THE US LACKS A “CREDIBLE STRATEGY” TO STABILISE ITS MOUNTING PUBLIC DEBT, POSING A SMALL BUT SIGNIFICANT RISK OF A NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS, SAYS THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND.
In an unusually stern rebuke to its largest shareholder, the IMF said the US was the only advanced economy to be increasing its underlying budget deficit in 2011, at a time when its economy was growing fast enough to reduce borrowing.
The latest warning on the deficit was delivered as Barack Obama, the US president, is becoming increasingly engaged in the debate over ways to curb ….
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/dc1aadea-652e-11e0-b150-00144feab49a.html#axzz1JP2nAJuH
I like the way they framed it. Obama is becoming increasing engaged in the debate over ways to curb America’s mounting debt. Only seems fair since he is the one who exploded the debt.
Inflation Actually Near 10% Using Older Measure
After former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker was appointed in 1979, the consumer price index surged into the double digits, causing the now revered Fed Chief to double the benchmark interest rate in order to break the back of inflation. Using the methodology in place at that time puts the CPI back near those levels.http://www.cnbc.com/id/42551209
INFLATION, USING THE REPORTING METHODOLOGIES IN PLACE BEFORE 1980, HIT AN ANNUAL RATE OF 9.6 PERCENT IN FEBRUARY, ACCORDING TO THE SHADOW GOVERNMENT STATISTICS NEWSLETTER….
Welcome back Carter.
Obama the out of touch President
….Here's Obama 's problem: Once again, HE'S LOST CONTROL OF THE CAPITOL'S POLITICAL NARRATIVE.http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2011/04/obama-deficit-speech.html
The bully pulpit is a powerful presidential tool -- if the chief executive is talking of relevant things. But OBAMA KEEPS SIDETRACKING HIMSELF into all these areas of society that he so wants to fix, even though there are worse problems elsewhere.
For a long time Obama talked of little but healthcare and financial reforms, while polls showed Americans wanted jobs. He got his healthcare bill, but dozens of Democrats got unemployed from Congress.
When Americans wanted an explanation for a war over Libya's sand, Obama was urging Brazil to drill off its shores and toasting every presidente within sight.
As Americans realized the Democrat majorities had not written a budget for the current fiscal year when in control throughout 2010, Obama was denouncing schoolyard bullies and calling for more college educations, something even Rep. Ron Paul might endorse.
WHENEVER THE PRESIDENT ACKNOWLEDGES THE BUDGET DEFICIT AND THE $14+ TRILLION NATIONAL DEBT, HE SAYS YES, YES, OF COURSE, WE HAVE TO CUT WASTE. HE THEN PROCEEDS TO PROVIDE A LONG LIST OF THINGS WE NEED TO "INVEST" MORE IN LIKE EDUCATION, BRIDGES, GREEN ENERGY and protecting "the most vulnerable" in our society….
Out of touch and soon to be out of a job. ABB (Anybody but Barack).
Liberal Pundits seem to be getting frustrated with Obama
The cliche of late has been the trope about “getting ahead of history.” WONDERFUL. I WOULD SETTLE FOR OBAMA JUST CATCHING UP WITH HIMSELF. . . SLOGANS SUCH AS “WIN THE FUTURE” ARE RHETORICAL COTTON CANDY. They melt in your mouth and leave nothing behind. The president needs to say explicitly what he wants and how he’s going to get there. “CHANGE” WON’T DO ANYMORE. IT’S LEADERSHIP WE NEED.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/04/12/time_for_leadership_109520.html
More and more I am reminded of the late 1970s and the presidency of Jimmy Carter. However, seeing what is going on now, Carter would be an improvement over the current president.
Opting Out of Unionization
.Thanks to Gov. Scott Walker’s new labor law, WISCONSIN MAY JUST BE THE NEXT STATE WHERE UNION ROLLS START SHRINKING. If history’s any indication, plenty of government workers will eventually take advantage of their new ability to opt out of unionization and stop paying expensive union dues….
….Walker saw that as a significant cost-savings benefit for Wisconsin’s government workers, arguing that “for those members . . . who don’t want to be a part of the union . . . [and] don’t want that deduction each month out of the paycheck, THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET THAT $500, $600, OR IN SOME CASES $1,000 [PER YEAR] BACK that they can apply for their health care and their pension contribution.” Politifact, which skews liberal, rated Walker’s calculations of how much workers could save “mostly true” after contacting unions and finding out how much they charged members annually.
Making union membership or portions of union dues voluntary has a track record of resulting in fewer employees’ paying. Consider Indiana, where Gov. Mitch Daniels signed an executive order limiting collective bargaining for state workers. IN 2005, WHEN DANIELS SIGNED THE ORDER, 16,408 STATE EMPLOYEES BELONGED TO THE UNION. NOW 1,490 DO.
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/264545/opting-out-unionization-katrina-trinko
No wonder the Democrats are against this. Before Daniels signed the order if the unions were getting $500 per year per member, they would have a budget of $8.2 million and if 20% was spent on political contributions that would be $1.6 million going primarily to the Democrats. With only 1490 union members, revenue is decreased to three quarters of a million dollars and political contributions would drop to $150,000 annually.
