to know this fact, because it takes away from their cause.

What is their cause? Well I will tell you. The reason the Government wants to increase gun restrictions is for control. That is all. They want to control us, and they know that if we are armed and able to defend ourselves, they will never have total control. This is precisely the reason that our founding fathers created the 2nd amendment to the constitution. The Bill of Rights. Read this carefully…A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. Let me break it down for you. This was written not long after a lengthy battle against British tyranny. The founding fathers new too well that it must give the American people the right to not only defend themselves against a tyrannical government.. So they gave Americans the right to form a well regulated militia in order to maintain our freedoms. They also gave Americans the Right to keep and bear arms in order to defend themselves against a tyrannical government. These were some pretty smart folks. They left a little room for debate the way this was written. And I agree that there are certain gun restrictions in place that are necessary. Of course we should not allow repeat criminals to own firearms, and of course we need to restrict crazy people from getting weapons of all kinds. These laws are already in place. These restrictions already exist. But here is the thing, criminals do not obey laws!! That is the definition of a criminal.

Lets look at other laws that criminals don’t obey. Murder is illegal, using illicit drugs is illegal, driving drunk is illegal, stealing is illegal. All of these things happen everyday in America, they are all illegal. How often do you hear about multiple people dying in a motor vehicle crash caused by a drunk driver? Quite often. And how often, after one of these terrible drunk driving tragedies do you hear about more laws restricting driving privileges? NEVER!! Why is someone not pushing to have breathalyzers installed in all new vehicles? This is certainly a viable option, and would be easy to do with very little up front cost during manufacturing. But it is not discussed. In 2013, 10,076 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (31%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States. In that same year, there were 8,454 total gun homicides.

One of the debates I was in recently on Facebook about this subject, I brought up this statistic. The question was asked to me what the intended purpose of a gun was compared the intended purpose of a motor vehicle. That person said they believed that  the intent of a Motor Vehicle = Transportation and a Firearm = Take Lives. This is where I have a good argument against that statement. I believe that a Firearm = Save Lives.  Let me explain why. I am a responsible gun owner, never once have I had the thought in my mind to use a firearm to take a life. I keep and carry my weapon in order to defend my life and the lives of my family in friends.

I like to define the purpose of any tool based on the manner in which it is used most. A Motor Vehicle is a tool that is mostly used to get people from point A to point B. It is sometimes used as a weapon to take lives. A hammer is a tool that is mostly used to pound nails. It is also sometimes used as a weapon to take lives. A firearm is a tool mostly used in self defense, protecting life and as a deterrent against crime. It is sometimes used as a weapon to take lives. Everyday, firearms are used to defend and protect. This is why police officers carry guns. They don’t carry a gun with the intention of taking a life, they carry with the intention of defending their own life and protecting others. I would be willing to bet that more American lives are saved or protected everyday with a firearm than there are lives being taken away. That being the case, Firearm = Save Lives.

If more people would figure this out, if more people would come to realize this reality…we wouldn’t be discussing gun restrictions. We would be discussing Drunk Driving and how to prevent it. You hear the argument from many Pro-Gun people that if more good guys would carry guns there would be less crime. This is a proven fact, guns are a deterrent towards crime. Criminals have been asked time and time again about the likelihood of them committing a crime if they knew there was a chance that the victim was armed. Most criminals avoided crimes like this, they like knowing that their victims are not armed. Criminals like GUN FREE ZONES, because their likelihood of getting away unharmed is greater.

Don’t be a victim. If you do not already own a gun, I recommend you buy one. Take a class and learn how to use it. Go to the range and practice your skills. If you live in a gun friendly state, carry it with you when ever legally possible. If you already own a gun and are not very good with it. Take a class, they are offered for free in most states. Go to the range, practice and carry whenever legally possible. Practice situational awareness. Be aware of your surroundings and the people in it. The better prepared you are the less likely you are to be harmed. Taking guns away will not stop violent crime. Restricting guns and making them more difficult for Law abiding citizens to get will not prevent violent crime. Criminals will get guns, or whatever weapon they need to commit their crime no matter what laws are passed in attempt to stop them. Don’t let our Government turn us into victims.

