US Income Tax History 11/27/23

In 1783, the Revolutionary War debt was $75 million. Congress agreed to charging Tariffs on Imports to fund the US government and pay down the war debt. Later in 1789 the US government added a Whisky tax. In 1795, the US paid off the $2 million war debt. The US Income Tax began in 1862 to pay for the Civil War. 

US Income Tax Rate History 1862-2013

This is a comprehensive history of US tax rates The data begins in 2013 and shows the marginal tax rate and tax brackets for individual and joint filings. It does not include tax rates from 2017 forward. 

After the 1913 data, it shows the same data for 1895 to 1912. It then shows the data back to 1862.

https://files.taxfoundation.org/legacy/docs/fed_individual_rate_history_nominal.pdf

Comments

The income tax begins in 1862 to support the Civil War, but is not as onerous as the national debt that would grow as the war unfolded. In 1862 the tax rate was established at 0% on earnings up to $600, 3% of earnings up to $10,000 and 5% of earnings over $10,000 . By 1870 it moved to 2.5% of earnings over $2000.. From 1873 to 1893 there was no individual income tax. In 1894 income tax returned with 2% of earnings over $4000.

From 1895 to 1912 there was no individual income tax. By 1912, the Civil War $2.7 billion national debt was finally paid off. This prompted the Federal Government to drastically increase tax rates to prepare for World War I.

https://files.taxfoundation.org/legacy/docs/fed_individual_rate_history_nominal.pdf

In 1913, income tax returned permanently with 1% of $20000 and tax rates up to 7% for income over $500,000. In 1915 tax rates rose to 3% on income of $20000 to 40000 and a top rate of 15% on incomes above $2 million. In 1917 tax rates rose to 4% of $2000 income and a top rate of 67% of $2 million.In 1918 tax rates rose to 12% of $4000 and a top rate of 77% of $1 million income.

In 1919, income tax rates went to 8% of $4000 and 73% of $1 million. In 1922 the tax rate was 8% of $4000 with a top rate of 58% of $200 thousand. In 1924 tax rates moved to 4% of $4000 with a top rate of 46% of $500 thousand. In 1925 tax rates moved to 3% of $4000 with a top rate of 25% of $100 thousand. In 1932 tax rates moved to 8% of $4000 with at top rate of 63% of $1 million. In 1936 tax rates remained 8% of $4000 with a top rate of 79% of $5 million.

In 1941 tax rates moved to 12% of $4000 with a top rate of 81% of $5 million. In 1942 tax rates moves to 22% of $2000 with at top rate of 88% of $200 thousand. In 1944 tax rates moved to 25% of $2000 with a top rate of 94% of $200 thousand. In 1946 tax rates moved to 22% of $2000 with a top rate of 91% of $200 thousand. In 1951 tax rates moved to 22.4% of $2000 with a top rate of 91% of $200 thousand.

In 1952 tax rates moved to 24.6% of $2000 with a top rate of 92% of $200 thousand. In 1954 rax rates moved to 22% of $2000 with a top rate of 91% of $200 thousand. In 1955 tax rates moved to 22% of $4000 with a top rate of 91% of $400 thousand. In 1964 tax rates moved to 16.5% of $1000 with a top rate of 77% of $400 thousand. In 1965 tax rates moved to 15% of $1000 with a top rate of 70% of $200 thousand. In 1977 tax rates moved to 14% of $3200 with a top rate of 70% of $203200. In 1979 tax rates moved to 14% of 3400 with a top rate of 70% of $215400.

https://files.taxfoundation.org/legacy/docs/fed_individual_rate_history_nominal.pdf

In 1981 Ronald Reagan became President and started his tax reform program in 2 phases. The top bracket had remained above 70% from 1914 to 1982, but inflation had soared from bread costing 2 cents to costing $2.

In Phase 1, Reagan moved the top rate from 70% to 50%.

In 1982 tax rates moved to down to 12% of $3400 with a top rate 50% of $85000. In 1983 tax rates moved down to 11% of % of $3400 with a top rate of 50% of $109400. In 1984 tax rates moved to 11% of $3400 with a top rate of 50% of $162400. In 1985 tax rates moved to 11% of $3540 with a top rate of 50% of $169020. In 1986 tax rates moved to 11% of $3670 with a top rate of 50% of $175250.

In Phase 2 Reagan took the top rate from 50% to 38.5%.

In 1967 tax rates moved to 15% of $3000 with a top rate of 38.5% of $90 thousand. In 1968 tax rates moved to 15% of $29750 with a top rate of 28% of amounts over $29750. In 1989 tax rates moved to 15% of $30950 witn a top rate of 28% over $30950. In 1990 tax rates moved to 15% of $32450 with a top rate of 28% over $32450.

