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Is anyone serious in Washington?

Those of you who read my occasional posts know I don’t get into political rants on this blog.  Whilst I do have strong opinions on the state of the world, our country and local communities, I generally don’t find it productive to get into shouting matches online.  I’m primarily an entrepreneur and I do business with people all over the world with many political views.  I don’t see politics as a screen for commerce.  This country and indeed most successful countries are build on the backs of individuals who take risks and build businesses. I feel very patriotic when I start a new business and work to create value for shareholders, employees and customers.  I don’t want the government to help me with my businesses, but I ABSOLUTELY  don’t want them in the way either.  Uncertainty on healthcare and tax policy has caused me to not hire several positions in the past months.  I have instead paid outside firms to do some of the work that would be done by our own employees.  I will continue on this path as long as possible.

Alas, given the current state of the US Budget and the latest one submitted by the Obama Administration, and the general lack of what I would view as seriousness in Washington, I am moved to comment here.  The long term government share of US GDP has now expanded to an unsustainable level and I see no willingness to deal with this by making hard choices.  They call economics the “dismal science” for a reason.  It is about trade offs and choices.  One can’t have it all.  Government cannot simply continue to take productive resources (private) and shift them to largely unproductive uses (government spending) and expect good results.  GOVERNMENT is not the answer, it is a significant part of the problem.  I was one of the independent minded libertarian leaning conservatives who was so upset with the growth in spending in the Bush Administration.

But instead of correcting this course, President Obama and the Congress have actually made it much much worse.  The trajectory is horrendous.  How can anyone who is serious actually think it is ok to support such unsustainable spending and frankly a shift to the next generation of the responsibility to pay for it all.  #LEADERSHIPNOT #FAIL.  Wake up.  The Republicans as a whole don’t “deserve” to be in leadership either based on their record over the past decade, they lost their way.    Bush to his credit did TRY to make Social Security reform a major tenant at the beginning of term II, but he got stopped by his own party and then they started losing elections.  He also did not seem to know how to veto anything and went along with the expansion of government, so he does not deserve any credit here.

There are exceptions.   I was heartened to read about Rep Paul Ryan’s well thought out budget proposal to close the gap.  Here is a clip I found in the Washington Post discussing it:

Rep. Paul Ryan’s daring budget proposal

ryanflips.JPGThe White House’s 2011 budget is only the second-most interesting budget proposal released recently. First prize goes to Congressman Paul Ryan, the ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee, who’s released a budget proposal that actually erases the massive long-term deficit.

That’s not mere press release braggadocio. CBO agrees (pdf). Under the CBO’s likeliest long-term scenario, deficits are at 42 percent of GDP in 2080. Under Ryan’s proposal, we’re seeing surpluses of 5 percent of GDP by that time….  FULL ARTICLE HERE

My question is (as was asked by one of my friends on Facebook when I posted it on my page)

“Problem is that I haven’t even seen the GOP provide support for it. It’s like they are afraid of it being successful or something. I give props to the guy for actually giving it serious thought and working through a tough proposal. Wish more of our elected officials thought that was part of their job.”

So what gives… why haven’t we heard a lot more about this?  why are the Republican leaders on the talk shows talking about this budget?  Why don’t they get behind it?  Are they?

I say vote out anyone who does not actually work to fix this problem.  Elect only those who actually commit to closing the gap. HERE IS THE PLATFORM:  Shrink spending now, fix entitlements (Yes Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security at the Federal level and Public sector pensions at the State level), get government out of the way.  If you want to “fix” healthcare, shift to a consumer oriented system where we have a direct connection to choices we make and what it costs us.

[Healthcare Aside: I moved our companies to Health Savings Accounts a few years ago and have had great experience with this as a positive factor.  If everyone had HSAs and we created a safety net for catastrophic coverage for all, we would change behavior and create competition in the health market.]

On Entitlements:  You don’t run away from this, actually stand up and run on it.  Create a mandate.   You don’t need to touch any entitlement that is already in action (ie if you are already retired), simply change the deal for all of us who are still working and phase it in.  If you are 60, keep it as is.  If you are 50, you can’t get benefits until 70 years old.  If you are 40 or below, make it 75 and let us invest part of OUR money directly.  Seriously, stop the madness.

