Another Quick Update:

Just so you don't forget about me, I am still relocating. The process should be completed this weekend. I have a several weeks of posts that will come starting Monday.

Dissolution has finished, we think, and now we move to Separation. So stay tuned!

Quick Update

For all 6 of my readers!

I am currently in the process of relocating, and so there will be some time before I can post again. But don't go away! Sign up for rss feeds, so when I return, you'll know!


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No Excuses (For Throw back...Sunday?)

Hey guys, small post for today. I recently changed from random work to politics, but I still like to find ways to empower you. I found one

No Excuse List, which has aggregated several ways to learn new skills.

As soon as I can be consistent with anything, I shall start using it myself.

Paul Soglin, Uber and Lyft are here to stay.

I am not a hip cat.  I do not own a tablet. The IQ of my phone is not anywhere near "smart." I am still confused by social media and I routinely threaten to quit Facebook in a huff.

In short, I am somewhat slow in adapting to new technology. Not unlike Paul Soglin in Madison and other cities.

Our world is hurtling into the future, creating new ways to do old things. Facebook changed the way we connect to others and share our life. Instagram changed the way we share pictures and make our friends feel jealous. Tinder changed the way we date. And Uber and Lyft change the way we travel around town.

Lawmakers need to keep up, and stop bowing to the special interests that line their pockets. 

Uber and Lyft are being cited as an "unregulated taxi services" according to the government.  This just means they won't pony up the enormous fees to be a Taxi company. And Taxi companies are quite pissed about it.   They argue under the pretense of safety. They claim the service needs be 24/7. The legislators  leave unsaid the $2200 per cab that needs be paid every two years to the city. The Taxi cabs leave unsaid that Uber and Lyft take away from their market share.


I have never used Uber or Lyft , but they are becoming more popular with a college crowd. And rather than bullying them out of the market, like Madison wants to do, maybe we should encourage entrepreneurship, like Milwaukee has begun to do.

And Taxi cab companies, rather than press your legislators to beat up on new services, why not ask "why are Uber and Lyft so popular?" or "what makes Uber and Lyft more enticing than our services?" Because Uber and Lyft are being used in Madison, even with your bully-tactics. So they have to be doing something right.

This fiasco is just another example of corporatism, where a business buys a politician rather than competes in the market.

Legislators and City Officials like Paul Soglin need to get hip to the times and listen to his constituents, not the Taxi Cab Lobbyists. Madison is full of young people, keen on technology and ready for the cyber-capitalist revolution. People who, like Alder Scott Resnik want access to the options technology is bringing. The technology is here, the desire for it is here. The markets are turning fast - too fast for heavy handed control. The digital-age genie is out of the bottle. And no amount of legislative saber-rattling will put it back.

"You should run for office!"

In the past 3-4 weeks, a lot of people have told me I should run for office. This level of synchronicity cannot be ignored. The people say I have the personality for politics. This is a terrifying thought. It implies that, like most politicians, I have  combination of bull-headed fanaticism and brusque down-to-earth charm, with just a dash of sociopathy.

I can't say they are wrong if that's the case. Or it could be that I make any place my soapbox. I'll pontificate at the drop of the hat.  Seems to me that the if you have a passion for something (pontificating) and are good at it, you shouldn't do it for free.

Unfortunately, that means I ought go into politics, as a pundit or a talk show host (or, alternatively into motivational speaking or preaching).

I am careful to try and maintain some anonymity on the internet.  This fools errand stems from a positive fear that, should I ever get my act together, someone will pull out some transcript and try to shame me. I have said,  for mischief or in jest, so many things that can damn a burgeoning Political Career.

Seriously, I've said some shit. I won't deny it. I say things sometimes just  to piss people off.

But, in light of this, I will, in the future,  articulate some stances. Those who know me already know I want to find a better balance between corporate interests and people.  Warning, there is a lot of cussing in my previous posts.

I want to find a better balance, and better solutions - primarily capitalist solutions, to problems. But I think the rise of neo-con corporatism leads to resentment when it walks hand-in-hand with entitlement. The economy of the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s is gone, I fully admit this. But the new economic reality exists mostly because wealth had flowed upward at breakneck pace.  Wealth always does flow upward, but since the 90s the rising tide has left the bottom underwater.

I don't want people working. I want people prosperous. This distinction is lost on most Republicans and Democrats. Republicans talk about getting people to work, Democrats discuss people making living wages without regards to the long term damage.  neither discuss prosperity.

 I realize I am in the minority, that, like an entrepreneur, can't work for someone else. For most people, the American Dream was never about becoming rich - it was about reaching a level of safety and comfort for you and your family.

Many people can be happy with a stable 40-hour job, so long as they have disposable income enough for a movie and pizza on Saturday and a big screen TV for Football on Sunday  Or boardgames and Firefly marathons. Or a library full of books and two cats. Or weekends hunting with friends.

