Falling Down
Printed From: Carpet Cleaning Forum
Category: Carpet Cleaners Discussion
Forum Name: Carpet Cleaners Hangout
Forum Description: General discussion on anything related to carpet cleaning
URL: https://www.kleenkuip.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6185
Printed Date: 05/February/2025 at 12:43pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.06 - https://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Falling Down
Posted By: Chica
Subject: Falling Down
Date Posted: 04/October/2009 at 1:30pm
Hi I’m new here and was wondering if you all could tell me how to start my business, what truck to buy, which logo to use as well as pick my business name. Then tell me which equipment to buy and where, the best chemicals to use and how I should run all this stuff. Then when your done doing that tell me how much I should charge for each and every service as well as telling me how I should market myself and then hold my hand while I do my first job. Oh and while your at it give me the winning power ball numbers for next week. Okay, okay but seriously now…  I was a carpet cleaner years ago working for a local company and always dug the job (I‘m strange, I know) , but life happened and I found myself on another path that took me into the industry where I am today. Now my current job is being outsourced due to a union killing our industry. We managed to save our jobs once before by breaking away from the locals and going private, but they wormed their way back in and the company simply could not stay afloat and folded. We were then bought out by another company and a new contract was agreed upon but yet again after two years the union got in and again oucompany simply could not compete, we lost our contract and our jobs our going overseas. YEA UNION!  So now I find myself with what I see as a potential opportunity to finally be able to start my own business and find myself drawn back to what I once really enjoyed, cleaning up all the nasties that dwell inside the carpets of my fellow citizens. So I thought I would share with everyone my progress and defeats as I take this journey. Locally it seems that in many respects not much has changed over the years I have been away, including the “$75 three room and a hall” splash and dash trolls that existed years ago along with the $175/hr franchise guys trying to make their payments. But on the other hand there still seems to be some good folks charging a fair price for quality work, now I just have to figure out if I can compete with both extremes. One thing I have come across that I have to admit has really intrigued me are the very low moisture techniques like OP and CRB’s, I never heard of these before I started doing some research on equipment. I had been thinking of portable extractors and was really impressed with what I have been finding (except the outrageous prices) but I discovered these other methods and am really drawn to them. I still want an extractor at some point (maybe even a truck mount) but may try starting out with one of the others methods first. We should be working our last day sometime next month and my state has busted 7% unemployment so I’ll have all the time in the world to get this set up (along with fifty some weeks of unemployment checks) . If I commit and do this I doubt I’ll make the deadline for an ad in the yeller pages so I may just try the old standards of door-tags, local ads, cards, signs, smoke signals, etc. along with word of mouth & networking. If that does not work I’ll try tight jeans and a skimpy tee-shirt. I have been trolling among the forums for about a month picking up on what has changed in the industry and look forward to bugging everyone as much as I can.  |
Replies:
Posted By: Chica
Date Posted: 04/October/2009 at 1:33pm
Oh and BTW, what's up with the avatars here. I shrunk mine down to under the limit but I keep getting an error 
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Posted By: Soil Lint Green
Date Posted: 04/October/2009 at 4:15pm
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First, I was a union member, my father was a union member and it is not unions that cause people to lose jobs, it is greedy bastards at the top that want to take away benefits and force workers into payscales found in India and China. So blame your situation where it belongs. On greedy aholes. Unions are why most workers only work 5 or 6 days a week. Unions gave us overtime pay. Unions gave us breaks. Unions gave us a fair and democratic workplace where they exist. What benefits and pay you once enjoyed were as a result of a union and not the greedy buttheads who own or owned your company. You weren't complaining when you were spending that money or enjoying those days off so put a cork in it. My state is one of the highest unemployment levels in the United States. Stop your crying about what has happened to your state thus far, there is more of the same to come. Now as far as going into the carpet cleaning business, here is a question for you Chica: Are you running away from a problem or walking toward a solution? I have always asked that of anyone who was resigning or applying for a job. You are seeking employment as an independent contractor who must go out and get his own contracts. You will be cash strapped, sinking every last dime you have into something with no clear future for you. What else have you looked into? Don't you have a network of family and friends who might help you find another job? Facebook works for many people. You might need to take a job at very low pay but that is what you would have been making if your company wanted to cut costs and keep you in the process. Stop whining about what life throws at you, get off your backside and keep moving. ------------- It's ORY GUN, not OR A GONE. Learn to talk. |
Posted By: Chica
Date Posted: 04/October/2009 at 5:02pm
Well good for you. My father was forced to be in one for over 50 years, my brother as well, and uh... me too!
