tonyshelton

William, you are an old geezer!

I'm hoping that's a joke and you know better: History of Hybrid Vehicles | Hybrid Cars GM hasn't produced anything groundbreaking in years. Not since it bent over for big labor and dropped trow for the government. Once you invite the devil into your business, he never leaves. GM can't produce anything worthwhile - they are told every move they can make by the government and their own employees. This is the type of paralyzing control you are advocating bringing into our industry Jim. Shelly tells me when she lived in Russia the cars came with a 50-50 warranty - Meaning there was a 50-50 chance it would run each day. How about changing this up a little and giving the "licensing" proponents an opportunity to go on the offensive: Name any industry that has benefited from more government involvement and how. (not anything to do with Pw please)

I agree 100% that pressure washers should be licensed in Maryland. How's that for spreading the love in 2010? Regarding the fact that it is mostly commercial washers posting in this thread, that is because we stand to lost the most with increased government involvement. We will be taxed the most, pay the highest fees, and have the most scrutiny. I've only had bleach on our trucks twice in 4 years. It's not needed out here for commercial work. What happens when some do-gooder get's their lawn burned in Georgia and makes us send all employees to an expensive bleach class for the privilege of paying for a government permit to work (license)? It's best to police ourselves and simply provide higher quality work. Why did Toyota outsell the US companies for so long? It was because they offered a product with superior quailty. They won in a free market. But why is Toyota being crucified now? Because GM is using the government to browbeat them down on a problem that is probably not only non-existent, but is being faked all over the country to get out of car payments! See GM wins in a GOVERNMENT controlled market. Has the public's interest been served? Not when Toyota pulls out and leaves us with the option of Government motors thrown together junk they call a car. See, good quality rules the free market. Government ruins the market.

Yeah, I get it. We need licensing to keep out the riff-raff. Kindof like a driver's license right? The requirement to have a driver's license has made us all safe now. Right? Here are some geniuses in Australia talking gibberish about increasing the time they hold a confiscated car when one is caught driving without a license. They cite CALIFORNIA as one of the success stories as to how this method deters non-licensed driving. What idiots: Unlicensed Drivers - Office of Road and Safety In their research they must have forgotten to take a look at this little unintended consequence - California has the highest rate of hit and run DEATHS in the country. Why? I suppose they just didn't want their car impounded. Hip Hip Hooray for more laws and more penalties! California's hit-and-run crisis / More flee fatal accidents here than any other state - SFGate

Jim, You are comparing apples to oranges. Here, let me explain. Does your fire department get their pay from taxes or from fines? What if they don't fine enough people. Are they all fired? Is your "fast responding" police force dependent solely upon fines for their existence? What if they don't harass enough people for tinted windows or loud mufflers? Do they start laying off the police force? I don't know a single community in the nation that gets by without some means to fight fires. It makes the community survive. I don't know of a single community in the US that doesn't employ some form of crime control. It makes the community survive. But there are THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS of communities that get by and ACTUALLY PROSPER without the need for some government sponsored GESTAPO hiding behind every column in a garage waiting to jump out and fine someone for breaking the LOCALLY DREAMED UP and locally enforced laws that have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the CLEAN WATER ACT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When a rainstorm comes these imbeciles just look out the window and sigh "It's an act of God" while millions of times more contaminants wash down the drains in minutes! Why? BECAUSE GOD CAN'T BE FINED. DON'T YOU GET IT??????????????? William doesn't HAVE the regulations the morons in your part of the country have saddled themselves with and he doesn't have to comply with them. Neither do I. Neither does most of the rest of the country. Jim, we've had a lot of conversations about this ridiculous California EPA crap. I give you permission. I challenge you - YOU KNOW where I stand - Go ahead, PLEASE tell the world where I break ANY environmental laws in the completion of my work! If you say anything that's true I'll put it on the front of my website! How about putting this out on the front of your website: "We at CRYSTAL CLEANING COMPANY use 1 million BTU boilers and big diesel powerplants that put out more pollution than the cars that normally park in the garage". Where is that on your website? You need to keep your broke-azz california environmental economics on your side of the border. We don't have to follow your insane laws.

