Saturday, October 31, 2009

GMAC - Another Multi-Billion Dollar Bail-Out

GMAC, the financial arm of GM, has until November 9 to demonstrate it can raise the capital needed to pass the government's stress test. Does anyone want to bet that investors will come to the rescue of GMAC by infusing billions in cash? If you think that is going to happen, I have a clunker to sell you. GMAC not only finances cars, it was big in mortgages when the bottom fell out, which led to big troubles. As such, last December, the government bailed out GMAC by giving it $5 Billion in exchange for preferred shares making the federal government an owner. By May, the government determined that GMAC was not going to make it, so President Obama, who has no business experience, wrote another check for $3.5 Billion and also gave GMAC $4 Billion in loans so it could take over providing dealer and buyer financing for Chrysler. Wait a minute, doesn't FIAT an Italian company now own Chrysler. What is that all about?

So now it appears that the Treasury is considering injecting another $2.8 - $5.6 Billion dollars into GMAC to save it from collapse because it is "too big to fail". And, or if GMAC is not there to lend money to the buyers of GM and Chrysler cars, what employees that are left at these companies presumably may lose their jobs. When oh when is all of this going to stop?

Giving more money to GM or GMAC is just money down a rat hole. Even after giving GM and GMAC more than $50 Billion dollars to "save" those companies and the jobs they represent, GM still had to file bankruptcy and thousands of employees have been laid off anyway. So what benefit did the taxpayer get from these bail-outs? President Obama spent billions on Cash for Clunkers presumably to benefit American car companies; yet given the choice most Americans who took advantage of this program bought Honda's and Toyota's. Some of those cars were made in the US; but the profit went to Honda and Toyota; not American car companies. Could it be because Honda and Toyota make better cars? When are President Obama and all the brainiacs who work for him going to understand that government intervention is no substitute for free markets and that their meddling can actually make matters worse not better.

GMAC is owned 35.4% by the US Treasury, 22% by Cerberus, 9.9% by GM, 14.6% by a Blind GM Trust and 18.1% by other investors. President Obama, or I should say tax payers, have a lot to lose if GMAC goes under. But at what point do all the bail-outs stop? Giving GMAC more money makes no economic sense. This is just another example of Obama's failed economic plan.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Obama's Economic Plan - Trick or Treat

The Obama Administration continues to hope against all odds that the recession is over citing a few positive indicators while ignoring negative indicators in an effort to spin the news. Christina Romer, who chairs the President's Council of Economic Advisers is hanging her hat on the fact that business in the third quarter increased spending on new computers and software at an annual rate of 1.1%. Like that is a big deal. Computers are typically replaced systematically based on a useful life schedule not some big corporate buy decision. Mrs. Romer, who is an academic personality not a businesswoman from the real world, has concluded that this is a "sign" of the private sector getting some confidence back and starting to rebuild the capital stock. The fact that consumer confidence is at an all time low, which is far more significant, seems to be lost on Mrs. Romer. Well let me tell you, I work in the business world and I can say without any hesitation that the recession is not over and that more jobs will be lost in the months ahead. Let me tell you why.

The economy expanded in the third quarter by 3.5% on an annualized basis that was the result of the Cash for Clunkers and Home Buyers Incentive Programs under the SwindleUS Plan, which bribed consumers to buy cars and houses that they might have bought anyway in future months. All this did at considerable tax payer expense was accelerate demand not create new demand. In fact, Edmonds, the car experts, estimates that out the roughly 700,000 primarily foreign cars that were sold under Cash for Clunkers that about 150,000 purchases represented new sales that may not have happened anyway. So the real cost for this program was about $24,000 per car sold paid by the government in deficit spending to generate these sales. The Homebuyers Incentive has stimulated sales at a cost of up to $8,000 per home and as a result this program has apparently be extended until next April, which is a good thing because foreclosures are rising with no end in sight. Otherwise, with the exception of the minimal tax cuts that came from Obama's SwindleUS Plan, Obama economic plan has down little or nothing to end the recession.

Matter of fact, the FHA (Federal Housing Authority) is apparently sitting on about 1,000,000 mortgages that are delinquent. When these homes are foreclosed, it has been estimated that it will cost the government about $50 billion. And, that should be no surprise since Obama's Economic Plan has not created new jobs and there are about 17% of Americans, the real number and growing, that are unemployed. In addition, the next big shoe to fall will be commercial properties. Since the commercial vacancy rate is skyrocketing, which devalues commercial buildings, it is impossible to refinance these structures when loans come due. Many of the buildings are going back to the lender in foreclosures, which will wreck their balance sheets. As a result, there will be many more bank failures in the months ahead.

The FDIC, which is bankrupt, is trying to manage these bank failures so that they don't hit the street all at once. In fact, the FDIC needs $35 billion to deal with all the bank failures that have already happened and the money is just not there. So the FDIC is pre-billing surviving banks insurance fees to try to cover this $35 billion. This is taking money from banks, which will not have this money to lend and or to stabilize their balance sheets. This is all a vicious circle that when combined with all the other Obama Socialist schemes mean just one thing; job losses and continued recession.

As someone who works with major corporations throughout the US and around the world, I can say that major US companies for the most part are just not hiring new employees. And, the reason the US stock market is up is that US companies have laid off 6 million employees since Obama was elected President, which has seriously reduced expenses causing higher profitability not because business is up. As such, forget about Mrs. Romer and other Obama Administration officials attempting to spin the data. This recession is not over until I say it is over. And, that will not happen until I see American companies hiring again. You all will be the first to know when I see it happening.

The UCLA Anderson School of Business is projecting GDP growth in 2010 of just 1.7% not nearly enough to stop the lay off's and get companies hiring again. A growth rate of 3% or higher is need to spur job growth. And, until we have job growth, we can't stop the vicious circle and that will not happen if Obama and crew continues down the path of tax increases, trillions is deficit spending and more government regulation. CAP and TAX and HealthScare in particular are job killer bills. So, President's Obama's Economic Plan is a lot of trick and very little treat, in keeping with Halloween, except that it will not be over on November 1.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Obama's SwindleUS Plan and The States

USA Today reports that the States have used money from Obama's $787 Billion SwindleUS Plan to save 388,000 jobs so far this year. Of course, more than 6 million jobs have been lost since Obama was elected President and there are about 15 million people, or 17% of our population, unemployed so this 388,000 mostly government jobs saved as a result of Obama's economic plan is really a drop in the bucket. And, the UCLA Anderson School of Business is projecting GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth in 2010 of just 1.7%. Most economist believe that to achieve job growth, it requires at least 3% GDP growth, so obviously Obama's SwindleUS Plan is a complete failure.

The Obama Administration is trying to spin this 388,000 jobs "saved" into something significant; but the reality is that what ever government jobs that have been "saved" are offset by jobs lost as a result of the taxes and deficit spending needed to fund government spending. Growth in government happens at the expense of the private sector, always. What is really happening is that about 35 states are in serious deficit because their elected representatives refuse to cut spending to bring their budgets in balance. In essence, the States are the latest group of welfare recipients in the country receiving a bail out. When will it end? The States are like heroin addicts that just can't kick the habit of out of control government spending.

