Luke_Wilbur

I am also not worried that the Chinese have a new Stealth jet or a carrier missile killing system. I am worried who they plan to sell it to and we are losing more and more power to do anything about it.

I would like to know what happened to Beijing's promise of a peaceful rise. Reading what Adm. Robert Willard, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, had to say about China makes me think peace is not part of the plan. http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201012270241.html How can we do business with a nation that is looking like it is preparing for war?

This behind the scenes video reveals the real John Boehner. With family members phrases, "Hey John. How are Ya! Hey, Whew!!! He will be always John. John was the third parent." Or Speaker Boehner soft stating, "I was the Authoritarian I was the organizer." How can you not trust a large family that all worked at a bar where everyone knows your name. I am actually excited to see what he does. He might convert me back to the GOP.

Speaker Boehner, May God bless you. trim the fat, bring back more jobs, & individual freedoms and wealth to our Nation. MADE IN USA

I think the Speaker understands that the fate of the Nation rests on the fate of respecting the wishes of the independent majority. I believe that he wants to trim the fat, bring back more jobs, and give back more individual freedoms. I also believe that he supports and understands that American small business is the backbone of the nation. The business environment is no different from the physical one. Diversity breeds innovation. Less competition leads to either fascism or socialism controlled by interests groups and think tanks.

I had some time on this holiday to share some simple number crunching with information I gathered with everyone. According to the CIA the United States has a workforce of 156 million. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics we are at a 9.8 percent unemployment rate. So we have roughly 140 million people currently working. According to the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan organization, the average American pays an average tax rate of 12.60% percent on their income as of 2008. According to the figures released from the 2007 US Census the median earnings of men who worked full time, year-round were $45,113 and women were $35,102. Average Tax for Men: $5684.24 Average Tax for Women: $4422.85 Average Tax mean = $5000 According to Bureau of Labor Statistics the average federal worker earned an average salary of $67,691, the average state government employee earned an average salary of $47,231, and local government employee earned 41,000. So, I estimate it takes 13 private sector workers to pay for one federal employee and 10 private sector workers to pay for on state employee, and 8 private sector workers to pay for a local employee. Now double this amount for public sector compensation (health insurance, pensions, and other benefits) The federal civilian workforce is estimated 2.15 million workers. This means it takes 56 million private sector workers to pay this expense. The 50 state workforce is estimated 3.8 million workers. This means it takes 30 million private sector workers to pay for this expense. The national local government workforce is estimated 10.9 million workers. This means it takes 87 million private sector workers to pay for this expense. Add another $1.8 for state and $3.5 billion for local part-time workforce. That equates to another million workers. Using my simple calculations we are already at 174 million average working people have to pay the expense for the full time public sector workforce. Deducting the taxes $84 million dollars paid by the 16.85 million full time public sector workers we are come to 157 million tax payers are needed to just pay for the the public sector work force. Now this does calculation does not include all the other expenses and revenues that occur within our federal government. I do not have the time or resources to undertake such a monumental task. But, I think you get the picture. Entitlements are going the way of the Dodo. http://www.census.gov/govs/apes/ http://www.fedscope.opm.gov/ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

Here is a thought. Start a campaign to nurture new American manufacturers to create more jobs. Part of the condition of the incubation program is that the company must promise to stay in the region where it started or give a 50 percent share of its stock to the state.

The Economic Policy Institute, a Washington think tank, says American companies have created 1.4 million jobs overseas this year, compared with less than 1 million in the U.S. The additional 1.4 million jobs would have lowered the U.S. unemployment rate to 8.9 percent, says Robert Scott, the institute's senior international economist.

This video humor video is not funny at all. Rather it shows disrespect for the greatest tragedy since Pearl Harbor.

This article makes total sense. People abroad are just not in touch with our reality. Company reverses outsourcing to grow By Gulf Coast Business Review - Tuesday, December 21, 2010 Several Gulf Coast-based manufacturers have gone away from outsourcing production work overseas in recent months, concerned about quality issues. The trend could now spill out to customer service-focused companies that do most of the work over the phone. At least that's the case with Vengroff, Williams and Associates, a Sarasota-based commercial debt collections and management consulting firm. In fact, the company recently won two new debt collection contracts with Fortune 500 companies through a business pitch that included replacing jobs in India with Sarasota-based employees. "In reality, the performance [in India] just wasn't there," Vengroff, Williams and Associates CEO Mark Vengroff tells Coffee Talk. http://www.review.ne...ng-outsourcing/

The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday approved new rules, known as net neutrality, for regulating how information and traffic flow on the Internet. Jeffrey Brown talks to Washington Post reporter Cecilia Kang for more.

