Monthly Archives: October 2013

Obamacare

Obamacare, Making The Post Office Look Good

No offense to Post Office employees intended. But the ability of the government to run anything efficiently has always focused on the U.S. Postal Service. Now that Obamacare has become activated, they’re looking pretty good by comparison. In the same way President Obama has made President Carter look good.

Not only are people not able to get to the website, but the insurers are getting the wrong and/or incomplete data on the people who were lucky enough to sign up.

I tried the site out. Was able to input login information and that’s all. That was three days ago. Tried every day since then and can’t login again, getting a 400 error. So I can’t get to see what a good deal I can get on health insurance under Obamacare. Maybe because there isn’t any good deal for me under Obamacare. Ya think?

Link: Obamacare woes widen as insurers get wrong data

Economy, Politics

Shutdown, Debt, What The Rest Of The World Thinks

  • Fears remain about another possible shutdown – and, even worse, a possible default – early next year.
  • Experts and foreign officials warned that Washington’s credibility had been damaged – a point President Barack Obama echoed.
  • The short-term nature of the deal makes many uneasy.
  • International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde said the shaky American economy needs more stable long-term solutions.
  • “In three months’ time, this could be back again,” said Chakraborty. “If this kind of pushing it back happens several times, then this comfort that the markets had over the last 20 days that a deal will be reached, that comfort may now be dead.”
  • The congressional cliffhanger might dent longer-term confidence in American government debt, a cornerstone of global credit markets, prompting creditors to demand higher interest.
  • Xenia Dormandy, director of the Americas program at London’s Chatham House, said the U.S. image had suffered a double blow, with both its economic and political credentials called into question. “There is a sense that the U.S. as a reliable ally is not necessarily the case anymore,” she said, warning that both American allies and adversaries have reached this conclusion.
  • In Brazil, a large holder of U.S. debt, there was certainly relief, but also concerns that it’s just a temporary fix and more turbulence is ahead. Finance Minister Guido Mantega said the U.S. must come to a lasting answer to the “temporary solution” that was found. He added that as long as the threat of another shutdown exists, there will be “a sensation of insecurity, distrust and therefore damage to business in general.”

Link: World welcomes US budget deal but fears remain

2014 Election, 2016 Election, Economy, Obamacare, Politics

Barack “The Crisis” Obama Is At It Again

Andy Rooney mode ON: Have you ever wondered why President Obama habitually decries crisis-driven management right after he does it? Andy Rooney mode OFF:

In an April 6, 2013 weekly address to the nation, the President talked about his plan to create jobs and reduce the deficit. Didn’t mention the debt, AT ALL. His plan obama_houdiniwas increasing taxes and building roads and bridges. He said then . . .

While it’s not my ideal plan to further reduce the deficit, it’s a compromise I’m willing to accept in order to move beyond a cycle of short-term, crisis-driven decision-making, and focus on growing our economy and our middle class for the long run. {emphasis added}

Today, over six months later, and two months after a five week vacation for Congress, and one day after a grandstanding government shutdown he imposed was lifted, Barack “The Crisis” Obama goes before the mic again, ostensibly removing himself of all responsibility and says “The American people are completely fed up with Washington.” (Not just fed up. I’d include Fed up, capital F)  He says . . .

“I understand we will not suddenly agree on everything now that the cloud of crisis has passed. Democrats and Republicans are far apart on a lot of issues,” Obama said. “And sometimes we’ll be just too far apart to forge an agreement. But that should not hold back our efforts in areas where we do agree.”

Shouldn’t hold back “our efforts” where we agree? You mean like opening National Parks, funding the military and veterans, funding funeral benefits for fallen soldiers? Those areas of agreement? Virtually funding everything except Obamacare? It was those areas that prompted him to not agree just to keep the crisis going.

The mid-terms and general election can’t come soon enough.