The facts are out there. Look at the countries that have banned firearms. Firearms still exist, they are still used. Their violent crime rates are just as high, if not higher than they were before guns were banned. Restricting firearms or banning them only make victims out of Law abiding citizens. Criminals don’t care about laws..that’s what makes them criminals.

Please remain calm: The Earth will heal itself.

The above link was a good read.  Not a very long article but for some reason to me it makes sense. The author discusses the issue of climate change. I have read a few articles on the subjects of Climate Change and Global Warming, in my head I always ask myself the same question, I say Self: The earth is Billions of years old, humans have been here for only a blink of an eye in comparison, how is it possible that we can hurt the planet so bad that it wont heal itself? Well this fella, Stanford University physicist Robert Laughlin makes some valid points.

There is no doubt in my mind that humans are dumping more CO2 into the atmosphere than ever before. Honestly, the proof is pretty solid that the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is causing global warming, and in turn causing the climate to change. But I never thought about it like this…where is the CO2 coming from. I mean at the core, CO2 is what…Carbon Dioxide…A naturally occurring chemical compound that is composed of a carbon atom double bonded to two oxygen atoms. According to Wikipedia: Atmospheric carbon dioxide is the primary source of carbon in life on Earth and its concentration in Earth’s pre-industrial atmosphere since late in the Precambrian period and was regulated by photosynthetic organisms. As part of the carbon cycle, plants, algae, and cyanobacteria use light energy to photosynthesize carbohydrate from carbon dioxide and water, with oxygen produced as a waste product.

So Carbon Dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound. It is in the Air, water, ground, people…damn near everything. Humans are not creating the stuff. Our actions are releasing the CO2 from other substances, but we are not magically making more of it…it has always been here…in one form or another it has always been part of the earth. CARBON…it is life. Really it makes sense.  Most of the CO2 humans dump into the atmosphere comes from burning fossil fuels…CARBON…Eventually, we will use up most or all of those fossil fuels. The oceans will reabsorb all of the CO2 and recycle it. Mother Earth will heal Herself. So it might get a little hot or cold between now and then…Oh well!!

The point here is this.  Don’t worry about the Earth…She has got her shit under control. The only problem with this amount of CO2 being dumped into our atmosphere is the effect it will have on the living organisms. If anything we are killing ourselves. The real concern, as Professor Laughlin notes is the Human Population Pressure: habitat destruction, pesticide abuse, over-harvesting, species invasion. These are actually things that humans can control and regulate.

So don’t think that by driving a Prius you are doing your part…you are not. If you really want to help save the planet, grow your own organic garden. Don’t have children that you cant afford..I don’t know why I even mention that…the worlds over population problem is not due to White Americans……

Now hold on before someone gets their panties in a bunch because of that comment.  Most of the people that will read this blog are White and American, it is a proven fact that White Americans are not breeding like they used to…in fact there is a major reproduction decline in the number of White Americans over the past 50 years. So if by chance you are not a White American, and you are reading my blog, and you do not make enough money to support children on your own…take my advice, help save our environment by not BREEDING!!!!

I watched the Mark Wahlberg movie “The Happening” the other day. For those that have not seen this slow moving, film written and directed by none other than M. Night Shyamalan, it really is a pretty good science fiction story. The premise of the story is the Earth has had enough of humans destroying it and it basically starts killing people off naturally (not so naturally really, it forces people to commit suicide). Non the less, earth is thinning the herd you might say. Sounds reasonable to me…I think the herd could use a little thinning. It makes you wonder, at what point do we have too many humans on the planet. I say bring on the Zombie Apocalypse!!