George HW Bush raised taxes in 1991.

In 1991 tax rates moved up to 15% of $34000 with a top rate of 31% of $82150. In 1992 tax rates moved up to 15% of $35800 with a top rate of 31% of $86500.

In 1993 Bill Clinton became President. In 1993 tax rates moved up to 15% of $36900 with a top rate of 39% of $250 thousand. In 1994 tax rates moved to 15% of $39000 with a top rate of 39.6% of $250 thousand. In 1995 tax rates moved to 15% of $69000 with a top rate of 39.6% of $256,500. In 1996 tax rates moved to 15% of $39000 with a top rate of 39.6% of $256500.  In 1997 tax rates moved to 15% of $41200 with a top rate of 39.6% of $271,050.

In 1998 tax rates moved to 15% of $42350 with a top rate of 39.6% of $278450. In 1999 tax rates moved to 15% of $43050 with a top rate of 39.6% of $283,150. In 2000 tax rates moved to 15% of $43850 with a top rate of 39.6% of $288350.

George W Bush lowered taxes. In 2001 tax rates moved to 15% of $45200 with a top rate of 39.1% of $297,350. In 2002 tax rates moved to 15% of amounts over $12.000 with a top rate of 38.6% of $307,050. In 2003 tax rates moved to 15% of amounts over $15000 with a top rate of 35% of $311,950. GW Bush added $10T to the National Debt with wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Barak Obama maintained taxes with no changes. Obama added $10T to the National Debt with a failed Green Energy stimulus and excessive Federal Spending.

From 2004 to 2013 tax rates followed the same pattern as outlined above, remaining at 15% of increasing taxable income amounts witn a 35% top rate.

https://files.taxfoundation.org/legacy/docs/fed_individual_rate_history_nominal.pdf

Comments

In 2017, Donald Trump lowered all taxes on individuals and corporations significantly.  The top individual tax  bracket moved down to 22% and the corporate tax dropped to 21%.The top individual tax rate dropped from 35% to 28%. Trump imposed tariffs on imports from China but added $4T to the National Debt with Covid support due to Democrat State shut-downs and vaccine mandates.

By 2023, Joe Biden has added another $6T to the National Debt with another failed attempt to stimulate Green Energy to support the Climate Change Hoax.

US History contains a chronical of American families’ reactions to taxation. American colonists fought for independence to preserve their independence and end government abuse. We are currently suffering from government abuse at all levels. North America was identified by England in the 1500s as a source of much needed timber to build ships and buildings. It later became a source of agricultural goods like tobacco and cotton. Tariffs encouraged the development of US-based manufacturing. The US was able to repay our civil war debts with temporary income taxes. In 1913, Marxists were able to pass a permanent income tax to pay off World Wars 1 and 2.  For decades, the government managed to keep the US National Debt below $5 trillion, but after 2008, the debt grew to $33 trillion.  The US federal debt needs to be reduced by cutting unnecessary spending by returning powers to the States, using total economic isolation instead of war and ending Biden’s suicidal policies.    

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

Going Global 11/26/23

Nothing Exceeds like Excess.

We always sabotage ourselves by going too far.  Our elected officials need to abandon the “bandwagon” rides and adopt strategic assessment.

We have come through a reckless experiment led by Global Marxists. It began with the Iron Mountain Report in 1960 that concluded that wars could not be stopped, but governments needed to invent a natural disaster to justify their own existence. In 1989, this became Global Warming and was the basis of the Rio Accords and the publication of UN Agenda 21. This was signed on to by George HW Bush and implemented in 1990 by Bill Clinton. The name later changed to Climate Change. Agenda 21 called for a Global Government. When the global economy began to decline after 2009, implementation began to slow. Countries became more “national”.

We have always organized our private sector industries as “national” entities.  We have always traded with other nations by importing and exporting raw materials and manufactured goods.  We have always protected intellectual property by enforcing patent laws.

In the 1950s, the US was the dominant manufacturer.  When Europe recovered in the 1960s, the European countries demanded that the US move its final manufacturing plants to their countries for goods sold to their citizens. Many US companies did establish plants in other countries looking for lower labor costs. Shoe and clothing manufacturers began moving their plants to lower wage countries. US dominance continued through the 1960s and companies moved to Southern Right to Work States and avoided unionization, but labor costs remained high as companies paid their non-union employees well to avoid unionization.  I was in the middle of the battle to make unions unnecessary.