China, Economy, Politics

Debt Markets React, Dollar Slides

Part and parcel of artificially fueling the global economy by printing money and buying our own debt (which would be illegal if you tried it) is the effect it has on the shrinking_dollardollar and interest rates when the party is over. Getting our own economy and the global economy back to market realities will cause interest rates to rise to a “normal” rate. It will also have a negative, albeit temporary effect on the stock market and your 401K. When interest rates rise, mortgages and other financed purchases, like your car and credit card purchases, will cost more. As the value of the dollar falls, everything you buy will cost more. This is the bad tasting medicine referred to in the previous post. Contrary to the Obama administration’s belief, shouldering future generations with our debt is not an option.

  • Relief rally short-lived as concerns over consequences dominate
  • Dollar index down 0.6 percent, euro and yen gain
  • European shares retreat from highs, Wall Street to weaken
  • Gold hits one-week high, oil slides

Facing the reality of another can-kicking session in Congress early next year, the Chinese credit agency Dagong downgraded the U.S. sovereign rating to A- from A with a negative outlook, driving further dollar losses. That’s just the beginning. Hold on to your wallet. If we’re ever going to get things back to normal again, it won’t be easy, but it isn’t an impossible task. The healing process must begin. The result being an economy that begins to grow on its own momentum, increasing the value of the dollar, and pegging interest rates at a true market-driven level.

Link: GLOBAL MARKETS-Dollar slides as relief at U.S. debt deal fades

2014 Election, 2016 Election, Economy, Obamacare, Politics

America Is Sick, And The Doctor Is Out

So what did the House of Representatives hope to accomplish by what was thought to be a futile attempt to defund Obamacare, aka a government shutdown?  How was that strategy supposed to help the Republican party?hope_and_chang_making_america_sick

Common questions over the government shutdown, arguably, imposed by President Obama. Given that the House passed bills to keep everything, but Obamacare, running.

The strategy was doing what they were elected to do, exercising their Constitutional responsibility of holding the purse strings of the federal government. It’s no more complicated than that. It wasn’t meant for the good of the party. But rather, the good of the country which, is being buried in debt at a rate unprecedented and with no end in sight.

It had less to do with politics than fighting the good fight which, was better than not fighting at all. Today, it is clear they did not prevail. Turned out to be a “lost the battle, not the war,” kind of thing.

kick_can_to_greeceWhat amazes me is how Congress still allows for increasing the debt limit. Something candidate Obama called irresponsible and un-patriotic. The words LIMIT and CEILING have no meaning anymore. Even without Obamacare, we are headed for default if drastic reforms are not made. Increasing the debt limits will only allow, and lead to, increasing the national debt.

The politics of it all is that Congress is playing Russian Roulette with a fully loaded revolver. There’s NO budget proposal by the majority that reduces deficits towards a balancing point, let alone paying down the debt. By definition, a budget that includes deficit spending, includes borrowing. And borrowing adds to our debt. (I know. Slim chance that the low-information crowd will have read this far. But just in case.)

Check this link at the CBO. There are two scenarios, Bad, and Worse.http://www.cbo.gov/publication/42905 It says that no budget now or in the future will be without deficit spending. The only variable is will we go over the cliff at 100 miles per hour or 50 miles per hour.

First thing to do is to scrap the ‘baseline budgeting’ game, and make budgets like you and I have to. Then start reforms from there. THAT, won’t be popular with anyone. But when you’re sick, the medicine you need to get well tastes bad. The so-called ‘leaders’ in Washington should be preparing us for recognizing the illness, and prescribing the medicine. Instead, they’re kicking the can down the road.

America needs the right kind of doctor to save America. And President Obama isn’t the one. If one does not rise to the call, the 2014 and 2016 elections is where we’ll find one.

Pensacola

Speak Up Pensacola!

