Yes, We The People are the ones who caused this mess by voting for people who promised us more subsidies, or more welfare, more tax credits, more of anything.  Whatever it is, we voted for them because they said they would get it for us.

An example of this is the housing market.  We thought that it was great that people were buying houses they could not afford.  Our home values were skyrocketing and so we kept voting for the people who gave us things like Community Reinvestment Act and Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac.  We voted for the politicians that we like to blame.  We did it.

And the Wall Street guys?  Well, we voted for the politicians that created the market for derivatives didn’t we?  The Wall Street guys played the game; at our expense yes, but we effectively gave them our consent to play when our home values were sky high.

There is no escaping it.  American greed doesn’t happen on Wall Street.  It happens on Main Street.  Whenever you vote for a politician that promises you more of anything, that is called greed.  Whenever you vote for a politician that guarantees that Healthcare is a right you are voting with greed.  You are voting yourself more of other people’s hard earned money or compelling them to offer you services at their expense.   And it may seem nice for a while until the house of cards, which you created, comes crashing down on you and everyone else.

Things of value must be and should be earned, not voted.  Think about that next time you wonder why all politicians are evil.  Have you ever looked at the people who voted them in?  Maybe we should all look in the mirror.

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The A.P. is reporting that the economy is slowing down again… gee I wonder why?  And for what reason….

The age old economic adage:  tax something to get less of it and subsidize something to get more of it.  One reason that jobless benefits rose is due to the recent extension of unemployment benefits.  If the government would stop extending unemployment we’d eventually get less of it as people would stop applying for it.  They would have to go out and get jobs, even if it is not a job they want.  The more you extend unemployment the more people are willing to sit around and wait for the perfect job to open up.  This strains the economy even worse than forcing people to go back to work.

Another reason we are getting more unemployment is because companies are not hiring.  I’m sure it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that this administration’s policies have been the most anti-business/anti-free market in the history of the United States.  The Government’s policies are not encouraging to investors, or to businesses who are anticipating higher costs for healthcare, higher taxation, more regulation and more costs associated with cap and trade.

Low mortgage rates don’t mean a thing if you don’t have a job and can’t buy a house.  You can’t re-finance without a job and/or good credit so what is the point?  The housing market sucks because people bought houses they could not afford, they lost their jobs, and/or the government programs that were used to buy houses overheated and it caused a housing bubble that was eventually going to collapse.  We are dealing with this market correction right now.

The stock market is too volatile because of these anti-business policies. That means the stock market is too unpredictable and people don’t want to put their money into a losing situation. Traditionally that means you put your money in government bonds, but rampant government spending is ruining the credit of the US treasury.  Bad credit means you raise interest rates on bonds and loans, but the Fed is keeping interest rates artificially low in order to stimulate growth! So people don’t want to put their money into bonds that have no credit and a low return rate.

Meanwhile the Government is spending billions to bail out failing companies, union jobs, government jobs and pensions.  None of this stimulates growth; it only delays and exacerbates the inevitable because those who are getting bailed out don’t have to change their behavior at all. They continue on the same path in hopes that the economy will magically revive praying they do not have to be accountable for their actions.  Of course the people in the government don’t seem to realize that saving other government jobs won’t stimulate the economy since they don’t produce anything and are completely dependent upon private sector taxes to provide them the revenues in order to pay their salaries, which are significantly higher than their private sector counterparts.

Economists are worried that small businesses are reducing their staffs. This is because most small businesses fall under the thumb of new tax hikes that are about to kick in when the Bush Tax Cuts expire.   Small businesses also have new taxes and expenses due to the new health care reform act that was passed.  Gee I wonder why they’re cutting back.  They have no incentive to hire.

It’s no wonder that there are 4.45 million people on state unemployment and another 5.3 million on federal unemployment.

So what happens when the government runs out of money and no one will lend them anymore?  Where will they go to satisfy their urge to spend us into oblivion?  Well, since Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac own 95% of all mortgages and the government owns Fannie and Freddie… what do you think they will use as collateral for their next loans?  That’s right your homes.  The idea of private property is quickly vanishing anyway.  So why not just see it through to its ultimate end and cash in on your home’s value?  What will the new owners of your homes do to your house?  I don’t know, maybe nothing, maybe something.  The harsh reality is that you will not own your home and you may NEVER own your home.

What kind of leverage does this give to the government?  They now control your home (Fannie and Freddie), they will be able to control the temperature of your home, the water usage, what you can and can’t plant in your yard (Cap and Trade), what you can and can’t eat, drink, smoke, use, or do (Health Care), they will control all the means of capitalization and production (banks, the Fed, nationalization of industry), they will be able to silence all political opposition (political correctness, fairness doctrine), they will control your education (Student Loans, department of education) they will control your means of gathering any kind of alternative information (internet control, state run media) and what does that leave you with?  The land of the free and home of the brave?  More like 1984 and a Brave New World.