Dick

It is estimated that there are over 300 million guns in the United States. Approximately one gun for every living person in the Country.  I think this estimate is low, but we will go with that number.  There are thousands of gun laws; depending on if you count Federal, State and Local gun laws there are tens of thousands of different laws.  But there are only a couple of Gun laws that really matter or make any difference.  Laws that ban certain types of firearms, number of rounds they can carry, whether they have a pistol grip, are semi auto, full auto etc..etc.. These laws do not make a difference when it comes to intelligent gun control.  In my opinion the only gun law that will help prevent gun violence is the laws covering punishment for the use of a firearm to commit a crime.

People get confused between the difference between a “Right” and a “Privilege”. Let me explain it this way: We as free Americans own our “individual rights,” such as our Bill of Rights. The government owns the “privilege” that the government provides, such as public welfare, public housing, public education, driving, etc. Nearly everything that the government subsidizes is a privilege that the government owns. Individual rights are essential for freedom. Some privileges are essential for the safety of citizens. That being said, with both “Rights” and “Privileges” come consequences. For example, if you get caught driving drunk, you may lose your privilege to drive your car. The Bill of Rights says you have the freedom of speech. That is your “Right” as a free American. So is it OK to run into a crowded theater and yell FIRE, just to incite panic? Yeah. That is your right.  But it comes with consequences.  If you do something as foolish as screaming FIRE in a theater just to incite panic, you will pay the consequences. The same thing goes for using a firearm to commit a crime. It is your RIGHT to own a firearm as a free law abiding American citizen. If you use that firearm to commit a crime you pay the consequences. The problem is not the guns, its the lack of serious consequence for using that gun to commit a crime!

So I say this. If you want to create a law to prevent gun crime, lets start here. I borrowed this statement from an Article Titled “10 Myths of Gun Control” that can be found here. http://people.duke.edu/~gnsmith/articles/myths.htm. Laws aimed at criminal misuse of firearms are proven crime deterrents. After adopting a mandatory penalty for using a firearm in the commission of a violent crime in 1975, Virginia’s murder rate dropped 23% and robbery 11% in 15 years. South Carolina recorded a 24% murder rate decline between 1975 and 1990 with a similar law. Other impressive declines were recorded in other states using mandatory penalties, such as Florida (homicide rate down 33% in 17 years), Delaware (homicide rate down 33% in 19 years), Montana (down 42% 1976-1992) and New Hampshire (homicide rate down 50% 1977-1992). The solution to violent crime lies in the promise, not the mere threat, of swift, certain punishment.

I say, why not take this a step further. Why not make crimes that are committed with a firearm come with a suitable punishment. Lets make this a Federal law that is the same in every State. And lets make these laws Beyond Harsh!! For example, if you commit a robbery with a firearm it is a mandatory 25 to life sentence. If you commit Murder with a firearm it is Mandatory DEATH.  Oh and the government needs to follow through, No waiting on Death row for 20 years appealing 50 times…Fast track that shit.  I guarantee, if we start killing off criminals committing gun crimes, the gun violence rate will drop faster than Obama’s Approval Rating.

Currently there is one proposal that is beyond ridiculous that is being pushed by the Obama administration and gun control lobbyists.  Ban Military Style “Assault Weapons” (this is a bogus term by the way) and limit magazine capacity to 10 rounds. I will debunk this ignorant proposal with a couple of facts. According to the FBI in 2011 only 323 of the 12,664 homicides in the US were committed with a rifle.  They do not differentiate what type of rifle, even if 50% were their so called Assault Weapons, that is only 161.5.   Now look at this, of those 12,664 homicides, 6,220 were committed with Handguns. There is no discussion about banning handguns…WHY?? You have a better chance of winning the lottery while being struck by lightning on February 29th than you do of getting killed with a rifle!! As for the 10 round magazine issue…this is just ignorant. What is the difference of having one 30 round magazine or three 10 round magazines? Here is a video clip that demonstrates how easily it is to reload a hand gun very quickly with a little bit of practice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls4Uq1aCiTA

