Walmart downtown?? We should encourage it more than you think

You know as much as so many are against Walmart in the downtown Broadway district, one has to stop and think about back when downtown was successful actually. I mean when our downtown was at its highest what was down there??? Hmmm if you can't figure it out, it was major retail stores before they moved out to the suburbs.

The death of downtown Green Bay started many decades ago even back into the 1950's. The whole port plaza mall killed downtown Green Bay actually went back into the 1950's and took decades for them to actually try to move forward with that plan. It wasn't the mall killed downtown, downtown was already dead they were just trying to do something new and the "in" thing at that time to hope to revitalize our downtown.

Big retail doesn't kill downtown's, the lack of them makes it harder for the mom and pop shops to be even more successful. If you bring a Walmart that could lead to a Target or to others and more big retail. In return small business opens up near big retail to piggy back off them, isn't that what we usually still see now, wasn't that how it was at malls and still to this day? The better the anchor retail stores the more successful a mall can be, or any location for that matter.

I mean you don't think people who would shop at Walmart downtown wouldn't be interested in stopping in the other places to shop or to get a bite to eat? Those business owners down there complaining, I highly doubt you would be complaining when your bottom line increases, then you will be praising the increased traffic and bodies spending money at your places.

Now myself personally, I think what we need downtown is a year long market type place downtown. I thought the old mall would have been a great place for this. A year round farmers market open everyday, with food and other vendors also there to sell their goods. After I visited Japan and saw these covered street "arcades" that was blocks of stores that people could walk down no traffic on them, shielded from the elements but yet still outdoor/indoor. I thought you know places like broadway or washington st could use an idea like this. If you have never seen these type of places look them up, they are great.

I also thought you know a place like a woodman's would really do a great job downtown to serve not only the "poor" people in the area downtown, but it would also do wonders to influence other people to want to move downtown. Seriously a close good priced source of groceries should be one of the fist things one thinks about when they move somewhere. The poorer you are the more important this should become to be honest, yet unfortunately it isn't the case.

Plus let us be honest, despite the initial low wage hiring at Walmart, the place will bring jobs to the area. jobs bring income, which in turn boost local economy. It may not be much at first, but if other places piggy back on Walmart being there, they will need to hire more and if they are not like Walmart then they can hire their new needed employees at a good living wage right??? I mean what is the average wage of the employees at these places already downtown? Are they already paying their employees like $12 an hour? If they are not then they should really shut their lips since they are not any better than the big box places too when it all boils down.

Really when it comes down to it, what are people so afraid of? I mean isn't it better to have someone like Walmart and take  a chance on them actually making it better for everybody long term than to not have them at all and wonder did we make a mistake on what could have been. Too be honest I think Walmart has more at stake to lose here than any of the existing shops.

My mother and her husband are thinking about moving back to Green Bay, and they have been eyeing up downtown places. My mom believes like me that right now is the time to move downtown, the revitalization is happening right before our eyes and those who move down there to live will be the ones who help shape the direction things grow. My sister doesn't want my mom to move down there, but I think as long as there is the things they need are close by then living downtown could be a great place for her and her husband. You should have all the conveniences close by within walking distance or a short bus ride when you live downtown, if you don't then your downtown is in need of repair and not good for living still.

They have made great strides over the past decade or so downtown, let us keep this rolling and build it into something we all can be thankful for.

Just my 2 cents

US Championship Cheese Contest

US Championship Cheese contest part that is open to the public is very lacking. The samples were not many, and not many varieties. Should have had plenty more to sample and more than the usual kinds we already buy. Need to open up people to other varieties out there.

With that being said the Emmi Roth USA Monroe, WI Vintage Van Gogh aged Gouda was fantastic

  Lovera's Cheese Krebs, OK Aged Caciocavera Provolone was great too

I know a lot of it is judging the cheeses, and not much the public can do about that but I think it should be much better organized on the public end of it. It is the US Championship Cheese contest and we are Wisconsin, we should know how to put out some cheese to sample...lol In my opinion they should have made available samples from every entry and had a public vote too. Then there could be a people's champ in every category and overall too. That is just my two cents but hey I don't run the show.

