By David Galland, Managing Editor, The Casey Report
There is a lot of “noise” being tossed out by the politicos and their preferred pundits about how the U.S. economy is on the mend. Thus it is important to try and separate fact from fiction about where things really stand.
FICTION: Though sporadic, the U.S. economy will continue to improve.
FACT: The U.S. is headed for a currency crisis.
While having learned to cover their butts by adding some modest modifiers to their generally rosy forecasts, the administration’s shills (Geithner, Bernanke, Summers, et al.) are unified in telling us that the worst is over.
The fact is that the U.S., nay, the world, is headed for fiat currency crash. Let me push forward some evidence in support of that contention.
In this fiscal year, the U.S. government will run its second trillion-dollar-plus deficit. Concerned about the political heat going into the November elections, the Democrats have been making noise about cleaning up their sloppy spending.
A couple of months back, El Presidente of this banana republic intoned that his government… …[cannot] continue to spend as if deficits don’t have consequences… as if the hard-earned tax dollars of the American people can be treated like Monopoly money.
Which is to say, he acknowledged that the deficits have consequences. And what might those consequences be?
For starters, rising interest rates. Because in order to finance its hyperactive spending, the government will have to sell a lot of debt – and because all the developed nations find themselves in the same boat, they’ll have to manage those sales in an increasingly competitive environment.
Of course, higher interest rates put yet more pressure on the many businesses that rely on access to capital to sustain themselves. And higher rates crush borrowing for houses and other large-ticket items… which means, they crush the economy. Especially one perched on a foundation of debt.
Inflation is another consequence, because when the prospective debt buyers begin to stay home or, more likely, agree to show up but only for a more attractive yield, the Fed will increasingly be forced to monetize the debt. Leading to the demand for even higher yields. Once the monetization begins in earnest, and in plain sight, Obama’s high-speed spending train will find itself on very wiggly tracks, leading in relatively short order to a debt-fueled currency crash.
The point is that the only real hope for the country starts with deep cuts in government spending. Now, I am not talking about talking about cutting spending – you know, where you stand in front of a warmed-up audience and talk about spending cuts. But honest-to-goodness, real spending cuts.
Which brings me to Mars.
On April 15, the president gave a speech at Cape Canaveral where, ahead of time, it was advertised that he would announce serious cuts in the space program. That was the fiction spun out to the pundits.
Instead, when it came time to stand and deliver, Obama delivered a $6 billion boost in NASA’s budget, then offset the cancellation of a program that would once again send men to the moon by announcing a new program to land astronauts on Mars… and drop in on an asteroid as well.
Over the course of my days on this remarkable planet of ours, I have had the opportunity to get to know all manner of personality types. One of the most troubled have been the serial spenders… deluded individuals that simply can’t help but buy all that their hearts desire, no matter how much pain results from their debt-financed spending. That describes today’s political class.
Unless and until you start hearing the president making speeches about not going to Mars, followed by wishing legions of government employees the best of luck as they enter the private sector, the only conclusion to be drawn is that a space ship isn’t the only thing headed for outer space, but government debt as well.
The spending is unsustainable and so won’t be sustained.
FICTION: You can count on the mainstream financial media for unbiased information.
FACT: They’re lying to you.
It’s important to do your own due diligence and trust only your own calculations when confronted with cheery financial headlines.
A couple weeks ago, for instance, the Fed’s national industrial index was positively reported on as having continued to improve. By 0.1%. That’s an improvement of .001, or roughly the width of a whisker on a gnat. And even that vaporous improvement came on numbers that are still deep in the post-crash dumps.
But even if we use the Fed’s own numbers, we see that the month-over-month rate of improvements is losing steam, not gaining traction. This is an economy we can believe in?
That’s not to say that there aren’t some improvements in the economy. There clearly are. But I contend these improvements are largely selective.
For instance, the mining sector is doing quite well – and is now running at a capacity utilization rate of 90%, versus the broader manufacturing sector, which is bumping along at just 70%. Crude oil production is also running hot, at a capacity utilization of 87.4% in March, versus finished goods at an anemic 71.8%.
In other words, the stuff that the world actually needs to chug along is still in strong demand – but the rest of the economy is just limping along.
Anecdotally, I have had conversations with managers/owners in three different industries over the past month.
A developer of low-income housing said that while things were slightly better compared to this time last year, they were still a disaster and there was no real recovery in sight. The manager of a high-end boat/RV retailer, whose lot is chock-a-block full of expensive motor homes and boats, was trying to be optimistic going into his traditional big sales season, and he had clearly boosted inventory. But as the sales season is still not quite underway, his guarded optimism is based on nothing more than hope at this point. When I asked him about the availability of credit, he said that people with very good credit can get financing, but everyone else can forget about it. Oops, there goes the majority of his potential buyers.
