What have we learned about economics in tw0 thousand plus years

Back then they already knew:

The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance

Question: Who said this and when did they say it?

Answer: Cicero, in 55 BC

Question: What have we learned since?

Answer: Evidently nothing!

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Some 800 numbers are bad for your economic health mainly because they take away jobs Americans could be holding.

The following is an email I received from a friend. I have taken some liberties with it to suit my needs.

Any time you call an 800 number to contact a credit card company, your banking or insurance, company, or some kind help desk, and you find that you’re talking to a foreign customer service representative—perhaps in India or Philippines, or some other country—please consider doing the following:

After you connect and you realize that the customer service representative is not from the U.S.A (you can always ask if you are not sure about the accent), please, very politely (this is not about trashing other cultures) say, “I’d like to speak to a customer service representative in the United States of America.”

The representative may suggest talking to his/her manager, but politely say, “Thank you, but I’d like to speak to a customer service representative in the U.S.A.” YOU WILL BE IMMEDIATELY CONNECTED TO A REPRESENTATIVE  IN THE U.S.A. That’s the rule and the LAW.

It takes less than one minute to have your call re-directed to the U.S.A. Tonight when I got redirected to a U.S.A rep, I asked again to make sure—and yes, she was from Fort Lauderdale.

Imagine what would happen if every U.S. citizen insisted on talking to only U.S. phone reps from this day on. Imagine how that would ultimately impact the number of U.S. jobs that would need to be created ASAP. If I tell 10 people to consider this and you tell 10 people to consider doing this—see what I mean… it becomes an exercise in viral marketing 101.

Remember—the goal here is to restore jobs back here at home—not to be abrupt or rude to a foreign phone rep. You may even get correct answers, good advice, and solutions to your problem—in real English.

If you agree, please tell 10 people you know, and ask them to tell 10 people they know… etc.… etc.

What this email counsels us to do when we call an 800 number and we hear a foreign accent on the other end of the line is very good. Try it next time you get a person somewhere in the Far East or anywhere outside the United States, try it. You may save an American job.

Be a patriot; save a job for America.

There is no legal job an American will not do, if the money is commensurate with the needs of the job.

Get rid of every last illegal alien in the U.S.A. and get rid of the minimum wage laws, and you might be surprised at how quickly we no longer have a low wage problem or an unemployment problem in America. It will be just like the 50s all over again. One person will be able to support a family in better style than two people working can now.

There is a lot more stupid Federal Government programs and regulations to get rid of, but a good place to start is to get all Americans back to work at a good wage.

There is a small college up in Michigan that refuses all assistant from the U.S. Government. You may already know about it. It is Hillsdale College. Maybe you already know about its free monthly publication Imprimis.

Here is a small clipping from this month’s edition of Imprimis. The article is entitled The Right to Work: A Fundamental Freedom and is a very good in-depth essay of the problems we are facing in the United States in getting Americans back to work.

From 2000 to 2010, real personal income grew by an averages of 24.3 percent in the 22 right-to-work states, more than double the rate for the others 28 as a group.… In 2009, there were 20 percent more 25- to 34-year-olds in right-to-work states.

I think that little clip is a good note to end this piece on, however, you may click here to read the complete article.

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The one recent event that grabbed everyone’s attention was the stunning upset victory by Republican Scott Brown in the race for the U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts long held by Ted Kennedy. That victory is being hailed across this land as a national victory for political conservatives. It appears some of the first fallout from that Republican victory is the refocusing of President Obama’s view on what America says is job one: the U.S. economy.

It took a cataclysmic event to do it, but if you choose to believe him this time, President Obama is signaling a change in his economic policy.

Here is what the president said in his announcement of his economic policy change.

I’m proposing a simple and common-sense reform, which we’re calling the “Volcker Rule”–after this tall guy behind me. Banks will no longer be allowed to own, invest, or sponsor hedge funds, private equity funds, or proprietary trading operations for their own profit, unrelated to serving their customers. If financial firms want to trade for profit, that’s something they’re free to do. Indeed, doing so–responsibly–is a good thing for the markets and the economy. But these firms should not be allowed to run these hedge funds and private equities funds while running a bank backed by the American people.”

Sounds good, doesn’t it. Now let’s look at who this Paul Volcker fellow is. He is a brilliant economist. I remember Paul Volcker from when he was the Fed Chairman in the Jimmy Carter administration. Making him the Fed Chairman is just about the only good thing I can remember Jimmy Carter doing during his presidency. I remember how Mr. Volcker showed his willingness to do the difficult things that had to be done to change the economic direction the country was headed in when he came into office. He swiftly moved to put a stop to the raging inflation that was threatening at the time. You may recall if you are old enough that Mr. Volcker was successful in stopping that inflationary trend. It took a recession to do it, but he stuck to his guns and got the job done.

So, at first blink, it would appear from that scenario we should expect tough times ahead—as if we haven’t had enough tough economic times already. Assuming Mr. Volker can walk on the economic hot waters we find ourselves in presently, I don’t expect he’ll see much need for making things get much worse before they get better, although that may well be in the offing rather we like it or not.