There is no wealth inequality!

A friend on Facebook posted a link to a YouTube video about wealth inequality in America.

Now I watched this video and OK yes I can totally understand the statistics it shows, but one thing I can never figure out is what is this so called "Wealth Inequality"? Is the success of others albeit a small % really making it that it is not equal for the rest of us to have a piece of the pie too?

I mean look poor people are not poor just because a small % of wealthy people are just that, wealthy. That small % of wealthy people are not really stealing peoples money and preventing them from rising above that poor level, granted  there obvious cases of theft of this nature from the wealthy to the poor and everyone in between looking to cash a fast buck.

If you watch the video the narrator says exactly why there is such huge gaps between the very successful and  everyone else, the rest of us simply do not save and invest enough. 

You know it isn't because people can't afford to save and invest, it isn't because of their color, or any other excuse they want you to believe. I think the main reason is that most of us simply can't live within our means and too much of a got to have it now instead of later attitude.

Let us take someone who is not wealthy, doesn't matter if they are poor or middle class really. How much has this person bought lets say on credit? How much money is thrown away on the interest from the borrowed line of credit? How much of that stuff on credit was actually something that was an emergency purchase compared to simply can't wait to have it? What if that person saved money and bought it with cash, maybe even got a better price, and didn't pay any interest now? Automatically that is extra money in their pocket they didn't spend, now considering they would have just thrown it away before why couldn't they instead transfer that to some sort of savings? Wow amazing how just by being patient and waiting to buy something when they can actually afford it, they saved money that can in return be in saved or invested. 

Now lets look at groceries. Why not make a small investment into a chest freezer, then make larger grocery shops so you are going to the store less often. Less times to the store means you are saving gas, which means you are both saving money and using less gas which is better for your pocket book and environment. Look for as many coupons you can use, find when you can double them up, look for in-store specials, and so on. You don't have to get coupon crazy but even just some simple coupon gathering and looking for the best deals you can save countless money or get better value for the money you spend both of which are savings to you. All those save $.30, $.50, $1.00 buy one get one and so on will add up.

What about luxury items such as internet, cable or satellite TV, cell phones, and so on? How many of these could you really afford to live without, or lower your plans to save money? 

I would have to imagine even a poor person could easily end up saving a couple $1000 a year by doing these things. Sure it might not seem like a lot, but now if you keep saving that year after year and not touch it you can start to build a nice little nest egg. You get enough you can take it from savings and move some of it to investments and yield a bigger return on your investment. Another wow moment because you are putting yourself into position to start having your money make money for you, this is basically what wealthy people do isn't it? You might not be making millions, but any free money made is good money. If you do everything right you could easily put yourself in a position that you will be complimenting your income enough to put you above being poor.

Why don't we also do more to promote investing and saving to our youth? Why not initiate school savings programs, make it easier to open savings accounts with very little money at our banks, or even open special savings places where not only kids but even the less fortunate can have it easier to save even the smallest amounts. Other nations do this, and places like Japan it is so common for people to just put money into their savings. 

We need to start waking up and learning to be responsible for ourselves again. Why should be mad at the "1%" I mean really shouldn't we be mad at ourselves instead? We always want to blame someone or something for our failures. The way these people make it sound the "1%" are sitting around plotting this out or something. The only thing they do is take advantage of the opportunities and are capitalizing on them. You also have to remember those who invest also have failures too that lose a lot of wealth and money, you never hear about that though. That is a big difference between them and the rest of us, they are willing to take risks and chances to get ahead. 

Really the "1%" should be the people we look up to. We don't need to reach the "1%" but rather be inspired by what they do and what it takes to reach that. I mean really do you want be inspired by successful people or people who do nothing to bring success? As they say there is always a million excuses not to do something, seems to me blaming the "1%" is just another one of those excuses. 

