Vote!

Today is election day and I'm hear to bark the vote.  Here in Oregon we vote by mail, also known as Postal voting.  No, don't go Postal when you vote.  Mike and Laura already voted.  That hasn't stopped the phone calls telling us to vote and who we voted for though.  I may be a smart dog, but I am not allowed to vote.

Even if you are fed up with government, do your part and VOTE.

OK, time to rant a bit:

Let's talk about taxes.  Here at The Craftsman B&B we pay taxes just like everyone else.  We are taxed twice on a lot of things.  First there is property taxes which any home owner would pay.  Then on top of that, we pay business tax based on property the business uses, that would be the house.  Then we pay for personal property used in the business, washer and dryer, fridge, you get the idea.  Then there is the lodging tax.  We are OK with that because it funds tourism in the state.  We all know about income tax, we pay that too.  So business wants tax breaks to develop the latest widget, clean energy, whatever.  Why do "energy" companies get the most tax breaks yet have the highest profits?  Until Exxon agrees to supply all the schools with solar, wind or geo-thermal power, no tax breaks.  Sell your stock to raise the money for R&D (see below).

The Craftsman B&B is a kid free zone.  That doesn't mean we don't support our schools and library like most childless and empty nesters do.  We vote for bond measures to improve our community, you should too.

The economy.  Yeah it's really bad, but the financial world kind of messed that one up themselves.  We qualified for a load to rebuild this house.  We paid our payments during construction in addition to another mortgage on our house in Portland.  We had to sell our other house and Mike's Land Rover to afford to finish the project.  We have one house that we can pay the mortgage.  We were smart enough to know what we could afford before we even started.  We did not get a mortgage we and the bank knew we couldn't pay off.  So those of you who lend and borrow money you can't pay off are another reason the economy is hurting.  The only thing a new president can do is throw new money at an old problem.  Unless Americans start being more fiscally responsible with their own money will the country won't be able to right itself.

The stock market used to be a way for companies to raise capital (money) to grow their business.  That worked well until the 80's when "greed is good" became the name of the game.  CEO's used to work for the share holder.  A person would buy stock in a company they liked.  Whether it was already successful or had the potential to become successful.  People risked their money in hopes the company would grow and in return, the company would pay dividends (share in profit) to the stockholder.  Business' grew.  Now, CEO's don't work for the shareholder, they try to make money for themselves.  So your 401(k) that invested in rock solid companies doesn't get the return it used to because some CEO gave themselves and other board members a huge bonus before paying your dividend.

Jobs!  Everyone want to create new jobs.  How do you do that?  Well I think that if you don't lose jobs you wouldn't have to create new ones.  Workers want to make more money and have better health care.  Unions were started to insure safety and fair pay.  Now people strike for more money and better health care.  So companies do the math, pay the workers more or find new workers somewhere else to do the job for less.  That's a no brainer for a CEO.  The job goes away.  Why don't workers get this?  Sure we want to make more money, but we also need to make money, no job, no money.  America needs to break health care away from jobs.  A national system that every pays into, we all get the care we need and it's not tied to a job.  Doctors and drug companies are too greedy to ever let that happen so we need to pass laws limiting them to make it happen.  How about no advertising prescription drugs?  The media is too greedy to let that happen (source of link is mainstream media).  Ever watch the national news?  How many ads are prescription drugs?

So today we elect a new president.  Regardless, there will be a change in leadership.  I also would like you to take a look at what you can do to make America better for you and your neighbor.

End Rant.

I am happy with my job as greeter and spoiled innkeepers dog.  I get food, health care and a home.  I don't vote, so I don't have a say in what goes on in your life.  If you want a say in what goes on in your life, vote.