A Million Millionaires

(And the effort begins… “Obama’s Stocks“?  A Bloomberg “business” story with no mention of Inflation due to the Quadrupling of the Money supply.  Drudge led with this today… And I’m following up with a purposeful repost from 011513)

What you are about to see…

In a couple of years or less there will be news stories touting the flood of new Millionaires.  It will be attributed to the Brilliance of the President’s Socialist economic policies which are Keynesian in nature.

This will happen.

But what will be left out is that a Million dollars will buy you a loaf of bread.

While that will hopefully be an exaggeration, the cost of basic necessities has almost doubled since the President took office and there appears to be no end in sight.

The general public has… I would say “no understanding” but that might be generous… a negative, or less than any, understand of the relationship between a dollar and a dollars buying power.
One must first understand that the only reason a “Million Dollars” means anything is because of what it can buy… not because it’s a big number. I possess a Zimbabwe 1-Trillion Dollar note. This does not make me rich. It has no buying power, so aside from its representation of what we as a country are headed for, it has no value. It’s worthless. And… it’s WAY more than a Million Dollars.
We need to be ready for all the stories about recovery using inflated dollars to substantiate them. I hear the presses being inked as I tap this out.

Considering the Left is willing to equate anyone trying to stop irresponsible spending and the subsequent destruction of the greatest nation on the planet to slavery… you know the stories are being written right now.

Because no one wants to read about economic collapse…

Get your wheel barrows ready… you might have to go to the store for bread.

But we’ll be Millionaires!

And the Left will take credit… unless we see it for what it is, then they’ll blame everyone else.

Advertisement

The Establishment had Their Chance

In fact, The Establishment wing of the Republican Party has had 60 years of chances… and they are responsible for where we are as a Country.

I just listened to an analysis of what occurred over the Government Shutdown debate and the Debt Ceiling Debacle. The conclusion of the commentator was that “the old guard” of the Republican Party is putting down the rebellion of the youngsters newly elected to office. He went on to say that the “old guard” agrees with the newly elected representatives but they have worked hard to set up their seniority and simply don’t agree with the tactics the new guard is employing.

Well… The old guard’s tactics have landed us with a Bankrupted Entitlement system, an uncontrollable Spending Habit and a Government Bureaucracy which is unanswerable to the electorate.

There is NO objective assessment of the actions taken over the last 60 years by the Establishment Republicans that could lead one to believe they AGREE with the new guard in any way. In fact, the only conclusion a person could come to is that the Establishment AGREES with the Leftists in the opposition party… because they are rewarded by that party for doing so, and then by the folks at home because they are not paying attention.

We are here precisely because of the Old Guard of the Republican Party. Period.

Socialist ideas never win favor when understood. This is why the Old Guard of the Republican Party is so important to the Democrats. They need them in order to advance their agenda.

Folks, we are in deep. Very, very deep.

The Karl Rove’s, Dana Perino’s, John McCain’s, Mitch McConnell’s, Peter Kings and the rest of the Establishment Club are to blame.

And subsequently, WE are to blame for our inattentiveness. We are to blame for sending them back to office year after year. WE are to blame for not learning what Freedom and Liberty of the Individual means as intended by the Creators of this country. WE are to blame for not understanding Natural Law.

All of our ignorance has allowed the Establishment Republicans to come to power and aid the Liberal Progressives reshape this country into a demonstrably horrible European Social Democracy. Our ignorance has allowed our supposed representative to ignore the Constitution and the limits specifically written within it to protect us from them.

I’m finished pointing the finger at the Leftists.  While needing to be defeated, they do not hide behind Enlightenment Ideology.  They are perfectly happy to embrace governing theory born out of a decaying feudal system and frightened aristocracy.  They will always embrace the Elitist worldview which relegates you to a permanent class of servile know nothings.  In their minds you’re too stupid anyway so why waste time explaining themselves to you?  You might learn something and become far less useful.

However the Establishment Republicans, the RINO’s or Republicans in Name Only, do hide behind a philosophy which most of us believe in and I live by.

Yet, We continue to stand by and do nothing.

I have two suggestions:

1. Start drinking.
2. Start paying attention and learning everything you can about everything I just typed then call these insidious clowns to the carpet.

If you think I’m wrong… prove it.

I’ll wait right here.

Post the Bill!

In a Bipartisan Move the House of Representative should deliver on Barack Obama’s promise of the Most Transparent Administration in History.

It’s Time for the House of Representatives to Go to the People.

Whatever Bill they come up with on this eve of coming face to face with the debt limit they should post it online for all to see.

