Birthday Post

I suspected Roger may have been in trouble about five days before the election when I received an attack ad from Brunelle. When that happens it shows some internal polling may have said “trouble.”

Brunelle also lost Middleboro. Seems to have become a family tradition in the last year.

Despite Pacheco (D-Probation) Roger still lost Taunton. Maybe someone will also run against him?

Borders is just about done and the usual pithy article of hand wrenching lament appeared in the paper with a flurry of quotes from loyal customers and now pounding the pavement employees. The impression was this was some type of monolithic conspiracy to get rid of a landmark business. Huh? No, folks, it was a company whose business model was not updated and tragically failed.

I worked for Howard Johnson Companies from their robust days until the company was essentially dissolved after passing hands from Imperial Tobacco to Marriott. HJ was iconic and also a convoluted mess of mismanagement. They were rift with poor decisions that even those in the lower depths of management would shake our heads at and say “Why are they doing this?” When changes were being made it was without any real plan and was far too little too late. We could all make a list to rival anything put out by Harvard Business School on companies that either went belly-up or are a shell of their former self and a good portion of the common Joe and Jane’s could have told them well before the end came what was wrong and what needed to be done.

The latest in hand wringing guilt is legislation proposed for Massachusetts for businesses to disclose there links to slavery. Now this is not some type of slavery that still exists in parts of the world but their links to our own 18th and 19th century involvement of making a buck off of it. Slavery was extremely profitable in this country for both north and south and many businesses and institutions profited or were formed as a result of profits taken in human trafficking. But somehow this is just more self induced feel good legislation.

More new revenue needed. Is there still some folks incapable of connecting the dots? Revenue means taxes means less income means less food for the government machine.

Ron Paul has said he’d support an audit of the Federal Reserve. That alone might be enough to support him.

Deval Patrick is Mr. Bluster when it comes to the recent daycare tragedy and Mr. Silent when it comes to an illegal killing someone with vehicular homicide.

Why believe anyone? I went to have some muffler work done that I knew was necessary and the prognosis was also two other items that needed immediate attention and that would be about $700 so off I went to the service manager at a car dealership where I have established a business relationship. I was having a routine oil change and asked them to investigate. Items not needed. Always good to get a second opinion.

To the BOS - thank you for the kind words.

Try as they might the wizard’s in The Fed and the administration just cannot control the economy. It’s all about productivity and there is little of it.

The NFL now looks like Arena Football or the early days of the AFL. Wide open passing and inflated QB numbers.

Obama made a smart move with the millionaires tax proposal. The 250K is off the board as being “rich” and the super rich have been designated the fall guy and most seem rather cooperative from what I have read. Puts the Republicans in the corner as there is not much play in this for them when discussing a million bucks a year in income. Just wish I could join them.

Now about all those super rich. I saw an article using IRS figures that showed the zero tax status was for less than one per cent and most others paid at a significantly higher rate that reflected their income. Hmmm.

Reward systems are wonderful. In fact many are the foundation of behavior modification systems. You reward young children and older ones as a way of showing a job well done or some type of improvement that has been made. Applies to adults. In fact we have rewards and punishment built into our existence. So why is it that our tax system punishes success? Seems the more successful you are the bigger target you become.

I continue to read about how the tax burden has actually decreased and that is simply incorrect. When you talk taxes it just isn’t federal but any state tax and any type of adjustment to deductions. I save everything with taxes. Everything. I pulled returns over a forty year period and my percentage increased across the board and that was primarily do to deduction manipulation, increase in FICA and a huge growth in state tax especially sales tax. Some of us are old enough to remember Volpe’s “Temporary” 3% sales tax.

On the above there are several web sites that really show how much we pay in taxes. Amazing how much is hidden. Some will even differentiate between a tax and fee. I have even seen some exotic math that attempts to extrapolate the impact of corporate taxes, fees and mandatory regulations as a inflation index.

Now a local battery maker has decided to jump into bed with the Chinese and their operation will expand rapidly to a Chinese hedge fund involvement and 400 jobs will be added - in China. Huge subsidies by the Chinese who seem to make this work while The Great Community Organizer can hang his accomplishment teleprompter on Solyndra.

Elizabeth Warren will attempt to unseat Scott Brown. She has the usual liberal credentials so there will not be the slightest of maverick in her as with Scott Brown. Dems want this seat after the embarrassment of 2010 and the way things are going they may need it and a lot more.

I see occasional piles of brush lying around town and that rings of Citation City for the DPW. Ah, folks, not everyone pays attention to the latest missive from the DPW about under service. So maybe Andy Bagas will find some “manpower” to go around and tell these folks to get with Middleboro’s new do it yourself program. $208 does not buy you what it use to.

My running or waddling partner’s bride took a nasty spill on one of her bike excursions. Now unlike us she is actually a well conciliation athlete and that is a huge plus in any rehab since the body is already conditioned and the work ethic is present.

I buy junk food. Potato chips and honey roasted peanuts are two favs. I will take a non guilty pleasure of snacking on them but there is s problem. My wife - The Lovely Cynthia - can resist me but not the junk food. The peanuts I thought were sucked up by a vacuum they have disappeared so fast so the directive has come down - no more junk food! So I have to pay the penalty for maintaining my svelte body? Oh the pain!

You can live off the past for just so long and the Red Sox have done nothing since 2007 despite an expenditure of 600M. The latest round of free agent signings have been a monumental disaster. IMO the need is apparent. Theo’s shelf life has expired and I hope he resigns and takes over the Cubs. Theo has done a masterful job of building up the farm system and making beneficial trades but has been a failure at late season pitching additions and those FA signings.

I also feel Tito has lost control of this team and has been managing defensively for a few months. There seems to be increased concern over clubhouse dynamics and the Sox should also look for a change in that direction.