The world will not end if Congress refuses to raise the debt ceiling. The United States will not default the morning after the vote not to raise the debt ceiling. Commerce will go on, banks will be open, and the Federal Government will continue to spend like a drunken sailor.
The debt ceiling is an arbitrary number made up by Congress and bureaucrats that do not know how to even balance a checkbook. The limit is no different than a sports fan going into a bar and promising himself that he will have no more than three beers during the Red Wings playoff game. When he gets to the third period he has another two beers. As long as he can pay for them, nothing happens, except that his immaturity and lack of self discipline is on display once again.
One must look closely at those that claim the debt ceiling must be raised, or financial armageddon will occur. These are the same folks that said that the TARP bill had to be passed within 48 hours or the global economy would collapse beyond repair. Please remember that it took Congress almost 30 days to pass TARP, and nothing happen. Also be mindful that those calling for more debt stand to gain the most from prolonging business as usual inside the Beltway. Old line politicians on both sides of the aisle stand to gain much from lobbyists if they can prolong the game. Can America really afford to trust these people again?
The Federal Government will not default immediately. The IRS has a great cash flow situation. The biggest part is payroll taxes that are collected every time that someone gets paid. The next part is quarterly tax payments made by investors and corporations. Essentially, the IRS is raking in the dough almost 24 x 7. They could pay the interest on the debt first each month, then operate the government on what is left over.
Now if Congress doesn’t stop spending like a delirious drunken sailor, they will eventually spend more than they take in and this would lead to default. This is where the reality comes in. We must pressure our public servants in Washington to stop the immoral inter-generational thief and trim spending. Trim as with a Chain Saw and not cuticle scissors. However, this would require elected officials with a spine and principles, I don’t suggest holding one’s breath.
For the sake of the Republic and our children’s children, we must pressure our public servants to stop the inter-generational thief. There is no technical, logical, nor practical reason to raise the debt limit. It would only illustrate the spinelessness and ignorance of our ruling elite yet once again.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Gas Prices, Government, and Reality
The rise in gas prices is NOT being caused by speculators nor the greedy oil companies. It is being caused by the Federal Government and the Federal Reserve.
One part is the actions (and inactions) of the Federal Government not to pursue a plan to make America energy independent. The blame can be shared by ALL administrations since the 1970’s when the Energy Department was formed with the goal of energy independence. The moratoriums on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and off the shore of Alaska are but two of the latest stumbles by the ruling elite. If construction in ANWAR had been started when the reserves were first discovered, the oil would be flowing by now.
These actions and inactions by the Federal Government have not allowed the growth of the domestic oil industry to keep pace with the growth in population and energy demands. It is simply the law of supply and demand. The solution is simple, Drill Baby Drill.
The Federal reserve has a big hand in the increase in price as well, if not the larger hand. Quantitative Easing by the Fed is only the latest action that has put excess dollars into the market. Due to this, the value of the dollar continues to decline, therefore, the oil producers around the world simply demand more dollars for the same barrel of oil. Again, it is simply the law of supply and demand. It is no more complex that to imagine a commodity such as diamonds being increased by 1000 fold on the market. Do you think the value of diamonds would not plummet? The same is true for dollars.
These actions and inactions are being done by people that have a large stake in maintaining the status quo. The reality comes in when the American people realize they are being played by the ruling elite.
For the sake of the Republic and our children’s children, we must pressure our public servants to stop these destructive policies and practices. The alternative is not only serfdom to the ruling elite, but the loss of most of the value of our savings and investments, the value of our homes, and the future prospects for our children.
Time is getting short. We must unite and act against the arrogance of the ruling elite.
One part is the actions (and inactions) of the Federal Government not to pursue a plan to make America energy independent. The blame can be shared by ALL administrations since the 1970’s when the Energy Department was formed with the goal of energy independence. The moratoriums on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and off the shore of Alaska are but two of the latest stumbles by the ruling elite. If construction in ANWAR had been started when the reserves were first discovered, the oil would be flowing by now.
These actions and inactions by the Federal Government have not allowed the growth of the domestic oil industry to keep pace with the growth in population and energy demands. It is simply the law of supply and demand. The solution is simple, Drill Baby Drill.
The Federal reserve has a big hand in the increase in price as well, if not the larger hand. Quantitative Easing by the Fed is only the latest action that has put excess dollars into the market. Due to this, the value of the dollar continues to decline, therefore, the oil producers around the world simply demand more dollars for the same barrel of oil. Again, it is simply the law of supply and demand. It is no more complex that to imagine a commodity such as diamonds being increased by 1000 fold on the market. Do you think the value of diamonds would not plummet? The same is true for dollars.