I believe I can speak for all of us when I say “We will Read It”.

Then, when the Senate begins slicing and dicing it, adding poison pills and changing the language, they House should modify the online post to reflect the change is (while leaving the previous language crossed out) and who is responsible for it… real-time.

Allow the American People to see what is going on.

And, prevent genuinely horrible Socialists like Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid from charging up to the podium and declaring the bill dead on arrival because is terrible for the country and the people advocating it are terrorists… when none of us know what’s in the bill.

Not only would it allow us to judge for ourselves if what’s in the bill is truly “terrorism” as the Progressives like to describe anything which is anti-socialist, but it would allow for far more interesting questions posed to the likes of Pelosi, Reid and the President after they are finished with their inflammatory rhetoric.

By golly, if I’m the Boston Strangler I want at least to know why.  Now THAT would be some faith and good credit.

Of course The House would have to step around Peter King and John McCain… because that’s just not how things are done in their preferred type of government.

Hearding the Crimson Cats

It must be frustrating to be a Socialist in the United States right now…

So close!  So very close…

And yet there is fear.

While Democratic Socialism is imploding in Europe, the true believers continue to push forward.   While “austerity”, which used to be known as fiscal responsibility, is being proposed in order to save the EU from a complete meltdown the Socialists will have none of it.  (The Socialist Party will secure the majority in the parliament of France this week.)

The Left is determined to destroy the current paradigm in Europe (just as they are in the U.S. and elsewhere) but they are getting in the way of a much larger goal.

In their refusal to listen to (take orders from) President Obama they are giving the entire world a glimpse of what they really want.  The total and complete collapse of everything remotely resembling free-markets and individual rights.  It is desirable to them… it is their stated goal… not something to be avoided or concerned about.  Marxists will tell you that in order to rebuild you must first have a “clean” canvas.  Marx told us that the complete collapse of Capitalism is what must happen before the Social Utopia will be realized.

We (non-socialists) watch what is going on in disbelief.  We “can’t” (don’t want to) believe that there are people out there who wish to destroy our way of life so that they can design it the way they think is best.  It seems beyond our comprehension, but it is not… we just don’t want to confront what that really means.  And we don’t want to think of what that would require of us… how we see our friends who espouse liberal ideas… the energy we will have to expend in trying to stay informed and aware… the sacrifices and personal responsibility we will have to shoulder in order to protect our way of life.  It’s uncomfortable.

But no matter how we want to “feel” about it, there is an ideological war going on, and it has been for 100 years.  Free-market Capitalism has been incrementally losing for all of that time.  The European Social Democrats finally see their opportunity to seize the day and have fully committed.  The Free-Market Capitalists are nowhere to be seen.

However, President Obama sees clearly that the American people are watching.  The 24-hour news cycle, government caused housing catastrophe and individuals involvement in the markets through their 401k’s have provided them with a better understanding of trade and economics.  (Getting better everyday.)  This better understanding is leading them to see the conflict in front of them.  The conflict of two mutually exclusive ideas.  Socialism (the ideology of subjugation) vs. Capitalism (the ideology of individual freedom).

Here is the risk for the U.S. Left: The voters might come to their senses before we pass the point of no return.  This possibility has our homegrown Progressives concerned… if the “masses” in the U.S. wake up soon enough, through the election process they could begin rolling back some, most or all of the Socialist scheme’s foisted upon them over the last 10 decades.  From the point of view of Leftists like president Obama et al, this is very inconvenient.  The Left cannot allow this to happen.  Their dilemma is they control the public schools, mass media and an entirety of one, plus most of the other major political parties… what else can be done?  They are relying on you not getting up to speed fast enough to stop them… this is where we are.

(For Anti-Socialists like me…This is what makes the next series of U.S. elections so very important.  It goes far beyond voting for your favorite guy, or the most handsome or best speaker.  It goes far beyond “wasting your vote to teach them a lesson“.  It is really about the beginning, the first steps down the road, of returning to the rights of man and a country our founding fathers envisioned.)

For the Worlds Progressive Leftists it’s about the brass ring.  It’s about winning a war they have been fighting right in front of you since the day you were born.

But U.S. Leftists realize how important American participation in this “beautiful transition” is.  The problem remains getting the world’s Leftists in lockstep is like herding Crimson Cats… they remain red, but keep going their own directions.

In this there is hope.

