Economy is OK if the news is NOT AS BAD AS EXPECTED

Recent news which is said to be good since it is not as bad as predicted.

Fed’s Bank Results ‘Reassuring,’ Show No Insolvency

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Federal Reserve stress tests on the 19 biggest lenders show Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. and Citigroup Inc. together require about $54 billion, said people familiar with the conclusions.
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White House spokesman Robert Gibbs yesterday suggested that the Obama
administration may seek management changes at some banks. Officials will want to “ensure that going forward they felt that the management was in place to remedy the situation and ensure long-term viability without continued government assistance,” he said.

Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Kenneth D. Lewis, 62, was ousted as chairman on April 29 ……….

Jobs Report Giving Investors Mixed Picture On US Economy

The pace of layoffs slowed in April when employers cut 539,000 jobs, the fewest in six months. But the unemployment rate climbed to 8.9 percent,………………..

Job losses in February and March turned out to be deeper, according to revised figures. Employers cut 681,000 positions in February, 30,000 more than previously reported.
They cut 699,000 jobs in March, more than the 663,000 first reported. The deepest job cuts of the recession —741,000 came in January.

Jobs: A little less bleak

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Wachovia senior economist Mark Vitner and Gilliam both say they’re worried about the impact on jobs in coming reports from the bankruptcy at Chrysler, which will result in a 30-to-60 day shutdown at all of its plants, and the possible bankruptcy at General Motors (GM, Fortune 500). The loss of jobs — not just at those companies but at their dealers and suppliers — will be substantial.

And Vitner said that while Wachovia is projecting that there will be economic growth by the fourth quarter of this year, it’s projecting that unemployment will continue to rise into 2010, topping out at 10.8% in April of that year.

“We are moving in the right direction, but the recession is not over, and even when it’s over that’s not an end of the tough times,” said Vitner.

Wow a bank stress test with an 8.4% unemployment shows the banks will be OK, current unemployment is 8.9% and expected to exceed 10% in the next year.

I wonder if a new stress test will be needed so that the federal government can take over the banks.

1st 100 Days & the future failure of America

I thought after the 1st 50 days that things could only get better, lots of new people making new people mistakes, these people really have pride in America just not reacting to well to the new power and environment.

It has just gotten worse except for the distraction game, the Obama administration has gotten very, very good at distraction while the real agenda of the government take over of a majority of American business marches forward.

Some of the highlights/lowlights
1) The American Apology tour through Europe. I thought only look at how important I am, self-indulgent Hollywood types (Penn, Glover, Bellafonte) and ex-presidents (Carter) went around the world saying America is evil. Now the sitting president is apologizing to the world because American Capitalism over the last century and a half has brought an improved standard of living to a large segment of the world population.

2) Cut 100 million dollars from federal budget, same as a family making $45000 a year taking a $1.22 annual pay cut. I wonder what will be cut in the family budget to make up for the income loss, need to drink water instead of the bottle of soda at today’s lunch. savings achieved, no more cutting needed.

3) Media lapdog to the president – ignores hundreds of thousands of protesters who think that government is overstepping its bounds and government intervention into private society needs to be curtailed.

4) Continue to ignore friends and prop up enemies. (Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea) And listen to them speak while they rant about how evil America is.

5) Politicize the security of America by releasing CIA memos

All of these are a distraction as they push through a universal health insurance and energy cap and trade plan.

Universal health care will result in limiting access, it is the only way to decrease costs is to limit access. See Charles Krauthammer collumn. The government has convinced a majority of the people that the America Health Care industry is broken and can only be “fixed” by the federal government.

The federal government is going to do the same thing with the energy industry under Cap & Trade. Cap & Trade will result in significant 300 to 400% increases in energy prices which will raise the prices for each American household about $3900 dollars more a year. This will result in American’s becoming enraged against energy companies and utilities giving the government the support to price cap and nationalize the energy industry. This will result in less energy for everyone to use.

It is called hidden taxes on business which gives those in power the ability to create a crisis and then solve the crisis by taking more power.

America is on a road to rapid failure and lower standards of living for the good of everyone.

POWER CORRUPTS, ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPT ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!!!!!

Sick and Tired of Government

There are so many items going on in New York State and all of America today related to Government which just make me absolutely sick. There are so many things I can’t keep up with them all. It is a full time job to keep the lunatics at bay.