In the 1960s we all drove American cars that got 10 miles per gallon and were designed to fall apart at 100,000 miles. In 1960, gasoline prices were low at about 20 cents per gallon, but gas prices steadily moved up to 30, 40 and 50 cents per gallon.  I graduated college in 1965 and my first employer had an IBM computer.

In the 1970s, the US auto industry failed to recognize the need for better gas mileage.  The foreign car manufacturers with better mileage gained market share.  I bought a Triumph Spitfire to commune to work in 1973 and there were lots of Volkswagens on the road. US automobiles got 10 miles to the gallon.  My Spitfire got 30 miles to the gallon.   

Also, in the 1970s, the invention of the transistor at Texas Instruments started the process to replace vacuum tubes with electronic components for computers and TVs. This led to pocket calculators, walkman radios and the production of circuit boards.  For computers and programmable logic controllers. The first cell phones and personal computers were sold by Radio Shack.

In 1973, I automated personnel records at Washington University to allow the IBM computer to produce Appointment Letters and mandatory government reports . In 1979 I automated security systems at Schwan Foods

to replace keys and timecards with Rusco magnetic strip cards and monitored sensors to fireproof the ammonia refrigeration system. We also automated frozen pizza production increasing throughput and tripling sales.

In the 1980s, the Japanese Hondas and Toyotas became wildly popular in the US. It was clear that the US automakers had failed to keep market share.

Also in the 1980s the surge in US electronics began with the Personal Computer, followed by telephone equipment and controller upgrades.  Interest in digital signal processing led to replacing analog phones with digital phones. Cell phone towers appeared in 1983.

In 1986 I joined Electomagnetic Sciences to manufacture defense hardware. I was tapped to join the American Electronics Association Board in Atlanta as HR Chair. I served until 1996. The AEA merged with ITAA in 2009 and became the Technology Association of America. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AeA

In 1989, President George HW Bush signed on the UN Agenda 21 and passed every dumb law Ted Kennedy sponsored. In 1990, he won the Gulf War and ended the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq. He was blind-sighted by the US recession in 1992 and was defeated by Bill Clinton in 1993.

In 1993, Bill Clinton ordered the US government to implement the UN Agenda 21. He lived within the budget, but did begin the end of US manufacturing. 

In1993, the US passed NAFTA and off-shored much of the auto and auto parts manufacturing to plants in Canada and Mexico. The US was in the middle of the electronics boom years.  In 1995, micro-processors were improved to allow the internet to became available further expanding productivity.

In 1993, I was kidnapped by my friends from the AEA Board to form my own consulting practice and I operated it until I retired in 2017. I did projects for 46 companies including IBM, Rockwell, Boeing and L3. The Reagan defense buildup had succeeded and was coming to a close. The US had stealth airplanes, precision missiles and rockets and active space programs.  

In 2000 Toyota introduced the Prius Hybrid. In 2005, they improved the design. It got 60 miles per gallon and swiched to electric power when you stopped.  That meant no more gas burning at stop lights and in heavy stop and go traffic. We sold our Cadillacs and bought 2 2005 Prius Hybrids.  We still drive our 2012 Prius Hybrid and will continue to drive Prius Hybrids.  Hondas are famous for lasting 300,000 and more. New car prices are too high, so most car buyers in the US buy used cars. In 2014 Chrystler was sold to Fiat leaving Ford and GM as the remaining and failing US automakers. In 2000, cell phones included cameras. In 2007 the Apple I-phone was introduced.

Also in 2000, President George W Bush was surprised by the downing of the Twin Towers on 9/11/2000. He invaded Afghanistan to defeat Alkida and later invaded Iraq. In 2008, Bush was surprised by the Mortgage Meltdown. He added $10 trillion to the National Debt.

In 2009 President Baraq Obama presided over the great recession from 2009 to 2015. Obama was raised as a Muslim Communist.  He imported Muslim refugees, increased regulations and solidified the “deep state”. He pursued elevating Iran, attacked US property owners and added another $10 trillion to the National Debt.

In 2017 President Trump presented his Make America Great Again movement.  He cut corporate and individual income taxes, removed unnecessary regulations, built a border wall, closed the Mexican border and wiped out the Isis Terror group. He secured low inflation at 1.5%, lowered unemployment to 3.5% and increased US GDP. He increased US production of oil and natural gas that lowered gasoline costs to $2 per gallon and kept energy costs low. He  authorized oil and natural gas pipelines and made the US energy independent. He renegotiated trade agreements and imposed tariffs on Chinese imports. He reduced vaccine production time from 5 years to 1 year. Trump was working on completing the border wall, returning manufacturing jobs to the US and reducing the US trade deficit.  He was relentlessly attacked by Democrats because he made them look bad.