Our family debate whether going out in the cold weather when you are sick could actually make you worse off. Interestingly enough a new theory that has been put forward to explain the seasonality of colds and flu, and this theory puts forward the idea that our noses are colder in winter than summer and that cooling of the nose lowers resistance to infection. If the weather is freezing outside we wrap up in winter clothes but we still leave our nose exposed to the freezing air. Every time we breathe in we cool the nasal lining and weaken our local defences against infection. If this theory is correct then covering our nose with a scarf in cold weather could help prevent colds. Eccles R. An explanation for the seasonality of acute upper respiratory tract viral infections. Acta Otolaryngologica (Stockholm) 2002; 122:183-191. Exposure to cold has often been associated with increased incidence and severity of respiratory tract infections. The data available suggest that exposure to cold, either through exposure to low environmental temperatures or during induced hypothermia, increases the risk of developing upper and lower respiratory tract infections and dying from them; in addition, the longer the duration of exposure the higher the risk of infection. Although not all studies agree, most of the available evidence from laboratory and clinical studies suggests that inhaled cold air, cooling of the body surface and cold stress induced by lowering the core body temperature cause pathophysiological responses such as vasoconstriction in the respiratory tract mucosa and suppression of immune responses, which are responsible for increased susceptibility to infections. The general public and public health authorities should therefore keep this in mind and take appropriate measures to prevent increases in morbidity and mortality during winter due to respiratory infections. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17705968

I think by now everyone know that business and union leaders find themselves at odds with each other. This division is one of the reasons so much manufacturing has been outsourced. Both need to come to grip to the fact that our economy is getting cannibalized sector by sector by foreign competition. The first thing that should be discussed is the ITC report that our foreign competitors are stealing our ideas and making money off of them. They use American companies marketing power to gain interest on a particular good and then take them out. The second thing should be discussed is how this is going to effect our military in the future. We no longer have the arsenal for democracy. We do not even make light bulbs anymore. How can we expect to defend our interest in the future. The third thing is how the government should not be penalizing industries with regulation enforcement. Instead they should be researching and implementing solutions that take care of the problem at little to cost of the manufacture in accordance to the amount of jobs that may be lost. The fourth thing is excess. Workers and Business leaders both need to take a reasonable pay cut to compete with our foreign competition. The fifth things is to review historical documents of past American business strategy. Just go to Hershey Park or Disney World and see what the company vision has done for the community that surrounds it. Please feel free to add on.

My friend now makes toys in China. He tells me they are much more festive with Christmas there. It is hard for me to believe. But, it could be true. I do not think he would he lie to me. News media stories say they oppress human rights and religion. The only conclusion I have is that they celebrate the Chinese New Year. What gets me is American companies that deliberately lie about there products being made in the USA and they are not. Take the latest GAP story. http://www.brandchan...e-In-China.aspx How does our government let them get away with stating their goods are made in the United States. They deliberately misinformed the consumer to buy their goods.

As the Rolling Stones say "You can't always get what you want. You sometimes get what you need." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toiM1B6E2ww I hope we see more bipartisan support and less extremism. Divided We Fall. United We Stand.

I can't believe it took them that long. I will definitely spread the word. Thanks

No need to mud-sling. The elections are over. I just heard that a tax relief deal is close at hand. Let's not blow it again.

We are humans. Not robots. No Country is perfect. We just need to reboot and move forward making America great again.

I think we need to focus on the current leaders of country. Now is not the time to be focusing on the bad. Let's consider following the stories of the good people doing the best they can.

I may not follow Speaker elect Boehner's political ideology. But, I do really believe that he loves our country and American citizens. May our Creator guide him.

