Last 2 weeks of News

I have been MIA the last two weeks, to much work and to do at home in the nice Spring weather to spend time on the computer.

1) California Supreme court rules Prop 8 is a “legal” amendment but stating the only the term marriage is what was made illegal for same sex couples in California. This is a ruling I actual agree with. Marriage is a religious term and should be taken totally out of the Governments hands. The government should create a mutual support contract to be filed with a government agency to give the “marriage rights” to any two people who want to enter such a relationship. Also a dissolution of the mutual support contract form and process would be needed. No need for lawyers or courts. Just a notarized form.
A good legal analysis can be found here.

2) Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, A normal far left wing hack job who thinks that they no better than anyone else what is “good” and “just” for all without any regard for the actual law.

3) Government Motors is now bankrupt. Big shock here, a poorly managed company for the last 30 years that has a huge union presence so short and long term costs can’t be controlled. To bad it will result in a motor company which is fascist in nature, supposedly privately owned by run by the government.

4) Obama stumping for his health care plans passage this summer before the bill is even written. The plan is here but there are no specifics. Normal politics, talk, give speech, no substance and rush through a plan in the darkness of night that nobody can read or comprehend since a true debate of the bill will result in it being something a vast majority of US citizen’s do not want.

5) North Korea leaves the peace Armistice, blows up a nuclear weapon and tests some long range missiles, the US response, maybe we can get a harsher worded letter to be considered at the UN but no passed. While this is going on make statements that this is not tolerable and North Korea is a rogue state, yada yada yada, nothing changed in 20 years on this front.

Searching for a silver lining but do not see anywhere that people are being told to be responsible for themselves and live with the consequences of poor decision making. Another couple of weeks on the road to fascism.

Maybe Obama Finally gets it

Obama Says U.S. Long-Term Debt Load ‘Unsustainable’

May 14 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama, calling current deficit spending “unsustainable,” warned of skyrocketing interest rates for consumers if the U.S. continues to finance government by borrowing from other countries.

“We can’t keep on just borrowing from China,” Obama said at a town-hall meeting in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, outside Albuquerque. “We have to pay interest on that debt, and that means we are mortgaging our children’s future with more and more debt.”

Holders of U.S. debt will eventually “get tired” of buying it, causing interest rates on everything from auto loans to home mortgages to increase, Obama said. “It will have a dampening effect on our economy.”
…………….

Us conservatives have been railing against government spending for many, many years and have been saying it is not long term sustainable and will cause huge inflation and high interest rates.

We will see if he actually does cut government costs significantly (25-50%) or is another lip service politician which says one thing and does another, like add a few trillion more in government spending for universal health insurance for the 3 or 4 million American citizens which do not have insurance for the long term.

Adding the 12 to 15 million uninsured illegal immigrants will bankrupt any government system. The other 12 to 15 million which are already eligible for government insurance (SCHIP or MEDICAID) and do not use those programs. That is 25 to 30 million of the 45 million the Single Payer Health insurance people talk about, then there are 10 million transient people (between insurance coverage) and 5 to 10 million who do not choose to buy health insurance.

Effects of Stimulus Plan

1) As part of California’s attempt to balance its budget earlier this year there was an agreement to reduce some union labor rates that work for the government. Now the federal government (Obama administration) is telling California that unless it recedes the wage cuts, California will loose $6.8 Billion dollars in federal stimulus plan money.
California Officials Question Union’s Role in Federal Stimulus Ruling
Lawmaker angry over federal stimulus money decision

2) Spending the U.S. stimulus: states can’t afford it

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – One of the greatest challenges U.S. states face in spending federal stimulus money is funding the burst in bureaucracy that accompanies the funds, a government watchdog said on Thursday, as the Obama administration pledged to give states more help.

Revenue has been dropping in most U.S. states for a year, and many governments have cut staff. But the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act flooded states with money for programs and required them to keep the public and federal government apprised of their spending, all of which requires more workers, said the Government Accountability Office.

“Due to fiscal constraints, many states reported significant declines in the number of oversight staff — limiting their ability to ensure proper implementation and management of Recovery Act funds,” the GAO’s nearly 300-page report on the stimulus plan said.
…………

3) STIMULUS WATCH: Jobs, but not where needed most

WASHINGTON – The billions in transportation stimulus dollars that President Barack Obama promoted as a way to create jobs shortchange counties that need the work the most, an Associated Press analysis has found.

The AP’s review of more than 5,500 planned transportation projects nationwide is the most complete picture available of where states plan to spend the first wave of highway money. It reveals that states are planning to spend 50 percent more per person in areas with the lowest unemployment than in communities with the highest. The Transportation Department said it will attempt to replicate the AP’s analysis as it continues pressing states to dole out money fairly.
……

Results of the stimulus plan, direct political payback to unions that supported the Obama campaign, creating jobs where there is low unemployment and states can’t spend the money due to lack of resources.

As usual, the government is trying to help and puts resources in the wrong spots and the controls decisions which have nothing to do with the original area of concern.

