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Obama Gang is Money Laundering the TARP and TALF Programs

Posted by Stefano on Monday, April 06, 2009 1:48:53 PM
    Now that the Obama brigade has stopped hyperventilating in mock rage at the AIG bonus babies, they are changing course in their approach to compensation of lead executives at financial institutions. Many TARP recipients are planning to return what they owe to the Treasury as quickly as possible and others are intent on avoiding taking TARP money to avoid the legislative restrictions on pay and to avoid the requirement allowing the government to purchase ownership stakes in their companies. The Pelosi/Reid Democrats in Congress put flesh on their mock rage by passing legislation restricting compensation of executives at firms who have received TARP money.  Now Obama needs cooperation from these very institutions to successfully implement the new and improved toxic debt relief program of Treasury Secretary Geithner.  TheWashington Post reports today that many financial institutions will not participate in toxic debt relief if current restrictions apply to them. From The Washington Post:


"Some private investors said, for instance, that they would not help the government buy toxic assets from banks if the congressional restrictions were applied to them. And every major provider of small-business loans has said that it will not participate in the government's program if it has to surrender ownership stakes to the government or submit to executive-pay limits."  
 
    The Obama gang has found a clever way to avoid the new compensation law passed by Congress and signed by the President. They've created "middleman" entities to launder the money passed out by the TARP and TALF programs.  The money comes from the Treasury to the middle man entity and then on to the institution receiving the aid.  By this clever process, the institution doesn't receive the aid directly from the Treasury and the compensation and ownership provisions of the law are avoided.  Congress, so far, is feigning ignorance but this type of evasion may not be legal.  The Washington Post reports:
 
 
"They are basically trying to launder the money to avoid complying with the plain language of the law," said David Zaring, a former Justice Department attorney who defended the government from lawsuits involving related legal issues. "They are trying to create a loophole to ignore Congress, and I think the courts will think that it's ridiculous."
 
 
    I don't have to wonder what the reaction of Congress would be to this type of evasion if "W" were still President.  No doubt it would be screaming and shouting and running abouting and high crimes and misdemeanors forever and ever from Pelosi, Reid, Schumer, Dodd, Frank, and the usual suspects.
 
    The Obama administration and their leader, Barack Obama are again displaying their arrogance and hypocricy in spades.  I say go after them on this nonsense without delay.
 
Here is The Washington Post article:
 
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U.S. Representative Carnahan Lives in Fantasy Land

Posted by Stefano on Saturday, April 04, 2009 1:18:58 AM
We have a congressman who apparently believes the convoluted "Fantasy Land" talking points of the Democrat leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives.  He claims in this letter that the Obama budget blueprint will cut the deficit by two thirds in 4 years.  What it will actually do is increase the national debt to a total three times what it is today within 10 years.  The interest on the national debt will be nearly 1 trillion dollars by then.  The government is on track to spend 12.8 trillion dollars (and rising) for bailouts, rescue plans, toxic debt purchases, stimulus packages, and 8,500 pork barrel projects.  In these difficult times the voters in the Missouri Third District deserve a representative who will speak the truth and vote with common sense, not someone who will simply barf up truth-bending talking points from Democrat leaders like Nancy Pelosi.  When the next election comes up, let's change Mr. Carnahan's address.
 

BROAD ECONOMIC PLAN FOR GROWTH
Dear
Yesterday, I voted in favor of a budget that serves as a long-term economic plan that will get our economy working again and put us on a path toward renewed prosperity. 

President Obama inherited an economic and fiscal mess. It will take time and a lot of tough decisions to turn our economy around. The budget the House of Representatives passed yesterday makes those tough decisions and invests in the areas that will spur growth and lead to prosperity for decades to come.

The best way to cut the deficit in the long term is to make investments in areas that will grow our economy and create jobs. The long-term economic plan we passed yesterday does just that.

The House-passed long-term economic plan will cut the deficit nearly two-thirds by 2013. It cuts taxes for middle class families by $1.5 trillion. It will create jobs and grow our economy with targeted investments and reforms in health care, clean energy and education while reducing non-defense discretionary spending to its lowest level in nearly half a century. 

This common-sense economic plan ushers in a new era of honesty in budgeting by fully accounting for known expenses like the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that previous administrations left out in order to make the deficit look smaller. To bring change and restore integrity to Washington , this budget puts an unprecedented effort on rooting out waste, fraud and abuse in government spending. 

