Oh, they are REALLY loving us now in France!

Obama was to change our image in the world....hmmm....go figure....not working out too well....

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/world_agenda/article6098836.ece

Here are the first three paragraphs if you don't want to click away...

France has been cooing along with everyone else over the arrival of Bo Obama at the White House, but the master of America's new First Dog is no longer in good odour with President Sarkozy.

Mr Sarkozy is pouring cold water on President Obama's efforts to recast American leadership on the world stage, depicting them as unoriginal, unsubstantial and overrated. Behind leaks and briefings from the Elysée Palace lies Mr Sarkozy's irritation at the rock-star welcome that Europe gave Mr Obama on his Europan tour earlier this month.

The American President's call "to free the world of the menace of a nuclear nightmare" was hot air, Mr Sarkozy's diplomatic staff told him in a report. "It was rhetoric – not a speech on American security policy but an export model aimed at improving the image of the United States," they said. Most of Mr Obama's proposals had already been made by the Bush administration and Washington was dragging its feet on disarmament and treaties against nuclear proliferation, the leaked report said.

Tax Freedom Day

I have partial good news!

Today, April 13th is a tax freedom day for 2009. The Tax Foundation (http://www.taxfoundation.org/) reports that tax freedom day is 2 days before tax filing day! Tax freedom day is the number of days you have to work before you have earned enough (on average) to pay off your taxes. This day is 10 days earlier then last year.

I say this is partial good news because one of the reasons for an earlier tax freedom day is the bad economy which has reduced incomes. Ugh! The other reason is due to tax cuts -- which are always a good thing. Yea!

Anyway, enjoy it as much as you can. This is the last time we'll see it beating 15 April in a long, long time. It will go well into May or June by the end of this administration.

Too big to fail?

We have all now been thoroughly introduced to the "too big to fail" argument. AIG can't fail, Goldman Sachs has to be bailed out, who will save Merrill Lynch? you know the drill. It was the primary rationale that the political class gave us for massive bailouts and we continue to bail out bad business models. Everyone was rattled to the bone with statements like "If you think it is bad now, you don't want to see how bad it could get!"

So the answer of course is to keep spending, throw money at everything, and see what sticks. While we can disagree with whether the bailouts should have happened or not, we surely aren't in disagreement that there is no such thing as a cut back in government, right? When did government ever contract? Answer...never. Washington is the only place where cuts in the rate of growth are considered reductions.

So let me ask you a question...is government ever too big to fail? Answer...never.

All this spending is under the disguise of economic stimulus but what do you think will happen when the "stimulus" funding ends? Will we cut back? You already know the answer. The argument will be that program x or program y is too big to fail. After all, look at all the people that will be hurt if we cancel or cut something. It will be argued that government is too big to fail.

And unfortunately many will buy into the argument.

So the only answer will be even higher taxes and even more rationing. It is a re-run movie folks and it has been played over and over again. So I repeat from my January blog..."we are so screwed."

Read it again here...go on you know you want to...

Is the world loving us now?

Hmmm....we were told that the world hated the US and it was all because of President Bush. Could it be that it wasn't about Bush? Because all this couldn't be about Obama:

• UK, a long time friend, is insulted
• China is sending ships within 25 feet of our ships
• North Korea is threatening war
• India has told the administration to go pound sand over India-Pakistan talks
• Israel is wondering if we'll stand by them
• Russia is snickering at the incorrect Russian translation on the "reset" button
• Russia is walking all over the administration regarding Iran and anti-missile
• Swiss are burning American products in grocery stores due to the UBS banking issues

That's ok....Iran ("I'm-A-Dinner-Jacket"), Venezuela (Hugo Chavez), Hamas, Taliban, and Al-Queda love us now...I feel so much better now and have an overwhelming urge to sing "We are the World"

Government and more government

Here are my quick takes on the State of the Union speech today:

1. OMG, Obama gets a budget too? After all the build up and hub bub on the spending orgy called the Economic Recovery Act ($787B), I completely forgot about the normal annual appropriation bill! Chaulk up another $410B for 2009. He talks about how hard it was to put the ERA and the budget together...come on...how hard is it to spend at will. It's like giving someone $100,000 and tell them to spend it at the mall. There are sooooo many stores...where do you go, where do you start, what do you buy? Give me a break.

2. Energy. Ok, quickly what is zero times two? Hmmm. I get zero. So we are going to double our output from renewable energy in 3 years at a cost of how much? Double zero and you get zero. NO ONE in Washington understands economics. We are sitting on over 200 years of coal and hundreds of billions gallons of oil and we are going to double zero to avoid importing oil. My head hurts with all this stupidity.

3. Healthcare. Need reform? No doubt, but do we really need the Government to run this? Remember anything "free" -- which is what most people hear when politicians say healthcare reform -- must be rationed. There is never unlimited resources to continue to provide "free" things for infinity. How do you ration? Government will make decisions on what health services you will receive and when you will receive them. It is that simple. We know how it works by watching Canada and UK. How many of you truly enjoyed your experience at the division of motor vehicles so much that you want to reward government with running healthcare?

Do three things and you have a different, more responsive, and reformed healthcare system: (1) tort reform, (2) take health insurance out of company benefits, and (3) foster competition.

4. Education. Ok, so Obama was so successful with improving Chicago public schools that it is now time to do the same for the rest of the US. Not. Look into Chicago public schools and the millions Obama and others wasted. Education from birth to 18. That is another OMG moment. Public schools are so great in the cities that we will now bring in kids immediately after birth. Also, what happened to the era of responsibility? Parents won't have to worry about being responsible for those pesky kids anymore...hmm....yea we need more of that....not.