Even short-time residents of Pensacola can see the rise in violent crime here. Law enforcement can only do so much. It’s not their problem to fix. It’s their problem to respond. It’s our problem to fix.

fighting_crime

There are signs that people are realizing that fact as noted on the Pensacola News Journal’s editorial page, A caring community. Organizers of “Saturday’s Soul Bowl” hoped to focus on fighting crime from the ground up. From within Pensacola’s neighborhoods.

“I call it cancer,” McAway told sportswriter Matt Foster. McAway, director of the Pensacola Youth Sports Education Association’s Rattler teams, was referring to the violence in Pensacola. “It’s a cancer because it’s eating up people.”

Lumon May, director of the Southern Youth Sports Association Tigers squads, reinforced McAway’s comments saying “Everyone needs to live in a safe neighborhood, and we can’t be silent about the violence.”

 

Economy, Politics

Those Democrat Obstructionists

By now everyone is familiar with the word “obstructionist.” It’s what Democrats call Republicans every time they don’t get what they want. Since everyone is now comfortable with the word being used in the political arena, it’s time it be employed here. Only difference is, what Republicans in the House want also happens to beharry_reid_finger what most Americans want, a functioning government actually being responsible with the people’s money.

Below is a quick summary of what could have been accomplished if only the Democrat-controlled Senate would stop sitting on everything that comes from the House. Well, that and if there was a President that would put the people and the constitution ahead of his personal agenda and actually sign the bills into law.

endofstory

House Continues its Work to Reopen Government
The House continued its efforts today to reopen the government through targeted funding bills.  H.J.Res 80, the American Indian and Alaska Native, Health, Education, and Safety Act, which would provide funding for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Education, and Indian Health Service, is the 22nd bill passed by the House since September 20 that would fund all or part of our government.

1395 =  # of days since the Senate fulfilled their Constitutional duty and passed a single standalone annual appropriations bill
132 = # of days that Harry Reid has failed our veterans by not fully funding VA
130 = # of days Harry Reid has failed to protect our borders by not funding the Department of Homeland Security
96 = # of days Harry Reid has failed to responsibly fund the Department of Energy, including national security provisions related to our nuclear arsenal
82 = # of days Harry Reid has failed to fund DoD and uphold military readiness
24 = # of days Harry Reid has failed to fund all government operations and put furloughed employees back to work

H/T Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL1)

Politics, Whiners

Making Govt. Shutdown Impact You

An interesting thing popped up regarding the ballyhooed government shutdown. And it just further corroborates the post Barack Obama, Governing By Tantrum. Where President Obama is getting the most political advantage (or so he thinks) from inflicting the most pain on Americans under the guise of the government shutdown.

My most recent post necessarily included data from some government websites. If you were to revisit the links to where that data once was, you’ll see this. The footer of the page says “Source: U.S. Census Bureau | Last Revised: Sep 30, 2013.” Like putting up barricades to open-air monuments, the government webmasters created links that prevent you from looking at data that was there on September 30, 2013. Not very presidential.

Economy, Media, Obamacare, Politics, Race Relations

Then There’s Obama’s Economic Recovery Recession

There’s a reason the news has been consumed by things like the debt ceiling, continuing resolutions, and Obamacare. They can be easily demagogued and republicans can, and will, be blamed for all of it by the administration and the compliant media.

When it comes to the economy and related numbers, income is down, poverty is up.  It’s no longer possible to blame Bush for it. This is Obama’s failed economy. No one else’s.

Try as they might, there are some out there that tout it as a resounding success. Like MSNBC’s Ed Shultz. He can’t believe that only 45% of Americans believe Obama’s handling of he economy is good! And that was a month ago.

“It amazes me that people don’t love Obama…It just amazes me he can’t get above 50 percent when it comes to a favorable view of the economy.”