This country cannot afford more of the failed policies of the last eight years. Government failed to invest in our economy and protect taxpayers and we will not repeat those mistakes. With this long-term economic plan we are making the tough choices to turn our economy around, create jobs, reform health care, move toward energy independence, and invest in education.

When President Obama came into office he inherited a record deficit. The national debt is double what it was eight years ago, wages are flat and unemployment is skyrocketing. The House-passed economic plan takes the necessary steps to dig our economy out of this hole, cut the deficit, and stimulate broad growth for the good of all Americans.
Sincerely,
Congressman Russ Carnahan's signature
Congressman Russ Carnahan

for a breakdown of the money being borrowed on your behalf go to Bloomberg here:
 
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Toxic Debt and Protecting Our Tax Money

Posted by Stefano on Thursday, March 26, 2009 1:24:15 AM
Obama's Toxic Debt Program
 
The toxic debt problem is a difficult situation made more difficult than it needs to be by the refusal to allow these companies to go into receivership or a chapter 11 pre-packaged bankruptcy. The failure to reform the onerous mark-to-market rules and/or to establish a new ratings system specifically for loans collateralized by real estate has exacerbated the problem exponentially. This new program is an interesting attempt but probably another swing and a miss for the Obama Treasury department. The FDIC guarantees are a major problem, and it seems odd that they will be directly guaranteeing debt in a way similar to that of the FHA. It’s called the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, not the Federal Debt Insurance Corporation. But hey, I'm just a regular citizen.  What do I know?  The stockholders and bondholders of troubled financial and other companies need to take a haircut through prepackaged bankruptcies. That includes the auto companies. When investors bought the equity and the debt, they knew there was a risk and bought it anyway. Now this new giveaway by the executive branch transfers the risk from these troubled companies to the citizens of this country and gives the purchasers of toxic assets a non-recourse loan to purchase those assets. The additional contingent liability will be enormous, but I guess the Fed can just print up, or electronically create more trillions of dollars out of nothing to cover their guarantees.
 
So what is the "bailout total" up to now? Bloomberg has published a chart that shows how much and to whom.  The grand total (and climbing) is now $11,623,630,000,000.00.  This doesn't include the stingy Obama budget projections that will run trillion dollar deficits as far as the eye can see.  Link to Bloomberg:   http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aZchK__XUF84
 Here's a section of that page: 

