Now, there are certainly different types of goals: long-term, short-term, financial, physical, personal, family, educational, artistic, religious, health, etc. A country without a budget/goal is like a ship without a rudder. Image Credit: Weider Fitness
Paul Ryan's Path To Solvency
Today, the American Enterprise Institute has released a plan put forth by Wisconsin Congressman, Paul Ryan, by which our country could become prosperous and solvent through making the economic purpose of our federal government be right-sized and focused on its key reasons for existence.
This plan was issued as a response to the expansion of federal government in everyday life (through both the 43rd Presidency of George Bush and doubled-down upon during the 44th Presidency of Barack Obama) ... and most recently, the latest budget released last month by the Obama Administration.
Forget the fact that our Democrat Political Party controlled Senate, run by Nevada Senator Harry Reid, which has the responsibility to draft, pass and implement a budget, has seen fit to not pass or operate from a formal budget in over 1,000 days (blowing the lid off of spending controls). Basically, this abandonment of responsibility and public trust leaves our ship of state operating without a rudder.
So, what is the best path forward?
Image Credit: Paul Ryan via AEI
This excerpted and edited from the American Enterprise Institute -
Paul Ryan’s new budget offers a path to prosperity and solvency By James Pethokoukis - AEI - March 20, 2012, 10:00 am
Barack Obama doesn’t have a long-term, debt-reduction plan. Paul Ryan does. So under the Geithner formulation, Ryan wins by default.
But the latest version of Ryan’s Path to Prosperity, released today, does far more than defeat a rival who’s decided to forfeit the field. It presents a bold and sweeping solution to America’s twin problems: too much debt and too little economic growth.
– By 2022, under the Ryan Path, debt as a share of GDP would be 62.3% vs. a projected 73.2% in 2012. Under the Obama budget debt as a share of GDP would be 76.3% in 2022, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Over that period, the Ryan Path would spend $5.3 trillion less than the Obama budget by, in large part, axing Obamacare and block-granting welfare programs — including Medicaid — to the states.
– Longer term, the differences between the Ryan Path and the Obama budget are even starker. By 2030, debt-to-GDP would be 53% under Ryan, 128% under Obama. By 2040, debt-to-GDP would be 38% under Ryan, 194% under Obama. By 2050, debt-to-GDP would be 10% under Ryan, over 200% under Obama – assuming that under the Obama scenario, the economy hasn’t collapsed.
How does Ryan do it? Medicare reform is at the heart of the Path to Prosperity. Where Obamacare relies on unelected bureaucrats to keep costs down, the Ryan path uses competition. Under Ryan’s revised “premium support” plan – essentially the Wyden-Ryan proposal — seniors beginning in 2023 could use their Medicare dollars to choose from a menu of private plans, along with Medicare’s traditional fee-for-service system. Every year there would be a competitive bidding process among all plans to determine the dollar amount of the federal contribution that seniors would use to purchase coverage. (The benefits in the private plans would have to be as least as good as Medicare.) The second least-expensive approved plan or Medicare, whichever is least expensive, would establish the benchmark that determines the premium support amount.
Seniors who prefer pricier plans would have to pay the difference between the premium subsidy and the monthly premium. Seniors who choose a less expensive plan could pocket the difference. As a backup — and so CBO could score the plan — per capita costs could not exceed nominal GDP growth plus 0.5%.
The Ryan Path reforms the tax code by creating a two-rate system — 25% and 10% — for individuals, while lowering the corporate rate to 25% and moving to a territorial system. Now because of CBO budget rules, the Ryan Path assumes tax reform doesn’t boost growth, though it almost assuredly would. So when you factor in faster growth, Ryan’s budget numbers look even better. By contrast, Obama would take the top income tax and dividend tax rates to 45%, capital gains to 24%. Talk about austerity.
The Ryan Path isn’t perfect. It takes a pass on Social Security reform and fails to specify what tax breaks would be scaled back or eliminated. But even with those flaws, the Ryan Path presents a vivid contrast with the Obama budget. One leads to prosperity and solvency, the other leads to a debt crisis — with the likely response being massive tax increases and healthcare rationing by Washington – and decline.
As Ryan puts it: ”The choice of two futures presented in this budget is premised on the wisdom of the American people to build a prosperous future for themselves and for generations of Americans to come. [Reference Here]
It is time to think about the economic future of our country and recognize the serious consequence of continuing along the path our leaders insist on taking our country over these last 11 plus years. Our country demands economic direction through strong leadership and a change to a federal government that is right-sized and focused on results versus intention in its outsized foreign-financed debt/spending agenda experienced here during the 44th Presidency of Barack Obama ... Carter's Second Term.
