Choose Happy

In is an error to think of happiness Just as something that you feel, as in a passive sensory experience.  The truth is that happiness is something that you do, not something done to you.

We are born dissatisfied, questing, unfinished. For the most part feeling this way is a survival trail it spurs us to build and innovate. Accepting our searching nature is a good step. letting our dissatisfaction make us unhappy is our choice.  We are also born with the ability to appreciate beauty, empathize, and love. Being happy is a choice..


Happiness is a feeling that you do. We do not control all that happens to us; but we are in complete control of our response. I am not advocating denial or trying to  will ourselves to be happy under all circumstances. It is our attitude toward our dissatisfaction that allows one person to be happy when another with similar problems is not.

The distinction in this way of thinking about happiness is the approach to overcoming our adversity. Making a change requires the belief that change is possible. Thinking of happiness as an action means I approach the problem as I would other problems such as; If there is something that weighs 150lbs and, I want to lift it, but I can't; I understand the process for changing myself or the thing to make the lift possible.  This is because I think of it as something that I want to do, not as something I want to happen to me.


My point is NOT that we are born unhappy. We are born to quest but we can learn to make our selfs unhappy when life is not perfect. The best way to lift big happiness is to start small and appreciate the small things and take joy in them.

I always said that kids can learn computers easier than adults because they do not make themselves miserable when they make a mistake.
Somewhere along the line we can loose the ability to fall and get right back up ,with a smile.

It is easier to be happy when you are around happy people.  In this way happiness is reflected back to you.  

Union Busting in Wisconsin

Labor Protests continue in Madison
 Changing labor law for all public employees does not belong in a State "Emergency Budget Repare Bill."  This bill was first introduced a week ago and if the Democratic Senators had not denied the Senate a quorum it would be law today. The sate constitution specifically stipulates that bills are to have one subject.  Playing these kinds of games with our democracy is grave threat to our freedoms.  Republican's that play power politics blindly following the leader are ignoring their oath of office our form of government does not function well when there is this rampant block voting.


Are State Employee overpaid?
State employees like the armed services take a lot of their pay in the form of retirement benefits.  My friend Dan worked for the UW system for 30 years and is "retired".  He is now a consultant doing the same work for double the pay.  The state is getting billed Double his salary by his employer so they are paying four times as much for the same work.   State employees are a good value for the state but with the squeeze on salaries getting talent often means going to consultants.  Yea Dan is double dipping but if he was not waiting for state retirement he would have quit state work ten years earlier and gone for the higher paycheck. The issue is complex


I find it sad and instructive that the Wisconsin State workers who have not kept up with inflation fro the past 20 years are suddenly overpaid. Debbie works for the City of Racine. She like all workers participating the the State pension system contributes 11% of her salary to be invested. If the markets are kind that adds up to a good retirement after 30 years.
 Now you can play semantics and say that it is really the city that is paying that 11% on her behalf. But economists will tell you from an economics point of view it makes no difference. If the walker bill passes Debbie's take home pay drops by 5.5%.
 If you believe in local control shouldn't this be a local decision. The majority of the workers who's pay is effected by the "Emergency" bill are not state employees and do not effect the state budget.

Military Tax

When considering the budget deficit the “entitlements” which mainly consist of Social Security and Medicare do make up the largest chunk of the budget. But these programs are funded by a dedicated tax which has actually accumulated a huge surplus. Likewise the gas tax pays for road construction and this also has a huge surplus. No one seems to have a problem with raising the retirement age or increasing the SS tax when this program might run a deficit in 30 years.

The connection between the tax and the spending in these programs seems to be well understood.

So I propose a Defense and Security Tax which will be levied in the exact amount of the Defense and Justice budgets.

“On what basis should this defense tax be levied?” you ask. An income tax or Possibly a wealth tax since what the armed forces is defending is largely our stuff and our right to use it as we see fit.

I would also like to see a interest on the deficit tax which would be levied only on Republicans ( OK ; Now I'm being silly).

Even if we could not enact my Republican tax the general Income tax could be reduced to about 30% of the current rate., with lots of money for Education and programs to strengthen out society. Another big advantage would be that politicians that want to fight a war could do so as long as they could get the public to accept the tax increase.

Healthcare a right?

This proposition is not as controversial as it would seem at first.
Rigths do not exist unless they are
1) Claimed by the recipiant of the rigth and
2) The Claim is honored under law or standard.

If we take the case of a person comming in for emergency care, it is a matter of law (Passed in a republican Congress) that they can not be turned away.

No Republican is advocating that we dischage premature infants from lifesaving care for any reason.  Or that victims of a traffic accident be transported to the hospital only if the are carrying their insurance card.  So clearly society regards healthcare at some level as a right. The differances are over rationing and who pays for it.

All rights granted impact the rights of others.
For instance the doctor or hospital that provides the care does not have a right to ensure that they will be paid for their service when they treat indigent patients.  For the most part this cost is passed on to patients that can pay.

Do I as an individual have the right to roll the dice with your money by not having health insurance even though I could afford it? People that do this depend on the knowledge that society will honor their right to healthcare if they really need it. All Rights granted rub up against the rights of others.

Selfishness as a Conservative value.

Of all of the harm that Conservative Ideology has done to our country in the last 30 years is the idea that selfishness is respectable is in my opinion the most damaging.

Self interest is unavoidable and a successful society works to align enlightened self interest with the public good. Utopian notions of everyone will voluntarily following a notion like, “ From each according this his abilities, to each according to his needs”, are doomed to failure. Recognizing this truth is not an excuse to celebrate and venerate self interest ,much less laud the virtue of excessive concern with self interest, which is selfishness.

When I speak of selfishness I am speaking of the common materialistic understanding; grabbing more than I have rightfully earned at others expense. Of course a truly enlighten person knows that enabling the happiness of others is the best route to advancing your own happiness. Christ did not advocate selfishness.

The advancement of selfishness as a virtue has made it ok to support a war,but not contribute to the cost; leaving our grandchildren to pay the price of our selfishness and Conservatives political self interest.