I do like his support of charter schools. There, I can say something nice.

5. He says, "we are not going to pass on debt that they [our kids] can't pay"!!!! I feel like I'm in a twilight zone episode. I love how he says what we want to hear but take actions that are exactly opposite. And we are not done spending yet. We have coming to a congressional committee near you....Auto Bailout 2, Save the Mortgages Bailout, Bank Bailout 3 (call it TARP 2 if you wish), and Econimic Stimulus 2 & 3 double header when the current stimulus doesn't work. We have added debt for our kids, their kids, and probably their kids. Because if there is one thing that is certain, government NEVER reduces. Every dollar we spend in the name of stimulus and stability will continue to be spent in the out years, subject to inflation increases of course, because we simply can't cut from the needy...

Oh, and lastly...what a snoozer from Gov Bobby Jindal. That was a horrible Republican response. There, I said something not so nice about a Republican.

Do you feel united?

Hmmm. I can't help but notice that the man that was partially (or was it largely?) elected to unify us is dividing us even more then ever. What was it that the media was saying? It was something like "his grand narrative will unite this country..."

- rich versus poor
- responsible homeowner versus non-responsible homeowners
- CEO's verus everyone else
- tax payers verus tax cheats
- Smart Car driver versus Hummer driver

Can anyone say change?

And now Eric Holder says this country is full of cowards for not addressing race...wow...didn't we just elect the first black president...the race industry continues...

There is a growing unrest amongst the silent majority and perhaps even over the great unwashed...stay tuned...as Drudge says...developing...

...as Obama says about the economy...this is going to get worse before it gets better...

Barrack Hussein Clinton Obama

Change? Not really.

President Obama is taking a page from ex-President Bill Clinton's book with his statement that there are "no earmarks" in this travesty of a bill they call the Economic Recovery Act. You have to parse his words similar to the way we had to under Clinton (remember how "is" was re-defined?).

Yes, not one congressman added "earmarks" as the bill went through it's approval process. That is because they DID NOT HAVE TO; they already added everything they wanted for every project and experiment when the bill was written. The stuff built into the bill would have been pork and "earmarks" under a normal spending bill. They wrote it; they threw the kitchen sink into it...

So Obama's statement was at best disingenuous at worse an outright lie. You decide which but remember what a lie is..."a type of deception in the form of an untruthful statement with the intention to deceive..."

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a not so conservative outfit, just reported that the GDP will actually REDUCE over ten years with this bill. If we do nothing, the CBO says we would have less debt and the GDP would be HIGHER.

Do nothing is an option unlike another statement that Obama made during his press conference yesterday. It is better to not pass this monster...

Ask yourself why they want this bill so badly and so fast? The cover story is stimulus but READ what is in there...don't listen to how it is presented.

The War on Business and Capitalism

Politicians often bring focus on the issue of the day by conducting wars. Consider these:

• Lyndon B Johnson's "war on poverty"
• Richard Nixon coined the term "war on drugs"
• George W Bush's "war on terrorism"

So it is appropriate for Barrack Obama to have his on war; the "War on Business and Capitalism". But unlike my earlier examples, this war won't be declared nor will "soldiers" be mobilized in a open and public manner...it is being conducted in stealth...but with the tacit support of the American public.

Rest assured, this war is being waged.

Look at where we are...

• Wall Street is taking ALL of the blame for this recent financial and economic crisis
• CEO pay is considered a public debate
• The union sponsored "card check" law is gaining steam
• The Paycheck Fairness Bill has passed through the House
• Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act has passed through the House
• Free trade with South America is dead on arrival in Congress

The list really goes on...

{Sign} Folks, this is completely unhealthy. We are letting the political class and the media lap dogs paint Business and Capitalism as Evil incarnate. It will truly be our down fall when the American economic engine slows to sub 1% growth as a result of their war. That is exactly what will happen because...

• the innovators amongst us will not innovate when they are stifled under multiple tiers of regulations and laws (California?)
• businesses are taxed to the point where it makes more sense to do business in another country (All industries? I give Exxon 10 years to remain a US Corporation)
• overbearing legal costs for businesses spread into our purchased goods and services to the point where we are uncompetitive (Healthcare?)
• unions will force businesses into a cost strata that is not sustainable (GM?)

We live in interesting times. Pay attention -- you are witnessing an unprecedented opportunity to understand the true differences between conservatism and liberalism.

We are so screwed...

Ok, I have come out of my depressive, comative state after the elections and thought I'd brave another political blog entry. Just a short one as I still have a pain in my back side...the wallet itching to get out and send my cash and credit cards to President Obama.

In case you are wondering, the "We" in the title is not referring to Republicans or Conservatives. I am referring to tax paying citizens of the future United Socialist States of America.

Why do I say that?

Today, approximately 32% of the American population do not pay any income tax. Take a look at this historical graph:


Source: Internal Revenue Service, Tax Foundation

If President Obama and the new Congress have their way (and they will...who will stop them...everyone wants him to be successful...right?), this number will reach approximately 57%. The key is point is that the number will be over 50% -- a majority.

Human nature: once people who get free things are a majority, they will always vote to keep getting the free things. The tax paying population will have no ability to change once the majority is lost.

At one time in our history, only landowners were allowed to vote. It seems harsh and unfair today, but there is a fundamental wisdom in the policy. The founding fathers believed you have to have "skin in the game" to change policy, law, etc. So we no longer require land ownership and soon we won't even have to pay taxes to control the country...scary thought for me...

...my new goal is to stop being productive so I too won't have to pay taxes and keep voting for more free stuff...human nature, right?

We are so screwed...