The states are hooked on welfare. Federal Stimulus money has protected the states from making big cuts in the number of government employees and a variety of social programs that are bankrupting the states. Clearly, public employee unions have pushed most states and the federal government to insolvency. The problem is that Obama's SwindleUS money will stop in December, 2010. Then what? The result will be fiscal chaos because elected state representatives just won't make the tough decisions necessary to cut cost.

The Obama Administration, for now at least, will not commit to more money for the states in 2011 because Obama's trillion dollar deficits are already bankrupting the United States causing the collapse of the dollar. This is like squeezing blood from a rock. However, the public employee unions, that elected Obama, will apply intense pressure for more state money because without it, their jobs are gone. And, a lot of Obama's Peeps are on the dole, which will stop if the states run out of money. The fact is that all states need to cut wasteful spending and programs to get their fiscal houses in order. Giving the states more bail out money is a huge mistake that will only make matters worse. Ultimately, a heroin addict must go through withdrawl, however painful, to kick the habit. There is no other way.

Most states are required by law to maintain balanced budgets; yet they use gimmicks to ignore their state Constitutions like moving expenses into the next year by one day or borrowing to fund operating expenses. What we have at both the state and federal level is Government Gone Wild.

Clearly, we need federal and maybe even state Constitutional Amendments requiring Term Limits, an iron clad balance budget amendment and an amendment that limits taxing authority at the state and federal levels to get this all under control. In the mean time, we have to elect Conservatives to take back our country and stop the fiscal insanity that is bankrupting our states and our country.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Elections in New Jersey - Virginia - New York

On Tuesday, November 3, there are three elections in particular that will be critical to the national scene and the battle to take back our country. In New Jersey Republican Chris Christie has a very narrow lead over current Governor and Goldman Sachs former CEO Democrat Socialist Jon Corzine. Corzine spends his own money, that he earned on Wall Street, winning elections. No one in the Obama Administration is going after Corzine for the millions he made on Wall Street because Corzine is one of their guys. Oh well that is another Chicago corruption story.

It was reported that Corzine spent $50 million to buy his previous Senate seat. This time around Corzine has spent more than $24 million of his own money to smear Christie in non stop ads. However, Christie is squeaky clean as a former prosecutor who took on more than 130 public officials for corruption or other misdeeds in New Jersey, the most corrupt state in the union, after Illinois. Impressively Christie did not lose one case. Remember, New Jersey is where Tony Soprano lives. You know the guys with the crooked noses live in Jersey. Christie also helped lock up child pornographers and terrorists. Chris Christie is a smart, family values, Conservative Republican who plans to cut spending in New Jersey and taxes. Christie is the right person to bring prosperity and integrity back to New Jersey.

New Jersey, like most states run by Democrat Socialists, is an economic basket case. New Jersey has the highest taxes in the country and perhaps the worst roads, slums, schools etc. Official unemployment in New Jersey is near 10%; but of course it is actually much higher because those off the rolls are no longer counted. Jon Corzine is an Obama man supporting all of Obama's Socialist schemes. About the only thing Corzine can say about Christie is that he is over weight. This should give Christie the "FAT" vote, which is 50% of America. This may have been a political blunder by Corzine. Christie is a big guy; but very capable. It is critical that Christie win in New Jersey, the bluest of Democrat states to send a clear message to Democrat Socialists in Washington.

Next, Bob McDonnell, the conservative Republican running for Governor in Virginia is 9 points ahead in the polls; but we can't get complacent. It looks like Obama's coat tails will not work for Democrat Socialist Creigh Deeds, who is running against McDonnell. Deeds seems like a real hay seed. McDonnell, the former state Attorney General is sharp and very accomplished. Obama was the first Democrat Socialist to carry Virginia since Lyndon Johnson; but Virginia is a center right state. It is very likely that other offices in Virginia will also be won by Republicans rejecting Obama's Socialist schemes.

Finally, there is an interesting congressional election in upstate New York. The Republican establishment anointed a RINO (Republican in Name Only) Dede Scozzafava as their candidate to run against Democrat Bill Owens. However, conservative Tea Bag Protesters stood up and JUST SAID NO. They nominated Doug Hoffman as the Conservative Party candidate. Conservative Republicans like Sarah Palin, Tim Palenty, the Club for Growth and many others are supporting Hoffman rather than the liberal Republican Scozzafava. As of now, the race is between Owens and Hoffman. The liberal Republican will lose this race. Most important, this is not just about electing Republicans who vote like Democrats; but rather electing Conservatives who support fiscal sanity, family values, a strong defense and free market capitalism. We don't need any more Schwartzeneagers, Snows, Collins or Specters in the Republican Party who are really Democrats in Republicans clothing.

It is crunch time in New Jersey, Virginia and New York and many other states with elections on November 3. The election next week is a referendum on Obama and the Democrat Socialists that control Congress and all their Socialist Schemes. It is time for us to Stand Up and Be Counted. If you live in one of these states call your friends and neighbors and get them out to vote for Christie, McDonnell and Hoffman. The National Freedom Forum has readers in 40 states. If you live in a state holding elections on November 3, we need to elect Conservatives to take back our country. We have to do this at all levels of government, city, school board, county supervisor, state legislature, governor, Congress, Senate and finally the Presidency. Every single election matters and every single election, though local, is a national election. With Focus, Discipline and Passion we can take back our country. We can do it. We will do it.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Obama's HealthScare Plan For The "Little People"

President Obama and the Democrat Socialists that control Congress are determined to enact a government-run unionized, public health care system in order to destroy the private insurance health care industry. Their real goal is to have a single payer national health care system like the one that exists in Britain. And, I can tell you that every time I travel to Britain, there is a nightmare horror story in the news about their health care system. In essence, Democrat Socialists want all people in the United States including illegal aliens on Medicare. To do this, Democrat Socialists Obama, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority leader Harry Reid and others continue to call insurance companies profit mongering villains. Believe me, as a business owner, I fully understand the issues we face with insurance companies and we do need real health care reform; but why would anyone think that the federal government can do it more cost efficiently or effectively given government's track record. Obama is bankrupting the United States, which is causing the dollar to collapse and will turn our nation into a banana republic. It is estimated that $60 Billion a year are now wasted in Medicare as a result of fraud. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the FDIC, the Post Office and Amtrac are all bankrupt. Given this track record, Obama wants taxpayers to entrust health care, which amounts to 1/6 of the US economy to him and the gang of corrupt politicians in Congress? What is wrong with this picture?

The reality is that the insurance industry on average generates a 2% profit as reported in a recent issue of Fortune. And, in terms of comparisons with other industries, the insurance industry is number 35 related to profitability. So when Democrat Socialists talk about greedy insurance companies, they are spreading BIG LIE blatant propaganda to sell their public insurance scheme. Besides, profitable companies pay corporate income taxes, which the government desperately needs particularly since with 20 million abortions since 1971, we don't have enough people paying into Social Security and Medicare to fund current and future recipients. Elected officials should be praising profitable companies because without them there is no government. Instead, Democrat Socialists like all Socialists and Communists portray profit, the engine of growth, as a dirty word. For some reason, they want to kill the goose that laid the golden egg and so the government will end up with a big zero goose egg; hence the trillions in deficit spending.