Death Trap Democrats
Despite November's New Deal magnitude political earthquake, surviving House Democrats just laughed off their historic 63 seat loss and reelected ultra-left San Francisco Democrat Nancy Pelosi as House Minority Leader, a position she will now apparently hold for life. SOMEHOW DEMOCRATS ARE CONVINCED THAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WILL COME TO REALIZE THE ERROR OF THEIR WAYS AND TURN TO EMBRACE TAXATION THAT SEIZES MOST OF THEIR MONEY FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO SPEND, rejecting traditional American prosperity. Good luck with that.
But DEMOCRATS HAVE NOW REPEATED THE FOLLY BY CHOOSING DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D-FL) TO HEAD THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE. Schultz is just as left wing as Pelosi, but less soft spoken and even more transparently unreasoned.
Schultz wasted no time in demonstrating this. She said regarding the Medicare reforms in Paul Ryan's House GOP budget plan, "No longer would Medicare be a guarantee of health insurance coverage. Instead Medicare would become little more than a discount card. THIS PLAN WOULD LITERALLY BE A DEATH TRAP FOR SENIORS…..."
….While the Democrats still do not understand what they have done with Obamacare, the government's actuaries and accountants do, and have been telling us in official government publications and documents. The 2010 Financial Statement of the United States Government, published by the Treasury Department in December, is the most clear. THAT REPORT DISCLOSES repeatedly in several tables of data that the TOTAL OF FUTURE CUTS IN PAYMENTS TO DOCTORS AND HOSPITALS UNDER MEDICARE AS PROVIDED IN CURRENT LAW DUE TO OBAMACARE and president obama's medicare reimbursement policies IS $15 TRILLION!...
http://spectator.org/archives/2011/04/13/death-trap-democrats
$15 trillion in cuts is larger than the entire US economy this year. It is a death sentence for Medicare as most hospitals would have to stop treating Medicare patients or go out of business (they currently lose money on Medicare patients).
Dean charges GOP “hate anything” for the little guy
"The President made Medicare more sustainable because of health care reform. These guys [Republicans] hate Medicare, they hate the welfare state, they hate Social Security, THEY HATE ANYTHING THAT HELPS ORDINARY PEOPLE. THEY ARE IN THE PAY OF CORPORATIONS, that's who paid for their campaigns and of course that is whose tune their going to dance to," former DNC Chairman Howard Dean said on MSNBC.http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/04/12/howard_dean_on_gop_they_hate_the_welfare_state.html
Dean is outing what the Democrats really feel. It isn’t enough to say that the Republican policies hurt the poor. Dean posits the intentions of the GOP. They hate anything that helps ordinary people. Not only is this nonsense, but in fact, the Democrats have lost the ordinary man and are now the party of government dependent people.
Facts about America’s decline
In absolute terms, the U.S. enjoyed an incline this past decade. BETWEEN 2000 AND 2010, U.S. GDP INCREASED 21% IN CONSTANT DOLLARS, despite the shattering setbacks of the Great Recession in 2008-09 and the bursting of the dot-com bubble in 2001. In 2010, U.S. military spending ($697 billion) was 55% higher than in 2000. And in 2010, the U.S. population was 310 million, an increase of 10% since 2000.
The notion that demography is destiny may be a stretch, but demographics are important when, as in THE U.S., POPULATION INCREASE—DUE TO HIGHER BIRTH AND IMMIGRATION RATES THAN OTHER DEVELOPED COUNTRIES—CUSHIONS THE IMPACT OF AN AGING POPULATION.
But there were also some important declines relative to the rest of the world. In 2000, U.S. GDP WAS 61% OF THE COMBINED GDPS OF THE OTHER G-20 COUNTRIES. BY 2010, THAT NUMBER DROPPED TO 42%. In 2000, U.S. GDP was slightly more than eight times that of China, but it fell to slightly less than three times in 2010. JAPAN IS A CONTRASTING CASE: U.S. GDP WAS TWICE AS LARGE AS JAPAN'S IN 2000 BUT 2.6 TIMES AS LARGE IN 2010, before the tsunami and nuclear disasters of 2011.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704415104576251292725228886.html
I found this extremely interesting. I recommend you read it.
Wal-Mart ends its flirtation with the left
In July 2006, Dach was installed as the public relations chief for Wal-Mart. HE DRAFTED A NUMBER OF OTHER PROGRESSIVES INTO THE COMPANY, SEEKING TO CHANGE THE COMPANY’S WAY OF DOING BUSINESS: its culture, its politics, and most importantly its products.http://blogs.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/timblair/index.php/dailytelegraph/comments/gore_store_no_more/
Out went drab, inexpensive merchandise so dear to low-income Americans. IN CAME UPSCALE ORGANIC FOODS, “GREEN” PRODUCTS, TRENDY JEANS, AND POLITICAL CORRECTNESS. In other words, Dach sought to expose poor working Americans to the “good life” of the wealthy, environmentally conscious Prius driver.
How did that all work out?
