Grid Management - Time to fix "Redistricting"

Courtesy of publicmapping.org

OK another pet pieve I have right now is all the money and efforts going into what we commonly call "redistricting".

Whether it is your local school district, your state or federal representatives or even your City Council person, they are all involved in redistricting.

And none of them have the skill sets required to do this right.

And they are all conflicted.

And they waste valuable time and resources.  So let's fix it.

Courtesy of acapitolblog.com

I hereby call upon all government or civic agencies with the need to "redistrict" to hire your local college or university "math program" to do the analysis for you.  Think of the beauty of this.

First we will be using math and Google Earth to do this not some pencils and guesstimates of who/what/where.

Second, half the college kids are not local so they are not predisposed to "carve up precincts" or manufacture "finger districts" like the sillies today always seem to do.

Third, with the proper formulation of the process, we can "redistrict" whenever we need to not becuase we "want to" (to protect someone or get rid of someone).

Fourth, think of the cost savings in terms of both expense savings and time. The current redistricting process is very laborious with many meeting and much expense. This is all saved with a better product.

Here are just a few of the recent districts we somehow agreed on.

OK so now what we need to do is create an academic program to do this. Should be some simple demographic analysis and some "grid management" and viola I would think we could create a better system than what we presently do. ... More on that shortly.

You cannot tax us out of debt and back into prosperity!

I am very perplexed by the many daily arguments that we need to raise tax rates and that "millionaires need to pay their fair share".  

And recent comments by Buffet the Clown only further confuse the "less than millionaire" folks.  As anyone who has spent 20 minutes doing any research learns, the 267,000 millionaires in America already pay 90% of the taxes.

Now perhaps the real argument concerns "tax rates" not "amounts paid".  It would seem "unfair" that a millionaire would pay say 10% when a secretary might pay 18%.  But I am not sure that is a good analysis either.  

"Contribution" should always be in someway related to the tax on the activity (ie., golf fans pay for golf not all citizens).  Seems obvious to me that everyone would go nuts if Congress passed a law requiring us ALL to have "skydiver or needlepoint insurance".  Those folks who would never go skydiving or do needlepointing (probably the bulk of us) would be livid by this "forced socialism" and would likely revolt or hold "serious discussions" about this.  Why penalize everyone for the mistakes of a few? 

But just call it Federal Deposit Insurance, Social Security/Medicare, Uninsured Motorist Protection or Quantitative Easing (QE123) and somehow we forget all our free market American principals and philosophies.  Jefferson and Madison are rolling in their Patriotic graves as their published words of wisdom on how to avoid all this have been shelved ("too hard to read" one CongressClown said).

Now I don't know if some "rich folks are not paying their fair share", but what I do know (and know well) is that the Schofield Family (one man, his wife and their one child) contribute way more than their fair share.  

I work(ed) 60-80 hours a week since I was 16 to become successful.   Last year we paid 32% of "what our accountant says our income is" in just "federal income taxes" (and there are other taxes too numerous to recite here).  

Should I really be paying more?   Do you see any irony in the fact that if I worked less I would pay less?  Do you think the government is doing good stuff with this money?  What would I do with it if I got to keep it this significant amount of money?  Would I consume American products, save in bank or invest in my small businesses?  Seems like I am the real creator of jobs and any answer on what I would do with my own money is good for society?   It seems obvious that more "inefficient government redistribution" is not the answer and you can quickly see better answers in just these few questions.

And just because my S Corp income defines my taxes at such a rate I might be "a millionaire on paper", we too have trouble paying our bills and have to always manage our cash (and we live totally within our means).   These days I struggle to manage my funds as I care for my elderly mother in a nursing home.  But some think I should pay more. 

And I am a guarantor on all of our business debt while the economy is floundering (not worried really but the risk is always out there).  The argument to force the guy working the hardest with the most risk to pay some more is some progressive economics for sure.

We absolutely need a fair tax system but that would also be a tax that everyone pays.  The Alternative Minimum Tax was supposed to fix this but it did not.  Supposedly, 1,500 of these 267,000 millionaires paid at a lower rate than they possibly should (a statistical insignificance but makes for nice sound bite if you don't know the facts) and a few corporations seemingly paid little or nothing (those companies, like GE coincidentally have the most lobbyists and "political connections).

