It is so depressing to be right so often......
Massachusetts's Health-Care Program Offers a Preview of Barack Obama's Universal Health-Care Plan - WSJ.com
Friday, April 09, 2010
Mexico and the Failed State Revisited - John Mauldin's Outside the Box - InvestorsInsight.com | Financial Intelligence, Advice & Research / Investment Strategies & Planning for Individual Investors.
If you've never paid attention to border security, it is probably time that you did. We are becoming a permanent source of government revenue and welfare for this country and the situation will only get worse.
Mexico and the Failed State Revisited - John Mauldin's Outside the Box - InvestorsInsight.com | Financial Intelligence, Advice & Research / Investment Strategies & Planning for Individual Investors.
Mexico and the Failed State Revisited - John Mauldin's Outside the Box - InvestorsInsight.com | Financial Intelligence, Advice & Research / Investment Strategies & Planning for Individual Investors.
Democrat's Answer to Runaway Deficits...More Taxes!
The Deficit Reduction Task Force put together by OBAMA! is nothing but a set up for the introduction of more taxes. This administration has no intention of reducing spending, even elimination of waste, redundancy or ineffective programs. Even while Europe is on the brink of total collapse, we continue to try to follow them to the gates of hell.
Spend It Now! A Huge New Tax Is Coming...
By Dr. Steve Sjuggerud
Friday, April 9, 2010
Everything you buy is about to become 20% more expensive…
I'm not kidding. The latest idea out of Washington is to pay for its insatiable appetite for spending with what's called a "Value-Added Tax."
It's like a huge new national sales tax, on everything. In simple terms, the difference is that with a sales tax, the consumer pays it. With a "VAT," the manufacturer pays it. The consumer won't see it in the price on the shelf or on their receipt.
Politicians love this tax because it's a stealth tax… You can't see it when you buy something, but they still get their money. And unless you make your voice known, chances are excellent we'll eventually have a Value-Added Tax here.
The thing is, making things 20% more expensive here and giving that money to politicians won't save America. It'll make us less competitive. For Exhibit A, consider the state of European governments right now…
Greece, for example, has a VAT of 21%. Its government is bankrupt. The Value-Added Tax didn't save Greece.
Italy and Portugal have a VAT of 20%, and they're only a little less bankrupt than Greece.
Astoundingly to me, the Value-Added Tax in France has now crept up to a full 50% of France's government revenues. So how are things going in France with a Value-Added Tax?
France is unable to compete in the world. Unemployment is terminally high. The unemployment rate is now 10% in France. In 2005, the unemployment rate was 10%. And back in 2000, unemployment stood at 11%. Like I said, it's terminal…
Clearly, the system is not working. So why is the U.S. government in such a hurry to adopt it?
The Wall Street Journal explained it yesterday: "Taxes on the rich can't begin to finance the levels of new spending that the current government has unleashed… "
And foreign governments have been less willing to buy our government bonds lately. So the government needs a new source of a lot of money.
At first, a Value-Added Tax will be offered up by politicians as a small tax – just a temporary fix to get us over the hump on our current budget woes. But we know how it will go… Like all taxes (and parasites), it will become permanent in our lives and it will steadily grow. Remember, the VAT in France is now 50% of government revenue.
All we can do right now is let our politicians know we're against more taxes… because we know down in our toes that governments spend every dollar that comes in… and then some.
Think about it this way: When your child has overspent on the credit card, you don't hand over a new card to spend on.
We don't want to give our politicians a new credit card to ring up charges. Reject their request for another massive credit card, in the form of a Value-Added Tax.
Oh, the other thing you can do is make all your big purchases soon, before a Value-Added Tax comes along and adds 10%-20% to the price of everything you buy…
This is serious stuff. Don't sit aside and just let it happen to you.
Good investing,
Steve
P.S. It's a separate story… but I actually think a tax on consumption is better than a tax on income. That type of system taxes spenders and rewards savers. In the end, the government gets its money, but the economy gets wealthier.
A Value-Added Tax is a tax on consumption, so I would favor that over an income tax. But in this case, the government won't give us one or the other… It will want both.
Spend It Now! A Huge New Tax Is Coming...
By Dr. Steve Sjuggerud
Friday, April 9, 2010
Everything you buy is about to become 20% more expensive…
I'm not kidding. The latest idea out of Washington is to pay for its insatiable appetite for spending with what's called a "Value-Added Tax."
It's like a huge new national sales tax, on everything. In simple terms, the difference is that with a sales tax, the consumer pays it. With a "VAT," the manufacturer pays it. The consumer won't see it in the price on the shelf or on their receipt.
Politicians love this tax because it's a stealth tax… You can't see it when you buy something, but they still get their money. And unless you make your voice known, chances are excellent we'll eventually have a Value-Added Tax here.
The thing is, making things 20% more expensive here and giving that money to politicians won't save America. It'll make us less competitive. For Exhibit A, consider the state of European governments right now…
Greece, for example, has a VAT of 21%. Its government is bankrupt. The Value-Added Tax didn't save Greece.
Italy and Portugal have a VAT of 20%, and they're only a little less bankrupt than Greece.
Astoundingly to me, the Value-Added Tax in France has now crept up to a full 50% of France's government revenues. So how are things going in France with a Value-Added Tax?
France is unable to compete in the world. Unemployment is terminally high. The unemployment rate is now 10% in France. In 2005, the unemployment rate was 10%. And back in 2000, unemployment stood at 11%. Like I said, it's terminal…
Clearly, the system is not working. So why is the U.S. government in such a hurry to adopt it?
The Wall Street Journal explained it yesterday: "Taxes on the rich can't begin to finance the levels of new spending that the current government has unleashed… "
And foreign governments have been less willing to buy our government bonds lately. So the government needs a new source of a lot of money.
At first, a Value-Added Tax will be offered up by politicians as a small tax – just a temporary fix to get us over the hump on our current budget woes. But we know how it will go… Like all taxes (and parasites), it will become permanent in our lives and it will steadily grow. Remember, the VAT in France is now 50% of government revenue.
All we can do right now is let our politicians know we're against more taxes… because we know down in our toes that governments spend every dollar that comes in… and then some.
Think about it this way: When your child has overspent on the credit card, you don't hand over a new card to spend on.
We don't want to give our politicians a new credit card to ring up charges. Reject their request for another massive credit card, in the form of a Value-Added Tax.
Oh, the other thing you can do is make all your big purchases soon, before a Value-Added Tax comes along and adds 10%-20% to the price of everything you buy…
This is serious stuff. Don't sit aside and just let it happen to you.
Good investing,
Steve
P.S. It's a separate story… but I actually think a tax on consumption is better than a tax on income. That type of system taxes spenders and rewards savers. In the end, the government gets its money, but the economy gets wealthier.
A Value-Added Tax is a tax on consumption, so I would favor that over an income tax. But in this case, the government won't give us one or the other… It will want both.
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
What Happens When Interest Rates Rise?
On March 23, we made history. No, it wasn’t the signing of Health Care Reform (although I’m sure that this bill is a contributing factor), but on the same day the health care bill passed, U.S. government debt lost its "risk-free" status.
That day, for the first time in over a generation, the U.S. government was a worse credit risk than a U.S. company.
Specifically, investors were willing to accept a lower interest rate to lend money to billionaire Warren Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway, for two years than to lend to the U.S. Treasury for the same period of time.
Two weeks before the House vote, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its estimate of Obama's budget, including its health care program. From 2011 to 2020, the cumulative deficit is almost $10 trillion. Adding 2009 and 2010, the total rises to $12.7 trillion.
In 2020, the projected annual deficit is $1.25 trillion, equal to 5.6 percent of the economy (gross domestic product). That assumes economic recovery, with unemployment at 5 percent. Spending is almost 30 percent higher than taxes.
Total debt held by the public rises from 40 percent of GDP in 2008 to 90 percent in 2020, close to its post-World War II peak. It will so surely end up being a financial disaster that the bond market has actually begun to price government obligations at higher interest rates than highly rated private companies...
The problem is, once creditors begin to fear more and more paper will simply be printed to pay these debts (and, of course, that's what will happen), interest rates will rise. And they could rise suddenly. That would force governments to spend vastly more money on interest payments than they expect. That's the big problem right now in Greece, for example. Many believe that by the end of Obama’s first term the U.S. will owe roughly: $17.8 trillion in federal debt, $2 trillion in GSE debt/guarantees, $500 billion in FDIC obligations, and $500 billion in FHA obligations.
What's a reasonable rate of interest on these debts? Right now, it costs the U.S. government almost 5% to borrow for 30 years. Let's assume the blended borrowing cost goes to that amount – which is well below the government's average borrowing costs since 1980. That would equal $1 trillion in interest payments due, per year. That's 100% of all income taxes paid in 2009.
I hope I don't have to explain to you why this amount of debt isn't sustainable. I'm not the only person in the world who can do basic math and has access to the government's accounts. One of Europe's top money managers stated, "Eventually the U.S. will arrive at the point where, interest payments on government debt all of a sudden go to 20%, 25%, 30% of tax revenue. And once you go above 30%, you are done. You go into default or your currency breaks down and your system collapses."
Yesterday Greek bonds were going at rates of 7% and every day our entitlement-economy looks much closer to theirs than it did at the end of the Clinton administration.
Even more worrisome, is that the administration has just signed into law (buried in the jobs bill, again without a peep from the media) capital controls designed to not let you escape when the meltdown occurs as if they are actually planning for this to happen.
Some blogs are now starting to report that this is a set-up for grabbing your personal retirement accounts, I’d like to think not; but the ongoing actions of this government are becoming harder and harder to rationalize, even for my most liberal friends.
That day, for the first time in over a generation, the U.S. government was a worse credit risk than a U.S. company.
Specifically, investors were willing to accept a lower interest rate to lend money to billionaire Warren Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway, for two years than to lend to the U.S. Treasury for the same period of time.
Two weeks before the House vote, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its estimate of Obama's budget, including its health care program. From 2011 to 2020, the cumulative deficit is almost $10 trillion. Adding 2009 and 2010, the total rises to $12.7 trillion.
In 2020, the projected annual deficit is $1.25 trillion, equal to 5.6 percent of the economy (gross domestic product). That assumes economic recovery, with unemployment at 5 percent. Spending is almost 30 percent higher than taxes.
Total debt held by the public rises from 40 percent of GDP in 2008 to 90 percent in 2020, close to its post-World War II peak. It will so surely end up being a financial disaster that the bond market has actually begun to price government obligations at higher interest rates than highly rated private companies...
The problem is, once creditors begin to fear more and more paper will simply be printed to pay these debts (and, of course, that's what will happen), interest rates will rise. And they could rise suddenly. That would force governments to spend vastly more money on interest payments than they expect. That's the big problem right now in Greece, for example. Many believe that by the end of Obama’s first term the U.S. will owe roughly: $17.8 trillion in federal debt, $2 trillion in GSE debt/guarantees, $500 billion in FDIC obligations, and $500 billion in FHA obligations.
What's a reasonable rate of interest on these debts? Right now, it costs the U.S. government almost 5% to borrow for 30 years. Let's assume the blended borrowing cost goes to that amount – which is well below the government's average borrowing costs since 1980. That would equal $1 trillion in interest payments due, per year. That's 100% of all income taxes paid in 2009.
I hope I don't have to explain to you why this amount of debt isn't sustainable. I'm not the only person in the world who can do basic math and has access to the government's accounts. One of Europe's top money managers stated, "Eventually the U.S. will arrive at the point where, interest payments on government debt all of a sudden go to 20%, 25%, 30% of tax revenue. And once you go above 30%, you are done. You go into default or your currency breaks down and your system collapses."
Yesterday Greek bonds were going at rates of 7% and every day our entitlement-economy looks much closer to theirs than it did at the end of the Clinton administration.
Even more worrisome, is that the administration has just signed into law (buried in the jobs bill, again without a peep from the media) capital controls designed to not let you escape when the meltdown occurs as if they are actually planning for this to happen.
Some blogs are now starting to report that this is a set-up for grabbing your personal retirement accounts, I’d like to think not; but the ongoing actions of this government are becoming harder and harder to rationalize, even for my most liberal friends.
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Your Cost of Doing Business Is Up 25%…Now Go Hire People The Reformed Broker
I often here the talking heasd on the right argue about whether Obama is an idiot, or is evil. No one but an idiot can take the actions he is promoting and NOT understand the negative impact it will have on the economy, so (since I'm in the "he's not an idiot" camp) what other reason to push this disaster down our throats?
Your Cost of Doing Business Is Up 25%…Now Go Hire People The Reformed Broker
Your Cost of Doing Business Is Up 25%…Now Go Hire People The Reformed Broker
Are there Investment Opportunities if Mexico Becomes a Narco-State?
This is a chilling, yet objective analysis. One of the tough things about being an active trader is that you have to look at the news, good or bad, and then ask "now how do I make money on this?"
Are there Investment Opportunities if Mexico Becomes a Narco-State?
Are there Investment Opportunities if Mexico Becomes a Narco-State?
On The Inevitable Surge Of Tax Rates | zero hedge
These charts are alarming, does anyone really think it is okay or "fair" to take away $.90 of every dollar someone makes just to pay interest on debt?
On The Inevitable Surge Of Tax Rates | zero hedge
On The Inevitable Surge Of Tax Rates | zero hedge
Help! I've been Taxed and I Can't Get Up!
By Jeff Clark - Casey's Gold and Resource Report
Like many of you, the passage of the healthcare bill wasn't met with the popping of champagne in my house. I found myself chanting "Uncle Sam, Uncle Sham" as the day wore on. Higher taxes and other major changes are headed our way. And yet, I think there's something in the bill that's even more dastardly.
If you're a supporter of the bill, you'd point to its benefits: Poor adults will get Medicaid. Low-income families will get federal subsidies to buy insurance. Small businesses may get tax credits. Kids will be able to stay on the parents' policy until they turn 26. Seniors get additional prescription drug coverage. People with pre-existing medical conditions can't be denied or dropped.
While no one is really against any of those things, the elephant in the room (or boa constrictor in the bed) is how those things are going to be paid for. Here's how: the "wealthy" will pay higher taxes; businesses with 50 or more employees will have to insure them or pay a penalty; individuals will have to pay a fine if they don't buy insurance; premiums will rise for many who already have insurance; and seniors with Medicare Advantage policies could lose those plans or pay more to keep them.
Regardless of how you feel about the bill, the fact is that taxes are going up, and not necessarily just on the "wealthy." The healthcare plan will cost $940 billion over the next decade, almost $100 billion a year.
I haven't read the 2,407-page bill (almost twice as long as the Gutenberg Bible), but there are plenty now who have. Here's a summary I compiled, from various sources, that outlines the tax ramifications of what is now the law of the land.
Assuming the Senate passes the package of changes, the biggest tax increases will be in Medicare payroll taxes. Those take two forms, both starting in 2013:
Singles earning more than $200,000 and couples earning $250,000 will pay 0.9% more on wages and self-employment income.
All investment earnings will be taxed an additional 3.8%. This includes capital gains, dividends, and interest, the first time in history the Medicare tax is applied to them.
But keep in mind that the Bush tax cuts expire at the end of this year, which will push the Medicare tax on capital gains to 23.8% in 2013 on these earners. Dividends, currently taxed at the top rate of 15%, will be taxed as ordinary income, with the top rate scheduled to rise to 39.6% (from 35%).
This means that the tax on dividends could go as high as 43.4% when the new Medicare tax goes into effect in 2013. (Obama has proposed a top dividend tax rate of 20%, so if Congress enacts his proposal, the top tax rate for dividends would "only" rise to the 23.8% level in 2013.)
You may think you'll escape this tax if you're not "rich." But it's those darn Unintended Consequences politicians never seem to think about that could still sting you. For example, the 3.8% Medicare surtax could snag you if you happen to sell some real estate for a big gain.
The other major tax increase is the one imposed on health insurance plans that are more generous, the so-called "Cadillac" health plans. And this tax increase doesn't just apply to high-income earners; those state and union workers that lobbied for better health coverage instead of big pay increases are going to find they're included with the "rich" in a new excise tax. Starting in 2018, family insurance plans valued at more than $27,500 ($10,200 for individuals) would pay a 40% tax above that level.
Ouch.
And there's other ways you'll be taxed, particularly through the magic of "passing it on to the consumer."
For example, pharmaceutical manufacturers will pay an annual fee based on their market share starting in 2011; same for health insurers, starting in 2014. A 2.3% excise tax on the sale of medical devices will start in 2013. A 10% excise tax on indoor tanning services goes into effect this July.