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1. States consider banning credit checks on job applicants
2. Cheesy Slogans and vauge promises of Change…
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 I chose this article because when I read the title, I said to myself, “Well THERE’S a terrible idea!”  Of course I was hoping that the title was misleading, but it wasn’t.

Under federal law, employers must get written permission to conduct a credit check on a prospective employee.  According to the article, 16 states are considering banning the practice outright.  According to a 2008 survey by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, workplace fraud cost the US $994 billion in 2008.  That is the operating budget of a country Western Europe.  It could be rounded up to $1 Trillion which would be the cost of the hotly debated Healthcare bill.

Many states are considering the ban because they feel that it is hard enough for people to get jobs in the current economy as it is and they feel that that employers use the credit checks to “trap people in debt” by using their credit history against them.

If only the state legislatures knew a few facts before they started debating whether to ban one of the most effective means of fraud detection available. 

First of all, while most companies do use credit checks, only about 13% use them on new hires.  The credit checks are actually used on current employees in order to detect fraud.  How do they detect fraud through a credit check?  They can usually catch the perpetrator when they are living well beyond their means for one answer.

Secondly, people volunteer for the credit checks, it’s not like they have guns to their heads.  And then there is the cognitive mistake that the legislatures are making.  Companies have a right to ask that their employees submit to credit checks as a means of protecting their assets and property.  Legislatures would put unnecessary risk on those assets which are private property by banning the credit checks.  Something that I don’t think they can really do, legally. 

Lastly, the legislatures seem to think that banning the checks will somehow get people back to work.  This won’t happen if workplace fraud increases and companies start losing money.  In fact the exact opposite would happen.  People would lose those jobs.  But legislators are worried about keeping their own jobs at the present moment, however a move like this would ironically end their stays in the legislature.

Somehow, these legislatures seem to believe that people have more of a right to a job than private entities have to their own property.  This puts private enterprise at serious risk.  Legislators must know their place and not put politically popular ideas ahead of sound financial and economic policy.  Banning the credit check will not create any more jobs than were there in the first place, but instead it will degrade the integrity of the companies who offer those jobs.  Legislators must think that it is perfectly acceptable to pass reckless legislation and appear to be creating jobs at the expense of entire companies.

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Well, now we know why the U.S. Government made a big dog and pony show about Toyota’s problems.  Most of you probably didn’t even notice that GM was about to recall 1.3 million of its own cars for steering problems. Now GM’s problems will be swept under the rug while Toyota’s problems will continue to be blasted over the news. 

It really is sad that our government would make such a huge deal over Toyota’s problems and then say nothing of its own.  Sad, yes.  Shocking? Hell no.  

The hypocrisy of the government gets worse and worse every day.  Besides, what kind of carbon footprint was left behind when Mr. Toyota flew all the way to D.C. to meet with our board of direc… I mean Congress? 

What is the next step? I don’t know, but the Government needed a way to kill its competition.  Toyota is, after all the largest car maker in the world now.  What kinds of things do you think the government will do when it perceives its competition as a threat?  What kinds of things do you think it would do when it perceives the people as a threat?

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The Tea Parties are coming

How many people were at the DC tea Party yesterday?  10 thousand? 100 thousand?  If you watch MSNBC you’d never know.  I see phrases like “the political exploitation of the corporate-backed tea parties” and  “crazy Glenn Beck’s tea party had nothing to do with 9/11.”  Well that’s great.  I hope America understands that we have a main stream media that isn’t intellectually honest enough to admit that there is something special going on here.

Self-deception is apparently running rampant throughout the media and even Hollywood.  My favorite is the claim that Bush stole the 200 and 2004 elections when there is absolutely no evidence to even support the claim.   But the same people turn a blind eye to the overwhelming evidence of election fraud in the 2008 election.  I’m not saying that Obama stole the election, but ACORN’s corrupt practices certainly helped Obama’s numbers.   Intellectual dishonesty and self deception will lead the way to these people being shocked when Obama loses his re-election bid and the Dems are thrown out of Congress.

Yeah, I said it.  Look.  Just because the media refuses to cover the Tea Party movement; or marginalize it as much as possible, it doesn’t mean that it’s not real.  It IS real.  Liberals are going to be pissed off in November of 2010 when they wake up and see that the Democrats have been swept out of office.  They will cry foul when Obama get’s pummeled in the 2012 election.  Why?  Because the media is leading them to believe that America still approves of Obama.   They want you to believe that he is still overwhelmingly popular and he’s not.