                                  --- Amounts (Billions)---

                                   Limit          Current

===========================================================

Total                            $11,623.63     $3,800.18

-----------------------------------------------------------

 Federal Reserve Total            $7,565.63     $1,478.88

 Primary Credit Discount           $110.74        $65.14

 Secondary Credit                    $0.19         $0.00

 Primary dealer and others         $147.00        $25.27

 ABCP Liquidity                    $152.11        $12.72

 AIG Credit                         $60.00        $37.36

 Net Portfolio CP Funding        $1,800.00       $248.67

 Maiden Lane (Bear Stearns)         $29.50        $28.82

 Maiden Lane II (AIG)              $22.50        $18.82

 Maiden Lane III (AIG)              $30.00        $24.34

 Term Securities Lending           $250.00       $115.28

 Term Auction Facility             $900.00       $447.56

 Securities lending overnight       $10.00         $5.59

 Public-Private Investment Fund $1,000.00         $0.00

 Term Asset-Backed Loan Facility $1,000.00         $0.00

 Currency Swaps/Other Assets       $606.00       $417.86

 MMIFF                             $540.00         $0.00

 GSE Debt Purchases                $600.00        $33.58

 Citigroup Bailout Fed Portion     $220.40         $0.00

 Bank of America Bailout            $87.20         $0.00

-----------------------------------------------------------

 FDIC Total                      $1,551.50       $400.30

   FDIC Liquidity Guarantees      $1,400.00       $261.30

   GE                               $139.00       $139.00

   Citigroup Bailout FDIC            $10.00         $0.00

   Bank of America Bailout FDIC       $2.50         $0.00

-----------------------------------------------------------

 Treasury Total                   $2,206.50     $1,621.00

 TARP                              $700.00       $387.00

 Tax Break for Banks                $29.00        $29.00

 Stimulus Package                  $168.00       $168.00

 Stimulus II                       $787.00       $787.00

 Treasury Exchange Stabilization    $50.00        $50.00

 Student Loan Purchases             $60.00         $0.00

 Citigroup Bailout                   $5.00         $0.00

 Bank of America Bailout             $7.50         $0.00

 Support for Fannie/Freddie        $400.00       $200.00

-----------------------------------------------------------

HUD Total                           $300.00       $300.00

 Hope for Homeowners FHA           $300.00       $300.00

Last Updated: February 24, 2009 00:01 EST
 
UPDATE: April 1, 2009: The projection is now up to 12.8 trillion dollars: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=armOzfkwtCA4&refer=home
And that's not an April fools joke.
  
 
Congress and Obama are Protecting Taxpayer's Money? 

You have to laugh out loud when you see our stellar congressional leadership claiming that they are saving taxpayer's money or protecting taxpayer’s money, as if they really care. First, the majority of the money they’re spending this year isn't taxpayer money. It's money borrowed on the credit account of citizens of this country. It's also money borrowed from the Social Security "Trust Fund" and the Medicare fund. The money being printed and electronically created by the Federal Reserve for bailout programs is not taxpayer money. It’s just more money created out of nothing against the value of the money held by U.S. citizens in their pockets or savings. Creation of money in this way debases the value of every dollar you have or will earn for the rest of your life.  It also debases the money your kids will earn and their kids will earn assuming there are any jobs for them.  I guess there should be some jobs shinning shoes for the Chinese folks who will own most everything in this country, if things keep going in the direction our leader is taking us.

It’s also a joke when the Democrats claim that they are protecting the taxes of their constituents. A large percentage of their constituents don’t pay any taxes at all. I guess if Obama is going to redistribute tax money from taxpayers to non-taxpayers, you could call it the non-taxpayers’ money but when can you correctly call it that? Would it be at the moment when the government sucks the taxes out of your paycheck each month, or is it during the micro-second that it sits in the U.S. Treasury? Perhaps it’s when the check is printed to the order of the non-taxpayer or maybe it’s when that non-taxpayer cashes the check.  So maybe Congressional leaders are protecting our non-taxpayer and taxpayer taxes.  Thank goodness for that.  Without their protection, we might get into serious economic trouble.  Rest easy and sleep tight.  Your future is in good hands.

 

 
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Has Sam Stolen Your Credit Card?

Posted by Stefano on Sunday, March 22, 2009 1:17:53 AM
Have you ever had a friend who had no concept of the value of money? I’ve had such friends over the years. They’ve had varying degrees of this malady. Some are simply devoid of the ability to say no to spending. Some must have the latest car or electronic device as soon as it first appears in the showroom. A very few simply cannot abide the presence of money in their pockets. It seems to just disappear as soon as it comes into their possession.  Credit cards or the ability to borrow money easily is death to the financial health of these kinds of people. In short order, these types will run a credit line as far as it will go. If infinity were possible, that is the amount that they would borrow. Never give this type of person, or anyone for that matter, access to a credit line with your name on it.  Tragically, I have given you that warning knowing that it is too late. 

You have already granted someone the ability to borrow money in your name. You might as well have given this person your MasterCard and your pin number. The grant you have given is open ended, that is, there is absolutely no limit whatsoever to the amount of money that can be borrowed, and you are personally on the hook for whatever is borrowed. That someone can also legally borrow money in your name in cash and give it to someone else who lives around the corner from you.  If that isn’t bad enough news, get this: The one who has this borrowing power in your name is a spend thrift. He’s been borrowing money for years, and hasn’t paid his debt down to zero in more than a hundred years. His budget process is so goofy that he actually plans every year to spend far more than his income brings in. He just makes up the difference by borrowing more and more, and each time he borrows, he puts your name on the note.   He promises that you will pay the principle and the interest. Have you ever heard of the miracle of compound interest? Well, the debt you are responsible for is compounding against your net worth at a breath taking rate. When will you stop sitting on your hands, wake up and do something to stop this fiend from stealing your financial future?