How will all these businesses afford the additional tax? They won't. You'll pay it, through higher prices.
Further, were you one of those who incurred medical expenses above 7.5% of your income, thus allowing you to deduct them? That ceiling will be 10% starting in 2013. (It remains 7.5% for those over 65.)
There's more, most of it in the form of greater restrictions, increased penalties, and higher fines on various entities, businesses, health plans, or individuals. But what I especially cringed at was this: the bill vastly expands the responsibilities of, and gives greater strength to, the IRS. The agency will hire as many as 16,500 additional auditors, agents, and other employees just to enforce all the new taxes and penalties.
Specifically, the bill will empower the IRS to do the following: verify citizens have "acceptable" health care coverage; impose fines up to $2,085 or 2% of income (whichever is greater) for failure to purchase "minimum essential coverage"; confiscate tax refunds; and increase audits.
The upshot is that this will force many taxpayers to be more conscientious of monitoring their income and tax withholding.
Perhaps most damaging to the government's plans is if the bill leads some to ask the Ayn Rand/Atlas Shrugged questions: What if I just stop being productive? What if I stop working once my income approaches the threshold? What if I invest less so that I stay under the limits?
And last, here's the time bomb that could trump the tax concerns: none of these taxes are indexed to inflation. Since the bill fails to index to inflation the exemption threshold for the Medicare taxes on both earned and unearned income, it's almost certain many taxpayers will get to these tax levels a whole lot quicker than they think.
What this essentially means is there is now more incentive on the part of the government that we have inflation. If inflation reaches 10% at some point, which is below the 14%+ rate it hit in 1980 and far below any hyperinflationary level that's possible, the $100,000 earner gets to the magical $200,000 level in seven-and-a-half years. From the government's perspective, it makes the printing of money a lucrative affair.
Yes, higher taxes are coming. But with the government's built-in incentive for inflation, along with the reward that comes from getting more citizens to higher tax rates, many may find the tax issue an annoying mosquito bite compared to the alligator chomp of inflation. And high inflation affects every citizen, regardless of income or tax rate. Those who think they've escaped the cold may find they've walked into a freezer.
With this added push to inflate, our investment strategy for the foreseeable future is now clear: We must invest in assets that not just keep up with inflation but outpace it.
All wise citizens do tax planning. Have you done inflation planning?
Like many of you, the passage of the healthcare bill wasn't met with the popping of champagne in my house. I found myself chanting "Uncle Sam, Uncle Sham" as the day wore on. Higher taxes and other major changes are headed our way. And yet, I think there's something in the bill that's even more dastardly.
If you're a supporter of the bill, you'd point to its benefits: Poor adults will get Medicaid. Low-income families will get federal subsidies to buy insurance. Small businesses may get tax credits. Kids will be able to stay on the parents' policy until they turn 26. Seniors get additional prescription drug coverage. People with pre-existing medical conditions can't be denied or dropped.
While no one is really against any of those things, the elephant in the room (or boa constrictor in the bed) is how those things are going to be paid for. Here's how: the "wealthy" will pay higher taxes; businesses with 50 or more employees will have to insure them or pay a penalty; individuals will have to pay a fine if they don't buy insurance; premiums will rise for many who already have insurance; and seniors with Medicare Advantage policies could lose those plans or pay more to keep them.
Regardless of how you feel about the bill, the fact is that taxes are going up, and not necessarily just on the "wealthy." The healthcare plan will cost $940 billion over the next decade, almost $100 billion a year.
I haven't read the 2,407-page bill (almost twice as long as the Gutenberg Bible), but there are plenty now who have. Here's a summary I compiled, from various sources, that outlines the tax ramifications of what is now the law of the land.
Assuming the Senate passes the package of changes, the biggest tax increases will be in Medicare payroll taxes. Those take two forms, both starting in 2013:
Singles earning more than $200,000 and couples earning $250,000 will pay 0.9% more on wages and self-employment income.
All investment earnings will be taxed an additional 3.8%. This includes capital gains, dividends, and interest, the first time in history the Medicare tax is applied to them.
But keep in mind that the Bush tax cuts expire at the end of this year, which will push the Medicare tax on capital gains to 23.8% in 2013 on these earners. Dividends, currently taxed at the top rate of 15%, will be taxed as ordinary income, with the top rate scheduled to rise to 39.6% (from 35%).
This means that the tax on dividends could go as high as 43.4% when the new Medicare tax goes into effect in 2013. (Obama has proposed a top dividend tax rate of 20%, so if Congress enacts his proposal, the top tax rate for dividends would "only" rise to the 23.8% level in 2013.)
You may think you'll escape this tax if you're not "rich." But it's those darn Unintended Consequences politicians never seem to think about that could still sting you. For example, the 3.8% Medicare surtax could snag you if you happen to sell some real estate for a big gain.
The other major tax increase is the one imposed on health insurance plans that are more generous, the so-called "Cadillac" health plans. And this tax increase doesn't just apply to high-income earners; those state and union workers that lobbied for better health coverage instead of big pay increases are going to find they're included with the "rich" in a new excise tax. Starting in 2018, family insurance plans valued at more than $27,500 ($10,200 for individuals) would pay a 40% tax above that level.
Ouch.
And there's other ways you'll be taxed, particularly through the magic of "passing it on to the consumer."
For example, pharmaceutical manufacturers will pay an annual fee based on their market share starting in 2011; same for health insurers, starting in 2014. A 2.3% excise tax on the sale of medical devices will start in 2013. A 10% excise tax on indoor tanning services goes into effect this July.
How will all these businesses afford the additional tax? They won't. You'll pay it, through higher prices.
Further, were you one of those who incurred medical expenses above 7.5% of your income, thus allowing you to deduct them? That ceiling will be 10% starting in 2013. (It remains 7.5% for those over 65.)
There's more, most of it in the form of greater restrictions, increased penalties, and higher fines on various entities, businesses, health plans, or individuals. But what I especially cringed at was this: the bill vastly expands the responsibilities of, and gives greater strength to, the IRS. The agency will hire as many as 16,500 additional auditors, agents, and other employees just to enforce all the new taxes and penalties.
Specifically, the bill will empower the IRS to do the following: verify citizens have "acceptable" health care coverage; impose fines up to $2,085 or 2% of income (whichever is greater) for failure to purchase "minimum essential coverage"; confiscate tax refunds; and increase audits.
The upshot is that this will force many taxpayers to be more conscientious of monitoring their income and tax withholding.
Perhaps most damaging to the government's plans is if the bill leads some to ask the Ayn Rand/Atlas Shrugged questions: What if I just stop being productive? What if I stop working once my income approaches the threshold? What if I invest less so that I stay under the limits?
And last, here's the time bomb that could trump the tax concerns: none of these taxes are indexed to inflation. Since the bill fails to index to inflation the exemption threshold for the Medicare taxes on both earned and unearned income, it's almost certain many taxpayers will get to these tax levels a whole lot quicker than they think.
What this essentially means is there is now more incentive on the part of the government that we have inflation. If inflation reaches 10% at some point, which is below the 14%+ rate it hit in 1980 and far below any hyperinflationary level that's possible, the $100,000 earner gets to the magical $200,000 level in seven-and-a-half years. From the government's perspective, it makes the printing of money a lucrative affair.
Yes, higher taxes are coming. But with the government's built-in incentive for inflation, along with the reward that comes from getting more citizens to higher tax rates, many may find the tax issue an annoying mosquito bite compared to the alligator chomp of inflation. And high inflation affects every citizen, regardless of income or tax rate. Those who think they've escaped the cold may find they've walked into a freezer.
With this added push to inflate, our investment strategy for the foreseeable future is now clear: We must invest in assets that not just keep up with inflation but outpace it.
All wise citizens do tax planning. Have you done inflation planning?
Racism and Obamacare
Here's Star Parker's weekly column. Hope you can take the time to read it.
Like chewing gum stuck to the heel of your shoe, racism seems to be stuck forever to American public discourse. No matter what we do or what happens, somebody will find a racial motive.
Democrats have passed government health care with no Republican votes. Their leadership threatened and bribed their own members to eek out a majority. They resorted to an arcane procedure that maybe 100 people in the whole country can explain in order to pass a massive bill that polls show a majority of Americans don’t want.
The federal government, for the first time ever, will force every American to buy, with a big chunk of their income, a product designed by government bureaucrats, with an army of IRS agents snooping on each of us to make sure we did it.
And how are many liberals explaining why so many Americans are ticked off?
It’s because our president is black. It’s about racism.
Even me. I’m steamed. And even though I happen to be black – I’ve even spoken at some tea party rallies – I still must be a racist.
Obama’s approval rating has dropped from 70% when he was elected to 50% today. His disapproval has skyrocketed from 10% when he was elected to 42% today.
Per the Washington Post, in January 2009 58% of Americans said that the Obama presidency helped race relations. By January 2010, this was down to 40%.
Has this wave of disillusionment with Obama been driven by a sudden realization that the man Americans elected president is black?
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s approval has dropped from 41% in January 2009 to 36% today and her disapproval has risen from 42% to 54%. Is she black?
Were the raucous townhalls last summer – which gave birth to the tea party movement- where irate constituents gave their representatives a piece of their mind about Obamacare,! raciall y motivated?
Care to understand what all this is really about?
Consider a powerful observation about a former time by one of America’s great historians, Jacques Barzun. Barzun was a professor and dean at Columbia University and a Presidential Medal of Freedom winner.
“We make a great mistake in calling the American War of Independence, the “American Revolution,” he wrote. “In 1776 the Americans rebelled against recent rules and impositions. What they wanted was not a new type of government, but the old type they enjoyed. They were used to many freedoms, which they claimed as the immemorial rights of Englishmen. Once they defeated the English armies and expelled the Loyalists, they went back to their former ways, which they modestly enlarged, and codified in the Bill of Rights.”
In a similar fashion today, Americans are rebelling as the freedom we have enjoyed, freedom which defines life in this country, is being taken away and new “rules and impositions” are being imposed.
It’s not about theory or some abstract ideology. The intense feelings flow from losing what you have and what you know is vital.
What is new today is we can no longer continue the illusion of having our cake and eating it. We can no longer afford to be both a big government entitlement state and a free, creative, and prosperous nation. It’s the prosperity created by our freedom that has financed the entitlements. But now the entitlements are overtaking and strangling our freedom.
So now is a time of choosing. We’re either going to remain the land of the free or transform into the land of the bureaucrat.
The antipathy of activists toward Mr. Obama is not about how he looks but what he has done. That he has chosen and imposed on us the path of bureaucracy.
Like chewing gum stuck to the heel of your shoe, racism seems to be stuck forever to American public discourse. No matter what we do or what happens, somebody will find a racial motive.
Democrats have passed government health care with no Republican votes. Their leadership threatened and bribed their own members to eek out a majority. They resorted to an arcane procedure that maybe 100 people in the whole country can explain in order to pass a massive bill that polls show a majority of Americans don’t want.
The federal government, for the first time ever, will force every American to buy, with a big chunk of their income, a product designed by government bureaucrats, with an army of IRS agents snooping on each of us to make sure we did it.
And how are many liberals explaining why so many Americans are ticked off?
It’s because our president is black. It’s about racism.
Even me. I’m steamed. And even though I happen to be black – I’ve even spoken at some tea party rallies – I still must be a racist.
Obama’s approval rating has dropped from 70% when he was elected to 50% today. His disapproval has skyrocketed from 10% when he was elected to 42% today.
Per the Washington Post, in January 2009 58% of Americans said that the Obama presidency helped race relations. By January 2010, this was down to 40%.
Has this wave of disillusionment with Obama been driven by a sudden realization that the man Americans elected president is black?
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s approval has dropped from 41% in January 2009 to 36% today and her disapproval has risen from 42% to 54%. Is she black?
Were the raucous townhalls last summer – which gave birth to the tea party movement- where irate constituents gave their representatives a piece of their mind about Obamacare,! raciall y motivated?
Care to understand what all this is really about?
Consider a powerful observation about a former time by one of America’s great historians, Jacques Barzun. Barzun was a professor and dean at Columbia University and a Presidential Medal of Freedom winner.
“We make a great mistake in calling the American War of Independence, the “American Revolution,” he wrote. “In 1776 the Americans rebelled against recent rules and impositions. What they wanted was not a new type of government, but the old type they enjoyed. They were used to many freedoms, which they claimed as the immemorial rights of Englishmen. Once they defeated the English armies and expelled the Loyalists, they went back to their former ways, which they modestly enlarged, and codified in the Bill of Rights.”
In a similar fashion today, Americans are rebelling as the freedom we have enjoyed, freedom which defines life in this country, is being taken away and new “rules and impositions” are being imposed.
It’s not about theory or some abstract ideology. The intense feelings flow from losing what you have and what you know is vital.
What is new today is we can no longer continue the illusion of having our cake and eating it. We can no longer afford to be both a big government entitlement state and a free, creative, and prosperous nation. It’s the prosperity created by our freedom that has financed the entitlements. But now the entitlements are overtaking and strangling our freedom.
So now is a time of choosing. We’re either going to remain the land of the free or transform into the land of the bureaucrat.
The antipathy of activists toward Mr. Obama is not about how he looks but what he has done. That he has chosen and imposed on us the path of bureaucracy.
Democrat Representative "Doesn't Care" about the Constitution
The man took an oath to protect and uphold the Constitution, but when Pelosi says "Jump", he leaps as high as he can and if he lands on your freedom and liberty, well so be it.....
While not as good as the idiot who thinks an island can capsize, this video captures the shear ignorance of our founding documents. I am also getting sick and tired of all the sob stories about people not getting health care because they have no insurance. It simply is not true. There is a fix, but this isn't it.
While not as good as the idiot who thinks an island can capsize, this video captures the shear ignorance of our founding documents. I am also getting sick and tired of all the sob stories about people not getting health care because they have no insurance. It simply is not true. There is a fix, but this isn't it.
Monday, April 05, 2010
David Rosenberg: Here's 7 Economic Stats You Shouldn't Believe - Yahoo! Finance
The sheep in the media keep doing what they are told, cheering every hint of not-so-bad news as the second coming of the "Clinton Boom" (a time where I made a lot of money taking automotive firms through bankruptcy.....so it depends on what you mean by "Boom" i guess).
A deeper dive into the news, in context of what used to be considered 'normal' as economic recoveries go paints a much different picture.....
David Rosenberg: Here's 7 Economic Stats You Shouldn't Believe - Yahoo! Finance
A deeper dive into the news, in context of what used to be considered 'normal' as economic recoveries go paints a much different picture.....
David Rosenberg: Here's 7 Economic Stats You Shouldn't Believe - Yahoo! Finance
Saturday, April 03, 2010
And You Want These People to Run HealthCare???
This is not a joke, this is an example of the people that we are sending to Washington. They are useful idiots who will do whatever Pelosi tells them to do.
We must protect our children from a Government that is run by incompetent thieves...
We must protect our children from a Government that is run by incompetent thieves...
Friday, April 02, 2010
Climate change, happening before your eyes | Herald Sun Andrew Bolt Blog
More Good News on the Global Warming front, the Arctic Ice is back!!!!
We won! No need for Cap and Tax laws now!
Climate change, happening before your eyes | Herald Sun Andrew Bolt Blog
We won! No need for Cap and Tax laws now!
Climate change, happening before your eyes | Herald Sun Andrew Bolt Blog
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Newsmax - Tea Party Unveils 'Contract From America' Planks
This of course is just the beginning. At some point, we will have to strengthen the language in the Constitution to make sure that they can never try to usurp the power of the people again.....
Newsmax - Tea Party Unveils 'Contract From America' Planks
Newsmax - Tea Party Unveils 'Contract From America' Planks
Don't Believe The Obamabot Liars - The Market Ticker
This piece rips apart all the spin you are and will be hearing in the coming weeks.
Don't Believe The Obamabot Liars - The Market Ticker
Don't Believe The Obamabot Liars - The Market Ticker
Zeitgeist - The Movie
If you have the time, you need to watch this in it's entirety. Eisenhower railed against the military industrial complex. JFK, warned us of the threat of the international cabal of central bankers and it may have cost him his life.
It's time to wake up! This is the reason that they are so threatened by the tea-party movement! The link will take you to the youtube version, then check out the commentary at the Campaign for Liberty regarding the legalization of ID Chips.....
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/
It's time to wake up! This is the reason that they are so threatened by the tea-party movement! The link will take you to the youtube version, then check out the commentary at the Campaign for Liberty regarding the legalization of ID Chips.....