Then, the other day, I had a beer with fellow Casey Researchers Olivier Garret and Alex Daley down at a local pub/restaurant/hotel. The owner popped around to say hi, and I asked him if he was seeing an improvement in the economy. His reply, “Oh, there is an economy? Could of fooled me!” While he made the comment as something of a joke, the establishment remained largely empty well into the traditional cocktail hour when we left.
As an aside on the topic of restaurants, I have noted that the better-run restaurants – the ones that provide value for money – are doing reasonably well in the New England resort town that hosts the headquarters of Casey Research.
Rather than confirming a broadly improving economy, however, I suspect this is not unlike the phenomenon where, for a brief period, chickens are able to run around without the benefit of their heads. Which is to say, dining out seems to be a reflexive action taken by people who still have jobs and who may have seen some improvement in their stock portfolios.
We humans really don’t like change and typically resist embracing it. Thus, those not forced by personal circumstances to hunker down – i.e., those still receiving paychecks – are following the boom-year custom of regularly dining out, and to a lesser degree, using their still active credit cards to buy stuff they really could do without.
My grandfather, a young man during the Great Depression, was a lifelong skinflint as a result of his experience. One of his favorite sayings when resisting one of the grandkids trying to put the touch on him for one toy or another was, “Money doesn’t grow on trees.” By the time this is over, people will be saying, “Money doesn’t sprout from credit cards.” Back on the topic of the financial media… I don’t watch the financial cable shows. For one thing, I don’t have cable. But even if I did, I wouldn’t, because almost to a person these people missed the crash. So, why should I listen to them today?
Most of the pundits are talking their own book. And all of the financial news programs know that the stock houses and funds that buy the ads will bolt if their programs take a steadily dim view on the outlook for the economy and stock market.
FICTION: The housing market is improving.
FACT: Would you like to buy a bridge in Brooklyn?
In mid-April, Bloomberg reported that “Builders broke ground on more U.S. homes in March than anticipated and took out permits at the fastest pace in more than a year, a sign of growing confidence that sales will stabilize.
“Housing starts climbed to an annual rate of 626,000 last month, up 1.6 percent from February’s revised 616,000 pace that was higher than initially estimated, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington.”
On the other side of the ledger, the Financial Times stated, “Whitehall Street International, Goldman Sachs’ international real estate investment fund, has lost almost all of its $1.8bn of equity following soured property investments in the US, Germany and Japan, according to the Fund’s estimates.
“By the end of 2009, the fund was down to its last $30m, a paper loss of about 98 cents on the dollar, an annual report sent to investors last month said.”
If the world’s most successful investment house can lose essentially all its equity in a real estate fund, you know we’re not in Kansas anymore.
Fox Business presented another dose of realism, saying that “Commercial real estate is showing few signs of leveling out nationwide and several regions continue to get hammered by declining values.”
I can tell you that around here, the commercial space that was empty a year ago is still empty today. And I’m talking even about the prime locations.
So, how to explain the upbeat housing articles in Bloomberg, when the facts on the ground seem to indicate the exact opposite? Other than the steady evidence that Bloomberg has taken on a cheerleader role for the Democratic machine its boss is a solid cog in, builders may be looking to build simply because that is what they do.
What they’ll actually be doing is assuring their future bankruptcies. The following is an excerpt from an email from Jim B., a Casey subscriber and regular correspondent, shedding light on the matter (emphasis mine).
Down here in Austin, there's a housing construction recovery in bloom. I spoke to one of the contractors today. He was very happy to have his ten workers back to work after over a year of no work at all. One minor problem: the home construction company wasn't paying him. I'm guessing the companies are using their subcontractors as lenders and will repay the "loans" if/when the houses are sold. Their credit must still be in the toilet, so it can't get any worse. This looks ominous.
I buy distressed property, mostly foreclosures. The usual number of houses in foreclosure in Travis County in the mid-‘90s was around 325 per month. Of those, about 30 had enough equity to make a deal work. The number of foreclosures about six months ago was about 825, and the number of good deals was still about 30. So, about 500 houses per month above the normal rate are being dumped into the Austin real estate market. Just how new construction will overcome this competition is a drama I'm waiting to see.
At some point, real estate will again be a great investment – but for now, holding fire on new purchases seems the right thing to do. As for buying housing industry stocks or bonds – not hardly.
FICTION: The U.S. government has everything under control.
FACT: The U.S. government is on tilt.
At this point the list of hastily conceived, politically motivated spit-and-plaster fixes that have been cobbled together by the government in an attempt to fix the economy – versus just getting the hell out of the way and letting the economy fix itself – could fill a book. The only thing that matters to the administration and its allies is to corral a sufficient number of votes to get through the November elections on their collectivist feet.