The person we are talking about here is your uncle, the one we all affectionately call Uncle Sam. Sam, under the guidance of the President and the Congress, has been on a blockbuster spending spree for the last 45 years. He has taken your no limit credit card to the cleaners for a total national debt of more than $11,000,000,000,000.00. By September 30th the debt will be $12,700,000,000,000.00. With the President’s current budget proposal, in four years the debt will be $16,000,000,000,000.00. If you add contingent liabilities like Social Security, off budget borrowing, Medicare, and government pensions the total would be increased by an astounding factor of 4 or 5 for a total of 45 to 55 trillion dollars. Will we ever be able to pay off this astounding level of debt? When will we scream “STOP!” to Uncle Sam? 
 
Read this recent Forbes article:
 
The United States Of Ponzi
 by:  Nouriel Roubini
 
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General Motors is a Zombie Company

Posted by Stefano on Friday, March 20, 2009 12:50:04 AM
Why are we continuing to spend money we don't have for a company that's alive in name only.  GM is being dragged down by numerous impediments to its survival including but not limited to: union contracts, jobs banks, pensions, health benefits, massive debt of all types and shapes.  Only bankruptcy can lift this burden and permit the survival of the company and the survival of the domestic automobile industry. 

Nothing else will save GM. They are a zombie company. They are like a heavyweight boxer who has been slugged by Rocky Marciano and is now stumbling around the ring ready to fall with a great thud to the mat. Only a prepackaged bankruptcy can save them and it will happen sooner or later. The only question is the amount of money the U.S. Treasury will need to borrow to keep the operation going until the President and the Demo-Congress finally throw in the towel. The Dems will not throw in the towel until the American people finally scream: STOP!!!  Until then, just crank up the printing presses and hold on tight to your wallet.

Check out this great piece on GM by Joseph B. White of the WSJ:

  http://www.hillsdale.edu/news/imprimis.asp
 
 He says:

"Since all of you are now part owners of this enterprise, I would urge all of you to pay close attention, since what's about to unfold has no clear precedent in our nation's economic history. The closest parallels I can see are Renault in France, Volkswagen in Germany, and the various state-controlled Chinese automakers. But none of these companies is as large as GM, and none of these companies is exactly a model for what GM should want to become.

As I have tried to suggest, it's hard enough for professional managers and technicians—who have a clear profit motive—to run an enterprise as complex as a global car company. What will be the fate of a quasi-nationalized enterprise whose "board of directors" will now include 535 members of Congress, plus various agencies of the Executive Branch? As a property owner in suburban Detroit, I can only hope for the best."

 
 Since you can look forward to being a stockholder in GM, I would recommend the reading of the entire article at the link above.
 
update - GM bond holders object to White house plan for debt restructuring.   Fear bankruptcy.
 

GM bondholder letter to White House panel (Reuters)

Sun Mar 22, 2009 5:42pm EDT
 
 
   http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE52L1H320090322
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Bill Clinton - Pro-Choice Biologist

Posted by Stefano on Thursday, March 12, 2009 11:29:01 PM
I ran across this video on Hot Air ( http://hotair.com/archives/2009/03/12/video-bill-clinton-doesnt-understand-human-biology/ ).  I'm posting it here for your convenience in viewing it.  It is truly astonishing that a former President and Rhodes Scholar could be this ignorant on a crucial aspect of the embryonic stem cell issue.  The Dems will probably use this video as a hammer to compel comprehensive sex education for pre-schoolers.  This also lends credence to the notion that a little education of the populace could make a great difference in turning hearts to the life affirming side.
 
 
 
Here are some interesting comments I ran across on various websites:         
 
On Jillstanek.com
A couple commenters thought Clinton meant to say "implanted," but never mind the fact he said "fertilized" 6x, the above interview makes clear he meant "fertilized," which he defined as "to bring a life into being."...   At any rate, substituting "implanted" would render Clinton's statements more nonsensical than they already are.
 
 
From The Raving Theist ... on Jillstanek.com:

From another blog I found that the word Mr. Clinton probably had in mind was implanted.

If so, did he mean:

(1) We shouldn't carry on the research inside a woman's uterus after implanting the embryo?

(2) We shouldn't create the embryo through IVF, implant it, and then take it out and use it for ESCR?

(3) We shouldn't remove naturally conceived and implanted embryos for ESCR?