Just my idea about what to do in regards to guns

The debate over gun ownership, types of guns and ammo is turning more into a he said she said battle with neither side coming up with a compromise that can see results.

There needs to be both better gun regulation and stricter gun laws for those who decide to commit crimes with firearms.

Why not develop a series of tests and gun safety training that all gun owners must comply with every so many years and every time they purchase a new gun regardless of when their last testing was? Develop certain tests depending on what type of firearms they own or intend to purchase. Even have testing done for purchases of ammo depending on the type that they have to do every time. Yes it can prove to be a hassle for law abiding gun owners, but I think it would be a small inconvenience to give up in order to retain the right to own guns and to show to the doubters that good gun owners are willing to go through the steps to ensure they are held to the highest standard just to purchase and own guns and ammo.

Why not put a ban on private sales of guns, rather set up either a trade in or credit type system supported by the government as a way to help reduce the number of "extra" guns in America or from even being exported to other countries too? Licensed gun dealers could accept used guns as trade in or give customers credit for future purchases, and then in return the government would buy back these used guns and/or maybe give some type of tax breaks or something that benefits the business for entering the program. Another option would be to have a government buy back program for used guns, either have centers where citizens can return their used guns, law enforcement pick up, and so on. The citizens could either be paid a fair market value of the gun, given vouchers for future new gun purchases, or given some sort of tax break.

As far as gun laws go, make it simple and enact real serious tough strict laws for those who decide to use firearms to commit crimes. Make it federal law where every state has to abide by the same laws and consequences, so there are no loop holes for lawyers to get their clients off on technicalities and such. Make it known that we are serious about the laws and if you are convicted you will be seriously punished. I would put it like automatic life no parole sentence for anyone convicted either of killing or shooting someone with a firearm not in self defense. 25 years for anyone convicted of shooting a firearm in the act of a crime. 10 years for anyone who simply brandishes or assaults anyone during the act of a crime. These years also to be served on top of any other convictions and times they face current and former.

The bottom line is both extreme sides need to figure where they can meet in the middle when it comes to guns. Personally I think it is unfair to blame the guns as the problem, I think that is just the typical let's blame someone or something else for our real problems. America has always been a country of gun owners and a high gun ownership rate, yet there once was a time that the type of senseless violence we see with guns was rare and hardly seen. The problem has never been the guns but rather the people both who commit crimes with guns and those who oppose them. We need to learn as individuals to be morally responsible and for each of us to be held accountable for our actions. This not only applies to guns but with our everyday lives as well. Isn't about time Americans learn to set the example and not be the ones laughed at?

This will also help to turn around problematic neighborhoods too and lower the crime rate all across the nation as well. Properly trained law abiding gun owning citizens in conjunction with law enforcement can reclaim these unsafe neighborhoods, turn them around and pave the way for the children and people in them to have more opportunities to succeed and get ahead. They can learn to take pride in their communities, people will not be scared or intimidated anymore, criminals will have less chances of finding safe havens to operate out of. When there is more opportunities there is less chance of people turning to crime.

Will these ideas ever stop someone from going out and committing mass senseless killings? No not at all, but we can at least ensure that the people who do own guns and adhere to the regulations put in place they will surely result in the absolute lowest percentage of people who do commit crimes with firearms. Sure people who were law abiding gun owning citizens from time to time still do commit crimes with firearms, and no matter what you can never eliminate all firearm deaths because even in countries with the strictest laws and lowest crime rates still have gun deaths.

I also think gun manufacturers need to maybe only make guns on a per order basis. No store should ever stock any firearms outside of the display models. I think display models should also have something removed  or added that makes it difficult to remove that would disable the guns from actually being able to be used. This way anyone who steals a gun from a store would more than likely not be able to use it. Also stores should be made to have cases that are theft proof and/or have to lock up all firearms and instead of digital displays of the types of guns they sell. When a customer finds a gun they want to look at, the employee would retrieve the gun from a secured case/location so the customer can see it in person. Make it too that even to just look at a gun in person in a store the customer has to provide their identification. Stores need to show that they are willing to also enforce these tough regulations. In the end someone who wants to legally own a gun will just have to accept the way things are.