But 50% of the American taxpayers, the lowest income earners paid ZERO federal income taxes.  And they are very likely to be the ones that consume the bulk of these government services. And by "investing nothing" you can see they are not "vested" and quickly call for more taxes or subsidies.  And by investing nothing they are quick to buy from GE or China since this too does not hurt them.   This is an Economics Catch 22 wrapped up in class Albatross surrounded by a tax Enigma.

So let's stop this silly discussion about tax increases.  We need to raise tax rates right now just like we need new immigration laws.  NOT!  We just need to enforce the rules already in place and quit allowing loopholes and weakness to rule our behaviour.  

The Government cannot tax us back into prosperity or out of debt, that is simple truth and only through "responsible consumer behavior" can we fix his economy.  It would be irresponsible of Citizen Bill to continue to allow his government to misuse any more of his or his fellow citizens productivities without a little bit of a fight.  The battle rages.

God Bless Citizen Bill and his Family & Friends.


Here is a great graphic showing some of what we already owe.  Not you and me, we will be dead long before this is paid but you better have some grand kids cause they will be paying the interest on this (notice I did not saying paying off)..

Created by: MBA Online

National System on Interstate Waterways

Ok here is a crazy idea as I continue to sit here and read all the stories about recent fires and flooding and drought across America. 

Remember back during the late 1950‘s when we built the interstate highway system?  As a result of this initiative, there is roughly 50,000 miles of interstate highway in the continental United States.  

The system is named after it’s presidential champion Dwight D. Eisenhower. Now while I am not a huge fan of government largess, anyone paying attention lately knows this is our only "trick" to getting Americans employed.  The President just proposed sepnding another $450B on a "jobs plan". The last "jobs plan" created $1.6 million jobs at a cost of $200k each.  I have a better idea.

Suppose we built two 2 foot water lines right down the middle of the large interestate highways going east to west.  Or we could build in under it or over it as needed.

The Romans called it a “viaduct” (see example of modern viaduct bridge above) but this time we will not line it with lead. 

Then when we have flooding in Fargo, or Louisiana or wherever, we can just send that water to where it can do more good like West Texas or Bakersfield.  

This would be a large project but I think we could do the research fairly quickly and there should be few easement issues since the highways are already there.  If we do just the east-west routes over I-10, I-20 - I-50 etc. we could make a huge difference across the entire nation.  It would require all American construction (good jobs) and cost way less then bailing out a bank or insurance company.   Others have told me my plan makes too much sense.  There it is, comment away.

So says CitizenBill.

Originally posted March 9, 2009.

God Bless America

On this 10th anniversary of 9/11, all I can say right now is God Bless America.  

While many of my friends know that I have some lingering questions about this event, we all stand united as a free and democratic people and "terrorism" in any form cannot be tolerated by a civilized society.  Shame to anyone along the way that might have had an opportunity to shape the world differently and God Bless all Americans struggling through the changes.

And the results of the third count are?

Can you believe that in the 21st century, in the land of nano technology and space science, the atom and the quark, where we can whip a 75 pound chunk of stainless around the moons of Jupiter, we cannot seem to count election votes accurately every time all the time.  

Just look at your television news or your local paper and media during the most recent election (and we have another coming up).   Did you hear about any discussions or heated arguments about “challenges” or “recounts” or “verification of absentee ballots” or other similar discussions?  Of course you did.  This is not rocket science, this is simple math (how many for or against).  Presidential elections have “hung on the dangling chad” (double entendre intended).

In this recent election, when asked “electronic or paper” I replied “who makes the electronic machines”?  The election official looked at me quizzically and said “I don’t know”.  So I said paper.  But after carefully coloring in all the circles on my paper ballot what happens?  You then insert it into the electronic counter made by the same unknown manufacturer that will now determine our future. While the paper goes into the trash.   But, how do we know for sure the machine did what we asked it too.  Probably 50% of the folks never thought about it since their candidate won.  But if I was the Nefarious Bill instead of the Citizen Bill, I might reprogram all the voting machines or force you to use my software.  Seems to me that we can do better and provide more security for what is one of our most valued liberties and responsibilities.  The Vote.