In light of what is happening in politics there's something else we maybe should consider here..... I live in Nevada because I like it here. I like driving at full attention, SAFELY at autobahn speeds on the freeway without the worry of some jackbooted thug hiding behind every corner with a radar gun. :vroom: I like driving around all day and seeing no more than 2 or three police cars lurking around. (I don't even want one when there's a problem, I can take care of that myself.) :growl: I like "general" business licenses for $25.00 a year.:dancing: I like contractor boards that aren't on the take with HVAC companies and allow trained professionals like us who SPECIALIZE in cleaning coils do our business without the goofy red tape of having to have a "HVAC licensed" frontman just to have government permission to work.:cool: The list goes on and on. That is why I LIVE HERE. That's why I don't live in (take your pick) many of the other 49 states. This is my home. This is where the political battles that affect MY income take place for the most part. The point being, I'm not so sure the question of whether pressure washers should be licensed is a proper question on a national level. Maybe it's something we shouldn't even discuss on a national level. I don't have any right to have any input on what you guys do in Maryland. Here - I'll start the Nevada State Poll. My vote...... NO.:D

We agree on one thing for sure, that's providing quality service for our customers. What would be so wrong with having a site where homeowners can verify hack work?

Rod, the idea that the government somehow "protects" the consumer is a fallacy in itself. How in the world did we as a species survive the thousands of years we've made it without our every move being protected by some form of government law or intervention. Government "protection" is a relatively recent and flawed concept. "Protection" is the dress they put on the pig so you won't see the pig for what it is.......that is.....TAX. The automotive industry is licensed up the ying-yang. Yet I would challenge you to find any car dealership that doesn't have literally hundreds of complaints on the web. Has that caused the industry to implode? What about Michael Jackson's doctor? How well did the government protect him? Enron? Fannie Mae? Etc. Rod, did you guys take pictures of the guy's shoddy work and put them up on your website for potential customers to see? There are lots of "fly-by-night" air filter services. I've got an entire set of videos devoted to them. The free market eventually weeds out all hackers. New ones will always come along, but word of mouth kills the bad ones off eventually. There's a group that used to be really good at keeping other businesses from competing. All you had to do was pay them. The companies who didn't pay, didn't get to do business. That group was called the Mafia. It's the same group now, it just has a different name and has put on a pretty dress called "consumer protection". EDITED WITH THIS ADDITION: I'm not advocating operating illegally. This topic is not about Maryland and the laws already in place there. This topic asks the question if pressure washing companies should be licensed. If you have already drank the licensing koolaid in Maryland you have no choice at this point. But 90 percent of the rest of the country hasn't made that choice yet. I'm just making the case against it.

30 BBB complaints. How many didn't bother to complain? Hundreds? Thousands over the years? These guys seem to have gotten away with this for a long time, all the while "unlicensed". What did they get a "cease and desist" for? Were they told to "cease and desist" from doing shoddy work? I don't think so. They were most certainly told to cease and desist from operating and advertising without a license. So now what? They will go down and pay their bribe to the state and all the sudden become "legitimate" hacks. Poof! It's a miracle. They have gotten by for who knows how long, obviously without insurance or a license, while year after year you paid. I think I'd be dancing in anger and counting up all the money I had to pay over the past few years while this guy put it in his pocket. How is that a refreshing thought? I'd be dancing in anger that all this guy got was a lousy "cease and desist" letter after who knows how many years of operation while you doled out money to insurance companies and the state. In a few weeks he will spend money and get workers comp and pay the government for official permission to "hack" and the world will be a wonderful place again. You can't protect consumers against their own stupidity. (Me included) There was a poll done a while back for one of the newspapers regarding air conditioning work. Over half the respondents said they would hire an unlicensed contractor if it would save them money. I would too. I haven't had a licensed HVAC contractor in my home in years. If I get screwed that's my own fault. It's my choice. I have a feeling most of those 30 bbb complaints are from those who rolled the dice and lost. A much better alternative would be to start a simple bulletin board that homeowners can find under tags like "bad pressure washing" or "deck damage", etc where they can personally give their stories and NAME the companies they have had problems with. To keep your competition from posting fake problems each post could require a scan of the receipt for the work. The government can't and won't monitor shoddy work. They will however take your money in exchange for allowing you to do shoddy work with their permission.

Or, you guys could have just left the government out of it and a few good contractors could have grabbed him one night and gave him a good old PW enema. (40 degree tip of course - for safety - I'm not some kind of maniac!)