Oh really? That's interesting because the greedy aholes you speak of in my case(s) were a a co-op and a family owned business, in the case of the latter the greedy aholes who owned it worked right alongside us and usually put in 1.5x the hours.
I would suggest you brush up on your history before you speak again, the fellow that was the father of the modern work week, breaks, etc, was a guy named Henry Ford. You may have heard of him, I think he made cars or some such thing. BTW his motives were entirely profit driven. http://www.worklessparty.org/timework/ford.htm
(again brush up on your history) So you have a CC business that I assume you built with your money and labor? Do you have any employees? If they decided to take a vote and form a mini-union, demanded more pay, benie's, breaks, etc, you would happilly give in to their demands... well of course you would because that would be fair and democratic. Or how about if I gather ten other people who do not have a buisiness started and come knocking on your door demanding an equal share in yours, oh wait we have to be fair and democratic so we will take a vote (you can have one too) and then if it comes up in our favor we will be fair and spilt the profits equally.
No they were the result of my hard work, and the opportunity created for me by the folks who took a risk with their money and spent a huge part of their life creating something where nothing once existed.
Oh I can't speak about my money even though no one gave it to me as I worked for what I have? Sounds fair to me
Oh because your state has worse figures I must be silenced? How is that fair or democratic? BTW when did I "cry"? (just detailing reality there Mr Sunshine)
Okay I'm listening with great anticipation....
Neither
Wow I did not know that, I thought folks would come banging down my door holding a bunch of these.... 
OH WOW! How did you figure out my business plan! Yup ya got me... I'm gonna blindly dump every penny I have into jumbo bottles of Tide and a used rug-doctor.
Yup
Good for them
Oh no the union would have saved me.
Again... for the record... when did I whine?  |
Posted By: nightrider
Date Posted: 04/October/2009 at 6:01pm
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I see Unions as a Robin Hood syndrum , take from the rich and give to the poor. Except as the years went on and the greed of men set in ( No thanks to the Mafia ) it took a turn for the worst. Yes, unions stand up for their own, and generate good wages for the workers, but at the same time put a strain on the employer who pays these workers. If the unions continue to flex their muscle everytime negotions are the order of the day, companies will just close under their demands.....the problems of the Big Three is mostly Union caused.....look what is happening. Ford said it last week, Canada is the worst place to do business because of the CAW.
Nightrider
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Posted By: John L
Date Posted: 04/October/2009 at 9:17pm
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And also higher prices for your products!! Give'em a little slack. He was just telling us his story.
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Posted By: doug
Date Posted: 06/October/2009 at 9:35pm
once upon a time??? ------------- Just My opinion |
Posted By: Chica
Date Posted: 10/October/2009 at 8:24am
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Yup agreed on all points. One thing that it seems many pro-union folks don't understand is that the extra cost's imposed via the union are generally passed along to the consumer, which in turn make the company less competitive. This defraying of costs can be direct or indirect like a business spending less on R&D, marketing, retooling, reinvestment, etc, this ALWAYS adds up to fewer jobs and fewer customers at some point. Yes there was a time and place where unions served a greater purpose, but those days are long gone. |
Posted By: Soil Lint Green
Date Posted: 10/October/2009 at 12:16pm
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let me guess, Republican, right? Figures.
------------- It's ORY GUN, not OR A GONE. Learn to talk. |
Posted By: Chica
Date Posted: 10/October/2009 at 12:35pm
Using Sol Alinsky's tactics instead of breaking my argument. That's to bad as I rather enjoy a spirited debate, but on your attempt to polarize you have fallen short as I am an individual American patriot first, and a conservative second. But why is it that you failed to address my points including the FACT that your assertions were incorrect?  |
Posted By: Superglide Ken
Date Posted: 10/October/2009 at 1:28pm
Bravo Chica! Your points were well made and researched. I think you won the most points in that short debate. 
