Stimulating Stimulus

My younger sister called me the other day all excited about the increase she's going to be getting in her check starting in April.

Lynda is getting ready to make a few major changes in her life so she thought she'd change her exemptions and check on how much to expect. Unlike me, she's a planner.

Given the promise from the Obama administration of an average increase of $8 - $13 a week she was a bit concerned about the tax implications. Word is out that tax tables are not being adjusted, so those receiving the stimulus increase may get hit up for taxes at the end of the year and end up owing Uncle Sam.

She is going to realize a whopping increase of 97 cents a week.

You should have heard her as she gushed about all she'd be able to do with her increase to help the economy. She figured that if she saved up for a couple of months she could take a run over to the local dollar store and spend her windfall in one place.

I kind of hated to put a damper on her enthusiasm, but I had to remind her that it took gas to drive to the dollar store.

Now she's going to have to put off doing her bit to help stimulate the economy another month just to accrue the money to cover the cost of gas. Sooner or later all that money the government is so generously "giving" her will add up to enough to help get us out of this hole. You know the old saying, "a dollar here, a dollar there and sooner or later you have real money".

Don't you just get a big kick out of the government taking money from us in the form of taxes, then turning around and giving a pittance back to us? They make it sound like they're doing us a favor by allowing us to keep some of the money they normally take out of our paychecks.

I have my own company. I won't see a penny of the stimulus. Doesn't sound like I'll be missing much.

How much is a billion? a trillion?

How much is a billion? A billion minutes ago Jesus Christ walked on the earth.
(Thanks to Brian Wilson on FOX)

How much is a trillion dollars? If a people had accumulated a million dollars a day since the birth of Jesus, they still would not have reached a trillion dollars.
(Thanks to Senator Jim Demint of SC)

Steve Maloney
DraftPalin2012
SteveMaloneyGOP

73% of us now do NOT want the stimulus (scamulus, porkulus... it has many new names ;-)
Go here: http://moveovermoveon.posterous.com for easy ways to contact senators and to vote on the inclusions you think are the most ridiculous.

Heritage: Americans Did Not Vote for This Plan

President Barack Obama is losing the debate over his Trillion Dollar Debt Plan.

According to Rasmussen Reports, only 37% of the American people favor his legislation. And according to Gallup nearly 80% of Americans believe the current plan will not stimulate the economy.

Faced with criticism of his plan, Obama has tersely responded to conservative lawmakers: "I won." Well you know what? So did every other person in Congress. They all won their elections and their constituents deserve to have their views represented too.

Defending his plan with an op-ed in the Washington Post today Obama repeats his "I won" mantra: "I reject these theories, and so did the American people when they went to the polls in November and voted resoundingly for change." But did Americans vote for THIS bill? A bill that is larger than the Iraq and Afghanistan combined. A bill that it is larger than the entire GDP of India. A bill that, once interest payments are included, will put Americans a full trillion dollars deeper in debt.

Remember, this is a President who, while still a candidate, promised a "net spending cut." And that promise was made October 7th, well after Lehman Brothers collapsed and it was already evident how deep an economic crisis we were in. Obama prided himself on the conservative and independent voters he won this November. They deserve to have Obama's fiscal responsibility promises kept.

Continuing to defend his Trillion Dollar Debt Plan Obama writes: "This plan is more than a prescription for short-term spending -- it's a strategy for America's long-term growth and opportunity in areas such as renewable energy, health care and education." But as the Washington Post editorializes: "This is precisely the problem. As credible experts, including some Democrats, have pointed out, much of this "long-term" spending either won't stimulate the economy now, is of questionable merit, or both."

Yesterday Obama was claiming that the controversial parts of his plan "amount to less than 1% of the overall package." But as he admits today, and as the Washington Post points out, the controversial spending makes up the core of his plan.

Obama concludes his op-ed writing: "These are the actions Americans expect us to take without delay. ... they have no patience for the same old partisan gridlock that stands in the way of action while our economy continues to slide." Obama is asking Congress to approve the largest deficit spending plan in the history of the known universe and he wants it done in ten days. There may well be some worthy government project buried in this bill, but as the Washington Post points out, they "do not belong in legislation whose reason for being is to give U.S. economic growth a "jolt" ... All other policy priorities should pass through the normal budget process, which involves hearings, debate and -- crucially -- competition with other programs."

Through those hearings and normal budget processes, the other elected leaders of our democracy can better assess which spending is needed and which spending is not. Barack Obama did not campaign on this spending plan. Therefore, it is simply not credible to believe that Americans voters meant to give him a blank check this past November, and current polls reflect exactly that.

(Love the Heritage Foundation... go sign up for their Morning Bell! www.heritage.org)

Senate Unanimously Approves Isakson Amendment to Stimulate Housing Market

Note: The most important statement in this release is the very last one (in bold, my emphasis). We need to burn up the phone lines, keep the fax machines in full gear and keep those emails zipping into his inbox. Please join in the effort to kill this bill. - jmd

The U.S. Senate today unanimously approved an amendment by U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., to stimulate the nation’s declining housing market by offering a $15,000 tax credit to individuals who purchase a home in the next year.

“It is time to fix America’s problem, not throw money at the symptoms. It is time to fix housing first. It is rare that we have a road map to success in times of difficulty, but this country has once before realized a housing crisis every bit as bad as the one we have today and economic troubles every bit as dangerous,” Isakson said. “We have a pervasive housing problem, and we have a historical precedent that works. I am proud this Senate has joined together, learned from history and repeated a method that worked by adopting this amendment.”

Specifically, Isakson’s amendment to the pending economic stimulus bill would provide a direct tax credit to any homebuyer who purchases any home. The amount of the tax credit would be $15,000 or 10 percent of the purchase price, whichever is less. Purchases must be made within one year of the legislation’s enactment, and the tax credit would not have to be repaid.