But lets get this straight. If the Democrat Socialist succeed in destroying private health insurance companies, there will be three classes of health care in the United States. First Class - The top 10% of wage earner, the "rich" will buy whatever health care they want as happens now in Canada and Britain and other countries with socialized national health care. Coach - Those that are lucky enough to work for employers that provide over lay insurance will get reasonably good health care because the overlay insurance will cover the 20% that Medicare does not pay. Economy - And, the vast majority of people will be in the Medicare system, which today pays hospitals and doctors roughly 80% of what private insurance pays. Keep in mind, there are many doctors today that will not take Medicare patients.

And, the administration of health care by unionized government employees will be like going to the Post Office. The service will be OK; but generally mediocre and there will be rationing and death panels guaranteed because that is exactly what happens in other countries with national health care systems. Outcomes and results will be like our unionized public school systems. To be sure there are some exceptional public schools, particularly in wealthy areas where parents can afford to subsidize public spending, however, most public schools on a national basis are either mediocre or completely dismal, which again causes the rich particularly in major urban areas, including the President and Mrs. Obama and most elected representatives in Washington DC, to send their kids to private schools. HealthScare will be the same as working with the Post Office and Public Schools. When it positively, absolutely needs to get their the next day, we go to UPS or FED EX because we can't depend on the Post Office. And, many have opted out of public schools because they do not produce results competitive with the rest of the world.

Does anyone really believe that our elected representatives, including the President and his family, will be using the national health care system? Does any one really think that Senator Ted Kennedy, when he was dying of brain cancer would have used a public health care system that he fought for all his life, instead of buying what ever health care he needed in an attempt to save his life? If you believe that our elected representatives would use public health care, then you need to come to California and get a prescription for medical marijuana because you are already delusional. Congress always exempts itself from the programs they force Americans to use. The members of Congress and most government employees are not on Social Security. Instead, they get rich pensions that are often more than four times higher than the highest Social Security payment. So obviously, we won't be seeing the Obama's, Harry Reid or Nancy Pelosi at any public health care clinic any time soon.

Obama's National HealthScare Plan is for the "little people" as they were referred to by Leona Helmsly, not the rich or elected representatives. To put this in perspective since I travel so much for my business, I have status with United and American Airlines. As such, I get to go through the first class and priority lines. I don't wait with the "little people". And, when there is a nightmare at the airport, I go to the Admirals Club or the Red Carpet Club to get re-booked. I don't wait in long lines because I am "special". The same thing will happen under Obama's HealthScare Plan. The "rich" and elected representatives will go on business as usual. Some that work for generous companies will have the overlap insurance and get reasonably good health care as happens in Britain and other countries with socialized health care; but the other 70% of the people will be stuck with Medicare alone and rationing. It is what it is. That's democracy in the United States.

The only problem is that Medicare is already bankrupt. So how on earth can 90% of the people under age 65 be added to Medicare when the money is not there to meet current obligations for senior citizens. One way is that Obama's HealthScare Plan takes $500 Billion away from senior citizens and cuts their benefits plain and simple. But, otherwise, none of this adds up. The reality is that President Obama and the Democrat Socialist that control Congress are bankrupting the United States. But there is a more malevolent intent in all of this. Eventually, aside from raising taxes of all kinds, which is inevitable if Obama's HealthScare Plan is enacted, the only other place to look for big money in the federal budget is by cutting the military. Democrat Socialists hate our military in spite of what they say. Democrat Socialists have always wanted to dramatically cut our military and surrender our power to some global organization like the United Nations.

Watch what President Obama does not what he says. Actions speak louder than words. Obama is already cutting our military the same way Jimmy Carter did during his dismal Presidency. Obama is cutting our nuclear forces and missile defense unilaterally, which could be perilous in a dangerous world while other countries like Iran are seeking to build nuclear arsenals. Just wait, we will see a wholesale down sizing of our military during the Obama Presidency because the trillions in deficits are just not sustainable. Two and Two do add up to Four and what we will have as a result of President Obama's Socialist Schemes is a bankrupt, weaker United States.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Too big To Fail Legislation - Danger, Danger

The illustrious, Democrat Socialist Congressman Barney Frank and tax-cheat Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner are working on Too Big To Fail legislation that would allow the federal government to nationalize any company deemed too large an influence on the American economy for the government to allow such company to go out of business. That strategy hasn't worked too well for bankrupt GM, has it? Think about it. There are many, many large corporations with dominant market share that have a much bigger impact on the US economy than GM. So if the government can nationalize GM, the banks, insurance companies etc. under the the Too Big To Fail premise, why not the rest of corporate America? There are companies like Wal Mart, that Democrat Socialists want to unionize, McDonald's, Procter and Gamble, (a large consumer products company), Boeing, Caterpillar, Google (that dominates the Internet), Fox News, Hewlitt Packard, Dell, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Fed Ex and UPS (that compete with the Post Office) etc. etc. etc. These companies and many more employ thousands if not hundreds of thousands of employees. Wal Mart is the largest employer in the country with more than 1,000,000 employees; hence the push by Democrat Socialists for unionization.

Of all people pushing for this, Congressman Barney Frank was a primary cause for the financial meltdown because Frank refused to regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac because of their huge contributions to his campaign war chest. Frank and other Democrat Socialists including Obama were on the take so to speak. And, Tim Geithner was the whiz kid head of the New York Federal Reserve just a few blocks from Wall Street and the big banks and did nothing to regulate the financial system that he was a part of. These two are like Abbott and Costello in a comedy routine except that we should all be crying not laughing. These characters are Socialists who believe in a command economy run by the federal government. The only problem is that this thinking has lead to disaster in other countries. Britain is a prime example; though there are many. Britain has primarily been a socialist country for years, except for the brief interlude when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister. Even then, there was only so much that Mrs. Thatcher could do to reverse years of Socialist policy. Today, Britain is bankrupt, even worse than the US and their economy is a basket case.

The reality is that the boom and bust cycles that happen in a capitalist market economy; though often very painful, are necessary to innovation. As someone who has been in business for 30 years working with major corporations in 46 states, Europe and Asia, I have seen this close up. I have worked through three recessions, downturns in the real estate market, very high mortgage interest rates and other calamities like 9/11 and in the end, it is always free market capitalism that brings back prosperity. Today, I am dealing with the New Normal specific to my company, which has required lay off 's and restructuring; but in the end will result in a stronger company. If I was getting a government subsidy to prevent bankrupcy, there would be absolutely no incentive to work smarter and improve my company, which ultimately would be bad for my company.

Years ago, when I was a very young manager, I worked with IBM to move their Selectric Typewriter factory from Lexington, Kentucky to Boca Raton, Florida. Wisely when IBM entered the personal computer business as a pioneer, they sold the typewriter business that is no more. They saw the proverbial writing on the wall or computer screen so to speak. And then, when IBM got their socks knocked off by a fellow in Austin, Texas named Michael Dell, who came up with a better idea called Dell Computer, IBM sold their PC business to Lenovo, a Chinese company, because of eroding margins on PC's to focus more on services. IBM went through some very painful years reinventing their company and they are better for it today. Dell had a good run and made a lot of money; but just recently Dell realized that margins were just too low and that making money on postage alone wasn't going to do it for them, so they bought Perot Systems so that they could begin focusing on services. The point is had the government intervened with subsidies picking winners and losers as happens in a command economy, based on political influence, IBM might still be making IBM Selectric Typewriters even though there is no market for them.

