It's the Deficit Stupid!

This is not an endorsement of either major party candidate for President. Rather it's an endorsement of the one and only issue you need to think about before you cast your ballot.

The Deficit. Check out the National Debt Clock for the current, and very scary numbers. It's so huge that it defies description. How it will impact us all is easy. We're going broke. In fact we are broke.

As a nation we're like a bunch of people who got together for a big fancy steak dinner. We've chowed down on prime rib, filet mignon, drinking 18 year old scotch and are ordering cheesecake for desert. We're looking around the table figuring one of us is going to pick up the tab right?

Wrong. Everyone's credit card is maxed out and our only choice is to all try and sneak out on the bill or spend a long night washing dishes. Both solutions fraught with peril to our prestige as a nation. In fact our existence as a nation.

President Obama asked former Wyoming Senator Alan Simpson and former Clinton Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles to form a commission and come up with solutions. Both men are patriotic, brilliant and solution seekers. They put together a bi-partisan team and came up with a road map to reduce the monstrous deficit. Read it here.

After much praise and fanfare, it was stuffed in a drawer where it resides today. That's because there was no sugar in it to help the medicine go down. It's because it would require actual political courage to enact the measures to save us from joining Thelma and Louise driving off the edge of the Grand Canyon.

The debates are over. A myriad of pundits have opined. It's time to cast your ballot. Before you do, ask yourself which of the two candidates is best prepared to lead us in digging out of a very deep and dark financial hole. It will take no small amount of courage. It will take all of us to be part of the solution. All of us.

We can't have equal pay if there is no money. We can't have Medicare or Social Security if there is no money. We can't grow our economy if there is no money. We can't compete in the global market place if there is no money. We can't defend ourselves if there is no money.

There is no money.

The question isn't are we better off that we were four years ago. It's "Will we be better off as a nation four years from now?"

Ignore the made for TV sound bites. Ignore the nonsense being posted on Social Media. As Al Simpson says, look at the Math, not myth.

It's time to decide. While you do the National Debt Clock is ticking. Upward.

Brian Olson
Owner/Consultant
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you!"

BEVO BLOG: B(c)S Edition

It's here, the first B(c)S poll of the season. Actually it comes out Sunday. The first rankings enroute to the mythical land of college football Oz, where computers and not performance rule. Who is that server behind the curtain?

It's possible Ohio State could top the AP rankings again, yet not be numero uno in the BCS. How can that happen? Again, it's a mystery. Could it be that all this is driven by, gasp, MONEY?

Ask Boise State what they think. I've heard some almost convincing arguments why Boise State doesn't belong in a "National Championship" game, even if they go undefeated all season. They didn't help their cause when they decided to bolt the WAC for the Mountain West Conference. If you want to play for the big game, you have to play with the big dogs. So why didn't they make a a run at the Big 12 to replace the CU Golden Puffs?

Within moments of the first BCS standings being released, the blogosphere will light-up, the arguing will begin and will continue until college football comes up with a genuine playoff system. The NCAA which runs incredibly successful basketball and baseball tournaments, can't seem to do the same with football. Again, a mystery.

Finally today, likely the last meeting between two great football programs, as Texas makes a last trip to Lincoln to take on the Cornhuskers, who are headed to the Big 10. Texas is the underdog and deservedly so. Nebraska is seeking revenge over the last second (59:59!) field goal by Texas in last year's Big 12 Championship Game. Nebraska fans have a reputation for being the most sportsmanlike in the game. We won't blame them if they rub a little corn in the proverbial wound, if they win.

IF...Texas were to win, wouldn't that just upset the BCS apple cart? But that would take me to the beginning of today's blog. An endless loop as it were. Better to quit while I'm ahead.

Cheer on your team. It's college football. The greatest game on earth.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters LLC
"We start the conversation about you"