The amendment would allow taxpayers to claim the credit on their 2008 income tax return. It also seeks to prevent misuse by only allowing purchases of a principle residence and by recapturing the credit if the home is sold within two years of purchase. The amendment would sunset the current $7,500 housing tax credit on the date of enactment.

Isakson has pushed hard for a non-repayable tax credit for homebuyers because he knows that it will work. In the mid-1970s, America faced a similar housing crisis when a period of easy credit and loose underwriting flooded the market with new construction. Interest rates rose, the economy slowed and America was left with a three-year supply of vacant homes. Congress responded by passing a $2,000 tax credit for anyone purchasing a new home for their principal residence. Isakson believes the results were clear and swift as home values stabilized, housing inventory dropped and the market recovered.

Last year, Isakson introduced legislation to specifically target those homes that were causing the unprecedented increase in housing inventory by offering tax credits to individuals purchasing a foreclosed home or a home where foreclosure is pending. In April 2008, the Senate passed legislation to stimulate the nation’s declining housing market that included Isakson’s proposal. However, the final version of the legislation that was signed into law included only a $7,500 tax credit for first-time homebuyers that must be repaid over a 15-year period. Isakson’s amendment that passed today would sunset that $7,500 tax credit.

Isakson spent more than three decades in the real estate business, beginning his business career in 1967 when he opened the first Cobb County, Ga., office of a small, family-owned real estate business, Northside Realty. Isakson later served as president of Northside for 20 years, presiding over the company’s growth into the largest independent residential real estate brokerage company in the Southeast and one of the largest in America.

Isakson has not made a decision regarding his vote on the overall economic stimulus legislation.

Latest Porkulus List in S.1 from Heritage (via #TCOT)

* $2 billion earmark to re-start FutureGen, a near-zero emissions coal power plant in Illinois that the Dept. of Energy defunded last year because the project was inefficient

* $650 million for the digital television (DTV) converter box coupon program

* $88 million for the Coast Guard to design a new polar icebreaker (arctic ship)

* $448 million for constructing the Dept. of Homeland Security headquarters

* $248 million for furniture at the new Dept. of Homeland Security headquarters

* $600 million to buy hybrid vehicles for federal employees

* $400 million for the CDC to screen and prevent STD's

* $1.4 billion for a rural waste disposal programs

* $125 million for the Washington, D.C. sewer system

* $150 million for Smithsonian museum facilities

* $1 billion for the 2010 Census, which has a projected cost overrun of $3 billion

* $200 million for public computer centers at community colleges

* $75 million for salaries of employees at the FBI

* $25 million for tribal alcohol and substance abuse reduction

* $500 million for flood reduction projects on the Mississippi River

* $10 million to inspect canals in urban areas

* $6 billion to turn federal buildings into "green" buildings

* $500 million for state and local fire stations

* $650 million for wildland fire management on Forest Service lands

* $150 million for Smithsonian museum facilities

* $1.2 billion for "youth activities," including youth summer job programs

* $88 million for renovating the headquarters of the Public Health Service

* $412 million for CDC buildings and property

* $500 million for building and repairing NIH facilities in Bethesda, MD

* $160 million for "paid volunteers" at the Corporation for National and Community Service

* $5.5 million for "energy efficiency initiatives" at the VA "National Cemetery Administration"

* $60 million for Arlington National Cemetery

* $850 million for Amtrak

* $100 million for reducing the hazard of lead-based paint

* $75M to construct a new "security training" facility for State

Dept Security officers when they can be trained at existing facilities of other agencies.

* $110 million to the Farm Service Agency to upgrade computer systems

* $200 million in funding for the lease of alternative energy vehicles for use on military installations.

* $275 million for "watershed and flood prevention operations"

* Unspecified assistance for "nonambulatory cattle"

Johnny Isakson's response to my email to vote NO on porkulus

I sent an email with thoughts on the "stimulus". Strip it of every bit of pork that can be negotiated out of it, then when it's as thin as possible, vote no anyway. I phrased it better than that... It's definitely a form letter, didn't expect anything more. I didn't suggest any projects as the form letter indicates.

Since I sent me email a lot has happened and things are changing minute-by-minute in Washington. I've read conflicting stories about what's going on behind the scenes so I'm in a wait-and-see mode (although I'm still sending emails and calling Senators).

One good thing that's happening is that more and more people are becoming aware of how little there is in this pork package that will do anything to help us.

I think Nancy Pelosi is going to ultimately be the fall 'guy' on this one. She was SO gleeful when she rammed it through. I was watching as she took the count and they zeroed in on her face. She was gloating, smiling so big I thought her face would crack from the tension. Now she's dealing with dissension in the ranks, possibly an Obama White House that isn't happy with her and a Senate that is busily stripping her Christmas list of wants out of the bill. (see my last post)

OK, I'll quit typing and let you read Isakson's letter (emphasis is mine):

Thank you for contacting me regarding President Obama's Economic Stimulus plan. I appreciate your thoughts and the opportunity to respond.

Recently President Obama has been meeting with Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker Nancy Pelosi regarding his ideas for a second economic stimulus. At this time I am unsure as to whether I will or will not support this legislation due to the fact that there is no bill text to evaluate at this point, only constantly changing news reports. My staff and I, however, are glad to hear your thoughts on suggested projects that you believe should be included in this proposed plan. Rest assured I will strongly advocate on the behalf of Georgia projects for maximum investment.

As our nation continues to struggle through the current economic crisis it is important to stay focused on the recovery aspects. I believe the key to returning stability to the economy lies within the housing market. We must find a way to keep people in their homes, stabilize foreclosures and return consumer confidence to the marketplace. Once stability comes back to the housing market, you will see investors and small business begin to reinvesting in job creating activities, which will put hard working Americans back to work. I am committed to taking the necessary steps to work with my Senate colleagues to make this come to pass. Our nation has always demonstrated a strong resiliency and I am confident we will once again bounce back stronger than ever, where hard working Americans are at the front lines of economic prosperity.