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Posted By: Soil Lint Green
Date Posted: 10/October/2009 at 1:41pm
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Like I said, Republican - the rhetoric is soooooooooooooooo familiar. I remain loyal to the AFLCIO forever. Even if we break the back of the fragile "greed exceeds need" economy every worker will be protected. And when companies attempt to stand in the way, we simply press on with Socialization. Oooooo, Bad Word. Better send the Pinkerton agents to mow me down. You'll never get rich, join those who say none among us deserves more than the least of us. Remember, the principles Jesus taught? Come to http://www.aflcio.org/ and take your first step to recovery, Chica! ------------- It's ORY GUN, not OR A GONE. Learn to talk. |
Posted By: Soil Lint Green
Date Posted: 10/October/2009 at 1:48pm
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By the way, it is not *I* who attempts to side step an issue, the conservatives make a lifestyle of it. Companies when faced with pressure from ORGANIZED labor must concede to avoid strikes. The best thing labor ever did in this country was to join as one against the self interests of what Teddy Roosevelt (himself a Republican) felt could be the downfall of our nation, over-sized corporations with a stranglehold on the PEOPLE'S GOVERNMENT. Companies cannot register to vote, they technically do NOT have a say, but they intimidate politicians who accept their campaign bribes and lobbiest's dirty money as an incentive for doing these mobsters bidding representing the interests of the few over those of the many who in their view are nothing more than freed slaves but slaves none the less. Also, IF employees earn their rightful pay and benefits they will have the money to pay more for less items (we all buy too much crap including the wealthy who spend beyond their needs). That increased sales means more revenue for R&D. Stealing from the employees to fund R&D is unforgivable. If you mean companies cannot compete on the world stage if they give employees the proper pay and benefits well boo-hoo. Perhaps they should move along with their work to the third world countries they wish to create for the workers here and we will live well with the tariffs we impose on them for their products and services create with off-shore labor while buying products from ourselves manufactured by .... oh I don't know..... perhaps ........... Employee Owned Companies. What do you say to that? Have you applied off-shore to get your old job back at $100 a month in India? Bring your moving boxes, I am sure they will make a lovely new home for you and your family. ------------- It's ORY GUN, not OR A GONE. Learn to talk. |
Posted By: nightrider
Date Posted: 10/October/2009 at 5:46pm
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Giving jobs out to India is the cause and effect of the unions, Bell and many others outsource to India because the union muscled into the call centers and flexed their muscle to the tune of 18.00/hour for the telemarketers. How can you run a business paying that kind of salary.
Once again.....thanks to the unions.....those marketing jobs are gone and not comming back, 2000 people out in the street.....where is the union when these people can't eat or pay their rent..........I 'll tell you where.....in their penthouses have a steak dinner with a 200$ bottle of wine.
Nightrider
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Posted By: doug
Date Posted: 10/October/2009 at 5:49pm
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Are SGG's glides not made in India??? ------------- Just My opinion |
Posted By: Superglide Ken
Date Posted: 10/October/2009 at 7:01pm
No Doug, just sold there as they are in 39 other countries now.
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Posted By: John L
Date Posted: 11/October/2009 at 12:40am
Ken how much money do i mail you for 1 superglide lip? 
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Posted By: Chica
Date Posted: 11/October/2009 at 10:56am
And again you would be incorrect.
And millions were loyal to the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei so what's your point, that your incapable of independent thought? (If so your point has been well made) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMVql9RLP34 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMVql9RLP34
LMAO! Yea the tens of thousands of union workers laid off in the past year sure were protected under the collective, they are blazing a path for those to follow right into the unemployment lines
Cite one such example from the last decade. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWnxlFbYjVY - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWnxlFbYjVY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUxjahek0f8 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUxjahek0f8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EId7itYniR4 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EId7itYniR4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnVewHEQP00 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnVewHEQP00 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzLCk6CnBm0 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzLCk6CnBm0
Cite where that was said by Jesus. You state that but do you practice it? Have you split your business equally among the people? If not why are you so greedy? There are many that have less than you, give them an equal share. |
Posted By: Chica
Date Posted: 11/October/2009 at 11:24am
Well actually you have as you have yet to specifically address my points, while I on the other hand have address each of yours. (BTW, I am not 'the conservatives', I am an individual)
They 'must'? Say's who? By what law? And obviously they do not as many have snubbed the unions for years/decades, while others have simply shipped the jobs overseas, and some simply closed their doors.