Ed then touts how the stock market is going through the roof and how Obama has been “hands off” on Wall Street. Oh really? The stock market has been artificially pumped up for years with the Quantitative Easing from Federal Reserve. Printing trillions of dollars that is not going to main street. It’s being used on Wall Street, and, is a major contributor to the widening gap in income between the wealthiest Americans and the rest of us. And that’s why any hint that the QE printing presses will be cut back causes the stock market to come down off its QE high. While Ed Shultz is touting this great stock market, and  how wonderful the economy’s doing, here comes Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve saying, “Oh, no it’s not, and if we don’t continue to pump $1 trillion a year into it, it’s gonna plunge.”

On Main Street, the picture is not any better. In fact, it’s much worse.

According to the Census report, the high point for median household income in the United States was back in 1999 ($56,080). It almost got back to that level in 2007 ($55,627), but ever since then there has been a steady decline. The following figures come directly from the report, and as you can see, median household income has fallen every single year for the past five years…

  • 2007: $55,627
  • 2008: $53,644
  • 2009: $53,285
  • 2010: $51,892
  • 2011: $51,100
  • 2012: $51,017

You also didn’t know that there are six counties in America where the median income is over twice the national median.  Four of those counties are suburban Washington.  The median income in those counties is it $101,000. And now that Obama has exempted them from the Healthcare Exchanges, making you pay 75% of their health insurance policy, the political class is doing just fine.

The new Census report also revealed that 46.5 million Americans are living in poverty. During the four years that marked President Barack Obama’s first term in office, the real median income of American households dropped by $2,627 and the number of people on poverty increased by about 6,667,000, according to data released by the Census Bureau.

Right now, one out of every five households in the United States is on food stamps. Keep in mind too that the increased cost and fines associated with Obamacare have not been fully realized yet. That will only make things worse. There are lots of troubling signs as we get ready to head into the fall season…

  • -Total mortgage activity has dropped to the lowest level that we have seen since October 2008.
  • -One of the largest furniture manufacturers in America was just forced into bankruptcy.
  • -According to the Wall Street Journal, the 2013 holiday shopping season is already being projected to be the worst that we have seen since 2009.

Oh but it doesn’t stop there. The administration will say that two million jobs were created last year? What kind?  Lower paying and part-time jobs primarily in the service ObamaUnemploymentMathindustries, some of which are second and third jobs people are taking just to make ends meet. The sad fact is that over two million jobs have been lost from the entire labor force since Obama took office. Counting unemployment the way it used to be counted, the rate would be well over 14 percent, known as the U-6 by the BLS.

But those falling median income numbers still don’t tell the whole story. Breaking it down by ethnicity, you’ll see that the strongest voting block for Democrats is hurting the most, and by far.

“The median income for non-Hispanic White households was $57,009, and it was $33,321 for Black households,” which is falling, after nearly five years of the first Black president. Black unemployment remains the highest in the country, Black median income at the lowest.  Teen Black unemployment is unacceptably, almost criminally high. With results like this, it is puzzling why the Black population votes by 93% every four years for the Democrat candidate. Under both White and Black Democrat presidents, it should be obvious that Obama’s skin color didn’t improve their circumstances one iota. In fact, they got worse. The promises are always there. They’re fighting for you. Bla Bla Bla. Have the Democrats fulfilled their promise? Are you gaining, or losing? That’s the only question you need to ask yourself. And the answer, no mater the color of your skin, is losing. At best, it’s time to realize which party can help your situation. At worst, you can ask yourself, “What do I have to lose?”

Politics

Thomas Sowell on Liberalism

“We didn’t allow polygamists to re-define marriage, I don’t know why we should allow anyone else to re-define it.” That’s an issue for the states, not the courts, to decide.

Liberalism hasn’t changed he says. “It wants to impose what the elite thinks on the public.”

On what Republicans are doing, or not doing, to compete in the arena of ideas to promote their platform. Sowell says the conventional wisdom is for them to water down republicanism and be more like Democrats. But he points out that in history, the political victories happened when they were bold enough to stand on principles. He cited Reagan’s two landslides, and Bush 41 won handily on his “read my lips, no new taxes.” And he lost when he started talking “kinder and gentler.”

House Republicans, take note!