These are just my thoughts and opinions on the subject

political rant

OK I really tried to not speak up during this whole political fiasco my country is engaged in, but now the elections are over I will add my two cents.

To put it simple seriously WTF people, it is no wonder the world is messed up the way the voting goes. How completely stupid to target specific groups of people just to win their votes, that is like the most retarded thing ever. Why not promote unity and us all being together in the same boat instead for once. It is idiots of the left that simply promote this division and it really just shows how dumb most people are, like lambs being led to the slaughter. I know the religious right does look like a bunch of mental patients, but from what I have seen of the liberal left they surely are the icing on the cake.

What exactly are you left trying to accomplish, please explain it to me? Seems to me everybody has their own agenda and this is one of the prime reasons why nothing ever gets done to really benefit anyone. It is also obvious majority of you have zero clue when it comes to politics too, I bet most of you still think that the President can just do and change things at his own will. I bet most of you forgot that it is congress that really runs the country and it is they who says what will and will not be passed of what the President purposes. Yeah, isn't that just a shocker to you? Next I would get a refresher course in who has controlled congress most just say since after WWII.

I don't have my data with me, it is back home and I am out of country right now (at the original time of writing this). I think though from like 1945-2009 democrats controlled congress something like 43 years, republicans like 10 or 12 and split like 10-12, I am sorry for not having the exact accurate info on hand but you can see what I am trying to show. Now here is the best part for all you republican haters, the largest increases in the deficit come when we have split congress and then when dems control it. The few times republicans actually controlled congress they actually decreased the deficit more times than they increased it, wow yeah isn't that nuts. Don't count when they controlled it and we were at war either, I wouldn't count that against the dems myself. So next time you all want to say look at what Clinton did, remember he had rep controlled congress who at least worked with him and they accomplished things and that is a fact.

You know you liberal left supporters maybe if you stopped bitching and complaining about how life sucks so bad for you and actually decided to offer real viable solutions you might actually get some stuff done. The only real thing I see from you is your hell bent mission to not let conservatives take control of government. I bet most of you have serious debt based on credit issues too, I mean that is what liberals believe in most the whole let's just spend it now and let the future worry about our mistakes since we take zero responsibility for our actions.

update quick from 1960-2009 the deficit increased 29 times and decreased 21 times, of those increases 21 of 29 times the dems controlled congress was split 6 times and reps only 2 times. in the 21 times it decreased   the reps were responsible for 8 times and did so only between 1995-2006 (11 years), split only managed it twice during Reagan's time, and dems only did it 11 times despite controlling congress 32 of the years between 1960 and 2009. So dems 21 years of increased deficit compared to 11 decreased years.

You can certainly argue your personal view points on why you may not like conservatives but you are basing it on social action and not government action. This is no different than a modern day separation of church and state in my opinion. We are letting too many social actions get in the way of letting government be able to better manage itself. Maybe at best the government should say ok we will set aside a certain percentage of spending for social programs and then hand the money off to a separate entity that then decides who and where the money will go. Liberals don't understand that bringing our deficit into check actually can open up the opportunity for more money to be allotted to more social programs and education. We can then give people more incentive to donate money via tax breaks to also better support social programs that the individual actually supports and believes in. Why should tax money be going to some programs that some tax payers disagree with completely? I think a certain level of social programs is needed because there are indeed times when people are down and out or just need a little helping hand to get by, plus things like education are very important too. Now education is important but school boards, tuition and stuff need to also be brought into check. People complain corporations are making so much money, but they forget how much money people are making through the education systems here. You can try to argue teachers don't get paid enough, but I say for public school teachers the money they make is damn good actually. The schooling they went for doesn't get them six figure salaries nor does any other profession with that level of schooling typically. If they go and get super educated and only are satisfied with being a public school teacher then they are the fools.