We see this with Obama's CAP and TAX Bill, which will penalize current energy sources that are viable as a bridge to the future and subsidize solar, wind and bio-fuels, which are not economically feasible today. The best example of this distortion of free markets is ethanol, which would not be feasible without government subsidies. The funny thing is that more energy is used to produce ethanol that it saves. And, using corn to produce ethanol results in higher food prices because corn is a food for live stock. The point is that whenever government gets involved, it makes matters much worse than if government just minded its own business. Well the federal goverment did need to stabilize the financial system to deal with this financial "crisis". Goverment as run by Democrat Socialists always draws the wrong conclusions and over reaches which is exactly what is happening today; hence the reason unemployment is still high instead of going down. We have what is called a "jobless recovery", by Keynesian economist, which is nonsense. Tell the guy out of work that can't make his mortgage payments that the United States is experiencing a recovery.
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And, let's face it rather than worrying about private enterprise, the federal government really does need to mind its own business and deal with bankrupt Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Post Office, the FDIC and Amtrac. In fact, wouldn't it be nice if Congressman Barney Frank and Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner starting minding their own store, the federal government, instead of trying to take over American business. Just maybe Frank and Geithner could do something to bring down unemployment instead of using Keynesian economics to accept it as inevitable.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

President Obama Declares War on Fox News

President Obama, the Ditherer and Chief can't seem to make a decision concerning sending troops to Afghanistan, in spite of the advice of his appointed Generals, so instead, the Obama Administration decided to pursue a new War against Fox News. Obama's Communist Communications Czar Anita Dunn, who admires Mao Tse Tung, the brutal Communist dictator from China that murdered 70 million Chinese, officially carried out the President's order and declared war on Fox News last week by including Fox on the "Enemies List". Then last Sunday, Obama sent in his Chicago storm troopers Rahm Emanuel, who used to be a ballet dancer before entering politics, and David Axelrod, whose consulting company has made millions off Obama and related Democrat Socialist causes to tell the world that Fox News is not a "legitimate news organization". The Obama Administration's efforts to control the press are very much in keeping with what happens in Venezuela and Russia as both Hugo Chavez and Vladamir Putin have shut down legitimate news organizations that do not tow the party line.

The reality is that Fox News is the highest rated news organizations in the United States. It is the only News Organization that Americans can look to for "fair and balanced" coverage. The other Obama approved news organizations like NBC, CNBC, MSNBC (really anything NBC), ABC and CBS are all left wing organizations that blindly support Obama and therefore their News operations are just not credible. This may be the reason Fox has more viewers than all of the others combined. And, of course NBC is owned by GE, which is controlled by Obama supporter and financial beneficiary, Jeff Immelt, the CEO of GE. GE Financial was given TARP funds and GE stands to benefit greatly if Obama's CAP & TAX bill in enacted. So, the old adage, Whose Bread You Eat, Whose Song You Sing is applicable. As a GE stockholder, I should be happy about GE's influence with the President except that under Immelt, GE's stock has tanked because he has been a complete failure as GE's CEO; but that is another story. Oh where or where is Jack Welch, the former Chairman of GE when the stock was $70 a share instead of $15 about where it is today. And, of course radical, left wing, Moveon.org funded by George Soros is demanding that other Democrat Socialists boycott Fox News. I hope Democrat Socialists do boycott Fox because Fox has a commanding lead in the ratings, which means that conservatives, moderates and independents who watch Fox will not have to listen to Democrat Socialist hog wash.

In any case, last week, the Obama Administration tried to exclude Fox News from the White House Press Pool claiming they were not a legitimate news organization. Fortunately, the other news outlets, even though they support Obama, were smart enough to see the danger in this blatantly political move to suppress freedom of the press. The other news companies stood up and Just Said NO. They all came together to defend Fox's position because they knew that if the Obama thugs could do this to one news company, they could do it to any of them in the future if they ever oppose Obama. The press recognized corrupt Chicago politics when they saw it. The Obama Administration backed down because the Press would not tolerate this outrageous action.

However, it shows that President Obama and his people are despicable. They have created an "Enemies List" and it includes anyone and everyone that opposes their Socialist Schemes. We clearly must stand up and take back our country. President Obama is a Socialist and maybe even a Communist to be determined. Obama is doing everything possible to limit our freedoms and control our lives. We must fight Obama's Socialist Schemes by first taking back the Congress in 2010, electing conservative Governors at every opportunity and ultimately making Obama a one term President in 2012. We have hard work to do; but the future of our country is at stake. We must act to save our country.

P.S. Obama is waiting until after the November elections in Virginia and New Jersey to deal with Afghanistan because Republican Candidates McDonnell and Christie are leading in Virginia and New Jersey and Obama is afraid the left wing of the Democrat Party in those states will stay home if Obama sends more troops to Afghanistan. The decision to send more troops will come right after these elections. Just politics as usual except that our soldier's lives are at stake.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Democrat Socialist Politicians - What Hypocrisy

Call me a glutton for punishment; but as a political junkie, I actually watch House and Senate Hearings and other Obama Administration Czars on C-Span late at night. Since these Committees are all headed by Democrat Socialists and many of Obama's Czars are outright Socialists or even Communists, it is pretty tough to keep my blood pressure under control as I listen to these hypocrites go on and on about the evils of American business and businessmen who have created the "financial crisis". Of course, there is never any mention of the failure of government to properly regulate Wall Street, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. There is never any mention of the "Friends of Angelo" the CEO of Countrywide Mortgage, who gave home loans to members of Congress, like Democrat Socialist Senator Chris Dodd and others, at favorable mortgage interest rates as a pay off to look the other way related to sub prime mortgages. And, there is also no mention of the millions of dollars in campaign contributions that went to candidates like Democrat Socialists Barack Obama, Chris Dodd, Chuck Schumer and Barney Frank from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prevent regulation that was recommended by President George W. Bush. And then, there is the Federal Reserve that provided cheap money for years to fund all the sub prime mortgages.

What incredible hypocrisy!! These Democrat Socialist hypocrites lecture American businessmen for causing the "financial crisis" when they were intricately involved in this mess. And so now they want to regulate the salaries of executives at companies that received TARP money like AIG, Citibank, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, GM, GMAC and Chrysler, which I suppose is ok because the government is the primary shareholder of these companies. However, providing compensation plans of very low base salaries and stock payable years from now will only result in a mass exodus of talent from these companies making it harder for the government to achieve repayment of the loans provided to these companies. This vindictive scheme will back fire. It is interesting that Obama is not attempting to control the salary of Jeffrey Immelt the CEO of GE that has driven GE into the ground; but is a big Obama supporter. GE got TARP funds to bail out GE Financial. GE also happens to own NBC, the left wing news outlet that blindly supports Obama. Do you think there is a connection? Forget about GE, Obama wants to go even further and regulate the salaries of more than 5,000 other financial institutions that received no TARP money at all. The reality is that compensation should be governed by the Boards of Directors of those companies and or their shareholders not BIG OBAMA SOCIALIST GOVERNMENT. What Obama is proposing amounts to nationalization of these companies and it is a slippery slope.