Oh, and we are at war with a relentless enemy…

Is anyone serious in Washington?

Commentary on the US Beer Market 2009 results and 2010 thoughts...

I’d thought I’d share some thoughts on the US beer market based on the 2009 results (starting to be published broadly) and my own insights calling on the distributors and retailers at Pelican Brands representing  Singha Beer.

First, the 2009 beer market was characterized by tough trading conditions overall, consumers trading down from a number of [...]

Pelican Brands and Singha Beer - Now managing 50 U.S. States

Our first major brand, Singha Beer from the Boon Rawd brewary is fantastic. I have been eating in Thai restaurants for 25 years and enjoyed Singha all along. The beer is perfectly matched to food. The brewery named us Brand Manager earlier in 2009 and in January 2010 we took over for all 50 U.S. [...]

I was saddened to hear Fred Joseph passed away

I met Fred through my high school friend Scott Isherwood who worked with Fred for many years. Scott graduated 2 years earlier than me from Bayshore High School in Bradenton, FL and went on to Dartmouth. I followed to the north to Cornell two years later. We stayed in touch over the [...]

Wine 2.0 New York was terrific! Catch the overview here!

This is the first footage from Wine 2.0 packaged up to give a flavor for the event.  Overall a great success and positive feedback from our wineries, trade and consumers! More to come!

Wine 2.0™ Announces Presenting Wineries And Partners In Wine 2.0 Expo New York @Webster Hall Presented By Wine Tasting Network November 18th

Event Showcases World Class Wines and Leading Edge Technology To Learn About and Interact With The Wines You Love

New York, NY (NEWSWIRE) November 16, 2009 – Wine 2.0, the innovator in social networking and events in the wine industry, announced a selection of the presenting Wine 2.0 wineries for its upcoming Wine 2.0 [...]

The Fall Season Shapes Up: Thoughts on online and offline Wine market...

My friend Liza has a nice piece in Winebusiness.com today on the Fall selling season.  Reports from Nielsen, Bill Cascio at Glazer’s, Wilford Wong at Beverages and more! all point toward improvement over last year, though value driving business.

Yesterday, another Wine 2.0 friend, John Corcoran’s blog “Think Wine Marketing” had a well [...]

New York Wine industry booming

I just saw this report which points out what many of us have known for some time, that NY has a thriving wine industry. I thought it worth highlighting as we have a handful of NY based wine companies (some producers, some importers) joining our many other fantastic wines from CA and around the world [...]

Smoke Wallin, Wine 2.0 Chairman Interview with Carla De Luca on new film: ‘AMERICAS WINE: THE LEGACY OF PROHIBITION’

J. Smoke Wallin, Chairman of Wine 2.0, had the opportunity to interview filmmaker Carla De Luca Worfolk, Director, EP/Producer, and Writer of an amazing new wine film. Carla is an Emmy award-winning television and documentary producer. Her new DOCUMENTRY FILM ‘AMERICA’S WINE: THE LEGACY OF PROHIBITION’ is an amazing look at the history of the [...]

Wine 2.0 Announces New York Premiere Of Documentary Film ‘America’s Wine: The Legacy Of Prohibition’ At Wine 2.0 New York Nov 18

New Film Takes Unprecedented Historic View of America’s Wine Industry – ‘America’s Wine: The Legacy of Prohibition’ Includes Interviews Which Chronicle The Rebuilding Of The Wine Industry And The Emergence Of A New American Wine Culture.

NEW YORK, NY, November 06, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ — Wine 2.0, the innovator in social networking and events in the wine [...]

Boon Rawd Appoints Pelican Brands As Exclusive U.S. Brand Manager for Singha Beer

Singha Beer is The #1 Thai Beer Exported Around The World. Pelican Brands is Led by An Experienced Team from the Global Beverage Industry

BANGKOK, THAILAND, CARMEL, IN, October 26, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ — Boon Rawd Trading International announced today that it has appointed Pelican Brands as the exclusive brand manager for Singha Beer in the U.S. [...]

