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redbrn.comI was at one of those infamous D.C. cocktail parties the other night when Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), one of the two most libertarian-leaning members of the House of Representatives, sidled up to me at the bar and croaked, "How ya liking our new trillion-dollar budget deal?!"

The $1.16 trillion agreement hikes current spending levels, largely by vomiting forth $93.5 billion worth of "Overseas Contingency Operations" (OCO)a disreputable gimmick that current Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney has long and correctly railed against. Unlike the budgetary "dark ages" and government-dismembering prophesied by dullard hysterics in the media, this latest last-minute Continuing Resolution very predictably maintains just about every pre-existing spending level and pet project/agency. A House vote is scheduled for this afternoon.

So who's against it? Massie's pal Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), for one. Paul has a piece over at Breitbart.com explaining why:

It not only rejects President Trump's calls for cuts to multiple agencies, but it increases their funding by millions of dollars.

It paves the way for those agencies to engage in more "use it or lose it" September spending.

It leaves our deficit at well over $500 million. []

Former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen tried to warn us in 2010 when he called debt "[t]he most significant threat to our national security." History is littered with the ruins of nations who fast-tracked their own decline by becoming overextended. []

[A]s long as we continue to spend with abandon, pile it on the backs of the taxpayers we claim to serve, and pretend it's all okay, we are ultimately our own worst enemies.

Read my interview with Massie last month basically predicting all this, and my April 2016 column asserting that the GOP's abdication on budgetary/sequestration issues helped sink Rand Paul's presidential bid. Below, Nick Gillespie helps explain why maintaining a "Pentagon slush fund" is no way to run a country.

More here:
Rand Paul: Budget Deal Should Be Renamed 'The Status Quo Protection Act' - Reason (blog)

Every business owner makes mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes are small. Other times, those mistakes can cost them their business. Its best to learn from the examples of others so that you can avoid making the same mistakes yourself. Here are ten common mistakes that any business owner could make.

10. Being Impatient.

This is such a big mistake because its one that can be made time-and-time again. Sometimes, it doesnt have a significant impact on the business. Other times it pushes business owners to make rash decisions that hurt the future of their business. The success of a business isnt built overnight. It will take times, possibly more than a decade. Dont let an impatient desire to get rich quick force you into making unwise decisions.

9. Hiring Too Soon.

This is a lesson that can be learned from the big companies. They put potential employees through a wide array of interviews and assessments before sealing the deal. Of course, they have substantial funds to invest in the hiring procedures. Small businesses may not have these funds, and so they often rush through the process and hire someone too early.

Hiring the wrong person can have a significant impact on your business. It has a substantial impact on a large business and even bigger impact on small businesses. Take the time to fully interview potential employees multiple times before signing any deals, contracts, or employment papers.

8. Not Counting The Competition.

Its not unheard of for small business owners to think they are the only fish in the sea. This is particularly the case in very niche markets. However, you should always assume that you have competition. Furthermore, its a good idea to assume that competition is dong well for itself. Dont get too comfortable in the water.

7. Not Preparing For Their Market.

Not every business owner is truly passionate about the market they work with. Thats understandable. If there is a good chance for profiting in an individual market, then why not take advantage of that? However, they often make the mistake of misreading the market because they dont fully understand it. Spend time researching and getting to know the intricacies of a market before actually taking a chance.

6. Not Preparing Financially.

Another preparation mistake any business owner can make is not making the right amount of capital. It takes money to make money in the world of entrepreneurship. Even the best products or services arent going to build their website, market themselves, and then pay taxes. Take time to raise capital before launching any serious endeavors.

5. Not Taking The Lead.

A successful company needs competent employees, and those employees need a strong leader. Some business owners feel that they arent cut out for the leadership role. They become weak leaders and because of that their business suffers. Being a strong leader doesnt mean being cruel or separated from employees. It means setting a goal, communicating it, and inspiring employees to reach that goal together.

4. Not Admitting Their Weaknesses.

This is particularly the case for small business owners that start off looking successful. They forget that everyone has strengths and weaknesses, including themselves. Because of that, they make quick decisions without consultation. Never be afraid to admit your weaknesses and seek advice when you need it.

3. Not Valuing Their Assets.

The most important asset of any business is its employees. A business owner that doesnt value their employees is making a huge mistake. Morale will drop and with that so does productivity. Numbers will fall, and before long the business will be sinking even though it has a great product or service.

2. Not Understanding Their Employees.

Not only should a business owner value their employees, but they should make an effort to understand them as well. Remember that being a good leader means inspiring employees to reach their goals. Not everyone is inspired the same. A business owner that doesnt take the time to learn about their employees will find that some are productive while others arent.