In 2021, President Biden presented his national suicide pact. It requires converting to electric vehicles, raising gasoline prices to $4 to $5 per gallon, requires converting from coal and natural gas electricity generation to wind and solar with a 500% increase in electricity costs,  Biden also opened the US border to import 10 million potential Democrat voters to unskilled labor jobs we don’t have.  He also encouraged wars in Ukraine and Israel with his sloppy evacuation from Afghanistan. 

Trump and Biden are likely to face-off in November 2024. Trump already proved that total economic isolation can replace war. He did this in Iran. He also used tariffs and suspension of foreign aid to stop scams from other countries. He identified climte change as a hoax.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

 

 

Home Ownership 11/25/23

We are each responsible for ourselves. We are here to become self-supporting and provide our own food and shelter. We are responsible for helping an injured neighbor to get medical help. We are also responsible for our children to learn to become self-supporting.  We may opt to extend our help to relatives outside our immediate family. Home ownership is the most common way to ensure that we continue to provide shelter for ourselves and it is a way to generate family wealth. We should plan to pay off our mortgages by age 60. We should continue to work past age 66, when Social Security begins if we can. Social Security benefits are determined by the amount you paid into Social Security over a lifetime. We are allowed to continue to work past age 66 and still collect our Social Security benefits.  

Home Ownership is critical to everyone.  In the US, it is called the American Dream. Our current Social Security and 401k savings programs allow us to plan for retirement.  Renting is not an option.  It is best to purchase a home as soon as possible. Your mortgage payment is tax deductible and home values continue to rise.  Home repair, maintenance and upgrading are necessary to maintain your home value.

My wife and I were married in 1964 and moved in with my mom as my brother had done, to save for a down-payment. We were able to purchase a 4-bedroom, 2000 square foot single family home in 1966. for $16000.  It was a fixer-upper headed for foreclosure, so for $750 we paid the seller’s back taxes and assumed a $150 per month mortage payment at 4% interest. It was a 4 bedroom, 2000 square foot ranch home with a full basement on a 1 acre lot in a subdivision in St. Charles County in the exurbs of St. Louis. The home was next door to my brother.  It was closer to our mom’s work, so we moved her in with us to be closer to work and live by her grandkids. We rented her home in Maplewood for $500/month.

We began by replacing doors and re-stained the redwood front.  My brother and I installed ¾ inch plumbing  and installed central air. We had the living-room carpeted and purchased furniture. We installed a concrete patio in back and a bypass driveway next to the attached garage. We planted vegetable gardens in the back yards and added trees to the front. We had a pond next to the back yard and Ice Skated there every winter.  My brother’s 2 boys painted the house and the roof was replaced due to hail damage. I build a cedar closet in the basement where we had our washer and dryer. I expanded the septic tank field drain system. We sold the house in 1975 for $36000.  Our mortgage payments were $1800 per year. Our home value had doubled. We got all of our mortgage payments back.  We had 6 kids an a great time in St. Charles Mo, but my career was taking us to Salina Kanses

In 1975, we bought a 2 story, 3000 square foot 4 bedroom house with a full basement on a half-acre lot in Salina Kansas for $55,000.The mortage payment was $300 per month and the interest rate was 6%  We bought a boat and camped on their lakes on the weekends. The kids were ages 2 to 10.  We had a great time  

In Salina for 8 years. My career was now taking us to Atlanta GA.  We sold that house for $80,000.

In 1983 we bought a 2 story 4000 square foot, brick and siding, 6 bedroom house with a full, daylight finished basement and large screened porch, on a cul de sac on 1 acre lot in Dunwoody GA for $137,000. The mortgage interest was 13% and the mortgage payment was $1400 per month. Our kids were ages 10 to 18.  My wife entered Dental Hygiene school in Dunwoody. We refinanced the mortgage at 10% and again at 7% with a 15 year loan.  We paid off the mortgage in 2002. Home prices in our subdivision now range from $700,000 to $900,000.

 We’ve enjoyed living here for 40 years. We continued to maintain and upgrade this house. We did much of the work ourselves.  We moved the air conditioner condensers to the basement patio,.We removed all the dark paneling and replaced it with drywall. We expanded the driveway to include 3 parking spaces by the 2 car garage. 

We built brick patios in back and at the basement door. We built a marble base and painted wood fireplace surround to cover the full brick ceiling to floor 1970s style fireplace.