Image Credit: Edmund Jenks via ObamaResolutions.com (2011)
Barack Obama's 2012 New Year's Resolution(s) GOP Fundraiser
This morning, the Republican Party announced a fundraiser that had it's tongue planted in it's political cheek!
Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus appeared on Fox News Channel soon after live video of the New Year's fireworks display from the bridge that spans across Sydney Harbor in Australia that signaled in 2012. Reince directed everyone to go to their computers and send a New Year's Resolution card from a GOP website ... but there was a catch, the resolution that one would be sending would be a proposed resolution that Barack Obama made with himself.
Image Credit: Edmund Jenks via ObamaResolutions.com (2011)
This excerpted and edited from GOP.com - RNC Releases New Year’s Resolution Cards 27 December 2011 - Posted by: Johanna Persing
The Republican National Committee (RNC) launched www.ObamaResolutions.com with New Year’s Resolution cards featuring President Obama and his liberal buddies:
“As Americans celebrate the holidays with their friends and families, they will have a chance to reflect on 2011 — most notably the failed leadership and reckless economic policies under President Obama and his Democrat friends,” said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus.
“So, we’ve launched www.ObamaResolutions.com with New Year’s Resolution cards that you can send to your friends and family reminding them of ways that Democrats could improve in 2012.
Image Credit: Edmund Jenks via ObamaResolutions.com (2011)
“We thought the president could work on a few things like his campaign slogan(s), the infamous ‘shovel ready projects’ and fulfilling the promises he made to the American people. For Senate Majority Leader Reid, we were hoping he could lead the Democrat Senate to pass a budget for the first time in nearly 1000 days. And, we hope President Obama’s own ‘Wall Street guy’ Jon Corzine can find the $1.2 billion dollars of clients’ money he gambled away.
“As we enter 2012, Republicans stand ready to tackle the enormous challenges this country faces. Americans can only hope President Obama and the Democrats will be ready to do the same.” [Reference Here]
The Priebus premise, Barack sitting there pondering on what he could do better as President, is pretty good ... but the way the folks at the RNC put this together, frankly, could have been a little stronger and possibly a bit more humorous.
EXAMPLE:
"I resolve to play only twenty-four rounds of Golf (2 per month) in 2012 as opposed to my 30 rounds per year average (90 rounds to date ... last one, yesterday in Hawaii) since taking office."
Surfing the GOP.com website, one comes up with great fodder for proposed resolutions that not only have the sting of truth, but can play to the humor of ineptness this 44th Presidency has reined down on the American people.
For another example, a posting titled "The Big Fail - Obama By The Numbers" contained information that if developed in this way would make a great resolution for a Barack Obama card:
"I resolve to only ask that the debt ceiling be raised another 1.2 Trillion dollars for fiscal year 2012"
Image Credit: Edmund Jenks via ObamaResolutions.com (2011)
After reading most of what is contained in the "By The Numbers" posting (example excerpted below) ... THAT would be a laugh.
$15.1 Trillion:Current National Debt ($15,073,380,701,589.57). (U.S. Treasury Department, Accessed 12/6/11)
$9.1 Trillion:Amount Obama’s FY2012 Budget Would Add To The Debt Through FY2021. (OMB, 9/1/11)
$5.2 Trillion:Total Interest Payments On The National Debt Due To Obama’s Proposed Budget, FY2012-2021. (OMB, 9/1/11)
$4.4 Trillion:Added To The National Debt Since Obama Took Office. (U.S. Treasury Department, Accessed 12/6/11)
$2.6 Trillion:True Cost Of ObamaCare Once Fully Implemented. (Office Of The Speaker Of The U.S. House Of Representatives, Report, 1/6/11)
$1.75 Trillion:Annual Cost Of Federal Regulations. (Small Business Administration, September 2010)
Sadly, John Boehner, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives, would give in to this 2012 New Year's Resolution for an increased debt ceiling from the President and Barack Obama would be the only one laughing here in the last year (hopefully) of Carter's Second Term.
Image Credit: Edmund Jenks via ObamaResolutions.com (2011) Happy New Year!
Our cultural lexicon has been inundated with the concept and effects of the "Bubble" these last few years.
A Bubble is an artificially modified sustaining of an activity which has been created to attract attention and interest in people so that they either believe that something is better or good and to have people invest their time and/or money upon said activity to sustain the effect.
