Groupware News

WOOHOO!!!! IBM has released technotes on:

Complete steps to configure Sametime integration with DWA 8.0.x

Troubleshooting the Domino Web Access 8 contact list (Buddy List)

How to enable chat logging on a Sametime server (This was just updated to include ST8.

It looks like circulation of the Top 25 US newspapers has plunged yet again. Many in the industry are saying that this is because of the economy and people are going online to get their news.

Could a more accurate assessment be simply that people are fed up with all of the liberal dreck?

Here’s a good developerWorks article on integrating them.

This started as a response to Carl’s blog asking why redistribution of other people’s money, AKA government sanctioned theft of your hard earned money, wasn’t OK but my response got too long over there.

For starters, I am a humble public servant. I come from a long line of public servants. My living is made by providing my IT services to a densely populated northeastern state. To say I am quite familiar with “the system” is an understatement.

I am well aware that many of my superiors have to deal with enormously complex and difficult challenges that I, or most everyone else for that matter, really don’t want to deal with. I have nothing but the utmost respect for them and wish them well in their endeavors, regardless of political affiliation.

That said, government sanctioned theft is abhorrent! Here’s what I mean.

The side of the debate you sit matters not. If you allow them to do it to the guy next to you, they’ll come after you next.

You must remember that politics being what it is, is subject to whims and change. Even if “this great program that personally benefits you today” is enacted by “your party", government takeaways and handouts rarely go away. Sooner or later, the other guys will be in charge, it will change and then you won’t like it.

Would you really like it if I: came into your house; stole all of your stuff; gave it all to causes with which you don’t agree; THEN on top of it, insulted you by saying you aren’t “patriotic” because you complained about it, wanted to prevent it or wanted to file a police report?

I think not. You’d be pretty pissed.

Government sanctioned theft is akin to a rape and the rapist being allowed to get away with it because “… well, the chick looked like she wanted it and she doesn’t deserve to look that hot unless she gives ‘it’ up to me. And I really, really wanted her and, even though she didn’t want me, she deserved to get raped!”

Last time I checked, that was not a viable defense.

On the subject of supply side or trickle down economics, and economics in general, like it or not, economic policy takes years to fully manifest itself. That is provided that you have legislators writing laws fully and properly supporting it. In the 80’s under Reagan, the two, policy and legislation, never fully came in concert with each other.

For those who don’t know, Ronald Reagan, was an economics major in college and understood economics probably better than any President in history. The main problem with implementing supply side was, at the time, a 50+ (now going on 80!)year history of dependence-creating government welfare and bureaucracy that had to be reduced or eliminated before the benefits of supply side could really work.

For those who then want to point to the 90’s and say “see, look what Clinton did and he wasn’t a supply sider!”

Well, thanks for letting me shoot fish in a barrel!

You can’t look to Clinton as this economic genius because he had no appreciable economic policy. All he really did was re-appoint a fiscal conservative as head of the Federal Reserve (That would be Alan Greenspan who was appointed by … Reagan) and ride the Internet bubble. How many of us remember those grand days??

When you look at Clinton’s first two years in office, there was no appreciable swell in federal revenue. Under Clinton, federal revenue didn’t grow at the same rate it did during Reagan’s administration.

It wasn’t until Newt Gingrich and the Republican majority in Congress was elected in ‘94 that fiscal responsibility became possible by following Reagan’s supply side model. Despite what you may think you know of Newt, he is in fact, a brilliant man. I would encourage you to read his works or listen to him sometime.

All the personalities aside. If you really doubt supply side economics works, check out page 14 of the IRS’s 2007 Data Book. This shows how much the US Federal Government took in between 1960 and 2007.

As you can see, during the 80’s, US Federal revenue increased significantly when taxes were lowered. By 1989 when Reagan left office, revenue had doubled 1981 levels simply based, not on inflation, but on what Reagan could get accomplished with a liberal Democrat controlled Congress. Just imagine what he could have gotten done with a fiscally conservative Congress!!

The reality is there is no possible way to tax yourself into prosperity.

You can’t take more money from those who have created it and expect for them to continue to create more. Resentment and frustration will build up with them. It is natural. If the government started taking more of your money, would you go work harder to try and make even more money only to have the government take even more? Of course you wouldn’t.

By Obama’s own admission, he isn’t concerned with Joe the Plummer, the person who exercised the risk in starting a business but the people “behind him". Meaning, if you are Joe the Plummer, Obama doesn’t care about you unless he can steal your hard earned money. If your business brings in $250,000, Obama thinks you are rich. How are you “rich” if from that $250,000, you have to pay roughly 35 to 40% in federal, state, local and other taxes before you cut a check to any employee. That includes your a salary AND a salary for everyone (make that anyone, at this point) who works for you. How much can you really pay someone AND make owning the business worthwhile for yourself?

You can’t.

Consider this. According to the IRS as quoted in a Kiplinger.com article from 25 July 2008, 86% of all US taxes are paid by the top 25% of all wage earners.

Do you know what constitutes being in the Top 25%? Earning over $64,702. How many PlanetLotus readers earn over that? Are you one of them? If so, you are in the Top 25% of all US wage earners.

It is also interesting to note that 40% of ALL income taxes paid, that is 40% of all revenue the US Federal Government receives, is from the top 1% of all wage earners; those people earning over $388,000.

Keep in mind that people living off trust funds, such as Senator Kennedy and other top liberal lawmakers, did not come by their fortunes by earning it. They inherited it and inherited money is not income. Further, because they inherited it, most of their money is exempt from taxation.

In the end, no one has ever received a paying job from a poor person. If you have a job, even those of us in the public sector, one way or another, your paycheck is from some rich guy or gal. If you think the only way for you to “get even’ with him or her is by supporting a candidate that claims he will tax “the rich” more … you better watch it or else you may be the one without a job once “the rich guy” no longer has money to pay YOUR paycheck.

It looks like the Bold release is possibly next week. I just got an invite to a Bold launch event hosted by AT&T on 16 Oct in Manhattan… here’s hoping!