And now Goldman Sachs has been charged with one of its many frauds. I should have seen this coming, as they had become – in the minds of Obama’s core constituents – the poster child of Wall Street’s greed. In addition, the firm has very, very deep pockets – just as Drexel Burnham Lambert did when the government laid them low with a $700 million fine… virtually none of which was then passed on to the purported victims of their indiscretions.
In the case of Goldman Sachs, I suspect that they may have become too clever by half – and that they’ve crossed some lines that will now be used by their erstwhile friends in Washington to string them up. And, in so doing, provide Team Obama with a win-win of appearing as a staunch opponent of Wall Street fat cats, while simultaneously confiscating another several billion to be cycled into the furnace of federal spending.
At this point, the only sane way to view the government is as an out-of-control gorilla that is wildly grabbing in all directions. As Goldman Sachs may be about to learn, once the gorilla has caught a hold of you, you’ve got real problems.
Unfortunately, the gorilla has grown so large that at this point it has its arms around the most of the economy. Counterproductive tax hikes are already baked in the cake and, if the administration has its way, it will soon try to layer on the mother of all tax increases in the form of a VAT. (I think at that point we might actually see riots in the streets.) Therefore our constant admonitions to be careful and to be largely in cash just now, combined with very carefully selected stocks that will weather even a Category 4 economic hurricane. Words to the wise.
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The Casey Report editors – Doug Casey and David Galland among them – have predicted all the recent economic trends months or even years before they happened: the bursting of the housing bubble… major bank failures… the credit crisis… the demise of the dollar… and many more. Learn how they do it and how you can profit from budding trends, even in times of crisis. Click here for more.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
Soros-funded group urges media run by government
It is becoming painfully obvious who OBAMA! was referring to when he stated was that he was "the one they've been waiting for"......
George Soros was run out of Russia for trying to undermine the government and collapse the currency, at what point does he end up on a National Security watch list?
Soros-funded group urges media run by government
George Soros was run out of Russia for trying to undermine the government and collapse the currency, at what point does he end up on a National Security watch list?
Soros-funded group urges media run by government
Thursday, May 13, 2010
John McCain: President Obama 'falsifying' immigration - Andy Barr - POLITICO.com
I wonder what McCain would be saying if it had been any other state besides Arizona and if he wasn't being threatened for his seat by a pro-border enforcement candidate.....
John McCain: President Obama 'falsifying' immigration - Andy Barr - POLITICO.com
John McCain: President Obama 'falsifying' immigration - Andy Barr - POLITICO.com
Debt to Break the Back of the Welfare State
Are we seeing the end of socialism even while OBAMA and this congress make last minute power grabs to institutionalize it here?
Debt to Break the Back of the Welfare State
Debt to Break the Back of the Welfare State
In a Job Market Realignment, Some Left Behind - Yahoo! Finance
While the article is accurate in it's assertion that these jobs will not come back, it places the blame on the economy and "evil" corporations who are laying people off and replacing them with technology.
What the writer fails to acknowledge (it is the NY Times afterall) is that this Federal Government has been an enemy of the low-skill job creators for 40 years. By driving manufacturing off shore through over-regulation, over taxation and over-protection of the labor unions, they have created the environment where there will be too many low skilled workers available for too few jobs. Add the illegal immigration issue to this and the picture becomes more dire.
Many of these people simply become part of the dependent class who will then vote against anyone who threatens their lifeline to the federal government.......
In a Job Market Realignment, Some Left Behind - Yahoo! Finance
What the writer fails to acknowledge (it is the NY Times afterall) is that this Federal Government has been an enemy of the low-skill job creators for 40 years. By driving manufacturing off shore through over-regulation, over taxation and over-protection of the labor unions, they have created the environment where there will be too many low skilled workers available for too few jobs. Add the illegal immigration issue to this and the picture becomes more dire.
Many of these people simply become part of the dependent class who will then vote against anyone who threatens their lifeline to the federal government.......
In a Job Market Realignment, Some Left Behind - Yahoo! Finance
Thomas Sowell
Thomas Sowell, gets it right. The elites see us as working hands, to be disgarded after we are no longer useful and before we become a burden. Welcome to the 21st century plantation.
Thomas Sowell
Thomas Sowell
The Eden Myth and the Ratification Con of 1789
What a shock, OBAMA!, Pelosi and Reid weren't the first people to piss on the Constitution.....
The Eden Myth and the Ratification Con of 1789
The Eden Myth and the Ratification Con of 1789
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Charlie Brown Conservatives and a Lucy GOP
I received a call from the RNC asking for a pledge to help them take out the liberal Democrats. I told them that I was active in the tea party movement and therefore would be spending my money to also take out liberal Republicans....they thanked me for my time.
Charlie Brown Conservatives and a Lucy GOP
Charlie Brown Conservatives and a Lucy GOP
RealClearPolitics - The Welfare State's Death Spiral
Has our allowing of socialism to creep into our lives become the cancer for which thee is no easy recovery?