These actions and inactions are being done by people that have a large stake in maintaining the status quo. The reality comes in when the American people realize they are being played by the ruling elite.
For the sake of the Republic and our children’s children, we must pressure our public servants to stop these destructive policies and practices. The alternative is not only serfdom to the ruling elite, but the loss of most of the value of our savings and investments, the value of our homes, and the future prospects for our children.
Time is getting short. We must unite and act against the arrogance of the ruling elite.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
The Arrogance of the Insiders
Roberts: Compounding ignorance with arrogance
By Cokie and Steven Roberts/Syndicated columnists
GHS
Posted Apr 10, 2011 @ 12:21 AM
It has been barely three months since John Boehner became Speaker of the House, but Judson Phillips has already lost patience with him. The founder of Tea Party Nation wrote recently that the speaker "did not get the message" from the last election. "The honeymoon is over," he announced, and Tea Partiers should find a candidate to challenge Boehner in the Republican primary next year.
The speaker's unforgivable sin? He promised to cut $100 billion from this year's budget, but because Democrats control the Senate and the White House, he will fall far short of that goal. The speaker looks "like a fool," says Phillips. But who's the real fool here?
In fairness, not every Tea Party activist agrees with Phillips about ousting Boehner, but his tirade reveals the basic - and possibly fatal - flaw in the party's approach to politics. Tea Partiers simply do not understand how democracy works. And they compound their ignorance with arrogance.
Contrary to their claims, the Tea Party did not "win" the 2010 election. Yes, party activists helped elect 87 Republican House freshmen, and most of them share the Tea Party's fierce hostility toward government. That accomplishment entitles them to an important seat at the decision-making table.
But those freshmen account for only one of five House members. Voters sent another 348 congressmen to Washington as well, and all of them have their own constituencies and interests, priorities and principles. This is a large and diverse country, and no one group or philosophy can dictate how the government operates.
We know, we know. Tea Party types will read those words and say, see, they are written by "Washington insiders" who don't understand "the people." But we've been watching and analyzing politics for close to half a century and experience has taught us a profound truth.
Compromise is not a dirty word. And Boehner is not an infidel for talking to Democrats. Compromise is absolutely essential for democracy to work efficiently. Without it, politics becomes holy war. Republicans and Democrats start acting like Shiites and Sunnis. Washington resembles Baghdad or Kabul.
At its core, this is a pragmatic country that rejects extremes on both sides. In the 2008 election, only one of three voters called themselves conservatives and only one-fifth identified as liberals. The rest, 44 percent, chose the label "moderate," and the latest poll by the Pew Research Center reinforces the country's middle-of-the-road character. While 68 percent of all Tea Party sympathizers said that lawmakers should "stick to their principles" and shut down the government if they don't get their way in budget negotiations, only 36 percent of all voters shared that view - a huge disparity.
History shows clearly: Any faction that tries to defy this moderate impulse is ultimately doomed to failure. That's exactly what happened to the Moral Majority and the Christian Coalition, two movements that entered politics convinced they had a monopoly on truth and wound up isolating themselves in an ideological dead end.
The same problem exists on the left. Some liberals want to emulate Judson Phillips and fire President Obama for failing to keep key campaign promises, such as closing the prison at Guantanamo or enacting a "public option" in his healthcare bill. But like Boehner, Obama could not keep some of his promises because reality prevented him from doing so.
He could not close Gitmo because he had nowhere to put its inmates. He could not pass a public option because he didn't have the votes. But that has not stopped some of his left-wing critics from denouncing him as a traitor.
In the 2012 election, the Tea Party could be the best thing that ever happened to Barack Obama. In early primary states like Iowa and South Carolina, party activists could force Republican candidates to make outlandish promises that play well at Tea Party rallies but cripple the GOP's nominee in the fall election. To make it even worse, Tea Party favorites like Rep. Michele Bachmann could interject their extreme views into early debates and candidate forums, making sure that no one on the platform escapes with a shred of moderation intact.
If Bachmann wants to run in those early primaries, the Democrats should pay her filing fee. And if Judson Phillips wants to come back to Washington and denounce John Boehner as a sellout, the Democrats should pay his bus fare. Better yet, a one-way first-class air ticket so he cannot leave town. They know who the fool is.
Steve and Cokie's new book, "Our Haggadah" (HarperCollins), has just been published. Steve and Cokie Roberts can be contacted by e-mail at stevecokie@gmail.com.
Copyright 2011 The MetroWest Daily News. Some rights reserved
A grass root level response:
The Arrogance of Insiders
Steve and Cokie Roberts are the arrogant ones here. Their 50 years inside the beltway have indeed clouded their ability to reason and understand principles the way ordinary Americans do.
As a Tea Party Patriot, I do not have hostility towards my government. I only want it to operate at a level that does not condone and even demand intergenerational theft. Nor do I want my government to operate with the concept that it is entitled to tell us what to eat, what type of light bulbs to buy, and what type of health insurance we have to purchase.
Is it extreme that I balance my checkbook each month? Is it extreme that I live within my means, and that I save for my own retirement? Is it extreme to ask each level of my government to do the same? Or is a debt for our children's children's of $14,000,000,000,000 extreme?
There is a time and place for compromise on the details, but there is also a time and place for standing on principles. Given the fiscal insanity over the last 50 years, it is time that ordinary Americans demand a little more standing on principles and less compromise with the self appointed ruling elites that got us into this mess.
I guess the ignorance part comes from the fact we refused to read and obey the memo that states we in the country class can never, never question the intentions or actions of the self appointed ruling elites.
By Cokie and Steven Roberts/Syndicated columnists
GHS
Posted Apr 10, 2011 @ 12:21 AM
It has been barely three months since John Boehner became Speaker of the House, but Judson Phillips has already lost patience with him. The founder of Tea Party Nation wrote recently that the speaker "did not get the message" from the last election. "The honeymoon is over," he announced, and Tea Partiers should find a candidate to challenge Boehner in the Republican primary next year.
The speaker's unforgivable sin? He promised to cut $100 billion from this year's budget, but because Democrats control the Senate and the White House, he will fall far short of that goal. The speaker looks "like a fool," says Phillips. But who's the real fool here?
In fairness, not every Tea Party activist agrees with Phillips about ousting Boehner, but his tirade reveals the basic - and possibly fatal - flaw in the party's approach to politics. Tea Partiers simply do not understand how democracy works. And they compound their ignorance with arrogance.
Contrary to their claims, the Tea Party did not "win" the 2010 election. Yes, party activists helped elect 87 Republican House freshmen, and most of them share the Tea Party's fierce hostility toward government. That accomplishment entitles them to an important seat at the decision-making table.
But those freshmen account for only one of five House members. Voters sent another 348 congressmen to Washington as well, and all of them have their own constituencies and interests, priorities and principles. This is a large and diverse country, and no one group or philosophy can dictate how the government operates.
We know, we know. Tea Party types will read those words and say, see, they are written by "Washington insiders" who don't understand "the people." But we've been watching and analyzing politics for close to half a century and experience has taught us a profound truth.
Compromise is not a dirty word. And Boehner is not an infidel for talking to Democrats. Compromise is absolutely essential for democracy to work efficiently. Without it, politics becomes holy war. Republicans and Democrats start acting like Shiites and Sunnis. Washington resembles Baghdad or Kabul.
At its core, this is a pragmatic country that rejects extremes on both sides. In the 2008 election, only one of three voters called themselves conservatives and only one-fifth identified as liberals. The rest, 44 percent, chose the label "moderate," and the latest poll by the Pew Research Center reinforces the country's middle-of-the-road character. While 68 percent of all Tea Party sympathizers said that lawmakers should "stick to their principles" and shut down the government if they don't get their way in budget negotiations, only 36 percent of all voters shared that view - a huge disparity.
History shows clearly: Any faction that tries to defy this moderate impulse is ultimately doomed to failure. That's exactly what happened to the Moral Majority and the Christian Coalition, two movements that entered politics convinced they had a monopoly on truth and wound up isolating themselves in an ideological dead end.
The same problem exists on the left. Some liberals want to emulate Judson Phillips and fire President Obama for failing to keep key campaign promises, such as closing the prison at Guantanamo or enacting a "public option" in his healthcare bill. But like Boehner, Obama could not keep some of his promises because reality prevented him from doing so.
He could not close Gitmo because he had nowhere to put its inmates. He could not pass a public option because he didn't have the votes. But that has not stopped some of his left-wing critics from denouncing him as a traitor.
In the 2012 election, the Tea Party could be the best thing that ever happened to Barack Obama. In early primary states like Iowa and South Carolina, party activists could force Republican candidates to make outlandish promises that play well at Tea Party rallies but cripple the GOP's nominee in the fall election. To make it even worse, Tea Party favorites like Rep. Michele Bachmann could interject their extreme views into early debates and candidate forums, making sure that no one on the platform escapes with a shred of moderation intact.
If Bachmann wants to run in those early primaries, the Democrats should pay her filing fee. And if Judson Phillips wants to come back to Washington and denounce John Boehner as a sellout, the Democrats should pay his bus fare. Better yet, a one-way first-class air ticket so he cannot leave town. They know who the fool is.
Steve and Cokie's new book, "Our Haggadah" (HarperCollins), has just been published. Steve and Cokie Roberts can be contacted by e-mail at stevecokie@gmail.com.
Copyright 2011 The MetroWest Daily News. Some rights reserved
A grass root level response:
The Arrogance of Insiders
Steve and Cokie Roberts are the arrogant ones here. Their 50 years inside the beltway have indeed clouded their ability to reason and understand principles the way ordinary Americans do.
As a Tea Party Patriot, I do not have hostility towards my government. I only want it to operate at a level that does not condone and even demand intergenerational theft. Nor do I want my government to operate with the concept that it is entitled to tell us what to eat, what type of light bulbs to buy, and what type of health insurance we have to purchase.
Is it extreme that I balance my checkbook each month? Is it extreme that I live within my means, and that I save for my own retirement? Is it extreme to ask each level of my government to do the same? Or is a debt for our children's children's of $14,000,000,000,000 extreme?
There is a time and place for compromise on the details, but there is also a time and place for standing on principles. Given the fiscal insanity over the last 50 years, it is time that ordinary Americans demand a little more standing on principles and less compromise with the self appointed ruling elites that got us into this mess.
I guess the ignorance part comes from the fact we refused to read and obey the memo that states we in the country class can never, never question the intentions or actions of the self appointed ruling elites.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Common Sense Solutions: Social Security
America has some tough choices to make with respect to Social Security. The current course is unsustainable and is a major unfunded liability. There are straight forward solutions that need to be brought to the table. However, everyone needs to understand that change is necessary and that it could be significant for some. The graphic below shows the size of the unfunded liabilities we are facing. These have not been addressed by our elected officials in Washington, therefore, we need to challenge them to either step aside or actually deal with reality.
Below are my suggestions for addressing this over unfunded liability. They are based on common sense and the reality of the numbers.
- Place Social Security payments on the annual budget. The science of demographics can predict within reason the funds needed based on the age distribution for each year. The Heritage Foundation predicts that the amount of liability is $6.6 Trillion. This is not a small number. We need to be honest with the American people and ourselves. The current situation is like not saving money each month for the rent or mortgage payment. It’s time we own up to reality.
- Scale back payments to Wealthy Retirees. Currently, there are millionaires collecting Social Security checks each month. This is not sustainable. The limit should be set at around $75,000 of combined income per year. A sliding scale could be included down to some level closer to the poverty level for adjusting benefits.
- Audit all those who collect benefits. The audit should identify those who are collecting benefits that have not paid into the system during their working years. These individuals should be terminated from the program. Being $12+ Trillion in debt, we cannot afford to be generous with our great grand children’s tax revenue.
- Adjust the Retirement Age with Life Expectancy. In the 1930s the life expectancy was only around 60 years. Today, the life expectancy is much higher, nearly 80 years. This puts a much greater burden on the program. The retirement age, or age at which full benefits kick in should be adjusted over time. Currently there is token adjustments, but postponing full benefits by only a month or two will not make the system solvent.
- Forbid Congress from spending the Trust Fund for annual budget items. Since the mid 1960s, Congress has been stealing from the trust fund and returning only IOUs. This intergenerational theft has been practiced by both major parties and must be stopped.
- Develop a plan to terminate Social Security for those born after 01 Jan 2001. This program has been a PONZI scheme from the beginning. In a growing economy and population, it was easy to hide this little recognized fact. But today, with a terrible economy and much lower birth rate, the evidence should be clear that the program has been a house of cards from the start. We need to develop a plan, over several decades, to work our way out of this program. See the chart below, if Social Security is not a PONZI scheme, then why would they track this information?
- Replace Social Security with Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA). We need to educate our children that they are responsible for their retirement. Everyone should be guided into an IRA at an early age. Some say this should be mandatory, some say it is an individual responsibility. Either way, we need to ensure that Congress cannot get their hands on the funds.
These are my common sense solutions to actually deal with Social Security in a fair and honest manner. Will this solve the issue completely, I don't think so, but it will be a significant start. Yes, there are some tough choices here, but dealing well with reality is what Manufacturing Engineers do for a living. My thanks to the Heritage Foundation {Heritage.org} for several of these ideas and the informative graphics.
Doing nothing is not an option. Nibbling around the edges is not leadership. It is time for bold actions, not pastel efforts.