Accordingly, as is the practice of CitizenBill, no complaints just solutions.   Let me present the concept of e-vote-verification.com. 

In my voting future, elections are done over the internet using your social security number as the reference.  There will still be limited voting at city hall like what we do now for those who chose it (but it will likely fade away quickly like phone booths).  Don't have a social security number?  Why not?  And really I don't care about anyone without one.  No SS number means no vote as you are likely not an American citizen.  I don't know one American citizen without a social security number or an ID (but that is a different subject).  If duplicate SS numbers are entered or you have a bogus number or are a felon, these votes will be dropped into a "suspense" area and not counted unless absolutely needed.  Simple math, no fraud, easy stuff.

So no matter what method you used to vote, electronically at the polling place, internet (of course it is secure who told you it wasn't?), telephone, paper ballot scanned, etc., at the end of voting you will be given a paper receipt with a “randomly generated number”.  

Immediately following all elections, the e-voteverification system will  send all results to the servers and the results will be tallied almost immediately.  This is simple math, addition, no complex formulas needed.  The system will be totally updated  (again almost immediately) and by entering in your unique “receipt number” on the website you will be able to see AND CONFIRM “your vote”.  This simple “check” will provide all the security vote “balance” we would ever need. 

And of course if this is not your vote, there will be a procedure to address that as well.  Simple plan for simple folks.  Do not even leave your home to vote. And in addition to the security and verification that this system provides, I would also bet it is way less expensive than the present system since we will not need to rent a bunch of polling places or hire judges or transport ballots.  Like using a word processor instead of a typwriter, this system will pay for itself in one election.  I will try to work on "candidate check" (like spell check) in the future, one thing at a time.


God bless Citizen Bill and his family and friends.

"rick perry" = 5th most "googled search word"

Whatever it takes!

OK what to make of this.  Someone suggested that it was all of America trying real hard to find out what all the fuss is about.  What is this swagger thing?  Perhaps they are searching for video of the within the city limits coyote shooting?  A coyote with a .380 at 20 feet while jogging should be shown on Top Shot so if someone has that I hope they come forward. 

And while Rick "I will never run for President" Perry is hardly the guy I would pick to be president, he is perhaps the best of the electable field right now. 

The Fed Audit! .. or whatever it was..

Not even suitable for this use!

The first top-to-bottom audit of the Federal Reserve uncovered eye-popping new details about how the U.S. provided a whopping $16 trillion in secret loans to bail out American and foreign banks and businesses during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

What more can you really say.  Be thankful our response was to form an unconstitutional "super-committee" that will propose real cuts and taxes for those of us "not to big to fail".

Patriot Senator Bernie Sanders Website

Operation "Hot Tamale!"

OK this one will again be controversial but I have come up with a real solution to the economy and immigration all at the same time (with a Post Office bonus on top of that).  Most would not undertake comprehensive reform on a such a grand scale but that is what sets this plan apart from all the rest.  Big solutions for big problems I say.  OK, here is the plan...

We need to immediately focus our entire military and domestic might on a quick invasion of Mexico.  That’s right, I said it, America Invades Mexico!  Ola mi amigo! 

I call it OPERATION: Hot Tamale.  Now before you go getting all politically correct and reject this idea out of turn, hear me out.  I think I can make a great case for this. 

Right now in the State of Texas they (we) are spending $25 billion to build a fence across less than 100% of the border.  While the “hole” in this fence plan is obvious, it is being done to make a political statement that we need to do something.  Combine that with the fact that 60+% of the “illegals” in American are from Mexico and the “fence lobby” and you can see why we might have gone off track.  But forget all that for just a minute.  If we invade and Mexico becomes the 51st State then we just guard that little strip of border down at the bottom around Belize and Guatemala.  How much could that cost (we can hire Mexicans duh!).  Or how about I smell states 52 & 53 and more beachfront.    Ola mas amigos!

Now certainly Mexico is a proud country and this “colonization” is not meant to take away from that or in any way demean their society, history or culture.  This is entirely about survival on planet earth as we go forward and this change in “government structure” is necessary to prepare both social economies for the challenges of the 21st Century.  This task will require great minds to figure out how to integrate the existing government structure and take the best from both to form the amalgamated Congress that goes forward, think how hugely powerful this new society (Meximerica, Amerimex?) would be?  Throw Canada and in there and you would have a world powerhouse like no other. 