 
From HotAir.com  
Clinton isn’t looking to be scientifically accurate, any more than most abortion supporters are. Abortion isn’t a scientific issue at all, really; it’s an emotional one - “I’m pregnant and I don’t want to be pregnant anymore.” Supporters of embryonic stem cell research are just trying to put a scientific veneer over the abortion process by giving embryo destruction a “good” name. Clinton’s abysmal understanding of the fundamental underlying science of embryo development shows just how thin that veneer truly is.
 
posted by inmypajamas
 
also on hotair.com:
Gosh, I’d like to hope that even my 10th grade biology students would know better than this.
posted by Bob's Kid
 
also on hotair.com

Imagine if Palin had given that interview that way!   Just imagine!
posted by mankai
 
also on hotair.com
Human beings are formed by some mysterious process, whereas a clump of cells - much like a cancer - becomes a human upon contact with air approximately 9 months after initially metastasizing.
posted by  lorien1973
 
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Mark-to-Market is Killing our Banks and Enriching Hedge Funds

Posted by Stefano on Saturday, March 07, 2009 11:59:49 PM
Our executive and legislative leaders continue to block reform of the "mark-to-market" rules that are devastating the balance sheets of the large banks in this country.  This is a simplified explanation, but these rules force banks to write down real estate loans on their books to the value of similar loans that have been recently sold on the open market,  even if these loans have never missed a payment.  The resultant markdowns drive down bank reserves forcing banks to liquidate additional loans or other assets.  No one wants to buy sub-prime loans right now, so banks are forced to liquidate their prime loans to raise reserves.  The number of loans for sale is far greater than the demand, so even a perfectly up to date prime loan must be sold for a huge discount.  Loan values and bank reserves are continuing to cascade downward.  Balance sheets have become so damaged that the federal government has been supplying capital to prop up our largest banks through TARP and the Federal Reserve. 
 
Hedge funds and other investors are buying up these prime loans from beleaguered banks for pennies on the dollar.  Every sale requires another infusion of capital from the government.  Who wouldn't  want to buy a prime mortgage loan for 28 cents on the dollar.  I'd love to buy one.   What these hedge funds and other investors are doing is legal but, in fact, they are legally looting our banks and indirectly looting the US Treasury. 
 
Lending in the mortgage market is also hampered by the fact that newly issued loans may be subject to instant markdown.  Why would a bank loan out money if that action would damage the level of their reserves?  They won't.
 
John Mauldin, a money manager and financial columnist has a column that is a must read if you want to understand this issue.  Please send a copy to your Senators and Congressmen.  Here is the link:
 
 
Here is another excellent explanation of mark-to-market and the policy's deliterious effects on our markets posted on the Navellier blog:
 
 
 

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OCS Drilling Delayed by Salazar

Posted by Stefano on Thursday, March 05, 2009 5:36:13 PM
 It has been nearly 235 days since President Bush lifted the Executive ban on OCS drilling and the Democrats are still blockading any meaningful action that would result in offshore production.  The following report is from the Oil and Gas Journal ( http://www.ogj.com/index.cfm ) by Nick Snow.  Three GOP Senators are asking our current President to override the delays set in place by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.   The chances that Obama will intervene are nil.  He's busy creating millions of green jobs and has no time for evil oil and gas development.
 
GOP Senators seek to nix Salazar's OCS plan delay

Nick Snow
OGJ Washington Editor

WASHINGTON, DC, Mar. 5 -- Three US Senate Republicans asked US President Barack H. Obama on Mar. 2 to expeditiously complete development of the 5-year Outer Continental Shelf plan, which US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has delayed.

"In addition to improved energy efficiency and the development of renewable resources, tapping new domestic sources of conventional energy will help relieve stress on family budgets, put Americans to work, and free us from dangerous and unstable foreign regimes," Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison (Tex.), Lisa Murkowski (Alas.), and Christopher S. Bond (Mo.) said in a letter to the president.

"To achieve these substantial benefits, we urge you to limit any delay and complete as expeditiously as possible your administration's five-year plan for offshore oil and gas development," they continued.

Salazar announced on Feb. 10 that he was delaying the 5-year OCS plan which his predecessor, Dirk A. Kempthorne, launched the previous summer because it was "a headlong rush of the worst kind." Kempthorne said at the time that he was beginning the process 2 years early because crude oil prices had broken records a few weeks earlier.