All of this aside, remember President Obama has never managed any public or private enterprise. Obama has NO business experience; yet he believes he is in a position to manage complex global companies when he have never even managed a 7/11. And, Democrat Socialist politicians and Republicans have bankrupted Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, The Post Office, The FDIC, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Amtrac. Yet these incompetent buffoons have the audacity to lecture American businessmen about their compensation packages and perks. Many of these politicians should be in jail for what they have done to the United States. If any business had a balance sheet like the US balance sheet, its management would be put in jail. In China, politicians that have betrayed the country the way our elected representatives have betrayed and bankrupted our country would be executed. I have got to stop watching C-SPAN because all it does is aggravate me. When I see these Democrat Socialist politicians on TV, I realize how important it is that we have Constitutional Amendments specific to Term Limits, a Balanced Budget and Limitations on Federal Taxing Authority. These amendments are the only way to stop these corrupt politicians from bankrupting our country. We have to stand up and take our country back for the sake of our children, grandchildren and all who have fought and died for the United States. Our soldiers are overseas fighting to protect our freedoms. We have to fight within our country to protect our freedoms and the battle here is just as critical as the battle overseas. The elections in 2010 and 2012 will be our battleground.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Support the US Chamber of Commerce

The US Chamber of Commerce headed by Thomas J. Donohue is fighting for the American people and American business. The Chamber has moved sharply to oppose much of the legislation and many of the regulations and policies streaming out of the Obama Administration and the Democrat Socialist controlled Congress including HealthScare, labor issues and finance. The Chamber is particularly opposed to CAP and TAX because it is a job killer bill that will negatively impact every single American and business. Donohue has been criss-crossing the country to raise $100 million to launch the "Campaign for Free Enterprise". It is intended to promote open markets and fight a rise in regulations and tax hikes that will undermine job creation and the economy.

If you own a business and you are not a Chamber member join now. If you don't own a business, but can contribute to this Campaign write a check. President Obama has included the Chamber of Commerce on his "Enemies List" along with many other groups, people and Fox News as the President practices Chicago style street politics. Though the Chamber of Commerce, which represents businesses of all sizes all over the United States has been a positive force in America for years, the Obama Administration is attempting to demonize the Chamber for opposing Obama's Socialist Schemes.

Instead, the Obama Administration is looking to the Business Round Table for support. The Business Round Table is composed of 160 CEO's from major companies many of whom are Obama supporters and or that do big business with the government. As such, these CEO's are much less likely to be critical of the Obama Administration or any Administration no matter what their personal beliefs. The saying, "Whose Bread You Eat, Whose Song You Sing" is applicable. Of course, 70% of Americans work for companies more often represented by the US Chamber of Commerce; but I guess those people, the VOTERS, don't matter to the Obama Administration.

President Obama is a Socialist and as such is bad for business. President Obama believes in growing the government at the expense of the private sector which is bad for business. President Obama supports high taxes and redistribution of income which is bad for business. Clearly, President Obama and the Democrat Socialist that control Congress are bad for business. The US Chamber of Commerce represents thousands of businesses. Why on earth would they support President Obama and all his Socialist Schemes and government power grab that will result in less freedom for all and a lower standard of living in the United States. The US Chamber of Commerce is properly representing the American people. Now we need to support the US Chamber of Commerce that is under organized and concerted attack by the Obama Administration.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

California - The Future of America

The Democrat Socialists that control the California State Legislature and Republican in Name Only, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger have bankrupted the state of California. The Golden State is a now a state with a tin cup begging President Obama for help; but even Obama could only go so far. The California state deficit is about $53 billion depending on the source of information because it is a moving number. California just can't live on the $100 billion or so it collects each year from the highest taxes in the country. California has been borrowing its way out of deficits for years to fund annual operating expenses not just roads, schools and bridges, even though technically the state Constitution requires a balanced budget. I never could figure out how this is possible. Fortunately, California can't print money, thank God. The state just sells billions in bonds at very high interest rates because of the risk. At some point the balloon will just burst because the interest payments will not be sustainable.

California raised taxes $12.6 Billion last February. This will cost the average family an additional $1,100 a year to pay for about 250,000 state employees many of whom are union employees and all of whom get very high salaries, benefits and pensions. A recent state study showed that the cost of state regulations on business was $493 billion annually. The authors concluded that the annual cost per household was $13,801 annually. What is more frightening is that these regulations cost the state 3.8 million jobs. At 12.2% official unemployment and probably 18% unofficial unemployment in August, California had the highest unemployment rate in almost 70 years ranking fourth behind Michigan, Nevada and Rhode Island.

Environmental wackos have prevailed in California adding many job killer laws that have pushed jobs out of California. These laws in addition to impossible employment regulations and very high business taxes have resulted in California being rated number 49 out of 50 worst states in the country to do business by the Washington based Tax Foundation. I know this story first hand since though I live in Nevada, my business is headquartered in California. During the last five years we have moved all jobs out of California that don't absolutely need to be in the state including mine. And, we are not alone. Most California based companies, when faced with the need to expand, have either moved overseas or to other states.

Politicians in California who run the state just don't get it. They don't see the connection between their actions and job loss in California. Does this sound familiar? President Obama and the Democrat Socialists that control Congress somehow believe that they can raise taxes, increase regulations, pass HealthScare that will cost Billions each year, pass CAP and TAX that will impact the lives of every single American in a negative way and cost the average family $4,000 a year and somehow create jobs. It is unbelievable that any responsible politician of either political party can vote for annual MULTI-TRILLION DOLLAR deficits that will bankrupt the United States. That is the part I don't get. Democrat Socialists are either the dumbest people ever to hold office or the smartest, most devious people ever elected to Congress with a purposeful scheme to create "crisis" to warrant an even bigger government power grab. I believe this is a POWER GRAB and it is a malevolent scheme like nothing we have ever seen before in the history of the United States.

Just look to California if you want to see the future of America. California is in a death spiral. Democrat Socialists in California advocate raising taxes and more regulations, which just pushes more jobs out of California, which causes even greater deficits and so the vicious cycle continues. And, this is exactly what will happen in the United States if President Obama and the Democrat Socialists are successful in enacting their Socialist schemes. It is Government Gone Wild.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

The Crashing Dollar and the Enemies List

Business Week magazine in its October 26 issue published an interesting article written by Peter Coy, entitled "What Happens if the Dollar Crashes". The reality is that the dollar is already crashing. The value of the dollar has already fallen 15% since March as investors moved to higher yielding currencies. This is happening as a vote of No Confidence in Obama's economic plan and because of huge deficit spending that is requiring the Federal Reserve to print money. It really is that simple. However, Business Week has taken this a few steps further by postulating what will happen if the value of the dollar drops even further by 25% against each major world currency, roughly parallel to housing's unprecedented 30% decline.

