Category Archives: Economy

No Significant Hiring This Year, Or Next

President Barack Obama gave a major economic policy speech last week. We’ve heard it all before, and before. Here’s what he didn’t say, and probably won’t ever say: Businesses will not begin new, significant hiring this year or in 2014.

Real unemployment will get worse and, the 7.6% unemployment rate from the BLS is bogus, manipulated math. The real unemployment rate is more like 17.2%.

The closely followed, single BLS unemployment metric, now 7.6%, fails to reflect the actual state of things: Unemployment and underemployment is, according to Gallup, 17.2%. That means more than 20 million Americans are unemployed or grossly underemployed. And here’s a much more significant metric: only 44.7% of adults 18 years and older in the U.S. are in a full-time job, according to Gallup’s Payroll to Population (P2P) metric.

Link: Jim Clifton, Gallup Chairman and CEO

Reality v Pres. Obama’s Speeches

Keep in mind that Senator Obama, and now President Obama, for five years now, has been focused like a laser beam on rebuilding the economy. Really? I guess it depends on the meaning of “rebuilding.” His speech on the economy last week, was the same speech he has read since day one. More spending, more taxing the rich, infrastructure, middle class, green energy, education, investments, bla bla bla.

Five years later, here’s a progress report (minus $7 trillion in more debt) from an unlikely source. The Associated Press.

Four out of 5 U.S. adults struggle with joblessness, near-poverty or reliance on welfare for at least parts of their lives, a sign of deteriorating economic security and an elusive American dream. {emphasis added}

… the widening gap between rich and poor, and the loss of good-paying manufacturing jobs …

Faced with the reality that picking victims by race is not working, maybe trying something that would help “everyone” (as in post-racial?) is a wiser approach?

As nonwhites approach a numerical majority in the U.S., (a reality not missed by Democrats, in so many ways) one question is how public programs to lift the disadvantaged should be best focused – on the affirmative action that historically has tried to eliminate the racial barriers seen as the major impediment to economic equality, or simply on improving socioeconomic status for all, regardless of race.

Hardship is particularly growing among whites, based on several measures. Pessimism among that racial group about their families’ economic futures has climbed to the highest point since at least 1987. In the most recent AP-GfK poll, 63 percent of whites called the economy “poor.”

I’m not the only one who sees our American ship heading for the rocks. Most would think this to be bad news. But not our President. He’s getting closer to what he calls leveling the playing field. It is clear, according to the AP, that poverty and pessimism about our country’s future is shared by everyone, regardless of race, equally.

Obama is closing the gap in poverty among the races. Not by lifting those at the bottom, but by lowering those higher up.

While racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to live in poverty, race disparities in the poverty rate have narrowed substantially since the 1970s.

I don’t blame or hold President Obama solely responsible for this disaster. It is the result of something larger than himself. It is Liberalism in general, the ideology, that fails us. Just like it fails in every other country it is tried.

The consequence of spreading the wealth only results in one thing. Spreading the misery.

Link: Exclusive: Signs of declining economic security

Climb To The Moon On National Debt

Just another of those phony scandals the Republicans are pushing to cause gridlock. That must be what President Obama is thinking, since he is intent on doing, and planning on doing, nothing but increasing it.

  • The national debt is at its highest since the end of the second world war
  • The figure equates to every man, woman and child owing $55,091 each
  • Of the $5.1 trillion owned by foreign governments – nearly half is owned by China and Japan
  • The national debt has increased more than $6 trillion since President Obama took office – the largest increase under any president

The country’s national debt is now so high, over $16.7 trillion, that if the figure was converted into $5 bills it would stretch almost to the moon.

climb_to_the_moon_on_national_debt

 

Link: One giant debt for mankind: U.S. national deficit would reach almost to the moon if piled high in 5 dollar bills | Mail Online.

“Could Have Been Me 35 Years Ago”

Two can play that game Mr. President.

If you were Trayvon 35 years ago, it would have spared the country from . . .

  • record unemployment
  • a stagnant economy
  • high energy prices
  • high food prices
  • union bailouts
  • a move towards socialism
  • Obamacare
  • the dilution of “equal justice under the law” with your inclination toward “social justice” and “racial justice”
  • your lawless administration that selectively enforces laws, especially current immigration laws
  • your Attorney General ignoring voting rights laws (New Black Panthers in Philadelphia)
  • your dozens of unaccountable Czars
  • using the Federal Govt. and its agencies to oppress (and attack, George Zimmerman) the citizens
  • abuse of voting and first amendment rights (IRS)
  • attacks on second amendment rights
  • racial tensions fueled by you not seen since the 60’s.
  • Did I mention voting rights abuse?

News Flash, alQaeda Is Not Dead

Next time you hear a politician (take your pick) say how alQaeda is “on the run,” they want you to believe that they are running away. I don’t see any evidence of that. Do you? If anything, the direction is towards us, not away.

alqaeda_not_deadAside from Allah calling for the destruction of infidels in America, the Egyptian Muslim Cleric in this interview also has a commentary of America in general. Says that “America will collapse on itself” from its “huge debt” and “spreading poverty.” Apparently he didn’t get the memo. What appears to be a collapse to him is part of the “transformation” our President had in mind.