Patterson wanting to tax everything up to breathing, which is next since it is all that is left and CO2 is now a pollutant and pollutants must be taxed.

The Obama debt multiplier, ignore any fiscal responsibility, tax success, subsidize failure American Ponzi scheme which will finish off any sense of personal responsibility and personal liberty.

The only hope I have left is that they are overreaching so far that the backlash will be so great it will destroy liberalism for generations to come. The alternative is America’s indentured servitude for a minority of Americas the next few millennium to fund the nanny state and the majority of people who do not want to work. Ponzi scheme’s do not last forever, just need to not be the last one in.

Remember this Reagan quote, that is more true today than ever

The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’

US Government spending will bankrupt the world

The US federal government is in the process of bankrupting the world as accounting practices that the federal government does not allow private companies to use are used to hide the real government debt. This cuts across party lines and the end of liberty and personnel freedom in the world.

The total economic of the world based on the ponzi scheme known as government spending is close (if not already beyond) the tipping point. Paper currency will be virtually worthless since the governments that print them have no possible way to back their value.

Government spending is the problem and drastic government spending cuts (real cuts not decreasing the rate of increase) of 50 to 90+% in some cases are required.

Federal obligations exceed world GDP, Does $65.5 trillion terrify anyone yet?

As the Obama administration pushes through Congress its $800 billion deficit-spending economic stimulus plan, the American public is largely unaware that the true deficit of the federal government already is measured in trillions of dollars, and in fact its $65.5 trillion in total obligations exceeds the gross domestic product of the world.

The total U.S. obligations, including Social Security and Medicare benefits to be paid in the future, effectively have placed the U.S. government in bankruptcy, even before new continuing social welfare obligation embedded in the massive spending plan are taken into account.

The real 2008 federal budget deficit was $5.1 trillion, not the $455 billion previously reported by the Congressional Budget Office, according to the “2008 Financial Report of the United States Government” as released by the U.S. Department of Treasury
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“The federal government is bankrupt,” Williams told WND. “In a post-Enron world, if the federal government were a corporation such as General Motors, the president and senior Treasury officers would be in federal penitentiary.”

Assuming 330 million Americans, 65.6 trillion debt is equal to $198,484 per American. This is on top of any state, local or personnel debt.

If you want to really understand the what the future holds and the consequences read the A Citizen’s Guide published by the treasury department.
It would be nice if government would live by this motto in the report.

Using the government accounting methods that if any private business used, the CEO, CFO and board of directors would be in jail, here are some tables from the report on future predictions.

These projects do not take into account the money spent since Oct 1, 2008. TARP and the new stimulus plan are on top of this staggering debt.

Americans need to hold our employees the elected government officials responsible. New blood is needed.

America at a crossroad, freedom vs socialism

The historical American way of life is at a crossroad. For the last 80 years there has been a slowly chipping away of Americans freedom by the federal government. The pretense is that the American government will make your life easier by limiting the lows of life with “safety nets”. With each safety net that has been installed by the federal government more regulations have been imposed using the sentiment that it is for the betterment of all. This has resulted in an America where success and the successful has been demonized, failure must be backstopped by the federal government and group think politics.

Group politics treats nobody is an individual, each person is part of a group classified by some characteristic (race, religion, sexuality, age, rich,poor, middle class). Based on this it generates conflict between the groups and each group wants to curry favors from the elected officials in exchange for support.

This group classification is a form of prejudice. Because someone is in a certain group they must have these beliefs. The individual has been lost to the collective.

This has culminated in an America where demonizing America and individual liberties while pretending to be defend America and individuals liberty is how politicians do their job. Trading one groups freedoms for a different groups liberty based on group think.

I am saddened by how much “hatred and fear” exists in America today. Both the republican and democrat parties claim the others use scare tactics to convince people that what the party currently in power is doing is just scare tactics and they are lying to you and nothing changes.

For the last 8 years all that has been said is how Evil Bush is and he is using the fear of terrorism to get elected and how is domestic policies are terrible for America. The federal government is not spending enough on some project and how some many people are hurt by the governments inaction. If Bush was a democrat, his growing of the federal government would have been lauded as being enlightened, the federal government grew by 50% under Bush in dollars being spent and taxes collected grew by 25%. The republican party and some conservatives supported him out of blind party loyalty.

