Why I am Angry

The Kansas City Star’s front page article recently was about anger of town hall meeting participants. They only partially got right why people are angry in the first place. I agree that many people are acting rather stupidly by comparing Obama to Hitler, but our anger is very real and the actions of a class of morons should not diminish that fact. I am also disturbed that the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has the gall to call the anger an astro-turf movement. There is nothing fake about the anger; let me tell you why I am angry, and I don’t need some schmuck from a right-wing organization to coach me either:

We, the people, feel we no longer have a voice. We call our elected representatives in Washington, D.C. to tell them in overwhelming numbers that we do not support TARP or a stimulus plan and they refuse to listen and pass those measures anyway. We are suffering through a terrible economic downturn and are cutting back our own spending habits while the Washington, D.C. crowd continues to dole out the pork. They give themselves a pay raise while millions of jobs are being lost. They decide that health care reform is needed immediately, which I agree it is, but they try and ram through complex legislation that they have no time to read, no one really understands and it does not even include the basics like tort reform. It appears that over and over again, legislation is being written by special interests for special interests and not for the people. Meanwhile our national debt continues to increase to an unfathomable $12 trillion, the budget deficit for this year alone is nearly $2 trillion, and we pay over $300 billion a year in interest on debt. A recent Kansas City Star article stated that the latest forecast from 2010 to 2019 estimated an additional $9 trillion budget deficit for a potential national debt of more than $21 trillion. How are we supposed to dig ourselves out of that hole? Washington, D.C. is not making tough decisions for fear of the political ramifications; rather they continue to pass legislation that is dubiously funded by increasing the taxes on the “rich” while ignoring the very real long-term fiscal consequences. They are intent on a carbon cap and trade system, which some have argued will not do anything against “global warming” and it gives away most of the initial credits instead of charging for them (again special interests and their influence). They institute a cash-for-clunkers program that is not well administered and is nothing more than a car bubble akin to the housing bubble. At a time when more and more people are getting back to basics they seem to be running in the opposite direction.

I have no ties to the “invisible hand” supposedly behind all the “manufactured” outrage. I am an independent voter that despises the republican and democrat parties. I worry what the future has in store for my children because I see that they will have it very hard if we continue down the road we are currently on. Our elected officials consistently refuse to change course. It is simply unsustainable to continue to run this country the way they are doing. It is not working and the rest of the world is beginning to see that. And I refuse for my children to be sold into debt bondage because of the ambivalence, ignorance, and arrogance of our elected officials. They seem to be more concerned with getting their names on bridges and buildings than doing the right thing.

Gee, I wonder why we are angry.

“Your silence gives consent.” - Plato

Welcome President, er, Chairman Obama

Senator and future President of the United States of America Barack Obama promises a change from the last 8 years of Bush. I believe he will deliver that change. It is just not the type of change that you and I are really expecting. It is not the type of leadership this country needs in the face of an unprecedented economic turmoil. Not that that old guy would be any better. We basically have a leadership and intellectual vacuum in D.C.; unfortunately I am ninety percent certain that Obama will be elected because cultural change is more important than substantive issues like debt, deficits, and fiscal responsibility.

The last 8 years of Bush were all about tax cut and spend. How will Obama change that? Will he cut spending? No. He will increase spending by billions taking the nearly $500 billion budget deficit for fiscal year 2008 and increase it at a time we need to be cutting spending across the board including the military. Neither candidate does not take into account the trillions spent trying to “save” the system (oh wait, that was “printed” money – my mistake that doesn't count).

Will he increase taxes? Yes and No and Yes. Those making more than $250,000 a year or the top 5% of income earners (those making more than $150,000) will pay more, (not sure which number he means) but those making next to nothing will get money. However, Obama will make plant food (CO2) a major pollutant and likely enact cap-and-trade of plant food (CO2). The dirty, little secret on that is that all our energy prices will sky rocket hitting every income class. Obama giveth with one hand and taketh with the other.

