Showing posts with label Economy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Economy. Show all posts

Saturday, September 03, 2011

The Tax Tax

Papa B:

Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table,
At which he's fed.

Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.

Tax his work,
Tax his pay,
He works for
peanuts anyway!

Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.

Tax his ties,
Tax his shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think.

Tax his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he cries
Tax his tears.

Tax his car,
Tax his gas,
Find other ways
Taxes to pass

Tax all he has
Then let him know
That you won't be done
Till he has no dough.

When he screams and hollers;
Then tax him some more,
Tax him till
He's good and sore.

Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he's laid...

Put these words
Upon his tomb,
'Taxes drove me
to my doom...'

When he's gone,
Do not relax,
Its time to apply
The inheritance tax.


Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
Capital Gains Tax
Commercial Driver's License (CDL) Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Driver's License Tax
Estate Taxes (Death Taxes)
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Health Care Taxes (PPACA assesses a 3.8% tax when you sell your home)
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Interest Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medical Device Taxes
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Sales Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Unemployment Insurance Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom could stay home to raise the kids.

The last 80 years have seen the rise of a federal leviathan, unconstitutional in its genesis, unrelenting in its thirst for control, and inarguably destructive of liberty.

Our founders and framers were brilliant human beings. They anticipated and feared the rise of an immense, lawless, rogue, authoritarian, central government and they explicitly designed the Constitution to prevent it.

But politically expedient criminals (for that's what they are: criminals) -- many malevolent, some merely useless idiots -- have collaborated to render our nation's highest law nearly meaningless.

It took 80 years for us to get here and it may take 80 years for us to roll it back. But roll it back we must, if we are to save this Republic for subsequent generations.




What should have been today's headline in every newspaper in America

That is, if we had a real media in this country.

"It was the first time since 1945 that the government has reported a net monthly job change of zero."

After an exhausting nine days on Martha's Vineyard, followed by several campaign events, the President headed to Camp David yesterday for the long Labor Day weekend in order to golf, decompress and unwind.



Friday, September 02, 2011

What They Told Us

They told us that allowing law-abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons would turn our streets into rivers of blood.

They told us that taking trillions of dollars and giving it to those "who truly needed it" would cure poverty.

They told us that giving home loans to those who couldn't afford them would make the American dream achievable for all.

They told us that paying into the Social Security "Trust Fund" would guarantee a comfortable retirement for everyone.

They told us that allowing teachers to unionize in public schools would help inner city students reach for the stars.

They told us that the federal government could run a guaranteed, affordable health care program for seniors forever.

They told us that the new employment paradigm consisted of millions of "green jobs".

They told us that their support for immoral and criminal behavior wouldn't result in the breakdown of the two-parent family.

They told us that spending trillions on Stimulus programs would heal a damaged economy.

They told us that raising taxes on corporations and "the rich" would create more jobs.

They told us that our borders were "as secure as they've ever been".

They told us that intentionally restricting access to our own sources of energy would reduce dependence on foreign oil.

They told us that spreading unemployment benefits and food stamps far and wide would help the economy.

They told us that, despite other failed government health care programs, they could successfully take over the entire medical system.

They told us that their record-breaking borrowing could never result in a downgrade of the United States' AAA credit rating.

They told us that "the Constitution doesn't matter".

They told us that anyone who opposes their unconstitutional, un-American, reckless and failed policies are racists.

Well, I'm here to tell you:

Everything they told us was a lie.

Everything they told us was wrong.

Intentionally, diabolically, criminally wrong.

And if we don't vote out every Democrat politician -- at every level of government -- in 2012, this beautiful Republic, this magnificent country, this bastion of free enterprise and private property rights, this shining city on a hill... well, it will be finished.


Related: Don't cry for me, America.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

What do you call it when everything someone touches turns to excrement?

I like to call it "The Obama Touch".

Turns out another half-a-billion dollars of your money was just flushed down the "green jobs" hole, the inevitable result of the relentless, climafraud, Soviet-style, central planning economic model of the Obama Democrats:

Solyndra, a San Francisco based solar panel company that received a $535 million loan guarantee from the federal government has declared bankruptcy. Last year President Obama touted the company as “leading the way” in the green jobs future he envisions.

Just a few months ago, ABC News revealed that one of the major financial backers for Solyndra is also a major donor to the Obama campaign... The donor, Steve Westley, has subsequently been named to the President’s Energy Advisory Board. Solyndra was supposed to have produced 4,000 jobs with the loan guarantee. Now all of the company’s employees have been laid-off. Mr. Westley is still on the advisory board.

Congressman Cliff Stearns, Chair of House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Oversight Subcomittee, released the following statement this afternoon: "In an apparent rush to push stimulus dollars out the door, the Obama Administration wasted $535 million in taxpayer funds in guaranteeing a loan to a firm that has proven to be unviable in the global market... For months, we have been investigating how and why nearly half a billion dollars in taxpayer money was committed to this financially troubled company."

When the final history of this administration is written, I predict that we will have seen the most wanton waste, fraud and abuse of the taxpayer in history; in fact, it will have been of a scale so epic and so unbelievably criminal in nature that Richard Nixon will look like George Washington in comparison.



Sign of the Times

This may be the quintessential headline of the Hopenchange era.

Feeling stimulated yet?

I'm not. I'm only getting an odd tingling sensation -- and it's not exactly where Chris Matthews said he felt it.



Sunday, August 28, 2011

"Not even the USDA knows what people are buying with food stamps"

For a federal government that regulates school bake sales, light bulbs, shower heads and toilets it seems curious indeed that it has no idea what people are buying with food stamps.

A bit of background: the "Electronic Benefits Transfer Program" (or EBT) is a credit-card issued by the federal government to reduce "the stigma sometimes associated with public assistance" (click here for an entertaining -- and necessarily profane -- music video explaining EBTs).

As you probably know, food stamps and other wealth redistribution schemes have exploded to historic highs under the direction of the Obama administration.

What you may not know is that even the USDA has no clue what kinds of foods are "legitimately" purchased with EBTs: for example, junk food, candy, and other foodstuffs that increase obesity and diabetes. Why should we care? Because not only are taxpayers funding unhealthy eating -- they are then footing the bill for any resulting medical bills under programs like Medicaid and SCHIP.

People who qualify for food stamps - known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP - have a growing variety of places where they can use their electronic benefit (EBT) cards, including supermarkets, gas stations, Papa Murphy pizza shops and even dollar-discount stores - essentially, any business that can install coolers to stock specific kinds of food and meet minimum federal requirements...

...Nationally, about 210,000 food stamp vendors split the $64.7 billion that SNAP participants spent last year... While the cost of SNAP and the number of people it serves aren't in doubt, other information about the government program is more difficult to get...

...the [USDA] does not track what types of foods participants buy with food stamps. Almost all foods, including pop and energy drinks, can be bought with food stamps...

...The high number of convenience stores in SNAP alarms public health advocates... In an era of rising obesity rates, some argue that restrictions should be placed on what people can buy with their EBT cards. Without restrictions, participants often eat foods that lead to health problems, which then lead to higher costs in government-run health care plans... "It doesn't seem to me that government should buy things that make people sick and then clean up the mess later," said Kelly Brownell, director of the Yale University Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity...

...One thing is certain: Not even the USDA knows what people are buying with food stamps. Earlier this year, the department sent a request to companies seeking help in compiling hard data...

Doesn't that just warm the cockles of your heart? On average, each taxpaying household in America sends about $1,000 a year to the USDA to provide food stamps to the "needy". And the USDA has no idea what kinds of foods are actually being purchased with your money.

Isn't a vast, unelected, unaccountable federal bureaucracy grand?

And then there's the criminal activity associated with EBTs. As you might have predicted with billions in "free", taxpayer money at stake, fraud is rampant with EBTs. Recent investigations in Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois*, Indiana*, Kansas*, Massachusetts, Michigan*, Minnesota*, New York, Ohio*, Oklahoma*, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington, and Wyoming* point to systematic exploitation of food stamps for criminal and terrorist activities.

Additionally, multi-state investigations for "water dumping" and other large-scale scams are also on the rise.

A brief investigation by a Seattle television station discovered that EBTs are routinely used as barter for illegal goods and services:

Last month, KING 5 recorded illegal transactions outside a Seattle supermarket. People were handing cards over to one of several people working outside the store. They are part of a ring that pays 50 cents on the dollar for food stamps, which are distributed monthly on debit cards.

KING 5 recorded the video with help from a man we'll call Peter. He’s a food stamp recipient who says addicts especially are eager to trade food-only benefits for half their value in cash.

(They are) buying crack, booze, prostitutes,” says Peter... We wanted to ask the USDA how it can manage a bigger program with fewer investigations, but the department refused multiple requests for an on-camera interview during our visit to Washington D.C. last month... The USDA division that administers food stamps, the Food and Nutrition Services (FNS), was particularly tight-lipped. FNS spokesman Jack Currie refused to return phone calls from the KING 5 Investigators.

In the last five years, federal food stamp spending has soared from $28.5 billion to more than $64 billion a year. In 2012, the program may cost taxpayers $80 billion.

The federal government is completely out-of-control. It can't manage a food stamp program, yet it wants to control every aspect of our lives from our health care to our light bulbs.

And please note that sometimes social stigma is a good thing. Encouraging those capable of doing so to get off the public dole is a good thing.

That's how America was built: individual initiative. Not by building a permanent underclass addicted to government largesse, living in a permanent state of poverty, helplessness, and misery.

That may be what Democrats want. But that's not what real Americans want. Remember in 2012.


* See "Muslim Convenience Store Food Stamp Fraud in U.S. Funds Terror Worldwide"
 

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Michelle Obama's Selfless Commitment to Public Service

"...it wasn't until I stepped away from the corporate track and worked in city government and eventually helped to found the Chicago chapter of Public Allies, an AmeriCorps program, a national service program, that I realized how important public service and community service was to my own development... And now that the two of us have moved to Washington, our new home -- (applause) -- we both have continued to stress the value of national and community service..." --Michelle Obama, 17 March 2009


The phrase "public service" must mean different things to different people.

For Michelle Obama, it translates to spending $10 million of the taxpayers' money on vacations in only a single year's time and living like, well, a millionaire or billionaire.

Michelle Obama is the very model of selfless public service.


Another Reason We Love Michele Bachmann: She Speaks the Truth About the EPA, the Department of Education, the NLRB and the Border

Campaigning earlier this week in South Carolina, Michele Bachmann exhibited her patented ability to speak the unvarnished truth:

...Bachmann had harsh words for the EPA, which she called the “job-killing agency of America.”

“I intend to bring back true change, true hope, by repealing the tax code and dramatically cutting spending and I’m going to start with the Environmental Protection Agency,” she said, eliciting cheers from her tea party audience. “I am so happy you agree, because I intend to turn out the lights and lock the doors.”

She spoke similarly of the Department of Education, which she said then-President Jimmy Carter created as a “payoff to a union”:

So this is what I would do. I would pass a mother of all repeal bills for education, get rid of all of the unfunded mandates that the federal government puts on our local schools — making it very difficult for schools to be effective. … I would have a very busy day, a very busy day. ‘Cause I first have to make a trip to the EPA and after that, I have to go to the Department of Education because I also have to shut the lights off and lock the doors over there, as well.


The Department of Education doesn't educate anyone. It exists solely to funnel money to the AFT, the NEA and other teachers' unions, which inevitably hand much of that cash back to Democrats. It ceaselessly battles school choice. And its officials publicly admit they could care less about educating children: they're in it for the power and money.

The EPA doesn't do anything for the environment. In fact, its odious legacy began in 1972 when it contributed directly to the needless deaths of tens of millions in the third world through an unlawful and unconscionable ban of DDT. Today it exists only as an unelected cadre of Soviet-style bureaucrats who shutter businesses for reasons both specious and ridiculous.

Both of these agencies need to be nuked from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

Bachmann also describes the outrageous growth of the virus-like fourth branch of government:

Bachmann, who criticized President Barack Obama's handling of the recovery from the Great Recession and vowed to shrink the size of the federal government, said just electing another Republican won't help - she's the Republican who will make the difference... "You can put a Republican in there to manage big government, but you're not going to have America as the prosperous big dog in the world again if you do that."

She vowed to go to Washington to cut federal spending and get the nation's economic house in order... "We're going to be turning a lot of lights off and locking a lot of doors in Washington, D.C.," the Minnesota Republican said.

..."The president has failed on unemployment," Bachmann said. "After the president passed the stimulus we saw millions of jobs in the private sector go away."

At the same time, she said, "hundreds of thousands" of government jobs were added. Those federal jobs, she said, have average wages and benefits of $123,000 while the average for private sector jobs is $61,000.

Oh, and did I mention the out-of-control Labor Department, whose National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is doing its best to destroy America's right-to-work culture?

Halfway through the meeting, Gov. Nikki Haley made an unexpected appearance and asked Bachmann about the National Labor Relations Board, which has filed a complaint against Boeing...

...The aircraft maker recently opened a $750 million plant in North Charleston, South Carolina's largest industrial investment.

The NLRB alleges the plant was built in South Carolina, a right to work state, to avoid unionized labor in Washington state...

...Bachmann also said she would only appoint pro-growth members to the NLRB.

Asked about immigration, Bachmann said the nation needs to secure the nation's southern border... "I would build the barrier or fence. Every mile, every yard, every inch of that southern border needs to be covered," she said.

Everything Michele Bachmann says makes sense.

We need a true conservative in office if we are to begin unwinding the catastrophic damage to the Constitution that the last 80 years of Democrat-Statist policies have wrought.


Related: You can support Michele Bachmann here.


CEO of Gibson Guitars' Main Competitor is a Huge Democrat Donor; Also Uses Same Wood Without Any Complaints From Feds

Earlier this week the federal government executed its second major raid of Gibson Guitars in just two years. Armed agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stopped production at the company's manufacturing facilities on Wednesday, confiscating "massive quantities of wood, unfinished guitars, and finished products".

The Federal Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. has suggested that the use of wood from India that is not finished by Indian workers is illegal, not because of U.S. law, but because it is the Justice Department’s interpretation of a law in India. (If the same wood from the same tree was finished by Indian workers, the material would be legal.) This action was taken without the support and consent of the government in India.

On August 24, 2011, around 8:45 a.m. CDT, agents for the federal government executed four search warrants on Gibson’s facilities in Nashville and Memphis and seized several pallets of wood, electronic files and guitars. Gibson had to cease its manufacturing operations and send workers home for the day, while armed agents executed the search warrants. Gibson has fully cooperated with the execution of the search warrants.


The fact that the government would issue warrants based on their interpretation of another country’s laws is laughable–and scary–in and of itself, but that they would demonize an American, non-unionized (coincidentally, I’m sure) company for something that isn’t even a crime (especially not in the American lawbooks) is a gross misjustice. Keep in mind that the Indian government itself wasn’t involved in the Gibson warrants and raid.

This unfortunate event begs the question, Why Gibson?

Like almost all of the actions of the Holder Justice Department, the raid was likely motivated by political considerations.

...Henry E. Juszkiewicz, Gibson’s Chief Executive Officer, is a [large] donor to a couple of Republican politicians...

When warrants as ridiculous such as these are issued and executed, there appears no other reason than because the company or individual at hand is being targeted, not because there is any sort of wrongdoing. As a company, Gibson is a legendary. They’ve done nothing wrong, except, apparently, deigning to have a Republican CEO.

The plot thickens, however.

One of Gibson’s leading competitors is C.F. Martin & Company. The C.E.O., Chris Martin IV, is a long-time Democratic supporter, with $35,400 in contributions to Democratic candidates and the DNC over the past couple of election cycles. According to C.F. Martin’s catalog, several of their guitars contain “East Indian Rosewood.” In case you were wondering, that is the exact same wood in at least ten of Gibson’s guitars.

So how could the federal government justify its attempts to shut down one of the few companies still manufacturing valuable products in the United States? The supposed reason is an egregious piece of legislation called the Lacey Act, which:

...regulates the importation of plants, animals, and products thereof into the United States. The Lacey Act effectively permits wooden musical instruments to be seized indefinitely, without compensation, and places the burden of proof on the owner, not the government. Do you own an $11,000 2011 Gibson Eric Clapton Edition Les Paul? Want to take it to Canada and back? You’d better be prepared to document the source of all materials to the government’s satisfaction upon your return, or you could lose it indefinitely. If you thinking documenting that is tough, what if you’re ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons returning from an overseas tour with your real 1959 sunburst Les Paul, for which you’ve already turned down at least one $5,000,000 offer? Good luck documenting the wood from a fifty-two-year-old guitar.

Very few [of our] readers travel with guitars, particularly across the country’s borders, so I don’t expect this to worry you personally. If, on the other hand, you want to drive across the Canadian or Mexican border in your own car — or even a rental — consider this: The same law that allows the Feds to raid American manufacturers and seize the possessions of Americans without compensation applies to cars, too.

...Simply possessing the timber product can make you a felon, regardless of whether or not you were involved in the harvesting, were the original importer, or had received any information regarding the source of the timber product...

...Here’s an example. Let’s say you are driving a Bentley Flying Spur with a rosewood interior. Importation of Brazilian rosewood is a felony under the Lacey Act. Do you know where the rosewood in your Spur came from? Can you prove it? In Gibson’s case, it was Indian rosewood that supposedly caused the bust; although the importation of Indian rosewood is legal, it has to be finished and prepared to certain standards in India. If raw Indian rosewood is sent to Bentley for finishing into dashboards — and make no mistake, that is how it is done — it may not break any British laws, but it breaks an American one, and you are now a convicted felon for visiting the Canadian side of Niagara Falls and coming back.

This federal government -- a behemoth now operated by the most partisan political hacks in my lifetime -- is completely out of control.

2012 can't come soon enough.


Hat tip: Big Hollywood. Linked by: Ace o' Spades, Weasel Zippers, Protein Wisdom, and iOwnTheWorld. Thanks!

Friday, August 26, 2011

Dumbass: the Story of the Illinois Democrat Party

I think it was Einstein who said that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results.

That, my beloved readers, would be an apt description for Democrats in Illinois.

In Illinois, employment numbers increased steadily until January 2011, at which point they took a sharp dip downward—the same time that state’s governor announced plans to increase the personal income tax rate by 67 percent and the corporate rates by 46 percent. And things keep getting worse.

...On top of that, BusinessInsider reports that “Moody’s Investors Service continues to rate Illinois at the lowest level among states (A1 with a negative outlook), and said issuing long-term debt to pay bills ‘would significantly increase the state’s bonded debt burden.’”

...Illinois’ sharp turn for the worse calls to mind another set of data. Nationally, the economy went from losing 841,000 jobs in January 2009—the recession’s low point—to gaining 229,000 jobs in April 2010. But within two months—after Obamacare passed—that all changed, and the economy ground to a halt...

The only question I have regarding Democrats' behavior is this: are they even capable of learning from facts, logic, history and reason?


Related: Mark Levin: Why Liberalism is the Philosophy of the Stupid.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Fake Paul Krugman mimics "pathologically deranged and homicidal psychopath" so well that the real Paul Krugman is forced to refute charges

If there's anyone in legacy media worthy of a satire this good, it is the despicable, left wing, hackish, slobbering, stuttering twit of a nincompoop named Paul Krugman. And that's the introductory phrase he prefers, I hear.

We truly can only hope that this Google Plus account of Paul Krugman is merely a well-orchestrated parody, because if it is indeed that of the self-styled uber-Keynesian, the time for the public outrage, his economic beliefs aside, has arrived. In a blast post..., which should immediately result in the termination of the Nobel prize winning economist if it was indeed penned by him, this particular account of "Paul Krugman" writes:

"People on twitter might be joking, but in all seriousness, we would see a bigger boost in spending and hence economic growth if the earthquake had done more damage."

Translation...well it's pretty obvious, but for those laboring under the aftermath of a full frontal lobotomy, the person who tweeted this essentially yearns for his voodoo economic religion to be validated following countless failures of Keynesianism (no, really, after this latest injection of Xx *illion dollars into the economy things will really be well), at the expense of death and destruction...

This is about as close as we will get to a Keynesian admitting that reparations for death and destruction are the only two special clauses under which fiscal stimulus does work. Which of course means that with idiots such as the poster of the above who actually thinks this, be it Krugman or some of his countless voodoo brethren, and with their proximity to the president, the only logical explanation is that a war is coming, and is being welcomed by all these s[h|c]am "economists", for whom human death and suffering is a fair tradeoff in preserving their tenure or modestly-paid, liberal publication blogging jobs. If this indeed Krugman's account, it is imperative that the NYT immediately terminate this pathologically deranged and homicidal psychopath. Institutionalization in a mentally insane ward may be a proper subsequent action.

Well, it turns out that the author of the Google+ page really wasn't Paul Krugman, but that fact certainly shouldn't change any of Durden's verbiage, in my opinion.

Because, this is the same guy arguing that the government should lie about an impending alien invasion... seriously... to justify even more government borrowing and wealth redistribution. The real Krugman was, in fact, forced to defend himself against this latest missive simply because it sounded so bizarre, so unstable, and so totalitarian that it could have only come from the real Krugman.

Or a masterful satirist.

I wonder where IowaHawk was last night?



Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Graph: The Obama Financial Anxiety Index Level™ (O-FAIL for short)

I believe I've come up with an excellent proxy for the level of economic distress felt around the world thanks to our feckless Democrat leaders. I call it O-FAIL, which stands for Obama Financial Anxiety Index Level™.

O-FAIL takes all of the world's instability, hysteria, deficit spending, money printing, fears of energy disruption, terrorism and war -- and encapsulates them into a single, easy-to-understand number.

The higher O-FAIL gets, the worse things are around the world. Check out the O-FAIL index. You can see that over the past couple of years, immediately after the election of Barack Obama, it began going parabolic.

O-FAIL is also known as the price of gold.

The last time it was this high, in inflation-adjusted terms, one James Earl Carter was President. Enough said.


Hat tip: Post1.org. Linked by: Ace o' Spades. Thanks!

Monday, August 22, 2011

CBS: Obama has overseen "the most rapid increase in the debt under any U.S. president"

Here's an additional worry: he's got nearly a year-and-a-half to go...

The latest posting by the Treasury Department shows the national debt has now increased $4 trillion on President Obama's watch.

The debt was $10.626 trillion on the day Mr. Obama took office. The latest calculation from Treasury shows the debt has now hit $14.639 trillion.

It's the most rapid increase in the debt under any U.S. president..

George Soros' favorite front groups -- MorOn.org, Media Mutters, and Center for American Prognuts -- immediately issued press releases blaming Presidents Bush, Reagan, Ford, Calvin Coolidge and James Buchanan. Plus a run of "bad luck".

Needless to say, however, when you've lost CBS...


Hat tip: Amanda Carpenter.


Sunday, August 21, 2011

China's war of words escalates--and with its continuing military buildup, the long-term implications ain't good

Hey, I love Mike Shedlock's work at Global Economic Analysis, but his advocacy for a Ron Paul-George McGovern national security posture is naive, to put it kindly. Exhibit 9,305: The threat of China’s aircraft carrier. And Exhibit 9,306: China's rhetoric on its investments in U.S. debt grows ever more ominous.

The U.S. may be on its way to default on its debt despite the U.S. government's ability to print more money, a Chinese think tank researcher said Monday.

There is no guarantee for sovereign debt, which increases the risks the lenders face, said Wang Tianlong, a researcher at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, a think tank supervised by the country's economic planner, adding that the issuer could be more careless in using the loans.

In the short term, the U.S. doesn't have much ability to reduce its deficit, Wang said in an opinion piece published in Securities Times. He added that the U.S. lacks the political system to guarantee that it will not default on its debt.

There is also no way to punish the issuer country if it falsifies its accounting and there is no way to restructure the issuer either, Wang said.

Wang's comments come after the U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday the U.S. "never will default" on its government debt and reassured Beijing that Chinese investments in the U.S. are safe.

But I'm sure China's massive military buildup is only motivated by the best of intentions.



Is a Run on Physical Gold Beginning? Hugo Chavez Launches 'The Largest Physical Move of Gold In Recent History'

Adding to the month's economic turbulence comes this announcement by Venezuela's dictator:

The largest physical movement of gold in recent history is under way... Hugo Chavez... wants to move his country’s 211 tonnes of gold (over $12B at Friday’s close) currently stored in American & European banks back to Caracas.

...this recent move by Venezuela is rather unique. Instead than buying more gold, Venezuala merely wants to repatriate what is already hers. Unlike central bank purchases, which could involve just a ledger entry, this is the real thing. Physical gold is being moved around. What’s more significant is the discovery that after accounting for the 99 tonnes and 11.2 tonnes being held at the Bank of England (BoE) and Bank of International Settlements (BIS) respectively, about half of this huge stash are held in bullion banks like JP Morgan Chase et al – all major gold shorts. The move has left them scrambling for the real stuff.

This has led many to believe that the “Golden Retrieval” may have been a contributing factor to the most recent spike in gold price. It hits at the core of what GATA has been highlighting for over a decade – that bullion banks have been working hand in glove with central banks to suppress the price of gold, and that much of the physical gold at bullion banks and central banks are encumbered, leased or sold many times over, resulting in multiple claims for each bar of physical gold.

Grant Williams offers a well-informed take on why this step is so important:

To sum up:

• It is common practice for most Central Banks to hold part of their gold reserves overseas in ‘gold trading centres’ (read London and New York)
• One of those Central Banks - that of Venezuela - wants its gold back
• That means that a group of banks (mainly in the UK and the USA) who are supposed to have that gold in their vaults need to GIVE it back...
• ...which in turn could potentially trigger a race to repatriate national gold holdings
• Neither Fort Knox nor the Federal Reserve (the world’s two biggest gold depositories) have been independently audited in recent times
• The status of the gold held in the Bundesbank (home to the world’s third-largest hoard) is somewhat unclear
• The practice of leasing gold by Central Banks has been going on so long that it even predates the time when Alan Greenspan advocated sound money
• The gold ‘physical market’ is approximately 100 times the size of the amount of actual underlying metal by which it is purportedly backed
• The top four bullion banks, or ‘commercials’ on the COMEX continue to run what we shall politely call ‘significant’ short positions...

In the three trading sessions since Chavez made his announcement on August 17th, gold has added almost $100, coming within a whisker of $1,900 before settling back at another record weekly close.

Last year, a board member of GATA ("The Gold Antitrust Action Committee"), predicted this "run on physical gold":

• the gold price is suppressed through fractional reserve bullion banking
• the gold market is selling on average 45 ounces of gold for every one ounce of real physical gold via “unallocated gold” (fractional reserve bullion banking). In other words the gold market is backed by only 2.3% gold
• The true price of physical gold is currently around $54,000/oz if fractional reserve bullion banking did not exist. In the presence of fractional reserve banking with 2.3% gold backing the market price of “gold” is reduced to $1200/oz
• The US dollar has a purchasing power that is 45 times over valued
• The way to end gold price suppression is for investors to ensure they have allocated physical bullion preferably held outside of the bullion banking system

Chavez' call to repatriate his country's gold could therefore be the start of a true "run on the bullion banks".

When a major “client” like Venezuala suddenly decides to have take physical possession of her gold, it may cause a run on the bullion banks, not unlike the much feared bank run for cash. Bank runs start when depositors begin to lose confidence in the banks holding their cash. All it takes is a a few large depositors withdrawing at the same time, thereby creating the initial stress in the fractional reserve banking system. Soon, the panic hits the masses and long lines form outside the banks.

The next few weeks of market action should be, er, exciting.



Saturday, August 20, 2011

Alarm Claxons Sounding in Europe: A Replay of 2008?

An unfolding banking crisis in Europe may soon reach a tipping point. Thursday saw the following ominous news:

The European Central Bank has lent dollars to a eurozone bank for the first time since February in the latest sign of escalating tensions in the region’s financial system...

The so-called Euribor-OIS swap, a gauge of fear in the banking sector, is at its highest since 2009, while short-term euro basis swaps, which show a strong premium for buying dollars over the single currency, are at the most negative since the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Meanwhile, the ECB continues to see high levels of funds being parked overnight in its “deposit facility”, rather than being lent to other banks.

Friday saw European bank shares tumble as investors feared the worst.

European banks tumbled, led by Lloyds Banking Group Plc (LLOY) and Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (ISP), on concern firms will struggle to fund themselves and increase earnings as the region’s sovereign debt crisis strangles economic growth.

Lloyds, Britain’s second-biggest government-assisted bank, fell 6.2 percent in London trading, while Intesa slid 5.9 percent in Milan. The 46-member Bloomberg Europe Banks and Financial Services Index tumbled 3 percent after dropping the most in two years yesterday.

And today Ireland's Independent reported that the "flow of interbank lending [in Europe is] at risk":

THERE are renewed fears that the flow of interbank lending could be at risk after banks put €90.5bn on deposit with the European Central Bank last night. Banks placed the money on deposit instead of lending it to each other...

...Fluid interbank lending is crucial to keeping money flowing through the economy. Banks are normally happy to lend to each other on a daily basis.

In 2008, after the collapse of Lehman Brothers bank, other banks hoarded cash, fearing they could lose even money loaned out for short periods. The lack of lending threatened to collapse some banks by leaving them with too little money to function.

The interbank freeze is generally seen as the decisive factor in turning the financial crisis into a global recession.

Investors may want to watch market action very, very closely on Monday. While I'm no pro at this stuff, it doesn't smell good.

Thankfully, our Johnny-on-the-Spot Commando-in-Chief is monitoring these events closely from Martha's Vineyard.


Hat tip: Reggie Middleton.


Obama unveils jobs plan -- for illegal aliens

Amnesty Doubleheader: not only will White House bring a halt to most deportations of illegals, it will also grant them... work permits


If the administration has implemented a more cynical and lawless attempt to garner votes than this, I have yet to hear of it. The good news: I'm sure most unemployed Americans will not find comfort in the President's latest 'jobs plan'.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, illegal aliens will be eligible to receive work permits if their deportation is deferred through the Obama Administration's new policy. Yesterday, the Administration announced that the Department of Homeland Security will review all deportation cases on a case-by-case basis and only deport illegal aliens who have been convicted of crimes...

...Illegal aliens living in the United States typically don't apply for work permits for fear of deportation, but under the new policy, they could apply for work permits if granted deferred action or parole and compete with 22 million Americans who can't find a full-time job.

Though "comprehensive immigration reform" and other legislative forms of amnesty for illegal aliens has never passed Congress, the President has assumed powers that could almost be termed 'dictatorial'; he has bypassed the legislative process to achieve the same end result.

The Obama Administration announced on Thursday that it will individually review the 300,000 cases of illegal aliens currently holding deportation orders in an effort to appease his pro-amnesty critics and last year's record number of deportations.

The Administration deported 400,000 illegal aliens last year -- less than half had been convicted for other crimes. Pres. Obama is pledging to halt deportations of non-criminal illegal aliens. Illegal aliens that are considered low-priority deportations will no longer be the focus, including young people who were brought to the U.S. as children, military veterans and spouses of military personnel.

And, yes, I'm going to be adding these latest tyrannical outrages to President Barack Obama's Complete List of Historic Firsts.


Headline hat tip: Gov. Jan Brewer.


Friday, August 19, 2011

"Hope and Change" by the Numbers

Gee, I can't wait for the President's next speech on job creation...

$14.3 Trillion: Current National Debt. (U.S. Treasury Department, Accessed 8/3/11)

$3.7 Trillion: Amount Added To The National Debt Since Obama Took Office. (U.S. Treasury Department, Accessed 8/3/11)

$2.6 Trillion: True Cost Of ObamaCare Once Fully Implemented. (Office Of The Speaker Of The U.S. House Of Representatives, Report, 1/6/11)

$1.75 Trillion: Annual Cost Of Federal Regulations. (Small Business Administration, September 2010)

$1.42 Trillion: Federal Budget Deficit For FY2009 – Highest In U.S. History. (CBO, 10/7/10)

$1.29 Trillion: Federal Budget Deficit For FY2010 – Second Highest In U.S. History. (CBO, 10/7/10)

$1.15 Trillion: American Debt Held By China. (U.S. Treasury Department, Accessed 8/3/11)

$973 Billion: Federal Budget Deficit For The First Nine Months Of FY2011 (CBO, 7/8/11)

$831 Billion: Price Tag Of Obama’s Failed Stimulus. (CBO, 5/25/11)

$575 Billion: Amount Of Medicare Cuts In ObamaCare. (CMS Chief Actuary Richard S. Foster, Memo, 4/22/10)

$491.7 Billion: Amount Of Taxes In ObamaCare. (Letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 3/18/10; Joint Committee On Taxation, 3/20/10)

$160 Billion: Taxpayer Funds For Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac. (Bloomberg, 6/13/11)

$108.7 Billion: Projected Cost Of New Regulations For FY2011. (American Action Network, 7/8/11)

$24 Billion: Stimulus Funds Sent To Tax Cheats. (Government Accountability Office, April 2011)

45.7 Million: Americans Receiving Food Stamps. (Department Of Agriculture, 8/1/11)

$18 Million: Cost Of The Stimulus Website Recovery.org. (ABC News’ “The Note“ Blog, 7/8/09)

14.0 Million: Unemployed Americans. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 8/3/11)

8.6 Million: Americans Working Part-Time For Economic Reasons. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 8/3/11)

6.8 Million: Foreclosure Filings Since Obama Took Office. (RealtyTrac, Accessed 8/3/11)

6.3 Million: Americans Unemployed 27 Weeks Or Longer. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 8/3/11)

3.8 Million: Increase In The Number Of People Who Were In Poverty In 2009 Over 2008. (NPR, 9/16/10)

3.2 Million: Workers Granted Waivers So That ObamaCare Would Not Outlaw Their Health Care Plan. (HHS.gov, Accessed 8/3/11)

2.5 Million: Jobs Lost Since Obama Took Office. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 8/3/11)

2.0 Million: Private Sector Jobs Lost Since Obama Took Office. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 8/3/11)

1.8 Million: Jobs Lost Since Obama’s Stimulus Was Passed. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 8/3/11)

1.35 Million: Amount Former Wall Street Lobbyists Bundled For Obama And the DNC. (OpenSecrets.org, 7/22/11)

1.3 Million: Private Sector Jobs Lost Since Stimulus Was Passed. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 8/3/11)

1.0 Million: Construction Jobs Lost Since Obama Took Office. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 8/3/11)

982,000: Americans That Have Given Up Looking For Work. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 8/3/11)

852,000: Manufacturing Jobs Lost Since Obama Took Office. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 8/3/11)

709,303: Personal Bankruptcies During First Half Of 2011. (The Wall Street Journal, 7/5/11)

633,500: Avoided Foreclosure Through HAMP, Obama Had Promised To Help As Many As Nine Million. (The Wall Street Journal, 7/1/11; President Obama, Remarks In Mesa, AZ, 2/18/09)

