House of Cards

Too many US jobs depend on bloated industries like healthcare, education and government that are based on misplaced responsibility for these services. Continued government funding is unsustainable and continued government subsidies are actually responsible for the cost crises we see in healthcare, education and government. All three are overpriced and underperforming. 

Students are actually responsible for their own education. The internet has replaced schools and libraries and made teachers obsolete. Parents are responsible for helping their children figure out what they love to do and are good at. Teachers should be tutors.

People are actually responsible for their own healthcare. Our bodies are complex, but are also designed to heal themselves. People need to look at their blood test results and learn what nutrients they need and set their food and supplement intake to achieve the levels of nutrients they need. Patients need to realize that medicine is a “trial and error” business and Big Pharma and Big Health Providers are cost-shifting and gouging.

Government should be responsible for very little. Politicians have refused to focus and prioritize government’s basic responsibilities. These priorities are limited to building and maintaining roads, bridges, highways, sanitary sewers, water treatment and distribution, 

All we really need is clean water, sanitary sewers, food, shelter, electricity, natural gas, transportation and jobs. We are responsible for getting our own jobs to produce income to support ourselves and our families. We are supposed to pay for our own basic needs.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

Subway Consolidating

Subway Continues Restaurant Closures, Turns Attention Toward Market Share And Global Expansion, by Darren Tristano 5/1/18

Subway, the largest sandwich chain on the planet, continues to close shops domestically, looking to close 500 stores in 2018 after shuttering 800 restaurants in 2017. The effort will focus on pruning under-performing locations, which should drive traffic to other nearby locations.

The 50-year-old chain continues to emphasize its market share, looking to retain and grow its current customer traffic, according to a Bloomberg article citing a recent interview with chief executive officer Suzanne Greco.

Quick-service sandwich shops like Subway are facing increasing pressure from higher-quality fast-casual sandwich chains like Jimmy John's, Jersey Mike's and Firehouse Subs. Together, these chains combined for sales in 2017 of just over $4 billion, according to Technomic Inc.

Sandwich chains in the United States account for over $30 billion of annual consumer purchases; Subway accounts for nearly 35% of those sales, with nearly 26,000 U.S. locations, according to CHD Expert, a global data and insights firm.

Younger consumers continue to crave quality sandwiches that offer premium sliced meats, upscale toppings and high-quality bread. Subway has raised prices, moving away from the $5 foot-long, narrowing the price gap between its product and its competitors'. Consumers willing to pay a few bucks more are moving upmarket to fast-casual quality.

What went wrong with Subway’s growth and expansion? For one thing, Subway is a franchisor of restaurants, with no stores owned or operated by the company. Aggressive franchise development created an oversupply of restaurants that cannibalized sales when proximity was too close. Franchisees began to compete with one another instead of with competitive chains and independent sub shops.

Innovation had been a weakness until more recently as more limited-time offers and wraps have tempted consumers to return. Consumer taste preferences have evolved to include more adventurous, spicy flavors and ingredient variety. Traditional sandwiches still appeal to older Boomer and GenX groups, but millennial consumers and GenZ are looking for natural, hormone and antibiotic-free ingredients and flavorful ingredients and sauces that satisfy their taste buds.

Today’s restaurant environment continues to maintain an oversupply of restaurant operators. Some segments of the industry have little opportunity for new sales growth and continue to operate in a “take share” environment where winners steal guest traffic and sales from their competition with aggressive advertising and value price promotions. With the industry in a low-growth mode (3-4% nominally), many chain restaurants have shifted their expansion strategy to global growth in developing countries around the world.

Subway continues to operate more restaurants than any other chain globally and has ample opportunity to build its store counts abroad. Leveling out sales in the U.S. and maintaining aggressive growth globally will allow the brand to build a bigger footprint, expand its brand awareness, and bring sandwiches to markets that have mostly seen American burger chain openings.

As I see it, Subway is finding addition through subtraction. Placing its chips on global growth opportunity is a smart decision as it continues to manage strong supply chain and operational strengths with its system. Fewer restaurants in the U.S. is a start toward an industry equilibrium between supply and demand that will allow operators to build margins and reward the hard work these front-line workers and owners have day in and day out.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/darrentristano/2018/05/01/subway-continues-restaurant-closures-turns-attention-toward-market-share-and-global-expansion/#2e1e549b34f4

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

Kemp Endorsement

As staffers for Donald J. Trump in Georgia, we were totally responsible for organizing volunteers, engaging hardworking Georgians, and turning out voters on election-day. We worked around the clock to deliver victory for our candidate.

Without a doubt, we can definitively say that Casey Cagle was ALL-IN for low-energy Jeb Bush during the primary. Cagle was unapologetic about his support for the former Florida Governor – even stumping for him at a University of Georgia tailgate. His “endorsement” speech at the convention - which sounded more like a launch to his gubernatorial run – is where Cagle’s support both started and ended.

