Real Estate in the 21st Century

On every channel, on every station we are hearing about the debt limit talks and each parties position.  The left thinks the right will be the cause of Armageddon and the right thinks that more money is not the way to go.

They are both lying to us.  Let's face the facts.   Our government brings in enough revenue each month to pay the interest on our debt.  We routinely roll over our debt with new treasury bill auctions each month.  So if either side brings this up it is a lie. 

The debt limit has been raised numerous times in the past few years, each time with the same argument for raising it by the party in power.  Bush said the world would end and the banking system would collapse.  Obama voted against it.  Now that he is the President, he says the world will end too.  They both lied.

The debt limit increase allows the government to continue spending at current levels and actually increase spending over the next year or more.  This is partly due to the massive increase in spending on our 4 wars that are currently going on and the increase in the size of government and a negative balance sheet caused by the stimulus and QE1 and Two.   Just ask yourself, has this made your life better? 

We have massive unemployment, an economy that is really in a recession and all the folks in Washington just want to spend more.

What will happen if the debt ceiling is not raised?  We will pay our debt first, we will pay our soldiers( and clearly start bringing them home, no money to continue fighting on 4 fronts.) we will pay Social Security and Medicare.  But about there we start running out of money.  Transfer payments to states will stop or be delayed.( The states were never supposed to get money from the Federal government per our constitution, it was supposed to be the other way around.)  Federal programs will be cut.(NO NEED TO DEBATE THEIR WORTH, THEY ARE NOT ENUMERATED IN THE CONSTITUTION)  Of course the politicians will lose power because they no longer can do the bidding of the special interests that have helped create this problem in the first place.

My point is this.  Those in Washington on both sides scream doom and gloom.  But we in the heartland can see the truth.

It is 2011 in America, and the Smith family is broke.  Just a few years earlier, the family was doing great.  Lots of income, enough to buy a new house, a couple of cars, take vacations and many other things.  The family wanted it all.  The parents wanted their children to have the best of things.  So they paid for camps, sports teams, music lessons, pretty much anything that the children wanted.  And when the bills came in, no problem, the banks were giving away money on credit and the house, it was going up in value everyday.  So they keep spending, taking out more loans, paying just the minimum on their credit cards, but life was good.

But things changed, the income stopped coming in like before.  Their credit dried up, and the home was on the verge of being foreclosed.  The Smiths come from good stock.  They knew they had problems and they faced them head on!

They cut their spending.  No more camps, sports teams, no more vacations.  They bought food with coupons.  They sold their house and and cars.  They lived "small."    They came closer together.  They learned to live within their means.

Isn't this what the federal government faces?  And to some degree, all state and local governments too?  But what is the federal government's solution?  Take out another credit card by raising the debt limit.   I believe the feds need to follow the Smith's example.  First off, stop spending.  Only "buy" (pay) for what is necessary.  No more special programs, boom, all gone.  Get rid of the house and lower your monthly overhead.  Sale the car companies.   Do not borrow more money.  Live within its means.

It is funny that those in Washington have given us reasons to continue to spend and in some instances talked about spending cuts.   How about bringing our troops home from vacation.  I'm sure they would like to feel the soil of America again.  How about closing some of the billions of dollars worth of real estate the government owns, from the state dept to the military, we waste billions a year.  How about cutting all those subsidies, the smiths used coupons for food, we don't need to give the same to billion dollar multinationals.  How about telling all those countries that we have bailed out over the years to pay up. And of course, no cuts to their pay, pensions and health care, only ours.

No, we won't hear the simple truth, because the simple truth is that those in Washington value their positions over the rest of us.  Welcome to the third world.

Yep, that is what I said, they all are a bunch of liars.

Do I need to spell it out for you?

President Obama, House Minority Leader Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Reid are lying to you pretty much every time they open their mouths.  But don't let the last sentence fool you.   House Majority Leader Boehner and Senate Minority Leader McConnell are lying also.  If fact, all of them are about to lie to your face again in the next few weeks.

As President Obama says it,  "Let me be perfectly clear."  These folks have had years....I repeat, years....let me say it again, years.... to fix this problem.  But both parties have listened to special interests and are on the verge of destroying the America we all love.  They have lied, used political gain as their reasons and finally are at a place where one or the other is going to blink.

We can pay our bills, what we can't pay is the additional spending that will be tacked on to the already huge problem.  And we will get tax increases.  The Republicans will allow a vote to come to the floor in just a few months, trying to make the president look bad in an election year.   He really doesn't need their help.

The Democrats on the other hand, have not been able to put a budget in place for the past two years.  Besides all of the scare tactics, there is not one written document that outlines the spending cuts that are being thrown about.