During the 90s, Bill Clinton did some horrendous things to embarrass America and he was support by the democratic party loyalists and he could do no wrong.

Now the same people have flip flopped again everything Obama does is terrible by republicans and everything he does is great by democrats. This politics just disgusts me and is just tearing the fabric of America apart. The republicans are saying that Obama and the democrats are using fear about the economy to get what they want in the stimulus plan and there is not very much value it the plan. These are the same politicians who voted for the TARP plan 4 months ago.

Bush did play to fear some and Obama is playing to the fear now with the rhetoric about how bad the economy is and will be if the government does not do something.

Historically Americans have always joined together in times of crisis, Americans still do this but the political leaders start tearing the “opposition” down very shortly after the crisis starts which results in people arguing with each of over very silly topics based on nothing other than what some politician or talking head on TV says is important. I find myself getting caught up in this at times.

Americans historically have been knocked down but previous generations have picked themselves up off the ground, bushed themselves off and looked around and said to themselves, what can I do to make my life, my families life and my neighbors life better.

I see to many Americans today get knocked down and complain someone trampled on my rights and wait for some government help they stand back up. We are in hard economic times but there are still opportunities for one to be a success. The key is to look into one’s heart, think what can I do to help myself and my fellow man, not what can I expect government to do for me.

Fundamentally America has done more for the advancements of mankind in our short 230 year history than at any other society. This is due to individuals ideas, freedom to try new things and for lots of inventions that have succeeded and lots of attempted inventions which have failed miserably.

Just look at this map of the world and life expectancy from Wikipedia. The areas with the most democratic forms of government for the longest time have the longest life expectancy. This alone should prove to people that freedom from government oppression is better for mankind.

The free exchange of ideas and respecting other opinions that are different than one’s own is a corner stone of America. Just because someone has a differing opinion on some topic does not make that person evil.

In order for the human experiment called the American Representative Republic to continue to succeed and result in the prospering of mankind on the planet earth people must be allowed to fail. I know this initially sounds totally contradictory. How can America succeed if people fail. The reasoning is sound and true if it is allowed to be expressed and not criticized before explanation is interrupted.

GOP Rep. Jeb Hensarling on TARP last year.
“In my heart and in my mind, I believe that this plan is fraught with unintended consequences, would force generations of taxpayers to pick up the tab for Wall Street losses, and could permanently and fundamentally change the role of government in the American free enterprise system. Once the government socializes losses, it will soon socialize profits. If we lose our ability to fail, we will soon lose our ability to succeed. If we bail out risky behavior, we will soon see even riskier behavior. “

Think hard about the phrase If we lose our ability to fail, we will soon lose our ability to succeed. Failure breeds success, America promises opportunity and the pursuit of happiness not a guarantee of happiness. America will not survive and all of mankind will suffer if America continues on the current path of protecting failures and limiting success.

The “almost” stimulus plan

I have been reading a lot about the close to $1 trillion dollar stimulus plan and the only conclusion I can come to is that the federal government is going to add about $1 trillion dollars to the national debt.

The basic of what America gets is to give a batch of IOUs to China and other countries or maybe they are IOUs between the FED and the Treasury. State and local governments which have been spending like there is no tomorrow the last 6 years due to the vast increase in tax revenues due to the ever growing economy now have no money since tax receipts are down due to the normal cyclical economic recessions which always occur. America’s politicians at every level of government in the kindest way I can say it are failures.

The Obama and the Congressional democrats plan are going to bail out the failed state and local governments who are doing just as bad a job as the federal government does when it comes to living within the countries means. This is a “stimulus” plan which will all the politicians at every level of government kick the problem down the road a few years and not have to make any difficult decisions on what programs should really be cut or eliminated.

I guess since the federal government is now rewarding failures in private businesses (mortgage underwriters (Freddie and Fannie, banks, insurance and auto companies) why not underwrite the state and local government failures. Some state and local governments (not all, but lots) are failing due to the federal government mandates which is just like the onerous regulations on the private companies which results in their failures.

Since the elected federal and unelected bureaucracies have caused a vast majority of the problems, I guess the federal government needs to cover their butts before the truth is really know.

The stimulus plan is really a list of who’s who in democratic party lobbyists and financial contributors as well as the state governors and local government leaders.