Another change under an Obama administration will be reverting to Woodrow Wilson era politics where those critical of the administration will be silenced. We already have seen the beginnings of that with the handling of Joe the Plumber. An innocent question about Obama's tax policies by "one of us" leads the press to investigate Joe's taxes and licensing. It turns out that all of a sudden Joe needs to be silenced and discredited. Wouldn't you know it, Joe owes back taxes. Never mind that a member of the United States senate, Senator Rangel (D), owed back taxes recently too, but then again he did not have the audacity to question Obama’s policies. Obama had the arrogance to say that he never heard of any plumbers making $250,000. I suppose only elitists with degrees from Harvard and Presidents of the United States are allowed to make that much. How out of touch can he possibly get? He obviously has never run a business or knows anything about running a business based on a comment like that.

Now Obama by himself with a republican controlled house and senate may be held in check and things like the Fairness Doctrine would never see the light of day. Unfortunately, we have the dumb leading the dumber. The combination of Pelosi and Reid will make a nasty three-headed monster that should keep any child from getting a good nights rest. The Obalosied tax monster is coming for your pocket book. Oh, it is a nice monster to poor people, but you rich people better watch out. The Obalosied monster will have the audacity to steal from your pocketbook in the middle of the day. Wow, I really am looking forward to the next 2 to 4 years. If you thought things were rough now, just wait, worse is around the corner.

We are so screwed. Thanks for nothing democrats and republicans. You both have put us in an untenable position. Instead of being so self-absorbed in your party’s power you should have been looking out for America. You should have been leading and not pandering. I hope you can look in your children and grandchildren in the eyes and know that you had a chance to turn the tide, but you chose to be selfish. Thanks for nothing, now go to hell.

Under Cover of Darkness...

Disgust and revulsion are only a couple terms that come close to describing how I feel about the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, also known as the “bail out plan”. This terribly crafted and short-sighted legislation is being rammed down our throats. Thankfully, a good number of democrats and republicans voted against the “bail out plan”. Please thank your representative for voting against it if they happen to have done that. If your representative voted for it, well you know what to do on November 4, 2008 to show your “appreciation” for their stupidity.

The same President Bush that cried out that Iraq was a major threat to the United States came on the radio this morning on my drive to work and claimed the sky is falling. He claims we need to implement immediate measures or we will suffer dire consequences. You really have to question his motivation here. So what if the Dow dropped 777 points in one day (an estimated $1 trillion in paper money – all I hear are crickets chirping); it went back up 485 points the next day. The markets are based on emotion not reality and not a good indicator to base economic policy on.

Most folks in the know look at the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) to determine how the credit markets fair. The LIBOR is the interest rate at which large international banks are willing to lend each other money on a short-term basis. Many home equity lines of credit, small business loans and student loans also use LIBOR as an index, and this interest rate has been increasing which makes loans more expensive.

I do not believe President Bush. How can you trust Secretary Paulson after what is coming out with regard to the AIG bailout? Speaker Pelosi is utterly clueless. I have no faith that Senator Reid knows what he is doing. They are politicians first and foremost and care more for their own backsides than what is best for America. This is a housing bubble of an estimated $8 trillion of which only $4 to $5 trillion has been lost – meaning more losses to come. We should be very skeptical and extremely suspicious of anyone using the argument that we will make money from this deal. They screwed up and we are supposed to look the other way and pick up the stinking pile of crap they left for us? No thanks.

Dean Baker from the Center for Economic Policy Research was on C-SPAN talking about the failed bail out. He penned a plan that makes more sense than what Bush and company are proposing. There is absolutely no reason to rush into this. Most reasonable economists agree and would rather see a fiscal stimulus such as investing in infrastructure and direct intervention by trying to work with home owners on the edge rather than sending hundreds of billions through the financial institutions. Let the failed financial institutions hang.

Now the Senate is set to vote on their plan (read: push their failed policies) on Wednesday, 1 October 2008. The Senate will call up H.R. 1424: Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, the text of which will be substituted with the economic rescue plan (a Dodd amendment which must have the consent of both the Majority and Minority Leaders).

Other than the bailout, what does their plan include?

• Raises federal deposit insurance (FDIC) limits to $250,000 from $100,000
• Adds a set of popular business tax breaks
• Adds legislation to prevent more than 20 million middle-class taxpayers from feeling the bite of the alternative minimum tax

A little bit of sugar with a whole lot of poison. Please call your senators and send them a message loud and clear that we do not like this plan and would rather see it defeated.

Photo by KCThinker, Butterfly - Omaha Zoo