Take the new jobs number released this morning for example. The number of people employed increased and showed the largest jump in the growth in jobs in three years - good news, right? Well, there is a trick behind the job growth, which represents 1/3 of the jobs created, and it is called temporary, single project government hiring - for follow-ups on the United States census. At $21.00 an hour, most people without a job would gladly sign up and take these jobs to knock on doors and gather information ... but these jobs come from Government spending (tax and borrowing against the deficit from China) and will only last until the census information taking is completed (months at best), and there is the rub - it is the next big Bubble to BURST!
We have seen Investment Bond bubbles, Dot.Com internet company creation and company investment growth bubbles, and most recently, Government seeded loose housing purchasing rules and Mortgage Packaging bubble run roughshod through our economy but the one Bubble no one wants to recognize is the looming Big, Bigger, Biggest Government Spending Bubble!
Imagine the world surrounded with bubbles. Image Credit: moolf.com
This excerpted and edited from Businessweek - China’s Central Bank Sees New Asset Bubbles Emerging Bloomberg - April 02, 2010, 7:41 AM EDT
China’s central bank said asset bubbles are emerging in parts of the world and in certain industries that may burst unless supported by real economic recovery.
Rapid asset price increases in major markets since 2009 have been pushed by “ultra-loose” monetary policies by governments around the world and “don’t mean real economies have recovered or will recover strongly,” the People’s Bank of China [PBOC] said in a report posted on its Web site today. Such gains “unless they receive sufficient support from macroeconomic fundamentals, may lead to a new round of asset bubbles that may burst,” the Beijing-based bank said. ---- Governments worldwide have spent more than $2 trillion in fiscal stimulus to spur growth and may face difficulty coordinating exit strategies because of the “unbalanced global recovery,” the central bank said. The withdrawal of support, together with the threat of inflation and the risks surrounding the sovereign debt of some economies complicate the process, the PBOC said.
Asset bubbles are the “real worry” as China emerges from the global financial crisis into a “boom time,” former central bank adviser Fan Gang said Feb. 1. Economists at the government- backed Chinese Academy of Social Sciences warned Jan. 11 that the nation’s gross domestic product could expand as much as 16 percent in 2010 unless policy makers withdraw stimulus. ---- The PBOC’s comments today echo those of other international central bank officials. Donald Tsang, Hong Kong’s chief executive, said Nov. 13 that he was “scared” that money flowing into Asia because of low interest rates in the U.S. could lead to another crisis in the region. World Bank President Robert Zoellick told Australian Financial Review on Jan. 13 that a liquidity-driven world recovery faces the risk of asset price inflation. Reference Here>>
The Obama Administration has not learned the lessons of the past shown in the economic policies of the Carter Administration. During the one-term Carter Presidency, we saw inflation and recession happen at the same time and send our economy into a tailspin.
Now that Health Care Reform has just been signed into law, this effect will pale in comparison with the economic policies implemented here during Carter's Second Term! Just ask our biggest debt investor ... China. To have them tell it, we are drowning in Bubbles.
Barack Obama should not only try harder to kick his smoking habit, his team of doctors warned, but they also recommended 'moderation of alcohol intake'. Image Credit: Beer Conspiracy
That's right - President Barack Obama is drunk on power, the power of the office has intoxicated this political chief executive to the point that he refuses to listen to the voice of the American people.
Take healthcare reform, for example. The President keeps pushing for a 1 to 2 Trillion dollar federal government takeover of our healthcare insurance industry and our country has no money to pay for it.
The American people know that we do not have any more money for Government spending and the proof of this was just discovered yesterday in a political poll by a liberal polling outfit that lists as informative blogs on its blogroll - * Daily Kos * Facing South * Free Republic * Hotline On Call * MyDD * Political Forecast * Political Wire * Race 4 2008 * Senate Guru * Swing State Project * The Fix * Wizbang! - released data showing that Barack Obama's approval rating is now underwater (less than 50%) in the nine swing states he won handily in November 2008 to become president of the United States.
Public Policy Polling stated, "Barack Obama now has a negative approval rating in every state he flipped from the Bush column to his in 2008. In each of those places his level of support is now in the 44-46% range."
On another note ... White House physician, Navy Capt Jeffrey Kuhlman, said Obama should stick with 'moderation in alcohol intake'. The doctor made this statement after releasing the results of Barack Obama's first health check-up since taking office a little over one year ago. The doctor thinks that the President drinks too much.