RealClearPolitics - The Welfare State's Death Spiral
RealClearPolitics - The Welfare State's Death Spiral
CHRISTIAN & ROBBINS: A choice for the condemned - Washington Times
Unfortunately, math is math. When our government spending eats up most of our GDP, there is no room for the creation of personal wealth and security. We become salves to the state.
CHRISTIAN & ROBBINS: A choice for the condemned - Washington Times
CHRISTIAN & ROBBINS: A choice for the condemned - Washington Times
Friday, May 07, 2010
OUTRAGE! Congress refuses to outlaw insider trading for lawmakers: Tech Ticker, Yahoo! Finance
This is the most disgusting revelation yet. While they grand stand up there against Goldman Sachs, they refuse to live by their own rules. We clearly, in their minds, have two Americas.
congress refuses to outlaw insider trading for lawmakers: Tech Ticker, Yahoo! Finance
congress refuses to outlaw insider trading for lawmakers: Tech Ticker, Yahoo! Finance
Thursday, May 06, 2010
How the FCC Plans to Regulate Internet Lines - Digits - WSJ
You have to get the frog to stay in the water before you turn on the heat.......at what point does net-neutrality look more like a fairness doctrine?
How the FCC Plans to Regulate Internet Lines - Digits - WSJ
How the FCC Plans to Regulate Internet Lines - Digits - WSJ
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
CARPE DIEM: Quote of the Day/Century
This is simply the best quote about socialism I have ever read....
CARPE DIEM: Quote of the Day/Century
CARPE DIEM: Quote of the Day/Century
Monday, May 03, 2010
Sunday, May 02, 2010
New Report Confirms Health Law Raises Premiums, Hurts Seniors
A report last week from President Obama's own health analyst confirms what millions of Americans have been saying for more than a year. The health care legislation rammed into law last month is a fiscal disaster that will raise health costs for all Americans while hurting seniors by cutting Medicare benefits.
The report released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) chief actuary concludes that the new law "will do little to rein in spiraling costs and government spending." It also found that the law hurts seniors by cutting billions from critical Medicare services. As most Americans suspected, the report confirmed that the law raises taxes, increases health insurance premiums, and makes health care more expensive for millions of Americans.
The CMS report also concluded that the health care law:
Causes 50 percent of seniors to lose their Medicare Advantage plans (that includes more than 115,000 Michigan seniors)
Cuts Medicare by $575 billion, putting at risk seniors' access to doctors and other medical caregivers
Imposes $87 billion in additional taxes on employers
Levies more than $33 billion in additional taxes on individuals
Drives health care costs up, not down, by $311 billion over the next 10 years
Because of my concerns with this massive new health care law, I have demanded hearings in Congress to investigate why the plan raises health costs and hurts our nation's seniors. I have also written a letter to Democrat leaders in the House of Representatives requesting that CMS officials testify before the Energy and Commerce Committee so we can discuss the Administration report in detail with the panel. It is crucial for members of Congress and the American people to understand the full and true impact of this dangerous overhaul of our health care system so we can begin to fix it in a way that works.
The report released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) chief actuary concludes that the new law "will do little to rein in spiraling costs and government spending." It also found that the law hurts seniors by cutting billions from critical Medicare services. As most Americans suspected, the report confirmed that the law raises taxes, increases health insurance premiums, and makes health care more expensive for millions of Americans.
The CMS report also concluded that the health care law:
Causes 50 percent of seniors to lose their Medicare Advantage plans (that includes more than 115,000 Michigan seniors)
Cuts Medicare by $575 billion, putting at risk seniors' access to doctors and other medical caregivers
Imposes $87 billion in additional taxes on employers
Levies more than $33 billion in additional taxes on individuals
Drives health care costs up, not down, by $311 billion over the next 10 years
Because of my concerns with this massive new health care law, I have demanded hearings in Congress to investigate why the plan raises health costs and hurts our nation's seniors. I have also written a letter to Democrat leaders in the House of Representatives requesting that CMS officials testify before the Energy and Commerce Committee so we can discuss the Administration report in detail with the panel. It is crucial for members of Congress and the American people to understand the full and true impact of this dangerous overhaul of our health care system so we can begin to fix it in a way that works.
The Welfare State Meets Mathematics
Imagine if you will, living in a state where most of the daily needs are provided within the community, with community specialists bringing in those goods and services best produced elsewhere and less essential, but "nice to have" once you can afford them......
Due to the coming collapse of the Welfare State, we may in our lifetimes go back to such a pleasant existence...
The Welfare State Meets Mathematics
Due to the coming collapse of the Welfare State, we may in our lifetimes go back to such a pleasant existence...
The Welfare State Meets Mathematics
Morning Bell: An Appetite for Real Immigration Reform | The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.
