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| zaelunas 3 posts msg #94021 - Ignore zaelunas |
6/18/2010 11:47:04 AM That article was utter rubbish. Firstly, Greenspan admits that the U.S. bears no default risk since all of it's debt is issued in it's own currency, unlike Greece. Secondly, Greenspan obfuscates this fact by claiming borrowing costs will soar, and yet the author admits, "Of course, market participants are aware of our towering deficit, and yet yields continue their long march lower, so that's kind of problematic to his world view." In other words, our situation is not remotely comparable to Greece, and never will be. A more relevant comparison would be Japan, who's debt is 230% of GDP and yet has the lowest borrowing costs in the world and has suffered deflation for the past 20 years. Obviously then, like Japan, the numbers we should be worried about is 21.1% real unemployment, not federal deficits or public debt. |
| zaelunas 3 posts msg #94022 - Ignore zaelunas |
6/18/2010 11:55:38 AM TRO, as far as that preposterous email about HB 1388, it is best to at least do some fact checking before spreading utterly false information to the public. http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/barackobama/a/hr_1388_hamas_resettlement.htm |
| crunkle 54 posts msg #94247 - Ignore crunkle |
6/24/2010 3:15:21 PM A few quotes from the late William Buckley that hit the mark: I'd rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University. William F. Buckley, Jr. Liberals claim to want to give a hearing to other views, but then are shocked and offended to discover that there are other views. William F. Buckley, Jr. Liberals, it has been said, are generous with other peoples' money, except when it comes to questions of national survival when they prefer to be generous with other people's freedom and security. William F. Buckley, Jr. One must bear in mind that the expansion of federal activity is a form of eating for politicians. William F. Buckley, Jr. The best defense against usurpatory government is an assertive citizenry. William F. Buckley, Jr. Idealism is fine, but as it approaches reality, the costs become prohibitive. William F. Buckley, Jr. and my personal favorite - I won't insult your intelligence by suggesting that you really believe what you just said. William F. Buckley, Jr. |
| johnpaulca 12,036 posts msg #94272 - Ignore johnpaulca |
6/25/2010 9:38:38 AM By Dylan Ratigan They Keep Stealing - Why Keep Paying? The dire straits of the middle class of America has made it near impossible for our politicians to keep up the pretense that our current government truly works for the "people." Between the multiple overt and secretive bailouts, the massive bonuses and the circular use of our tax money to lobby for these continued handouts, you can no longer hide from the evidence. When Senator Durbin said "The banks... frankly own this place," you realize it was not in jest. Couple this with recent protections handed by the Supreme Court to corporations to directly influence elections and it can make things seem hopeless for those not on Wall Street or their chosen politicians.Favored CEOs and now even foreign countries get all the printed money they need, leaving us paying both our bills and theirs. And now nearly a quarter of all Americans are currently underwater in their mortgage because of that steadfast honor. If you are one of them, chances are you didn't do anything wrong. Almost all of you were not subprime borrowers or speculators, but merely people buying a house that they thought they could afford at the time. You were just unlucky in that you bought a house during a time when an outdated Wall Street and their complicit politicians decided to use housing to regain the income they lost due to the Schwabs and Etrades of the internet age. You didn't cause this mess. They did. Now you are struggling to make the same payments on this mortgage on your now overpriced home even in light of a crashing economy and massive deflation, all while the government does everything in its power to help Wall St. keep the bonuses coming. Well, it is becoming time to take matters into your own hands... I suggest that you call your lender and tell them if they don't lower you mortgage by at least 20%, you are walking away. And if they don't agree, you need to consider walking away. It probably doesn't feel right to you. That is because you probably are a good person. But your mortgage is a business deal, and it is not immoral to walk away from a business deal unless you went in to the deal with the intention of defaulting. But somehow, even though the corporations are pumped to exercise their new rights, former bankers like Henry Paulson, current ones like Jamie Dimon and -- get this -- now even Fannie Mae execs want tokeep you from exercising your rights. But before you let them (or anyone commenting below) force you into paying that $500k mortgage on a $300k house, ask them if they'll push Jerry Speyer into "honoring his obligation" by breaking into his $2 billion personal piggy-bank to keep paying for Stuyvesant Town? Or how about asking Hank and Jamie to lecture fellow bailed-out CEO John Mack about how "you're supposed to meet your obligations, not run from them"? Maybe make him use some of his $50+ millionfor those buildings he bought in San Francisco? And before shaming and punishing American homeowners, did they nag Steve Feinberg about helping "teach the American people...not to run away" by writing a check out of his billion-dollar pocket to cover all the stiffed landlords and vendors at Mervyn's? After all, at least you aren't single-handedly putting1,100 employees out of work when you walk on your mortgage. As part of the deal for your house, your mortgage holder gets interest payments from you and they also use the note to your house for their capital reserves. In return, they take the risk of a foreclosure. In many states, you paid extra to have a non-recourse loan where the lender just gets the house back if you stop paying -- your interest rate would've been much lower if you were held personally liable like a student loan. But if you still feel bad, then donate the money saved to