The 48-year-old, 180-pound Obama was declared "fit for duty" and in excellent health by White House physician Jeffrey Kuhlman this weekend, after his first physical exam as president. But the doctor expressed concern about problems that millions of Americans share, cigarette addiction and high cholesterol. Image Credit: Daily Mail
We were aware that of all the promises Barack Obama made during his campaign to become our 44th President ... you know - transparency in the processes of legislation (C-SPAN coverage of debates), posting of legislation on the internet for five days before a vote is taken, no lobbyists in Government, elimination of earmarks (stimulus legislation contained thousands of earmarks), bi-partisanship (the Republicans were locked out of any discussion on the development of healthcare legislation until Scott Brown was elected as Senator of Massachusetts), and etc. ... but the one he still breaks is the one he made to his wife and family was to quit smoking tobacco.
Barack Obama was always keenly aware that elections have big consequences, he likes to remind the American people of this everyday, but he never thought these consequences applied to him - we now all know that President Barack Obama is a promise breaking drunk who is rapidly wearing out his welcome here during Carter's Second Term!
"Obama has cut the remembering-what-we-don't-like-about-Democrats stage of this process down from two to four years to about 10 months. Folks, I'm convinced that if we all work really hard, we can get it down to three months." - Ann Coulter, from "That Old Obama Magic Is Back" 1-20-2010 - Image Credit: Organizing For America
Barack Obama's second year - More 153 & 411 moments
This morning, Don Imus mentioned that Barack Obama has given about 153 interviews and issued or delivered 411 comments and speeches on health care reform since he has taken office.
Obama’s failure to communicate on health care By Jon Ward - The Daily Caller 01/20/10 at 9:14 pm
President Obama on Wednesday said the reason his health-care reform is on life support because Congress took too long to debating it and he didn’t talk enough to citizens about its benefits for them. ---- “One of the things that I have learned in Washington is you have to repeat yourself a lot because because unfortunately it doesn’t penetrate,” he said.
The president, making his first public comments after a Republican candidate on Tuesday won the special election to fill Sen. Ted Kennedy’s Massachusetts Senate seat, said he understands that some Americans view his administration as a bunch of “technocrats up here … making decisions.”
But he said the main reason for this was not his policies but rather his communications strategy.
“What I haven’t always been successful at doing is breaking through the noise and speaking directly to the American people in a way that during the campaign you could do,” he said. ---- He also admitted he has failed to “change the tone here in Washington.” Reference Here>>
With the context of this being the first day of the second year of this 44th Presidency, why don't we just recognize what we can see is the obvious delusional mind of Barack Obama ... it isn't that He has failed to change the tone in Washington, just the TONE DEAFNESS.
Also, He fails to hear the American people when they speak through Tea Party gatherings, Town Hall questions, and now votes in Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts ... even though he believes that the American people have NOT been listening and hearing what he has said over the 153 interviews and 411 comments and speeches.
We American people have heard what has been said ... when will the Obama Administration resolve to begin to listen to the American people, in this, the first day of year two, of the destructive path of this 44th Presidency?
If you're fed up with the Presidential politics, and want to get away from it with a little Xbox escapism, don't play Burnout Paradise. The racing game features VIRTUAL BILLBOARDS URGING GAMERS TO VOTE FOR OBAMA. Is the addition of political ads in console games change you can believe in? Caption & Image Credit: therawfeed.com
The Tripe With TARP & The Obama-Nation
The Troubled Asset Relief Fund (TARP) was originally created by the Bush Administration to help as a buffer for homeowners, who were in trouble of loosing their home when the flexible interest rates of the “sub-prime” mortgages they had used to initially purchase their home … increased. The idea was to be able to have the mortgages reset, or better, renegotiated to a level that the mortgages providers would not have their financial instruments be defaulted on by the people who had committed to pay the mortgages.
By having about 700 Billion dollars of TARP (read that as taxpayer money) set aside, the Federal Government felt that banks would be less inclined to foreclose on, or end the financial contract and the economy would remain relatively level and undisrupted.
This may have been effective … MAY … if the Federal Government applied the monies only where there they were needed. What has happened, however, is a massive level of “mission creep” where the Federal Government has decided to force all financial institutions to take money TARP money in exchange for specialized preferred stock, and if these banks did not participate, they would suffer additional activity brought about through audits and other Governmental investigative activity that hinders a bank from transacting a profitable business.
Further, the Federal Government unilaterally converted the Preferred Stock (non-ownership type) to Common Stock (ownership type) and now own an interest in the banks themselves … and remember, many of these institutions never participated in the issuing and selling of mortgages that are the topic of the TARP monies and/or do not have any loans in default.
The Federal Government forced a transition of ownership of privately held, once profitable businesses to be under the management control and influence of Federal Government bureaucrats who have never managed a private business for profit … in the first place.