I firmly believe that everyone just wants enough disposable income to have a place for themselves and entertainment and enjoyment.  I realize that philosophers and theologians might ask if there is something more, something greater. That's fine, I certainly do.  But I don't begrudge what a person wants to do with their free time. That's their business. But prosperity, that is, a satisfactory work/life balance, is the key to a productive and happy nation.

How do we get that? Well, I am definitely pro-capitalist solutions. But as a realist, I also cannot deny that post-scarcity is coming, and the economic realities with regard to that mean that I cannot dismiss out of hand the possibility of basic income. This is ultimately why I am a moderate. There are solutions I don't like that may ultimately be the best solution.  I can't dismiss a view simply because I don't like it or it doesn't fit my ideal.

This is becoming a very complicated topic, it seems. On this digital soapbox, I could write until my fingers fall off and still not achieve the sort of Hegelian synthesis  and distinctness of meaning I am looking for.  So let's move on, and I'll expand in future segments.

I am unwilling to deny that the world is changing, and laws that worked in 1985 may not work today.  There examples of social media and smartphones radically changing the way we do business and socialize. I don't know, without some deliberation, if re should regulate, or deregulate - but I am inclined towards liberty, and therefore the latter.

That's the big deal for me. Your life is your life. I want you to have options, and I want people who don't like the way you live your life to, if you'll pardon, shut their pieholes. If you are not hurting someone  I advocate that it's none of my business. Gay? Straight? Religious? Atheist? None of my business and not the business of the government.  I feel that all of our problems are based on people in power limiting, regulating, and legislating our options on behalf of the nannies, the religious, the super-rich, and the scared. They do this from moral high ground that they know what's best and what they like is the best thing ever. They do this to protect their wealth. They do this because they are afraid of a little risk and a little adventure. They do this out of envy.

That's idiotic. I think people who deny your options because they don't like them are nincompoops. I think demanding the use of legislation to force you to live the way they want is stupid. The person who best knows what you want, need, and are, is you.  You are therefore responsible for living the life you want - so long as it doesn't harm others. And so I feel the job of government is to, through least action possible, discourage legislating and regulating your life. 

Enough, but not too much, is the mantra of good government.

If you feel similarly, I will happily try my hand at politics. It's a hard row to hoe, partially because I don't know where to start.   Crowdfunding? Facebook activism? Door to door chats?

If you want to see a new policy of live and let live on the domestic front, then share this on facebook or Google+. Post this on Reddit. And don't forget to drop by the donate button and toss some cheddar my way.

Give Me Cannoli's or Give Me Death! (More Obstacles)

Note: Make sure to check out out changes page to learn what's new


I posted in my profile the following quote, which I think appropriate to the direction this blog is heading. It's important to make it clear:

“Liberty, to define it, is nothing other than the absence of impediments to motion” - Thomas Hobbes

He is rapidly becoming my favorite political and economic thinker. Again.

Anyway, let's continue showing the regulatory nightmare that impedes liberty and wealth. If you haven't, start with part one here.

I love the idea of micro-businesses. Let's say you have a great recipe to share with people. Wouldn't it be great to have a kitchen that actually meets FDA and Health Code standards so you could sell your product?
This woman thought so.  I noted, with ever increasing frustration, that Chicago disagreed. I don't even understand. Cooking, as an art or craft, is truly available to everyone.  Cooking is easy - don't get me wrong, being a chef is not. But a single recipe, perfected, is one of the fastest ways to provide a service and gain wealth. It ranks with programming as a way to go from poverty to reasonable wealth, and a career,  expediently.  It's hard work, but it didn't require a costly education to bake a few types of cookies and sell them.  What story of a chef doesn't start with a recipe learned from a grandparent?

Zina Murray wanted to remove an obstacle to wealth for individuals in poverty. With a much smaller start up cost, her clients could build and row a business.

They were closed down, and have re-opened. I couldn't find a Brick and mortar location.  They are focusing on helping people work through the system's sizable amount of paperwork, even as that system closed their business.They teach food safety as well.

Minnesota seems to agree that baked goods need not be made in an FDA kitchen. But "Cottage Food" laws
prevent most in-home bakers from expanding. After a certain amount of profit, you become a bakery, and are suddenly subject to FDA regulations. And recently - very recently, the Second District court dismissed the suit against the law.

I realize we need to have healthy food standards. There are people, who, in attempt to make a quick buck or shave down margins, will ignore customer health. However, I believe these people are becoming fewer in number, and in ignoring quality, will lose money.

Perhaps Zina Murray should open her Logan Square Kitchen in St. Paul.

Let's say that in order to save money, you want a garden. Now that's something we can't have. Now I have no problem with agricultural science, or even GMOs - they are reducing famine and hunger. I do have a problem when local government tells people they can't grow vegetables - healthy, life-sustaining vegetables, on their property. You know, property they purchased and paid taxes on?
What's more, small scale production will help in areas that generally don't have grocery access. It cuts down on food costs and increases sustainability. Small-scale food growing is not for the wealthy or the suburbs. It has a beneficial impact on urban areas. I'm no environmentalist hippy, but when you can save money, increase property values, and help the environment, and feed people - I call that a win-win...win...win.