The Internal Revenue Service today released final guidance for small employers eligible to claim the new small business health care tax credit for the 2010 tax year. Today’s release includes a one-page form and instructions small employers will use to claim the credit for the 2010 tax year. New Form 8941, Credit for Small Employer Health Insurance Premiums, and newly revised Form 990-T are now available on IRS.gov. The IRS also posted on its website the instructions to Form 8941 and Notice 2010-82 , both of which are designed to help small employers correctly figure and claim the credit. Included in the Affordable Care Act enacted in March, the small business health care tax credit is designed to encourage both small businesses and small tax-exempt organizations to offer health insurance coverage to their employees for the first time or maintain coverage they already have. The new guidance addresses small business questions about which firms qualify for the credit by clarifying that a broad range of employers meet the eligibility requirements, including religious institutions that provide coverage through denominational organizations, small employers that cover their workers through insured multiemployer health and welfare plans, and employers that subsidize their employees’ health care costs through a broad range of contribution arrangements. In general, the credit is available to small employers that pay at least half of the premiums for single health insurance coverage for their employees. It is specifically targeted to help small businesses and tax-exempt organizations that primarily employ moderate- and lower-income workers. Small businesses can claim the credit for 2010 through 2013 and for any two years after that. For tax years 2010 to 2013, the maximum credit is 35 percent of premiums paid by eligible small businesses and 25 percent of premiums paid by eligible tax-exempt organizations. Beginning in 2014, the maximum tax credit will increase to 50 percent of premiums paid by eligible small business employers and 35 percent of premiums paid by eligible tax-exempt organizations. The maximum credit goes to smaller employers –– those with 10 or fewer full-time equivalent (FTE) employees –– paying annual average wages of $25,000 or less. The credit is completely phased out for employers that have 25 or more FTEs or that pay average wages of $50,000 or more per year. Because the eligibility rules are based in part on the number of FTEs, not the number of employees, employers that use part-time workers may qualify even if they employ more than 25 individuals. Eligible small businesses will first use Form 8941 to figure the credit and then include the amount of the credit as part of the general business credit on its income tax return. Tax-exempt organizations will first use Form 8941 to figure their refundable credit, and then claim the credit on Line 44f of Form 990-T. Though primarily filed by those organizations liable for the tax on unrelated business income, Form 990-T will also be used by any eligible tax-exempt organization to claim the credit, regardless of whether they are subject to this tax.

Is it harmony of body, mind, and soul? Or is it the thought of life? I picture the release of stress and still bliss.

A Maryland-based ornament design company, announced it has generated record sales this season following its initiative to focus exclusively on made-in-America Christmas Tree ornaments, including a unique line of USA-themed ornaments like the George Washington Monument Holiday Ornament. Holiday season sales are up 6%, according to A Christmas Ornament Co., as consumers increasingly look to American-made products rather than those made overseas, in an effort to slow the trend of outsourcing American jobs and manufacturing. “Buying American is a consumer decision, representing the only way we can keep manufacturing jobs in the United States,” commented Luke Wilbur, CEO of A Christmas Ornament Co. “During this Holiday Season, many are suffering as a result of the challenging economy, and many of us have family members who have seen their jobs outsourced to other countries. The holidays are an ideal time to think about helping your fellow Americans, and this is just one small way. We exclusively sell Christmas ornaments sourced from manufacturers, artists, design houses, machinists, materials and inks made in the United States. We are doing our part to keep jobs in America and restore pride in superior American craftsmanship, and as evidenced by our sales growth even during this slow economy, that message is resonating with American consumers." Outsourcing of American manufacturing has had a devastating impact on the US economy, yet big box retailers continue to import billions of dollars of foreign made goods, many of which are poor in quality. A recent Adweek Media/Harris Poll found that three in five Americans (61%) say they are more likely to purchase something when the ad touts it is “Made in America.” While it is clear Americans want to buy products made in the USA, they are often left without an alternative. Americans are forced to perpetuate this cycle when they can't find American-made goods.

Federal Reserve is buying U.S. treasury bonds from Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and the rest of the finance industry at an inflated price instead of buying it directly from the U.S. Treasury. It will be interesting to see who actually purchased large amounts of treasuries before QE2.

Owners want profit and do not want to pay labor for jobs. Automation and Robotics are slowly replacing humans in various business assembly functions. What hardware and software cannot do are more and more outsourced to foreign countries. The actual flow of outsourced goods and services with only brand name here is mind blowing. Americans need to do the tasks that are being outsourced. This Holiday Season buy American. Look online for American made goods. For those that work in a warehouse environment take note.