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
Friday, April 09, 2010
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/
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