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
On The Economy & The CBO's Credibility - Forecasts & Trends - InvestorsInsight.com | Financial Intelligence, Advice & Research / Investment Strategies & Planning for Individual Investors.
The results of a recent poll and what the end game may look like if something is not done to stop and reverse this runaway spending spree by the federal government.
For a real shocker, check out the letter sent to Congressman Paul Ryan by the CBO concerning their estimates on Obamacare:
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/113xx/doc11376/RyanLtrhr4872.pdf
So the question is, are these representatives stupid, or malicious?
On The Economy & The CBO's Credibility - Forecasts & Trends - InvestorsInsight.com Financial Intelligence, Advice & Research / Investment Strategies & Planning for Individual Investors.
For a real shocker, check out the letter sent to Congressman Paul Ryan by the CBO concerning their estimates on Obamacare:
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/113xx/doc11376/RyanLtrhr4872.pdf
So the question is, are these representatives stupid, or malicious?
On The Economy & The CBO's Credibility - Forecasts & Trends - InvestorsInsight.com Financial Intelligence, Advice & Research / Investment Strategies & Planning for Individual Investors.
The Opinion on Obamacare is not Changing
This time it might be different. Despite a full court press to:
1) Portray any dissent as racist, aggressive and dangerous, and;
2) Sell all the "virtues" of this bill to the general public
The general public is not buying it. trust in the government in general and this version specifically is at an all time low.
The following quote sums up the opinion of many -
"So they just passed a health care plan written by a committee whose chairman says he didn't understand it, passed by a Congress that exempts themselves from it, signed by a president who smokes, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes, all to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese... and better yet it is to be financed by a country that's broke?" – Anonymous Facebook poster
1) Portray any dissent as racist, aggressive and dangerous, and;
2) Sell all the "virtues" of this bill to the general public
The general public is not buying it. trust in the government in general and this version specifically is at an all time low.
The following quote sums up the opinion of many -
"So they just passed a health care plan written by a committee whose chairman says he didn't understand it, passed by a Congress that exempts themselves from it, signed by a president who smokes, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes, all to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese... and better yet it is to be financed by a country that's broke?" – Anonymous Facebook poster
Healthcare - Ron Paul: White House healthcare projections based on "fantasy"
The quote of the Century is "This legislation is just the next step towards universal, single payer healthcare, which many see as a human right. Of course, this “right” must be produced by the labor of other people, meaning theft and coercion by government is necessary to produce and distribute it"
That says it all! How can something be a right, if it in fact must be taken at the expense of someone else? The basic rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness were based on the premise of individual initiative and desire. Whe you start believing that you have a right to take from your neighbor, civil society dies.
Healthcare - Ron Paul: White House healthcare projections based on "fantasy"
That says it all! How can something be a right, if it in fact must be taken at the expense of someone else? The basic rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness were based on the premise of individual initiative and desire. Whe you start believing that you have a right to take from your neighbor, civil society dies.
Healthcare - Ron Paul: White House healthcare projections based on "fantasy"
CARPE DIEM: Milton Friedman in 1978:Market-Based Health Care
Even in 1978, some people understood what was happening through the government licensing process. This is one reason why I continue to state that we have not had a free market in this country for a long time.
CARPE DIEM: Milton Friedman in 1978:Market-Based Health Care
CARPE DIEM: Milton Friedman in 1978:Market-Based Health Care
Porter Stansberry - Porter Stansberry: This key gov't statistic is signaling crisis
What happens when interest rates rise? When we reach a point where our interest payments consume too much of our income, the downward spiral to bankruptcy. Do you really believe that the same cannot happen to a country that is drunk on debt and entitlement spending?
Porter Stansberry - Porter Stansberry: This key gov't statistic is signaling crisis
Porter Stansberry - Porter Stansberry: This key gov't statistic is signaling crisis
Survivor of Socialism Has Warning for America
An email has been circulating regarding a speech by Kitty Werthmann. Having been burned more than once by falacious email, I did a search for her. The speech is real, this link is a recap of what she said.
Survivor of Socialism Has Warning for America
Survivor of Socialism Has Warning for America
Monday, March 29, 2010
The Government Plantation Forever?
As more Americans get herded onto the government plantation -- 30 million more with this new bill -- it's easy to keep them there.
In support of my earlier blog regarding the rise of the dependent class, Star Parker comments on how easy it is to seduce people with the promise of "free stuff". But just like the roach motel that you can buy at any hardware store, it is almost impossible to escape.
Let's do a quick thought experiment.The price of apples keeps going up. The government decides that every American must buy apples. But some can't afford them.Government starts controlling how much apple farmers are paid, it mandates that every single American buys apples and subsidizes those under a certain income level so they can.Will the price of apples go down, stay the same or go up?
Or, in economists' language, if you limit the supply of a commodity and increase demand, will the price of that commodity go up or down?
Did you say "up"? You get an A. But if you did say "up," you surely are not a Democrat.Democrats have just committed multitrillions of our money, and, as a bonus, sold a big chunk of American freedom down the road, betting that everything a college freshman learns in basic economics is not true. Or, that health care doesn't follow the rules of economics. Because our new health-care system is pretty much the apple scenario described above.Or, maybe they don't care?
Maybe it's not about economics, but about ideology and political power. And that the real issue is freedom. They think we've got too much and that politicians should decide what is fair and who should have what.A revealing moment during the presidential campaign occurred when, during one debate, ABC's Charles Gibson pushed then-Sen. Barack Obama about his stated intent to increase capital gains taxes. Gibson brandished data showing that when you cut this tax, government tax revenues increase, and when you raise it, revenue drops (punishing investment surely produces less)."So, why raise it?" Gibson asked. Obama responded that maybe it won't happen that way this time. And besides, he said, his motive was "fairness."
After voters in Massachusetts elected a Republican to replace the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, killing the Democrats' filibuster-proof Senate majority, many pundits wrote that President Obama had to move to the political center.I wrote then that this wouldn't happen because, unlike President Bill Clinton, who did moderate, Obama is a left-wing ideologue. He didn't run for president to be somebody. He did it to do something. He did it to change America.
As polls showed waning public support for what Democrats were pushing on health care, many assumed they would back off. It was still conceivable that they could stand rules on their head and ram the thing through using the so-called reconciliation procedure. But why would they do it when polls suggested they would be punished in November elections?But Obama understood that when you are selling dreams, numbers don't matter.
So, as in the housing and financial debacle we just went through, you commit taxpayer money to subsidize a product to make it look cheaper than it is, you get people to buy it, and when it all comes crashing down, it doesn't matter. By then you're long gone.And, another bonus, as more Americans get herded onto the government plantation -- 30 million more with this new bill -- it's easy to keep them there.
So the most likely political outcome going forward is higher taxes and income redistribution to pay for it all, entrenching socialism more.As I have written before, if you want to know where it all leads, look at our inner cities that were long ago taken over by government compassion. This is our future, my fellow Americans.
Oh, back to the apples. Their prices were rocketing up to begin with because government was already controlling and regulating them.Republicans are mad. But will they be able to entice Americans off the ever-growing government plantation? Will they propose and succeed in selling the bold ideas necessary to turn the basket case we're becoming around?
We'll see.
Star Parker is president of the Coalition for Urban Renewal & Education and author of the new book White Ghetto: How Middle Class America Reflects Inner City Decay.
In support of my earlier blog regarding the rise of the dependent class, Star Parker comments on how easy it is to seduce people with the promise of "free stuff". But just like the roach motel that you can buy at any hardware store, it is almost impossible to escape.
Let's do a quick thought experiment.The price of apples keeps going up. The government decides that every American must buy apples. But some can't afford them.Government starts controlling how much apple farmers are paid, it mandates that every single American buys apples and subsidizes those under a certain income level so they can.Will the price of apples go down, stay the same or go up?
Or, in economists' language, if you limit the supply of a commodity and increase demand, will the price of that commodity go up or down?
Did you say "up"? You get an A. But if you did say "up," you surely are not a Democrat.Democrats have just committed multitrillions of our money, and, as a bonus, sold a big chunk of American freedom down the road, betting that everything a college freshman learns in basic economics is not true. Or, that health care doesn't follow the rules of economics. Because our new health-care system is pretty much the apple scenario described above.Or, maybe they don't care?
Maybe it's not about economics, but about ideology and political power. And that the real issue is freedom. They think we've got too much and that politicians should decide what is fair and who should have what.A revealing moment during the presidential campaign occurred when, during one debate, ABC's Charles Gibson pushed then-Sen. Barack Obama about his stated intent to increase capital gains taxes. Gibson brandished data showing that when you cut this tax, government tax revenues increase, and when you raise it, revenue drops (punishing investment surely produces less)."So, why raise it?" Gibson asked. Obama responded that maybe it won't happen that way this time. And besides, he said, his motive was "fairness."
After voters in Massachusetts elected a Republican to replace the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, killing the Democrats' filibuster-proof Senate majority, many pundits wrote that President Obama had to move to the political center.I wrote then that this wouldn't happen because, unlike President Bill Clinton, who did moderate, Obama is a left-wing ideologue. He didn't run for president to be somebody. He did it to do something. He did it to change America.
As polls showed waning public support for what Democrats were pushing on health care, many assumed they would back off. It was still conceivable that they could stand rules on their head and ram the thing through using the so-called reconciliation procedure. But why would they do it when polls suggested they would be punished in November elections?But Obama understood that when you are selling dreams, numbers don't matter.
So, as in the housing and financial debacle we just went through, you commit taxpayer money to subsidize a product to make it look cheaper than it is, you get people to buy it, and when it all comes crashing down, it doesn't matter. By then you're long gone.And, another bonus, as more Americans get herded onto the government plantation -- 30 million more with this new bill -- it's easy to keep them there.
So the most likely political outcome going forward is higher taxes and income redistribution to pay for it all, entrenching socialism more.As I have written before, if you want to know where it all leads, look at our inner cities that were long ago taken over by government compassion. This is our future, my fellow Americans.
Oh, back to the apples. Their prices were rocketing up to begin with because government was already controlling and regulating them.Republicans are mad. But will they be able to entice Americans off the ever-growing government plantation? Will they propose and succeed in selling the bold ideas necessary to turn the basket case we're becoming around?
We'll see.
Star Parker is president of the Coalition for Urban Renewal & Education and author of the new book White Ghetto: How Middle Class America Reflects Inner City Decay.
Do They Wear White Hoods at Their Tea Parties?
The smear campaign has begun, if you're against Obamacare or Big Government spending, it's not because you believe in the priciples of limited government or the 10th amendment, it's because you are a racist. The Tea Party movement is a threat to the party of big government and this is their latest attempt to divide and conquer.....
Do They Wear White Hoods at Their Tea Parties?
Posted using ShareThis
Do They Wear White Hoods at Their Tea Parties?
Posted using ShareThis
Sunday, March 28, 2010
‘Cowgate’ Is Latest Global Warming Scandal
From Newsmax:
Another claim by global warming alarmists has been discredited — this time assertions about the role livestock play in producing greenhouse gases.
In 2006, a United Nations report entitled “Livestock’s Long Shadow” claimed that “the livestock sector is a major player, responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. This is a higher share than transport.”
This led to demands for a “cow tax” in the U.S. and a campaign in Europe last year called “Less Meat = Less Heat,” political commentator Gerald Warner points out in Britain’s Daily Telegraph.
Now Dr. Frank Mitloehner, an air quality expert at the University of California at Davis, calls the U.N. report “scientifically inaccurate.”
In a report to the American Chemical Society, he reveals that the U.N. added all greenhouse-gas emissions associated with meat production, including fertilizer production, land clearance, methane emissions, production of feed, milk processing, and vehicle use on farms, to get the highest possible result.
But the transport figure included only the burning of fossil fuels, resulting in an “apples and oranges analogy that truly confused the issue,” Mitloehner disclosed.
In fact, just 3 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. are attributable to the raising of cows and pigs, compared to 26 percent from transport, according to Mitloehner.
“It is becoming difficult to keep pace with the speed at which the global warming scam is now unraveling,” Warner writes, noting that the Washington Times has called the latest flap “Cowgate.”
“Himalayan glaciers, polar bears, Arctic ice, Amazon rainforests, all discredited.”
One of the authors of the U.N. report, Pierre Gerber with the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization, told the BBC he accepted Mitloehner’s criticism: “I must say honestly that he has a point — we factored in everything for meat emissions, and we didn’t do the same thing with transport.”
Another claim by global warming alarmists has been discredited — this time assertions about the role livestock play in producing greenhouse gases.
In 2006, a United Nations report entitled “Livestock’s Long Shadow” claimed that “the livestock sector is a major player, responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. This is a higher share than transport.”
This led to demands for a “cow tax” in the U.S. and a campaign in Europe last year called “Less Meat = Less Heat,” political commentator Gerald Warner points out in Britain’s Daily Telegraph.
Now Dr. Frank Mitloehner, an air quality expert at the University of California at Davis, calls the U.N. report “scientifically inaccurate.”
In a report to the American Chemical Society, he reveals that the U.N. added all greenhouse-gas emissions associated with meat production, including fertilizer production, land clearance, methane emissions, production of feed, milk processing, and vehicle use on farms, to get the highest possible result.
But the transport figure included only the burning of fossil fuels, resulting in an “apples and oranges analogy that truly confused the issue,” Mitloehner disclosed.
In fact, just 3 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. are attributable to the raising of cows and pigs, compared to 26 percent from transport, according to Mitloehner.
“It is becoming difficult to keep pace with the speed at which the global warming scam is now unraveling,” Warner writes, noting that the Washington Times has called the latest flap “Cowgate.”
“Himalayan glaciers, polar bears, Arctic ice, Amazon rainforests, all discredited.”
One of the authors of the U.N. report, Pierre Gerber with the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization, told the BBC he accepted Mitloehner’s criticism: “I must say honestly that he has a point — we factored in everything for meat emissions, and we didn’t do the same thing with transport.”
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Germany: Mitteleuropa Redux - John Mauldin's Outside the Box - InvestorsInsight.com | Financial Intelligence, Advice
Disturbing Charts Regarding our Economy
Forget the talking heads, look at the facts and decide for yourself!
The March Wall Street Journal Economic Forecast Survey
The March Wall Street Journal Economic Forecast Survey
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
The Educational Destruction of our Children
Star Parker comments on the sad state of our public education system and the barriers to making any substantive change.
The Rise of the Dependent Class
“They won’t takeover healthcare” my nephew who voted for Obama tried to assure me. “Besides, in 2010, the Republicans will come back in and fix whatever damage he’s done”. Ah, the naïveté of youth. In a life where education had already descended into telling you what to think instead of teaching how to think, I cannot blame him for assuming that life in America rolls on. He has two daughters and did not have time to read either of Obama’s books nor study the writings of Saul Alinsky, he believed in a system that was on its death bed just waiting for the right political team to come in and pull the plug.
His statement was in response to my explanation of the “end game”, which was Obama’s strategy to finally transform us from a representative Constitutional Republic to a collectivist empire controlled by intellectual elites of one sort or another.
The plan was a simple three step process; enact Cap and Trade, National Health Care and Amnesty for Illegal Aliens.
Cap and Trade is a no brainer, only a fool could believe for a minute that carbon dioxide, the basis for life on earth as we know it, is a pollutant. The purpose of Cap and Trade had nothing to do with saving the planet, but instead was intended to kill middle class jobs. By making it too expensive to do business in the US, the manufacturing jobs that were the engine of prosperity for millions will ultimately be shipped abroad to countries who would never sign up to such an agreement. Saul Alinsky viewed the middle class as the target for destruction. In his world, there were the Haves, the Have-Not’s and the “Have a Little, Want Mores’”. That third group was simultaneously the most vulnerable and the most dangerous, since they had not yet attained the status of the Have’s but would not willingly give up the life they were living for a promise of something better down the road. Only by creating an economic crisis where the middle class faces the threat of losing everything, could Obama begin to exert an influence over them.
Nationalized Health Care is another easy one to understand. Just as everything on the planet needs CO2 to live, everyone eventually needs to see a doctor. If you are beholden to the Government as the sole provider of your health care needs, you live under the constant threat of losing access to that which you deem necessary to live.
The final piece to be put in place is an Amnesty Bill (many people didn’t even notice the march on Washington for “immigration reform” that took place while congress was voting to take over Health Care). By giving 15 to 30 million people the same rights of every other US citizen, including the right to vote in both State and National elections, Obama hopes to create a permanent majority of pro-government voters for decades to come. Most of these people are not in this country as doctors or engineers and therefore will immediately be seeking access to not only our already bankrupt entitlement programs, but the other welfare services that we had intended for our less fortunate citizens..