1. Not Learning From Their Mistakes.

Many business owners have made the mistakes listed above. The worst are those who dont stop and learn from that mistake. Thats when a small mistake can start to happen over and over, eventually becoming an enormous mistake. Learn from these mistakes that any business owner can make so that you can avoid making them as well.

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Rand Paul 2010 - IL Issues on (Chicago SEO Businesses ...

President Donald Trump and House Republican leaders just finished their victory lap over the House passing a sweeping health care bill, but they might want to hold their horses until the legislation passes the Senate.

On "Your World" today, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) acknowledged that the House Freedom Caucus made the bill "less bad" before it was passed, but he said it has a ways to go.

He explained that this will be the first time Republicans have put their "stamp of approval" on a program where taxpayer money will be paid to insurance companies.

"I really frankly am not too excited about subsidizing the profit of insurance companies," Paul said, noting that their profits already went from $6 billion to $15 billion annually under ObamaCare.

"There's about $300 or $400 billion in this bill for insurance company profit," Paul said. "It boggles my mind how that became a Republican idea."

Neil Cavuto remarked that it sounds like Paul would be a "no" vote right now.

"It's going to take a little bit of work to get me to a 'yes' vote, but I do have an open mind," Paul said. "There's not been a louder voice up here for replacing ObamaCare. I really want to repeal it. I just don't want to replace it with 'ObamaCare lite' or another federal program."

Watch more above.

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Read more from the original source:
Paul: It Will Take a Little Bit of Work to Get Me to 'Yes' Vote on Health Care Bill - Fox News Insider

"Looking at all the smiling faces on the other side of the aisle, I have to ask: are Democrats still the minority party?" Paul asked in an op-edpublishedby Breitbart News.

Paul said people would be "tempted to think the $1 trillion government funding deal is like Christmas morning" for Democrats.

"Youll see it in the news as an 'Omnibus spending bill,' when it should really be called 'the Status Quo Protection Act.' President Hillary Clinton would have been proud of this bill."

Paul took his criticism of the measure further, saying it "tosses out campaign promises as it continues to fund the military industrial complex and the welfare state."

He said the spending bill also does not make the cuts President Trump recommended to multiple government agencies.

"Instead of legislating from crisis to crisis, Republicans should use fiscal deadlines to articulate the principles that supposedly set us apart to boldly defend the conservative philosophy that fueled the countrys growth and can lead it into a new era of prosperity," he wrote.

"Yet, for too long, Republican majorities have backed down from those debates."

The spending measure will spare Trump a damaging government shutdown, but it left out many of his biggest policy requests.

It does not include funding for Trump's proposed border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border or include language stripping federal money from so-called sanctuary cities, both of which the White House demanded at the outset of negotiations.

The White House also backed off a threat to withhold ObamaCare subsidy payments to insurance companies.

Trump was forced to abandon those demands after Democrats in the Senate threatened to block the spending bill if they were included.

The president did secure increased military spending in the 2017 budget deal, breaking with longstanding practice that a boost in Pentagon spending be accompanied by dollar-for-dollar increase in domestic spending.

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Rand Paul: 'President Hillary Clinton' would've loved spending bill ... - The Hill

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On Thursdays broadcast of the Fox News Channels Your World, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) argued the revised American Health Care Act is the first time that Republicans have affirmatively put their stamp of approval on a program where federal money, taxpayer money, is paid to insurance companies. He later characterized subsidizing insurance companies as deplorable.

Rand said the House Freedom Caucus made the bill a lot less bad. He added, But what Im still concerned with is,thisll the first time that Republicans have affirmatively put their stamp of approval on a program where federal money, taxpayer money, is paid to insurance companies. And it boggles my mind how that became a Republican idea.

Rand further stated,Its going to take a little bit of work to get me to a yes vote, but I do have an open mind. I mean, theres not been a louder voice up here for repealing Obamacare. I really want to repeal it. I just dont want to replace with Obamacare-lite, or another federal program. The programs they put in place will be there forever. So the refundable tax credit, which is a subsidy by another name, will be there forever. And this these buying these high-risk pools they want to create, Republicans used to hate the idea. They hated the idea when they were called risk corridors, and there were giving money to insurance companies. They were bailouts, when it was a Democrat idea. Now that its a Republican idea, they keep sweetening it up.

He later argued that the bill offers people who wont get subsidies anymore Santa Claus-lite.

Randalso said, I want everybody in the individual market to be protected against pre-existing conditions, by getting into the group market, and let market forces work. It can work, but the current bill acknowledges that it doesnt work, and then we just subsidize the insurance companies, which I thinkis deplorable.

Follow IanHanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett

Read more:
Rand: AHCA 'First Time' GOP Has Supported 'Deplorable' Practice of Subsidizing Insurance Companies - Breitbart News