With the help of contractors we replaced the roof with 35 year Elk, replaced the siding with hardiplank, we added a light oak floor in the kitchen. We refaced the built-in’s with light cherry laminate and cherry doors and drawers.We added a Sub-Zero refrigerator. We replaced HVAC units and modified the duct-work. We raised the ceiling in the basement. 

We hired contractors to move the air conditioner condensers to the basement patio. They insalled a new oven with microwave, gas cook top, hood and dish washer, They installed the drywall. They raised the basement ceiling, They resurfaced the built-ins and installed a Sub-Zero 650. They installed a lawn sprinkling system, removed trees, replaced sewer and water lines, replaced the siding and installrd a new roof and HVAC units,

We were able to build the brick patios with 13 tons of granite sand and 14 pallets of brick with a French drain to send rain water to the side of the house. We extend the parking places, painted the siding, build the fireplace surround and did minor maintenance.  All contractors followed my modifications.

I estimate we spent about $200,000 over 40 years to maintain and upgrade the house.  We paid our $1400 monthly mortgage with $16800 per year for 20 years for a total of $336,000   That would put the investment at

$536.000. US Estate tax begins at $13M, so even if you house sells for $900,000, our kids won’t have to pay Estate tax.That is how generational wealth is created.

We stopped making mortgage payments 20 years ago. We qualified for a senior discount on our property tax at age 70.5 and stopped paying the $4000 school tax 10 years ago.

I still cut the grass. We enjoy living in this house, because we rebuilt it ourselves. Our kids and all their friends grew up here. We maintain our home in Dunwoody as “the family home”. If the kids need to move back, they are welcome here.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

Gifted Children 11/24/23

Common Characteristics of Gifted Children:

• Ability to comprehend material several grade levels above their age peers 
• Surprising emotional depth and sensitivity at a young age 
• Strong sense of curiosity 
• Enthusiastic about unique interests and topics  
• Quirky or mature sense of humor 
• Creative problem solving and imaginative expression 
• Absorbs information quickly with few repetitions needed 
• Self-aware, socially aware, and aware of global issues 

https://www.davidsongifted.org/prospective-families/gifted-traits-and-characteristics/#:~:text=Common%20Characteristics%20of%20Gifted%20Children%3A&text=Enthusiastic%20about%20unique%20interests%20and,quickly%20with%20few%20repetitions%20needed

 

Mike Peters was the first child prodigie I knew. We met in high school. Mike began drawing cartoons as a child. He stuttered and tried to avoid redicule. His parents encouraged him to practice his way out of stuttering. His cartoons were exceptional and he ended up with a Pullitizer Prize and giving speeches.  I met other teens in high school who were focused. Marsha Mason was one of Mike’s classmates in grade school.  Marsha was focused on acting.  Mary Fran Leuke was focused on padgents and became the first Junior Miss in 1962.  All were similar to the Olympic athletes in their focus and energy.  Bonnie Bramlet was the singer in our Blues Band at the Livingroom on Gaslight Square in St. Louis. She ended up on LA as Nonnie Delanie and Friends with a hit record called Never-ending Love for You. I saw her on the Johnny Carson show and later as the singing waitress on Roseann.

Intelligence is the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. Our motivation is required to pursue specific knowledge and skills as we decide to begin. I was home schooled until age 6.  I took an IQ test, scored 120 and entered 3^rd grade at age 7.  My Iowa tests in 6^th and 7^th grade showed I was 2 years ahead of my age group. School was never hard. I viewed myself as a customer and focused on long term retention. My parents and grandparents were equally blessed.

My favorite noncollege grad went to work pulling fenders at a junk yard after high school.  He observed the inefficiency of customers calling one junk yard after another to fine a part.  He put on a suit and visited the local Telex office.  They lent him 6 telex machines to allow him to publish one phone number for customers to call. It worked.  I ran into him years later.  He was hosting his annual banquet for his 300 customers and their wives

The “Normal Curve” gives us a way to look at knowledge and skill. Every specific skill has its own normal curve, like baseball and math.  

My great grandson Jordan was above average in gymnastics at age 2.  He could soar through the air on a trampoline and land wherever he wants to land.  He further developed this skill diving, playing baseball and skateboarding.

We raised our 6 kids to “be themselves” and make their own decisions.  Our oldest daughter Lisa was challenged to make A’s by her 6^th grade teacher.  She became am A student.  Our youngist son Tim was motivated in 8^th grade by a presentation where his football coach praised a team member for maintaining his A average.  Tim became an A student. Our daughters Julie and Colleen became A students in college.  Motivation to excel is often delayed.  Dr. Ben Carson reported making his decision to excel in grade school.  He was raised in a housing project.  He became a top neuro-surgeon and became Secretary of Housing in the Trump Administration.