So how does this all come together? Simple, right now dependency on Government is already at an all time high. According to the 2009 Index of Dependence on Government, the Heritage Foundation’s experts found that the total Americans dependent on the government for their daily housing, food, and health care is a staggering 60.8 million. (Download the full report in PDF.). Now add all the additional people who will be forced to depend on the Government for health Insurance along with all our “new American Citizens” and you quickly approach a point where 51% of the voting population is either dependent on the Federal Government for a job, an entitlement or basic sustenance. Once they are the majority, they will never vote themselves back into the minority and the takeover is complete. Alinsky described this as “the third stage of reorganization into a new social order of the dictatorship of the proletariat”, I call it a Democracy
One of the founding fathers described Democracy as two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. It has taken us nearly a hundred years to reach this point, but the end is in sight.
His statement was in response to my explanation of the “end game”, which was Obama’s strategy to finally transform us from a representative Constitutional Republic to a collectivist empire controlled by intellectual elites of one sort or another.
The plan was a simple three step process; enact Cap and Trade, National Health Care and Amnesty for Illegal Aliens.
Cap and Trade is a no brainer, only a fool could believe for a minute that carbon dioxide, the basis for life on earth as we know it, is a pollutant. The purpose of Cap and Trade had nothing to do with saving the planet, but instead was intended to kill middle class jobs. By making it too expensive to do business in the US, the manufacturing jobs that were the engine of prosperity for millions will ultimately be shipped abroad to countries who would never sign up to such an agreement. Saul Alinsky viewed the middle class as the target for destruction. In his world, there were the Haves, the Have-Not’s and the “Have a Little, Want Mores’”. That third group was simultaneously the most vulnerable and the most dangerous, since they had not yet attained the status of the Have’s but would not willingly give up the life they were living for a promise of something better down the road. Only by creating an economic crisis where the middle class faces the threat of losing everything, could Obama begin to exert an influence over them.
Nationalized Health Care is another easy one to understand. Just as everything on the planet needs CO2 to live, everyone eventually needs to see a doctor. If you are beholden to the Government as the sole provider of your health care needs, you live under the constant threat of losing access to that which you deem necessary to live.
The final piece to be put in place is an Amnesty Bill (many people didn’t even notice the march on Washington for “immigration reform” that took place while congress was voting to take over Health Care). By giving 15 to 30 million people the same rights of every other US citizen, including the right to vote in both State and National elections, Obama hopes to create a permanent majority of pro-government voters for decades to come. Most of these people are not in this country as doctors or engineers and therefore will immediately be seeking access to not only our already bankrupt entitlement programs, but the other welfare services that we had intended for our less fortunate citizens..
So how does this all come together? Simple, right now dependency on Government is already at an all time high. According to the 2009 Index of Dependence on Government, the Heritage Foundation’s experts found that the total Americans dependent on the government for their daily housing, food, and health care is a staggering 60.8 million. (Download the full report in PDF.). Now add all the additional people who will be forced to depend on the Government for health Insurance along with all our “new American Citizens” and you quickly approach a point where 51% of the voting population is either dependent on the Federal Government for a job, an entitlement or basic sustenance. Once they are the majority, they will never vote themselves back into the minority and the takeover is complete. Alinsky described this as “the third stage of reorganization into a new social order of the dictatorship of the proletariat”, I call it a Democracy
One of the founding fathers described Democracy as two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. It has taken us nearly a hundred years to reach this point, but the end is in sight.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Maximum bailout bill… almost double annual U.S. GDP
“The total potential federal government support could reach up to $23.7 trillion,” said Neil Barofsky this week. He’s the special inspector general for the TARP -- one of the government’s many bailout programs dumping billions upon billions. Say again… this whole mess could put U.S. taxpayers on the hook for just under $24 trillion.
Barosfky’s report was self-admittedly an overblown worst-case scenario… for example, it assumes that every mortgage loan on Fannie and Freddie’s books will go bad and that every government-aided bank will go bust. (Heh, we like this guy).
But we see why he bothered crunching all the numbers for a scenario that will never happen (or if it were to happen, no one would really care what the exact cost would be). This is what your government is willing to do in order to maintain the status quo. Votes for this year’s election are worth $24 trillion for tomorrow’s generation.
So when Congress asked, hey Neil, what’s your real guess? $3 trillion, he responded. Phew, what a relief!
Barosfky’s report was self-admittedly an overblown worst-case scenario… for example, it assumes that every mortgage loan on Fannie and Freddie’s books will go bad and that every government-aided bank will go bust. (Heh, we like this guy).
But we see why he bothered crunching all the numbers for a scenario that will never happen (or if it were to happen, no one would really care what the exact cost would be). This is what your government is willing to do in order to maintain the status quo. Votes for this year’s election are worth $24 trillion for tomorrow’s generation.
So when Congress asked, hey Neil, what’s your real guess? $3 trillion, he responded. Phew, what a relief!
Global Warming...55 million years ago?
Another little nugget of information for you: SUV's (allegedly) did not exist 55 million years ago BUT, according to scientists, they've found that there was indeed massive global warming 55 million years ago here on Earth. This little revelation prompted one scientist to wonder if all the current climate models are completely wrong. Time for Al Gore to fire up the propaganda machine and discredit another scientist!
Universal Health helps kill UK man
Just a little nugget of information for you to noodle as Universal Healthcare is being rammed down our throats. In the UK, where they have Universal Health, a 22 year old man was denied a request for liver treatment and died soon after. The reason he was denied? Because he couldn't prove he could stay sober (he had a drinking problem). Despite having checked into AA and wanting to get better -- he couldn't prove it, so -- let him die! Let the rationing begin here in the US!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Redefining Wealth
In what came as no shock to me....
“An income tax surcharge on highly paid Americans emerged as the leading option Wednesday night as House Democrats sought ways to pay for health care legislation that President Barack Obama favors, several officials said. As discussed in the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, the surtax would apply to individuals with adjusted gross income of more than $200,000 and couples over $250,000, (since changed to $350,000) they added.” AP July 8, 2009
While there are plenty of discussions going on about the pros and cons of nationalized health care, I want to comment on this notion of taxing the wealthy.
Ever since his first day on the campaign, Obama has defined wealth using the same numbers cited above, usually in making the argument that he intended to take more money from them because “they really don’t need it”; and while I will not argue that someone making $200,000 per year is making a lot of money, I do not believe that it automatically defines them as wealthy.
Every year, Forbes magazine lists the 400 richest people in America, however they define wealth by net worth which is the value of everything that they own, minus their debt. By Forbes definition, Warren Buffett is wealthy with a net worth of $50 Billion, however in the latest information we have, Buffet’s annual salary in 2006 was only $100,000, placing him way below the standard set by Obama (I do want to point out here that Mr. Buffet is a big supporter of Obama and has helped him in numerous ways).
Further more, the latest public information about our elected officials shows that Speaker Pelosi has a net worth of about $62 Million, yet her congressional salary of $165,200 puts her way below the wealth standard as well. In fact, if you start looking at the net worth of all of our elected officials, you would see that the latest reports show a median net worth of $746,000. The Senate especially is truly a millionaires club with a median net worth of $1.7 million.
Said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, which conducted the latest study on congressional wealth:
"In the House of Representatives, Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., ranks No. 1, with $397 million, followed by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., with $343 million. Rep Robin Hayes, R-N.C., ranks third, with $173.4 million. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., ranks sixth, with $62 million.
"In the Senate, the two Democrats from Massachusetts claimed two of the top three spots.
"Sen. John Kerry led the pack, with $336 million, while Sen. Edward M. Kennedy ranked third, with $104 million. Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., ranked second, with $241.5 million”.
Senator Kohl is one of my Senators and in a recent exchange, said in no uncertain terms that there would be no need to include government employees and elected officials in the new Health Care system meaning that they were going to keep their current health care system, while forcing the rest of us into their newly created model.
So not only are they not going to participate in the program they’re quickly shoving down our throats, they also are making sure that they won’t be using their money to help fund it. So our taxes will be used to fund both.
If after this year, you still think that we have any semblance of a representative government of the people, then I have some carbon credits that I’d like to sell you. This new ruling class has positioned themselves to dictate just about every aspect of our lives from what we will drive, how much energy we will use, what kind of food we eat and how much of our money “we need” to keep, while exempting themselves from the life they demand that we lead.
In 1913, Woodrow Wilson started chipping away at the Constitution, in the 1930’s FDR took a sledgehammer to it and in 2009, this Government has brought in the steamroller. I can’t wait to hear the rationalization for all this!
“An income tax surcharge on highly paid Americans emerged as the leading option Wednesday night as House Democrats sought ways to pay for health care legislation that President Barack Obama favors, several officials said. As discussed in the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, the surtax would apply to individuals with adjusted gross income of more than $200,000 and couples over $250,000, (since changed to $350,000) they added.” AP July 8, 2009
While there are plenty of discussions going on about the pros and cons of nationalized health care, I want to comment on this notion of taxing the wealthy.
Ever since his first day on the campaign, Obama has defined wealth using the same numbers cited above, usually in making the argument that he intended to take more money from them because “they really don’t need it”; and while I will not argue that someone making $200,000 per year is making a lot of money, I do not believe that it automatically defines them as wealthy.
Every year, Forbes magazine lists the 400 richest people in America, however they define wealth by net worth which is the value of everything that they own, minus their debt. By Forbes definition, Warren Buffett is wealthy with a net worth of $50 Billion, however in the latest information we have, Buffet’s annual salary in 2006 was only $100,000, placing him way below the standard set by Obama (I do want to point out here that Mr. Buffet is a big supporter of Obama and has helped him in numerous ways).
Further more, the latest public information about our elected officials shows that Speaker Pelosi has a net worth of about $62 Million, yet her congressional salary of $165,200 puts her way below the wealth standard as well. In fact, if you start looking at the net worth of all of our elected officials, you would see that the latest reports show a median net worth of $746,000. The Senate especially is truly a millionaires club with a median net worth of $1.7 million.
Said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, which conducted the latest study on congressional wealth:
"In the House of Representatives, Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., ranks No. 1, with $397 million, followed by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., with $343 million. Rep Robin Hayes, R-N.C., ranks third, with $173.4 million. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., ranks sixth, with $62 million.
"In the Senate, the two Democrats from Massachusetts claimed two of the top three spots.
"Sen. John Kerry led the pack, with $336 million, while Sen. Edward M. Kennedy ranked third, with $104 million. Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., ranked second, with $241.5 million”.
Senator Kohl is one of my Senators and in a recent exchange, said in no uncertain terms that there would be no need to include government employees and elected officials in the new Health Care system meaning that they were going to keep their current health care system, while forcing the rest of us into their newly created model.
So not only are they not going to participate in the program they’re quickly shoving down our throats, they also are making sure that they won’t be using their money to help fund it. So our taxes will be used to fund both.
If after this year, you still think that we have any semblance of a representative government of the people, then I have some carbon credits that I’d like to sell you. This new ruling class has positioned themselves to dictate just about every aspect of our lives from what we will drive, how much energy we will use, what kind of food we eat and how much of our money “we need” to keep, while exempting themselves from the life they demand that we lead.
In 1913, Woodrow Wilson started chipping away at the Constitution, in the 1930’s FDR took a sledgehammer to it and in 2009, this Government has brought in the steamroller. I can’t wait to hear the rationalization for all this!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
The Company we keep....
When the people of Iran stood up against an oppressive Government, President Obama chose “not to meddle” in another country’s affairs.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124520170103721579.html
That is fine. Iran is a very touchy situation and President Obama probably did not want to inflame the world on the eve of his historic speech on his plan to makeover US healthcare.
But something is deeply concerning when he joins Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro and Daniel Ortega in calling for reinstatement of a the President of Honduras who was removed from office by order the Honduran Supreme Court after trying to trample over the country’s Constitution and set himself up the same way that Chavez has.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090630/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_honduras_coup_39
The President went to so far to call the ouster a coup even though members of his own party were in favor of his removal after he refused to honor the country’s rule of law.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,529326,00.html
The constitution of Honduras limits the president to a single four-year term. Having been elected in 2006, Zelaya’s term was set to end in 2010. So Zelaya, embracing the spirit of his buddy and role model, Chávez, decided to try and get the rules changed. Zelaya’s plan was to amend the Honduran constitution, no doubt with an eye for becoming leader for life... or at least for a very long time.
Zelaya wanted a referendum to gage popular support for his plan. The Honduran Supreme Court resisted this, citing the constitutional ban on such votes within six months of an election. When the military refused to distribute ballots (as was the custom), Zelaya sacked the army chief and pressed ahead anyway. He used ballots shipped from Venezuela and had them passed out by supporters in open defiance of the Supreme Court.
On the surface of things, calling in the military looks extreme. "If holding a poll provokes a coup, the abduction of the president and expulsion from his country, then what kind of democracy are we living in?" Zelaya asked.
It’s a fair question. But it’s also true that Zelaya’s motives and methods were thuggish from the start... that he directly defied both the Honduran Supreme Court and Honduran constitutional law... and that his military arrest and removal is defensible under these grounds.
Why is it okay to not speak out against a tyrannical administration in Iran, but essential for him to stand shoulder to shoulder with leftist dictators to support a tyrannical thug in Latin America?
How many times can this man reveal himself and his ideology before Americans wake up and figure out who they put in the White House and what he really means by change?
Unfortunately, everything I predicted in my Wake up America series on U Tube is coming true. If our own government won’t defend freedom and liberty, then what is left?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124520170103721579.html
That is fine. Iran is a very touchy situation and President Obama probably did not want to inflame the world on the eve of his historic speech on his plan to makeover US healthcare.
But something is deeply concerning when he joins Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro and Daniel Ortega in calling for reinstatement of a the President of Honduras who was removed from office by order the Honduran Supreme Court after trying to trample over the country’s Constitution and set himself up the same way that Chavez has.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090630/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_honduras_coup_39
The President went to so far to call the ouster a coup even though members of his own party were in favor of his removal after he refused to honor the country’s rule of law.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,529326,00.html
The constitution of Honduras limits the president to a single four-year term. Having been elected in 2006, Zelaya’s term was set to end in 2010. So Zelaya, embracing the spirit of his buddy and role model, Chávez, decided to try and get the rules changed. Zelaya’s plan was to amend the Honduran constitution, no doubt with an eye for becoming leader for life... or at least for a very long time.
Zelaya wanted a referendum to gage popular support for his plan. The Honduran Supreme Court resisted this, citing the constitutional ban on such votes within six months of an election. When the military refused to distribute ballots (as was the custom), Zelaya sacked the army chief and pressed ahead anyway. He used ballots shipped from Venezuela and had them passed out by supporters in open defiance of the Supreme Court.
On the surface of things, calling in the military looks extreme. "If holding a poll provokes a coup, the abduction of the president and expulsion from his country, then what kind of democracy are we living in?" Zelaya asked.
It’s a fair question. But it’s also true that Zelaya’s motives and methods were thuggish from the start... that he directly defied both the Honduran Supreme Court and Honduran constitutional law... and that his military arrest and removal is defensible under these grounds.
Why is it okay to not speak out against a tyrannical administration in Iran, but essential for him to stand shoulder to shoulder with leftist dictators to support a tyrannical thug in Latin America?
How many times can this man reveal himself and his ideology before Americans wake up and figure out who they put in the White House and what he really means by change?
Unfortunately, everything I predicted in my Wake up America series on U Tube is coming true. If our own government won’t defend freedom and liberty, then what is left?
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Government-Mandated Poverty
From Byron King - Whiskey and Gunpowder
Ultimate control over our lives will come when they tax our breath. At what point will Americans stand up and say "PROVE IT!" to this whole Global Ice Age, I mean Warming, oh no,now it's Climate Change movement? It's all a lie and it's about to become the driving force behind the collapse of the United States.
Gold and the Cap-and-Trade Revolution
Last week, I spent a full day in a seminar on climate change. It was a totally sober and professional seminar, sponsored by a group that specializes in continuing legal education for attorneys. I heard talks by a variety of lawyers, academics and regulators, mostly about how “the train has left the station” on climate change and carbon regulation. And wow…has that train ever steamed out. But did you ever hear the conductor call, “All Aboard?”
This is a critical matter and here’s the takeaway point: We’re about to see an UTTER TRANSFORMATION of the U.S. economy.
Your life will be regulated — directly and surely indirectly — by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), mostly through its powers under the Clean Air Act (CAA). And the parts of your life not regulated by EPA will fall under the jurisdiction of your friendly state or provincial environmental authorities. Many of the policy details will be rounded out via litigation in state and federal courts, mostly initiated by the likes of the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations.
