Sunday, June 28, 2009

FDIC.gov

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) preserves and promotes
public confidence in the U.S. financial system by insuring deposits in banks and
thrift institutions for at least $250,000; by identifying, monitoring and addressing
risks to the deposit insurance funds; and by limiting the effect on the economy
and the financial system when a bank or thrift institution fails.

An independent agency of the federal government, the FDIC was created in
1933 in response to the thousands of bank failures that occurred in the 1920s
and early 1930s.

The FDIC is funded by premiums that banks and thrift institutions pay for deposit
insurance coverage and from earnings on investments in U.S. Treasury securities.
These premiums have been raised substantially since the insured limit was raised
from $100,000 to $250,000 until 1 Jan 2014. An additional assessment was made
this year based on ASSETS - not deposits - of the bank. This is a cost passed on to
stockholders or bank customers.

With an insurance fund totaling more than $17.3 billion, the FDIC insures more than
$4 trillion of deposits in U.S. banks and thrifts - deposits in virtually every bank and
thrift in the country.

Cap & Trade by MAGGIC

MAGGIC (Model for the Assessment of Greenhouse-gas Induced
Climate Change) is the federal government's own model for global
warming effects. Predictions over 2000 years in the future are
considered accurate! I can only get 10-day predictions for
weather at the golf course - and they are often incorrect!
The president would now be forced to impose the carbon tariffs —
and could only opt out of doing so with permission from both
chambers of Congress. Carbon-intensive imports would be subject
to penalties at the border unless the country of origin requires
emission reduction measures at least 80 percent as costly as ours.
World Trade Organization rules make it fairly clear that
trade-limiting measures imposed to protect the environment
should have the purpose of protecting the environment,
and not to address any adverse competitiveness effects on domestic
industry. The bill won't do anything measurable to reduce global
warming, we alienate some of our biggest trade partners, we risk a
trade war, and Americans are allowed to emit the same carbon
volumes as the average citizen did in 1867.
Note that Clinton signed Kyoto but did not submit it to the Senate
because a Resolution had passed 99-0 to reject it.
Read full article at Cato.org

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Obama Health Care

Is everyone living in the United States entitled to health care? The Obama administration has repeatedly told us about the 47 million who do not have health care. Actually everyone living in the United States has health care. Our laws require hospital emergency rooms to treat everyone who comes to them - including those who have entered the United States illegally. The truth is that the 47 million have health care - they just don't pay for it. Hospitals near the border have had to close their emergency rooms to EVERYONE!
How many of the 47 million are illegals? Of the alleged 9 million children in this group, how many are children of illegals? The SCHIP is supposed to provide better health care for children - paid for by increased taxes on smokers.
Obama says that if you like your doctor(s) and you like your health coverage that you can keep them under his plan - you will just have to pay more in taxes in order to pay for the 47 million who have not paid.
Rahm Emanuel is Obama's Chief of Staff. His brother Zeke is an oncologist for the government at the National Institute of Health. Tom Daschle was nominated as Secretary of HHS until he had to withdraw when the people's representatives would not approve him. Now he will work with Zeke and Obama's health czar Nancy-Ann DeParle to make and sell the plan. These three have formulated the administration's plan and are selling it to the people. They only need 50.1% to agree. Obviously the adults in the 47 million would like to continue getting "free" care (not free to taxpayers).
Until the "Great Society" passed Medicare, doctors were not as well paid. Since taxpayers have guaranteed payment, health care costs have risen dramatically. Many unnecessary tests and procedures have been done not just to protect against malpractice suits but also to get more from the patients (taxpayers). Zeke says that heath care costs have risen 75% since 2000. That is more than 400% of inflation assuming 2.2%/yr inflation.
The Obama plan includes a Value-Added-Tax (VAT) to pay for the costs. The VAT is a hidden tax. The Fair Tax would fund Social Security and Medicare, but the tax would be obvious to people buying things and would not be regressive because of the prebate. The Fair Tax would replace all Federal payroll taxes. The VAT would be an additional tax.
We need a Margaret Thatcher to denationalize banking, insurance, automobile manufacturing, health care, etc. Just like FDR, Obama is making a recession into a Great Depression. What he has done is unConstitutional and in at least 2 instances blatantly illegal: Geithner putting the $68 Billion back into TARP when the authorizing legislation required it to go back to the Treasury; firing Inspector General Walpin without 30-day notification and justification to Congress. Where is the outrage?!