Try this for an ad: Joe Bob's pressure washing is tromping all over flowers and spraying them into oblivion while siding is being blasted off the side of the house. Switch to shots of your professional equipment and uniformed employees Using special effects show your guy cleaning a house intermittently spraying into a dandelion patch where the stalks of the dandelions become sparkly clean without losing one dandelion seed. Caption reads. "In the hands of a professional, Miracles can happen". Too goofy?

Just read a little on this thread regarding licensing. http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/kitchen-exhaust-hood-cleaning/18974-better-watch-what-you-wish.html I rest my case.

Californians make their own problems with all their nutcase environmental lawsuits. You can't have pity on someone who create their own problems. See the lunacy in red below. Desalination plant clears final California hurdle Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES Thu May 14, 2009 7:27pm EDT LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The biggest seawater desalination plant in the Western Hemisphere, north of San Diego, can begin construction by year's end after a six-year effort to win regulators' approval, the developer said on Thursday. Green Business The San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board voted unanimously on Wednesday to approve permit revisions for the $300 million facility, which will produce 50 million gallons of drinking water daily, enough for 110,000 households. That volume represents about 10 percent of the drinking water needs of San Diego County, home to roughly 3 million people in a region facing freshwater shortages due in part to a prolonged drought. "Yesterday brought to a close the six-year regulatory process" for the plant, said Scott Maloni, a vice president for the privately held project developer, Poseidon Resources, based in Connecticut. "We're on schedule to break ground on construction by the end of the year," said Maloni. He said the company expects the plant to be operational by the first quarter of 2012. The project is to be built beside a power station on a coastal lagoon in the city of Carlsbad, just north of San Diego and about 90 miles south of Los Angeles. The Carlsbad project ranks as the hemisphere's biggest, and the first of a new wave of such plants expected in California, where about 20 are in various stages of development. A Poseidon plant of similar size is about a year behind the Carlsbad plant to the north in Huntington Beach, Maloni said. ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS PRESS CHALLENGE Environmental activists who have fought the project vowed to appeal this week's decision to state water authorities. Advocates of desalination tout its potential for limiting strain on scarce water supplies, and easing the environmental consequences of diverting freshwater from rivers and streams and pumping it long distances to urban centers. But critics cite major environmental drawbacks -- namely the harm to marine life from intake pipes that suck water into desalination plants and from the highly concentrated brine byproduct that gets discharged back into the ocean. Under the permit approved this week, Poseidon is required to create 55.4 acres of wetlands in Southern California as a breeding ground for fish and other organisms to offset the marine life killed by the plant's operations. The plant also must keep its brine discharge below toxic levels. Opponents have challenged Poseidon in three lawsuits. And another agency that already granted approval, the state Coastal Commission, has said it may take a second look in light of information turned up in the water board's latest review. Maloni said there was nothing further precluding Poseidon from proceeding to build the plant, and he expected the lawsuits to be resolved by then. But Marco Gonzalez, a lawyer for opponents, said they would seek court orders to block construction while litigation or their appeal to the state water board was still pending. "We will use every legal avenue to ensure that the law is followed here," he said. Desalination is common in parts of the Middle East, but large-scale plants are rare in the Western Hemisphere. (Editing by Bernie Woodall and Jackie Frank)