This would mean it would take $2 to buy a single Euro. This would result in cheaper exports so it could be good for American companies that manufacturer in the United States and sell overseas. But, on the bad side, inflation in the US would sky rocket because of rising cost of imported goods, which would negatively impact our standard of living. Americans would have trouble getting loans as foreign buyers stop buying our treasury bills pulling out of our debt market. This means interest rates would go up dramatically. The cheap dollar would make it hard for other countries to export their products to the United States, hurting their growth, which means they would not be in a position to buy American products even at lower prices. China and other countries could face social unrest. Trade wars would break out. Over exposed banks would collapse.

Don't think it can't happen because in history many countries that have gone down the same path we are following of massive deficit spending have faced economic collapse. And, if the dollar crashes further, it will be sudden and markets will react immediately. President Obama and the Democrat Socialists that control Congress continue to act recklessly in failing to properly manage our economy like no other time in American history. If we don't see a significant change in policy and soon, away from all of Obama's Socialist schemes and the Keynesian economics that has never succeeded in history, we will see the economic collapse of the United States.

It is a frightening thought and if it happens all bets are off. We could see civil strife and the dismemberment of the United States. I do not believe that the American people today would tolerate the deprivation that took place during the Great Depression as a result of Franklin Roosevelt's misguided economic policies that are the same as Obama's economic game plan. Believe me, I don't like being alarmist; but as a former history teacher I have seen the end of this story in studying other countries and it is not pretty. History really is our best teacher. If Obama's unsustainable deficit spending does not stop, sadly the United States will become a banana republic.

Just today, I was told by a senior manager of a major US bank that their economists project that Obama's Socialist schemes will result in a $16 Trillion deficit in the next ten years, rather than the $10 Trillion projected by the Obama Administration as though $10 Trillion is not bad enough. Be assured, these numbers do not include the true cost of Obama's HealthScare Plan. And, this is on top of the $44 Trillion in unfunded liability sitting there related to bankrupt Social Security and Medicare because all of that money has been stolen by politicians of both political parties to fund government operating expenses since the Johnson Administration. The so called Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds are just smoke and mirrors. They don't have the money given them for these programs. Instead, the Federal government stole the money that was contributed by all of us for Social Security and Medicare and gave the Trust Funds IOU's that are not worth the paper they are written on. The Federal government will have to print money to fund these programs, which will absolutely cause the collapse of the US Dollar. It is a vicious circle.

In the mean time, while the nation burns, the Obama Administration has developed an "Enemies List" just like Richard Nixon. You are probably on it if you are in the 53% of people who pay income taxes. Other Enemies include Tea Bag Protesters, Insurance Companies, the US Chamber of Commerce, Fox News (the Best News Organization in the world), corporate executives, conservative radio talk show hosts, those that support free market capitalism and profit and all of us, that are the majority of the American people that don't support Obama's HealthScare, CAP and TAX and the SwindleUS Plans. The dollar is crashing. Unemployment is at 17%. We could be facing defeat in Afghanistan as a result of Obama's inexperience and indecision. And Obama is focused on developing an Enemies List. What is wrong with this picture?

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Public Employees Bankrupting the US

President Obama and the Democrat Socialist that control Congress are indeed bankrupting the United States with Trillions of dollars of deficit spending; but let me count the ways. First, there are many pork barrel projects that have been funded by the SwindleUS Plan. And, then there all the bail outs that represent political pay offs; but that is not the worst of it. Public employee unions like SEIU have extracted packages from the states and the federal government that provide them unparalleled perks, benefits and salaries way beyond what is typical in the private sector.

It used to be that people worked in public service sacrificing higher wages for more job security and better benefits. Today, government employees get paid more, have better fringe benefits, retire with larger pensions (remember many are not on Social Security) and have rock solid job security. In other words, government employees have it all at taxpayer expense. In 2008, the average base salary for a federal government employee was $79,197. The average base salary for a private sector employee was $49,935. Hence, the average federal government employee makes $29,262 more than the typical employee in the private sector and this does not include the fully loaded cost of benefits. And, maybe it would not be so bad if Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Post Office, the FDIC and Amtrac were not bankrupt, or if the service we get from federal employees was not often mediocre at best.

Bankrupt California is another case in point. If someone is elected to the California State Assembly or Senate and remains in office for just five years and is 50 years old or more when leaving office, they receive full health care benefits for life. If the former elected representative dies, the spouse or partner would get the same benefits for life. Even before age 50, some California state employees have three health care options that require no employee contribution at all. The state pays the entire premium. If that were not enough, California Assembly and Senate employees get free dental and vision care, free life insurance, paid leave up to three months for a new mother or one month of paid "parental bonding leave" for a new father, massive pension benefits, 12 - 15 paid holidays, 12 sick days and up to six weeks vacation. What a sweet deal for a state that is bankrupt. This state compensation package is far in excess of anything typical in the private sector.

Teachers are another story. Teacher always complain that they are underpaid. First teachers typically get all the benefits listed above. And, all should remember that teachers basically work nine months a year with lots of paid holidays; not the eleven months after vacations that the rest of us work. So, on an annual fully loaded basis, for nine months work, teachers actually do pretty well in many school districts. And, teachers with many years of tenure do very well receiving pensions that are 80% or more of their last year salary, way beyond the highest level of Social Security benefits since teachers are not on Social Security. Finally, the United States spends more on public education than most other countries, yet student performance in math and science is below many other countries that spend significantly less. In fairness to teachers, all the video games and other such distractions given to kids by their parents that take the place of reading books may have a little something to do with this problem, as well.

And, lets not forget the Members of Congress and the President. Congressional salaries are around $200,000. I think the President gets around $400,000 annually. But the annual benefits and perks amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars if not millions of dollars for the President. Sitting on the other side of Baltimore International Airport is Andrew Air force base where all the private government jets sit at the disposal of the Members of the House and Senate. And, of course every one knows about Air Force One, the President's home away from home. The President also gets the White House and Camp David fully appointed and staffed for FREE at tax payer expense. If this was you or I, we would have to report all of these perks as taxable; but not our elected representatives. Federal elected representatives get all of these perks for FREE and then have the audacity to point fingers at corporate executives for their pay packages and perks.

Should we laugh or cry? What is wrong with this picture? At the same time that we have 17% real unemployment in the United States and people are being laid off daily, President Obama and the Democrat Socialist that control Congress want to raise taxes in one way or another to redistribute our incomes to their PEEPS, which include government employees who are the real FAT CATS in our country. Forget about the small percentage of people making millions and focus on the millions of people in government living off the fat of our land. These government union employees and groups like AARP and ACORN are behind HealthScare, CAP and TAX, the Bail Outs and the SwindleUS Plan because they stand to benefit from all these Socialist schemes. We are working for them instead of the other way around. Clearly, we must take back our country to end this enslavement.