Rasmussen polls are far and away the most accurate polls we have.  In the last several elections they accurately predicted the popular vote within a half point.  Before today, Obama’s numbers were already below 50% and falling.  His speech last night pushed him up over 50% for the first time in over a month.  The generic congressional poll show the GOP with a solid lead for the first time in several years.  People tend to trust the GOP on issues that have been solidly Democrat for decades like Healthcare, Social Security, Abortion (wtf?), and the economy.   Despite Obama’s claims most people expect to see their taxes rise in the next 3 years. 

In my own state, the Democratic Senator Bennett is trailing behind both potential 2010 opponents.  Plus the Democratic Governor is trailing in the polls already. 

So what does all this have to do with Tea Parties?  Everything.  The American people are fed up with big government.  And that means from both parties.  Whichever party can figure it out first is going to enjoy a period of dominance in congress while the other will be marginalized.   Saying that the Tea Parties are fake, or corporate sponsored is not only lunacy but it does the people a disservice.  It’s just not true and when people listen to the news they want to hear the truth. 

The Democrats are not the only thing in trouble here.  The main stream media is in trouble too.  People can get their news a variety of ways and people will opt for alternative means of media and news if they feel they get the whole story instead of an elitist pig’s opinion.

I’m just sayin’.

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This is the problem we have in America.  We depend so much on DEBT and foreign investment that we have to beg other nations to have faith in us.  Is THIS what we have become?  An old worn out has been?  Foreign nations are carving us up, we’re shipping jobs overseas and we are on our knees begging the CHICOMS of all people! Begging them to have faith in US and not to bail on us.

This is the product of irresponsible government.  Ultimately it’s the responsibility of the we the people because we are just like the government.  We spend more than we have and then beg creditors to give us more money.  Just like the creditors who have been tightening up their belts and stopped lending, I think the Chicoms will eventually stop lending as well.  Then where will we be?  Up shit creek?  Yeah, probably…

This is what I call El  ! Unless the people of this nation are more responsible, and realize that elections have serious consequences then we will never pull out of this.

I mean look how irresponsible WE’VE been with our voting!  We elected a man in 2000 based on his name.  We elected a man in 1992 because he was smooth and good looking.  We elected a man in 2008 because he was the first black man to become president AND he was fairly smooth AND he wasn’t the guy we elected back in 2000.  We have been sucky at picking presidents AND congressmen.  We are to blame for all of this!

Yeah, so next time the government pisses you off, why don’t you slap yourself in the face.  In the meantime, turbo tax cheat Tim Geithner is going to beg more countries to lend us money so we can put the final nails in our coffin.  We’ve already been buried alive, but why try to dig out now?  I mean this borrowing and spending money we don’t have is REALLY working out for us… Why change now?

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Now he is pretending to be on the side of small businesses and “the little guy.” I’m not buying it. Is anyone else? Yeah I didn’t think so. Let’s face it, the Fed and other big banks run the country. That’s why banks and other financial institutions were “too big to fail.” Yeah no shit. If YOU were in control of the country and you needed a tax payer bailout, and you got one, there would be nothing fishy about that huh? Nope just business as usual right? Right.

Give me a break. The bailouts were nothing more than a taxpayer insurance payout of the big wigs and the string pullers. Go sell your crap to someone else buddy. I’m not buying your made-in-china-lead-laced-poison-dog-food.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090727/ap_on_bi_ge/us_bernanke_town_hall

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Bill Clinton won in 1992 with “it’s the economy, stupid!”  George W. Bush won by offering a larger tax cut than Gore in 2000.  And Obama won in 2008 by offering tax cuts to the middle class and promising to revive the economy.  But now that we’re six months in and 7 million people have lost their jobs and Obama’s administration is claiming that they “misread” the economy it’s looking pretty bad. 

Political rhetoric can only get you so far.  Obama constantly blamed George W. Bush for the recession and tied Republican candidate John McCain to Bush during the election.  Obama constantly reminded the populace that the economy was “inherited” by him from the Bush administration when he was pushing for the stimulus package.  Now those words are hanging around but mean nothing.  The American people had these words and policies shoved down their throats and it is a bitter bill to swallow (pardon the pun).

President Obama has shown either a lack of understanding in economic matters or a complete disregard for them.  Either way it is unforgivable, especially since the economy was his calling card.  The economy is getting worse and worse and more and more people are shifting the blame from Wall Street and Bush to Big Business and Obama, who seem to be teaming up to destroy the American economy.

The ramifications will be a loss of the super majorities that the Democrats have in both houses of Congress.  If the Republicans can regain power in the congress, that might be the most beneficial thing for the economy as President Obama is weak and is easily influenced by Congress.  This economy will eventually recover in two to four years.

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Here is an editorial cartoon 75 years old! Seem familiar? Most all of us know what happened and how long it took to get things straightened out. Most of those in DC weren’t even born then! Look at this cartoon from 1934 and look especially carefully at the plan of action.

Remember the adage, “Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it.” Looks like we could be in for difficult times. Frightening…

This could have been drawn yesterday!

What has changed?

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