Yup, just the new business as usual from the hopeychange administration.

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

…….
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.
…….
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

……………
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.

HR 676 – National Universal Health Insurance – Scarily non-specific

Library of Congress site

Actual PDF

only 27 pages, no specifics, lots of generalities which create new Boards, administrators and government employees to run a universal health insurance.

Some excerpts – Bold parts which define non-US citizens are eligible

TITLE I—ELIGIBILITY AND BENEFITS
SEC. 101. ELIGIBILITY AND REGISTRATION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—All individuals residing in the
United States (including any territory of the United
States) are covered under the USNHI Program entitling
them to a universal, best quality standard of care. Each
such individual shall receive a card with a unique number
in the mail. An individual’s social security number shall
not be used for purposes of registration under this section.
(b) REGISTRATION.—Individuals and families shall
receive a United States National Health Insurance Card
in the mail, after filling out a United States National
Health Insurance application form at a health care provider.
Such application form shall be no more than 2 pages
long.
(c) PRESUMPTION.—Individuals who present themselves
for covered services from a participating provider
shall be presumed to be eligible for benefits under this Act,
but shall complete an application for benefits in order to
receive a United States National Health Insurance Card
and have payment made for such benefits.

Congress shall divide the country into regions that will get a heath care pool of money which the regional director spends as that person deems neccessary.

REGIONAL ALLOCATION.—After Congress
appropriates amounts for the annual budget for the
USNHI Program, the Director shall provide the regional
offices with an annual funding allotment to
cover the costs of each region’s expenditures.
Such allotment shall cover global budgets, reimbursements
to clinicians, and capital expenditures. Regional offices
may receive additional funds from the national
program at the discretion of the Director.

Government sets payment level to doctors, hospitals, everyone

FEE FOR SERVICE.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Program shall negotiate a simplified fee schedule that is fair with representatives of physicians and other
clinicians, after close consultation with the National Board
of Universal Quality and Access and regional and State directors. Initially, the current prevailing fees or reimbursement would
be the basis for the fee negotiation for all professional services covered under this Act.

Government will forbid payment outside this system, if a service is covered and the doctor thinks you need it and the government will not pay, you do not get the service.

(E) BILLING.—Under this Act physicians shall submit bills to the regional director on a simple form, or via computer. Interest shall be
paid to providers whose bills are not paid within 30 days of submission.
(F) NO BALANCE BILLING.—Licensed health care clinicians
who accept any payment from the USNHI Program may not bill any
patient for any covered service.

Funded through tax increases on top 5% of wage earners, payroll tax increase and stock & bond transactions. What the tax is not defined, but can be whatever is necessary to fund the act. That is clearly defining the costs.

Subtitle B—Funding
SEC. 211. OVERVIEW: FUNDING THE USNHI PROGRAM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The USNHI Program is to be
funded as provided in subsections (b) and (c).
(b) ANNUAL APPROPRIATION FOR FUNDING OF
USNHI PROGRAM.—There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act such sums as may be necessary.
(c) INTENT.—Sums appropriated pursuant to subsection
(b) shall be paid for—
(1) by vastly reducing paperwork;
(2) by requiring a rational bulk procurement of medications;
(3) from existing sources of Federal government revenues for health care;
(4) by increasing personal income taxes on the 25 top 5 percent income earners;
(5) by instituting a modest payroll tax; and
(6) by instituting a small tax on stock and bond transactions.

Who will be on the NATIONAL BOARD OF UNIVERSAL QUALITY AND ACCESS.

(A) Health care professionals.
(B) Representatives of institutional providers of health care.
C) Representatives of health care advocacy groups.
(D) Representatives of labor unions.
(E) Citizen patient advocates.

Why are labor unions reps on this board? Others make sense.

I am terrified of this government action.

Canadian Gun Control

Interesting column about what it takes to renew a gun permit in Canada now.
Stay out of Pierre Lemieux’s bedroom

……..
Pierre Lemieux is an economist whose most recent book, Comprendre l’economie, just won the prestigious Prix Turgot in Paris. When it comes to guns, he’s a hobbyist,
………
Before renewing his gun permit in 2007, the authorities decided to inquire into Lemieux’s bedroom history. Did he divorce anyone in the last two years? Did he break up with a girlfriend? If yes, use a separate sheet to explain.
Pardon me? Explain?
Well, it was nothing personal . Apparently, Canada’s government feels it ought to know the romantic status of all firearm owners. Hmm. Didn’t someone say the state had no business in the nation’s bedrooms? Who would say something so fuddy-duddy? Oh, the same fellow who actually said fuddy-duddy: Pierre Elliott Trudeau. Well, that was before the Flood.
It could be worse, I suppose. Canada’s gun clerks could ask applicants if they suffer from erectile dysfunction. Perhaps clerks don’t ask because they worry about a human rights tribunal finding the question discriminatory. Or maybe they haven’t thought of it yet.
…….
The year Canada demanded to peek into Lemieux’s bedroom, a deranged young man named Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people at Virginia Tech. The 23-year-old Korean nutcase might have claimed more victims if it hadn’t been for 76-year-old Liviu Librescu, a visiting professor from Israel who blocked Cho from entering his classroom while students escaped through the windows. Librescu may have stopped the killer for good had he been armed, but he wasn’t, and paid for his intervention with his life.
After the massacre, The Wall Street Journal quoted Professor Lemieux as saying that “mass killings were rare when guns were easily available, while they have been increasing as guns have become more controlled.”