Now, this is an attempt to keep Miami Shores "character."  I might suggest Hermine and Tom sell their home to a Stepford wife. Because apparently "character" means "bland mediocrity" in Miami Shores.

I have seen, first hand, what a garden can do for an area. Compare my what I drive past nearly every day, to a drive I take about once a month. I'll take a garden, any day of the week.

It's this foolish madness - byzantine and Kafka-esque ordinances. You can put ugly flamingo's and fruit in your front yard, but not zucchini. The orange and the strawberry and the hideous garden gnome is permitted, but WOE, WOE unto the CARROT.

I say blow their minds: Plant a Tomato!


This is only part two. We have more idiocy at local levels. I am reminded of person who get upset when you decide that you don't want to see the movie they want to see. Instead of going alone, they cajole, coerce and restrict you. It's childish in the extreme.

Part three we will discuss when the government fixes prices by making things more expensive.

Changes to the blog

I changed the layout to a  cleaner, more professional look. When I started this blog, I didn't really have a plan. I called it "What Is He Building In There" as a nod to Tom Wait, but also because my plan was to write about a rebuilding process. Specifically mine.


I wanted to write as part of an alternative graduate degree.  At first I just wrote as I chose, irregularly "shotgunning" posts . Post whatever I like and see what sticks. And though I'm not done writing whatever comes to mind, I seem to enjoy waxing political. So it's likely there will be a radical increase in frequency to informing against (and occasionally, rarely, for) the government and the well-established corporatocracy. 

I wanted to get a more professional look, something easy to read. I also updated my profile, as I plan to swear significantly less. If this style whiplash offends, please let me know. I will be happy to cuss up a storm if it pleases my audience.


The name change is from Hobbes. I find I am Hobbesian in my outlook, and that is why we must attempt to be helpful. World's a scary place, let's try to make it less scary.

Finally, I have on the left a donate button.  If you like what you read, and want to see more, please donate. if you don't like what you see and want something different, donate and tell me. Most just donate.

 And don't forget to share on Facebook and Google Plus if your are entertained.

Obstacles to Economic Freedom (Part 1)

 So I want to discuss the problem with jobs, and offer solutions. My favorite solution, being a libertarian, is small business.  You have a service or product and you offer it to others in return for money. It's a pretty easy system that becomes terribly complicated very soon. And this unregulated  capitalism has one glaring flaw - it's only flaw:

Without proper deregulation, it leads to corporatism.
See, if you are a canny business-man or -woman, and more importantly, a callous one, you become a de facto lawmaker. It becomes cheaper for you to influence local government via campaign contributions than to actually make a better product.

It happens at all levels. Here are several examples, mostly local. We've already ranted on the major corporations and minimum wages  here.  And this is a follow-up to Jobs Don't Work.. 



So let's get started. Have you tried to start a job? In theory it's quite simple. You fill apply for an Employer Identification Number.  The SBA lists 10 steps required, but really, all you need to be in business as a sole proprietorship is an EIN number and a name. You don't even need to register the name, even though you ought.

My ambivalence to the taxes aside, I don't begrudge the EIN number. However, in Milwaukee Area, they utterly wreck your ability to hang a shingle. Literally, without a building to work in, you cannot have signage. 
What's the reasoning here? It's simple. Signage reduces property values. Nobody wants to see a big sign on your house. But then, so do bullet holes, but Milwaukee seems totally OK with that.

The entire video is full of completely ridiculous. Treating books like guns? The street vendor lottery? Is book theft that big of a deal? Already we have laws to protect against unsafe food, the Better Business Bureau and Angie's List for services like interior decorators. Anyone who uses a service should demand references from that service.

If Chuck wants to start a business, he's out of luck. 

The problem is an inherent corruption. Claims to the contrary, government officials rarely care about issues once the money starts rolling in.  Instead, a government career is now a brilliant scam; become  wealthy without producing anything. If a business is popular, look under nearby rocks to find a Bureaucrat or Legislator seeking to put his hand out under the guise of "public good."
 

When my uncle gets a haircut, he goes to a small quiet Latino neighborhood. He arrives at a house int he early evening, and there is usually a line. He hears three or four languages, he talks with neighbors and sees children playing. Each patron -old men, women, children, is eventually  led to a chair where and old mother and her daughters cut hair for 5 dollars. Five dollars. Needless to say, barbers and cosmetologists hate this. How can they charge 100 or more for a perm if they are being undercut in the market?

Government bureaucrats to the rescue!  Lock up these hair-braiding miscreants!



It's insanity. It's working for money, not for good service, not for quality, not for a better world. And it's short-sighted, because it doesn't improve wealth over all by allowing for people to break away from poverty.
  Might as well follow Chuck back to his no-good dead-end job. Unfortunately, that job is being outsourced or automated. It might not be there when he returns.

We'll continue with more examples in part two. Chicago is an egregious over-regulator, stemming from a history of criminals. In civil office or otherwise.