On Wed, 16 Mar 2005 09:25:41 -0500, "John Passaneau"
wrote:
it's wall street
that forces management to live for the next quarter and expects
un-reasonable results that is the problem.

Hi John,

Actually the driving force of that focus is called the economic
policy. In other words, for years the Republican party has been
intoning its mantra that taxing dividends (Capital Gains) is a bad
thing. What is left is to trade shares in the expectation of their
price rise (which is the strategy you describe above). So let's put
the blame where it belongs, on the Administration and the current
power in the House and Senate.

You will see a ban on Gay marriage before you see movement on changing
Capital Gains taxes. Talk about gutless.

Just what has been the Economic Policy for the past decade? A simple
revue of the Producer Price Index (this is the equivalent of the
Consumer Price Index, except for how much it costs to make something)
reveals that the Republican Party in Congress has consistently
overseen the highest rates of business inflation. In the last four
years alone many industry's Producer Prices have doubled. A simple
enumeration by Industry is quite revealing where the bleeding is
found:

Oil and gas extraction, the cost had been stable for 14 years before
2000, it now is up 250% Who woulda thought an oil man could be so
feeble to aid his fellow wildcatters.

Total Mining, the cost had been stable for 14 years before 2000, it
now is up 196% This gives meaning to Red states where Mining
dominates - what has the Red Party done to stop this massive bleeding?

Petroleum and coal products mfg, the cost had been stable for 14 years
before 2000, it now is up 195%. It's like this industry is off the
map in Washington. Why is going to Mars a public priority?

Primary metal mfg, the cost had seen mild fluctuations for 14 years
before 2000, it now is up 20%

Fabricated metal product mfg saw a cost jump of 8.5%

Gasoline stations saw a 30% plunge.

Air transportation now sees a flattening after a 60% rise over a
decade. They are significantly in the hands of a Judge at Bankruptcy
court.

Over the same period for Air, Rail transportation has seen only 15%
cost rise. Time for Congress to kick in another bail out for Air
transportation and cut Rail subsidies.

The Postal service, serving as a common denominator, has exhibited a
steady increase across 30 years for a total 430% (14% annualized).

Hospitals saw a relatively flat period during the 90s and then after
2000 costs rose 22%.

Heavy construction has shown a general rise over the decade before
2000 to then find after a spike of 10% (observe in all constructions,
highways, streets, maintenance, repair, new construction, residential
and non-residential).

Food mfg, the cost over the past 4 year has climbed 13%

Chemical mfg, the cost over the past 4 year has climbed 10%

Plastics and rubber products mfg, the cost over the past 4 years has
climbed 10%

Across the board for those industries not noted above (only because
those above showed accelerating costs for the past 4 years), industry
has been in a forced march of unrelenting, growing cost to produce.
The ONLY exception, also noted above, has been in Gasoline sales. It
would be painfully ironic to point out that this is the economic
turnaround that has been the boon of invading Iraq.

So, regardless of what has caused this steady rise, what action have
you seen on the hill that suggests anything is being done about it?
Taxes have been rolled back from a 70% rate to less than 28% and that
was DECADES ago. The cost to produce has steamrollered right over
that logic.

Passing an amendment to criminalize burning the flag might do it.
Outlaw abortion? There is possibly a golden bullet there for the
economy. Enforce national school laws over the objections of States'
Rights (who cares about States' Rights?). Criminalizing doctors whose
states allow them to practice Death with Dignity? Repeal gun laws?

Where stands:
Eliminating the deficit?
Turning around the Trade Imbalance?
Bolstering the Dollar?
Simplifying the Tax Code?
Reducing the Budget?
Reducing the size of Government?

Is there any discussion of the 1994 Contract with America?
Where stands:
A comprehensive audit of Congress for waste, fraud or abuse?
Cut the number of House committees, and cut committee staff?
Require committee meetings to be open to the public?
A guarantee for an honest accounting of our Federal Budget by
implementing zero base-line budgeting?
All of these cherished goals have been lost in the rush of politicians
to stuff their pockets with money. Talk about gutless losers.

What significant packages are being hefted onto the table? Cut
Medicare is being muttered. That will fix Hospital costs. What about
fixing the $Trillion loss of Social Security? Easy, spend $Trillion
for a new system, and -um- another $Trillion to keep the old system
going. The new system will bring the boon of half the benefits (a new
form of math that revealed in the numbers above used to be called cost
inflation). What pathetic, gutless, losers.

73's
Richard Clark, KB7QHC