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Marxism at the Local Level

Marx wrote "From each according to his abilities; to each according to his needs." He also wrote "The first requisite for the happiness of the people is the abolition of religion."
Local "leaders" and community activists demand that we continually increase taxes on the producers in order to "help" the needy. The supposed "fix" for blighted neighborhoods is for the city/county/state to repair - not just pay for the tools - the disrepair.
This is favored by the majority because they pay no income taxes and low if any property tax, but they still may vote for Marxist candidates who provide "free" food, housing and health care. This is seen as the Christian responsibility of "love your neighbor as yourself."
The old Chinese proverb says "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." The problem comes when most of the fish are gone, and all he knows how to do is fish. What happens to the highly-paid auto worker when the demand for the cars drops, and he has developed no other skills? The unfortunate answer is that he becomes a parasite on society - and part-owner of GM.
The first questions to ask are: Why are they poor? Did they complete school? Are the schools educating? Did they develop life skills? Are they moral or immoral - those who have out-of-wedlock babies and divorces are usually poorer?
Programs like Habitat for Humanity provide a hand up and not a hand out and require personal responsibility - sweat equity - from the recipient.
If we teach survival of the fittest in our classrooms and abortion as a right as the means to improve mankind , then why do we continually devote our precious resources to the least fit?

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Has The Constitution been shredded?

When I became a military officer, I took an oath to "support
and defend The Constitution against all enemies foreign and
domestic." Federal officials and Congress take the same oath.
If I failed to keep my oath, then I could be court martialed.
A key tenet of The Constitution is the balance of powers
between the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches.
The Internal Revenue Service has evolved into an
unConstitutional entity whereby the IRS makes the rules,
enforces the rules and judges whether the rules have been
kept and what punishment is due.
The Bush and Obama administrations have used the
"housing crisis" - which was caused by Congress, the Fed and
HUD lawsuits and government threats - to nationalize
American businesses.
"Stimulus money" has been used to repay political supporters
like ACORN and the UAW. Contract law has been ignored to
reward the UAW over secured bondholders. Obama's
justification is "I won"!
Obama is appointing "Special Masters" - Czars - for various
government programs. The people have no input, and each
Czar has unConstitutional powers and is accountable only to
the POTUS.
Smokers are being forced to pay for health expenses for
children. Drivers of "clunkers" that get less than 18 mpg can
get $4,500 from taxpayers if they buy a new car that gets at
least 28 mpg or more. I have a 1992 vehicle which gets more
than 18 mpg, so I am not eligible. First-time home buyers can
get up to $8,000 from taxpayers if they buy a new home. I am
not eligible.
Government Motors (GM) will be greatly benefited if it builds
mostly smaller cars and the United States and Canada
(who own 72.5%) dramatically increase gas taxes ($5/gal).

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Comments on AC Secession LTE

Some seem to think that the South and Midwest (red states) only grow
cotton and have not changed since 1860. Don't they call the North the
"Rustbelt"? If the Conservative States of America (CSA) implemented
the Fair Tax, then our economy would grow quickly vs the welfare state
in the United Socialist States of America (USSA).
Why is the United States in the primary position of disaster relief?
Don't individuals have any responsibility? How about cities, counties
and states?
Secession is not treasonous. Read the 9th and 10th Amendments. The
SCOTUS told FDR that what he was doing was unconstitutional. He
and Lincoln both ignored the Constitution. Check the facts. The largest
Ponzi scheme in history is Social Security. The CSA would be better off
without it and Medicare/Medicaid and taxpayer support of ACORN.
The new SCOTCSA would not have justices like Breyer, Ginsburg,
Stevens, Souter or Sotomayor. The new Constitution of the CSA would
be very much like the current U.S. Constitution, but Amendments 14,
15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 23 and 24 would not be included in their current form.
The bad case law - like Roe v Wade - based on these flawed
Amendments would be abandoned.
Immigration would be strongly enforced and the southern border
secured.
We would seek membership in the United Nations, but at the
minimum dues - not 22% of the UN budget.
The CSA would be reimbursed for any monies paid to the USSA
for the support of its citizens - FICA - and any monies diverted by the
USSA for our portion of bailouts of failed USSA entities - Fannie Mae,
Freddie Mac, GM, AIG, etc.