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"There's too much materialism associated with Christmas" is a popular refrain. Another is that Christmas has become too commercial. Usually no one speaks to disagree with these views, although the actions of most people are a loud statement that demonstrates, better than words that, they do not agree with the sentiment.

The sentiment seems to attempt to douse the joy of what has become a cultural event that has grown far beyond any one religion, any single historic event, or any philosophical point. The sentiment seems to be an attempt to instill guilt where none is warranted and to reinforce, a political, anti-capitalist mantra that seems to know no end. Bah humbug to it all.

Christmas has evolved into a huge celebration of life in the United States – a celebration of the discovery of the key to survival – of that which wards off plagues, famine, and the general misery that was once the lot of the common man. What was once a nominal religious holiday has been expanded in meaning, by many people, to include all they find good about life, existence and human achievement.

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Opportunity needs footholds.

Like climbing a cliff. These aren't places anyone wants to linger, but they are absolutely essential to get to the next step. Getting to the top without them is impossible.

Such is true about business. Footholds are one of the things that many people don't understand is necessary for new businesses to start and grow. Or, even that footholds are necessary for employees who are attempting to improve their own circumstances – who want to climb a professional ladder.

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Billings City government would be much improved if staff and council members held more respect for the citizens they ostensibly serve. That’s all that the recent park improvement district controversy is about.

For the most part, it seems — once they have paid their taxes — the citizens of Billings are viewed primarily as irritants. Prevailing in the attitude of city government toward citizens is the condescension inherent, anytime, that forthright, honest discussion and information is replaced, with manipulation and trickery. Nothing demonstrates this profound lack of respect, more so, than the current controversy regarding the proposed city-wide tax for park maintenance.

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The City of Billings is working on an infill policy – a policy that will encourage property owners and investors to better utilize vacant areas within the city limits. Without a doubt this is a most common sense idea and one has to wonder why the city ever held policies to the contrary. But, the fact is, they did.

Of its own accord the market place would have done what centralized planners are – ostensibly— now trying to achieve. The market would have done it, if it had been allowed to function. The market place always pushes for the highest and best use of any resource. Development of property is no different.

The market place abhors a vacancy far more so than do the centralized planners, who are now attempting to impose yet one more control on the market in order to reverse an urban sprawl that their previous ideas and policies helped to create.

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Is it just me or do people in the "Occupy" movement seem mostly interested in occupying their time? They'd be better off trying to occupy that vast empty space between their ears; but why bother when someone will give you a slogan and armband for free.

The whole thing is starting to look like an amateurish knockoff of European austerity protests. Now those people know how to riot.

In the beginning it included Ron Paul conservatives with "End the Fed" signs and a lot of ordinary people with legitimate gripes about bailouts and corporate cronyism (but I repeat myself). Now, though, it's mostly the standard agitprop by anarchists and communists that gets trotted out anytime sanitation rules are relaxed.

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Flat tax. Fair tax. Simple tax. None of those things can ever happen if the purpose of our tax system is redistribution of wealth.

Fair, simple, equitable taxation systems accept that the primary purpose of taxes is to fund government to do only those things "that the private sector can't do" – such was the organic argument as to the necessity of taxation.

If one simply wants to fund government to do its constitutional purposes then almost any kind of tax will do and it doesn't have to be a very large tax. The beautiful truth of markets is that there aren't many things that the private sector can't do.