During that same time, Secretary of State Brian Kemp was making history – and the national news – by organizing the SEC Primary. Kemp was the first to invite President Trump down to Georgia to meet with voters and learn more about pressing issues in our state. To guarantee the success of the SEC Primary, ensure fair elections, and avoid any appearance of favoritism, Kemp offered no endorsement. Brian Kemp always acts with integrity. He’s a real conservative – even when no one is looking.

One of the many reasons we are supporting Kemp – and not corrupt Casey Cagle - is because he endorsed Donald J. Trump and went to bat for him during the nominating process. In fact, Democrats in Georgia blame Kemp for Trump’s success:

“Two Georgia players — Secretary of State Brian Kemp and influential lawyer Randy Evans — may not have been on your radar while all the drama was unfolding, but had important roles to play in Trump finally crossing the finish line.”

Brian was “never listed” on a fundraising invite but he was laboring with us on the grassroots level to deliver a HUGE win for President Donald J. Trump. As Secretary of State, Kemp has worked with the Trump Administration to keep our elections secure. As governor, we know Kemp will stand with President Trump for secure borders, safe streets, and a prosperous future.

We are 100% behind Brian Kemp because he’s a businessman like President Trump who knows how to create jobs and economic opportunity. Kemp will tackle illegal immigration, protect religious freedom, defend our 2nd Amendment Rights, and put hardworking Georgians ahead of the special interests.

Join us on July 24th and support a true public servant. Vote Kemp for Governor!

Email from: Jeanne Seaver, Georgia Grassroots Coordinator for Trump; Gary Wisenbaker, South Georgia Field Staff Director for Trump; Charlice Byrd, North Georgia Field Staff Director for Trump

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

Repatriation Cash Flows to US

Some 843 companies brought back $312 billion. Thanks To Tax Cuts, Companies' Overseas Profits Now Flooding Back To U.S. 6/26/18, IBD.
 

Tax Cuts: They said it wouldn't happen, but it did: The money companies stashed overseas to protect them from high U.S. corporate tax rates is flooding back in, boosting growth, jobs and confidence in the economy. Thank the Trump tax cuts.

All told, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported, some $305.6 billion returned to the U.S. from overseas accounts. That's a $1.2 trillion annual rate, and far more than the $35 billion one year before.

The BEA's analysts explain why this happened: "The large magnitudes (of inward capital flows) ... reflect the repatriation of accumulated earnings by foreign affiliates of U.S. multinational enterprises and their parent companies in the United States in response to the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act."

In short, the Trump tax cuts did it. American companies were commonly estimated to have about $2.6 trillion parked in overseas accounts as of 2017. So in the first three months of 2018 alone, some 12% of that overseas stash came back to the U.S. It's now available here for companies to invest, pay out in dividends and bonuses, hire new workers, purchase 

new plants and equipment, or just buy back stock.

It's a shot in the arm for the U.S. economy. Of course, you say. It's entirely logical to suppose that by slashing the top corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% — a 40% reduction — and by giving one-time breaks to those companies that had piles of cash sitting overseas, money would flow back into the U.S. After all, Trump's 21% tax rate is now lower than the current OECD average corporate tax rate of 25%.

But last year, when the tax cuts were still a topic of conversation, some in the media seemed to have trouble with this idea. "GOP tax bill and overseas profits: Beware the hype," ran a headline on the PolitiFact website.

"Why the GOP tax plan to repatriate offshore profits may flop," said a CBS News topper. "AP FACT CHECK: Trump and the mirage of overseas profits," yelled the AP's not-so-subtle headline.

These and other critiques were of the same ilk, using a 2011 Congressional Research Service study to show why the Trump tax cuts wouldn't work. That study looked at what happened in 2004, when President Bush and congressional Republicans temporarily cut taxes on repatriated profits to 5.25% from 35%.

At the time, the idea was to return financial capital to the U.S. And it worked. Some 843 companies brought back $312 billion. But, the AP found the cloud's dark lining, noting "those companies tended to use the money to buy back shares of their own stock, not to hire or expand operations." The CRS report itself found that the tax break "did not increase domestic investment or employment."

These assertions need a little context, however.

First, the 2004 profit-repatriation tax break was a one-time event. The Trump tax cuts, in addition to giving companies a break for repatriating overseas profits, cut corporate taxes overall. So the impact will be longer-lasting — permanent, if the Congress makes it so, as it should.

Also, recall that 2004 was a mere three years after the end of the worst stock-market plunge since the Great Depression. Companies' shares were recovering, but many were still beaten down. So buying their own shares, which bolsters a company's financial solvency, looked like a smart move at the time.

And also remember: Interest rates, as measured by the Fed funds rate, were rising sharply back then. From a low of 0.94% at the start of 2004, rates surged to just below 2% at the start of 2005 and over 4% by the start of 2006. That's a fourfold move in two years. Even so, the U.S. unemployment rate during that period fell from 5.4% in 2004 to 4.9% in 2005 and 4.4% by 2006.