Rod, I think you are saying the "regulations" are excessive instead of the tax "rates" on the Casinos. I tend to agree. The system of regulation is excessive, but it is primarily because Casinos are almost 100% cash businesses. Without tight regulation the ability to collect taxes and fees would be comprimised. The gross gaming revenue tax is 6.75% + 1% for the enforcement of the regulations. I don't think that is excessive. Do you? The point is, Nevada is not raping it's producers like some states do when they land corporations that prosper. I'm not sure where your friend was living out here, but in 8 years of up to 8 delivery vans running routes through neighborhoods picking up dry cleaning all day long 4-5 days per week we had less than 10 moving violations between all the variety of drivers and vans. Only 2 of those were in school zones.You are right the school zone tickets are high. Usually $350-500 for 5 mph over. But we have a system here that allows a lawyer to get your ticket reduced to a parking violation over and over again so your insurance isn't effected. If your normal fine is $300 the lawyer charges $50.00 and gets your fine reduced to $250.00 or less - (sometimes down to $50.00) It's a good system and keeps the insurance companies from jacking up prices all over the place like they do in other states. Jim, I give up on you man. You're telling me that the reason your state is broke is because it paid too much for electricity????????? Maybe Bush was smarter than you think he is and was just simply going to let your state go bankrupt (as it should) and let survival of the fittest prevail. The politicians in California AREN't FIT to run a state. (And the includes the politicians on the BENCH who legislate the ignorance that has destroyed California. Keep on getting your housing information from the local news Jim. We've had this conversation before. The "news" told us last year the housing bubble problem was over and foreclosures were subsiding. It was all an "Obama" cheering piece which means nothing now that a year later foreclosures are up 30%!!! You Wrote: These are all good signs, though I think it is only temporary. One more year, then we should be out of this. California will take time to heal. Tightening of the belt on spending is a must. Some schools need financing while others are doing fine. Roads are being rebuilt, new freeways are being created. A new Tunnel is being built from Orinda to SF. BART is being expanded. Muni tunnel is has begun from the finacial district to china town. A 2 billon dollar expansion. New fire trucks with New fire Stations. Though some of the poorer cities are having to lay off police and limit services and even went bankrupted. How is this a good sign? The only thing "good" about this is the claim that "JOBS" have been "CREATED" in the construction industry with these projects. A "good sign" that your politicians have learned their lesson would be an immediate stop of ALL expansion and a 40% DECREASE in spending at ALL levels until the crisis is over. It's simply pandering to the Union Vote to claim taking money from taxpaying citizens to create jobs for construction workers is "good" when the state is broke. You also said: You keep saying companies are leaving California and I am sure that some small companies had to leave to get cheaper labor in order to compete with China, You mean like these "small businesses" ??: Alza Corp. in 2007 eliminated about 600 jobs in drug R&D while also exiting its Mountain View, Calif., HQ. At the time the company said that its 1,200-person Vacaville facility will continue to operate. But the Vacaville Reporter on Oct. 23, 2009 revealed that the plant is being offered for sale by J&J, its parent company. It's unclear if more layoffs are in the facility's future. American AVK, a producer of fire hydrants and other water-related products, moved from Fresno to Minden, Nevada. American Racing moved its auto-wheel production to Mexico, ending most of its 47-year operation in California. Apple Computer has expanded in other states, most recently with a $1 billion facility planned for North Carolina. Audix Corporation relocated from Redwood City, Calif., and to accommodate growth moved to a 78,000-square-foot facility in Wilson, Oregon. Apria Healthcare Group of Lake Forest is shifting jobs from California to Overland Park, Kansas, a K.C. suburb. Assurant Inc. cut 325 jobs in Orange County and consolidated positions in Georgia, Ohio and South Carolina. Automobile Club of Southern California placed 1,100 jobs in Texas. Barefoot Motors, a small "green" manufacturer, moved from Sonoma and will grow in Ashland, Oregon. Bild Industries Inc., which specializes in business news, directories and market reports, moved to Post Falls, Idaho, from Van Nuys, a part of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. Bill Miller Engineering, Ltd., suffering under the "hostile business climate" in California and Los Angeles County, moved from Harbor City to Carson City, Nevada. BPI Labs, which formulates, manufactures, and fills personal care products for the health and beauty industry, relocated from Sacramento to Evanston, Wyoming, a move the company's owner called "very successful . . . . It felt good and I’ve never looked back.” Buck Knives after 62 years in San Diego moved to Post Falls, Idaho. California Casualty Group left San Mateo for Colorado, cutting operating costs to remain competitive. Checks To-Go moved to Utah where workers' comp rates helped make the troubled company healthier. Chivaroli & Associates, a healthcare-related insurance service based in Westlake Village, Calif., moved a regional office to Spokane, Washington. CoreSite, A Carlyle Company, is delaying a Santa Clara project while it expands its data center in Reston, Virginia. Creators Syndicate may flee L.A. because it operates like a “banana republic.” Creel Printing Left Costa Mesa for Las Vegas and SoCal loses 60 more jobs. Dassault Falcon looked at building an aircraft services facility in Riverside County but instead located in Reno. DaVita Inc. moved its HQ from Los Angeles to Denver; expects to see millions of dollars in savings over time. Denny’s Corp. – the large restaurant chain – once had its headquarters in La Mirada, later in Irvine, Calif, and then moved to Spartanburg, South Carolina. In fairness, I note the move occurred in the early 1990s. However it's noteworthy because the company was founded in California and its growth over time created HQ jobs in another state. DuPont Fabros Technology suspended a $270 million Santa Clara data center project in favor of one in Ashburn, Virginia. EDMO Distributors, Inc., a world-wide wholesaler of aircraft avionics, test equipment, and pilot supplies, moved its HQ from Valencia, Calif., to Spokane Valley, Wash. Since, it has built a larger headquarters in the city's Mirabeau Point community complex. Edwards Lifesciences based in Irvine will expand with 1,000 employees – not in California but in Draper, Utah. EMRISE Corp. completed its HQ move from Rancho Cucamonga to Eatontown, NJ, in May 2009. The company said the move "will result in additional annualized cost savings of approximately $1 million and facilitate improvements in operating efficiency. . . . The cost savings associated with relocating our corporate headquarters will start immediately. . . The aggregate total of these expense reductions will increase our profitability and cash flow in this and succeeding years and, over time, substantially improve our ability to further reduce our long term debt.” FallLine Corporation Left Huntington Beach, where they were being "hammered" with multiple