So as you listen to the talking heads, remember that both parties got us here.  Neither have proposed to cut spending in a meaningful way, or we would have already begun to do so.

They are losing control and don't like it.  They will do anything to keep it.  Including throwing the American tax payer under the bus.

The President is going to start getting really mad if this business with the debt ceiling isn't wrapped up soon.  You see, he needs to get out and see the folks.  You know, his donors.  Yep, it is still campaign season and although the President would have you think that he eats, sleeps and works for you full time, he has been spending much of his time fund raising since he announced his re election campaign.

Flying all over the country, shaking hands, even going out of the country (Costa Rica) to drum up support.  It isn't enough these days just to vote for someone, you have to give them money.  And Obama has been getting it in the millions.

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For example, he has already attended more than 30+ fundraisers, fundraisers in New York. At fundraisers in Philadelphia, roughly 600 people paid $1,250 a plate. The second fundraiser drew roughly 60 people for $38,500 a plate, and the third fundraiser drew roughly 1,400 people for a price of at least $100 a ticket.  Clearly some of these folks have private jets.

Obama has said repeatedly it will take 3/4 of a billion dollars to get him reelected.   No, it will take millions just to get access to him.  A couple of months ago, he met with two dozen financial leaders, all but one a donor to his campaign.  It seems if you visit the White House, you give money to his campaign.  If fact he has granted over 3000 visits to the "peoples" house since his election, but only if you worked for his campaign.

Stop lying Mr. President.  We all know the truth.

Does anyone still think that the Republicans would be trying to force Obama into spending cuts...without raising taxes... if the Tea Party didn't have 85 votes in the House?

Does it take a rocket scientist to see that both parties hate the new upstarts?  They both cannot stand a situation they do not control.  Status quo is being disrupted. 

How ever you look at it.  We would have had a debt ceiling hike already.  We would have a bunch of clowns shaking hands and talking about crossing the aisles.   And we would have no real spending cuts for years to come.  Kicking the can down the road.

In the end, this is not about the debt, or spending, or the next election.  It is about the change in our two party system.  Will we finally have a third party.  Will the Tea Party succeed in its mission of taming out of control spending?  When she loses her job, will Pelosi become an alcoholic at her vineyard?  Will Speaker Boehner get skin cancer?  Will Obama show his true color? Or is it more than just black or white, sorry but that was too easy.

Can't wait for the results!

NO Debt Limit Increase!

One day after the limit is reached, the government will have to decide who and want to pay for.

Here are some ideas to help the situation.

First and foremost... Congress loses it pay and perks.

Let Walt Disney run our national parks.  They make a profit and clearly understand entertainment.

Sorry Post Office, I get my mail from Fed Ex now.

No border patrol?  No problem, just let the border landowners loose.

No money for prisons or Law Enforcement?  Again, let the landowners loose.

Need Health care?  Pay to play!

Sorry foreign aid,  you will have to build your own roads and schools.

Add to that... our military comes to kill now, we don't have time to #$@#$# around.

Really China, we are going to do this..... your on your own now, see how many televisions you can sell to the poor in Africa.

Don't need any school money, we are going to teach the three R's,  reading, writing and rioting.

Save the trees!  No more 30,000 page legislation.  No money, no new bills.

And GE?  Can you get us that 4 billion dollar tax check soon, we need it.  But don't worry, we will let you make payment.

Add to that... Wall Street....now it is our turn.....bend over.

Our political leaders today cannot get an agreement on raising the debt limit, nor even cutting into the massive "one year" deficit, let alone the other debt this country owes.  They are debating over a few billion here and there. 

But are they talking about looking in the mirror and seeing the same thing happening here as in Greece, Italy, Spain and other countries.  Just look overseas to see the true debates.  In Greece, the unions refuse to take a cut, remind you of Wisconsin?  They are looking at raising the VAT tax also, we don't have one but probably will.

Debt ratings are going down all across Europe.  That means higher interest rates for the countries that are issuing debt.  How can they pay off all this debt and still be viable?

The true answer is you can't.  The hundreds of billions they have spent in Europe have only resulted in kicking the can down the road.  How about here? If they can't take care of billions, how are we going to take care of trillions? 

This has been going on now for 4 years.  The only winners will be those that control the markets and can get their money out in time to avoid the collapse.  Have you heard anything about that?  Of course not, we will be left holding the bag.  Our property values are still going down and the banks still have millions of foreclosures to go.  We are looking at massive cuts in government spending, the same spending that supposedly helped us through the crisis.  All it did was to line special interest pockets.

Our elected officials talk a good game, but in the end, they like their jobs too much and are willing to sell out us to their special interests.