Obama’s Racially Divisive Administration

If recent history is a lesson, and it ought to be, you can count on one thing from our community-organizer-turned-President. And that is, whatever he says about important issues, you better believe his true place, and desired result, is the opposite. With one, and only one exception.

Beginning with his coming out at the Democratic National Convention keynote speech in 2004, he painted himself as someone who even a Republican could embrace. But it was all false. All for show.

Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation, not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy. Our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

That is the true genius of America, a faith in the simple dreams of its people, the insistence on small miracles. That we can tuck in our children at night and know they are fed and clothed and safe from harm. That we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door. That we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe or hiring somebody’s son. That we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution, and that our votes will be counted — or at least, most of the time.

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The people I meet in small towns and big cities, in diners and office parks, they don’t expect government to solve all their problems. They know they have to work hard to get ahead and they want to. Go into the collar counties around Chicago, and people will tell you they don’t want their tax money wasted by a welfare agency or the Pentagon.

When it comes to Race Relations. This President bragged that his administration was going to be the first post-racial administration. At every turn, President Obama has not only sat on his hands when he could have helped, but he, and sometimes his Attorney General Eric Holder, have been active in festering a racial divide. Preamble to the beer summit, New Black Panther voter intimidation in Philadelphia, the personal destruction of Paula Deen, the stirring up of tension in the Martin / Zimmerman incident ultimately leading to Zimmerman being over-charged when in fact, no charges were called for. And now, same case, sitting on his behind leading from behind with the media eagerly anticipating racial unrest if/when Zimmerman gets acquitted.

This is just his racial deception. Pick any other topic from foreign policy, education, health care, THE ECONOMY, JOBS, and you will also see the results are 180 degrees from his promises.

Which brings me to the one exception to his promises, the one he has steadfastly kept. That is, to fundamentally transform this great country. That, he has done.

Nuclear proliferation gone wild, terrorism and terrorists spreading around the world (Africa, Middle East, “the right war” in Afghanistan), Pakistan, a nationalized health care system that is still leaving over 30 million people without health care, more expensive health care premiums, never before government levied fines for not buying health care, high fuel and energy prices and going higher, record food stamps, nearly a third of the entire population getting some government help, record long-term unemployment, smallest worker participation rate since Jimmy Carter. And, none of it has to do with his skin color. It has to do with his political color.

It is time for the coward to come off of the golf course, off from vacation, long enough to address the public, today. And tell the American people, especially those Black Americans who are already getting restless, that whatever the verdict in the Zimmerman show trial turns out to be, that he expects everyone to respect the decision and, that anyone breaking the law or rioting because they don’t agree with the verdict, will be punished to the fullest extent of the law. White, Black, and everywhere in between. And he should address the race industry specifically, the Jesse Sharptons, the New Black Panthers, the Farrakhans of the world, that he and his Justice Department expect them to change their tune and preach the same message to their activist followers.

And just one last thing. That we can believe him this time.

If he doesn’t use his bully pulpit to do that, then he will have shown ‘his true colors,’ and I don’t mean skin color, to all of America.

The Case Against Transparency, Accountability

A curious dichotomy in politics has arisen in the name of the Farm Bill. It is drawing out the hypocrisy in the politicians and special interest groups always harping on cutting waste and ending corporate welfare, not to be more responsible with the people’s money, but to get a larger piece of the pie for themselves.

Which is why battle lines seem to be shaping up between those wanting truth in legislation, transparency, and accountability, and the special interests and establishment Republicans  and Democrats in the House that want none of that.

Preferring the anonymity of an ambiguous slush fund, they are getting their shorts in a wad over breaking out food stamps, formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, from the “Farm” bill.

So not only are we seeing a President that reneges on his promise to go over every line of every bill to cut government waste, we are also seeing politicians scrambling for dollars, reneging on their promise to be responsible with the people’s money.

When the rubber hits the road, the old guard wants nothing of accountability or transparency. Something to be remembered when the mid-term elections roll around. Time is now to let your representative know that you want two clean bills, not the same old same old jumbled, irresponsible mess.

Links: Proposal to Split Farm Bill Divides Congress

ATU Walkout, Depriving San Francisco Of Basic Transportation

SEIU transit workers still standing on the throats of San Francisco workers who depend on public transportation. Holding out for a three-year contract with raises of 5 percent each year, plus an automatic cost-of-living increase, each year, which adds up to about a 23 percent raise over three years.

A letter from Democratic state officials said the strike has caused “widespread personal hardship and severe economic disruption,” and it noted they were disappointed “about the lack of productive proposals and counterproposals in the days leading up to the strike.”

If they really care about working people, the solution is simple. Care about them more than your big contributors and drop the union.

[flagallery gid=22]

 

Big Labor, the boil on Democrats’ ass.

via Weary commuters face 3rd day of transit strike | Nation & World | The Seattle Times.

