The Frustration Factor

WeGotTrouble is a compressed way of pointing out that we got trouble. Either way, we got trouble and you can join in if you want to be able to say that you've got trouble too. OK, you won't really have trouble but just listening may let you know how much trouble we've got. Go ahead. Press play and take a chance.

I got an e-mail from an Audio Tidbits Podcast listener who wondered what my favorite posts have been over the last year or so. There are several posts that I particularly like but a few stand out in my memory. In this episode of the podcast, let me share three or four of my favorites. I hope you like them too. If you have a favorite, let me know and I will include it in an encore one of these days.

The expertise and insight of the know-it-alls of the world are boundless; and the K-I-A’s are ready to provide advice and input anywhere, anytime, for anyone. A K-I-A was there to point out to Noah that there may be a flood, to T. Edison that playing with electricity might be shocking, and to Neil Armstrong that pulling off his helmet and yelling, "Where's the party?" could take his breath away. There may have even been a K-I-A around to tell Moses to be sure to get it in writing.

The K-I-A openings have an annoyingly familiar theme: "Have you thought about…?" "Did you notice…?" "You may want to…," and the old standby, "If I were you…." Well, thank you very much; and while you are getting the inflection on your sarcasm just right, don't forget W. Churchill's admonition "Even a fool's right sometimes."

• Whether you have a chance to explain your reasons or can only walk away, don’t let arguments get out of hand.

This post was, in part, adapted from Your Exclusive Guide To The High Road, available now in the Amazon.com bookstore.

It's time for a short break from hunting the great mouse and other rat races. I need a few minutes to just kick back and relax and am hoping you might choose to join me. Just press play and turn of the world for a while.

The train to nowhere is coming from anywhere and is headed somewhere but the exact destination is a mystery. Hop aboard and take a chance on ending up somewhere you want to be or just put the car in park, lower the windows and relax. The train to nowhere will pass, eventually.

I am hearing that there is going to be a great tax cut, maybe even the greatest tax cut of all times. Unfortunately, that is the limit of what I hear of any substance. I guess I am expected to reflexively believe that a tax cut of any kind is good and that the current taxes people pay are excessive and unwarranted.

Since I get no details, I might as well go ahead and comment on what we know very little about. I hear politicians and political pundits do that daily and as best I can tell, they don’t know much about what they are talking about either.

I have some questions. To start, why do we need any tax cut at all? I hear that unemployment is low and getting lower. I hear that corporate profits are high and getting higher. The stock market keeps reaching new all-time highs. The economy is chugging along at a quite respectable pace. Our President tells us that the economy has never done better than during his first year in office. So why do we need a tax cut to stimulate the economy?

Let me suppose that we do actually need that great tax cut. I don’t understand why we need it but can our politicians be wrong? Let’s assume that they cannot.

I hear that the great tax cut will create more good jobs, will boost production and improve productivity. There will be more for all of us. What’s more, all that stimulation will actually lead to more tax revenue. People will have more and will thus pay more. It’s magical. Taxes will go down and federal income will go up. If you are from the same planet as I am, paying more is a tax increase, not a great tax cut. Of course our problem is that we are not politicians and just don’t understand how economics work.

Let me take the middle ground. If the great tax cut actually happens and that is by no means certain, let’s assume that the feds will break even. Based on what I hear, that is as likely as having more income but not as likely as having less cash in the federal coffers. That likely means that the federal debt will continue to increase, programs and services for the most needy of us will keep declining and things like infrastructure maintenance and improvement will not happen. Most of what our politicians tell us we need will not be realized and we will have taken a rather significant risk of being worse off.

As one of those middle class citizens who are to be the winners from the great tax cut, it is making no sense to me. Listening to the politicians and media folks isn’t helping much either. I pay taxes and need to decide whether or not the bill I pay is worth the benefits I derive from my investment. If I pay less tax, I can reasonably expect to get fewer benefits and will also have to figure out where else I can get the services and benefits I don’t want to do without. The reality is that most government benefits are not ones I can buy at Amazon or Walmart. I will just have to do without or at least with less.

However the political pie is sliced, I can’t figure out how I will be better off as a result of the great tax cut. If I may be permitted to expand that to my fellow residents of the middle class, I am clueless about what benefits we will get from that great tax cut. I did hear that I might have a thousand dollars or so more to spend. OK, I can spend a thousand dollars as can most of my fellow middle-classers. My worry is what I will have to give up over time to have the dubious opportunity to spend an extra thousand dollars. I am hearing nothing about that. It’s sort of like being encouraged to give someone a thousand dollars and agreeing that we will find out later what we had to give up to do the spend.

I am concluding that the great tax cut will probably not be a net benefit for me or for most of us in the middle class. We will be some better off and some worse off. So why are our politicians pushing so hard for the great tax cut?

I hope you enjoyed your adventure on the first day of The Great Mouse Hunt. You are about to learn that the first day was merely a warm-up for the real hunt. The first day was a teaser for hunting hobbyists but the second day of The Great Mouse Hunt is restricted to serious hunters. Only if you are prepared for the real deal should you click play and join the hunt. Please know that you have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.

Have you ever wished you could guide a hunting party into the deep forest in hunt of the Great Mouse? Well, this is your opportunity to lead The Great Mouse Hunt. Just click play and be sure to bring along all of your mouse hunting gear and take care to dress for the weather.

We have been hearing in the news a lot lately about people crossing the personal boundaries of others. Typically this comes in terms of sexual harassment or sexual behavior that is uninvited and unwanted. When the behavior is overt and intentional, there is no reasonable excuse for the actions of the perpetrator.

In many situations though, the unwanted behavior is unintentional and the person behaving inappropriately has no clue. He or she quite simply does not have the social and interpersonal awareness to limit his or her behavior. In this episode, we focus on the complexity of personal boundaries and our need to protect our personal space. At the same time, we also need to avoid violating the personal space of others. Please listen and think about how the discussion may apply to you and your relationships.

It's been a while since I've shared a new post with you. OK, it has been quite a while. For my first post for a very long time, I thought a rhythmic excursion might be just what you have been hoping I would have for you. Well, here it is. I hope it was worth the wait.