Well bottom line is we need to wake up and figure out how to let government run itself efficiently. We need to stop wasteful spending throughout and seriously make major cut backs. It will hurt some people yes, but that also means we the people need to stand up and be more accountable in our actions. We should take a look at some other places and see how the citizens conduct themselves and maybe take a lesson from them. Enough with the me first attitude and change it to a lets make our country a better place for all.

where is this chinese economic boom?

Seriously I do not know where these people come up with this crap. Why does anyone actually think China has suddenly all this money to spend, and I mean non government spending. They talk about this rising Chinese middle class, middle class compared to who other Chinese? China is a place of terribly super rich and dirt poor ( in most modernized top economic countries) Chinese middle class is not the $40k a year type we are used to seeing but rather a paltry $3000 per capita. This is why you hardly see individual Chinese taking trips abroad and spending lots of cash, simply because they don't have it folks. The Chinese you see show up always come in groups and they are those who are doing better than middle class for the most part.

I can't understand why the world tries to go gaga over China's economy right now, it is fake and a fraud and how people can't understand this is beyond my comprehension. Their economic machine is like an engine that requires premium fuel to run but they are trying to make it work using the cheapest knock off lowest grade fuel they can. Eventually the machine is going to stop working correctly and their is going to be maintenance costs that far exceed the money they generate in their economy. China simply can't survive being the worlds producer of shitty goods. The cost of doing business is rising fast in China and companies are starting to bail out of their. The people are demanding rising wages too because they are waking up to seeing that they have been underpaid grossly. Plus on top of it butt loads of Chinese continually try to and do leave the country for greener pastures throughout the world. It is much the same as with Indians too, proof that unless you actually have a sustainable economy, modernized and at least have your population in check, your best and brightest potential future stars of society will continue to flee. It is why you still see people who will be like oh i was a surgeon back home but now i am a taxi driver etc etc, because they actually make more money even despite the drastic cost of living difference. They also give their children a better and brighter future too.

Everyone can talk shit about the US all they want but the fact remains the majority of people trying to immigrate to another country still place the US as the #1 place. Even with our economic slump we still offer more opportunities on an equal scale than anyone else in the world. America truly is the land of equal opportunities, but it does not guarantee equal success for everyone. This is also why it is so critical that we steer away from socialist programs that try to spread the wealth to those who do little to deserve it. Europe is a ship sinking fast after their failed socialistic policies have bankrupted them far beyond you can even imagine and way more than they are telling you. I smelled that stinky dead fish from across the pond years ago and I openly questioned how can this charade of a shell game keep continuing and for how long. The funny thing is back to China and it is the Chinese who are buying up Europe's worthless debt, and I have a feeling it will be the catalyst that starts to break the so called Chinese economic machine. Europe will take decades to fully recover, unless they figure some way to manipulate and con the world into believing they are somehow stable again and refocus the worlds economic woes back on the US as they have tried to do to cover their asses. The funny thing for the US is that despite our economic downturn right now, we still manage to keep chugging right along.

Just remember too that during all this that the US has never lost its #1 status as the world economic super power, you can chuck all the lowered credit ratings and stuff out the window too. Simply put the US is #1 has been #1 for a shit long time and will continue to be #1 for the very foreseeable future too. The only difference that has ever happened is that other countries have battled it out for the other top spots and that basically the gap has closed more now than ever before. Other places might be getting closer, but getting closer and beating us is two different ball games.

So in closing, China may have a booming middle class within their own borders and you know what who cares. They always had a middle class and it probably has been the same % as it always has been, the only difference now is that the level of $ made is obviously more. China needs like a good civil war that could say eliminate about 1 billion people, then they would at least close the gap even further and actually be a player in the real global economy.

back to school kiddo's

I honestly think the first day back to school is the day parents look most forward to here. After 3 months of having the kids home on summer vacation it is a welcome relief to get some quiet time again.

I love you kids very much but time to go back to the old grind. Hope you two have a great day today, be happy and just enjoy your first day back. I will see you guys when you get home. ^^