You should expect to see STRICT controls on carbon emissions, via taxes, regulation and outright bans on many energy-using systems. And since 40% of North America’s electricity comes from burning coal, you can plan on having less electric power and on paying much higher electric rates. The utility companies will just pay the fees and costs for cap and trade and pass the bill on to you in your monthly statement, for example.
But it goes beyond just the utility companies writing checks to the government. We’re talking about BIG money, from every nook and cranny of the economy. One panelist compared the amount of money in play with cap and trade to completely rewriting the U.S. tax code. “Just tear up the tax code. Abolish it. Pulverize it so it goes away completely,” he said. “Now, rewrite it to raise even MORE money than before, and do it by taxing energy usage.”
United States of Clean Air Act?
So the CAA — which came about in the early 1970s as a way of fighting smog — is now morphing into the new constitution for the U.S. Really, I’m not exaggerating. I know some of you think I overstate my points every now and then. But I’M NOT KIDDING!
We’re seeing a new “American Revolution.” Except the key players are not exactly Ben Franklin and George Washington and James Madison. In the name of fighting climate change, there is a new class of bureaucrats, regulators and judges who will control your life down to what time you plug in your coffeepot. And with “smart metering,” they’ll know if you leave your water heater on for too long. (“Well,” is the reply, “just get a solar heater for your roof.”)
One university professor who spoke at the seminar said that if the U.S. adopts a per capita approach to sustainable worldwide energy usage — a serious proposal that’s in front of several powerful international bodies — we’ll have to reduce carbon-based energy demand in the U.S. by 97%. Basically, if that happens, the environmental true believers will take the U.S. back to an energy state that existed in the 1850s. No typo. The 1850s.
Heck, the energy future of the U.S. might make the scenes in James Kunstler’s 2008 book World Made By Hand look like a day at the beach.
So you can see why I’m saying you should accumulate gold and silver. And while you’re at it, own those geothermal power producers. They’ll be the gold mines of the future.
The “Axis of Overspending,” Inflation and the Rush to Precious Metals
Why am I banging the drum so hard for precious metals? Well, you must know the drill by now. Government spending is out of control. We have a big-spending Congress in Washington that can’t say no to anything (except the token defense cut, or taking away school vouchers from inner-city kids in the District of Columbia). It’s been going on for way too many years, under both previous and current party management.
Everybody who’s anybody in this country, it seems, gets a permanent, pet government program, if not a large bailout. (Huh? You didn’t get your program or bailout?) How long can it last? I think we’re about to find out.
As Bernie Madoff might say, “Bailout, schmailout.” Still, the axis of overspending leads to inflation. It’s the 1970s redux. And inflation will soon rear its head and roar so loud that even the wizards of Washington will have to admit the obvious.
Washington Is Awakening! But Clueless!
Actually, our betters in Washington are waking up to the issue of inflation and the decline of the dollar. Just yesterday, I received an inquiry asking if I want to appear on a nationally syndicated show that originates from Washington, D.C. (well, Alexandria, Va., to be exact). The audience is Washington people — you know the type — and their intellectual and spiritual kin in “blue spots” across the country.
Here’s the exact inquiry:
“We’re doing a story on hoarding behavior and I am looking for people who have taken some (or all) of their savings out of traditional investments and are now storing money as cash or in the form of physical gold or some other precious metal in a safe or secret place. I am having trouble finding anyone like this. Do any of you know of someone who fits this description, who might be willing to talk to me about it? I am looking for someone in Boston; Washington, D.C.; New York; or maybe Chicago. If anyone has any leads, please let me know!”
Oh, man! That’s rich! Verbatim! Honest to God, I have not edited this inquiry by EVEN ONE WORD! These people are clueless!
The producer wants to interview gold bugs for the show. In an anthropological fashion that would do Margaret Mead proud, the subject of the story is “hoarding behavior.” But the poor producer says, “I am having trouble finding anyone like this.”
(Like looking for a registered Republican at the Harvard Faculty Club?) And how about that request to find somebody in Boston, Washington, New York or Chicago? If you’re from, say, the silver mining town of Wallace, Idaho, you need not apply.
Here was my reply: “People who’ve taken their savings out to buy gold and store it or hide it probably don't want to brag about it on NPR.”
“Houston, We Have a Problem”
Remember that line from the movie Apollo 13? “Houston, we have a problem.”
Wow. Do we have a problem in this country, or WHAT? It’s WORSE than Apollo 13. We should be so lucky as to be in a small capsule in the cold of space heading away from Earth toward the moon with almost no oxygen or electrical power. Instead, we’re watching the national currency declining and dying right before our eyes. And the opinion makers of the nation don’t know anybody who owns gold. Amazing!
Meanwhile, Over in Dubai…
Well, the producer could always go find somebody in Dubai. Because from that distant desert kingdom comes word that the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) has finished building a state-of-the-art precious metals vault, with world-class tracking and security systems. Think Fort Knox, but in the desert and without the trees and pretty landscaping we see in the hills of Kentucky.
You want “hoarding behavior”? The new vault will become the home for the exchange-traded fund (ETF) of Dubai Gold Securities. Also, “It’s a natural home for the central banks in the region to store their gold in Dubai, rather than in London, where they have typically held their gold,” said a Dubai-based gold dealer INTL Commodities DMCC’s CEO Jeffrey Rhodes. Yep. “Natural home.” (Margaret Mead, call your office!)
A DMCC official stated that the new vault will be used to store precious metals associated with precious metal-based ETFs that are on the drawing boards and scheduled for launch later in 2009. This can only add to worldwide demand for gold and silver, especially from the traditionally gold-friendly Middle East.
Here’s the Bottom Line…
OK, so here’s the bottom line. When the American people realize that the dollar is in for another round of inflation, they’re going to look for a way out. When people envision the future decline in their purchasing power, we’ll see a rush for the monetary exits. It’ll be the “Gold Panic” of 2009, or 2010 or 2011… Whichever year gets the naming rights.
When the reality sinks in, people will flock in droves to physical precious metals (yeah, try to get some!), as well as mining shares. I’m old enough to remember the last time it happened, in the 1970s and early 1980s. And I’ve studied enough history to know it won’t be pretty.
So beat the gold rush! Hoard now!
Until we meet again,
Byron King
Feel free to send your comments to gary@whiskeyandgunpowder.com.
Ultimate control over our lives will come when they tax our breath. At what point will Americans stand up and say "PROVE IT!" to this whole Global Ice Age, I mean Warming, oh no,now it's Climate Change movement? It's all a lie and it's about to become the driving force behind the collapse of the United States.
Gold and the Cap-and-Trade Revolution
Last week, I spent a full day in a seminar on climate change. It was a totally sober and professional seminar, sponsored by a group that specializes in continuing legal education for attorneys. I heard talks by a variety of lawyers, academics and regulators, mostly about how “the train has left the station” on climate change and carbon regulation. And wow…has that train ever steamed out. But did you ever hear the conductor call, “All Aboard?”
This is a critical matter and here’s the takeaway point: We’re about to see an UTTER TRANSFORMATION of the U.S. economy.
Your life will be regulated — directly and surely indirectly — by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), mostly through its powers under the Clean Air Act (CAA). And the parts of your life not regulated by EPA will fall under the jurisdiction of your friendly state or provincial environmental authorities. Many of the policy details will be rounded out via litigation in state and federal courts, mostly initiated by the likes of the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations.
You should expect to see STRICT controls on carbon emissions, via taxes, regulation and outright bans on many energy-using systems. And since 40% of North America’s electricity comes from burning coal, you can plan on having less electric power and on paying much higher electric rates. The utility companies will just pay the fees and costs for cap and trade and pass the bill on to you in your monthly statement, for example.
But it goes beyond just the utility companies writing checks to the government. We’re talking about BIG money, from every nook and cranny of the economy. One panelist compared the amount of money in play with cap and trade to completely rewriting the U.S. tax code. “Just tear up the tax code. Abolish it. Pulverize it so it goes away completely,” he said. “Now, rewrite it to raise even MORE money than before, and do it by taxing energy usage.”
United States of Clean Air Act?
So the CAA — which came about in the early 1970s as a way of fighting smog — is now morphing into the new constitution for the U.S. Really, I’m not exaggerating. I know some of you think I overstate my points every now and then. But I’M NOT KIDDING!
We’re seeing a new “American Revolution.” Except the key players are not exactly Ben Franklin and George Washington and James Madison. In the name of fighting climate change, there is a new class of bureaucrats, regulators and judges who will control your life down to what time you plug in your coffeepot. And with “smart metering,” they’ll know if you leave your water heater on for too long. (“Well,” is the reply, “just get a solar heater for your roof.”)
One university professor who spoke at the seminar said that if the U.S. adopts a per capita approach to sustainable worldwide energy usage — a serious proposal that’s in front of several powerful international bodies — we’ll have to reduce carbon-based energy demand in the U.S. by 97%. Basically, if that happens, the environmental true believers will take the U.S. back to an energy state that existed in the 1850s. No typo. The 1850s.
Heck, the energy future of the U.S. might make the scenes in James Kunstler’s 2008 book World Made By Hand look like a day at the beach.
So you can see why I’m saying you should accumulate gold and silver. And while you’re at it, own those geothermal power producers. They’ll be the gold mines of the future.
The “Axis of Overspending,” Inflation and the Rush to Precious Metals
Why am I banging the drum so hard for precious metals? Well, you must know the drill by now. Government spending is out of control. We have a big-spending Congress in Washington that can’t say no to anything (except the token defense cut, or taking away school vouchers from inner-city kids in the District of Columbia). It’s been going on for way too many years, under both previous and current party management.
Everybody who’s anybody in this country, it seems, gets a permanent, pet government program, if not a large bailout. (Huh? You didn’t get your program or bailout?) How long can it last? I think we’re about to find out.
As Bernie Madoff might say, “Bailout, schmailout.” Still, the axis of overspending leads to inflation. It’s the 1970s redux. And inflation will soon rear its head and roar so loud that even the wizards of Washington will have to admit the obvious.
Washington Is Awakening! But Clueless!
Actually, our betters in Washington are waking up to the issue of inflation and the decline of the dollar. Just yesterday, I received an inquiry asking if I want to appear on a nationally syndicated show that originates from Washington, D.C. (well, Alexandria, Va., to be exact). The audience is Washington people — you know the type — and their intellectual and spiritual kin in “blue spots” across the country.
Here’s the exact inquiry:
“We’re doing a story on hoarding behavior and I am looking for people who have taken some (or all) of their savings out of traditional investments and are now storing money as cash or in the form of physical gold or some other precious metal in a safe or secret place. I am having trouble finding anyone like this. Do any of you know of someone who fits this description, who might be willing to talk to me about it? I am looking for someone in Boston; Washington, D.C.; New York; or maybe Chicago. If anyone has any leads, please let me know!”
Oh, man! That’s rich! Verbatim! Honest to God, I have not edited this inquiry by EVEN ONE WORD! These people are clueless!
The producer wants to interview gold bugs for the show. In an anthropological fashion that would do Margaret Mead proud, the subject of the story is “hoarding behavior.” But the poor producer says, “I am having trouble finding anyone like this.”
(Like looking for a registered Republican at the Harvard Faculty Club?) And how about that request to find somebody in Boston, Washington, New York or Chicago? If you’re from, say, the silver mining town of Wallace, Idaho, you need not apply.
Here was my reply: “People who’ve taken their savings out to buy gold and store it or hide it probably don't want to brag about it on NPR.”
“Houston, We Have a Problem”
Remember that line from the movie Apollo 13? “Houston, we have a problem.”
Wow. Do we have a problem in this country, or WHAT? It’s WORSE than Apollo 13. We should be so lucky as to be in a small capsule in the cold of space heading away from Earth toward the moon with almost no oxygen or electrical power. Instead, we’re watching the national currency declining and dying right before our eyes. And the opinion makers of the nation don’t know anybody who owns gold. Amazing!
Meanwhile, Over in Dubai…
Well, the producer could always go find somebody in Dubai. Because from that distant desert kingdom comes word that the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) has finished building a state-of-the-art precious metals vault, with world-class tracking and security systems. Think Fort Knox, but in the desert and without the trees and pretty landscaping we see in the hills of Kentucky.
You want “hoarding behavior”? The new vault will become the home for the exchange-traded fund (ETF) of Dubai Gold Securities. Also, “It’s a natural home for the central banks in the region to store their gold in Dubai, rather than in London, where they have typically held their gold,” said a Dubai-based gold dealer INTL Commodities DMCC’s CEO Jeffrey Rhodes. Yep. “Natural home.” (Margaret Mead, call your office!)
A DMCC official stated that the new vault will be used to store precious metals associated with precious metal-based ETFs that are on the drawing boards and scheduled for launch later in 2009. This can only add to worldwide demand for gold and silver, especially from the traditionally gold-friendly Middle East.
Here’s the Bottom Line…
OK, so here’s the bottom line. When the American people realize that the dollar is in for another round of inflation, they’re going to look for a way out. When people envision the future decline in their purchasing power, we’ll see a rush for the monetary exits. It’ll be the “Gold Panic” of 2009, or 2010 or 2011… Whichever year gets the naming rights.
When the reality sinks in, people will flock in droves to physical precious metals (yeah, try to get some!), as well as mining shares. I’m old enough to remember the last time it happened, in the 1970s and early 1980s. And I’ve studied enough history to know it won’t be pretty.
So beat the gold rush! Hoard now!
Until we meet again,
Byron King
Feel free to send your comments to gary@whiskeyandgunpowder.com.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Can You Find the Stimulus?
Here is a list of the spending package just passed by House Democrats in the name of "stimulus". Keep in mind that this "stimulus" package is intended to supplement the current $3 Trillion budget in order to "jump start" the economic recovery.
So here's the game, go down the list and identify which of the spending items will actually stimulate any economic growth:
So what is in the bill? Umm… what isn’t?
- $275 billion in tax reductions, much of which would be dolled out in the form of tax credits.
- $140 billion to the Education Dept.
- $87 billion to Medicaid.
- $43 billion to increase unemployment benefits.
- Another $43 billion will head over to the Dept. of Energy
- $40 billion for states to do as they please
- $20 billion to food stamp programs
- $30 billion for highway construction.
- Tens of billions more to water infrastructure, parks, housing projects and “military construction.”
- Billions more for sexually transmitted disease prevention, broadband Internet access in rural areas, community-oriented policing services and VA cemetery repair.
True, we haven’t yet arrived at the “toy wooden arrows” level, but the Senate has yet to lay its greasy hands on this bill. Look for them to vote on the matter as early as next week.
Even before the Senate mucks with it, the bill passed by the House yesterday will already cost American taxpayers more than $1.2 trillion, the Congressional Budget Office estimates. Why? Because the government doesn’t have any money!
They’ll have to borrow to fund the plan, and interest payments alone will likely exceed $347 billion by the time it’s paid back.
So here's the game, go down the list and identify which of the spending items will actually stimulate any economic growth:
So what is in the bill? Umm… what isn’t?
- $275 billion in tax reductions, much of which would be dolled out in the form of tax credits.
- $140 billion to the Education Dept.
- $87 billion to Medicaid.
- $43 billion to increase unemployment benefits.
- Another $43 billion will head over to the Dept. of Energy
- $40 billion for states to do as they please
- $20 billion to food stamp programs
- $30 billion for highway construction.
- Tens of billions more to water infrastructure, parks, housing projects and “military construction.”
- Billions more for sexually transmitted disease prevention, broadband Internet access in rural areas, community-oriented policing services and VA cemetery repair.
True, we haven’t yet arrived at the “toy wooden arrows” level, but the Senate has yet to lay its greasy hands on this bill. Look for them to vote on the matter as early as next week.
Even before the Senate mucks with it, the bill passed by the House yesterday will already cost American taxpayers more than $1.2 trillion, the Congressional Budget Office estimates. Why? Because the government doesn’t have any money!
They’ll have to borrow to fund the plan, and interest payments alone will likely exceed $347 billion by the time it’s paid back.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
What the Republicans "Really" Need to do
Okay, the election is over and we can all hunker down and try to brace ourselves for the wave of Socialist "Change" that we all "need" so badly. Having lived through the Carter and Clinton Administrations, here is what will happen:
The economy won't recover any time soon, this will lead to a more balanced Congress in 2010. But in the meantime, the Democrats won't waste any time:
- Blocking any and all future efforts to drill our own oil on or off shore
- Nationalizing Abortion on Demand up to and including a near full term infant
- Raising taxes at least on those in the top two rates (since they have more money than they need and it won't hurt them in the downturn.