"The federal government is responsible for the prudent stewardship of the natural resources that lie beneath our public lands and the OCS. Failure to utilize these valuable resources has left America overly dependent on foreign countries and threatened our energy, economic, and national security. We can no longer continue on this unsustainable path of self-imposed debility," the three GOP senators said in their letter.

"Decades of experience with modern drilling technology show that it is possible to balance the production of domestic resources and the protection of our environment. An affirmative decision by you not to reinstate the presidential moratorium on US offshore oil production, along with your leadership in delivering a new offshore drilling plan in an expeditious manner, will benefit all Americans," they continued.

The trio also asked Obama to continue the practice of sharing revenue with producing states to assure that they receive a fair share of royalties and maximize the resources brought to market. Twenty-eight other Senate Republicans, including Ranking Minority Member Mitch McConnell (Ky.), added their signatures to the letter.

Contact Nick Snow at nicks@pennwell.com.


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The "Hope and Change" Cupboard is Bare

Posted by Stefano on Thursday, February 12, 2009 8:57:16 AM
The stock advisor, John Markman, who is a level-headed analyst seems to say in his Super Models column today that we are headed toward an inevitable meltdown of our banking system.  The magnitude of bad debt on bank balance sheets is beyond the healing capabilities of the government.  Nationalization is in the cards and I think that the joke of a stimulus plan of the Democrat Congress will only delay and exacerbate our problems.  Our new Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner, has offered his best and has come up short.  Obama keeps spouting off about failed policies of the past and all we hear from Geithner is the same stuff we've already tried.  Old Mother Hubbard Obama has gone to the "Hope and Change" Cupboard and found that the cupboard is bare.  There are no bones for the U.S. economy.  Here is the link:  http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/SuperModels/geithners-first-test-is-a-disaster.aspx
 
 

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Ruin Your Health With the Obama Stimulus Plan: Betsy McCaughey

Posted by Stefano on Wednesday, February 11, 2009 1:07:44 AM

Hidden inside Obama's stimulus plan is a new provision controlling and rationing health care.  According to Hudson Institute scholar Betsy McCaughey, this new approach will have a deleterious effect on senior citizens, particularly those on Medicare.  Former HHS nominee Tom Daschle has said that seniors should be more accepting of the conditions that come with age instead of treating them. That means the elderly will bear the brunt.

 Under new stimulus provisions a new council will be formed named the "Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research"  McCaughey says that "The Federal Council is modeled after a U.K. board discussed in Daschle’s book. This board approves or rejects treatments using a formula that divides the cost of the treatment by the number of years the patient is likely to benefit. Treatments for younger patients are more often approved than treatments for diseases that affect the elderly, such as osteoporosis".

 To see Betsy McCaughey's full article on Bloomberg go to:  http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&refer=columnist_mccaughey&sid=aLzfDxfbwhzs


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Economics Scholars Object to Government Stimulus

Posted by Stefano on Tuesday, February 03, 2009 12:32:35 AM
 More than 200 university economics professors have signed an advertisement sponsored by the Cato Institute objecting to Obama's stimulus package:        http://www.cato.org/special/stimulus09/cato_stimulus.pdf 
 
 
John Boener provided a list of statements sent to him from economists across the nation.  For example:
 
"Government spending does not create incentives for labor, innovation and investment. Instead of spending $1 trillion in Washington, let Washington forgive $1 trillion in tax revenues to create incentives for millions of individuals and firms to get the economy going again, one dollar at a time."
  1. Donald Luskin - Chief Investment Officer, Trend Macrolytics LLC
"It is time for voters to wake up to the fact that government cannot create jobs. It can only shift jobs from one part of the economy to the other. It is entrepreneurs who create jobs, and it is consumers who judge whether those jobs are the best jobs to be created. The government contributes best by establishing a rule of law and protection of property rights that allows entrepreneurs and consumers to act in their best interests."
  1. Antony Davies - Associate Professor of Economics, Duquesne University
"The empirical evidence overwhelmingly rejects federal government deficit spending as the best method for stimulating the economy, and is generally unsupportive of it having any stimulus effect at all."
  1. Justin Ross - Assistant Professor of Economics, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University

"Any so-called stimulus program is a ruse. The government can increase its spending only by reducing private spending equivalently. Whether government finances its added spending by increasing taxes, by borrowing, or by inflating the currency, the added spending will be offset by reduced private spending. Furthermore, private spending is generally more efficient than the government spending that would replace it because people act more carefully when they spend their own money than when they spend other people's money."