governmental regulatory fees, for Reno, Nevada. Fidelity National Financial left Santa Barbara for Florida, spurred by California's "oppressive" business environment. Fluor Corp. moved its global headquarters from Aliso Viejo to Irving, Texas, with about 100 employees asked to relocate while the company planned to hire the same number there. In 2006, when Fluor moved into its new headquarters building, a company statement said: "The official dedication had a decidedly Texas theme" as a horseshoe was raised on the building, a time-honored Texas tradition. Foxconn Electronics, a large contract electronics maker, moved some of its Fullerton operations to Dallas. Fuel System Solutions moved its headquarters from Santa Ana to New York. Helix Wind Inc. may move its research and development, engineering, and testing departments from San Diego to "more supportive" Oregon. Hewlett-Packard, HQ'd in Palo Alto, at various times has moved jobs to Tennessee and Texas. Hino Motor Manufacturing USA moved from California to Williamstown, West Virginia, in 2007, where it now employs about 100 workers. The company has growth plans to "Raise Hino’s presence from medium-/heavy /heavy-duty trucks to all ranges of trucks" and an aggressive program to improve fuel economy and emissions. The company builds trucks under its own brand and also manufactures Toyota-branded vehicles. Intel Corporation, HQ’d in Santa Clara, has chosen to expand operations in neighboring states. Intuit of Mountain View created a customer support office (110 people) not in California but in Colorado because of lower operating costs. Intuit also located Innovative Merchant Solutions LLC in Las Vegas as part of a $1.8 million investment in Nevada. J.C. Penney closed it Sacramento call center and moved the work to five out-of-state centers. Klaussner Home Furnishings in closing its La Mirada manufacturing plant will maintain its NC and Iowa operations. Knight Protective Industries moved to Oregon "where 4-day work weeks were permitted by the state" and wanted by the employees. LCF Enterprises, which makes specialized high-end amplifiers used by researchers, medical professionals and others, moved from Camarillo, Calif., to Post Falls, Idaho. Lyn-Tron, Inc., a supplier of electronic hardware, moved from Los Angeles to Spokane, Wash. Their website has a rather California(ish) statement: "Our commitment is to maintain a manufacturing environment that is progressive and safe, where our employees are able to achieve their personal objectives, thereby adding to their quality of life and to the community in which they live." Nissan North America moved its Los Angeles headquarters to Nashville, Tenn. One2Believe, a specialty religious-toy maker, left California for East Aurora, New York. Patmont Motor Werks, Inc. (GoPed manufacturer), after being hit by California regulators for hundreds of thousands of dollars in small fines even though his company has a stellar safety record, moved to Nevada. Paragon Relocation Resources moved from Rancho Santa Margarita to Irving, Texas. Plastic Model Engineering, Inc., a custom plastic injection molder and mold manufacturer, moved from Sylmar, Calif. to the "Inland Northwest," notably Post Falls, Idaho. Precor will stop manufacturing fitness machines in California and re-open in North Carolina. Premier Inc., the largest healthcare alliance in the nation, will move its HQ from San Diego to Charlotte, involving an investment of $17.7 million and adding 300 jobs in North Carolina. The announcement was made Oct. 14, 2009. Pro Cal of South Gate, in Los Angeles County, a unit of Myers Industries, expanded its Sparks, Nev., operations to become the company’s primary West Coast production and distribution facility. Pro Cal is a plastics manufacturer of nursery containers and a big recycler. SAIC will move its headquarters east, from San Diego to McLean, Virgina, which the Washington Post called "Another Coup for Area." The announcement was made Sept. 24, 2009; it is unclear how many employees will move east in 2009 and 2010. Scale Computing, a data-storage developer and manufacturer, is leaving Silicon Valley for Indiana. Schott Solar Inc. will close its sales and customer service office in Roseville and will relocate the office to Albuquerque, NM. SimpleTech transferred its manufacturing work from Santa Ana to Asia more than a year ago. Smiley Industries, an aerospace manufacturer, moved to Phoenix, where productivity improved. Special Devices Inc. brought 250 jobs to Mesa, Arizona, from Moorpark, Calif. StarKist headquarters is leaving San Francisco for Pittsburgh, Pa. Stasis Engineering moved from Sonoma County to West Virginia, a "friendlier business climate." Stata Corp., which specializes in data analysis and statistical software, moved from Santa Monica, California to College Station, Texas. Tapmatic, a metalworking firm whose owners were "fed up with the onerous business environment," moved from Orange County, California to Post Falls in northern Idaho. Teledesic moved to Washington state in anticipation of better capital gains. Telmar Network Technology Inc. moved from Irvine to Plano, Texas, consolidating some 150 workers there. Terremark postponed a Santa Clara project earlier this year to invest $50 million in a Culpeper, Va. project. Terumo Cardiovascular Systems is moving R&D from OC to Ann Arbor, Michigan, involving 65 jobs and $3.5 million in investments. Toyota will stop making cars in Fremont, will idle 4,700 workers, and move work to Canada and San Antonio, Texas. TTM Technologies will leave L.A. & Hayward and move to other states and China to achieve big cost savings. Twentieth Century Props of L.A. has gone out of business as film-making has moved to lower-cost states. US Press shifted work from Los Angeles and San Diego to Portland, "where union rules were almost rational." USAA Insurance closed its 625-person Sacramento campus in favor of other states. YOu also said: Could it be the opportunity, could it be the ability to be " In Tune" with some of the youngest and smartest minds in the USA? I am talking about Stanford, UCLA, Berkeley, UC Davis, UCSF, St Mary's? Why doesn't Nevada have just 3 of these WELL RESPECTED Universities if Nevada is so good and California is so bad? How come they are not leaving but thriving? Jim, you have hit the nail on the head. Nutcases from all over the country flock to California where their nutcase tree-hugging ideas can be embraced by more nutcases in the academic world. Thank you, thank you, thank you for removing these human leeches from our state public high schools and preparing them for a life of sucking on the public teat in California. We don't have them in our state because they won't be coddled here. The truth of reality is too much for them. They choose to go west where their Utopian fantasy can continue on until their parents run out of tuition money. Please keep them there. Keep on dreaming Jim. The only way California will even get a short reprieve is when Obama makes all of us pay your state's bills for a little while. Even then, you'll only get a good two or three years out of it if your politicians don't make a 180 degree turnaround on the way they operate the state. The inland areas suffer because of the stupidity of the LA/SanFran morons who have run the state into the ground. It's too bad the great people of the farming and rural areas have had to suffer without any chance of being heard because of the "genius" of the grads of your "great" universities that now run your state. Jim, you are part of the problem if your aren't part of the solution. Keep dreaming. YouTube - Beach Boys - California Dreaming

Rod Casinos are an industry just like car manufacturing is in Michgan, oil refining in Texas, tourism in Florida and logging in Oregon. It's up to each state FIND the industry that is bringing in the cash and WORK WITH that industry to collect taxes on revenue and operate within it's means. The casino tax in Las Vegas is NOT excessive. Every year the teachers unions and a bunch of other crying liberals with their hands out try to get the taxes raised. The legislature is more than happy to do that, but the governor won't play ball. He knows it could be the death of our state. Nevada knows how to walk that line and stand up to the whining workers unions and teachers unions that could bring this state down like they have California and Michigan. You see, if you overtax (and over regulate) your best producers THEY WILL LEAVE! Most of these Casinos couldn't give a crap about being here in Las Vegas. They are making more money in China right now. For every Casino here in Las Vegas, there are at least two sister casinos in places like China and the middle east. They could leave this state a ghost town in no time and we couldn't do anything about it. This state has taken a desert area with nothing to offer and turned it into a revenue generating machine. And Rod, things have changed since you left. There are no longer any "non-gaming" licenses to work or "background checks" to work in various industries. They were declared unconstitutional in 2007. There are still "gaming" and "health" cards for people who work in casinos around money and for people who serve food and work in the health industry. This is mostly to make sure they have been screened and don't have anything contagious. And the cost for the most expensive one is $20.00/yr. I don't think my post was misleading. I think our state has a maverick attitude and our taxes stay low because we conservatives still remain in control. Unlike California which has committed fiscal suicide by letting its liberal policies buy programs it's revenue can't pay for. Here, take a look at our governor telling the teacher's unions where to stick it.