There is hope… in personal education, and open discussion, of economics and individual freedom.  There is hope in demanding the press do their job and keep politicians in check whether they happen to like them or not.  There is hope in initiating cordial conversations which challenge your friends to explain their points of view out loud so they have to make an effort to think about what they think.  There is hope… if you don’t give up and give in.

The United States is the last country on Earth that is in a position to represent the individual.  The Socialists have control over all the other countries… and how is that working out for the self-proclaimed “smartest people” in the room?

Unfortunately, they would tell you “pretty well”.

Keep an eye on the cats.

(For any of you Leftists who suffered through this entire missive, let me ask you a question.  When has it ever worked out well for the Proletariat?  Pour yourself a cold glass of Moskovskya and think about that for a while.)

(Originally posted 061112)

The Monument Strategy

The Washington Post had an interesting article that should be mandatory reading. It’s a beautiful glimpse into the mind of Administrations and how they view the public.

The ‘Washington Monument’ sequester strategy

By Jonathan Bernstein, Published: February 19 at 4:59 pm

Does everyone know what a “Washington Monument” strategy is? We should expect to see government agencies employ that strategy against the sequester — because it works.

A Washington Monument strategy involves fighting against budget cuts by focusing, and if possible shifting cuts, to the most popular and visible services an agency provides — thus the Park Service would react to a budget cut by threatening to close the Washington Monument, figuring that disappointed tourists would flood their Member of Congress’s office complaining about it. As Stan Collender wrote recently, we may see reduced hours in national parks as a consequence of the sequester, if it goes through. Just now, it appears that the Pentagon is threatening to furlough 700,000 civilian employees.

What this means is that whatever the level of damage across-the-board would impose, we can expect the affected agencies will try to make the damage look as high as possible.

Now, there’s a natural balance to that; there are plenty of things that the government does that are extremely important but are barely visible; no one would notice if no one inspected meat for a week, unless something went wrong. Of course, part of the strategy also involves publicizing as much as possible anything that does go wrong, and blaming it on the sequester (whether, in fact, it really is a consequence of the sequester or not).

Politicians involved need to be aware of all of this, going in. There’s some evidence that some Republicans, however, aren’t fully aware of the situation; I’ve seen references to the small percentage of overall spending that will be cut if the sequester goes into effect on March 1. As Collender correctly notes, all too many Republicans entered the 1995-1996 shutdown showdown with a mistaken belief that polling showing public antipathy to “government spending” would be the best predictor of reaction to a shutdown. Instead, the better predictor was polling showing that the public loves most individual government programs — or perhaps the better predictor was just that those programs are important parts of everyday life for everyone, whatever their politics. Democrats, too, should be aware that defense cuts that may poll well might also produce real, and very visible, pain.

None of which means that Republicans (or Democrats) should necessarily cave. But politicians on both sides should go into this with eyes wide open. Spending cuts are unpopular and this round will be no different. At least, not if the agencies affected have anything to say about it. And they will.

I personally witnessed this During the Clinton Administration.  Luckily I was aware of such tactics then as I am now.  The Shutdown was necessary then… as it is now.

Keeping WWII Vet’s out of areas that are never guarded in the first place is not.

(As an aside, Spending Cuts are not unpopular unless you’re a politician.  And, the “Monument Strategy” was crafted under Nixon for all the reasons above.  Do Liberals really want to find common ground with Nixon?  I guess so.)

The Government is Not your Friend.

Government is Not your Brother

Government is Not your Sister

And Government is Certainly Not your Parent.

Government is your Employee.

So, if you find out your Employee has committed you to Spending Obligations which have accumulated more Debt than you will ever be able to pay off what do you do?

Most Likely you would fire that Employee and Press Charges, priding yourself on your physical restrain.  Of course those “Obligations” would not be realized…

Except… you can’t do any of those things.

And knowing this, the Employee then looks you right in the eye and says:

“I will not negotiate on anything when it comes to your full faith and credit!”

He then goes on to say:

“You need to pay out bills on time.”

Finally he concludes by demanding you extend his credit limit so he can buy more stuff since he has no money.  Or else!

You already have less than nothing…

What do you do now?

Claim Bankruptcy?

Shoot Yourself?

Let Him have his way and wait for the inevitable Doom?

Let’s look at this another way…

Let’s say for the sake of the argument that Government is your Teenager.  Your Teenager has maxed out all his credit cards, is driving a New Lamborghini and Lives in a Mansion.  All of which he used Your credit to buy.

Preparing yourself for tears and excuses followed by apologies, you confront him.