  1. Richard Wagner - Professor of Economics, George Mason University 

 

Here is the link to the complete list:   

    http://republicanleader.house.gov/UploadedFiles/stimulusskeptics.pdf

 


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Ten Glorious Days of Obama Recession

Posted by Stefano on Thursday, January 29, 2009 11:57:13 PM
 It has been ten glorious days since the Obama Recession Began.  He wanted it and now it's his recession, so let's acknowledge it with a clock that keeps track of how long the Obama Recession has been clocking days.  With all of the hope and change we were promised, we shouldn't have to keep this clock running for long.   I'm surprised that after ten days it isn't over but don't dispair, instead have hope.
 
Here's the embed code:  <embed name="flashplayer" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://www.pingafriend.com/countup/swf/nature1.swf?then_year=2009&amp;then_month=0&amp;then_day=20&amp;eventt=OBAMA+RECESSION+BEGAN" width="260" height="210" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="samedomain" swliveconnect="true" quality="high"></embed><br />
 
 

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Put the Zero's in Your Letters

Posted by Stefano on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 1:09:15 PM
This is just a suggestion, but I love the effect that the zero's have on my mind when I write them into a letter or a blog piece.  The comparison is: 

800 billion   vs   $800,000,000,000.00. 

Yeah!  That's a lot of money!  And I care about every penny.  Do Democrat Congresspersons pick up pennies when they see them on the side walk?  I doubt it.  The way things are going, with the inflation of our currency, they won't be picking up $1,000.00 bills either.
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Is Depression Coming?

Posted by Stefano on Tuesday, January 27, 2009 8:21:53 AM
Bennett Sedacca, President of Atlantic Advisors, LLC has written a sobering commentary today declaring that we are in the beginnings of a depression.  Business activity is plummeting.  Prices are falling.  Unemployment is rising rapidly.  Industry leaders like Caterpillar and Pfizer are announcing huge layoffs.
 
Sedacca compares our situation to an avalanche that cannot be stopped.  He also points out that with Paul Volcker as the President's economic advisor, we can look for tough times ahead in the mode of the Jimmy Carter years with short term interest rates approaching 20%. 
 
It's an eight page commentary that merits your attention.
 
Link:   

http://www.atlanticadvisors.com/uploads/market-commentaries-2009-01-26-cast-your-vote.-recession-or-depression..pdf

 
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Dear Senator Bond

Posted by Stefano on Sunday, January 25, 2009 12:43:04 AM
Today I wrote a letter to our Republican Senator here in Missouri:  Christopher Bond.  The Freedom of Choice Act is being pushed by the Obama administration and the Democrats in Congress.  With their large majority, it is likely that the bill will pass unless enough of the opposition in the Senate can band together and threaten a filibuster.  That is the thrust of my letter to Senator Bond, and those of you who have pro-life senators should encourage them in the same way.  Please feel free to copy, cut and paste this letter for your own use.
 
 

Senator Christopher Bond                                                                                                                                                                  274 Russell Senate Office Building.
Washington, DC 20510                                                                                                                                                  

Dear Senator Bond:

My reaction to your recent announcement concerning your retirement was that you will be greatly missed. You have been a great senator for the State of Missouri and a consistent voice of reason on the issues facing our nation. I will be sorry to see you go two years from now. I know that you will not coast to retirement but will spend your remaining time in Washington as you always have, working for what is right for our country and for our state.

I am deeply concerned about many of the policy positions of the new administration. Particularly troubling is the proposed Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). This act, if passed, may invalidate large numbers of state and federal laws that are common sense regulations on the abortion industry in this country. The state laws and regulations have been crafted by majorities to fit the mores of each particular state and their invalidation would be a naked grab for power by the federal government.  Regrettably, this potential action by the Democrat party appears to be a quid pro quo for financial support provided to their party during the last election.

My hope is that you and your fellow Republicans will seriously consider a filibuster of this bill. Many additional children will die if this bill becomes law. Many women will be psychologically damaged for life because they were not given common sense decision making information. Many children will be provided with abortions without parental notification. With the size of the Democrat majority it may be impossible to stop this bill without a filibuster.

I hope that the people of Missouri can count on you to stop the Freedom of Choice Act. Keep up the good work.

Sincerely,

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