LOL! Spoken like someone who has little grasp on history. I tell ya what lets bet, I'll send you a hundred bucks if your willing to share with us the total amount of dollars donated to members of 'the peoples government' for union influence and then cite how that is not a stranglehold. If not I'll give you the number and cite dozens of examples of union pay to play, then you give me your business.
Please stop! Your killing me! Me side hurts and I'm about to pee myself from laughing so hard. Oh and see above for my bet... LMAO
Rightful? LMAO Who the f*** are you to tell me what I should or should not buy? Who the f*** are you to tell me where I can or cannot work? Who the f*** are you to tell me for how much I should be paid? Who the f*** are you to tell me how much to pay my employees? And by what legal right do you demand such power?
Yea tell that to the Cubans who are largely still driving around in vintage cars... LOL
How are the companies profits legally owned by the employees? Cite what legal basis you have to form the opinion that using ones own profits is stealing?
Proper pay as defined by who? What do you pay your employees? Do you give them an equal share? If you don't have any (which I suspect) do you donate half your pay to the nearest homeless person?
a- Ever try using commas, periods, etc? b- The companies are leaving and all the union folks do is cry about it c- Try brushing up on your history with regard to tariffs and the problems they create such as high taxes, high costs, etc. I mean it's obvious that you don't care if you have to pay $85 for a tube of toothpaste but some of us do, and we have historical FACT on our side unlike your though based in fantasy land. (if you believe otherwise then cite)
Why would I want to do that? It's rather obvious I am taking advantage of the wonderful opportunities we have access to here in the United States as well as the opportunities I have created for myself. Only a fool would speak of such things, but if the shoe fits.....
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Posted By: Chica
Date Posted: 12/October/2009 at 6:26pm
| [cricket]chirp-chirp-chirp-chirp-chirp-chirp-chirp-chirp-chirp-[/cricket] |
Posted By: Superglide Ken
Date Posted: 12/October/2009 at 10:07pm
Don't you mean a set John? $30 gets it done . |
Posted By: Soil Lint Green
Date Posted: 12/October/2009 at 11:04pm
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If a republican drops dead in the woods, does anyone care? How does it feel knowing at least one decendent of a former slave is master of the whitehouse? Bet those white folks of the former GOP love to clean the toilets for the new masters. Maybe you could move to Alaska and help Palin keep an eye of those pesky Ruskies. Your job waits for you in India. Hope you like curry. And could you return your unemployment checks to the government? We would hate to see you suffer episodes of depression over the fact that socialism is what feeds you since you no longer have your job or apparently the skills needed for another. Thank the decider for you the challenges you face since his 0 to 10 trillion debt is a big part of your problem. As far as replying to your lies, face it, your group attempts to re-write history. I know my facts. I ignore your lies as the majority of Americans select to do. When you grow up consider joining the working class movement. The AFLCIO welcomes you, sinner. Throw away your autographed posters of Glen Beck and Russ Quaalude and walk into the light. ------------- It's ORY GUN, not OR A GONE. Learn to talk. |
Posted By: Chica
Date Posted: 13/October/2009 at 4:56am
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Ad hominem does not a debate win. But if that is the best your great intellect can muster.... 
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Posted By: Soil Lint Green
Date Posted: 13/October/2009 at 11:24am
GOTCHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
------------- It's ORY GUN, not OR A GONE. Learn to talk. |
Posted By: NEW2OP
Date Posted: 13/October/2009 at 7:52pm
| WOW this is great! I can learn carpet cleaning and how disfunctional our system is at the same time.... |
Posted By: Chica
Date Posted: 17/October/2009 at 11:36am
Ahhh no you 'got' nothing as frankly; a) I was feeling sorry for you as you are making a complete fool of yourself, and b) you obviously have no intention (or ability) to break any of my arguments or stand behind any of your own. As I stated, ad hominem does not a debate win. But if you wish to keep dancing I'll put another quarter in the jukebox....