Today, no doubt, these same critics would say the same thing. Despite rising interest rates, job growth is more than healthy and key measures of unemployment are close to 30-year lows. Incomes are rising, even as 6 million high-skilled jobs can't be filled. Jobless claims are at all-time lows. It's the healthiest job market in decades.

Yet the befuddled media keep calling these bullish economic data "unexpected." Well, these weren't "unexpected" by those who said that tax cuts would work like a charm to boost growth.

In the second quarter of this year, GDP growth is almost certain to exceed 3%, again. The Blue Chip consensus of economists expect 3.5% growth, while the Atlanta Fed's "GDPNow" estimate is at 4.7% currently.

This happened only because President Trump slashed taxes, cut regulations and in general pursued powerful supply-side stimulus that lifted the economy's ability to produce goods and services.

For the record, GDP growth never topped 3% in any year of Obama's administration. We were told repeatedly by left-leaning economists and pundits that the days of 3% growth were over. We would have to trim our sails and rein in our expectations for the future.

Donald Trump wasn't listening. He still isn't. The Washington Examiner's Paul Bedard reports Trump recently talked about 5% growth, saying, "You ain't seen nothing yet."

Sure, bad things can happen between now and the end of the year. There are shaky economies overseas, including both China and Europe, made all the more sensitive by President Trump's talk of trade tariffs.

After two years of spectacular gains, stock market investors might head to the sidelines for a while. And if the Fed panics and starts raising rates in an anti-inflation frenzy, something it has done repeatedly in the past, it might once again bring down the economy.

Even so, thanks to the tax cuts, literally hundreds of companies have handed out bonuses, raised base pay, and created new benefits for workers. The money that is flowing back into the U.S. is part of that success, creating jobs and income for American workers. Those who say otherwise are, once again, wrong. 

https://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/overseas-profits-return/

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

Bullies

The most effective cure for Bullies is to give them a bloody nose.  If you do this now, you will be charged with assault. This denial of our right to self-defense has emboldened lots of bullies.

We have Islamic Terrorists, Bolsheviks, Communists, Socialists, political agitators, rioters, pushy “protected groups”, “liberation theology agitators, social justice agitators, open borders agitators, global warming believers, American Indian protesters, Mexican invaders, Muslim Invaders, Black Muslims, Antifa and Code Pink funded by George Soros and federal funded non-profits.

We also have KKK, Skinheads, Survivalists, “Prophets”, Sociopaths, Psychopaths, Suicidal Loners, Suicidal Shooters, and Psychotics being ignored by their families.

Tolerance must be earned. Entitlement is a scam. Belligerence deserves banishment.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

Language Divide

Most countries are divided by language. In the cities, most inhabitants speak English in addition to their national language. English was recognized by all countries as the language of “business” decades ago. 

In some European countries, city inhabitants speak English, their national language and another language or two based on their closest neighbors. In Brussels, many city-dwellers speak English, French, German and Dutch.

In the suburbs and rural areas in all countries, inhabitants speak their national language. They live in villages and work where their national language is spoken.  If they own or work in a business that deals with tourists, like a bakery, restaurant, hotel or retail shop they speak English.

So, most countries have two groups. Those who don’t deal with foreigners only speak their national languages. Those who deal with foreigners speak several languages. These two groups relate to each other in their national languages and most speak their national language in their home.

The schools in all countries teach the languages that are useful to their students. Learning other languages in the US is rare, because we don’t usually have to learn them. I took Latin in high school and German in college. When I had to travel to Germany on business decades later, I was able to speak a little German again. I appreciate the fun in conversing in other languages, but living in the US makes it unnecessary.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

Logical Analysis

It is not likely that Omar Gaddafi lost his life and his dictatorship over Libya because he gave up his nuclear weapons.  It was clear that the Arab Spring gave his opponents the opportunity to foment a revolution and his own physical security was not adequately effective.

It is not likely that carbon in the atmosphere poses an existential threat to the earth. It is more likely that the temperature of the oceans and the Arctic ice melting is based on a cycle we can see in core samples and known history. It is more likely to see UN Agenda 21 as a scam designed to strip countries of their sovereignty to usher in a UN led global communist government.

It is not likely that Trump will be a disaster as President like Democrats, Liberals and the Liberal Media insist.  It is more likely that the Democrat Party, the Republican Party and the government employee “Deep State” have been taken over by the American Communist Party, committed to the destruction of the US Constitution and US sovereignty.

It is not likely that the US media represents the “free press” and free speech recommended by the Founders. It is evident that the US media has been infiltrated by UN loving globalists, the Democrat Party and most of the Republican Party.

It is not likely that foreign countries pose the biggest threat to the US. It is more likely to believe that most of our own platitudinous politicians and our “deep state” do pose the biggest threat to the US.

It is not likely that Hitler could have raised the money to start World War II if the international bankers had been prevented from lending him the money.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader