TheWiseOldFart

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart I was just a boy growing up in West Los Angeles in the mid 1950’s. Although our mother took us to a small area near a miniature golf course several times which was occupied by small food establishments offering a vriety of “culinary delights,” including hamburgers, Chinese food, hot dogs, pizza, and other inexpensive and tasty varieties of what became known as “fast food,” none of them were well-known by anyone other than the people who lived nearby. Almost by magic, a new restaurant opened in the area. It was brightly decorated in yellow with a red roof. This one was different: you could eat inside the establishment or take food to go. A hamburger cost 15 cents, and a milkshake 20 cents. It was called McDonalds. The rest is history. THE BIG MAC AND AN OBSESSION In 1967 McDonalds introduced the “Big Mac.” It contained two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce cheese, and pickles on a sesame bun. It cost 45 cents. I cannot estimate the number o...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   The 2024 IRS budget is 14.1 billion dollars : 1.8 billion dollars more than 2023. It is fair to claim that this system is far more expensive than  it’s worth.   The tax code consists of 6,871 pages. 99 percent of those pages involve exemptions for the wealthy and super-rich as well as large corporations. These advantages are better known as “write-offs.” The basic rules for at least 50 percent of all Americans can be found in the first few pages.   Maybe I’m crazy, but it appears that the primary purpose of the IRS is to assist the wealthy and corporations in their efforts to evade paying their fair share of taxes.   Over my 77 Years Several Suggestions Have Been Made to Create a Simpler and More Just System   Our government is incompetent, and I am not referring solely to what happens on Capitol Hill. Along with the IRS I believe there is enormous incompetence and corruption in the FDA, the FCC, the Consumer Protection ...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   Our government continues to fail its primary responsibility: to improve the lives of all Americans. Although the mainstream media continues to lie about the fact, Greedflation continues to be a serious problem for most Americans.   One half of all Americans live in the low-income level or below the poverty line. This guarantees one fact: housing and the cost of food are their greatest necessities, and both have escalated dramatically. GREEDFLATION REMAINS A BIG AND GROWING PROBLEM  Just months ago, our grocery bill averaged about 120 dollars each week. This has risen to an average of more than 180 dollars per week. Fortunately, my wife and I purchased our home in 1998. Our house payment is about two hundred dollars less than the average one-bedroom apartment in the Reno/Sparks area.   Another area which proves Greedflation continues to exist is our monthly utility bill. Over the last several months our gas and electric bill has risen mor...