The above description is an ugly enough scenario without looking at the additional uses of the original Troubled Asset Relief Fund (TARP).
Transportation Stock and Bond Certificates - Chrysler Corporation, Delaware, USA, 1970: $1,000 Sinking Fund Debenture certificate featuring the famous "Chrysler" radiator cap flanked by allegorical female character and company logos. Also includes traffic scenes showing old trucks and vintage cars in the background. Walter P. Chrysler, formerly of Buick and Willys, acquired Maxwell-Chalmers in 1923 and the first car bearing his name was produced in 1924. Chrysler laid the foundations for a motor empire to rival General Motors and Ford when he took over Dodge and launch the Plymouth Four and the De Soto Six in 1928. Punch cancelled. Scarce. VF+ - Red (12" x 8") $95.00 - Image Credit: stocksearchintl.com
This item published three days before Barack Obama took office excerpted and edited from the Washington Post –
U.S. Expands Aid To Auto Industry
Chrysler Financial Gets $1.5 Billion From Treasury; Ford Credit in Talks
By David Cho and Kendra Marr - Washington Post Staff Writers - Saturday, January 17, 2009; Page D02
The government expanded its bailout of the nation's troubled auto industry yesterday, announcing a new $1.5 billion loan for Chrysler Financial while Ford Credit said it was in talks to obtain federal aid.
The money for Chrysler Financial will come from the government's $700 billion financial rescue program. Senior officials from the Treasury and Federal Reserve are hoping the assistance, combined with earlier support for General Motors' chief lender GMAC, will keep auto loans flowing until the two agencies can make more funds available for credit cards, student loans and small business loans.
The developments came on a frantic last work day at the Treasury Department, as officials pushed out the door several key deals and announcements related to the rescue program, known as the Troubled Assets Relief Program, or TARP.
----
Last fall, Paulson told lawmakers that the TARP would be used to buy bad assets. But soon after the bill was approved by Congress in early October, he moved away from the idea to provide more direct aid to financial institutions.
----
The moves to aid the financing arms of the nation's automakers draw the federal government more deeply into Detroit's troubles.
To date, the government has committed TARP money to provide $17.4 billion for General Motors and Chrysler, $6 billion for GMAC, and now the new loan to back Chrysler Financial.
----
"We're still funding our business," said Ford Credit spokeswoman Margaret Mellott, who confirmed the talks, which have been going on for months. "We have strong liquidity . . . It's an ongoing dialogue to free up credit."
Although Ford has said it can survive without federal aid or intervention, it continues asking to be treated the same as its struggling cross-town rivals GM and Chrysler.
----
The support for Chrysler Financial is structured differently than most other loans the Treasury has made from the TARP. Instead of investing money directly into Chrysler Financial, the company is creating a special entity that will receive the government loan. Chrysler Financial can then withdraw those funds to make new auto loans.
----
In addition, Chrysler Financial agreed to reduce by 40 percent the pool of bonus money for its senior executives relative to the 2007 levels, among other limitations on what it can pay its top officials.
----
"This will provide a great economic stimulus for car buyers across the country," Jim Press, Chrysler vice chairman and president said in a statement.
Chrysler Financial applied for TARP funds in November. In December, Chrysler's sales slid 53 percent compared with the corresponding month a year before.
"This funding will better position us to withstand the current economic challenges until funding becomes available through more traditional commercial sources," said Thomas F. Gilman, vice chairman and chief executive of Chrysler Financial in a statement.
----
Yesterday was supposed to be their last day of work, but many senior Treasury officials kept their government-issued BlackBerrys rather than turn them in. They were given Federal Express envelopes to ship their devices next week, in case they had to work over the weekend.
So, just about three months down the road, Chrysler declares bankruptcy!
The company is broken up into several parts where the United Auto Workers Union becomes the majority share owner – surprise, surprise.
Oh, and the people who invested their money in good faith in the company to get a return on their investment protected by our country’s bankruptcy laws which stipulate that the primary share owners are first honored? The Obama Administration shafted their interests and moved them to the back of the line only allowing them, the investors, a chance at a loss on their investment.
MODERN TIMES: If only the UAW were such a victim as they are depicted here in this R.J. Matson cartoon. The worker caught in a web of gears waiting to crush them up - the truth is that with a 55% ownership of Chrysler, THEY ARE the gears ... they had created through negotiation and now own. Image Credit: R.J. Matson, The New York Observer
This excerpted and edited from CBS News –
Chrysler Bankruptcy Exposes Dirty Politics
Declan McCullagh: Obama Calls Creditors Who Lent Money To Chrysler "Speculators," But What About the Rule Of Law?