Thank you again for contacting me. Please visit my webpage at http://isakson.senate.gov/ for more information on the issues important to you and to sign up for my e-newsletter

"Stimulus" Stats...

Contact every Senator, the Governor (stories are out saying Republican Governors are pressuring Congress to vote yes so they'll get their share of the money). If you think the so-called "stimulus package" is good for America, read the following excerpts from an article in the Canadian Free Press (http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/8006):

Alan Reynolds at the Wall Street Journal also tells us the stimulus package doesn’t even target the groups hardest hit by unemployment.

The December unemployment rate was only 2.3% for government workers and 3.8% in education and health. Unemployment rates in manufacturing and construction, by contrast, were 8.3% and 15.2% respectively. Yet 39% of the $550 billion in the bill would go to state and local governments. Another 17.3% would go to health and education—sectors where relatively secure government jobs are also prevalent. If the intent of the plan is to alleviate unemployment, why spend over half of the money on sectors where unemployment is lowest?

Here's a list of some of the things included in the "stimulus" package:

Global Warming

$2.4 billion for carbon-capture demonstration projects Link
$400 million for global-warming research Link

Government Upgrades

$2.5 billion for the National Science Foundation Link
$2.0 billion for the National Park Service Link
$800 million for AMTRAK Link
$650 million for the U.S. Forest Service Link
$600 million for NASA Link
$276 million to the State Department to upgrade and modernize its information technology Link
$150 million for maintenance work at the Smithsonian Institution Link
$209 million for maintenance work for the Federal Agricultural Research Service Link
$44 million for repairs and improvements at the Washington, D.C. headquarters of the Department of Agriculture Link
$245 million to upgrade the information technology of the Farm Service Agency Link
The Coast Guard wants more than $572 million for “Acquisition, Construction, & Improvements” They claim these funds will create 1,235 new jobs. Crunch the numbers and this brings the cost of “creating” each job to a staggering $460,000+ Link
$200 million for Dep. of Defense to acquire alternative energy vehicles. Link
$600 million for new cars for the federal government Link
$200 million to re-sod the National Mall Link
$400 million for a new Social Security Administration computer system Link
$1.9 billion for the Energy Department for “basic research into the physical sciences Link

Schools

$66B on education, but they specifically exclude private K-12 schools from getting one dime of it. Link
$17 billion for Pell Grants Link
$13 billion in IDEA, Part B State grants to help pay for “the excess costs of providing special education and related services to children with disabilities. Link
$13 billion in Title I grants “to provide extra academic support to help raise the achievement of students at risk of educational failure or to help all students in high-poverty schools meet challenging State academic standards Link
$6 billion goes to college and universities Link
$3.5 billion for higher education facilities. Link
$2.1 billion is for Head Start Link
$1 billion for Technology Education Link
$250-million for an after-school snack program. Link

Social Programs

$87 billion is to be spent on Medicaid, a welfare program already costing roughly $400 billion per year Link
$83 billion for the earned income credit for people who don’t pay income tax Link
$36 billion for expanded unemployment benefits Link
$20 billion for increased food stamps, including lifting restrictions on how long welfare dependents can receive food stamp benefits. Link
$6 billion program to “weatherize modest-income homes Link
$5 billion is devoted to public housing Link
$3 billion for health care prevention and wellness programs, such as childhood immunizations and other state and local public health programs Link
$2 billion is to be spent on Child Care Development Block Grants, which provide day care. Link
$1.7 billion is to be spent to help the homeless Link
$1.1 billion for so-called federal comparative effectiveness research in regard to health-care services Link
$1 billion goes for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance program, to help low income families pay their heating bills Link
$500 million to speed the processing of applications for Social Security disability claims. Link
$200 million goes for senior nutrition programs, such as Meals on Wheels Link
$200 million for AmeriCorps, to help satisfy “increased demand for services for vulnerable populations to meet critical needs in communities across the U.S. Link
$120 million to finance part-time work for seniors in community service agencies. Link
$100 million to reduce lead-based paint hazards for children in low income housing Link

MISC

New Programs $136 billion of the bill is for unproven ideas—to start 32 new federal programs. Link
$79 billion is to go the states to maintain their runaway government spending, particularly for such spendthrift jurisdictions as California, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts Link
$5.2 billion for ACORN, the left-leaning nonprofit group under federal investigation for massive voter fraud. Link “Community organizers,” such as the left-wing lobbying group ACORN, would get their own new slush fund of up to $750-million. Link
$4.2 billion provided to the Neighborhood Stabilization Fund, which provides the funds to local governments to purchase and rehab vacant housing due to foreclosure Link
$2 billion for Superfund cleanup Link
$1.2 billion for summer jobs for youth Link
$650 million for digital TV coupons to help Americans upgrade to digital cable television Link
$335 million for sexually transmitted disease education and prevention programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Link
$50 million for the National Endowment of the Arts to help “the arts community throughout the United States.
$400 million for “habitat restoration projects” of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Link
$75 million for smoking cessation Link

A glimmer of hope on the "stimulus" horizon?

Democrat Paul Kanjorski is saying that Congress needs to slow down on the so-called stimulus bill. In fact, he struck out hard against it. I hope he's just one of many Democrats having second thoughts after reading all that is included in the bill.

I had set today aside to catch up on the Fayette Front Page. Trying to do whatever I can to stop the stimulus has taken up the majority of my day thus far. I feel so strongly that this is the absolute worst thing that could happen to our country that I can't help but try to stop it. Even if that means sitting up half the night to update the Fayette Front Page and the Georgia Front Page.

If we can't stop the stupid thing, at least let us slow down the process long enough to understand the ramifications off our actions. Have you seen what's included? Go to www.readthestimulus.org or check out the links at the end of this blog.

The initial bailout was acted upon in panic mode and look where that got us! The current bill is every liberal dream wrapped in money that doesn't exist until we take it out of our wallets or it's printed. They want to rush it through before we can see what's being voted on and become alarmed.

Already our actions are having some effect. Minimal, but we're getting there.

Contraceptive funding thrown under Obama’s bus
By Michelle Malkin • January 26, 2009 11:27 PMGoody. Panicky President Obama wants the Dems to eliminate Pelosi’s pet contraceptive funding from the Generational Theft Act of 2009. Only $800 billion more in needless, unstimulating stimulus spending to kill.
http://michellemalkin.com/2009/01/26/contraceptive-funding-thrown-under-obamas-bus/

I just received a House floor update that said they'll be debating the bill sometime around 3:30 this afternoon. I'm hoping Cspan picks it up so we can watch.

Here are a few of the comments Kanjorski made regarding the bill:

"I think we've lost our way in a way ... We shouldn't be pressed by these silly deadlines like, you know, what makes [the] Presidents Day holiday so important for us to get out of town?"

"In order to get it right, we have to spend time and analyze how much is going to hit the street as fast as it can hit the street and I don't think we've done that. I think, to a large extent, many of the parts of the stimulus are programs that are going to take years and years and years to accomplish ..."

"Quite frankly, we're doing this in small stages and small bites. We need to take our time. I guarantee we're going to come back and we are going to have another stimulus, we're going to have another bailout for Wall Street because we are not doing these things properly."

Key Democrat rips stimulus, predicts more bailouts
By Bob Cusack
Posted: 01/27/09 01:22 PM [ET]
A key Democrat on Tuesday lambasted the economic stimulus bill that is headed to the House floor, claiming it was put together too quickly and won’t help the economy in the short term. Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.), who chairs the Financial Services subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises, said on C-SPAN that Democrats have "lost our way" and "shouldn't be pressed by silly deadlines" of getting the bill into law by the Presidents Day recess...
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/key-democrat-rips-stimulus-predicts-more-bailouts-2009-01-27.html

Uncovered: Democrats Seek to Use Stimulus to Kick Start Government-Run Health Care
Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) issued the following statement regarding the inclusion of $1.1 billion for Comparative Effectiveness Research in the Democrats’ misnamed “stimulus” package. The provision provides the cornerstone for a national government-run health care system.
http://tom.house.gov/html/release.cfm?id=446

Top 20 Fast Facts About the House Democrats' Trillion Dollar Spending Plan
http://republicanleader.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=109402
Washington, Jan 26 - Earlier this month, when then-President-elect Obama met with Democratic and Republican congressional leaders, he laid out a vision of crafting a bipartisan economic recovery package focused on creating jobs and fast-acting tax relief. However, in the weeks since that meeting, Democratic leaders in Congress have taken that vision and turned it upside down, crafting a plan loaded with hundreds of billions in spending on programs and projects – most of which will not impact our ailing economy for many years, if ever, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Stimulus Round Up

If you think your voice doesn't count think again. If enough of us call, write, fax, email it's possible we might, just might be able to impact this so-called stimulus package. Go to www.readthestimulus.org and click on the spread sheet they've provided and / or read the text of the actual bill if you can handle government double-speak in print!

Here are some interesting articles and commentary re: stimulus package.

States to win big in stimulus sweepstakes
The House bill allots almost one-quarter of the $825 billion recovery package to states and localities.
http://www.elabs5.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=o1l,44m9,er,a7nj,g6m3,mbr4,k497

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Fed May Gain More Financial Oversight
(By Neil Irwin and Binyamin Appelbaum)

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Republican Leaders Don’t Like Stimulus Plan, but No Filibuster Expected
(CNSNews.com) – Three top Republicans agree that they cannot support the Democrats’ economic stimulus package as written. But aside from expressing the hope that Republicans’ suggestions will be incorporated, none of them said they would work to block the plan beyond voting “no.”

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Nationalization of banks around the corner?
Yesterday Nancy Pelosi publicly indicated nationalization was on the table (Nancy Pelosi - Nationalization of Banks a Good Idea? Yep.).

Nancy Pelosi - Nationalization of Banks a Good Idea? Yep.
Nancy Pelosi was on ABC this morning with George Stephanopoulos. The entire interview was a dance and dodge performance, but even with all the flowery non-answers there were some whoppers that should have fiscally conservative, anti-socialistic, freedom loving Americans up in arms.

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Nationalization Gets a New, Serious Look
Only five days into the Obama presidency, members of the new administration and Democratic leaders in Congress are already dancing around one of the most politically delicate questions about the financial bailout: Is the president prepared to nationalize a huge swath of the nation’s banking system? Privately, most members of the Obama economic team concede that the rapid deterioration of the country’s biggest banks, notably Bank of America and Citigroup, is bound to require far larger investments of taxpayer money, atop the more than $300 billion of taxpayer money already poured into those two financial institutions and hundreds of others, The New York Times’s David E. Sanger reports.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/26/nationalization-gets-a-new-serious-look/

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Treasury's demands on banks seen as nationalization
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government's decision to pledge billions of additional dollars with strings attached to Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. may be nationalization by another name, according to former bankers and regulators. Faced with pressure from lawmakers, banks have shaken up management, eliminated executive bonuses and staff and canceled conventions. They'll be forced to do monthly reports on how they've boosted lending while slashing quarterly dividends to 1 cent a share for three years.

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Pelosi Advocates Greater Government Investment in Banks: ‘Some People Call That Nationalization’
(CNSNews.com) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, describing the U.S. economy as “dark, darker, darkest,” indicated that further nationalization of American banks may be necessary, although she shied away from using the word “nationalization.” Pelosi also told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that investing in food stamps and unemployment insurance would be more effective in stimulating the economy than any tax cut would be.

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Editorial: Congress Must Stop the Stimulus
The $825 billion economic “stimulus” plan now being proposed by President Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats could well result in a federal deficit in excess of $2 trillion for 2009. Which means that it is now up to Senate and House Republicans to make certain that the American people are not consigned to a future of permanent serfdom to foreign creditors.
That is, if those creditors will continue to even service the national debt, now totaling nearly $10.7 trillion. http://alg31blog.timberlakepublishing.com/default.asp?Display=905

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The Heritage Foundation's Morning Bell:
A Conservative Alternative to Obama's Permanent Spending Plan

Last Friday we told you that even by the left's own ideological criteria, President Barack Obama's trillion dollar spending plan would fail to stimulate the economy because nothing about the massive spending increases in the bill was temporary. This Sunday, the Washington Post wrote an editorial essentially agreeing with us:

[S]ome in Congress and the new administration apparently see the country's
present recession as an opportunity to change the federal government's spending
priorities more generally or simply to reward loyal political constituencies.
... [I]t's risky to make new, multiyear commitments in the middle of a crisis
without debate over competing priorities -- and without paying for them through
some means other than borrowing.

Helping hire, equip and pay police, a $4 billion item under the bill, might
be a good idea, but writing checks to individual households for the same amount
would do more to stimulate the economy. Ditto for $16 billion in Pell Grants for
college students, $2.1 billion for Head Start and $50 million for the National
Endowment for the Arts. All of those ideas may have merit, but why do they
belong in an emergency measure aimed to kick-start the economy?...Fiscal
stimulus can be a part of the solution, but only if it is "targeted, timely and
temporary." The efforts so far don't quite match that description.

Our only quibble with the Post's assessment of Obama's trillion dollar spending plan is that it is not quite stern enough. There is nothing "targeted, timely and temporary" about the massive and permanent spending increases in this bill. And the Post left out some of the most flagrant examples. Among the hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending is hundreds of millions of dollars for contraceptives. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) unrepentantly defended this money as stimulus on ABC's This Week:

Well, the family planning services reduce cost. They reduce cost. ... One of
those - one of the initiatives you mentioned, the contraception, will reduce
costs to the states and to the federal government.

Got that? If you want to help stimulate the economy, then Nancy Pelosi believes you should not have any more children. Apparently having less children "will reduce costs to the states and to the federal government."

National Economic Council director Lawrence Summers turned in a similar performance on Meet the Press, defending the above mentioned Pell Grants and police hiring as "good investments."

Neither of these stimulus defenders even bothered to claim that these spending increases would be temporary in any way. The deficit for 2009 is already projected to exceed $1 trillion. If deficit-fueled government spending was effective, then our economy ought to be in recovery already. Obviously that is not the case. An alternative is needed.

The American economy does not rise and fall with the level of aggregate demand or deficit spending. There are normal processes that launch a recovery and drive an economy. These processes involve individuals and businesses responding to opportunities and incentives. Lower marginal tax rates stimulate the economy because they improve the incentives facing individuals and businesses to work, invest, take risks, and seize opportunities. The centerpiece of an effective stimulus policy should involve two elements

- Make the 2001 and 2003 Tax Cuts Permanent: The American public faces a massive tax hike in 2011 when all of the tax relief enacted in 2001 and 2003 expires. It is difficult for the economy to gain its footing when facing the threat of a punitive tax hike.

- Reduce Marginal Tax Rates for Individuals and Businesses: Cutting tax rates by 10% for individuals, small businesses and corporations will reduce the cost of doing business in America and make it easier for Americans to create new private sector jobs.

According to an analysis performed at the Center for Data Analysis at The Heritage Foundation, using the widely respected Global Insight U.S. Macroeconomic Model, these policy changes would strengthen the economy significantly this year. Adopting the Heritage tax proposal would mean that 500,000 more Americans have jobs by the end of 2009, and, by the end of 2010, employment would increase by a million jobs. This two-step tax policy would reduce tax receipts relative to current policy by about $670 billion over five years, a number significantly smaller than Obama's $850 billion and growing spending plan.

Interesting blog on economy, where the world is heading...

Logistics Monster, one of my fellow Read My Lipstick Network member blogs, is doing a series on 'America's Economic Collapse'. I'll have to admit I haven't read them all - yet. The one on Swiss Bank Closing Offshore American Accounts (below) caught my attention in the four-part series (thus far). Interesting points and rather scary, too.

Per the article Logistics cites, UBS is closing offshore accounts under pressure from the IRS. In broad, general terms: The Swiss have always had strict privacy rules that allowed the world's wealth to earn interest outside the bounds of their own country without taxation.

Now it seems the U.S. government has pierced the veil.

While many will be clapping their hands because those greedy capitalists now have to pay taxes on their money, there's more to the issue than just one Swiss bank handing its' customers over to be potentially prosecuted.

What's the next step? Where are we headed in this world? What's going to happen when all the money made by our home-grown businesses and individuals is pulled back into this country? Will businesses start to move to other countries? Is there a mad scramble going on right now to find other ways to shelter money? Is this the first domino or is UBS different because they've been setting up shop here in the U.S.?

This little story may end up being the beginning of a huge shift in our world!

Swiss Bank Closing Offshore American Accounts
Posted on January 9, 2009
According to Reuters, (and this post is being updated), UBS, a Swiss wealth manager, is closing U.S. clients’ offshore accounts because of pressure from the United States Government, and the IRS is benefiting.
http://logisticsmonster.com/2009/01/09/swiss-bank-closing-offshore-american-accounts/

Save a lifestyle...

(Thanks to Patriot Writer via Twitter for finding this video.)

Sputter!..!!...sputter... Obama... $1 TRILLION Stimulus Plan... nooooooooo

I'm astounded by all the money that is being spent, wasted, spread around. It's easy to spend money when it's not yours I gather. There was a time when that wouldn't have been true. Only the ill-trained, the uncaring, those with low standards would take someone else's money and spend it willy-nilly like it was "free" money. Used to be it was considered moral and right to spend money belonging to others with care, with more precision than you would your own.

Not so these days.

I don't think it's real to the people making the decisions. I know there is no way they can understand the full implications of their choices.

It seems as though those in Washington won the mega-mega-lottery and they're determined to spend it all in a month.

I've tried to picture how things are working in D.C. as these people who probably don't even balance their own check books try to decide how to "fix" our economy. There are hundreds and hundreds of people scurrying about trying to be important, trying to look like they're part of the solution. They don't feel like they're doing their job if they don't "do something".

So they're listening to this guy sell this plan and that expert tout another plan. They're wading through stacks of paper which tells them whatever the person writing it wants them to know. Or, in reality, they're having their staffers wade through those stacks and they're just reading a synopsis or getting a verbal report.

I listen to the financial experts on the tube discussion the various problems with the economy, the stimulus packages, the bailouts and related issues. You can't get two of those who supposedly live, breath and bath in finances to agree with what's best for the stock market and our economy. How in the world are those in Washington, who know nothing, nothing, nothing, going to correct the money woes of the world?

Don't you just love the idea of an Auto Czar? Three huge mega companies with diverse ways of handling their businesses, with intricate business dealings, are going to be told by ONE man (or woman) how to run their business? I would suggest that everyone go back and read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.

The politicians are doing what they always do --- throwing money at the problem. It's not real. It's not their money. It has no connection to reality. Especially when you're dealing with millions and billions and now trillions.

Where does all this money come from? Me. You. Our children. The future.

I feel like I'm living in bizarro world. We've entered a world that has no connection to reality and those of us living our daily lives have no input and no way of stopping what's happening. We just pay the bills.

All their efforts thus far have not fixed even the tiniest segment of any part of any part of the problem. Everyone is yelling "do something" and so they're "doing something".

Unfortunately I think it would be better is they did nothing.

Obama's Economic Advisers Considering $1 Trillion Stimulus Plan
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/12/12/obamas-economic-advisers-considering-trillion-stimulus-plan/
President-elect Barack Obama's economic team is considering an economic-stimulus program that will be far larger than the two-year, half-trillion-dollar plan under consideration two weeks ago, people familiar with the team's thinking tell the Wall Street Journal.
The president-elect is expected to be briefed on the broad parameters of the plan next week, with aides still hoping for Congress to pass a bill by the time Mr. Obama takes office Jan. 20.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/12/12/obamas-economic-advisers-considering-trillion-stimulus-plan/

Argentina Nationalizes Pensions

Argentina's pension takeover plan scares global markets
By Fiona Ortiz
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's surprise plan to
nationalize its private pension system caused chaos in local markets and spread
gloom to other emerging markets on Wednesday as investors read it as a desperate
government move to stave off default...
http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersEdge/idUSTRE49L5ZX20081022

My husband is retired military. We've discussed the future on many occasions but have felt fairly secure given the decisions he's made regarding the future. We've felt somewhat "safe" in this volatile market knowing at a minimum we had his pension.

The news this morning that Argentina was planning to grab $30 billion in pension funds sent chills down my spine. When times get tough, our governments "use" the situation to justify actions and the people are helpless to stop it in most cases.

I don't think at this point that our pensions are truly at risk, at least those of the military and of companies who've made wise decisions and funded those plans. However, it's not an impossible scenario, and it's not one I'd have ever considered until now when we're going through this economic crisis.

I am concerned about what will happen if Barack Obama is elected. We will have a majority Democratic House and Senate, a Democrat in the White House who has already told us what his criteria is for Supreme Court picks. It's not only the Supreme Court that is affected by this clean sweep at the top of our government, it's the lesser courts also.

While I consider myself a conservative and will be voting for McCain-Palin, I will admit I would be just as concerned if we were getting ready to put in a Republican President with a full Republican House and Senate.

Our country is one that works because of the checks and balances we set in place many long years ago. Having one Party in complete control is a recipe for disaster.

If you think what is happening in the third world countries and elsewhere around the world can't happen here in our wonderful country, think again. It's a slippery slope and many are making their choice for President based on the sense of false security that our country will remain a free democracy. Many are basing their vote on who is going to give them the most.

Your vote is a very precious gift and I hope that things like race, rhetoric and the current temporary economic situation doesn't cause you to punch a button that leads our country in the wrong direction.

Orson Scott Card Says It Like It Is!

Orson Scott Card is one of my favorite authors, despite the fact that he's a die-hard, card carrying Democrat . Seriously, he is one of my favorite authors and I have lots of friends who are Democrats. We have quite a bit of fun sparring on the issues.

One thing that is rather cool (for me) is that he never has his photo in his books (or at least not the ones I've purchased). I finally got to see what he looks like when I read the article on the Meridian Magazine site... I know I could have done a search at any time and found a photo probably, but I really didn't care that much and once I put the book down any curiosity got closed inside the pages of the book. If you haven't read Ender's Game and his many other books, go grab one. He really makes you think about things without realizing what you're doing! Fun read.

The article below is a great read, and definitely doesn't fall into the fiction category. It is a fabulous article that amazes me. I bet we don't hear much about it given the topic! - Janet

Would the Last Honest Reporter Please Turn On the Lights?
By Orson Scott Card

Editor's note: Orson Scott Card is a Democrat and a newspaper columnist, and in this opinion piece he takes on both while lamenting the current state of journalism.

An open letter to the local daily paper — almost every local daily paper in America:

I remember reading All the President's Men and thinking: That's journalism. You do what it takes to get the truth and you lay it before the public, because the public has a right to know.

This housing crisis didn't come out of nowhere. It was not a vague emanation of the evil Bush administration.

It was a direct result of the political decision, back in the late 1990s, to loosen the rules of lending so that home loans would be more accessible to poor people. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were authorized to approve risky loans...
http://www.meridianmagazine.com/ideas/081017light.html

Financial Crisis, Politics, and Stuff

I listened to bits and pieces of the debate in D.C. about the so-called Bush bailout today. I listened to some more pundits discussing the merits and /or negatives on the issue. It seems to be boiling down to "we have to do something and this is all we have on the table".

I don't like it. I agree with many others that this is another step in the wrong direction for our country. I haven't a clue what else they could do though. They (whoever 'they' may be) are going to do everything in their power to keep the country rolling.

There's a lot of finger-pointing and backward looking, which is good for future lessons only if we're ever going to go down the same path. We've already made the good and bad decisions, and ignored good and bad suggestions along the way.

Regardless of what we do now, someday some bright minds will look back and see we could have chosen a better path, and they'll use it as part of their election rhetoric if they're running for office and it matters at the time.

Our politicians are being inundated with calls saying NOT to vote yes on the bail out. Newt Gingrich is encouraging John McCain to vote no. Barack Obama has already said he's going to vote yes, but that doesn't mean he'll do it by the time this thing comes up for a vote.

Everyone is grandstanding and it's fairly clear that many of our elected officials are simply trying to make sure they're on the right side with those who will vote them back into office.

If it weren't so difficult at the moment it would almost be funny. Think about it. If those in office vote yes, they're going to be bucking the will of a majority of voters. If they vote no and the economy collapses then they're going to be in even bigger trouble as their constituents will say "why didn't you do something?". They can't win.

It could be even worse if they vote yes and things still fail. Money down the drain.

And what about all these foreign countries that are sorting through the dregs to see what they can pick up? How much more of our country is going to be owned or owed to other countries?

Our politicians have also decided to punt on the issue of drilling saying this issue is too big and they can't deal with it at the moment. Do you really think every minute of their day is caught up with studying the books or trying to figure out how to vote on this issue?

I think they don't want it used as a bargaining tool. Everyone is trying to look the best they possibly can during this difficult time and they all want to come out smelling like... not a rose, but at least not smelling rotten. If drilling is on the table at the same time there will be some humongous deals cut. "We'll vote yes on this aspect if you'll add this to the bailout bill." So they took it off the table.

At least that's my take on it.

Unfortunately that just delays something else of importance that could make us feel better about all that's happening. Maybe they're holding it out as something to make us feel better down the road when things are more bleak? Hope that's not the game plan!

Did anyone notice that oil went up? Gee, you think there's a bit of manipulation going on? Kick 'em while they're down?

OK, 'nuff on this one. They're going to do what they're going to do and we're going to deal with it somehow.

By the way, I heard that McCain's numbers are on the rise again. Wonder what that's about?

Oh, and just another quick aside, has anyone been following Joe Biden's foot-in-mouth troubles? I actually like the guy and kinda feel sorry for him. I definitely wouldn't want him as President though after watching his difficulties with knowing when to speak and what to say. It would give the Saturday Night Live crew something better to joke about than incest though.

(Did anyone hear about the despicable SNL skit where they spoofed about Todd Palin and incest? That is lower than low. Can you imagine the uproar if they'd spoofed Obama or Biden or Hillary on that topic? There is nothing, nothing, funny about incest. )

Guess I've introduced enough subjects in this one blog! If you want to know more go check out http://readmylipsticknetwork.blogspot.com and wander through the listing of member blogs on the side bar. They're covering all the political news in a fun way!

Another point of view on the financial crisis

How the Democrats Created the Financial Crisis: Kevin Hassett

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&refer=columnist_hassett&sid=aSKSoiNbnQY0

Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) — The financial crisis of the past year has provided a number of surprising twists and turns, and from Bear Stearns Cos. to American International Group Inc., ambiguity has been a big part of the story.

Why did Bear Stearns fail, and how does that relate to AIG? It all seems so complex.

But really, it isn’t. Enough cards on this table have been turned over that the story is now clear.

The economic history books will describe this episode in simple and understandable terms: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac exploded, and many bystanders were injured in the blast, some fatally.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&refer=columnist_hassett&sid=aSKSoiNbnQY0

(Thanks to http://mccainpalin2008.blogspot.com/ for finding this and posting this!)

Out scouting for Sarah Palin blogs

I took a few minutes to wander around the Internet in search of positive blogs regarding Sarah Palin a few days ago. It was rather surprising to find that Google seemingly can't find hardly any, and can't find any to put on the first number of pages that come up on their search engines.

Now all I hear from friends is good stuff. All I get via email from all over the country are good things. Everyone has fallen in love with Sarah Palin it seems, except the media and liberal or Democratic bloggers.

So, I decided just to try popping in names of blogs with Sarah Palin's name in them to see what the level of support might be for her.

Here's a list of what I've found thus far:

Barracuda Babes for Sarah Palin
Lipstick Smears
Go Sarah Palin
We Love Sarah Palin
You can call her GOVERNOR, Senator Obama
Scared of Sarah
Superwoman Sarah Palin

I'm sure there are more, but those are part of the "Read My Lipstick" network! Isn't that cool? With any luck I'll find a few more out there and will be able to share them with you.

I am one of the many across the country who happens to think Sarah Palin is fantastic. She has done it her own way. The media keeps trying to say she's an "unknown" but geez, I think the country must know more about her at this point than they know about any of the other candidates.

I watched part of the interview Greta did on Fox last night with Todd Palin. She is one lucky lady to have a guy who is comfortable enough in his own skin that he's not threatened by her. You can tell the way he talks, and the way she talks, that they have built a strong relationship and that they are supportive of each other. It was kind of interesting seeing him on the snow machine, winning the race. She was so excited for him. When they talked with her she was chewing gum and holding a little one. I bet she quit chewing gum and talking when she ran for office!

On the issue of experience and the other Democratic talking points we keep hearing... line 'em up, look at history, and she's got more experience than quite a few who've run our country. I was listening to someone on the "talks" discussing foreign affairs experience. They ran down who had it when they went into office (not Clinton, not Bush, not a bunch of others) and then they mentioned those who did. ALL of them made errors in judgement (in hindsight) when dealing with issues relating to foreign affairs. ALL of them had people around them who had great experience in that arena.

I think of being the Vice President or President as somewhat akin to being a parent. We all go into it, or went into it, unprepared no matter how we judged ourselves at the time junior popped into the world. As older parents most of us are able to look back and see errors we made while raising our children. It helps in parenting if you've taken some classes (rare) or come from a family where you had siblings you had to help raise or you kept the church nursery on a regular basis, but nothing prepares you for the unknown.

It take good judgement, a sharp mind, a willingness to listen to others and many other characteristics to be a good parent. Ditto with being President.

I think we give to much credit, or blame, to a President to begin with. We're being rather silly if we think the President is the one who is at fault for our economy. Congress has more power than the President. The President isn't up there making the laws. He can veto some things, but it can be overturned. He appoints judges and those in certain critical positions, then fights tooth and nail to try and get them approved. The entire time he's fighting for those positions decisions are being made and life is going on in those particular offices.

Oil prices are set outside the country. It's not the President who's stopping us from drilling, it's a small segment of the American population putting pressure on their elected officials who are bowing to their wishes.

I know there are some things the government could have done to help forestall some of the things that we're dealing with now. But I betcha that if they'd tried before the crisis hit enough people would have been up in arms that they never would have had what it takes to put it into action. And, it wouldn't be the President who would have had to take action, although it would have helped if he'd been behind it (or given the makeup of the majority, probably would have helped more if he'd been against it!).

I love the way we sit out here judging what people in office do when we really haven't got a clue. We don't know what kind of ideas are floated by our elected officials and turned down cold. We don't know the deals being brokered. We don't know an awful lot, yet we judge.

There is nothing going on at the moment in our economy that resulted from the action of one person, one government, one business, one group. It's a conglomeration of all kinds of factors and to blame the President to my way of thinking is rather silly. There's plenty of blame to go around and a lot of it boils down to pure human ambition and / or greed.

How far off track I have gone! I start with Sarah and end up talking about the ills of the world. This blog might work better in my Ramblin' Jan blog given the way I'm rambling and just barely touching on so many subjects. Isn't it amazing how we can take something so big and complex and try to analyze it in a few short paragraphs?

I watch the various economic analysis shows at times. Just like in politics, there's opposing views on every subject under the sun. How in the world does anyone ever get anything right?

I want to end with Sarah Palin since that's the subject I started out to tackle. While I'm waiting for websites to load or things to download I'm going to continue to see if I can find more positive blogs. I loved the "Read My Lipstick" network! I wonder if there's a site where they list all the blogs? Hmmm... there you go, I have my search direction!

President Bush, Weekly Radio Address

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. New Year's Day will soon be upon us, and with it will come New Year's resolutions. This weekend is a good time to give thanks for our blessings -- and to resolve to do better in the coming year.

One of our greatest blessings as Americans is that we live in a country with a growing economy -- where people can pursue their dreams, turn ideas into enterprises, and provide for their families. It is a measure of our economy's resilience that even with high oil prices and softness in the housing market, we're still growing. In November, our economy added jobs for the 51st straight month, making this the longest period of uninterrupted job growth on record. Unemployment is a low 4.7 percent. Exports are up. And the fundamentals of our economy are strong.

Economic statistics are important indicators. Yet it is more important to remember that behind all these numbers are real people. These people include the entrepreneurs who live their dreams by starting up new businesses. These people include small business owners who create most of the new jobs in our economy. And most of all, these people include the tens of millions of working moms and dads whose jobs provide for their families.

I know that even in this growing economy some of you have real concerns. Some of you worry about your ability to afford healthcare coverage for your families. Some of you are concerned about meeting your monthly mortgage payments. Some of you worry about the impact of rising energy costs on fueling your cars and heating your homes. You expect your elected leaders in Washington to address these pressures on our economy and give you more options to help you deal with them. And I have put forth several proposals to do so.

In the last month, Congress has responded to some of my initiatives. They passed a good energy bill, they passed a temporary patch to protect middle class families from the burden of the Alternative Minimum Tax, and they passed a law that will help protect families from higher taxes when their lenders reduce their mortgage debt. But this is only a start. Congress needs to do more to decrease America's dependence on oil. Congress needs to pass legislation that will help make health care coverage more affordable for small businesses and workers who buy their own policies. And Congress needs to act quickly on the rest of my proposals to help families struggling with rising mortgage payments keep their homes.

Most of all, we need to set a good example in Washington by being careful with your money. I'm disappointed that leaders in Congress sent me a massive spending bill that includes about 9,800 earmarks. Earmarks are special interest items that are slipped into big spending bills like this one -- often at the last hour, without discussion or debate. Among the earmarks Congress approved was one for a prison museum and another for a sailing school. In the last election, congressional leaders ran on a promise that they would reform earmarks. They made some progress, but not nearly enough. So my Administration is reviewing options to address wasteful earmark spending.

As we address earmarks, we also must restrain spending, keep taxes low, and continue on a path towards a balanced budget. And that is what the budget I submit in February will do. You work hard for your money and to live within your means. As you provide for your families, the last thing you need is wasteful spending that will lead to a tax hike. My resolution for the New Year is this: to work with Congress to keep our economy growing, to keep your tax burden low, and to ensure that the money you send to Washington is spent wisely -- or not at all.

Thank you for listening, and Happy New Year