Generations tend to lack consistency in accomplishment. Documentaries of famous Titans of Industry show mixed results for the children of these Titans. The Vanderbilts accumulated wealth in the 1800s by providing ferry boats to deliver goods in and out of New York and continued to include steamships and railfoads. When the family focused on building multiple mansions, their wealth shrank. These families sould have done better by encouraging their children to be themselves. The Kennedy fortune was secured in the stock market and spent on political aspirations. The great contribution by Titans like Rockefeller, Carnagie, Morgan, Edison and Ford  was improving transportation to allow goods and services to expand.

There are also examples of high achievement by those with serious medical conditions.  Teddy Roosevelt was a sickly chile who adopted a strenuous lifestyle.  Franklin Roosevelt suffered from polio, but didn’t allow it to slow him down.  John F Kennedy suffered from illness his entire life, but managed to function.

I see this in my own observations. My grandfather Leo was homeschooled on the family farm. Took a factory job at age 11 to pay for a science tutor, entered medical school at age 16, graduated at age 19 at the top of his class and was appioint Professor of Internal Medicine.  His brother Humbert inherited the family farm. He was form in 1886 when medical advances were despirately needed. My great grandmother was a Lewis. Her cousin was Meriwether Lewis. None of Leo’s 12 children went to medical school. Two died in WW2 and 3 were disabled by muscular atrophy. One aunt did marry a doctor but non of their 7 children went to medical school.

My experience with employee development taught me that skills can be increased. My experience at Schwan Foods in Salina Kansas in the 1970s proved that APT testing, study and retesting can improve performance.

The workforce grew up as farm kids, expected to learn the Bible, get A’s in school and do the farm chores at home.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

Do What You Love 11/23/23

It’s important to pick an occupation you love and have sufficient talent to do well enough to make a living. You need to find your “calling”. Our primary responsibility is to ourselves to be self-supporting. We are here to work for our food and shelter and have a great time in the process. 

I urge you to view the commencement speech by my old friend Mike Peters.

https://www.google.com/search?q=mike+peters+washington+university+commencement+speech&oq=mike+peters+washington+university+commencement&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBwgBECEYoAEyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigATIHCAMQIRigAdIBCTM2MTU4ajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Many of our current college course offerings have few job openings and generally don’t pay well unless you started early and can get your own customers.

Students and those who don’t love their jobs should take some time to identify what they are good at and like to do. SIMA was the best test available.  https://peoplemanagementsmd.com/whatissima.html  SIMA required writing what I did well and enjoyed doing at ages 4 to 6, 7 to 10, 11 to 14, 15 to 20 etc. I urge everyone to do this.

In the 1970s and 1980s I used Associated Personnel Technicians APT Test for employee development.  https://www.jstor.org/stable/3626111.

Students should take occupational interest tests. I used the Kudor and Strong Campbell occupational interest tests.

 https://kuder.com/

https://internationalstudentsvc.org/career-planning-resources/identify-career-options/self-assessment/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA6vaqBhCbARIsACF9M6k2R-JktFgAMYSvUAn-E2vsyRlX70SrXOspF320C9AsNbka4ch7LRQaAo6EEALw_wcB

https://theassessmentsite.com/takethestrong/?gad_source=5&gclid=EAIaIQobChMItOegvuvXggMVlm5_AB0U2AWSEAAYASAAEgKGuvD_BwE

I used the DISC Personality test in the 1970s and 1980s

https://www.thediscpersonalitytest.com/?view=Assessments_disc&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA6vaqBhCbARIsACF9M6mqZ4_KucuZ4j2itPGEu5WbAk_AN__xHNsT47Onp5UY9_1cd8sybD4aAqnIEALw_wcB

I used the Myers-Briggs Personality test in the 1970s and 1980s. It measured extravert vs infrovert, judging vs perceiving, thinking vs feeling and intuiting. My pattern was ENTJ, Extrovert, Intuitive, Thinking and Judging.

I used Inner-directed vs other-directed. My pattern was Inner-directed.

Inner-directed people tended to be more rigid and confident; they embodied certain Protestant ethic values and were motivated by individual aspiration and ambitions. The other-directed personality type aspired to be loved rather than esteemed. They wanted to feel in harmony with the opinions around them.

I used Transactional Analysis to reveal self-limiting  behaviors. I read the book Games People Play, studied TA and taught TA.