May 7, 2009 | by Declan McCullagh
Chrysler's sad tale that led to this week's bankruptcy hearing in New York is not only an important business and political story. It also encompasses morality, the rule of law and strong-arm tactics used by some politicians.
----
During its slide, Chrysler borrowed money from lenders and in return signed a contract promising that as so-called senior creditors, they'd get paid before anyone else if the company went under.
These creditors, by the way, represent something of a cross-section of America: the University of Kentucky, Kraft Foods' retirement fund, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, pension funds, teachers' credit unions, and so on.
A normal bankruptcy filing would be straightforward. Senior creditors get paid 100 cents on the dollar. Everyone else gets in line.
But President Obama and his allies don't want that to happen. So they interfered on behalf of unions (the junior creditors) and publicly upbraided the senior creditors who were asserting their contractual rights and threatening to head to bankruptcy court.
Last week Mr. Obama lambasted them as "a small group of speculators" who "endanger Chrysler's future by refusing to sacrifice like everyone else."
Rep. John Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, sent reporters a statement calling the creditors "vultures" and "rouge hedge funds." Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm piled on, taking aim during her radio address at a "few greedy hedge funds that didn't care how much pain the company's failure would have inflicted on families and communities everywhere."
It must be a coincidence that the United Auto Workers has handed $25.4 million to federal politicians over the last two decades, with 99 percent of that cash going to Democrats. And that Mr. Obama's final campaign stop on Election Day was a UAW phone bank.
If those politicians thought about this a bit more, they'd probably realize their mistake. Creditors didn't force Chrysler's management to head to the capital markets and beg for funds: It was poor management, uncompetitive wages, and a union that opposed pay cuts.
Without those greedy "vultures" and "rogues" injecting sorely-needed cash into a business they knew was risky, Chrysler might have been forced to declare bankruptcy much earlier. (And now that lenders know they may be demonized by the president, will they be as likely to help out next time?)
One of the better critiques of this unusual situation comes from Clifford Asness, managing partner at a $20 billion hedge fund named AQR Capital Management. His essay responds to what he called "toxic demagoguery" and says "the president's attempted diktat takes money from bondholders and gives it to a labor union that delivers money and votes for him."
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A document that the non-TARP creditors filed with the bankruptcy judge about the proposed sale to Fiat says: "The sale is far from an arm's length transaction, but rather, is the result of a tainted sales process dominated by the United States government... It is a sale that was orchestrated entirely by the Treasury and foisted upon (Chrysler)... Well before the filing, (Chrysler) had ceased to function as an independent company and had become an instrumentality of the government."
So if you're keeping score, you have a bankrupt company depending on the government for money negotiating with some TARP-funded creditors depending on the government for money and still more creditors who may hold insurance policies with AIG, which depends on the government for money. And we're already hearing similar allegations about General Motors and political interference.
One disturbing report came from a well-respected attorney representing the dissident Chrysler creditors. Thomas Lauria, the head of White & Case's bankruptcy practice, says that he was threatened by Steven Rattner, the White House's auto task force chief. (A White House spokesman denies making any threats.)
"I represent one less investor today than I represented yesterday," Lauria said on a Detroit radio show. "One of my clients was directly threatened by the White House and in essence compelled to withdraw its opposition to the deal under threat that the full force of the White House press corps would destroy its reputation if it continued to fight. That's how hard it is to stand on this side of the fence." Lauria said that his clients were willing to compromise on 50 cents on the dollar, but the government offered them only 29 cents.
In the Federalist Papers in 1788, James Madison wrote that "laws impairing the obligation of contracts are contrary to the first principles of the social compact, and to every principle of sound legislation." Unfortunately, Washington politicians seem to pay little attention to history, morality, or the rule of law.
All of this economic upheaval and Federal Government takeover of private enterprises are only the beginning of the misuse of tax money and the trust of the American people.
Within the first six weeks, a "Stimulus" appropriations bill was passed that increased the budgets of all Federal Government entities by an average of nearly 80% followed by the "Omnibus" appropriations bill that increased the budgets of all Federal Government entities by an additional 8%.
Some agencies in six weeks, saw a 100% increase in the amount of tax money they could spend ... this at a time of under 4% inflation here at the beginning of Carter's Second Term.