How are you going to sell that extra wine???? Spend the Week in NY, get involved in Wine 2.0 New York!

If you are on the fence or thinking about leaving your backyard to go sell some wine, Wine 2.0 NY is the perfect event to plan it around. You can’t sell all that extra juice sitting in wine country. Get out with consumers and have some fun and SELL SOME WINE! Here is my suggestion [...]

Wine 2.0 New York 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media contact:
Cornelius Geary Co-Founder, CEO, Wine 2.0TM Cornelius@winetwo.com T: 415-596-1191 W: www.winetwo.net
WINE 2.0TM ANNOUNCES 2nd ANNUAL WINE 2.0TM EXPO NEW YORK HOSTED BY WEBSTER HALL, NOVEMBER 18TH, 2009

Event Features Cutting Edge Wine Industry Start-ups And Wineries From Around The World, Plus Over 1,000 Wine And Tech Lovers In One Exciting Event Timed [...]

Wine 2.0 Expo San Francisco at Crushpad - UPDATED!!

Join us for Wine 2.0 Expo San Francisco at Crushpad. We’ll again be hosting over 1,000 attendees, dozens of the coolest wineries and Wine 2.0 tech companies at one fantastic event.

Hosted by: Crushpad

Sponsored by: Robert Oatley Vineyards, Hahn Estates, Cameron Hughes Wine, and Web [...]

Wine 2.0 San Francisco – April 2nd

For tickets, go to http://www.winetwo.eventbrite.com/

WINE 2.0 ANNOUNCES ROBERT OATLEY VINEYARDS SIGNS ON AS CORNERSTONE SPONSOR FOR 2009 MULTI-CITY EVENTS SCHEDULE

New Brand Founded By Australian Wine Legend Bob Oatley, Founder Of Rosemont Estates, Will Jumpstart Marketing Push With Participation In Over 15 Events Around The US For 2009

San Francisco, CA (NEWSWIRE), February 10, 2009, Wine 2.0, the innovator in social networking and events in the wine industry, today [...]

WINE 2.0™ ANNOUNCES WINE 2.0 EXPO SAN FRANCISCO PRESENTED BY CRUSHPAD, APRIL 2ND, 2009

Event Features Cutting Edge Wine Industry Start-ups And Wineries From Around The World, Plus Over 1,000 Wine And Tech Lovers In One Exciting Event Timed To Coincide Again With O’Reilly Media’s Web 2.0™ Expo

 

San Francisco, CA (NEWSWIRE), February 19, 2009, Wine 2.0, the innovator in social networking and [...]

ZAP (ZINFANDEL ADVOCATES & PRODUCERS) & WINE 2.0 ANNOUNCE COLLABORATION WITH TWO EVENTS AT ZAP FESTIVAL IN JANUARY “WINERY BEST PRACTICES” SESSION ON 1/30 AND “BLOGGERS’ LOUNGE” ON 1/31

                                             

San Francisco, CA, January 8, 2009, Wine 2.0, the innovator in social networking and events in the wine industry (www.winetwo.com) and ZAP, Zinfandel Advocates & Producers (an organization [...]

WINE 2.0 ANNOUNCES ACTION PACKED AGENDA FOR 2009

Four New Live Event Formats Offer Multiple Opportunities For Brands to Connect With Over 15,000 Consumers

Online Social Network www.winetwo.net Surpasses 1,700 Members In First 60 Days

 

San Francisco, CA (PRNEWSWIRE) December 9, 2008 – Wine 2.0, the innovator in social networking and events in [...]

RED EYE® TEXAS STYLE BLOODY MARY MIX LAUNCHES TWO EXCITING NEW FLAVORS: “OUTLAW” and “FIRE”

Red Eye Outlaw is “Wild & Defiant”, while Red Eye Fire is “Red Hot & Sizzlin’”

Carmel, IN – October 2, 2008– Red Eye Texas Style Bloody Mary mixes announced today two incredible new Bloody Mary flavors available for distribution across the U.S.  Red Eye, a leading Bloody Mary brand in the Texas market, has an [...]