We need government employees at reasonable costs comparable to the private sector; just not so many of them that would otherwise deny us our freedoms by regulating every aspect of our lives. President Obama and the Democrat Socialists that control Congress and their union allies support big government and high taxation to fund the exorbitant pay packages of government employees. These pay packages are the pay off for huge union political contributions. Together, public employee unions, President Obama and the Democrat Socialists that control Congress are bankrupting our country. Just look at the falling value of the dollar against other currencies and you will see the end result of all their deficit spending.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Living the American Dream

While spending a few days in Napa Sonoma, the beautiful wine country of California, my wife and I encountered the Ceja (pronounced SayHa) Vineyards. Ceja Vineyards is an ultra premium Latino family owned winery in Napa Valley. It was founded by Amelia, Pedro, Armando and Martha Ceja, Mexican American immigrants in 1983. This is another American dream, free market, success story like so many others based on hard work and sacrifice. The Ceja family came to America from Mexico in 1953 as migrant farm workers. Armando Ceja, at age seven, went to work in the California fields along side his siblings and parents picking fruit. By the time Armando was age eighteen, he made his first barrel of Cabernet Sauvignon. After graduating from high school, Armando enrolled in the Enology and Viticulture Programs at University of California Davis. For years, Armando was a respected vineyard manager in Napa Sonoma. So much so that in 1983, the Ceja family was able to borrow $400,000 to buy their first 15 acres of grape vineyards and has since grown their acreage to create Ceja Vineyards. No doubt, the Ceja's like so many small business men and women in the United States risked everything to pursue their dream.

But the story does not stop there. The current President of the company is another family member, Amelia Moran Ceja, the first Mexican American woman to be President of a wine production company. Amelia majored in history and literature at the University of California in San Diego. Amelia worked in the wine industry for 8 years and 10 years ago left her job to concentrate all her energies on the family business, Ceja Vineyards. Amelia wears many hats. She is the contact person, a wine saleswoman, in charge of public relations, a compliance specialist, a bookkeeper, a wine delivery person, a grape picker and who ever else she needs to be to insure the success of the company. Under Amelia's leadership, Inc. Magazine selected Ceja Vineyards "Entrepreneur of the Year in 2004 (one of seven) in the January 2005 issue. In addition, Ceja Vineyards was named Best New Winery in 2002 by over 90 of the world's most prestigious wine writers. And, in March, 2005 Amelia Moran Ceja was recognized by the California State Legislature as Woman of the Year.

This success story is both wonderful and represents what is great about an America predicated on Capitalism, free markets, sacrifice and hard work. But for a twist of fate, this could have been the Morabito family story because my grandfather was in the grocery and grape business in Ohio. My grandfather and father imported box cars of grapes from California to Ohio to sell to Italians and others to make wine at a time when table wine was otherwise very expensive. At one point my grandfather sold the store and they were going to move to Napa to do just as the Ceja's have done and found a winery. The sale fell through so it never happened; but it did happen for many Italian immigrant families who originally brought from Italy the wine making skills that were the foundation of the California wine country. Today, many of those Italian names are gone in Napa Sonoma as big companies acquired the vineyards from retiring families. And, what is very interesting is that many of those Italian vineyards have also been acquired by more than 12 Mexican American families to pursue the American Dream.

This is the vision of America that I want to leave my sons and eventual grandchildren. It is an America where anyone can succeed who is willing to work hard and take risks. It is not the America of victims, redistribution of income and Socialism advanced by President Obama and the Democrat Socialists that control Congress. We have to take back our country to make sure that our families inherent an America where profit is not a dirty word and opportunities still exist so that all can pursue the American Dream.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

The Great Divide in America

The American Civil War was fought over economics not slavery contrary to popular belief. The Northern industrialized states fought a war with the Southern agrarian states because of a very different vision for America. Business in the North favored high tariffs to protect developing American industry from European competitors that were more efficient. When those tariffs were imposed against European manufactured goods entering the United States, European countries passed reciprocal tariffs against Southern raw materials going to Europe making the South less competitive on world markets.

Slavery was not the main cause of the Civil War. In fact, prior to the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, who was not a radical abolitionist, was content to allow slavery to exist in the states where it was currently in place thinking it would die out naturually over time. Lincoln was, however, opposed to the expansion of slavery into the new territories and states admitted to the union. Lincoln even proposed paying Southerners for their slaves so that they could be sent back to Africa. Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 to end slavery in the heat of the Civil War not just as a moral imperative; but because he hoped it would cause a slave revolt to end the war sooner. That did not happen and it took two more years before the war was finally ended in 1865 as a result of General Ulysses S. Grant's scorched earth plan, burning city after city, as Grant marched through the South.

In any case, the Civil War was the culmination of a Great Divide that actually began right at the founding of our nation with various "compromises" put in place by our Founders and later politicians. Today, we face another Great Divide in America that began with Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and Lyndon Johnson's Great Society; the beginnings of the Welfare State. President Obama and the Democrats Socialists who control Congress believe in Big Government control of our lives and every facet of the economy, high taxation, redistribution of income, minority rights at the expense of the majority, broad interpretation of the Constitution to facilitate social engineering, a weak national defense as part of a global world view, left wing social policy, politicians for life and unsustainable deficit spending. Conservatives believe in limited government, free market capitalism, balanced budgets, term limits, low taxation to allow for the growth of the private sector, a progressive income tax where all pay their fair share, equal protection under the law to protect the civil rights of all Americans, a strong national defense where America is viewed as a world leader, strict interpretation of the Constitution and family values. The Great Divide that exists today is even wider than the divide that existed during the Civil War, which has ominous implications.

40% of voters are left wing Democrat Socialists. 40% of voters are solid right wing Conservatives. 20% of voters have no strong beliefs at all. These independent, swing voters are the squishy middle that do not keep up with government policy or the news. They have a very superficial knowledge of the workings of our government and vote for candidates based on emotional appeal rather than conviction or facts. In any case, the Great Divide between Democrat Socialists and Conservatives does not allow for bi-partisanship or compromise because Democrat Socialists and Conservatives share no common ground, principles or values. President Obama's Socialist vision for America is viewed as a clear and present danger to the United States by Conservatives. As such, Conservatives will never accept Obama's Socialist schemes. Hence, last summer, we saw Tea Bag Protests with Conservatives in the street like nothing I have ever seen in my life time, except the protests primarily by young people and the academic left during the Vietnam War. Conservatives are standing up and saying HELL NO to Obama's Socialist Schemes and Deficit spending that will bankrupt our country.

There is a Great Divide in America. We are experiencing irreconcilable differences. If this was a marriage, it would end in divorce; hence the reason some states are again talking of "secession". The Red States have little in common with the Blue States. Democrat Socialists and Conservatives do not share the same values or governing principles, which is the reason politics in America has become war without guns. Conservatives will not tolerate Obama's Socialist schemes because they will lead to less freedom, the bankruptcy of the United States, the collapse of the US Dollar, high interest rates and inflation, slow or no growth, continued high unemployment and in general a lower standard of living for our people. How can there be any compromise related to this picture? Conservatives are organizing to fight, fight, fight President Obama and the Democrat Socialists that control Congress on every front. The United States is a center right country. The elections of 2010 and 2012 are absolutely critical to taking back our country to provide prosperity, freedom and economic security for all our people, even Obama's Peeps who will otherwise become enslaved by Obama's Socialist schemes. Obama's vision for America is clearly not our vision for America. So, we must stand up and JUST SAY NO.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Health Care Costs - The Real Numbers

Cards talk and numbers don't lie, but many politicians do lie. President Obama and the Democrat Socialists that control Congress have created a "crisis" to cram HealthScare down the throats of the American people and grow government. The 46 million people who are uninsured actually breaks down to about 12 million illegal aliens, millions of people who can afford to buy health insurance, but choose not to, millions between jobs who choose not to buy insurance through their Cobra plans and finally the poor who have no private insurance, but are on Medicaid. We all have to be careful when dealing with Democrat Socialists because they are not too good when it comes to numbers, or they lie and they certainly don't understand Economics 101.