- Creating "Unionization by Decree", allowing any company to be unionized by having employees sign a 3X5 cards while being "encouraged" by outside organizers who will have government-permission to enter your premises whenever they want.
- Blocking any and all current and future efforts to produce more electricity from anything other than solar and wind
- Taxing coal and natural gas electric plants to "fight global Warming" and thereby raising electric rates sky high
- Filling the federal courts with leftwing judges who will ensure that the above policies are enforced through the legal system
- Start us down the path of Nationalized Healthcare
Just like we have seen, this type of "revolution" is hard to undo since having a filibuster-proof majority in Congress is a rare occurrence and even when you have a solid majority, Republicans tend to get timid.
The problem gets even tougher when so many Republican leaders want to take the party further into liberalism in the twisted idea that if they look more like Democrats, they'll win more votes. They claim that the party has to become more "inclusive", they need to reach out to specific groups including minorities, gays, soccer moms, illegal immigrants, Wal-Mart shoppers, etc. They claim that we need to get on board the global warming train even though the facts show that it is a myth.
This idea is nonsense. Just a quick look at the last two elections will show how ridiculous this idea would be. By the time his 8 years in office are done, George W Bush will leave the White House with one of the lowest approval ratings in history. His brand of liberalism, hidden behind the title of "Compassionate Conservatism", has put the country in the depths of a very severe downturn, allowing the first Socialist president in history to get elected with a strong majority in the Congress. After the Republicans gained a greater majority in 2004, they failed to make the current tax rates permanent and increased spending to levels that would make the most liberal Democrat proud. So how'd they do in the 2006 election? The real conservatives stayed home and given the choice between liberal Republicans and left-wing Democrats, liberals chose Democrats.
This year, with the help of "open primaries" where Democrats were allowed to cross over and vote, the Republicans chose the most liberal, "Democrat-lite" candidate they've ever had. The only reason that the election was so close was that people like me voted against Obama, a McCain Presidency just scared me less.
If you actually look at the results, you will see that in most cases, it was the more conservative Republican Candidates, who actually "saved their seats".
So the idea of becoming more liberal, will doom the party to second class status for decades. So how does the Republican Party, win back the love of the Country? Here is my suggestion.
#1, Drop the term "conservative". Thanks to the main-stream media, the term has morphed into so many different definitions that can be attacked from so many angles, that it no longer is a concept that Americans can rally around.
#2, Replace the conservative with Constitution. If you become the "Party of the Constitution", you eliminate many objections and attacks (who can attack the Constitution convincingly) as well as create a clear, definable difference with Democrat policies. You become the party that defends Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of individual achievement and prosperity. You become the all-inclusive party because you believe that "All are Created Equal". You become the party of small federal government, by encouraging the Concept of States' Rights, pushing government costs as close to the end user as possible and not blocking the right of any state to grow there economy because some special interest group in a state across the country opposes it.
#3, Start the education process now. Republicans need an organized effort at the grass root level. Recruit teachers, professors and local government candidates to start espousing the virtues of the Constitution. Recruit "Constitutional Activists", and like-minded lawyers to start going after local governments that always threaten loss of essential services like police and fire fighters when faced with a tax revolt as well as school boards who always look to cut sports and valuable education services when a millage vote is on the ballot. Find candidates that preach the message that government works for the people and not the other way around. Point out the absurdity that anyone should have to take these threats from an elected official.
The future of the country is at stake, one only needs to look at Western Europe to see how bad things can get under institutionalized socialism. Trying to out-liberal a socialist to try to win votes is a ridiculous notion, conservatives will walk away and liberals will always vote Democrat. It is only through embracing the Constitution and articulating the benefits for all in a way that the average voter can understand, will we finally get this country on the track that made it the envy of the world for so many years.
The economy won't recover any time soon, this will lead to a more balanced Congress in 2010. But in the meantime, the Democrats won't waste any time:
- Blocking any and all future efforts to drill our own oil on or off shore
- Nationalizing Abortion on Demand up to and including a near full term infant
- Raising taxes at least on those in the top two rates (since they have more money than they need and it won't hurt them in the downturn.
- Creating "Unionization by Decree", allowing any company to be unionized by having employees sign a 3X5 cards while being "encouraged" by outside organizers who will have government-permission to enter your premises whenever they want.
- Blocking any and all current and future efforts to produce more electricity from anything other than solar and wind
- Taxing coal and natural gas electric plants to "fight global Warming" and thereby raising electric rates sky high
- Filling the federal courts with leftwing judges who will ensure that the above policies are enforced through the legal system
- Start us down the path of Nationalized Healthcare
Just like we have seen, this type of "revolution" is hard to undo since having a filibuster-proof majority in Congress is a rare occurrence and even when you have a solid majority, Republicans tend to get timid.
The problem gets even tougher when so many Republican leaders want to take the party further into liberalism in the twisted idea that if they look more like Democrats, they'll win more votes. They claim that the party has to become more "inclusive", they need to reach out to specific groups including minorities, gays, soccer moms, illegal immigrants, Wal-Mart shoppers, etc. They claim that we need to get on board the global warming train even though the facts show that it is a myth.
This idea is nonsense. Just a quick look at the last two elections will show how ridiculous this idea would be. By the time his 8 years in office are done, George W Bush will leave the White House with one of the lowest approval ratings in history. His brand of liberalism, hidden behind the title of "Compassionate Conservatism", has put the country in the depths of a very severe downturn, allowing the first Socialist president in history to get elected with a strong majority in the Congress. After the Republicans gained a greater majority in 2004, they failed to make the current tax rates permanent and increased spending to levels that would make the most liberal Democrat proud. So how'd they do in the 2006 election? The real conservatives stayed home and given the choice between liberal Republicans and left-wing Democrats, liberals chose Democrats.
This year, with the help of "open primaries" where Democrats were allowed to cross over and vote, the Republicans chose the most liberal, "Democrat-lite" candidate they've ever had. The only reason that the election was so close was that people like me voted against Obama, a McCain Presidency just scared me less.
If you actually look at the results, you will see that in most cases, it was the more conservative Republican Candidates, who actually "saved their seats".
So the idea of becoming more liberal, will doom the party to second class status for decades. So how does the Republican Party, win back the love of the Country? Here is my suggestion.
#1, Drop the term "conservative". Thanks to the main-stream media, the term has morphed into so many different definitions that can be attacked from so many angles, that it no longer is a concept that Americans can rally around.
#2, Replace the conservative with Constitution. If you become the "Party of the Constitution", you eliminate many objections and attacks (who can attack the Constitution convincingly) as well as create a clear, definable difference with Democrat policies. You become the party that defends Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of individual achievement and prosperity. You become the all-inclusive party because you believe that "All are Created Equal". You become the party of small federal government, by encouraging the Concept of States' Rights, pushing government costs as close to the end user as possible and not blocking the right of any state to grow there economy because some special interest group in a state across the country opposes it.
#3, Start the education process now. Republicans need an organized effort at the grass root level. Recruit teachers, professors and local government candidates to start espousing the virtues of the Constitution. Recruit "Constitutional Activists", and like-minded lawyers to start going after local governments that always threaten loss of essential services like police and fire fighters when faced with a tax revolt as well as school boards who always look to cut sports and valuable education services when a millage vote is on the ballot. Find candidates that preach the message that government works for the people and not the other way around. Point out the absurdity that anyone should have to take these threats from an elected official.
The future of the country is at stake, one only needs to look at Western Europe to see how bad things can get under institutionalized socialism. Trying to out-liberal a socialist to try to win votes is a ridiculous notion, conservatives will walk away and liberals will always vote Democrat. It is only through embracing the Constitution and articulating the benefits for all in a way that the average voter can understand, will we finally get this country on the track that made it the envy of the world for so many years.
The “Bailout Clause” of the U.S. Constitution
From:
Whiskey & Gunpowder
November 19, 2008
By Byron W. King
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
I was looking through my pocket-copy of the U.S. Constitution for the “Bailout Clause.” I must have missed it. If any readers out there can find the Bailout Clause, please send me a note and let me know where it is.
There is, however, a “Bankruptcy Clause” in the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 4). I’ve written before about bankruptcy in Whiskey & Gunpowder. See “National Bankruptcy,” and “A Suggestion of Bankruptcy,” Part I and Part II.
The key point is that the framers of the U.S. Constitution specifically anticipated that the nation would encounter economic troubles from time to time. So they gave Congress the power to enact bankruptcy laws, as opposed to “bailout” laws. And throughout U.S. history, the various economic “Panics” — which occurred every couple of decades — always led to one direction or another in the evolution of state and federal bankruptcy laws. Hey, bankruptcy works. (Full disclosure — I used to practice bankruptcy law.)
At some times in U.S. history, the bankruptcy laws favored the creditor class. During other times, the bankruptcy laws favored debtors. The point is that the economic hardships were eventually manifested in bankruptcy proceedings.
Just as all rivers flow to the sea, bad debt must find its way to discharge. So bankruptcy court was where judges and attorneys and other financial experts (like accountants and actuaries) could deal with each case on the merits. The problems could come to some sort of resolution. Some people came out OK. Other people lost everything. But capital flowed from weak hands to strong hands, and the economy moved along.
Why Not Bankruptcy Process?
But not today. Indeed, according to the New York Times many law firms — including firms that focus on bankruptcy work — are actually scaling back and laying off staff. Why is that? Why are the politicians so eager to avoid seeing companies go into bankruptcy? The government is trying to solve the problems of gargantuan levels of debt — along with chronic insolvency and illiquidity within the economy — without resorting to the constitutional-based legal mechanisms and tools that have served the nation well for over 200 years.
Consider the problems of derivatives. Few understand them. Many so-called derivative “contracts” are little more than mathematical formulae based on a series of futuristic occurrences that are entirely speculative. Their initial value in the best of times was entirely somebody’s guess. So is it any surprise that it is all but impossible to place a value on such things during the throes of a recession? Yet derivatives are some of the “troubled assets” that the Treasury is attempting to bail out. This is ridiculous!
Why is the Treasury allowing even one dollar of taxpayer money to get near a derivative? Why not use the bankruptcy process in this kind of situation? The companies that hold unsalable derivatives should have to go into a Chapter 11 proceeding and let a bankruptcy court sort it out. If the derivatives have value, let someone say so — under oath — in front of a federal judge. If the derivatives are worthless, let the judges do what we pay them to do — void the instruments and allocate the losses.
Sure, bankruptcy cases take time to roll through the courts. But could Chapter 11 bankruptcy be any worse than the current drip-drip-drip, hemorrhage of funds into the black hole of the likes of AIG? And at least some bankruptcy judge might just put a stop to the AIG exploits of taking nice vacations to exotic resort locales.
Or what about the U.S. automobile industry? Now the domestic carmakers want some of that TARP money too. Or else what? They’ll have to file for Chapter 11? Yeah? And then?
Well on the day that the automakers file for bankruptcy, the automobile factories will still be there. The patents and designs aren’t going anywhere. The workers and design teams will stick around for a while — it’s not like there are a whole lot of other jobs out there, except maybe raking leaves in leafy suburbs.
It seems to me that General Motors, Ford or Chrysler — without the legacy costs of pensions and health care and featherbed contracts for non-working union members — would actually be a decent investment for a Debtor-in-Possession (DIP) form of financing. Any DIP-lender worth its salt would certainly go into the management suites to take names, kick ass and get rid of the deadwood. And over the long term, if U.S. automakers actually paid more for steel than they have to pay for retiree health care, then we might actually see a revival of that industry.
Meanwhile, We’re Losing Time
Meanwhile, we are losing time. “Ask me for anything,” said Napoleon to his lieutenant. “Anything but time.”
What Napoleon was saying to his subordinate was that in the context of war, there are always setbacks. Terrain, for example, is sometimes captured and lost to the enemy. But lost terrain can be regained. And troops are lost in combat, but the armed forces can be rebuilt and reconstituted from the strategic reserve. Lost time, however? Once it has passed, time is gone forever. You will never get it back, and no general — however great — can win it back on any field of battle.
It is the same thing with the declining U.S. and world economy. The world’s central bankers and treasury ministers dither, and squander capital into bottomless pits of a deflationary recession.
But the great villain in all of this is debt, pure and simple. And much debt is just a collection of bizarre debt instruments, exotic forms of speculative contracts, and obligations so massive that they will never be repaid. So why prolong the agony? Liquidate it now. Let the bankruptcy courts do what the framers intended.
Whiskey & Gunpowder
November 19, 2008
By Byron W. King
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
I was looking through my pocket-copy of the U.S. Constitution for the “Bailout Clause.” I must have missed it. If any readers out there can find the Bailout Clause, please send me a note and let me know where it is.
There is, however, a “Bankruptcy Clause” in the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 4). I’ve written before about bankruptcy in Whiskey & Gunpowder. See “National Bankruptcy,” and “A Suggestion of Bankruptcy,” Part I and Part II.
The key point is that the framers of the U.S. Constitution specifically anticipated that the nation would encounter economic troubles from time to time. So they gave Congress the power to enact bankruptcy laws, as opposed to “bailout” laws. And throughout U.S. history, the various economic “Panics” — which occurred every couple of decades — always led to one direction or another in the evolution of state and federal bankruptcy laws. Hey, bankruptcy works. (Full disclosure — I used to practice bankruptcy law.)
At some times in U.S. history, the bankruptcy laws favored the creditor class. During other times, the bankruptcy laws favored debtors. The point is that the economic hardships were eventually manifested in bankruptcy proceedings.
Just as all rivers flow to the sea, bad debt must find its way to discharge. So bankruptcy court was where judges and attorneys and other financial experts (like accountants and actuaries) could deal with each case on the merits. The problems could come to some sort of resolution. Some people came out OK. Other people lost everything. But capital flowed from weak hands to strong hands, and the economy moved along.
Why Not Bankruptcy Process?
But not today. Indeed, according to the New York Times many law firms — including firms that focus on bankruptcy work — are actually scaling back and laying off staff. Why is that? Why are the politicians so eager to avoid seeing companies go into bankruptcy? The government is trying to solve the problems of gargantuan levels of debt — along with chronic insolvency and illiquidity within the economy — without resorting to the constitutional-based legal mechanisms and tools that have served the nation well for over 200 years.
Consider the problems of derivatives. Few understand them. Many so-called derivative “contracts” are little more than mathematical formulae based on a series of futuristic occurrences that are entirely speculative. Their initial value in the best of times was entirely somebody’s guess. So is it any surprise that it is all but impossible to place a value on such things during the throes of a recession? Yet derivatives are some of the “troubled assets” that the Treasury is attempting to bail out. This is ridiculous!
Why is the Treasury allowing even one dollar of taxpayer money to get near a derivative? Why not use the bankruptcy process in this kind of situation? The companies that hold unsalable derivatives should have to go into a Chapter 11 proceeding and let a bankruptcy court sort it out. If the derivatives have value, let someone say so — under oath — in front of a federal judge. If the derivatives are worthless, let the judges do what we pay them to do — void the instruments and allocate the losses.
Sure, bankruptcy cases take time to roll through the courts. But could Chapter 11 bankruptcy be any worse than the current drip-drip-drip, hemorrhage of funds into the black hole of the likes of AIG? And at least some bankruptcy judge might just put a stop to the AIG exploits of taking nice vacations to exotic resort locales.
Or what about the U.S. automobile industry? Now the domestic carmakers want some of that TARP money too. Or else what? They’ll have to file for Chapter 11? Yeah? And then?
Well on the day that the automakers file for bankruptcy, the automobile factories will still be there. The patents and designs aren’t going anywhere. The workers and design teams will stick around for a while — it’s not like there are a whole lot of other jobs out there, except maybe raking leaves in leafy suburbs.
It seems to me that General Motors, Ford or Chrysler — without the legacy costs of pensions and health care and featherbed contracts for non-working union members — would actually be a decent investment for a Debtor-in-Possession (DIP) form of financing. Any DIP-lender worth its salt would certainly go into the management suites to take names, kick ass and get rid of the deadwood. And over the long term, if U.S. automakers actually paid more for steel than they have to pay for retiree health care, then we might actually see a revival of that industry.
Meanwhile, We’re Losing Time
Meanwhile, we are losing time. “Ask me for anything,” said Napoleon to his lieutenant. “Anything but time.”
What Napoleon was saying to his subordinate was that in the context of war, there are always setbacks. Terrain, for example, is sometimes captured and lost to the enemy. But lost terrain can be regained. And troops are lost in combat, but the armed forces can be rebuilt and reconstituted from the strategic reserve. Lost time, however? Once it has passed, time is gone forever. You will never get it back, and no general — however great — can win it back on any field of battle.