It's the catch 22. An org can't have it both ways. An open BBS is great for bringing in new members. But the backside to that is it is an open forum for discussion of anything that doesn't appear on the up and up. There are only two ways to go in that scenario, STAY on the up and up, or run and hide. Hiding is difficult on an open board. I think the PWNA has been actively trying to work with existing bbs's and simply promoting through good word of mouth. (along with some very valuable promotion at the Rontables.) An org can't jump from board to board getting pi*sed off every time someone asks a question. Soon they'll find themselves without a promotional home anywhere on the net. It didn't work for Tom Durbin and it won't work for an org.:)

Rod, I'm not defending the status quo, you are. I'm defending a new direction that overturned the failed status quo. The problem of corporate greed at the top could easily be fixed within the marketplace by an organized boycott of goods or services if enough people gave a crap and were willing to spend 10 cents more on a roll of toilet paper to make a point to the cheaper corporation that we aren't going to support a company that pays CEO's 500 times what an employee gets paid. But, we as a people are talkers and not doers. I, myself am guilty to some extent, but I will say I haven't stepped foot in a Target store in more than 3 years as a protest of how they treat our troops and the salvation army. There is a lot of power in the marketplace if we Americans weren't so self centered and lazy we could make drastic change. What are you willing to do to? Here's a starting point: 2009 Executive PayWatch The method of whining to the government that this website promotes is not a viable plan. But if someone could rally the American people to protest with their wallets we could make some serious change.

Keep in mind, a big corporation is simply a multiplicity of small business owners (investors) who don't have the talent or experience to run the business, but provide the funds so that the talent can be paid to run the business. My 69 yr old former golfing buddy is one. He is a part owner of a few BIG corporations (via investments). His wife took 15% of every penny he earned over a 30-40 yr period and invested it in "big" corporations. I'll call him this evening and ask him how that's going for him. Last I spoke to him his life savings had deteriorated from over $500k to less than $125k. That's all he has to live on for the rest of his life now. I'd invite you to think about him everytime you think about BIG CORPORATIONS. Here's his picture to help you put a face on those "big corporations" Severence pay? He always had plenty of money in between jobs because he was frugal enough to SAVE. That used to be the way people got ahead in this country. It's time we, and the government learned that. (myself included)

How can corporations protect their employees from the government and it's incessant drive to bring now "big government" voters into the fold? Corporations don't have a chance unless they can spend the money to educate the public on what is really happening. Imagine that the government decides that small businesses must provide healthcare (because it is deemed a right) and that the fed is stepping up the effort to help the jobless through taxation of small businesses and they add new fuel taxes to create 1950's style transportation construction jobs. Lets say I have three employees each making $30k/yr. Let's say I get a new $1,000 per employee "fee" (tax), now I'm down $3k right off the bat. Say fuel goes from $2.00 to $3.00.(combination of market forces AND new taxation) Now I'm down another $12k/yr for a total of $15k. Some of my tax breaks are eliminated (because everyone hates BIG business) and/or taxes go up resulting in another $10k per year in expenses. Because I'm a heartless business owner I'm forced to provide healthcare for my three employees at $8k/ yr each. I've just been handed an additional $49k in new exenses. That's enough in new expenses to eliminate my motivation for keeping the business open at all. But I think about the fact that my business provides income for three families and try to figure out how to make it work. So, I tighten my own belt and take a $10k cut. (How much am I going to cut myself? After all, I'm the one who took all the risks to make this business and provide these jobs.) Next, I eliminate one of the routes and combine them into two and save $3k in fuel. I still have to come up with $36k. So I search out the employees and find the least productive of the three. (Say his name is Jimmy) He has to go. With him gone I save $30k in salary and $8k in healthcare leaving 2k in profit to save for the next time taxes are raised (which will be the next year) So what has happened here? The government has forced me to fire Jimmy. But Jimmy will be ok because the government will pay him to stay at home and pay all his healthcare bills with my tax money for a couple of years or more. All this has done is CREATED a crisis so that the government can come in and save the day. If it wasn't for the government interference Jimmy would still have his job. There's only one way this scenario benefits the government. Jimmy will now be beholden to the geniuses who saved his a** when the evil "big business" fired him. Who saved Jimmy? The wonderful democrats working against the evil "big business" republicans. Who is Jimmy going to vote for next time? You got it. Don't believe me? If you have the guts, go into one of the neighborhoods where all everyone does is sit around all day waiting for their government checks to come in and try to find ONE voter who voted for McCain. Impossible. So this is how our government works. Welcome to America.

