My wife is returning from California this week, which frees up my responsibilities with regard to the 24/7 care for the granddaughters.
I had my plans pretty much set to join the freedom fighters in Nevada. I've always wanted to get a horse, and I figured now was the opportunity. I was going to buy an F-150, extended cab with tinted windows, gun rack, and brush guard; a two-horse trailer; and a horse, and head west. My call sign was going to be "Don La Parra" as in Don Quixote La Parra.
Those plans are on hold. The BLM has pulled back for the moment.
[Note: the file photo above is not an extended cab F-150. This particular photo was simply the one I wanted to post. If you want to see a better photo, google F-150 extended cab. If you want to see my destination google blm standoff.]
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Loyalty Rewards
In between thunderstorms today, I walked over to our neighborhood grocer. I had a list of six items. I got everything on the list; nothing more, nothing less. I only needed one of each, of whatever I was going to get. In two cases, I was given a significant savings if I had the "loyalty" card for the grocery store and bought four instead of just one.
My bill came to $20.65. The receipt showed I saved $8.03 by using the "loyalty" card and buying in volume. So, if the original bill was $28.68 and I saved $8.03, that's a savings of almost 30%. There was savings on local tax also because the discount on the items was deducted prior to the tax.
I wonder if the federal government would ever consider "loyalty" discounts for federal taxes after one has paid income tax faithfully and on time for more than 25 years?
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Government Motors, Health Care, And Bankruptcy
There was a great op-ed in the April 4, 2014, issue of The Wall Street Journal. If you can find it, it's worth reading. It was titled, "The Culture of General Motors." No matter what side of the fence one is on, there is no question that the bankruptcy, completed in 30 days, was unusual in the history of corporate bankruptcies.
The bankruptcy was the result of three things:
- CAFE standards
- pensions and health care
- the panic of 2008
For years prior to GM's 2009 bankruptcy, our columnist Holman Jenkins and various Journal contributors warned that Detroit's business of making small cars wasn't sustainable given the high costs of union labor, pension and medical benefits plus fuel-economy standards mandated by the government.
GM, Chrysler and Ford could make money selling trucks and SUVs because Americans wanted them (and because light trucks enjoy tariff protection).
But the Big Three struggled to stay profitable making the low-emission small cars desired by politicians. Toyota maintained a labor cost advantage (including health care) of roughly $2,000 per vehicle over Detroit.
If the Big Three got creative they could find a way to offset this advantage when selling a $30,000 truck but not a small car in the $10,000-$20,000 range.I have opined from the beginning that the Affordable Care Act was one piece of the puzzle to save Corporate America. This op-ed validates that observation. The op-ed took the issue elsewhere but it could have just as easily talked about ObamaCare.
Nimble employers will cost shift their employees over to ObamaCare and off the company plans. In fact, some employers will simply pay the penalty as Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor suggested to Hobby Lobby. In many cases the penalty will be less than the health care would cost. More importantly, the penalty is predictable and capped. Health care costs are neither.