I think most of us have heard about GE not paying any federal income taxes.  That news has come and gone, while the media is continuing it's love affair with Obama.  Recently, Obama has been  upping the rhetoric about those making $250,000 or more paying more taxes, or in his words, "their fair share."  This blog isn't about the right or wrong of that position, just the hypocrisy of it.

First off, let's look at what I believe to be the right numbers on this.  Many of you that read this blog, either individually or maybe with a spouse might have made more than $250,000 last year.  And counting your deductibles (mortgage interest, business expenses, etc.) you may not cut your tax burden by a large percentage.  That is, you still are in the same tax bracket.  In essence, you pay a high tax because you sell your labor for the income.   

But large corporations like GE do it differently.  The top wage earners at theses multinational companies, (which make up our Fortune 500) pay large salaries, but even larger benefit packages.  Thes packages include deferred compensation, stock warrants, and other benefits that eventually create the loophole for the executive to pay a much smaller tax.  Items like stock options allow someone to take ownership of hundreds of thousands of shares, which the owner will receive dividends at a lower tax rate.  So, those that don't have the deductions, (which are most of the group) pay higher taxes than those at the top.

And look at Obama, he claims those making more should shoulder the tax burden more, yet he paid an effective rate of about 25% by taking about $400,000 in deductions.  He clearly could have paid more, but chose to pay less, and then blast those that do the same.

This type of tax system and ethics have caused the death of the middle class.  Those people making a honest living are the mercy of those at the top that talk a good game.  And why does GE and other companies make such huge profits and pay no taxes?  They have the administration in their pocket.

There is only one thing that you need to get out of this blog.   The policies of the administration (Federal Reserve) to flood the market with dollars and to devalue our currency has two simple effects.  One, those that have no power in Congress face higher prices for the items they buy, leaving them with less wealth.  Two, the prices of American goods, those that are made by these same multinational companies are cheaper to others because of the debased currency, and  it puts billions into the pockets of those same CEO's and wealthy shareholders, hedgefund investors, etc that have Obama's ear. 

These are the people that Obama truly cares about, and his policies are making them richer, on your back.

Sure, I believe him when he says he is for the little guy, what a load of dung.

President Obama has been receiving only good press on the GE owned MSNBC for the last 3 years.  Remember the stupid comment by supposedly a neutral television host that said" he causes shivers to run down his leg?"  All of that good pub. doesn't come cheap.

Today we found out how much it really cost.   General Electric paid ZERO federal taxes on income of 14.2 Billion dollars.  How can that happen? 

Well, it helps if you hire mostly IRS people to work in your tax dept.   And spend millions on campaign donations to get special tax breaks.  Of course, those tax breaks need someone to promote them....and the best guy is Obama.

So under Obama, we get to pay for wind turbines (green tax breaks and special depreciation) light bulbs and billions in government contracts to GE.  But the worst and most agregious example of being bought off is the President installing the CEO of General Electric to his special Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.  One of the key items they will address are corporate taxes.

So while millions of people who lost their homes will be paying taxes on the money that was lost by the banks in the foreclosure process, GE gets a pass.  Please folks, no platitudes or comments on how great Obama is.  In the end, he is a terrible example of what a President should be.  And those that think otherwise, you are part of the problem.

Guess there are many things to blog about this weekend, but one that has come to mind is the similarities between the participants in the Wisconsin Union Debate and the NFL Players Union and NFL Owners.

One, the unions are asking too much.  Doesn't matter what the argument is, they didn't take the risk of starting something, they all can be replaced.  And look at the results. The children in Wisconsin don't graduate, can't find jobs and in short are like most of our school kids in America.  They can do better, but for some reason(s) they don't and we the people pay for extra schooling, increases in the costs of crime prevention, social issues from undereducated kids having babies and many other things.  Again, the operative word is the People.

How is that like the NFL?  Last year a team that won less than half their games was in the playoffs.  Parity has killed competition and the only way the NFL makes money is on TV.  And TV needs the programing so it is willing to pay more with each contract.  But more isn't better.  Too many whiners, show boaters and just not good players and teams on the same TV that in reality is should be paying for quality games.   How about the owners?  They pay the players millions, make millions themselves but ask the people to build their stadiums.  Want to go to a game, better have $200 to start.  Tickets, food, parking and a few hours of watching the same bad players can very expensive and useless to boot.  And who in the end pays..... the People. 

I for one will watch less bad football this year.  I can go outside or do other things.  I want quality football, not 30 minutes of start/stop action with 150 commercials.   And I will vote for less to the public schools.  With millions of people out of work, I am sure we can "lockout" the teachers and find new ones.  The people shouldn't have to pay through the nose anymore.