In back-to-back press conferences (held Nov. 24, 2008) by Bush (first) and Obama (second), the men either stated or implied that they were sort of working together to muscle the nation through this tough economic period. Bush said, “I talked to Obama about the decision we made. I told the American people, and I told the president-elect when I first met him, that anytime we were to make a big decision during this transition, he will be informed, as will his team.” The plans discussed are still in play to this day during the Obama Administration. Image Credit: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (2008)
Ebony & Ivory - Obama Deficits & Bush Deficits Together
These figures do not live together in perfect harmony here in Carter's Second Term.
Question:
Did you know that the Barack Obama Administration inherited deficits from the previous Bush Administration? Really?!
How can the Obama Administration continue to float the tired old saw that they just happen to inherit large deficits so it will take more just to dig ourselves out?
After sixty short days, the Congress that the Obama Administration actually DID INHERIT, and Barack Obama himself, increased the commitments to spend taxpayer money on social programs alone from the 3% of GDP to 20% of GDP ... or an increase in social spending programs of an eerie 6.66 times greater level.
It is called Deficit Spending (socialism) - and now foreign countries (China and Russia) are suggesting that the world economy adopt a new currency on which to peg/judge the value of other currencies other than the United States dollar - the formally most stable currency in the world.
Graphic showing the Bush Administration and the committed and projected Obama Administration deficits side-by-side. Graphic Credit: The Washington Post via the Heritage Foundation (2009)
This excerpted and edited from the Heritage Foundation - Bush Deficit vs. Obama Deficit in Pictures The Heritage Foundation - Posted March 24th, 2009 at 10.20am
President Barack Obama has repeatedly claimed that his budget would cut the deficit by half by the end of his term. But as Heritage analyst Brian Riedl has pointed out, given that Obama has already helped quadruple the deficit with his stimulus package, pledging to halve it by 2013 is hardly ambitious. The Washington Post has a great graphic which helps put President Obama’s budget deficits in context of President Bush’s.
* President Bush expanded the federal budget by a historic $700 billion through 2008. President Obama would add another $1 trillion.
* President Bush began a string of expensive financial bailouts. President Obama is accelerating that course.
* President Bush created a Medicare drug entitlement that will cost an estimated $800 billion in its first decade. President Obama has proposed a $634 billion down payment on a new government health care fund.
* President Bush increased federal education spending 58 percent faster than inflation. President Obama would double it. ---- * President Bush tilted the income tax burden more toward upper-income taxpayers. President Obama would continue that trend.
* President Bush presided over a $2.5 trillion increase in the public debt through 2008. Setting aside 2009 (for which Presidents Bush and Obama share responsibility for an additional $2.6 trillion in public debt), President Obama’s budget would add $4.9 trillion in public debt from the beginning of 2010 through 2016. Reference Here>>
What the American people inherited with the Clinton and Bush Administrations (and thrust forward with the Obama Administration) were the building blocks of economic slavery and communism.
First, the Government took the position that every person that lived in America (citizen or non-citizen) deserved to be able to participate in home ownership. The Clinton Administration formed the quasi Governmental financial institutions backed by taxpayer money of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to insure low interest loans with reduced qualification requirements. Bonus programs were implemented and paid to the political (Democrat) management of these organizations.
Banks did not want to lend money with this level of low proof, so the management of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae had community development organizations (ACORN) prod them to loan money through lawsuits. In order to fuel demand for these weak mortgages (purchase commitments without the ability or intention to pay), the Government regulating agencies allowed them to be bundled and packaged as grouped financial instruments and sold to the highest bidder through insurance companies and financial institutions (AIG, WAMU, Wachovia, banks in France, Finland, Germany, and etc.).
What triggered this collapse is the increased payment demanded the mortgage companies when the initial period of artificially low inducement interest ran out and the actual value of the house became greater than the mortgage value of the home. People who originally had no real means to afford the home they committed to purchase in the first place, simply walked away with no real damage to their lives leaving all of the intuitions holding the mortgages without an income stream. The asset value of the bundled "Junk Mortgages" dropped and the economic crisis begins.
The sick logic in all of this is that the two-party Bush Government got our economy into this position and now the one-party Obama Government (of Obama/Pelosi/Reid) is smart enough to get us out … with heavier intervention and greater spending commitments - all on the American Taxpayer.
Does anyone in Government realize that this deficit spending of our collective money will all implode eventually?
This strategy will turn our currency into the value of the bundled "Junk Mortgages" that helped to put us into this place to start with - all on the back of the Government move toward social engineering!