It is the same thing with the declining U.S. and world economy. The world’s central bankers and treasury ministers dither, and squander capital into bottomless pits of a deflationary recession.
But the great villain in all of this is debt, pure and simple. And much debt is just a collection of bizarre debt instruments, exotic forms of speculative contracts, and obligations so massive that they will never be repaid. So why prolong the agony? Liquidate it now. Let the bankruptcy courts do what the framers intended.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
OK, Now I think You're Stupid........
The "Taker's" are now in charge and the "Maker's" are now the target. They have no interest in learning how to fish, they want your fish, and the government will now ensure that you give them your fish....or else!
In 2005, Hermann Cain wrote the book "They Think You're Stupid: Why Democrats Lost Your Vote and What Republicans Must Do to Keep It" (the Republicans didn't listen)and after the 2006 elections, I wrote a blog arguing that maybe they are right.
Agreed, the Republican party spent the previous 6 years lurching toward "liberalism light", but the idea that putting sworn enemies of American business and industry like Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank in charge of the Congress still made no sense.
The financial meltdown that occurred this year, is a direct result of the policies instituted by liberals and protected by the Democrat-led Congress.
So what did we do? We elected more of them!
With the majorities they now have in the Congress and the election of Obama as President, the most left-wing, America-hating politicians in the country will be able to do whatever they want to us.
And speaking of Obama, here's what I wonder.....
If you voted for him, who did you vote for?
Did you vote for the clean, articulate, "white-sounding", Presidential-looking candidate; or did you vote for.....
The man who admits in his book that he created his circle of friends with the most radical and marxist student activists and Professors he could find?
The man who lied about his tax cut policy which is nothing more than a welfare payment? No where in his plan does he cut tax rates...for anyone and in 2010, all rates go UP to the Clinton administration rates, doubling the tax on the middle class he professes to want to help.
The man who prevented an Illinois vote that would have protected infants who survive abortion procedures?
The man who opposes drilling for our own energy supplies?
The man who wants every business in America unionized....can anybody say "Hello GM!"?
The man who admitted in an interview that energy prices, including energy for home heating and cooling would sky-rocket after he implements his "Cap and Trade" policy to save us from a Climate Change scientific theory that has more holes blown in it every day?
The man who never held a real job, failed in his endeavor to improve even a small portion of the Chicago school system and spent 145 days in Washington DC doing nothing but preparing for a presidential run?
If imagery is the recipe for political success, then the republic is doomed. Do the math, how many of us can afford to take care of our own family's needs AND take care of the needs of our neighbor's? It doesn't work, it hasn't worked anywhere it's been tried and yet, here we go.........
and there's nothing we can do for at least 2 years.
In 2005, Hermann Cain wrote the book "They Think You're Stupid: Why Democrats Lost Your Vote and What Republicans Must Do to Keep It" (the Republicans didn't listen)and after the 2006 elections, I wrote a blog arguing that maybe they are right.
Agreed, the Republican party spent the previous 6 years lurching toward "liberalism light", but the idea that putting sworn enemies of American business and industry like Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank in charge of the Congress still made no sense.
The financial meltdown that occurred this year, is a direct result of the policies instituted by liberals and protected by the Democrat-led Congress.
So what did we do? We elected more of them!
With the majorities they now have in the Congress and the election of Obama as President, the most left-wing, America-hating politicians in the country will be able to do whatever they want to us.
And speaking of Obama, here's what I wonder.....
If you voted for him, who did you vote for?
Did you vote for the clean, articulate, "white-sounding", Presidential-looking candidate; or did you vote for.....
The man who admits in his book that he created his circle of friends with the most radical and marxist student activists and Professors he could find?
The man who lied about his tax cut policy which is nothing more than a welfare payment? No where in his plan does he cut tax rates...for anyone and in 2010, all rates go UP to the Clinton administration rates, doubling the tax on the middle class he professes to want to help.
The man who prevented an Illinois vote that would have protected infants who survive abortion procedures?
The man who opposes drilling for our own energy supplies?
The man who wants every business in America unionized....can anybody say "Hello GM!"?
The man who admitted in an interview that energy prices, including energy for home heating and cooling would sky-rocket after he implements his "Cap and Trade" policy to save us from a Climate Change scientific theory that has more holes blown in it every day?
The man who never held a real job, failed in his endeavor to improve even a small portion of the Chicago school system and spent 145 days in Washington DC doing nothing but preparing for a presidential run?
If imagery is the recipe for political success, then the republic is doomed. Do the math, how many of us can afford to take care of our own family's needs AND take care of the needs of our neighbor's? It doesn't work, it hasn't worked anywhere it's been tried and yet, here we go.........
and there's nothing we can do for at least 2 years.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Wake Up America! There is no Obama Tax Cut Coming Your Way
I painfully went through the details of the Obama Tax Plan, what I found in the document is very different than what he's been saying, starting with the fact that the top 5% of all income earners start at $166,000, not $250,000 (all tax rates listed and statistics were found at WWW.IRS.Gov).
Bottom line, families making $64,000 (the middle class?) will see there tax rate double after Obama lets the 2003 "Tax Cuts for the Wealthy" expire.
I did my best to make the numbers clear, but I suggest you check for yourself if it really matters.
Bottom line, families making $64,000 (the middle class?) will see there tax rate double after Obama lets the 2003 "Tax Cuts for the Wealthy" expire.
I did my best to make the numbers clear, but I suggest you check for yourself if it really matters.
Wake Up America! Why the Supreme Court Matters
The Constitution is the only thing that is keeping our Republic from falling into a Democratic Dictatorship. It has been attacked by the Big-Government Elitists since the days of President John Madison.
How have liberals managed to work around the Constitution and it's framework of limited government? By using the courts.......
How have liberals managed to work around the Constitution and it's framework of limited government? By using the courts.......
Wake Up America! Actions Speak Louder Than Words
Lately Obama has played the "I'm Offended" card at being called a Socialist. The Links below give us enough evidence to question his reaction.
If one wants to rule as a socialist, why not just be honest about who you are and what you want to do so that the people can decide if they want it?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RZVw3no2A4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ohp5IX3y098
http://web.archive.org/web/20010306031216/www.newparty.org/up9610.html
http://www.spectator.co.uk/melaniephillips/2073071/revolution-you-can-believe-in.thtml
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbsihrdn-_s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrGJWjLG9DY&feature=PlayList&p=F4CA741D4045BA7E&index=9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYr6jwqzEnE&feature=related
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jun/17/fairness-is-censorship/
If one wants to rule as a socialist, why not just be honest about who you are and what you want to do so that the people can decide if they want it?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RZVw3no2A4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ohp5IX3y098
http://web.archive.org/web/20010306031216/www.newparty.org/up9610.html
http://www.spectator.co.uk/melaniephillips/2073071/revolution-you-can-believe-in.thtml
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbsihrdn-_s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrGJWjLG9DY&feature=PlayList&p=F4CA741D4045BA7E&index=9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYr6jwqzEnE&feature=related
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jun/17/fairness-is-censorship/
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Wake Up America! This is Not How You Create New Jobs
Obama claims to have a "bold" plan to jump start the economy and create new jobs. He wants to use tax policy to encourage job creation, but as you will see, his theories are misguided. As a member of small business for over 30 years, I can assure you that business people do not think like socialists....not the successful ones anyway.
Wake Up America! The Path to Socialized Health Care
Obama's TV ad's state that a National Health Care System is "way too extreme". But if you read through the details of his proposals, it's not hard to see that the end result will naturally be a nationalized system.
By creating a competing government insurance agency, Obama will be able to undercut the prices of any for-profit insurance provider until it no longer makes sense to stay in the business.
By creating a competing government insurance agency, Obama will be able to undercut the prices of any for-profit insurance provider until it no longer makes sense to stay in the business.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Wake Up America! Government Mandated Inflation
The Democrats have long pushed for a "living wage" to make it easier for someone working behind the counter of a fast food restaurant to better care for his/her family of 4 (it's politically incorrect to instead, encourage young people to put off marriage and a family until the have acquired the skills and education necessary to avoid having to work behind the counter of a fast food restaurant).
Is it "fair" to have the government dictate what salaries and benefits the business owner must provide, most politicians never even worked in a business let alone owned one!
Moreover, what would be the consequences on our economy if such a policy is enacted. Obama's website states that this would be a high priority for him in his first term.........
Is it "fair" to have the government dictate what salaries and benefits the business owner must provide, most politicians never even worked in a business let alone owned one!
Moreover, what would be the consequences on our economy if such a policy is enacted. Obama's website states that this would be a high priority for him in his first term.........
Wake Up America! The Myth of "Taxing the Wealthy"
Has anybody ever asked the question, "If the Democrats are always trying to tax the wealthy, then why are so many wealthy people Democrats?"
This video exposes the myth that has been perpetuated for at least as long as I have been alive. The income tax is not designed to "punish" the wealthy, it is designed to keep as many of us as possible from becoming wealthy. The only way you would get the wealthy to pay their "fair share" would be through a national consumption tax (which I favor as a replacement of the income tax system) or the creation of a wealth tax like that of some European Countries (yes, there are some Socialists who are honorable in their endeavor to create "fairness").
Remember, wealth creates independence and an independent electorate is what Socialist politicians most fear.........
In the video I take a swipe at Warren Buffet. Although I do consider Warren to be a brilliant investor, I personally think that he's a slime ball. Time and time again he allows himself to be trotted out by the Democrats to proclaim that he would not oppose a higher "income" tax. Watch the video and find out why.
This video exposes the myth that has been perpetuated for at least as long as I have been alive. The income tax is not designed to "punish" the wealthy, it is designed to keep as many of us as possible from becoming wealthy. The only way you would get the wealthy to pay their "fair share" would be through a national consumption tax (which I favor as a replacement of the income tax system) or the creation of a wealth tax like that of some European Countries (yes, there are some Socialists who are honorable in their endeavor to create "fairness").
Remember, wealth creates independence and an independent electorate is what Socialist politicians most fear.........
In the video I take a swipe at Warren Buffet. Although I do consider Warren to be a brilliant investor, I personally think that he's a slime ball. Time and time again he allows himself to be trotted out by the Democrats to proclaim that he would not oppose a higher "income" tax. Watch the video and find out why.
Wake Up America! Socialism is not the Answer!
I've tried very hard to turn my back on politics this past year as the idiocracy of the two year campaign cycle tends to do nothing but put me in a bad mood. But I cannot just sit back quietly and watch the country that I love fall into the abyss of authoritarian socialistic rule.
Everyone wants change, I want change, but the change I seek is that of the government, not the country. The catalyst for the Revolutionary War was a rejection of an authoritarian government (the King of England), and it's oppressive tax policies.
The idea that the Democrat Party and their overt socialist rhetoric are even in the running to win anything, let alone gaining a super majority is enough to cause any Constitution-loving American to lie awake at night wondering where he can move his family to escape all this.
Whether the voters are leaning toward the Democrats due to emotion, or ignorance of the founding principles of this country, something has to be done to try to make these people understand what they are really signing up for.
After going to the websites of both candidates, I have put together a series of videos intended to give you a perspective of what their policies could mean for the future of the country.
I have a young daughter and I fear for her future in a society that punishes ambition and hard work and seeks to keep her in the same class she was born into.
The first video is a bit lengthly as it introduces my reasons for going through this effort. I tried to keep the rest of them to the shorter and to the point. The quality of both the production and presentation are on par with a non-rehearsed amateur filmaker wannabe.
Will it make a difference in the upcoming election? Who knows, but at least I'm trying to do something and at very least I'll have a record of my warnings if the election goes the way of the socialists.
Everyone wants change, I want change, but the change I seek is that of the government, not the country. The catalyst for the Revolutionary War was a rejection of an authoritarian government (the King of England), and it's oppressive tax policies.
The idea that the Democrat Party and their overt socialist rhetoric are even in the running to win anything, let alone gaining a super majority is enough to cause any Constitution-loving American to lie awake at night wondering where he can move his family to escape all this.
Whether the voters are leaning toward the Democrats due to emotion, or ignorance of the founding principles of this country, something has to be done to try to make these people understand what they are really signing up for.
After going to the websites of both candidates, I have put together a series of videos intended to give you a perspective of what their policies could mean for the future of the country.
I have a young daughter and I fear for her future in a society that punishes ambition and hard work and seeks to keep her in the same class she was born into.
The first video is a bit lengthly as it introduces my reasons for going through this effort. I tried to keep the rest of them to the shorter and to the point. The quality of both the production and presentation are on par with a non-rehearsed amateur filmaker wannabe.
Will it make a difference in the upcoming election? Who knows, but at least I'm trying to do something and at very least I'll have a record of my warnings if the election goes the way of the socialists.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
The Death of Reagan Republicanism?
Here is an excellent essay by George Will from Conservative Review:
The Tearing of the Conservative Fusion
By George Will
WASHINGTON - Like Job after losing his camels and acquir-
ing boils, the conservative movement is in distress. Mike
Huckabee shreds the compact that has held the movement's
two tendencies in sometimes uneasy equipoise. Social
conservatives, many of whom share Huckabee's desire to
"take back this nation for Christ," have collaborated with
limited-government, market-oriented, capitalism-defending
conservatives who want to take back the nation for James
Madison. Under the doctrine that conservatives call
"fusion," each faction has respected the other's agenda.
Huckabee aggressively repudiates the Madisonians.
He and John Edwards, flaunting their histrionic humility in
order to promote their curdled populism, hawked strikingly
similar messages in Iowa, encouraging self-pity and
economic hypochondria. Edwards and Huckabee lament a shrink-
ing middle class. Well.
Economist Stephen Rose, defining the middle class as house-
holds with annual incomes between $30,000 and $100,000,
says a smaller percentage of Americans are in that category
than in 1979 -- because the percentage of Americans earning
more than $100,000 has doubled from 12 to 24, while the
percentage earning less than $30,000 is unchanged. "So,"
Rose says, "the entire 'decline' of the middle class came
from people moving up the income ladder." Even as housing
values declined in 2007, the net worth of households
increased.
Huckabee told heavily subsidized Iowa -- Washington's
ethanol enthusiasm has farm values and incomes soaring --
that Americans striving to rise are "pushed down every
time they try by their own government." Edwards, synthetic
candidate of theatrical bitterness on behalf of America's
crushed, groaning majority, says the rich have an "iron-
fisted grip" on democracy and a "stranglehold" on the
economy. Strangely, these fists have imposed a tax code
that makes the top 1 percent of earners pay 39 percent of
all income tax revenues, the top 5 percent pay 60 percent,
and the bottom 50 percent pay only 3 percent.
According to Edwards, the North Carolina of his youth
resembled Chechnya today -- "I had to fight to survive.
I mean really. Literally." Huckabee, a compound of Uriah
Heep, Elmer Gantry and Richard Nixon, preens about his
humble background: "In my family, 'summer' was never a
verb." Nixon, who maundered about his parents' privations
and wife's cloth coat, followed Lyndon Johnson, another
miscast president whose festering resentments and status
anxieties colored his conduct of office. Here we go again?
Huckabee fancies himself persecuted by the Republican
"establishment," a creature already negligible by 1964,
when it failed to stop Barry Goldwater's nomination. The
establishment's voice, the New York Herald Tribune, expired
in 1966. Huckabee says "only one explanation" fits his Iowa
success "and it's not a human one. It's the same power that
helped a little boy with two fish and five loaves feed a
crowd of 5,000 people." God so loves Huckabee's politics
that He worked a Midwest miracle on his behalf? Should
someone so delusional control nuclear weapons?
Speaking of delusions, Edwards seems unaware that the world
market sets the price of oil. He says a $100-a-barrel price
is evidence of -- surging demand in India and China? unrest
in Nigeria's oil fields? No, "corporate greed." That is
Edwards' explanation of every unpleasantness. Mitt Romney's
versatility of conviction, although it repelled Iowans, has
been a modest makeover compared to Edwards' personality
transplant. The sunny Southerner of 2004 has become the
angry paladin of the suffering multitudes, to whom he
shouts: "Treat these people the way they treat you!" Pre-
sumably he means treat "the rich" badly -- an odious
exhortation to one portion of Americans, regarding another.
Although Huckabee and Edwards profess to loathe and vow to
change Washington's culture, each would aggravate its
toxicity. Each overflows with and wallows in the pugnacity
of the self-righteous who discern contemptible motives
behind all disagreements with them, and who therefore think
opponents are enemies and differences are unsplittable.