The Arizona Law and the growing discontent with the current congress has put an almost panic mode behavior in the White House. They are seeing the passage of any legislature that forwards their agenda as "now or never" as election season looms.
Here is a more common sense approach to immigration reform that the Republicans should start talking about...
Morning Bell: An Appetite for Real Immigration Reform | The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.
Here is a more common sense approach to immigration reform that the Republicans should start talking about...
Morning Bell: An Appetite for Real Immigration Reform | The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.
Friday, April 30, 2010
labor-force-polarized-as-middle-skill-jobs-disappear-report: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance
Is this all part of the master plan? Keep heaping on regulation after regulation. Keep making it easier for unionization. Introduce Cap and Trade schemes to make it ridiculously expensive to maintain a profitable operation in the US and what do you expect will happen?
The key to creating a totalitarian state is the elimination of the middle class. They are the target, they are the victims and the plan is working.
Yesterday, OBAMA! surrogates paraded down Wall Street blaming Goldman Sachs for their job losses, another diversion while Washington plots to create a permanent dependent majority.....
labor-force-polarized-as-middle-skill-jobs-disappear-report: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance
The key to creating a totalitarian state is the elimination of the middle class. They are the target, they are the victims and the plan is working.
Yesterday, OBAMA! surrogates paraded down Wall Street blaming Goldman Sachs for their job losses, another diversion while Washington plots to create a permanent dependent majority.....
labor-force-polarized-as-middle-skill-jobs-disappear-report: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Senator Dodd’s Financial Regulation Plan: 14 Fatal Flaws | The Heritage Foundation
This is not financial reform aimed at stopping another crisis, this is a set up for an even larfer expansion of the central authority....
Senator Dodd’s Financial Regulation Plan: 14 Fatal Flaws | The Heritage Foundation
Senator Dodd’s Financial Regulation Plan: 14 Fatal Flaws | The Heritage Foundation
MACRO-EUROPE: The Titanic is SINKING - John Mauldin's Outside the Box - InvestorsInsight.com | Financial Intelligence, Advice & Research / Investment Strategies & Planning for Individual Investors.
Wake up America! Socialism is a Ponzi scheme that can never work. You cannot expect 1/3 of the population to pay for the needs of the other 2/3 if the 2/3 are not producing any useful contribution to the community. We need to reverse course or we will suffer the same fate, state by state....
MACRO-EUROPE: The Titanic is SINKING - John Mauldin's Outside the Box - InvestorsInsight.com | Financial Intelligence, Advice & Research / Investment Strategies & Planning for Individual Investors.
MACRO-EUROPE: The Titanic is SINKING - John Mauldin's Outside the Box - InvestorsInsight.com | Financial Intelligence, Advice & Research / Investment Strategies & Planning for Individual Investors.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
The Unhappiest States in America - CNBC
Is it any coincedence that 9 of 10 of these states are meccas of liberal policy? At least NJ has decided to vote for change that THEY can believe in!
The Unhappiest States in America - CNBC
The Unhappiest States in America - CNBC
Debt Denial and the Five Stages of Greece
More on the Big Fat Greek Debt Default and a warning for those who wish to use the same economic model....
Debt Denial and the Five Stages of Greece
Debt Denial and the Five Stages of Greece
How Much Is This Economic Recovery Going to Cost?
People don't even know what is happening with this recovery, the author analyzes the true cost of what is happening right now and demonstrates why it is not sustainable.....
How Much Is This Economic Recovery Going to Cost?
How Much Is This Economic Recovery Going to Cost?
Newsmax - Experts Warn of Escalating Chavez Threat
I have found it troubling that this administration gets cozy with dictators while it demonizes our allies and viciously attacks our own citizens.
Newsmax - Experts Warn of Escalating Chavez Threat
Newsmax - Experts Warn of Escalating Chavez Threat
Socialism vs Corporatism by Ron Paul
Ron Paul discusses the difference between socialism and the Obama agenda...
Socialism vs Corporatism by Ron Paul
Socialism vs Corporatism by Ron Paul
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Tea Partiers Fight Obama's Culture of Dependence - Rasmussen Reports™#39;s Culture of Dependence - Rasmussen Reportsâ„¢
More and more Americans are waking up to the threat of the dependent class. Will there be enough in November to begin turning back the tide....??
Tea Partiers Fight Obama's Culture of Dependence - Rasmussen Reports™#39;s Culture of Dependence - Rasmussen Reportsâ„¢
Tea Partiers Fight Obama's Culture of Dependence - Rasmussen Reports™#39;s Culture of Dependence - Rasmussen Reportsâ„¢
Monday, April 26, 2010
YouTube - SEIU as Astroturf - Protesters say, "Give up the bucks!"