He looks you straight in the eye and demands you buy him more stuff and then let’s you know about all the other stuff he has purchased which he expects you to pay for.  Oh… and he tapped your phone, e-mail and bank accounts…

Here we are folks.  This is not a party issue.  There is plenty of blame to go around.  But just because everybody shares some guilt here doesn’t entitle those now there to continue behaving in the fashion that got us here.

I know that would make them angry…  I know it IS making them angry that we are even talking about it.

But it’s time for all of us out here to be Grown Up’s.  Because there is nobody else who can stop them.

Emancipation and the Debt Ceiling

I just heard with my own ears an attempt at moral relativism that should shock and disgust every individual in the Untied States.
Chuck Todd, while asking the President why he was not using the 14th Amendment to unilaterally raise the Debt Ceiling, attempted to equate the irresponsible spending with the Emancipation Proclamation… “it had to be done when congress would not act…”.
So spending money we do not have is morally equivalent to individual freedom?

Do these Leftists have no shame?

Therefore… being responsible with our money while admitting that we have spent ourselves into oblivion and we must CUT spending in order to remain solvent is equal to, what?  Slavery?  Indentured Servitude?

I would argue that continuing to spend money that we do not have is enslaving everyone and those not yet born to those who are loaning us 40% of every dollar being spent.

Meanwhile back at the press conference:

“You do not go to dinner and eat all you want then leave without paying the check…” – Barack Obama 1/14/13

Well Mr. President… this is exactly what we have done.

It’s done.  It is too late.

Now is the time to STOP EATING… so that we have some possibility of “paying the check…” as you stated.

Sophisticated Sophistry seems to pass for intelligent discourse.

And again:

“We can’t manage our affairs in such a way that we pay our bills?” – Barack Obama 1/14/13

No Mr. President, we cannot.  Clearly.  And what you are proposing does nothing to alter that fact.

Pathetic… Mr. President, you ask why we are having this discussion every three months?  It’s because we are AT THE LIMIT or CEILING of any reasonable (frankly unreasonable) level of debt that could be paid back.

I hear the violin in the background… quick grab some wood to throw on this beautiful fire.  Rome has never looked better.

Finally:

“The public has agreed with me.” – Barack Obama 1/14/13

May be they have.

(An aside… it’s the Debt Dummy.  The Deficit is irrelevant.)

Cliff Diving

I remember my first time diving from the “high” board into the “deep end”. It was terrifying. However, once I did it, things changed. The act became less terrifying with each occurrence.

Is this what the spending addicts in Washington are actually afraid of?

Has the explosion of an already bloated government left us scared and shaking on the ladder? When you look closely at the proposed cuts to all departments associated with the ‘Fiscal Cliff”, or “Sequestration”, it becomes clear that they are far from scary and should really serve only as a starting point. (Not even a good starting point… but at least a starting point.)

Will government jobs be in jeopardy?  Yes.

Will government programs that are duplicated throughout our military taking focus away from more important projects be cut?  Yes.

Will it force our armed forces to rate in earnest what programs are worth spending taxpayer dollars on and which are not?  Yes.

I address the military specifically because that seems to be where the majority of “fear” is being generated in regard to what amount to be miniscule cuts.  When I say miniscule, what I really mean is ridiculously small in comparison to our catastrophic spending problem leading to our obese, soon to be fatal, debt load.

In case any of you are shaking your heads in my wanton disregard for the serious ramifications of “cutting the military” all I can say is… remember that money is fungible. If there is truly a program that must be saved, it will be saved.

So this brings me back to my original question…

Is Washington and all of our Politicians that dwell there afraid of “Going over the cliff” because it will not be a very big deal? Are they afraid that the American people will experience the aftermath and say to themselves “What’s the problem?” to be closely followed by “Let’s keep going!”

If we are serious about cutting spending this is a good start.

In regard to taxes…

If the Leftists are serious in their assertion that taxing the crap out of everyone “promotes growth”, as they claim that it did under Clinton, then let them fall on that sword.  (I was there, and it was a paper tiger in the name of “the tech bubble” combined with a mature House of Representatives that produced what appeared to be a surplus…) but I’m willing to give them a helpful push as sometimes the blade gets stuck…

There is nothing in government that can’t be corrected quickly under the crushing burden of a declining economy aside from new entitlements and abdication of authority from one branch to another.

When the economic health of the United States plummets… we will need heroes, of a fiscal conservative variety.  And, we will need a whole lot of them.

It was cold the morning I climbed the eleven steps and peered over the top of that diving board. Shivering I walked to the very end and peered over the edge. My memory always makes it higher than any cliff I have dived off since…