The way to achieve Edwards' and Huckabee's populist goal of
reducing the role of "special interests," meaning money, in
government is to reduce the role of government in distribut-
ing money. But populists want to sharply increase that role
by expanding the regulatory state's reach and enlarging
its agenda of determining the distribution of wealth.
Populists, who are slow learners, cannot comprehend this
iron law: Concentrate power in Washington and you increase
the power of interests whose representatives are concentrat-
ed there.
Barack Obama, who might be mercifully closing the Clinton
parenthesis in presidential history, is refreshingly
cerebral amid this recrudescence of the paranoid style in
American politics. He is the un-Edwards and un-Huckabee --
an adult aiming to reform the real world rather than an
adolescent fantasizing mock-heroic "fights" against
fictitious villains in a left-wing cartoon version of this
country.
The Tearing of the Conservative Fusion
By George Will
WASHINGTON - Like Job after losing his camels and acquir-
ing boils, the conservative movement is in distress. Mike
Huckabee shreds the compact that has held the movement's
two tendencies in sometimes uneasy equipoise. Social
conservatives, many of whom share Huckabee's desire to
"take back this nation for Christ," have collaborated with
limited-government, market-oriented, capitalism-defending
conservatives who want to take back the nation for James
Madison. Under the doctrine that conservatives call
"fusion," each faction has respected the other's agenda.
Huckabee aggressively repudiates the Madisonians.
He and John Edwards, flaunting their histrionic humility in
order to promote their curdled populism, hawked strikingly
similar messages in Iowa, encouraging self-pity and
economic hypochondria. Edwards and Huckabee lament a shrink-
ing middle class. Well.
Economist Stephen Rose, defining the middle class as house-
holds with annual incomes between $30,000 and $100,000,
says a smaller percentage of Americans are in that category
than in 1979 -- because the percentage of Americans earning
more than $100,000 has doubled from 12 to 24, while the
percentage earning less than $30,000 is unchanged. "So,"
Rose says, "the entire 'decline' of the middle class came
from people moving up the income ladder." Even as housing
values declined in 2007, the net worth of households
increased.
Huckabee told heavily subsidized Iowa -- Washington's
ethanol enthusiasm has farm values and incomes soaring --
that Americans striving to rise are "pushed down every
time they try by their own government." Edwards, synthetic
candidate of theatrical bitterness on behalf of America's
crushed, groaning majority, says the rich have an "iron-
fisted grip" on democracy and a "stranglehold" on the
economy. Strangely, these fists have imposed a tax code
that makes the top 1 percent of earners pay 39 percent of
all income tax revenues, the top 5 percent pay 60 percent,
and the bottom 50 percent pay only 3 percent.
According to Edwards, the North Carolina of his youth
resembled Chechnya today -- "I had to fight to survive.
I mean really. Literally." Huckabee, a compound of Uriah
Heep, Elmer Gantry and Richard Nixon, preens about his
humble background: "In my family, 'summer' was never a
verb." Nixon, who maundered about his parents' privations
and wife's cloth coat, followed Lyndon Johnson, another
miscast president whose festering resentments and status
anxieties colored his conduct of office. Here we go again?
Huckabee fancies himself persecuted by the Republican
"establishment," a creature already negligible by 1964,
when it failed to stop Barry Goldwater's nomination. The
establishment's voice, the New York Herald Tribune, expired
in 1966. Huckabee says "only one explanation" fits his Iowa
success "and it's not a human one. It's the same power that
helped a little boy with two fish and five loaves feed a
crowd of 5,000 people." God so loves Huckabee's politics
that He worked a Midwest miracle on his behalf? Should
someone so delusional control nuclear weapons?
Speaking of delusions, Edwards seems unaware that the world
market sets the price of oil. He says a $100-a-barrel price
is evidence of -- surging demand in India and China? unrest
in Nigeria's oil fields? No, "corporate greed." That is
Edwards' explanation of every unpleasantness. Mitt Romney's
versatility of conviction, although it repelled Iowans, has
been a modest makeover compared to Edwards' personality
transplant. The sunny Southerner of 2004 has become the
angry paladin of the suffering multitudes, to whom he
shouts: "Treat these people the way they treat you!" Pre-
sumably he means treat "the rich" badly -- an odious
exhortation to one portion of Americans, regarding another.
Although Huckabee and Edwards profess to loathe and vow to
change Washington's culture, each would aggravate its
toxicity. Each overflows with and wallows in the pugnacity
of the self-righteous who discern contemptible motives
behind all disagreements with them, and who therefore think
opponents are enemies and differences are unsplittable.
The way to achieve Edwards' and Huckabee's populist goal of
reducing the role of "special interests," meaning money, in
government is to reduce the role of government in distribut-
ing money. But populists want to sharply increase that role
by expanding the regulatory state's reach and enlarging
its agenda of determining the distribution of wealth.
Populists, who are slow learners, cannot comprehend this
iron law: Concentrate power in Washington and you increase
the power of interests whose representatives are concentrat-
ed there.
Barack Obama, who might be mercifully closing the Clinton
parenthesis in presidential history, is refreshingly
cerebral amid this recrudescence of the paranoid style in
American politics. He is the un-Edwards and un-Huckabee --
an adult aiming to reform the real world rather than an
adolescent fantasizing mock-heroic "fights" against
fictitious villains in a left-wing cartoon version of this
country.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Inhofe: 'Consensus Busters' Bust Global Warming
Several times in since this Blog was started, I have railed against the "theory" of Man-induced Global Warming, and the junk science used to further this fraud.
Now finally, real scientists, not failed presidential candidates are coming forward to call this movement what it is.
From Newsmax:
Friday, December 21, 2007 7:42 AM
Claims that there is a consensus among scientists on man-made global warming have been denied by over 400 prominent members of the scientific community and published in a report issued by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee under Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla.
This new “consensus busters” report, Inhofe’s office says, “ is poised to redefine the debate.”
Many of the scientists questioning the consensus are from the very U.N. panel making the claims.
The report states, “The voices of many of these hundreds of scientists serve as a direct challenge to the often media-hyped ‘consensus’ that the debate is settled.”
The report comes on the heels of U.N. IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Chairman Rajendra Pachauri's implication that there were only “about a dozen" skeptical scientists left in the world, echoing former Vice President Al Gore who has claimed that scientists skeptical of climate change are akin to “flat-Earth-society members” and similar in number to those who “believe the moon landing was actually staged in a movie lot in Arizona.”
Among others insisting that there is a consensus and that few skeptics exist and who are now discredited by the report:
CNN’s Miles O’Brien (July 23, 2007): "The scientific debate is over. We're done." O’Brien also declared on CNN on Feb. 9, 2006 that scientific skeptics of man-made catastrophic global warming “are bought and paid for by the fossil fuel industry, usually.”
On July 27, 2006, Associated Press reporter Seth Borenstein described a scientist as “one of the few remaining scientists skeptical of the global warming harm caused by industries that burn fossil fuels.”
Andrew Dessler in the eco-publication Grist Magazine (Nov. 21, 2007): “While some people claim there are lots of skeptical climate scientists out there, if you actually try to find one, you keep turning up the same two dozen or so (e.g., Singer, Lindzen, Michaels, Christy, etc.). These skeptics are endlessly recycled by the denial machine, so someone not paying close attention might think there are lots of them out there — but that's not the case.
The Washington Post asserted on May 23, 2006 that there were only “a handful of skeptics” of man-made climate fears.
UN special climate envoy Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland on May 10, 2007 declared the climate debate "over" and added “it's completely immoral, even, to question” the U.N.’s scientific “consensus."
ABC News Global Warming Reporter Bill Blakemore reported on Aug. 30, 2006: “After extensive searches, ABC News has found no such [scientific] debate” on global warming.
The distinguished scientists featured in this new report are described as experts in diverse fields, including climatology, oceanography, geology, biology, glaciology, and paleoclimatology.
Moreover, some of those profiled have won Nobel Prizes for their outstanding contribution to their field of expertise and many shared a portion of the U.N. IPCC Nobel Peace Prize with Gore.
Additionally, these scientists come from prestigious institutions worldwide, including Harvard University, NASA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the UN IPCC, and the University of London.
The report lists the scientists by name, country of residence, and their academic/institutional affiliations. It also features their own words, biographies, and Web links to their peer reviewed studies and original source materials as gathered from public statements, various news outlets, and Web sites in 2007.
The report notes that skepticism is also beginning to be seen in the usually pro-IPCC media, citing an October story in the Washington Post by Staff Writer Juliet Eilperin who wrote that climate skeptics "appear to be expanding rather than shrinking."
Moreover, the report says, many scientists from around the world have dubbed 2007 as the year man-made global warming fears “bite the dust.” The scientists cited consistently stated that numerous colleagues shared their views, but they will not speak out publicly for fear of retribution.
Atmospheric scientist Dr. Nathan Paldor, professor of dynamical meteorology and physical oceanography at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, author of almost 70 peer-reviewed studies, explained how many of his fellow scientists have been intimidated: “Many of my colleagues with whom I spoke share these views and report on their inability to publish their skepticism in the scientific or public media."
The report gives a voice to the rank-and-file scientists who were shut out of the process, along with teams of international scientists dissenting from the U.N. IPCC’s view of climate science, citing such nations as Germany, Brazil, the Netherlands, Russia and France, nations where scientists banded together in 2007 to oppose climate alarmism. In addition, the report notes, over 100 prominent international scientists sent an open letter in December 2007 to the U.N. stating attempts to control climate were “futile.”
The report reveals that paleoclimatologist Dr. Tim Patterson, professor in the department of earth sciences at Carleton University in Ottawa, was recently converted from a believer in man-made climate change to a skeptic. Patterson is quoted as saying that the notion of a “consensus” of scientists aligned with the U.N. IPCC or former Vice President Al Gore is false.
“I was at the Geological Society of America meeting in Philadelphia in the fall and I would say that people with my opinion were probably in the majority,” Patterson said.
The Report notes that the over 400 skeptical scientists featured outnumber by nearly eight times the number of scientists (52) who participated in the 2007 U.N. IPCC Summary for Policymakers.
It charges that the notion of "hundreds" or "thousands" of U.N. scientists agreeing to a scientific statement does not hold up to scrutiny and cites recent research by Australian climate data analyst Dr. John McLean who revealed that the IPCC’s peer-review process for the Summary for Policymakers leaves much to be desired.
The report takes issue with those proponents of man-made global warming who it says “like to note how the National Academy of Sciences and the American Meteorological Society have issued statements endorsing the so-called ‘consensus’ view that man is driving global warming."
It points out, however, that but both the NAS and AMS never allowed member scientists to directly vote on these climate statements. Essentially, only two dozen or so members on the governing boards of these institutions produced the "consensus" statements.
The report concludes, “The most recent attempt to imply there was an overwhelming scientific ‘consensus’ in favor of man-made global warming fears came in December 2007 during the UN climate conference in Bali. A letter signed by only 215 scientists urged the U.N. to mandate deep cuts in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.
But absent from the letter were the signatures of these alleged 'thousands' of scientists.”
Now finally, real scientists, not failed presidential candidates are coming forward to call this movement what it is.
From Newsmax:
Friday, December 21, 2007 7:42 AM
Claims that there is a consensus among scientists on man-made global warming have been denied by over 400 prominent members of the scientific community and published in a report issued by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee under Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla.
This new “consensus busters” report, Inhofe’s office says, “ is poised to redefine the debate.”
Many of the scientists questioning the consensus are from the very U.N. panel making the claims.
The report states, “The voices of many of these hundreds of scientists serve as a direct challenge to the often media-hyped ‘consensus’ that the debate is settled.”
The report comes on the heels of U.N. IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Chairman Rajendra Pachauri's implication that there were only “about a dozen" skeptical scientists left in the world, echoing former Vice President Al Gore who has claimed that scientists skeptical of climate change are akin to “flat-Earth-society members” and similar in number to those who “believe the moon landing was actually staged in a movie lot in Arizona.”
Among others insisting that there is a consensus and that few skeptics exist and who are now discredited by the report:
CNN’s Miles O’Brien (July 23, 2007): "The scientific debate is over. We're done." O’Brien also declared on CNN on Feb. 9, 2006 that scientific skeptics of man-made catastrophic global warming “are bought and paid for by the fossil fuel industry, usually.”
On July 27, 2006, Associated Press reporter Seth Borenstein described a scientist as “one of the few remaining scientists skeptical of the global warming harm caused by industries that burn fossil fuels.”
Andrew Dessler in the eco-publication Grist Magazine (Nov. 21, 2007): “While some people claim there are lots of skeptical climate scientists out there, if you actually try to find one, you keep turning up the same two dozen or so (e.g., Singer, Lindzen, Michaels, Christy, etc.). These skeptics are endlessly recycled by the denial machine, so someone not paying close attention might think there are lots of them out there — but that's not the case.
The Washington Post asserted on May 23, 2006 that there were only “a handful of skeptics” of man-made climate fears.
UN special climate envoy Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland on May 10, 2007 declared the climate debate "over" and added “it's completely immoral, even, to question” the U.N.’s scientific “consensus."
ABC News Global Warming Reporter Bill Blakemore reported on Aug. 30, 2006: “After extensive searches, ABC News has found no such [scientific] debate” on global warming.
The distinguished scientists featured in this new report are described as experts in diverse fields, including climatology, oceanography, geology, biology, glaciology, and paleoclimatology.
Moreover, some of those profiled have won Nobel Prizes for their outstanding contribution to their field of expertise and many shared a portion of the U.N. IPCC Nobel Peace Prize with Gore.
Additionally, these scientists come from prestigious institutions worldwide, including Harvard University, NASA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the UN IPCC, and the University of London.
The report lists the scientists by name, country of residence, and their academic/institutional affiliations. It also features their own words, biographies, and Web links to their peer reviewed studies and original source materials as gathered from public statements, various news outlets, and Web sites in 2007.
The report notes that skepticism is also beginning to be seen in the usually pro-IPCC media, citing an October story in the Washington Post by Staff Writer Juliet Eilperin who wrote that climate skeptics "appear to be expanding rather than shrinking."
Moreover, the report says, many scientists from around the world have dubbed 2007 as the year man-made global warming fears “bite the dust.” The scientists cited consistently stated that numerous colleagues shared their views, but they will not speak out publicly for fear of retribution.
Atmospheric scientist Dr. Nathan Paldor, professor of dynamical meteorology and physical oceanography at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, author of almost 70 peer-reviewed studies, explained how many of his fellow scientists have been intimidated: “Many of my colleagues with whom I spoke share these views and report on their inability to publish their skepticism in the scientific or public media."
The report gives a voice to the rank-and-file scientists who were shut out of the process, along with teams of international scientists dissenting from the U.N. IPCC’s view of climate science, citing such nations as Germany, Brazil, the Netherlands, Russia and France, nations where scientists banded together in 2007 to oppose climate alarmism. In addition, the report notes, over 100 prominent international scientists sent an open letter in December 2007 to the U.N. stating attempts to control climate were “futile.”
The report reveals that paleoclimatologist Dr. Tim Patterson, professor in the department of earth sciences at Carleton University in Ottawa, was recently converted from a believer in man-made climate change to a skeptic. Patterson is quoted as saying that the notion of a “consensus” of scientists aligned with the U.N. IPCC or former Vice President Al Gore is false.
“I was at the Geological Society of America meeting in Philadelphia in the fall and I would say that people with my opinion were probably in the majority,” Patterson said.
The Report notes that the over 400 skeptical scientists featured outnumber by nearly eight times the number of scientists (52) who participated in the 2007 U.N. IPCC Summary for Policymakers.
It charges that the notion of "hundreds" or "thousands" of U.N. scientists agreeing to a scientific statement does not hold up to scrutiny and cites recent research by Australian climate data analyst Dr. John McLean who revealed that the IPCC’s peer-review process for the Summary for Policymakers leaves much to be desired.
The report takes issue with those proponents of man-made global warming who it says “like to note how the National Academy of Sciences and the American Meteorological Society have issued statements endorsing the so-called ‘consensus’ view that man is driving global warming."
It points out, however, that but both the NAS and AMS never allowed member scientists to directly vote on these climate statements. Essentially, only two dozen or so members on the governing boards of these institutions produced the "consensus" statements.
The report concludes, “The most recent attempt to imply there was an overwhelming scientific ‘consensus’ in favor of man-made global warming fears came in December 2007 during the UN climate conference in Bali. A letter signed by only 215 scientists urged the U.N. to mandate deep cuts in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.
But absent from the letter were the signatures of these alleged 'thousands' of scientists.”
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