This is disgusting on so many levels. First and foremost is the notion that any government job is productive. Since the government does not derive revenue by providing essential goods or services that could not be provided by the private sector, their only source of revenue is.....TAXES!
So in order for a government employee to get paid, the government must first take your money from you and give it to these people. They in turn, give a little of your tax money back to the government under the illusion that they too are paying their taxes. The fact of the matter is that it was your money, taken from you that they are paying their taxes with.
No wealth is created in this process,only a transfer of income from you to them, and; as you can see, an incredible amount of government waste is allowed to occur...think about it, how come the state of illinois didn't shut down with all of these people not working at their government jobs that day?????
Here is the original link:
YouTube - SEIU as Astroturf - Protesters say, "Give up the bucks!"
So in order for a government employee to get paid, the government must first take your money from you and give it to these people. They in turn, give a little of your tax money back to the government under the illusion that they too are paying their taxes. The fact of the matter is that it was your money, taken from you that they are paying their taxes with.
No wealth is created in this process,only a transfer of income from you to them, and; as you can see, an incredible amount of government waste is allowed to occur...think about it, how come the state of illinois didn't shut down with all of these people not working at their government jobs that day?????
Here is the original link:
YouTube - SEIU as Astroturf - Protesters say, "Give up the bucks!"
JIM ROGERS: THE NEXT CRISIS IS ALREADY UNFOLDING | THE PRAGMATIC CAPITALIST
A video from CNBC where legendary investor Jim Rogers provides his thoughts on the collapse of the Euro-Socialist Economy
JIM ROGERS: THE NEXT CRISIS IS ALREADY UNFOLDING | THE PRAGMATIC CAPITALIST
JIM ROGERS: THE NEXT CRISIS IS ALREADY UNFOLDING | THE PRAGMATIC CAPITALIST
Moneynews - Nearly Four Million People Could Pay Obamacare Penalty
As more details come out, this bill looks worse and worse. Why should any citizen be forced to pay for features they do not want or need (most women will not be needing a prostate exam, nor will men need PAP Smears)? This kills all the innovation that would really reduce cost and "bend the curve" on premiums.
The left hates the Health Savings Account model because it provides eventual independence from the Government and "robs" them of tax dollars....all the more reason to fight for it!
For more information on Real Health Care Reform, visit the website of Rep. Paul Ryan (R) Wisconsin and click his HealthCare link.
Moneynews - Nearly Four Million People Could Pay Obamacare Penalty
The left hates the Health Savings Account model because it provides eventual independence from the Government and "robs" them of tax dollars....all the more reason to fight for it!
For more information on Real Health Care Reform, visit the website of Rep. Paul Ryan (R) Wisconsin and click his HealthCare link.
Moneynews - Nearly Four Million People Could Pay Obamacare Penalty
Timothy P. Carney: Goldman rallies for Obama in Wall Street 'reform' | Washington Examiner
Here is the real reason why OBAMA! isn't giving back the Goldman Campaign Donations....
Timothy P. Carney: Goldman rallies for Obama in Wall Street 'reform' | Washington Examiner
Timothy P. Carney: Goldman rallies for Obama in Wall Street 'reform' | Washington Examiner
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Well Said, But Mr. President . . . - James Carafano - The Corner on National Review Online
If you ever attended a Tea-Party, you'd know that these are the most non-violent, constitutionally intellectual crowds ever to stage a protest. Trying to paint this as a violent insurrection is an insult to this country's founding principles.
Well Said, But Mr. President . . . - James Carafano - The Corner on National Review Online
Well Said, But Mr. President . . . - James Carafano - The Corner on National Review Online
Robert Moffit - Obama's health reform isn't modeled after Heritage Foundation ideas
The Heritage Foundation has had to go on the offensive as Obama and his acolytes have run around trying to convince everyone that ObamaCare is based on "conservative Principles.......
Robert Moffit - Obama's health reform isn't modeled after Heritage Foundation ideas
Robert Moffit - Obama's health reform isn't modeled after Heritage Foundation ideas
UK economy must perform a rebalancing act - John Mauldin's Outside the Box - InvestorsInsight.com | Financial Intelligence, Advice & Research / Investment Strategies & Planning for Individual Investors.
Even while OBAMA is driving this economy toward the Euro-socialist model, the Euro-zone socialist economies are crumbling under the weight of their dependent classes. Here is an essay focused on the UK.
UK economy must perform a rebalancing act - John Mauldin's Outside the Box - InvestorsInsight.com | Financial Intelligence, Advice & Research / Investment Strategies & Planning for Individual Investors.
UK economy must perform a rebalancing act - John Mauldin's Outside the Box - InvestorsInsight.com | Financial Intelligence, Advice & Research / Investment Strategies & Planning for Individual Investors.
Anarchy Is the Solution to the Evil Idiocy of the State, Part II
As promised, here is part two of the anarchy discussion...
Anarchy Is the Solution to the Evil Idiocy of the State, Part II
Anarchy Is the Solution to the Evil Idiocy of the State, Part II
Monday, April 19, 2010
First, Let’s Kill the Angels - Thoughts From The Frontline - InvestorsInsight.com | Financial Intelligence, Advice & Research / Investment Strategies & Planning for Individual Investors.
An analysis of what is buried in the financial reform bill.....
First, Let’s Kill the Angels - Thoughts From The Frontline - InvestorsInsight.com | Financial Intelligence, Advice & Research / Investment Strategies & Planning for Individual Investors.
First, Let’s Kill the Angels - Thoughts From The Frontline - InvestorsInsight.com | Financial Intelligence, Advice & Research / Investment Strategies & Planning for Individual Investors.
Federal Government Provide Entitlements at the Cost of Collapse
The author presents a solid analysis of "how we got here". The poll tax and property ownership have been demonized as to being put in place to prevent women and minorities from voting when in fact the purpose was always to ensure:
1) an educated and informed electorate, and;
2) that we don't end up with a majority who think they can vote themselves a piece of their neighbors' private property.
Why should anyone have a right to vote when they don't have any skin in the game? And no, government goal that you could lose does not constitute your own skin.....
Federal Government Provide Entitlements at the Cost of Collapse
1) an educated and informed electorate, and;
2) that we don't end up with a majority who think they can vote themselves a piece of their neighbors' private property.
Why should anyone have a right to vote when they don't have any skin in the game? And no, government goal that you could lose does not constitute your own skin.....
Federal Government Provide Entitlements at the Cost of Collapse
Saturday, April 17, 2010
IS GREECE TODAY’S BEAR STEARNS? | THE PRAGMATIC CAPITALIST
From the pragmatic capitalist. Don't think for a minute that the EU deal is the end of the story, it is just the beginning as the socialist economic model that OBAMA! wants to ram us into continues to collapse on the other side of the pond...
IS GREECE TODAY’S BEAR STEARNS? | THE PRAGMATIC CAPITALIST
IS GREECE TODAY’S BEAR STEARNS? | THE PRAGMATIC CAPITALIST
Washington - Not China - Is the Real Manipulator Here
Washington has had a tendency to blame everyone else than themselves no matter what the issue of the day is. Here is a discussion about how the claim that China (not OBAMA!, Pelosi and Reid), is hurting our "recovery" is simply misguided.
Washington - Not China - Is the Real Manipulator Here
Washington - Not China - Is the Real Manipulator Here
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Fratto: That 47 Percent No Taxes—Another Closer Look - CNBC
An rebuttal to an attack of the USA Today article that reported that 47% of US wage earners are not paying federal income tax (now do you see why they want a VAT tax?)
Fratto: That 47 Percent No Taxes—Another Closer Look - CNBC
Fratto: That 47 Percent No Taxes—Another Closer Look - CNBC
Less Tax for Economic Turnaround
Can't let this day pass without something having to do with taxation. Remember the story of Robin Hood? He stole from the rich and gave to the poor? Does anyone remember who the rich were....? Here's a hint, his nemisis was the Sheriff of Nottingham - the government!
The idea that the government has the "right" to take your property from you behind the barrel of a gun is exactly what the whole taxation without representation is all about. This has become a shakedown of the citizenry and it will end one way or another.....
Less Tax for Economic Turnaround
The idea that the government has the "right" to take your property from you behind the barrel of a gun is exactly what the whole taxation without representation is all about. This has become a shakedown of the citizenry and it will end one way or another.....
Less Tax for Economic Turnaround
Democratic Bill Allows Takeover of Businesses
I'm not a fan of Dick Morris, but this is a well written article on what is really behind Dodd's financial reform bill.
Imagine a company not supporting Obama all of a sudden being deemed "too big to fail" and then taken over by the government. Would that suppress opposition?
Newsmax - Democratic Bill Allows Takeover of Businesses
Imagine a company not supporting Obama all of a sudden being deemed "too big to fail" and then taken over by the government. Would that suppress opposition?
Newsmax - Democratic Bill Allows Takeover of Businesses
The Watchmen Sleep While Energy Costs Raid the Village
It doesn't make sense that with oil rising to more than $80.00 per barrel(nearly double a year ago), that the reported inflation numbers remain "tame". this article dissects the reports and gives us a better picture of what is really going on.
The Watchmen Sleep While Energy Costs Raid the Village
The Watchmen Sleep While Energy Costs Raid the Village
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Anarchy Is the Solution to the Evil Idiocy of the State
Is anarchy really the answer? Based on Doug Casey's definition, I may start classifying myself as an anarchist.....it beats trying to explain what a "little r-republican" is or a "constitutional conservative".
Anarchist.....bet nobody gets in my face about slavery, homophobia, etc.......
Part II tomorrow
Enjoy!
Anarchy Is the Solution to the Evil Idiocy of the State
Anarchist.....bet nobody gets in my face about slavery, homophobia, etc.......
Part II tomorrow
Enjoy!
Anarchy Is the Solution to the Evil Idiocy of the State
Musical Rant
I usually don't post jokes are funny stuff, because this is serious, we are in a fight for the life of the country we grew up in (or thought we grew up in...?), but this is well done....
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Two Things to Remember on Tax Day
By Bob Bauman
Tax Day is a dreaded deadline for millions, but for nearly half of U.S. households it's simply somebody else's problem. So with that in mind…
1) Nearly half of U.S. households pay no federal income taxes
About 47% of Americans will pay no federal income taxes at all for 2009. Either their incomes were too low, or they qualified for enough credits, deductions and exemptions to eliminate their liability.
The result is a tax system that exempts almost half the country from paying for programs that benefit everyone, including national defense, public safety, infrastructure and education...
It is a system in which the top 10% of earners — households making an average of $366,400 in 2006 — paid about 73% of the income taxes collected by the federal government.
The bottom 40%, on average, make a profit from the federal income tax, meaning they get more money in tax credits than they would otherwise owe in taxes. For those people, the government sends them a payment.
"We have 50% of people who are getting something for nothing," said Curtis Dubay, senior tax policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation. Read more here.
Something for nothing? Remind you of anyone else? …
2) U.S. national debt is heading for crisis level
Lost amid last month's passage of the new health care law, the Congressional Budget Office issued an intriguing report.
It showed that within this decade, President Obama's own budget sends the U.S. government to a potential tipping point where the debt reaches 90 percent of gross domestic product.
Economists Carmen Reinhart of the University of Maryland and Kenneth Rogoff of Harvard University have recently shown that a 90% debt-to-GDP ratio usually touches off a crisis.
This year, the debt will reach 63% of GDP, a ratio that has ignited crises in smaller wealthy nations. Fiscal crises gripped Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Ireland when their debts were below where the United States is shortly headed.
Will YOU be prepared to react when the collapse comes?
Do you have plans in place to save yourself and your family from the personal impact of America's national financial ruin?
Tax Day is a dreaded deadline for millions, but for nearly half of U.S. households it's simply somebody else's problem. So with that in mind…
1) Nearly half of U.S. households pay no federal income taxes
About 47% of Americans will pay no federal income taxes at all for 2009. Either their incomes were too low, or they qualified for enough credits, deductions and exemptions to eliminate their liability.
The result is a tax system that exempts almost half the country from paying for programs that benefit everyone, including national defense, public safety, infrastructure and education...
It is a system in which the top 10% of earners — households making an average of $366,400 in 2006 — paid about 73% of the income taxes collected by the federal government.
The bottom 40%, on average, make a profit from the federal income tax, meaning they get more money in tax credits than they would otherwise owe in taxes. For those people, the government sends them a payment.
"We have 50% of people who are getting something for nothing," said Curtis Dubay, senior tax policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation. Read more here.
Something for nothing? Remind you of anyone else? …
2) U.S. national debt is heading for crisis level
Lost amid last month's passage of the new health care law, the Congressional Budget Office issued an intriguing report.
It showed that within this decade, President Obama's own budget sends the U.S. government to a potential tipping point where the debt reaches 90 percent of gross domestic product.
Economists Carmen Reinhart of the University of Maryland and Kenneth Rogoff of Harvard University have recently shown that a 90% debt-to-GDP ratio usually touches off a crisis.
This year, the debt will reach 63% of GDP, a ratio that has ignited crises in smaller wealthy nations. Fiscal crises gripped Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Ireland when their debts were below where the United States is shortly headed.
Will YOU be prepared to react when the collapse comes?
Do you have plans in place to save yourself and your family from the personal impact of America's national financial ruin?
Friday, April 09, 2010
Print Article: Mark Landsbaum: What to say to a global warming alarmist
Next time you are surrounded by a bunch of global warming alarmists, here is a list of topics that will surely get their attention......
Print Article: Mark Landsbaum: What to say to a global warming alarmist
Print Article: Mark Landsbaum: What to say to a global warming alarmist
When We Could Afford the Welfare Scheme of Social Security
We have created history this year in that our government ponzi scheme #1, Social Security, will pay out more money than it takes in this year. Let the downward spiral begin!
When We Could Afford the Welfare Scheme of Social Security
When We Could Afford the Welfare Scheme of Social Security
Newsmax - Obama Gets It Right on Airport Screening
Note that this is limited to airports outside the US, people already in the US would not be subject to such scrutiny, it would violate their civil rights.....
Newsmax - Obama Gets It Right on Airport Screening
Newsmax - Obama Gets It Right on Airport Screening
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.
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