I used personality styles in the 1980s to identify the strong achiever, friendly helper and logical thinker personalities. My pattern was Strong Achiever.

https://www.hiresuccess.com/help/understanding-the-4-personality-types

Students should take several tests and identify their best skills and interests before entering college

My own journey to doing what I loved to do came in 2 chapters, music and personnel. 

I had musical talent that I used to pay my high school and college tuition. I was self-taught. I attended St. Louis University that offered a “classical education”.

When I was age 10, I recognized that our US business were infested with Mafia-dominated Unions and needed to remove the unions and develop employee teams and make antagonistic unions unnecessary. That became my “calling”.  I had to understand people.

I wasn’t alone. Management Consultants like Deming and Psychologists like Abraham Maslow, Art Miller and others were developing models that worked. Companies were looking for college grads to join their Personnel Departments to develop teams.

Minors in Theology and Philosophy were required at St. Louis U. I majored in Psychology and minored in English. I had Physics and Chemistry in Hight School and repeated Chemistry and Math in college. I took Pre-Med courses and Graduate Seminars in Psychology.  Most of my tests were essay tests. I viewed myself through school as a customer. In 1985, I completed a 2 year online Fellowship in Strategic Studies with WBSI.

The following Philosophers identified successful principles in establishing governments. These were my favorites:

Francis Bacon – scientific method and self knowledge 1561-1626

John Locke – natural rights 1632-1704

Montesquieu - separation of powers 1689-1755

Voltaire - free speech and religious freedom 1694-1778

Jean-Jacques Rousseau - human nature 1712-1778

Adam Smith - capitalism economics 1723-1790

I also agreed with some more recent writers like Ranph Waldo Emerson self-reliance 1803-1882

I entered Personnel in 1967 and worked for 50 years until I retired in 2017. In the first 25 years I led the Personnel function for several companies.  In the last 25 years I ran my own Consulting Practice.

My world-view in Personnel supported the US Constitution as originally written.  The Constitution supported citizen property rights, free market capitalism and personal freedom under the rule of law. It required limited government. prices set by supply and demand. a meritocracy and a free private sector. In my career I supported  continuous improvement, increased productivity through automation, high speed manufacturing, lean manufacturing, team development, profitable growth and individual employee development through testing and coaching. We need to return to these principles.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

God’s Plan 11/22/23

 I believe God put us here to follow His plan for us. We are as unique as our DNA. We are all mammals doing the best we can.  We are here to work for our food and shelter. We have “free will” and are completely responsible for ourselves. We are the beneficiaries and the victims of our choices.

Clues to this plan can be found in our talents and interests.  Those who are the most successful have identified these talents and interest, made wise choices and love the jobs they do and the occupations they chose. I am one of these blessed individuals.

Those of us who started our careers in 1965 are not strangers to high inflation, recessions and high unemployment. But we did navigate the storms and manged to accomplish a lot.

When I was young I prayed for wisdom. My best talent was music. It was easy to teach myself to play anything.  My other interests included learning how everything was made. I knew I had time to learn what I needed to know. I was anxious to work.

I began working as a musician at age 14. I started a Rock Band in 1957, playing guitar and singing 3 nights a week through high school.  I joined a Blues Band in 1961 and played bass and sang 6 nights a week through college. I had no loans. College costs were $1000 per year.  I married in 1964, graduated college in 1965 we had a daughter and bought our first house in 1966 for $16,000.

I took my first day job in 1965 and continued to work as a musician playing bass and singing on weekends in Blues and Jazz groups until 1975. It was a fun diversion and helped me maintain a balance and extra income. In 1971, I joined a Piano, Bass and Drum trio. We added 2 girl singers and sang jazz chords in 5-part harmony. I still listen to our “on the job” live recordings and can’t believe how good we were. I was blessed to be able to move self-taught from Rock to Blues to Jazz in my 18 years as a musician.

Demand for live music was abundant from the 1950s to 1970s and my time as a musician enabled me to pay all extra expenses as we navigated our way through the recessions and inflation.

I was also blessed to develop my career in the private sector in Personnel. Management. Techniques were available to enable team development. Unions were about to become obsolete. Employees were becoming more mobile. I was completely “achievement oriented” and preferred project-oriented work. When I completed what I wanted to do, I moved on to other high growth companies. I routinely turned down promotions. I chose companies to prove my theories and expand my knowledge. I believed that unions were Marxist and destructive. I removed unions, prevented unions and won elections. I automated everything I could automate and focused on productivity increases. These efforts resulted in higher productivity new skills attainment and higher wages.