charity instead of to their bonuses. And when someone tries telling you why it is so wrong, here are some answers: Yes, it might seem selfish, but you are actually going to help fix our country the right way, through the use of pure capitalism. There are 3 parties involved in your mortgage -- the mortgage holders, the servicing bank and you. You probably want to stay in your house. Most of the people who actually own your mortgage also want you to stay in your house, preferring a mortgage reduction that you keep paying instead of the total loss of a foreclosure. But the major banks (BofA, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan, Citi, etc.) that underwrite and service the loans don't care about either of you. They (with the aid oftheir government) just care about hiding their true financial condition for long as possible so they can continue to bonus themselves outrageously. The credible threat of you walking away from your mortgage en masse is the only market-based solution that will force these banks to work with the mortgage holders on your behalf. No, you will not "hurt" your neighbors -- certainly not near the scale of the banksters. Chances are someone just as nice will you will move in and (unlike you) pay a fair, non-inflated price for the house. Encourage your neighbors to fight back against the banks and ask for their own mortgage reductions as well. Yes, it might make getting a loan harder for everyone. Considering the spate 0% down NINJA loansover the past decade, that probably isn't a bad thing. Yes, it might hurt your credit. But with time, people bounce back from having foreclosures on theirrecord. Search online and then talk to a lawyer about the repercussions, which vary by state. No, the banks won't necessarily pass the losses on to customers. They already make a lot of money. If costs are passed on to every consumer without banks competing on price, that's a sign of illegal collusion or a monopoly. Let's fix that instead of just letting banks ruin our lives. They might, however, not all make $145 billion in bonuses next year doing something fundamentally so easy that it is an unpaid job in Monopoly. Meanwhile, our captured government has made it clear that they want to further reward these banksters because there are clearly better ways to "save" the economy without rewarding those most responsible for the damage. Instead of claw backs for the past theft and strong financial reform for the future, they choose to cover-up the gross misuse of our tax money, making our country worse by helping the criminals on the backs of the most honest. But thankfully, in this country we still have the tools to fight back and regain our country. Our vote, our voice, our laws and what we choose to do with every penny we have that doesn't go to taxes are the benefits of our hard-fought freedom, and in this battle we must use them all to fight back. It's time for the citizens to once again own this place. |
| johnpaulca 12,036 posts msg #94385 - Ignore johnpaulca |
6/28/2010 9:13:16 AM The Big Lie: Illegal Immigration Benefits Americans It’s been widely reported that illegal aliens comprise upwards of 27 percent of the US prison and jail population. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection — two agencies within the Department of Homeland Security — claim in several reports that they’ve apprehended over 100,000 criminal aliens whose offenses go far beyond violation of immigration laws and regulations. Sadly, only about 25 percent of expenses for imprisoning criminal aliens is reimbursed by the federal government to state and local governments. This creates a hardship for taxpayers in states with high incarceration rates for criminal aliens. The proponents of open borders or lax immigration enforcement always point to the benefits derived from illegal immigration such as the amount of taxes they pay into the government system. Evidence, however, exists that refutes those claims. For instance, there is an abundance of anecdotal evidence that suggests a large number of illegal aliens are paid “off-the-books” therefore those wages are not taxed. The National Research Council has estimated that the net fiscal cost of immigration ranges from $11 billion to $22 billion per year, with most government expenditures on immigrants coming from state and local coffers, while most taxes paid by immigrants who actually do pay taxes go to the federal treasury. The net deficit is caused by a low level of tax payments by immigrants, because they are disproportionately low-skilled and thus earn low wages, and a higher rate of consumption of government services, both because of their relative poverty and their higher fertility. This is especially true of illegal immigration. Even though illegal aliens make little use of welfare, from which they are generally barred, the costs of illegal immigration in terms of government expenditures for education, criminal justice, and emergency medical care are significant. Californian officials have estimated that the net cost to taxpayers in order to provide government services to illegal immigrants approached $3 billion during a single fiscal year. The fact that states must bear the cost of federal failure turns illegal immigration, in effect, into one of the largest unfunded federal mandates existing today. In addition, according to the Center for Immigration Studies, even with free trade, the United States continues to enjoy a higher real wage than other nations, due to the superiority of US technology. If taken to an extreme and the US removed all barriers to migration, most foreign workers would move to the United States, lured by the higher wages available here; Foreign labor would essentially cease to exist. However, with all labor now in the United States, the prices of goods would return to their level of self-sufficiency, prior to the opening of trade. That is, perfectly free migration entirely eliminates the gains from trade that US natives had enjoyed. World income rose with the migration, but the natives of foreign countries in this case received more than all of this rise, since the income of US natives declined. With the world’s majority of low-wage workers