Richard Grimes - Revolutionary Conservative March 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
12 Items in Response to the Obama Budget
After a hardy laugh at the Messiah's insanity we (thinking Conservatives of principle) would offer the following steps to bring logic and reason to the fiscal and monetary policy of the Federal Government:
1. Reverse budgeting: For FY 2011 we would look at the revenues of FY2009 and select a percentage in the 80 to 90% range based on economic trends. That number would be the budget for FY2011. Not a penny more. Congress and the White House would need to barter on which programs get how much money, but the bottom line is defined. The excess would go towards debt reduction.
2. All items on Budget: Clinton claimed "Budget Surpluses" for many of his years in office, but for each year the National Debt increased. This is due to "OFF Budget Items" such as major entitlements and special items like TARP, the Stimulus bill, etc... This practice must stop. If a publicly traded company did their books like this, someone would go to jail.
3. Earmark Moratorium: A minimum two year suspension of the process of political graft and the rewarding of campaign contributors. Let's see if the country implodes without earmarks.
4. Stop hiding behind the scam of "Mandatory Spending": Who determines what is and is not mandatory spending? Six no-neck guys at Elmo's Bar in Toledo, Ohio, that will knee cap you if you mess with it? Hiding behind this scam is for weak unprincipled politicians that have little courage to do the right thing.
5. 15% cut to ALL Departments: Including Defense and Homeland Security. Start at the top and thin the organizations. Look at the corporate organizations of General Motors and Wal-Mart. One is a bankrupt dinosaur, the other a lean global giant. If we were to eliminate several departments (Energy & Education), the cuts to the others could be less.
6. 25% cut to ALL Entitlement Programs: We're Trillions in debt, everyone is going to have to have skin in the game. If total programs were eliminated, the cuts to others could be reduced.
7. Stop the Presses: Stop the printing of money and either return to a gold standard or pass a Constitutional amendment that allows the M1 money supply to grow no more than 2.5% per year. The goal is stability of the currency. Use the money supply of 2006 as a basis.
8. End Fractional Reserve Banking for demand deposits: Require banks to keep 100% of their demand deposits on hand. The money for loans would come from investment accounts. This could end bank failures and lighten the burden on the taxpayer. It is also the first step to the elimination of the Federal Reserve.
9. Cut Taxes: Eliminate the AMT and death tax. Reduce capital gains and corporate rates to 13% and consider the merits of either a Flat Tax on income or the Fair Tax on consumption. Set a target of deciding on one or the other by Sept 1st.
10. No New Taxes: No new taxes on health insurance, energy use, the color of our cars, the size of our homes, or what we eat.
11. Just Say NO to the Fraud of Climate Crisis: Laugh out loud at the liars and their gullible followers that fear the end is near. Respect for the environment and continuous improvement in the reduction of emissions should be promoted.
12. Reduce Regulations: Government policies should set rules of the game, not micro manage each market. Reduce the compliance costs of all government regulations to aid businesses and job creation.
These items are the foundational elements of sound sustainable fiscal and monetary policy. Any attempt to continue business as usual is a sign of weakness. Intergenerational theft is immoral.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Cap and Trade, Climate Gate, and Freedom
With the debacle of a climate conference in Copenhagen behind us, and more startling revelations about climate scientists fudging the data how could any thinking individual support the Waxman-Markey bill approved in the House and waiting for action in the Senate?
As an engineer that collects, analyses, and presents data to corporate leadership, if one of my team members was found to have manipulated data in the manner of those at NASA and the CRU at the University of East Anglia, they would be out of a job by noon the next day. Even in this age of political correctness and diversity constraints.
These revelations prove to thinking people that the climate scientists behind the United Nations IPCC reports have been lying to push a political agenda. I will back these statements with 25 years of data interpretation experience and a handful of graduate level statistic courses.
Man made climate crisis is nothing more than a phony religion for those too lazy to think.
The narration below is an attempt to provide data and challenge the viewer to think about the agenda of those that are pushing this phony climate crisis. This is really about our freedom from the tyranny of big government.
As an engineer that collects, analyses, and presents data to corporate leadership, if one of my team members was found to have manipulated data in the manner of those at NASA and the CRU at the University of East Anglia, they would be out of a job by noon the next day. Even in this age of political correctness and diversity constraints.
These revelations prove to thinking people that the climate scientists behind the United Nations IPCC reports have been lying to push a political agenda. I will back these statements with 25 years of data interpretation experience and a handful of graduate level statistic courses.
Man made climate crisis is nothing more than a phony religion for those too lazy to think.
The narration below is an attempt to provide data and challenge the viewer to think about the agenda of those that are pushing this phony climate crisis. This is really about our freedom from the tyranny of big government.
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