OK, but I am not done yet.  Once Mexico is a “state”, we will have 50+ million more taxpayers in the system as well as all the savings in eduction and healthcare from everyone contributing. In addition to the $25B we save on a fence, the costs of immigration reform and actual enforcement (we go from 12 million illegals to 4 million overnight) are also significantly decreased.  In many places in America, life becomes safer with more pronounced community.

Another issue of the present system is the border states “narco terrorism” associated with the illegal drug trade.   And while most drugs are certainly not good for you, some are perhaps no more harmful then legal alcohol or junk food.  So I say we legalize “the weed”, and sell it as a government service (like State Liquor Stores up north).  We could tax it fairly substantially and I think the size of the industry would amaze most.  Not to mention the fact that we arrest 800,000 folks annually for smoking weed and we can refocus all that effort to something more dangerous to society (like boyfriends.. that one will make sense in a future column).

And lastly, now that we have a legalized product, we need to deliver it via the United States Postal Service (not sure what the Mexican side of this is but sure it is something similar).  This $8 BILLION a year government money loser could be saved altogether by this action (in this new future Postman are paid lots of money but have to take drug tests).  This “new product” would breathe life and prosperity back into the 1,440 convenient local post offices across  America.  And if you can wait for the mail, they will even deliver. 

I cannot even add up all the savings to society here for what is minimal risk.  Of course this plan might not be the best one but the argument I am really trying to make is we cannot continue along the old worn out paths we are.  I put something out there, what about you. 

God bless us all and Citizen Bill and his family.

Who cares what oil costs, have you bought water?

On the news this weekend everyone seemed pretty upset that oil had gone over $100 per barrel.  Some of the Sunday morning pundits were saying oil could be $200 by summer and to prepare for $4/gal gas.  This significant price increase seems so ominous.  Add to that all the political uncertainties playing out across the Middle East right now and it makes for a seeming obvious consequence if oil is something you use.   Like me, and likely you. 

Now the price of oil/gas/energy is upsetting.. UNTIL you calculate what Americans are now willing to pay for water.  That’s right, gas is cheap when you buy water by the pint/liter at the same convenience store.  And  we live in a society on a planet that is 80% water.  When the cost of water is more than oil (or certainly when it is 5X) we need to solve the problem or at least be aware of why we cannot solve it.  My little goal is just to make folks aware of it.

At the local convenience store at the end of my street, water is sold in 1 pint containers (.5 of a liter).  According to my grade school math, there are 8 pints in a gallon.  Thus, if water is $1 a pint, it would cost $8 a gallon.  And if there are 55 gallons in a barrel, then a barrel of water costs almost 4 times as much as a barrel of oil.  What, 4 times?  That seems absurd when water comes out of the faucet for free (sort of, but paid for already for sure). 

We as a society need to make more much informed choices if we want to control our destiny.  Stop paying for plasticized water would be a good first step.

God bless us all and Citizen Bill and his family.

And check out the original digital art. 

Post Number One - Rebirth.. Again!

Never shoot the messenger!

I started this blog as a forum to encourage discussion, debate and hopefully change.  It also provides for me a personal outlet to express and refine my many thoughts in all these areas without directly burdening my friends and co-workers.  All ideas and commentary are mine alone although everyone I know has impact.  However, while the discussion is all mine much of the “clip art” and “photos” were pilfered from the web since I have no skills in those areas.  I will  be happy to remove or replace any of these upon request and I apologize in advance for the liberty of my public access and use.   To the extent I may have “used” something I have made it a link to the original so please review that related material as well.  I am hardly the only guy with a blog, nor even close to being the blogster who is the most informed or prolific.

There once was an earlier CitizenBill blog that I did not keep up with.  Some of the ideas that were originally posted there will someday be repeated here (rest assured, stupid did not solve itself in my absence).  This blogging about the stupid could be more than a full time job so hopefully I can keep up with it this time.  If you have comments, encouragement, bitterness or venom, please be sure to let me know as I accept all challenges and will entertain all reasonable discussion and argument.  I hope that in some small way I can make the world a better place.  So says Citizen Bill.