Did ya work up a sweat coming up with that or did you overhear a 5th grader?
Ah the ole 'I can't win a debate to save my life so I'll throw out the ole race card tactic to try and distract from the issue', Saul Alinsky would be proud of you. I on the other hand noticed some irony in this quote as I am someone who cherishes history/fact, so lets look at your statement a bit closer... A sitting president is not 'master' of the White House (proper use btw) as; a) it belongs to the citizens of the United States. b) the President only represents one of three branches of our government, the executive. c) Article II of the U.S. Constitution outlines Presidential powers and none grant him control of the White House d) and lastly USC TITLE 3 CHAPTER 2 § 110 outlines who the 'master' is and it is not the sitting President http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode03/usc_sec_03_00000110----000-notes.html - LINKY Moving on you state "at least one decendent of a former slave", I'm not sure what that is but do know what a descendant is. As such it would appear that based on a number of year long genealogical studies both the President and First Lady are in fact descendants of.... [drumrolldrumrolldrumrolldrumrolldrumroll] Slave owners! “According to the research, one of Senator Obama's great-great-great-great-grandfathers, George Washington Overall, owned two slaves who were recorded in the 1850 census in Nelson County, Kentucky. The same records show that one of Senator Obama's great-great-great-great-great-grandmothers, Mary Duvall, also owned two slaves. The records show that Overall, then 30, owned a 15-year-old female and a 25-year-old male, while Mary Duvall, his mother-in-law, owned a 60-year-old man and a 58-year-old woman. An Obama spokesman did not dispute the information and said that the senator's ancestors "are representative of America". http://www.wargs.com/political/obama.html - LINKY http://www.kentuckyhistoricalsociety.org/barackobamaancestry.html - LINKY And lets not leave out The First Lady as it appears she to is likely a descendant of at least one slave owner…. “According to researchers Melvinia was owned David Patterson who ran a plantation in South Carolina. In the estate owner's will, written in 1852, he listed "*egro girl Melvinia" in an inventory of his property. Illiterate, she lived with 21 other slaves and was valued at $475, Genealogists Megan Smolenyak,who conducted the research, believes Melvinia was most likely made pregnant by Patterson's son-in-law Henry Shields. At the time Shields was in his late 40s and had four sons. It is also possible that one of the sons, aged from 19 to 24, could have been the father. Historians said Melvinia could have been raped by one of the Shields' family, but the circumstances of the union are unknown.” http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/09/michelle-obama-white-slave-owner - LINKY http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1219056/The-First-Ladys-roots-Genealogists-trace-generations-Michelle-Obamas-family-slave-trade.html - LINKY Facts sure suck when they cast a bright light upon one’s own ignorance don’t they, I guess that’s why you seem to stay far away from them. But since you brought up the race card and you brought up political parties and you brought up the concept of re-writing history those of us that know and cherish history know that the majority of black Americans were Conservative Republicans after the Civil War and… -We know that it was Abraham Lincoln (R) who signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 -That it was Ulysses Grant (R) that who oversaw the ratifying of the 13th 14th and 15th Amendments -That it was Theodore Roosevelt (R) who was first to invite a black man (Booker T Washington) to be a guest at the White House -That it was Dwight Eisenhower (R) who was first to use troops to desegregate schools in 1957 -That in 1868 it was Frederick Douglass (R) the 1st black man to be nominated for VP (and on the Republican ticket no less) -We know that in the same year the Democrat campaign slogan was “It’s a white mans party let white men rule” -That it was not until 65 years later in 1933 that Democrats first seated black delegates at their convention -We know that the Democrats have used as their poster boy Martin Luther King when he was in fact a staunch Republican Conservative -We know that the first black Senator, Hiram Revels, was a Republican (1870) -We know that it took you Liberals until 1993 (over one full century) to finally do the same -We know that the first black Congressman, John Menard, was a Republican (1868) -We know that it took you Liberals another 60 some odd years and some 20 plus black Republican Representatives to finally do the same Shall I continue? No I think between this and your own ignorant statements you have suffered enough, besides there is more to come….