AFTER SUFFERING SEVEN STRAIGHT QUARTERS OF LOSSES, TODAY THE MERCHANDISE GIANT WAL-MART WILL ANNOUNCE THAT IT IS “GOING BACK TO BASICS,” ending its era of high-end organic foods, going “green,” and the remainder of its appeal to the upscale market. Next month the company will launch an “It’s Back” campaign to woo the millions of customers who have fled the store.
It appears a “new Coke” moment has come and gone at Wal-Mart. Welcome back.
Calling for higher taxes on themselves? Not so fast
…Mr. Saban and Ms Pritzker also believe the rich should pay more. "HIGHER TAXES FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME TO HELP OTHERS WHO ARE LESS FORTUNATE -- THAT'S OKAY BY ME," Mr. Saban was quoted in the now-defunct Portfolio magazine. "Warren said that over the last 20 years, the net worth of the 400 richest Americans has grown seven times and the average American's net earnings are flat. He said that's not right, and that's why he's a Democrat. I agree. It's not good for our democracy," Ms Pritzker was quoted by Bloomberg.
THERE IS A HYPOCRISY, IF NOT PSYCHOSIS, AT WORK in the minds of the tax-demanding rich: MR. BUFFETT SHIELDED $31 BILLION OF HIS WEALTH BY TRANSFERRING IT TO BILL GATES' PHILANTHROPIES. The Pritzker family is famous for employing a skein of trusts and offshore accounts to obfuscate their wealth. WHEN THE PATRIARCH, ABRAM PRITZKER, DIED, IN 1986, HIS HEIRS CLAIMED AN ESTATE WORTH $25,000. THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE SAW IT DIFFERENTLY, VALUING THE ESTATE A FEW DOLLARS NORTH OF THAT FIGURE AND SUED TO COLLECT $53 MILLION IN BACK TAXES. THE TWO SIDES SETTLED FOR $9.5 MILLION IN 1994.
Mr. Saban's actions suggest a passive-aggressive relationship with taxes. FOUR YEARS AGO HE SETTLED WITH THE IRS AFTER ADMITTING TO USING OFFSHORE TAX SHELTERS TO AVOID PAYING $300 MILLION ON THE $1.5 BILLION HE REALIZED AFTER SELLING HIS SHARE OF FOX FAMILY WORLDWIDE to Disney. Mr. Saban told Senate investigators: "You have before you a very disappointed person, who feels misled, lied to, cheated."
MS PRITZKER SEES NO CONTRADICTION, MUCH LESS IRONY, IN THE NEED TO PAY TAXES AND THE DESIRE TO AVOID TAXES. In fact, she readily justifies the practice of demanding more taxes and then getting out of Dodge with this creaky riposte to Bloomberg: "Our family has done more than just good tax planning. What we're good at is building businesses, creating jobs and supporting
http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/04/time_for_the_rich_to_shut_up_o.html
These people remind me of the ‘cowardly lion’ in the Wizard of Oz. He was brave except when he wasn’t. Perhaps the Greek word “hypocrisys” best describes what these people are doing.
IBD Poll: Public Favors Limiting Collective Bargaining
BY 45%-42%, VOTERS BACK REPUBLICAN EFFORTS TO BALANCE STATE BUDGETS BY LIMITING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS FOR GOVERNMENT UNIONS, according to the latest IBD/TIPP poll. That stance is backed by Republicans, 80%-8%, and by independents, 46%-36%. Even 14% of Democrats say limit collective bargaining.
THAT’S A SWITCH FROM LAST MONTH WHEN AN IBD/TIPP POLL ASKED WHETHER VOTERS FAVORED WISCONSIN GOV. SCOTT WALKER OR THE STATE PUBLIC EMPLOYEE UNIONS in that state’s showdown over bargaining rights. That poll found the public supported the unions, 49%-43%. Democrats backed the unions, 83%-11%, while independents backed them, 47%-42%. Republicans backed Walker, 82%-11%.
THE MAIN DIFFERENCE IS THE INDEPENDENTS’ REACTION, SUGGESTING THAT SOME HAVE RETHOUGHT THEIR EARLIER BACKING OF THE UNIONS. Perhaps the budget fight in Congress swayed some to the argument that deficits need to be reined in. Or maybe the independents are just fickle. Either way, the public does seem to be open to budget cutting arguments.
IN TODAY’S IBD WE REPORT THAT THE MOST RECENT POLLING SHOWS THE WHITE HOUSE LOSING GROUND WITH MODERATES SINCE LAST FALL’S ELECTION. A major part of that decline is anxiety about the federal debt and the administration’s sluggish response to the issue.
THE POLL FOUND THAT, BY 47%-26%, VOTERS GAVE OBAMA FAILING GRADES FOR HIS HANDLING OF THE BUDGET. That suggests that liberal groups should rethink their knee-jerk opposition to budget cuts: It is putting them out of step with the broader public.
http://blogs.investors.com/capitalhill/index.php/home/35-politicsinvesting/2576-ibd-poll-public-favors-limiting-collective-bargaining
It’s still way early to interpret this for the coming 2012 elections, but it isn’t good news for the Democrats.
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