A reverse trend in America supported the Canadian scholar’s observation. A national survey conducted in 1996 by the University of Chicago found a reduction of crime rates in states that permitted citizens to carry concealed weapons (homicide by 8.5%, aggravated assault 7% and rape 5%.) Not surprisingly, the number of “carrying” states grew from nine in 1988 to 31 in 1996.
…..

Is this coming to America?
Will we all be safer when the government knows an d controls everything about everybody?

Why Bank’s should Not have taken Gov’t Money

US to put conditions on Tarp repayment

Strong banks will be allowed to repay bail-out funds they received from the US government but only if such a move passes a test to determine whether it is in the national economic interest, a senior administration official has told the Financial Times.
…………
The official said former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson was right to treat all the banks the same way in late 2008 at the peak of the crisis but it was now necessary to differentiate more between institutions.
…………

I hope the banks will learn from this, never trust government, they took the government’s money when some did not want it, now that they want to give it back since they never really did much with it to begin with, the government will not take it back until certain tests are passed.

All Businesses, if you want to be independent, do not take government “loans”. The strings will never be gone and if they want the government will take over your business from you. ( New GM CEO ring a bell.)

Now since the public has gotten more vocal about stopping the insane spending, Congress wants to back out. The government solution is not to let the banks figure it out for themselves. The government will just buy the banks by taking over the bank’s stocks and destroy an individuals common stock value.

U.S. may convert banks’ bailouts to equity share

President Obama’s top economic advisers have determined that they can shore up the nation’s banking system without having to ask Congress for more money any time soon, according to administration officials.

In a significant shift, White House and Treasury Department officials now say they can stretch what is left of the $700 billion financial bailout fund further than they had expected a few months ago, simply by converting the government’s existing loans to the nation’s 19 biggest banks into common stock.

Remember, the government will change the rules whenever it wants to keep control.

Stopping this type of government behavior is the real root of the tea parties last weak. The government needs to get out of the way and stop trying to prevent some failures and preventing all from succeeding.

Tax Day Tea Party – Rochester NY

I went to the Tea Party on today (April 15th) – I would estimate there was about 2000 people in attendance.

here are some pictures

Update : Local media is saying 400 hundred. Sorry the line of people in the march was 2 or 4 wide and at least a 1000 long and took 15 minutes to pass me from start to finish.

Europeanization of America

THE EUROPEANIZATION OF AMERICA

This article by Mark Steyn got me thinking about how America is becoming more and more like the Western Europe that America created after WWII as part of European reconstruction. America created western Europe under the Marshall Plan to go against the soviet union. A series of socialist democracies as a buffer between the total socialism of the USSR and the representative democracies of Great Britain and America.

The trend to a socialist democracy and away from a representative republic has been going on for decades in America, regardless of the party in power.

The American political class is getting their wish of America being more like Europe. With today’s reporting of a 8.5% US Unemployment rate we are no equal to the current EU number .

8.5% is a little higher than the normal EU unemployment rate but by less than 1%. The difference is that America has had much lower unemployment rates historically than Europe. US history here and EU history here (PDF).

The US federal government should be proud, we are equal to the EU now, both have unemployment rates of 8.5%.

tongue firmly in cheek.

Government to set Salaries?

One had to see this coming.

Take money from the government and you will have no idea what strings will be attached after the fact.

The jealous, take from successful, success is evil attitude of this country is against the principals on which this country was built and the people exposing these beliefs should be ashamed of themselves.

Beyond AIG: A Bill to let Big Government Set Your Salary

But now, in a little-noticed move, the House Financial Services Committee, led by chairman Barney Frank, has approved a measure that would, in some key ways, go beyond the most draconian features of the original AIG bill. The new legislation, the “Pay for Performance Act of 2009,” would impose government controls on the pay of all employees — not just top executives — of companies that have received a capital investment from the U.S. government. It would, like the tax measure, be retroactive, changing the terms of compensation agreements already in place. And it would give Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner extraordinary power to determine the pay of thousands of employees of American companies.

Not only will the federal government order companies what products to make and sell they are setting the salaries of the employees.

History is repeating itself, I fear we are in 1930 with progressive government activists in charge, today the all think the reason the depression was so bad is that government did not do enough soon enough. Since history is taught so poorly in the US now, everything I have read outside of school history books is that the government action made the economy worse than it would have been.

The number one reason for this is that the government started retro-actively throwing out valid private contracts without due process in a court of law. The resulted in people not believing in the validity of contracts since they were valid until one party of the contract complained to the government who then voided or made obsolete the contract.

Without valid private contracts, there can be no business, therefore a depression.