Lets break down the term Assault Weapon.  Assault weapon is a term used in the United States to define some types of firearms. The definition varies among regulating jurisdictions, but usually includes semi-automatic rifle with a detachable magazine and a pistol grip, and sometimes other features such as a flash suppressor or barrel shroud. Semi automatic rifle with a detachable magazine…how are these more dangerous than a Handguns? They are harder to conceal and transport. Pistol Grip…According to wikipedia: Legally, A pistol grip is considered a cosmetic feature…Those darn cosmetic features sure do make them look scary, but don’t make them any more dangerous. A flash suppressor…Its primary intent is to reduce the chances that the shooter will be blinded in low-light shooting conditions. Barrel shroud…is a covering attached to the barrel of a firearm, that partially or completely encircles the barrel which prevents operators from injuring themselves on a hot barrel. So what makes these weapons more dangerous than say your average semi-auto hunting rifle? Nothing, absolutely NOTHING!!  What makes them more dangerous than your average semi-auto handgun? NOTHING!! They just look scarier!

Why is our government so intent on taking these types of weapons away from people? I have shown that they are not used to commit crimes as often as handguns. The features on them do not make them any more deadly or dangerous. What your government is not telling you is that these guns are less dangerous than handguns, they are used far less often to commit crimes, there are not as many of them in the US. Again, why does our government want to limit these types of weapons? Why do they want to limit the amount of ammunition you can have in your weapon? Will banning these weapons prevent gun crimes? NOPE.  Why limit ammunition capacity to ten rounds, why not 15 or 8 or 6? Why is 10 a magic number? Does 10 make people feel good..that’s way better than 11, so glad you cant have 11 rounds, 11 is just too many!! I have yet to hear a legitimate argument as to why so called “Assault Weapons” are more dangerous than handguns, and why 10 rounds is the magic number. If anyone reading this can give me these answers…I am all ears!

All in all, the guns in America are not the problem. The criminals using them are the problem. It is time to make the punishment fit the crime. This goes for everything. Our judicial system is a joke, our law makers are a joke. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. If we started hanging people in the town square again, I bet the crime rate would drop. I have heard the argument that some of these people don’t care about the punishment, they are crazy, they want to die and take others with them. To those people I say this, defend yourself. Buy a gun, learn to use it, carry it on you at all times. If a crazy person tries to kill you, kill him first!! One of my favorite sayings goes like this…”Why do you feel the need to carry a gun?” “Because a police officer is too heavy!” It’s time for a change in this country. Gun laws don’t deter crime, punishments do.

Until next time!!

Dick

Common Sense.  This is an Oxymoron.  Like “Government Intelligence” or “Honest Politician”, where one word cancels out the other.  It seems legitimate.  I mean, it is common sense not to pour hot coffee on yourself,  juggle sharp objects, or play in traffic.  Right, we all know not to do these things, hence the term Common Sense.  But is it really that common?  Watch some videos on YouTube…People are FUCKING STUPID!

One of my favorite movies of all time is “Idiocracy”.  This is a funny movie, Stupid, but funny.  For those of you that have not seen this wonderful piece of artwork, I will break down the plot for you.  The main character Joe is just your “Average Joe” American in the US Army.  Not the sharpest tool in the shed, but like most underachievers in today’s society, he is of average intelligence.  Joe is selected for a special experiment for the Army’s TOP SECRET hibernation program.  Of course things go wrong and Joe is forgotten about and wakes up 500 years in the future.  Joe awakens and finds himself to be the smartest man in the world.  This all happens due to an epic dumbing down of people over the centuries.  Rent it, I dare you not to laugh, and then think about it for a minute…its happening!!

Now, I have only been on this earth for a short 38 years, and in my rather short lifetime I have already seen what I would consider a dumbing down of our human race.  With the advancements in technology, and watching a new generation of kids graduating high school, it has become obvious to me that kids these days are getting dumber and dumber.  Colleges have become liberal breeding grounds.  People don’t go to school to learn trades anymore.  Less and less people know how to change the oil in their car, or change a tire…hell, can you even buy a car with a manual transmission anymore?