in the US, there would be tremendous damage to free trade and its benefits, with US middle and upper-middle class workers suffering the brunt of declining wages. The urge for a utopian state of existence and a desire to make all things equal by the American Left has given way to a desire simply to make all things equal sans utopia. In their passion for a neo-Marxist level for the masses, they’ve decided consciously or subconsciously that if they could not bring the World’s population up to the American level of prosperity and wealth, then they will bring US citizens down to the World’s level of poverty and misery. For this is a result of seeing free trade as a zero-sum entity, and self-alienation of the American Left from their own country, the USA. The problem isn’t about the need for new laws; the problem is about the lack of enforcement of existing laws. The US Constitution provides the executive branch with a number of inherent powers such as the enforcement of immigration laws. The Constitution also mandates that the President protect American sovereignty and the American people. That is the number one priority for our government — of it should be. And congress is mandated to provide domestic tranquility for Americans. Criminal alien gangbangers do not add to our domestic tranquility. Why is it suddenly necessary for congress to pass laws on illegal immigration when we haven’t been enforcing the laws that already exist. The executive branch has the power to add border agents, equipment and other resources. The President has the power to use the military if necessary to enhance border protection. Passing laws is an easy, painless process. The trick is to enforce those laws. And why isn’t the US government arresting illegal aliens while they are protesting in our city’s streets all across the country? The protest organizers, are said to be sponsored by left-wing groups including Open Borders and MEChA, are protesting the border security bill that passed the US House of Representatives in December and is still awaiting passage by the US Senate. The University of Texas at El Paso recently conducted a study that found the following: Treating illegal immigrants in hospitals accounts for nearly one quarter of the uncompensated costs at border county hospitals in Cochise County. That county in Arizona spends tens of thousands of dollars just picking up trash left at campsites by these illegals. Prosecuting and jailing illegals costs this county an additional $5 million a year. And 25 percent of Cochise County’s budget is paid for health care for the uninsured, the majority of whom are illegally in the country. In another study of a sample group of 55,000 criminal aliens, it was discovered they accounted for over 400,000 arrests and more than 700,000 criminal acts including felonies. In Los Angeles, the city that’s hosting the protest — which was whole-heartedly endorsed by its mayor — 95% of the outstanding arrest warrants for homicides are for illegal aliens and 65% of all felony warrants are for so-called undocumented immigrants. Are they committing the crimes Americans won’t commit? Sources: National Criminal Justice Research Service, Department of Justice, The Center for Immigration Studies, National Institute of Justice |
| johnpaulca 12,036 posts msg #94391 - Ignore johnpaulca |
6/28/2010 1:14:34 PM I thought it was appropriate to put this here: HOW TO SELL TOOTHBRUSHES The kids filed into class Monday morning. They were very excited. Their weekend assignment was to sell something, then give a talk on productive salesmanship. Little Sally led off: "I sold Girl Scout cookies and I made $30," she said proudly, "My sales approach was to appeal to the customer's civil spirit and I credit that approach for my obvious success." "Very good," said the teacher. Little Jenny was next: "I sold magazines," she said, "I made $45 and I explained to everyone that magazines would keep them up on current events." "Very good, Jenny," said the teacher.. Eventually, it was Little Johnny's turn. The teacher held her breath ... Little Johnny walked to the front of the classroom and dumped a box full of cash on the teacher's desk. "$2,467," he said. "$2,467!" cried the teacher, "What in the world were you selling?" "Toothbrushes," said Little Johnny. "Toothbrushes!" echoed the teacher, "How could you possibly sell enough tooth brushes to make that much money?" "I found the busiest corner in town," said Little Johnny, "I set up a Dip & Chip stand and gave everybody who walked by a free sample." They all said the same thing.......... "Hey, this tastes like dog shit!" Then I would say, "It Is dog shit. Wanna buy a toothbrush?" "I used the governmental approach of giving you something shitty for free, and then making you pay to get the shitty taste out of your mouth." |
| TheRumpledOne 6,411 posts msg #94415 - Ignore TheRumpledOne |
6/29/2010 9:56:24 AM Gotta love Little Johnny! |
| heypa 283 posts msg #94443 - Ignore heypa |
6/30/2010 10:17:09 AM Little Johnnie sure is creative. |
| TheRumpledOne 6,411 posts msg #94507 - Ignore TheRumpledOne modified |
7/2/2010 2:03:48 PM We do NOT need immigration reform. We need immigration ENFORCEMENT. Simple solution. 1) Give all companies 30 day notice that if they are caught employing any illegal alien then their business assets will be seized and the owner of the company will be jailed. Result: Illegal aliens cannot earn money and have one less reason to come here. Unemployment goes down because companies would have to hire legal workers. 2) Require proof of status for all public services like water, gas, electric, phone, food stamps, school enrollment, drivers' license, voting, etc. Result: Illegal aliens can not use services and have one less reason to come here. 3) Require proof of status to rent or buy property. Result: Illegals have no place to live and have one less reason to come here. If you leave food out, you get cockroaches. If the food source is removed, the cockroaches leave or perish. Simple solution. |
| TheRumpledOne 6,411 posts msg #94555 - Ignore TheRumpledOne |
7/5/2010 10:21:42 AM MORE TAXES = LESS FREEDOM. Ponder that. |
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