Most of my experience was in manufacturing electrical power equipment, chemicals and a university in St Louis Mo, frozen food and Ag equipment in Salina KS and electronics in Atlanta GA. I had added automation, acquisitions and international to my recruiting and personnel expertise. I was kidnapped in 1993 by 6 Atlanta-based electronics manufacturing companies to open a consulting practice.

 In 1993 I formed a consulting practice and worked as a Consultant for the next 24 years. My Client List included 46 companies. All of my clients were referred by my other clients.  I made no sales calls and worked from home and from customer offices.  My wife became a Dental Hygienist in 1986. We raised 6 kids and helped them work through college.  We both retired in 2017 at age 74.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

US Covid19 Summary 11/21/23

Covid19 began in November 2019 when Wohan Lab Chinese Researchers became patients in Wohan hospital.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/wuhan-lab-scientists-first-catch-covid-19-report\ 

The first case of Covid19 in the US was reported in Seattle Washington in December 2019.

https://www.foxnews.com/health/first-case-coronavirus-us-seattle

US funding of gain of function research in Wohan Lab by NIH is confirmed.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/scientist-sickened-wuhan-lab-early-coronavirus-pandemic-us-funded

WHO data as of November 19, 2023 shows the average US Covid deaths have moved to 45 per day from 11/11/23 to 11/19/23. Case gain in the US continues to bounce from  0.0002% to 0.01%.

The WHO Daily Deaths graph shows death counts under 100 until March 2020, increasing to 9385 in April 2020. Deaths peaked at 16952 in January 2021 and peaked again to 15938 in April 2021. Deaths peaked to 11984 in August 2021 and peaked again to 13138 in February 2022. Deaths dropped to 2006 in May 2022 and peaked to 3006 in August 2022 dropped to 2563 in January 2023. Deaths dropped to 285 in June 2023 and moved to 374 November 2023.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#google_vignette

The Spanish flu of 1917-1918 was a bacterial pneumonia that produced a Death Rate/Population of 0.65% compared to Covid19 was a viral infection that  produced a  Death Rate/Population of 0.33% The Spanish flu Death Rate/Population was half as long but twice as bad.

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/bacterial-pneumonia-caused-most-deaths-1918-influenza-pand

Comments

I viewed Covid19 as an “Early Harvest” of souls who would nave died from their Pre-existing conditions as major organs failed.

When I began to post the Covid19 blog posts on 3/11/20, I chose WHO as my source. I knew the virus scientists were  linked globally and would try to report cases and deaths if allowed by their governments. I chose to produce the blog daily to track activity and added columns for population, nominal gdp and %Deaths/Cases to help readers to understand the size of countries. I believed that Covid19 would spread based on global economic activity and be based in large population centers. I noted significant revisions and significant surges in cases.I noted countries who didn’t report deaths.  

I assumed that cases were positive test counts and that names were not tracked. Continual testing resulted in overstating case counts. Reporting hospitalizations and treatments would have given better data. Natural immunity was ignored. Vaccine side effects were not widely reported. Asymptomatic and mild cases were ignored. Lockdowns were economically destructive and internet schooling was unnecessary. Cheap masks did not prevent transmission. But properly fitted N95 surgical masks seemed to help. Vaccines did not prevent reinfection.

Cutting the development time to create a vaccine was cut from 5 years to 1 year was impressive. Allowing “work from home” employment became a benefit. Identifying virus DNA was a gamechanger. Covid19 seemed to motivate citizens to lose weight, change their diets and add vitamins to improve health.   

In the US, about 25 million people received flu shots in pharmacies in 2023 compated to 26 million in 2022 

https://www.google.com/search?q=how+many+people+in+the+us+took+flu+shots+in+2023&oq=how+many+people+in+the+us+took+flu+shots+in+2023&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCTM2MTAyajFqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Most people in the US will wait for symptoms and go to their doctor’s office for a diagnosis and treatment. People with serious medical conditions will continue to take vaccine injections. Schools will continue to mandate vacccines for children. There is little interest in research aimed at improving natural immunity, testing for immune deficiencies or strengthing the body’s ability to improve its immune system without vaccines. Annual physical exams should include an immune system evaluation. Patients need to attend to nutrition to improve their immune systems and reduce their morbidity.  Annual physical blood tests need to expand to ensure that minimum daily vitamin requirements are met and excesses are identified and reduced.  Patients are responsible for their own preventive medicine planning, because we are each different and are therefore responsible for ourselves.

I will return this blog to reporting economic data and history, but will include medical data as it occurs.  

Norb Leahy Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader