IMF Report. US Debt Will Be 100% Of GDP By 2015.

Don’t you just hate it when someone ends a discussion with the words; “I told you so!” Quite irritating isn’t it? Well, here we go. $789 billion for stimulus I, $87 billion for bank bailouts, $80 billion for the automakers bailout, $1.2 trillion for health care, add a few other programs recently passed and we top about $3 trillion in spending in the first year of PBO’s administration. That is conservatively speaking of course. These price tags are only preliminary. They are sure to escalate over time. In fact, they are guaranteed to escalate. In the history of federal government sponsored spending programs, I am not aware of a single one that ever came out under the original estimate. Yet our leaders spend a great amount of time and effort, trying to convince the public that they are spending our money wisely and that they will bring all of their grandiose spending bills in under budget.

If you believe all of that, I have some ocean front property in Nevada that I would like to sell you. Anyone with the least amount of sense can tell you that, it is not possible to spend yourself out of debt. If your debt exceeds your income, the logical step to take to reduce your debt, is to reduce your spending. That is economics 101. Even us dim-witted Joe Schmoes, know how to keep our checkbooks properly balanced to avoid an overdraft charge from the bank.

Our entire economic system is literally based on the belief, that the dollar is worth something. Years ago when we were on the gold standard, there was something tangible, backing up the value of the dollar. This Fiat currency that we have now, is a made-up work, of the likes of Alice In Wonderland. Our Congress buys into that notion, by spending as much as they like, without any fear of the economic collapse of our great nation. They seem to believe that we have an endless supply of money and that they are free to increase the size of government to any proportion, so they can regulate all of the idiotic entitlement programs that they can generate. Adding of course, more cost to their bill. How far can they go before they break the bank?

Apparently until the year 2015. At that point, according to the IMF, this nations debt will be at 100% of our GDP. In other words; we will owe, as much as we produce. What happens then? One need look no further than Greece. The EU is now in the process of bailing out an entire country. Greece is facing riots in the streets by angry citizens, upset by their own governments attempt to decrease their debt by cutting expenses. Kind of hard to trim the fat after you are used to eating it that way for so long.

Europe is a prime example of how NOT to run your economy. With all of the entitlement programs that they have, their citizens wind up paying for it out the nose, from excessive taxation. It would make better sense from a sane persons point of view to not spend any more than you earn. We, however are not quite as smart as the ones in DC, are we? Tim Geitner, the head of the IRS, could not even figure out how to file his own income tax. Now the Europeans are warning us about our own spending! Folks, we are in deep sh _t and yet our trusted federal government wants to keep on spending, and at some point in time, they are going to have to ask the question that is on everybody’s mind. “Where is all of this money going to come from?” What is their answer? Lets raise their taxes!

I have said it from the beginning, this healthcare scam (and that is exactly what it is, a scam) has only one intention and that is to tax us even more, under the guise of free health care for everyone, hence the urgency of its passage. Our government thinks of us as so stupid, that we will not figure this out and so arrogant as to believe that we will not do anything about it. What is so crazy about the entire deal is that the simplest thing to do to bring us out of these dire straits is to reduce federal spending. Period! Cut out the pork. Do away with the unnecessary entitlements. Welfare programs are draining this nation as more and more people jump on the gravy train. The government is spending more and more of our tax money actually paying people to NOT work. Thus, ensuring themselves a job forever and a large number of willing constituents, who do not want to lose their only source of income.

Last but not least, “I told you so!”

Obamacare and FDR’s New Deal. A New Addiction?

The dangers of drug abuse come in many forms. Overdose is foremost the worst thing that can happen with the use of any narcotic and is an inherent risk if you choose to subject yourself to mind or mood altering substances. There are many other risks involved such as the tendency to resort to crime to support your habit. Many crimes are for one reason or another closely associated with drug abuse for it seems that once you embark down that dark path, job loss becomes one of the first victims of the drug that you are abusing. Then you slowly pull away from all social life so as to keep others out of your euphoric world that you now occupy.

A disturbing aspect of the drug culture is how friendly the dealer becomes with you in an attempt to gain a new customer. Many times he will give you a free ride in order to introduce you to your new addiction. Then when you feel as though you are still in control of everything, he will pull the rug out from under your feet and now you are at his mercy. The cost keeps rising and is soon unattainable with your current income, but you like it so much that you are willing to do what may have been unthinkable in previous days. Then you are trapped in this unrelenting cycle of abuse that ultimately brings you to the point of ruin.

Ironically, government entitlements work in much the same manner as do drug dealers. They all seem to be euphoric at first glance. They may take a burden off of you that was making life difficult and relieve some of the pressure generated by economic problems at first, but they have a tendency to keep you from advancing or achieving due to the very simple fact that the checks keep coming and you may reach an inescapable conclusion that working isn’t as easy as drawing an entitlement. Problem solved. Or is it?

Inescapably the dark truth eventually shows itself; cost. Large scale entitlement programs are doomed from the start due almost entirely to the cost involved. Europe is a prime example. Denmark and Sweden’s current income tax rate is around 48% to 49%. This is not sustainable.

Although the merits of an all encompassing health care system is desirable for the good of the population, it is not practical due to the economics involved. This country’s health care system is indeed due for an over haul as there are many aspects of it that are in need of reform, but it is in fact the best in the world, with cutting edge technology that has presented itself, by the competition based economy that we have. It is however expensive.

Now the Obama Administration is offering us a New Deal on the heals of this recession that we currently face. FDR had a similar plan. Experts in economics disagree whether or not his New Deal shortened or lengthened the Great Depression. History hasn’t told us yet, but many agree that the onset of World War II is the reason that our beleaguered nation rose from despair. It reignited manufacturing in this country on a large scale and put us back to work.

Is the Obama Administration’s acquisition of the banking and manufacturing companies of our country and the tease of health care reform part of a New Deal? Is it based on FDR’s New Deal? Job loss reached 25% in the thirties and the Great Depression was headed for a double dip. Had World War II not come along when it did, we would have surely stayed in a depression for some time to come.

A lot of FDR’s New Deal entitlements are very similar to the Obama administrations agenda, starting with excessive spending as a way to bring us out of debt and his penchant for demonizing the banks. FDR simply closed the banks until his plan was put into action. Then taking us off of the gold standard and making it illegal to use it as a currency and setting the value of the dollar. This was a calculated risk. Did it work? The current practice of printing money when none is available to pay for entitlements is a result of this change which also creates inflation and devalues the dollar and has managed to saddle us with over $12.5 trillion dollars in debt which is dangling over our heads like the Sword of Damocles. One day that bill will come due for payment. One truly wonders at the wisdom of our leaders.

This health care reform bill or Obamacare, that is currently in the House of Representatives for final vote is but one more entitlement for the people of this country. It is unconstitutional and unsustainable in its scope. The Obama administration is willing to gamble as FDR did with his New Deal, that this will cure the ails of this nation. Like the drug dealer supplying free drugs to attract a new customer, the outcome is predictable and many are indeed euphoric at the possibility of free health care. If it passes, the public will eventually embrace Obamacare and then find that they cannot live without it. Thus the addiction begins and he is fully aware of this effect. Ultimately the cost will go spiraling out of control, with ruin facing us just around the corner.

Change

In just a few short days the direction that this great country travels in, may be changed forever. The will of the American people will be tested and history will decide who flinched first. As passage of the health care reform bill looms precariously just over the horizon and with it a new precedent may be established that could change our democracy as we know it.

If there are not enough votes in the house for final passage, Nancy Pelosi has stated that they may try another tactic and deem the bill passed. Violating not only the constitution of the United States but, also the rights of it’s citizens. Ultimately paving the way for more legislation that they may deem necessary for the good of the country. Frightening isn’t it? They are in essence re-writing the very document that has guaranteed our liberties and freedoms for over one hundred and twenty years.

Never before in the history of our government has so much been at stake, with the passage of a single bill. Still, the issue at hand is not as much the contents of the bill, rather the methods that have brought it to the center of attention.

President Obama came to the political arena under the guise of hope and change. The people of this country were at the time disillusioned with government and the wars in the middle east. He offered a change that some Americans were elated to see. He promised to bring the country back together and establish transparency in government that would help heal the wounds of a people that no longer trusted lawmakers. He promised to reduce the deficit, put people back to work and solve the problems with the economy. He painted a beautiful picture. What happened?

Had Obama been properly vetted we may never have had to ask this question. His use of Saul Alinsky tactics in Chicago would have certainly come up and that may have been the end of it right there. Americans have the unique ability to be misled at the behalf of a severely biased news media. They painted a portrait of a young politician that was almost too good to be true. Clearly he based his agenda squarely down the middle appealing to those on either side of the aisle. McCain and his party never had a chance.

Alinsky’s doctrine initiates change through crisis and in the first few weeks of the new administration, this country faced a crisis at every corner. Rahm Emanuel was quoted recently as saying; “never waste a good crisis.” Apparently this administration didn’t. Economic crisis, mortgage crisis, banking crisis, auto manufacturer’s crisis, one crisis after another. Law makers were urged to act now before it is too late! Chicken Little’s words echoed throughout the congress; “the sky is falling!” Trillions of American taxpayers hard earned dollars were shoved out the back door to open hands, with barely a glance at the check book that it was drawn out of. Driving this country into a debt that broke the bank. TARP was born.

Words from the master himself, Saul Alinsky and Rules for Radicals. “Men don’t like to step abruptly out of the security of familiar experience; they need a bridge to cross from their own experience to a new way. A revolutionary organizer must shake up the prevailing patterns of their lives–agitate, create disenchantment and discontent with the current values, to produce, if not a passion for change, at least a passive, affirmative, no-challenging climate.” President Obama learned well, he had a brilliant mentor.

We are now facing a crisis. A real crisis. A crisis in the most cherished of all places. Our democracy. The very constitution itself is being assaulted. The people of this great nation sit back and hold their breath as their freedoms become a bargaining chip for the grand prize. Health care reform.

Nancy Pelosi indicated that she “will pass this bill by any means necessary.” Does this mean at the expense of the constitution? Outrage is now out in the open. Anger, divisiveness and frustration at the apparent inability to stop this thing from becoming law are driving a wedge between the people. Change will come as a result of all of this. Alinsky was right. You need an inside agitator for change and we may have found one.

Ponzi Scam aka; Health Care Reform

Health Care. Health Care Over Haul. Health Care Reform. Health Care Over Haul Fraud.

Do you believe the concept?

Do you believe that this debate is even about reform?

It is a slick, packaged deal that has only one purpose. To destroy the foundation of this country. It is a Ponzi Scam. It goes by several names, but in the end, it is a scam in the form of a crisis. Remember Saul Alinsky? Change can only be made, in the shadow of a crisis. Well guess what. We are in a health care crisis. We were just in a mortgage crisis. A banking crisis. A H1N1 crisis. A climate change crisis. A auto manufacturing crisis. An economic crisis. This list of crisis’s is infinitesimal according to this administration. Rham Emanuel was quoted recently, “never waste a good crisis!” Where on earth do you think that he was coming from?

A correct analogy would be SNL’s skit from way back; Land Shark. Remember that? The knock at the door. The voice of the lady resident; Who is it? The answer from behind the door; candy gram! But I didn’t order any candy…(long pause)…pizza guy! But I didn’t order a pizza…(another long pause)…cable guy…Ohh yeah, I was having trouble with the cable, come on in! She opens the door and there in front of her is a guy in a shark costume who rushes in and eats her. She screams! Remember the white coats at the Doctors visit to the White House? I knew it was a fake even before the news hit the mainstream. Clearly a put on affair. A con.

What is even more incredulous is the fact that so many people actually buy into the notion that this debate is about health care reform. It is anything but. This administration could care less about your or my health or the ability to purchase insurance. Let alone how much you pay for it. This entire forum is about control.

What kind of control? For one; control of 1/6th of our economy. There is a tremendous amount of money and power up for grabs here. Do not be fooled. This administration wants it. They grabbed up the Banks, and the Auto Industry.

Secondly; taxes. If the single payer plan evolves and becomes law, you will be required to buy into it. The IRS will handle the collection of the money. It is nothing more than a hidden tax agenda. It will come out of our pocket. Somewhere around $3800.00 per person I believe. You do the math. Big savings…hunh? What a boon to bigger government! More of our money at their disposal. You know that they are very frugal with our money and wouldn’t put us further into debt, right?

The very constitutionality of this debate is precarious. A Government mandate requiring you to buy into this plan, clearly violates the 10th amendment to the US Constitution. “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. Plain and simple.

This administration has by-passed all of the parliamentary procedures to pass a bill that over 60% of the American people are opposed to. It will bankrupt us and is unsustainable. It takes away from the future of our country’s existence and will place so much debt on us, as be a National Security issue.

If any medical coverage will be available out of this, it will be similar to Medicaid. Which we already have. Medicare will be gutted to make room for the new plan, which as of now doesn’t even exist. This bill is ill conceived and dangerous to the American economy.

It is being forced through the house without a final vote. If our government can do this, how long will it be before we are it’s slaves?

Crisis Mode

The past year in congress has been a very busy one. The rush to pass legislation based on the call; a crisis is looming. Everything was a crisis. The economy was in a crisis. The banking industry was in a crisis. Even the environment was in a crisis. Then there was the H1N1 crisis. The call sign for the new administration: CRISIS. There seemed to be no end to all the crisis’ that we were in all of a sudden and there seemed to be a lot of statistics to back it all up. Not to mention multiple speeches on the subject. This administration is all about…the crisis. It is amazing at the amount of attention that one can garner at the mere mention of the word; crisis.

The wrapper wasn’t even off of the new package, that was just voted in, and off we went! Hurry up and pass the stimulus! We are in a crisis! Sadly, I don’t recall the crisis being that significant, until the “C” word was uttered out loud. Our congressmen jumped on board the crisis train and never once bothered to glance back. They looked in utter amazement towards the public, because; we didn’t get it! And after many unapologetic speeches, that accused us of being everything from simple-minded to brown shirts, in the wake of the stimulus and now healthcare, the salesmanship kicked in. I recall several republicans commenting with remorse, on what they had just voted for, without fully understanding the consequence or for that matter even the simple act of actually reading the bill and its fine print! Nearly one trillion dollars, all with the stroke of a pen. Then on with the next crisis! It seemed to be the end of all things as we knew it!

I may act a bit crazy now and again but, I am not stupid! What do they take us for? Do you remember, all the Doctors that showed up on the Whitehouse lawn for that big rally in support of the healthcare fiasco? Mysteriously, they all seemed to be fashionably coördinated! What were the odds of all of them showing up with their white lab coats on? Astoundingly high, I would venture to say. Before the political commentary was even on the air, I remarked, ”who do they think they are kidding? What a hoax!” Then only to find out a day later that the Whitehouse staff, passed out the lab coats at the meeting. DUHH?! Did they actually believe that the majority of us couldn’t see right through that? That event epitomized; transparency. The Whitehouse actually believed that all of us are so incredibly dumb, that we would buy into that little dog and pony show! It took my breath away to feel so completely belittled, in that way!

Now that the elections in New Jersey, Virginia and Massachusetts are over and a clear message has been sent to those in DC wearing the clown suits. They still look at us with utter contempt! Over 1.3 million angry voters turned out on their front door step, back on 9-12, and they still could not figure out why we were so angry. Now who is being stupid? They are lost in some sort of alternate reality somewhere. They believe that ruining the economy of this great nation is what it is going to take to get us out of this crisis. They believe that they are our saviors and that only they can right all the wrongs that society has dealt us! How dare we stand up to them!

All of the back room deals and outright bribery, that was used to get the worst piece of legislation in the history of our pathetic leaders up on the hill, shed a brilliant light on what our system of government has mutated into. The members of congress should be ashamed of themselves for being so blind and so arrogant, to the will of the majority of Americans, that pay their salaries! Have they forgotten who put them there in the first place? Have they forgotten who they work for? What will it take for them to snap back to reality and realize what they are doing?

The liberals sit back and point their fingers across the aisle at the republicans who would not bow down to their demands for quick action, and have the audacity to say that they would sit by and do nothing while the crisis looms on!

They are correct in one respect; there is a crisis at hand. The fact that we are fast losing our rights and freedoms at the hands of a few arrogant politicians, that think that we need to be told what to do and how to do it, without voicing our opinions. This is what you would expect in a Marxist Society, not in the greatest democratic nation on the face of the earth. The one thing that this country is famous for, rising to the cause in the face of a crisis is coming. The elections are in November, that will spell the end of their pitiful attempt to change this country. Let all who are PATRIOTS, rise to the occasion and send a clear message to Washington. This behavior will no longer be tolerated and you sirs, are dismissed!!!!

What is our national deficit?

The fiscal budget for 2011, is out from the Whitehouse. The numbers are staggering. If you know what the deficit is, then you are ahead of the game. Our budget is a very complicated thing. However if you think of it in context with the budget that you try to stay on at your house, then you have in essence broken it down into something that is understandable. This is a short breakdown of the fiscal budget for the year ahead.

“Overall 2011 Spending: $3.834 trillion.

· 2011 Discretionary Spending: $1.415 trillion.

· 2011 Projected Deficit: $1.267 trillion or 8.3 percent of GDP (down from $1.556 trillion or 10% of GDP) GDP, is our gross domestic product or the amount of money that business in this country generates each year.”

The key word here is deficit, “which is the sum of all previously incurred annual federal deficits. Since the deficits are financed by government borrowing, national debt is equal to all government debt outstanding.” Our current national debt is $12.290 trillion. To put it simply, the deficit is the amount owed after all monies taken in are accounted for and our bills are paid. The amount left over; is our deficit.

Our government runs a magical checkbook. If you or I used our checkbook like they do. We would be locked up for a long time for fraud or at the very least; writing really bad checks. Imagine taking an empty checking account and writing a check for $1.267 trillion dollars. How long would it be before the authorities took you off to the slammer?

Our government throws numbers like this around like they are confetti. Never batting an eye at the significance of the size of the number. So let us ask the question; what is a trillion dollars?

“A trillion dollars = $1,000,000,000,000.

That’s 12 zeros to the left of the decimal point. A trillion is a million million dollars.

The U.S. government spends more than the entire Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Australia, China and Spain combined. If you laid one dollar bills end to end, you could make a chain that stretches from earth to the moon and back again 200 times before you ran out of dollar bills! One trillion dollars would stretch nearly from the earth to the sun. It would take a military jet flying at the speed of sound, reeling out a roll of dollar bills behind it, 14 years before it reeled out one trillion dollar bills.”

What does one TRILLION dollars look like? (click this link to see for yourself)

This talk of fiscal responsibility is the most disingenuous load of lies that we have ever encountered as a nation. Our country’s very existence is being challenged by these monumental debts that defy belief. Our leaders keep spending at unparalleled levels and are in no hurry to stop. Like drunks with a key to the liquor store, they spend like there is no tomorrow. What will it take to stop this incredible stupidity?

The healthcare bill laying on the table in front of our congress is inches away from passing. Do not doubt that they will attempt to pass this thing.

When you spend like this, one thing is inevitable. Someone is going to have to pay the bill. Who will it be? You or me?

*A footnote to this story, the finance dept. today announced that the government will borrow $395 billion to put towards the deficit of this year. Crazy…hunh?

Are we headed towards Socialism?

I am worried about my country. I am concerned about the new direction that it is headed towards. There is a lot of talk around, that we are turning into a socialist country. Is this true? Lets define Socialism.

Webster’s defines Socialism as the following;

so·cial·ism Pronunciation: \ˈsō-shə-ˌli-zəm\

Function: noun

Date: 1837

1 : any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods
2 a : a system of society or group living in which there is no private property b : a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state
3 : a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done

For the past year, our Government has been on an end run, in it’s quest to take over or control big business’s and banks. All in an effort to head off a perceived economic crisis. We have come as close to another Great Depression as we can possibly be, without actually being in one. Job losses are in the millions. Currently the unemployment rate is around 15% depending on which statistic you choose to believe. The housing industry has collapsed upon itself and many people have been faced with losing their homes, due mostly to loss of income.

The Big Auto Manufacturers, such as GM and Chrysler have all come perilously close to folding up, due to harsh economic conditions. Our government stepped in and bailed them out. Close to $80 billion of taxpayers money was spent. They are not out of the dark yet. The government is now basically controlling these two giants, setting up rules as to how they should conduct business.

The bank bailout cost over $700 billion in taxpayer money with final estimates even higher than that. Now the big banks are being seen as the enemy and a special tax may be levied against them, I suppose as punishment for bad behavior. It being noted that a lot of the money has been paid back already, with interest.

The total amount of the Economic Stimulus Act was estimated to be around $800 billion however, the projected 10 year cost of the stimulus bill is more likely to reach $2.527 trillion, according to economic experts.

So where does all of this spending, leave us? Currently, the National Debt is around $12.5 trillion dollars. This is around $40,000 for each man woman and child in this country. The Congress recently had to increase the National Debt limit by $1.5 trillion and are currently in the works to increase the limit again, all in the short time span of one year. This phenomenal spending rate is unprecedented and also, un-sustainable. Our government has to stop this progression before this country reaches a point that it cannot recover.

On the agenda is a Universal Health Care Over-haul, projected cost; $900 billion. Actual cost over ten years? $1.5 trillion. Unbelievable.

Our congress has turned a deaf ear to the cry of the American people and are intent on passing this latest package, apparently without concern for our economic future. If we are unemployed, who is going to foot this bill? I ask you, when is enough, enough?

Are we headed towards Socialism? It seems that way. This is not what our Founding Fathers had in mind, when they signed the Declaration of Independance and wrote the US Constitution.