$278,000: Cost Per A Stimulus Job. (The Weekly Standard, 7/6/11)

89,000: The Number Of Stimulus Checks Sent To Dead Or Incarcerated People. (The Wall Street Journal, 10/7/10)

$46,453: Your Share Of The National Debt. (U.S. Treasury Department Accessed 8/3/11; U.S. Census Bureau, Accessed 8/3/11)

$15,500: Annual Cost Per Household Of Federal Regulations. (Small Business Administration, September 2010)

2020: Year That The CBO Predicts Medicare’s Trust Fund Will Be Exhausted. (CBO, 3/18/11)

408: Number Of Regulations Proposed By Obama During First Two Years That Have An Economic Impact Of Over $100 Million. (Competitive Enterprise Institute, 2011)

244: Bundlers Who Accounted For 40 Percent Of Obama’s 2nd Quarter Fundraising Haul. (Politico, 7/15/11)

90%: Americans Describe The State Of The Nation’s Economy As “Not So Good” Or “Poor.” (Washington Post-ABC News Poll, 7/14-17/11)

80%: Small Businesses That Could Be Forced To Change Health Care Plans As A Result Of ObamaCare. (The Washington Post, 6/15/10)

79%: Stimulus Funds For Wind, Solar And Geothermal Energy Projects That Went To Foreign Firms. (Investigating Reporting Workshop/ABC’s World News Tonight/Watchdog Institute, 2/8/10)

59%: Americans Think The Economy Will Be Poor This Time Next Year. The Highest CNN Has Recorded Since First Asking The Question In 1997. (CNN/ORC Poll, 7/18-20/11)

54%: Say Their Finances Are Not So Good Or Poor. (Bloomberg, 7/7/11)

16.2%: Workers Unemployed Or Underemployed. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 7/8/11)

9.2%: Unemployment Rate. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 7/8/11)

3.6%: Inflation Rate During The Last 12 Months. (The Wall Street Journal, 7/6/11)

1: Budget Speeches The CBO Can’t Score. (Committee On The Budget, U.S. House Hearing,, 6/23/11)

1/3: Portion Of Obama’s Fundraising That Came From Wall Street Bankers. (Reuters, 7/22/11)

0: Other People Obama Will Have Left To Blame For The Failures Of His Economic Policies In 2012. (The American People, 11/6/12)



Hat tips: Lonely Conservative, the RNC (PDF) and Maggie’s Notebook.


Tales from the Obamaconomy: The Burger King was just handed a pink slip

Nothing's quite as tragic as seeing royalty hit the skids.

...USA Today reported that Burger King is “dethroning the creepy King character.” Today’s media reports about the company owned by investment firm 3G Capital focus on the loss of the “Barry Gibb-Lookalike Mascot” but the company itself was more tactful, announcing that its next ad campaign will focus on food...

...Burger King’s senior marketing vice president Alex Macedo told USA Today “there are no plans to bring the King back anytime soon.” This wording seems to provide some chance of a return in the distant future, which would be good news for those of us who value texture in burgers and in burger ads.

By my estimation, the President has now saved or created a negative 2,500,001 jobs since he took office.



'Day of Rage': Oh, How I Wish These Leftist Kooks Would Try This Crap In a Red State

John Schroy at @CapFlowWatch alerts us to an "Uber-Left plan 'Day of Rage' on Wall Street in September... [an attempt] to collapse the system, a la Cloward & Piven".

The invaluable NoisyRoom explains:

A movement is suddenly springing up from nowhere (ah-huh) to take on the free enterprise, “capitalist” system. In America, they are especially targeting Wall Street, a place still somewhat constitutionally sovereign to the U.S.A. and not thoroughly controlled yet by authoritarian global collectivism.

That is a Wall Street which has already been damaged by the Cloward-Piven orchestrated mortgage meltdown and stemming from that was assailed by the protorevolutionary Obama-Peloisi-Reid government, which brought boa constrictor regulation — by “reform” with loopholes wide enough to fit Brinks trucks for large and coordinated hedge fund manipulators, and which shielded a Securities & Exchange Commission gone dark from the kinds of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) inquiries that uncovered Bernie Madoff. Cloward-Piven government, indeed...

...A “U.S. Day of Rage” is scheduled to start an “Occupy Wall Street” camp-out on “17/9/2011″ (which would denote orchestration by those who use the British means of writing dates)... that is no surprise to those who have looked into the updated mode of Marxist revolution stemming from the Gramsci and Trotsky schools and historically, even the days before Marx and Engels. Revolutionary proponents likes to hide behind the non-American ideal of democracy (as in permanent rule of the proletariat majority, forget about a republic) along with nebulous and mysterious anarchistic labeling...

...The term “Day(s) of Rage” is the product of Chicago’s Weathermen, led by Obama workmate Bill Ayers and cohabitants... This Day of Rage speaks of non-violence, yet plays up the violent terrorism of the current rioting proceeding in Great Britain.

Here's hoping New York's finest spare no expense in deploying water-cannon, rubber bullets, batons, cattle prods, and tasers to keep the Leftist kooks in check.

Y'all ready to ride the lightning???