But, it gets even worse. There was a recent magazine article on the real numbers related to Health Care Costs in Forbes on September 7, 2009, written by Alan Reynold, a senior fellow with the Cato Institute and author of Income and Wealth. As it turns out once again, government is the problem not the solution. Remember, it was Democrat Socialists like Congressman Barney Frank and Senator Chris Dodd (a friend of Angelo at Countrywide Mortgage) and Senator Chuck Schumer (that now wants to punish the insurance companies for simply pointing out the real numbers about HealthScare) that demanded that people who could not afford mortgages be given them and then these same Democrat Socialists refused to regulate Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (because of huge campaign contributions), which led to the mortgage meltdown and financial "crisis" in the United States. Now President Obama and the Democrat Socialists that control Congress are playing fast and loose with health care numbers to fabricate another "crisis" to grow government again.

The HealthScare bills before Congress are smoke and mirrors. All the tax increases start immediately; but the "benefits" don't begin for several years. This is playing games with the numbers as the Democrat Socialists say the cost is about $900 Billion when the cost is actually $1.8 Trillion. And, if you believe these cost projections anyway I have some real estate in a swamp to sell you. Medicare has cost 9 times the original projections in 1965. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, Amtrac and the Post Office are all bankrupt. So, if the government is true to form, HealthScare will cost Trillions and Trillions of dollars not what is being projected today by the Congressional Budget Office.

In any case, Mr. Reynolds points out that the reason the cost of health care has gone up is primarily because of government outlays not money spent on private medical insurance. He demonstrates his thesis with real numbers not loose lips or pie in the sky. Mr. Reynolds makes the point that the only way to reduce total spend on health care, if the government expands the spend by $1.8 Trillion, is for there to be a cuts of the same amount or more in private medical spend and that is not going to happen any time soon. It is interesting that the bloating influence of government is obvious when looking at the medical goods and services that are almost never financed by "free" government money: dental care, over the counter drugs, hearing aids and eye glasses. As such, there has not been run away inflation related to these items.

Hospital fees are another matter, having risen nearly twice as fast as overall medical care. Government agencies pay nearly 60% of hospital bills, while private insurance (with more incentive to be careful) pays 36% and consumers pay 3% out of pocket. Either President Obama does not know what he is talking about, which is feasible given his experience, or he is LYING because it is government spending that is driving up the cost of medical care not those "evil" insurance companies. By the way, money going to "evil" doctors rose 3.1% a year from 1996 to 2008 roughly equal to the Consumer Price Index during those years. Clearly, Obama's contention that the government can spend trillions of dollars in deficit spending on health care, which will bankrupt our country and have the over all cost go down is ridiculous. If we spend more, it will cost more. I think 2 plus 2 still equals 4 the last time I did the new math; though Democrat Socialists contend that 2 plus 2 equals 3. Democrat Socialist must have gone to public schools in the last 20 years where close in math is good enough if you feel good about your answer.

And, the Consumer Price Index has kept track of Premiums since 2005 and the index has risen an average of 2.8% since then; though as a small business owner, I must say our increases have been higher probably because small businesses cannot negotiate the better fees charged large corporations. As such, what we have coming out of President Obama and the Democrat Socialists that control Congress is the Big Lie. Again these elected officials have created the "crisis" to grow government not reform health care. Obama's HealthScare Plan is all about POWER and big union campaign contributions not real health care reform. Any one who believes the health care numbers coming out of Washington are real is suffering from delusional Democrat Socialist thinking. Have some chicken soup and then take a bottle of Tylenol PM and hope the nightmare goes away when you wake up in 2012.

Friday, October 16, 2009

President Franklin Roosevelt - The Raw Deal

President Franklin Roosevelt was turned into a God by liberal historians that claimed he was the savior of the United States during the Great Depression. While it is true that Roosevelt played a critical role in defeating Nazi Germany and Japan during World War II and should be recognized for his role as a war time President, the facts now reveal that instead of providing Americans a New Deal, Roosevelt's economic policies resulted in a Raw Deal. The reason this is significant is that instead of following Ronald Reagan's play book of low taxes and smaller government to bring about economic recovery today, President Obama is going down the exact same road taken by FDR that resulted in high unemployment and low growth for years after the stock market crash in 1929.

In a new book entitled "New Deal or Raw Deal?: How FDR's Economic Legacy Has Damaged America, author Burton W. Folsom Jr. demonstrates that FDR's economic policies were a disaster for America. FDR practiced Keynesian economics (the same as Obama) and it prolonged the Depression and made the US an economic laggard compared with other nations during the painful 30's. What is interesting is that though I studied History and Political Science and have degrees in both, it was only just recently that these facts have come to light because liberals originally wrote the history books and liberals apparently don't do too well with numbers.

Here are the facts. In 1929 the US unemployment rate was the lowest in the world of the top 16 developed countries. Even in 1932, when Roosevelt took office, during the depth of the Great Depression, when unemployment in the US reached 25%, the US ranked 8th among the 16 nations. But by 1938, after almost two terms in office of Roosevelt's destructive programs, unemployment was near 20% and we ranked 13th among the 16 nations. There is no doubt that New Deal policies were bad for America.

But it gets even worse. In addition to creating a welfare society, Roosevelt morally corrupted the office of the Presidency. FDR demanded that the Justice Department prosecute his political opponents those on the "enemies list". The IRS was habitually used for the same purposes. Roosevelt used federal recovery programs to reward his Peeps; sound familiar. The New Deal became a massive patronage machine kind of like Obama's SwindleUS Plan, HealthScare and CAP and TAX schemes. And then, FDR attempted to pack the Supreme Court when the court struck down various of FDR's New Deal schemes. Gosh, FDR is starting to make Richard Nixon look good. President Obama should learn a lesson from FDR's economic failures. Roosevelt-like stimulus plans and government intervention in the economy are counterproductive. History is the best teacher.

President Obama and the Democrats that control Congress are Socialists. They do not believe in free market capitalism. If allowed to succeed with all their Socialist schemes that will bankrupt the United States, unemployment will remain high. We will see high inflation and interest rates in a few years as the dollar continues to collapse as they monetize the debt. We need Constitutional Amendments that provide for Term Limits, a Balanced Budget and Limitations on federal taxing authority as the only way to bring back fiscal sanity to government. Unless and until these Amendments are adopted, we will continue to see the economic decline of the United States. We cannot allow that to happen. We must stand up and take back our country.