I say kill the plan, my wife and I will continue to pay our bills and live on what we make today, keep the $20 a week that will be the “stimulus” I see. The $20 a week will cost me up to $100 a week in extra state and local taxes and fees to pay for the matching funds which the state and local governments will have to raise in order to spend the federal government stimulus plan.

From Townhall.com

Calling Off the Boston Tea Party

Interesting Read, nice tongue in cheek work

Calling Off the Boston Tea Party

$1 Trillion dollars of additional spending for 09/10

I guess since the actual budget deficit in 2008 will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.1 trillion dollars (the admitted deficit will be announced as about $400 billion) since the bailouts of over $1 trillion in 2008 do not count in the budget since they are “loans”.

Obama’s Economic Advisers Considering $1 Trillion Stimulus Plan

The baseline deficit for 2009 was to be another $400 billion (again not counting bailout “loans” which will most likely never be paid back) so what is a doubling of this to $1 trillion mean anyway.

Everyone hold onto your wallets since the federal government only usually covers 50% of the “infrastructure improvement” costs and state or local that takes the money from the federal government must match the federal money for the project so if the feds borrow $300 billion for roads, bridges, sewers, etc.. the state and local governments will need to either raise taxes to the tune of $300 billion since most local governments can’t deficit spend or they will have to pass bonds to cover the costs. In most locals the bonds need voter approvals so that means unless the local area has a special election to pass the bonds the bonds won’t go to a vote until Nov 2009 at the earliest.

All that this means is that in Jan and Feb of 2009 when the media and democratic party proclaim victory and that they are the party which is saving the countries infrastructure as well as creating or saving jobs by all this infrastructure improvement. The local areas which really do the work won’t have the matching funds until 2010 at the earliest.

After the improvement is actually approved in 2010 or 2011 there will be the obligatory environmental studies and environmental lawsuits that will do nothing but delay the projects and line the pockets of lawyers and the unions as they sit around and not work but get paid because of some court injunction on behalf of the environmentalists.

If Obama and the democrats can actually get these projects started in 2009 (somehow pay off the environmentalists to keep quiet) and fund them 100% so the local governments do not have to raise local taxes there may be some economic benefit to this deficit spending.

This should be funded by cuts elsewhere in the federal budget, but that will not happen under the socialist federal government of the US which currently exists and will just continue to grow.

This countries infrastructure is falling apart and needs to be demolished and rebuilt for the new technologies of the 21st century if Americans are going to have an opportunity to compete in the world economy.

My proposals:
Every sewer that is rebuilt, the electrical, cable, telephone line that are running above ground on polls must be buried in parallel conduits to the sewers. This will make for more reliable services in the future. Underground wires do not get damaged during tornadoes, hurricanes, ice and snow storms and if built correctly flooding.

Every bridge that is build need to have wireless communication included on the bridge (cell phone towers and wifi transponders).

If these projects are going to simply rebuild like currently exists without making improvements it is a colossal waste of money.

America’s Ingenuity at its best – Reagan was Right

If an America can read this and not be proud that this is a good use of our tax dollars I fell bad for them. This is a great technology achievement that is putting America years ahead of anyone in the world.

ABL YAL 1A Airborne Laser, USA

Missile Defense Takes Off

Reagan was right as President in the 80s. It may take 20+ years for SDI to be functional but it is worth the cost for the defense of America.
President Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative Proposal 25 Years Later: A Better Path Chosen&lt

This in conjunction with the naval success in February shooting down the falling satellite proves how far ahead of his time Reagan was as president.

I just hope that the new administration and the current democratic congressional leaders do not totally gut the defense department spending on these projects since they are vital to America’s long term security.

Is America Socially Moderate and Fiscally Conservative?

Do Americans want to be tolerant of the way others lead their life?
Do Americans want more efficient government that only does what is necessary?

I think both of these answers are yes and yes.

The majority of Americas do not want to intrude on others way of life but in return we do not want to be forced to accept others intruding on our way of life. If you do not like what is on the TV or Radio, change the channel. If you do not like the business practices of a company or a store do not purchase their product or go to that store.

I think that the majority of Americans want freedom and the ability to be allowed to try and be successful. We know we are not guarantted success but we want to be allowed the opportunity.

This is America I know and I hope will continue to exist.

Others thoughts?