The most recent issue that exemplifies the existence of dumbing down and lack of common sense is the demand for an increase to the minimum wage.  A Federal minimum wage of $7.25 is not enough to raise a family on in most areas of the United States, I get that.  Name a job that requires intelligence and skill that pays minimum wage?  That’s right folks, just like Santa Clause and the Ester Bunny they don’t exist.  Jobs that pay minimum wage are simple, mindless, manual labor type jobs that require little to no supervision, training or intelligence. They are not intended to become career jobs, they are entry level jobs that give people a chance to learn work ethic. A single person must earn $11,170, or $5.21 an hour to be above the poverty level. For that person, the minimum wage is adequate.

So the ignorant argument goes…But what about the people that don’t know a trade or have an education, how are they supposed to survive on minimum wage?  Here is my answer dummy…LEARN!!!  So in case you don’t know, there is a thing in almost every little town or city that I have ever been to, it is called a public library.  In this magical place they have things called books, computers, magazines.  All of these items are useful in the thing I like to call LEARNING.  Now I am assuming that most people at least made it through the 6th grade and have at least a rudimentary understanding of how to read and write. Well, that is really all you need to learn.  And guess what…the Library is FREE!!!!!

Common Sense says if you raise the cost of labor, in order to make a profit you must raise the cost of services.  Here is a simple example…Bob owns a pizza restaurant and has 10 employees.  each employee works 2080 hours per year at $7.25 per hour.  Bob’s payroll costs him $150,800 per year.  Now bob also pays himself an average wage of (for easy math purposes) $49,200 per year, for a total payroll of $200,000 per year.  Bob also has to pay for the lease on the building at $24,000 per year, insurance at $16,000 per year, maintenance expenses and repairs at $10,000 per year.  Bob sells about 50 pizzas per day, that equals 18250 pizzas per year.  Each Pizza cost Bob $6 worth of ingredients, so to make enough money to cover all of his costs he has to charge $20 per pizza…seem about right…follow me so far.  Now if Bob is forced to pay his employees $2 more per hour…this is what it looks like 10 employees at 2080 hours per year @ $9.25 per hour his cost of labor goes up to $192,400…That is an increase of $41,600.  In order for Bob to cover those costs, he either must take it from his paycheck…which is almost all of his paycheck or increase the cost of his pizzas by $2 each.  Now each of bobs Pizzas cost $22…this does not even factor in the cost of ingredients that are going to increase due to the cost of labor increase at Bob’s suppliers.  In a good case scenario, Bob will have to raise the cost of his pizzas to $24 or more to break even and still make his same wage.  This also leaves no money to put back into his business…it is a basic principal to show a point!  You get it, I hope!

It really is simple math people…if you raise the minimum wage, the people that work at minimum wage jobs will make more money, but the price of good and services at places they frequent, like restaurants and grocery stores and movie theaters will also be increasing, costing these minimum wage workers more money.  The people that do not work in minimum wage jobs do not get the same pay increase, therefore they have to pay more for goods and services and will find themselves not eating out, going to the movies and buying less at the stores because they have to cut their budget.  Common Sense tells me that if you increase the minimum wage, the impact to the economy will be huge…middle class workers will spend less money on the things they enjoy and the economy will suffer!!  Business will start to lose money and small business will start to close and more minimum wage workers will be out of jobs.  The trickle down effect does not work, so why would the trickle up effect work…the middle class will suffer the poor will get poorer and the rich will stay rich.  Minimum wage is a FUCKING JOKE!!

In closing, my words of advice…Get the FUCK off your ASS and go learn a trade, read some books, educate yourself, earn a LIVING and leave the minimum wage jobs alone.  In fact if you want to fix it…remove the minimum wage altogether!! let the employers decide what they are willing and able to pay.  If they don’t pay enough, don’t work for them and they will go out of business.  If you don’t like your minimum wage job…go get yourself some “Common Sense”, educate yourself and get a job that pays well.  Stop spitting out kids you cant afford to support.  But welfare is a whole new topic to be covered in another posting.

Until next time!!

Dick