I just bartered Full service AC cleaning (Condenser Coils,Belts,Filters) with an animal hospital for veterinary care (About $600.00 worth). It is an even trade. I trade full service on ONE unit at a dog groomer for 12 dog groomings a year. Last year I traded condenser cleaning for two stencils. Chris just had a big birthday party for his son at a chucky cheese type place, all inclusive, in exchange for one entrance cleaning. And now he's picked it up as a regular monthly account.

You guys want to throw out the word "Corporation" as if it's some kind of code word for "one big fat rich guy pulling all the strings". A corporation is a "group" of people who have invested their time,talent,and or money into a business venture with the goal of making it profitable. A corporation may be one person or it may be millions. That's PEOPLE. If those people want to set aside some of THEIR money to help them play ball with the money grubbing senators and congressmen they should have all the right in the world to do that. Here's the real reason geniuses like KO see this as a death blow to their party. Here's what UNIONS did from 1989-2008: During that time UNIONS made up 12 of the top twenty political donors. Of those donations the following percentages went to REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES: American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees 1% IBEW 2% NEA 6% Laborers Union 7% Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 3% Carpenters and Joiners Union 9% Teamsters Union 6% Communications Workers Of America 0% American Federation of Teachers 0% United Auto Workers 0% Machinists & Aerospace Workers Union 0% United Food & Commercial Workers Union 1% And here's a quote from SEIU President Andy Stern "We spent a fortune to elect Barack Obama - 60.7 million to be exact- and we're proud of it." I'll turn an earlier question back on you Rod. You asked something to the effect of: "If corporations are making enough money to spend it on politics why aren't they spending it on their employees instead" (something like that) Rod, if Unions, who's supposed purpose is to PROTECT the worker, have so much money why aren't they helping these workers who have LOST THEIR JOBS with it instead of spending it on politics? The 60.7 million spent on Obama by the SEIU alone could have paid the mortgage of more than 4000 laid off workers for a year while they retrained for new jobs. What a waste of UNION DUES. The double standard is coming to an end and KO and others like him can't stand it.

Rod, John McCain is not "my ole buddy", in fact it pained me to know that the republican party was so pathetic that Mccain was all they had to offer. BUT, because of the unfathomable alternative of Obama I was forced to put this up in my yard.

How about those 30 customer letters that come in asking for proof of insurance a month before it's due!!! Aaaaargh! Paper pushers have too much time on their hands.

That's called the free market Beth. That is what keeps corporations in check. If they go out supporting goofy candidates we can vote against that corp with our pocketbooks. Case in Point - I haven't been in a Target store for over 3 years because of their goofy anti-americanism.

Beth, you and Keith Overblown are forgetting a couple of things. First the corporations have always had the right to donate as much as they want to a candidate. It was only a few years ago that McCain/Feingold tried to illegally put a stop to it. Overblown is acting like this is something new and all the sudden the apocalypse is going to happen. This is nothing different. It's typical for a liberal like Keith to try to pretend like this is something new and deceive the poor listeners of his show. Second, he's insinuating (also deceptive) that since corporations have the same rights as an individual (which they've had for years) that somehow that equals votes. Well, the only way that equals votes is if the dummys who don't even care enough to research a candidate will be led by the nose into voting for the candidate with the most advertising money. Corporations can't vote, they can only reach out to the stupidest of our population and influence them through the media. Why so deceptive? Why not bring up the fact that corporations have always been able to spend as much as they want on candidates in the past? Why the insinuation that corporations can now vote? And why is he so mad about this? He's mad because he knows the stupid listen to the liberal commercials (which is what his show is) and follow like sheep and he's afraid that now he's going to have more competition. He doesn't want anyone to use the same techniques to lead the sheep that he does. Well, thank God for Fox News. Fox at least tells both sides of the story and lets the individual decide. I'm all for this court ruling. The legislation was clearly unconstitutional and even one liberal justice recognized it.