ATU Local 1555 Holds Up San Francisco Taxpayers

Making the case for ending public sector labor unions is the strike by the transportation union in San Francisco.

The strike will derail the more than 400,000 riders who use the nation’s fifth-largest rail system and affect every mode of transportation. Transportation officials said another 60,000 vehicles could be on the road, clogging highways and bridges throughout the Bay Area. Not to mention the environmental impact from more vehicles on the road. All of a sudden, the SEIU isn’t so green.

The unions, which represent nearly 2,400 train operators, station agents, mechanics, maintenance workers and professional staff, were asking for a 5 percent raise each year over the next three years. BART said that train operators and station agents in the unions average about $71,000 in base salary and $11,000 in overtime annually. The workers also pay a flat $92 monthly fee for health insurance.

antonette_bryantAntonette Bryant, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555 says “Our members aren’t interested in disrupting the Bay Area, but management has put us in a position where we have no choice.” After all, they are really being put upon.

Who in the private sector got a 5 percent raise last year, and the year before that, and the year before that? That’s what they are on strike for. They are demanding a 5 percent raise each year for the next three years. It’s not like they’re making $40,000 a year for operating a train or selling tickets. No. They’re making $71,000 a year, not including an average of $11,000 of overtime. Are you paying $92 a month for your health insurance policy like they are? $82,000 a year for operating a train and selling tickets, and they have the nerve to strike and demand that taxpayers pay them more?

Why does the SEIU think that they deserve to be paid better, and have better benefits, than the people forced to pay their exorbitant cost? More to the point, isn’t it time to put an end to the use of organized labor in city and state government?

Link: SF Bay Area traffic picking up with transit strike

The Big Distraction

Time was, that when something went wrong in America, or to Americans, that there was someone, or a government entity, and a responsible media, to hold people to account. Then fix the problem. And if it was a president, then he was held to account.

But that was before President Barack Hussein Obama, mmm mmm mmm. Since his inauguration five years ago, much has happened and nobody has been held to account. The result is the destruction, disassembling, and unraveling of our economy, our government as it was founded, education, our culture, and the trust in government officials to tell us the truth and to do the right thing. None of this could be possible without a complacent, if not compliant, media.

obama_houdini

The standard operating procedure for President Obama is to stay on a permanent political campaign. Never standing still long enough to sit down and tackle problems. His version of problem solving is to appoint a special committee, or make a speech about how bad things are and he’s not going to accept that, or both. Nothing substantive ever gets accomplished. And worse, no one holds him responsible or to account to fix any of it. Then he merrily moves on to screw up something else, if not just distract you from one mess to focus your attention somewhere else. Sleight-of-hand magician that he is.

So while his right hand (media included) is talking about global warming, illegal immigration, women’s wages, gun control, and abortion, his left hand is responsible for the problems he wants you distracted from.  And after five years, there’s a lot to be distracted from.

  1. Stagnant Economy despite trillions of ‘stimulus’ spending
  2. Record Public Debt
  3. No Budget plan that ever reaches balance
  4. Decreased purchasing power, devaluation of the dollar
  5. Record unemployment and long-term unemployment
  6. Smallest worker participation rate since Jimmy Carter era.
  7. An immigration policy favoring low skilled immigrants, further burdening the welfare system, changing the nation’s demographics forever.
  8. Higher Health Care Insurance rates
  9. Social Security facing insolvency
  10. Medicare Facing Insolvency
  11. Breakdown of the family
  12. Record single parent households
  13. Record illegitimacy
  14. Record food stamp recipients
  15. Gay marriage
  16. Falling graduation rates
  17. Falling ranking in education compared to the rest of the world
  18. Student’s lack of knowledge of our nation’s founding and its founding documents
  19. Islamic terrorism on the rise in Libya, Egypt, Syria, and throughout the world
  20. Growing lack of respect for the United States by the rest of the world
  21. Nuclear proliferation in North Korea
  22. New Nuclear state of Iran
  23. High gas and fuel prices
  24. High food prices
  25. Punitive regulation on the coal industry
  26. Punitive regulation on the oil industry
  27. Punitive regulation on the gas industry
  28. Govt. takeover via regulation of finance industry
  29. Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt in Tax Code, suppressing risk taking of new business and growth
  30. Resistance at every turn in constructing the XL pipeline
  31. Executive branch abuses and voter intimidation by the IRS
  32. Executive branch abuses and voter intimidation by the FBI
  33. Executive branch abuses and voter intimidation by the EPA
  34. Executive branch cover up of all aspects of the 9/11 Benghazi terrorist attack
  35. State Department cover up of all aspects of the 9/11 Benghazi terrorist attack

Meanwhile, the country is on the fast track to destruction. Or as Obama would call it, fundamental change. Dare I suggest that if a Republican was in The White House, the media and low information crowd would not be as forgiving. This list is not all-inclusive. It’s what I came up with while waiting for a pot of coffee to brew.

So the race is on to see which item(s) will bring down this regime before the country reaches a point of no return.