Oh ya got me with that one… you’re the most brilliant poster ever.
Actually part of the company went to Mexico and the rest went to a ‘Right to work’ state, GO UNION! (¡Curry es muy bien!)
Technically they would go back to the employer as that is where the money originates from, but you already knew that right, you were just testing me… [wink wink nudge nudge]
L… M… A… O…! Oh my, I give you 100% percent full credit for having the ability to make me laugh, thank you. FUTA (26 U.S.C. ch.23) as well as state unemployment taxation fall nowhere near the definition of socialism as; a) one has to first contribute (via taxation of their labor) before they can draw upon it b) the benefits received are the voluntary choice of ones own to work Sad that you are not even well versed in the dogma that you preach, but as I said it is good for a laugh.
Try spending more time reading things you base your comments on (unless of course you enjoy looking so silly) as I am still fully employed until at least the end of the month or well into November.
This comment makes me kind of sad, not for me as my reasoning for choice of direction was clearly stated in my first post as having nothing to do with skills but rather seizing opportunity and desire. No rather it makes me sad that you have such little respect for your own profession and that of all the other folks on this board. You see in your haste to insult me by stating that I have no skills and thus am forced to choose this direction you have forgotten that YOU are a Carpet Cleaner (apparently), along with all the other folks on this board. So I guess were all just a bunch of no skills havn’ dirt-bag wand monkeys according to you.
I have to assume you are snidely referring to G.W. Bush, how clever of you, want a cookie? As for the specifics of your comment I have to admit to my amazement at your complete ignorance of these ‘facts’ as you purport them, and as I have to assume that you sincerely believe. It’s pretty pathetic that one is so blinded… no… brainwashed by the uneducated that they become so unwilling to actually research what they preach from the pulpit. The ‘decider’ as you call him did not create a 0-10 trillion debt, the day he took office the nations debt was ~5.7 trillion and on his last was ~10.6 trillion, so once again you are incorrect in your so called facts. Your ignorance of how our spending process works is also quite obvious, look at when the greatest amount of spending took place and who was in control of the House and Senate. While G.W.B. spent like a drunken sailor when leather face Nancy took over .gov spending took the form of a hoard of drunken sailors at a nudy bar. And the spending continues today at a record breaking pace, by this time last year our debt increase had effectively halted and was actually starting to minimally trend down. But by Feb that trend not only halted but has risen at a record rate, in fact Obama, Nancy, and Gang have outpaced G.W.B.’s first term spending by this time at a factor of more than 10x! http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np - LINKY Debt/spending by this and the last 3 administrations has been appalling to say the least, to blame specifically one or another shows a complete and utter ignorance of historical fact, a ton of bias, as well as a lack of knowledge of how our system works. But this isn’t a surprise as most Americans are more concerned about American Idol than they are their own future.
I’ll give you $100 for each and every one you can cite.
Again cite (btw, beyond Patriot and Conservative I have no group and am an Independent voter)
You have cited none, but feel free to start anytime.
Again cite these lies, how about I buy one of your books for each and every one you cite? As for ‘the majority of Americans’….. LOL. That’s funny because ideologically speaking ‘Conservatives’ make up the single largest group, and folks who think like you are the smallest. Here is just one of the hundreds of polls that show this, take a peak then take a few minutes away from reading up on your DU talking points to look up some of the numerous studies that have been done on this. http://www.gallup.com/poll/120857/conservatives-single-largest-ideological-group.aspx - LINKY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMVql9RLP34 - Okay now click here and let‘s all be good little Bundists and sing your rallying cry to das Vaterland ! At this point I would like note that I’m done with you as it’s obvious you have no intention of doing anything but partaking of ad hominem to the point of ad nauseum. Be this because you lack the ability or desire I do not know but it is largely irrelevant at this point. If you choose to stand behind anything you state or directly refute what I have said I’ll consider it but otherwise consider yourself …..  And by a chick no less.... |