Republican lawmakers are raising concerns that ACORN, the low-income advocacy group under investigation for voter registration fraud, could be eligible for billions in aid from the economic stimulus proposal working its way through the House. House Republican Leader John Boehner issued a statement over the weekend noting that the stimulus bill wending its way through Congress provides $4.19 billion for "neighborhood stabilization activities." He said the money was previously limited to state and local governments, but that Democrats now want part of it to be available to non-profit entities. That means groups like ACORN would be eligible for a portion of the funds. Image Credit: FOX News
Social Web Meets The Financial Fed
In Carter’s Second Term (Barack Obama’s 44th Presidency), the citizens of the United States are faced with a very fast moving Federal Government that is being directed by the Barack Obama Administration to spend out our tax money at a record rate.
The sweeping spending and economic stimulus plan recently passed by the House of Representatives on a one-party vote (the Democrat Party) proposes massive spending transfers to recognized money wasting, non job producing, “”shovel-ready” pet projects rooted in liberal socialist political philosophy – that is, to pay people for votes and political allegiance.
Examples of the type of projects this Executive Branch and Democrat controlled Congress believes will stimulate the American economy includes $4.19 billion for "neighborhood stabilization activities." (read that ACORN), $1 billion for Amtrak, the federal railroad that hasn't turned a profit in 40 years, $2 billion for child-care subsidies, $50 million for that great engine of job creation, the National Endowment for the Arts, $400 million for global-warming research, $2.4 billion for carbon-capture demonstration projects, $650 million on top of the billions already doled out to pay for digital TV conversion coupons, $150 million for Honey Bee Insurance, and there is more … much more.
So, how does one find out what is being discussed and potentially placed into law as it relates to ones tax dollars being spent and be a part of a social web process at the same time?
Enter the Daylight Network, on Monday, daylightnetwork.com, launched with a $5,000 Obama Prediction Market, and a suite of tools designed to help citizens (you and me) audit the federal government.
That’s right, just register and vote on what projects listed will pass, get bigger, fail, and possibly make money along the way through your prediction.
Home Page of Daylight Network - The more and more Americans learn about the stimulus package, the less they like it. Today, according to the Rasmussen poll, less than 37% of Americans are now in favor in the plan that now nears $1 trillion. We have dissected every major provision of the bill made it available for everyone to vote on every single line item. We are updating our results every few hours and blogging, phoning, faxing, e-mailing, and tweeting the results across the country. With enough momentum we can influence the Senate and cut the pork! Caption & Image Credit: Daylight Network
This excerpted and edited from MHT (Mass High Tech – the journal of New England technology) - Federal gov’t audit website Daylight Networks launches By Galen Moore, MHT - Monday, February 2, 2009
Amateur political pundits: Aaron Day has got $100 cash for you.
The CEO of Tangerine Wellness Inc., a Boston company that provides corporate weight management programs online, has co-founded Daylight Network. Its site, daylightnetwork.com, launches today with a $5,000 Obama Prediction Market, and a suite of tools designed to help citizens audit the federal government.
The Obama Prediction Market treats predictions about President Barack Obama’s first 100 days like publicly traded stocks. Each member gets $5,000 in online “currency” to invest in – or short sell against – predictions. Stocks rise in value as more people buy in, and at the end of the president’s first 100 days, the top 50 traders split a $5,000 pot.
The site is free. ---- “I’ve always been strongly interested in politics,” said Day. He came up with the idea for Daylight Network about two years ago, but left it alone because he didn’t think anyone would be interested. “Now, we’re in extremely difficult times and people are looking for answers.”
In addition to the prediction market, the site provides calculators that show how federal dollars are spent.
An individual taxpayer can find out exactly how the government is spending each dollar of his or her tax money. Home pages for each government organization give an overview, a news feed and a list of non-government alternatives.
“What I wanted to do is provide some transparency so that people can appreciate what the government does and audit the government independently,” he said.
His hope is that an online community will grow up around discussions of possible solutions.
To solve the country’s financial problems, “It is going to take not just government,” Day said. “It’s going to take the private sector, non-government organizations, everything is going to have to be motivated.” Reference Here>>
Minimize the effects brought to us through the Jimmy Carter Presidency ("Stagflation" where recession and inflation existed hand in hand, and etc.) - Please contact Senators Collins - Maine, Snowe - Maine, Gregg - NH, Murkowski - ALASKA, and Grassley - Iowa to Vote NO on the Spendulus/Stimulus Bill!
Now, there are certainly different types of goals: long-term, short-term, financial, physical, personal, family, educational, artistic, religious, health, etc. A country without a budget/goal is like a ship without a rudder. Image Credit: Weider Fitness
Image Credit: Paul Ryan via AEI
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