What I do foresee is that, since this man knows his job, we can expect he will see to it that what needs to be done is done, if, that is, the president gives him the power to do the job by appointing him his Fed Chairman. There are rumblings around Democratville that the present Fed Chairman, Mr. Bernanke, may be on the way out but that does not assure that Mr. Volker will get the job in his stead. So that is the big question, will the president give Paul Volcker the power to do the job or is he just kidding us again.

I say we can hope the president will keep his word this one time, but I won’t count on it. The man is an ideologue and the latest wind out of his mouth indicates he is not going to step back from what he sees as the best socialistic policies yet devised to turn America into just another failed European-style socialist country.

Gosh, I hope I am wrong about that. I hope he got a call from President Clinton telling him it is time to change course if he wants to be a two term president and that he took that advice to heart. I hope but not that much that he got the call and that he listened and understood, and took to heart that sage advice from the savviest political mind to live in the Whitehouse since President Ronald Reagan.

Still, I will be one happy fellow and a strong supporter of the president on this one issue, if he does keep his promise this one time to strengthen our republic by being tougher on banks and other financials, but only if he does it for all the right reasons.

We need a true believer in the Whitehouse; a true believer in the republican way the founding fathers of our republic gave us in the Constitution of these United States. When he is not spewing hate, Mr. Obama appears to be a nice American gentleman. We need to see more of that nice American gentleman and less of the hatemonger we have so often seen in the past.

If I could speak with the president, I would tell him to join in with us in our victory celebration. I would say that he has said more than once that what is good for America is good for him. I would tell him now is the time to show the truth of that statement before his time has run its course.

The president should appoint Paul Volcker Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank.

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Obama Health Care Panacea

GOP and Demos Square off over the socialistic Obama-Reid-Pelosi Health Care Plan

The latest Rasmussen polls say 58% opposed and 49% are strongly opposed to the socialistic Health Care Plan. On the other side of the issue, among the 39% who favor the plan are 19% who strongly favor it.
Many people are questioning whether those in Congress know what enough of what is in it. Be that as it may, it is certainly clear from the numbers that we are having this socialistic health care panacea pushed down our throats by the Democratic majority in Congress.

Same Song; Second Verse

78% believe the Health Care plan will cost more than projected. Come to think of it, when has the federal government every missed on the high side of a cost projection.

Democrats and liberals have more confidence in the cost projections for the plan than do other voters, but the majority of all partisans share the belief that the costs will be higher than projected. That means people are at long last awakening to the dangers of bigger and worse government.

Plan Attack Spooks Public Confidence in War on Terror

Another Rasmussen poll says belief that the bad guys are winning the War on Terror is at its highest level in over two years, and nearly half of U.S. voters say America is no safer now than it was before 9/11.
A mere 18% believed the terrorists were winning when President Obama was sworn into office last January.  Now that figure has claimed to 30% of voters think the terrorists are winning the War on Terror.

Gift Cards: Use ‘Em or Lose Money

Did you get any gift cards form your local Chinese outlet store, Wal-Mart; or Bet Buy or American Express for Christmas?

Consumer advocates advise you to use them now, if you did. That is the best way to avoid potential fees and other pitfalls that can suck up the value of gift cards—at least, that is, until the Federal Reserve imposes limitations on some of those fees next year.

As far as many companies are concerned, it is still open season of shoppers. Of course, you can help make those merchants have a happy new year by not using the gift cards you received at all or not for full value, if you are feeling that generous this holiday season.

There is one other worry for you if you have a gift card. The merchant may fail before you spend it if you don’t hurry. That reminds me of a very big—for those times—check that Babe Ruth received for something-I can’t remember what off the top of my head. Anyway, the Babe showed that check around and bragged on it for a long time. Then, when he went to cash it, it the company had gone belly up and the check was worthless. Don’t let that happen to you with your gift cards. Spend ‘em.

Read full story here.

Now here’s some good news

Why doing nothing is good for you

Worried that the holidays have taken a toll on your fitness? Relax, a break from exercise is what you need

by Peta Bee

You might have been working out diligently since making last year’s resolution to get in shape. But what happens when you succumb to the inevitable under-activity and overindulgence of the festive season? Will hours spent popping chocolates in front of the TV and skipping the gym mean the past 12 months’ effort will count for nothing as your figure and fitness go to pot? Not necessarily, say leading exercise scientists. In fact, a break from the gym might be just what your body needs.

“Rest and recovery are often overlooked, but are as important as exercise itself,” says John Brewer, professor of sport at the University of Bedfordshire. “Even elite athletes have one easy day a week to allow their bodies to recover from the stresses of training and to encourage the positive physiological changes, such as muscle growth, that are induced by hard workouts.”

Without enough rest, Brewer says, a tough exercise regime is doomed. “You may improve in the short term, but each body part generally needs 24 hours to recover from hard exercise. If you have been lifting weights with your arms, for instance, it will take a full day for the tiny tears in muscle fibres to be repaired.” He says that most fitness injuries stem from a lack of rest. “Taking time out to let your body recover could save you weeks out through injury in the long run.”

Click here to continue reading the rest of the article

So, relax and enjoy for the moment.

I wish you one and all Happy New Year!

May God forget the bad that we have done and bless us abundantly.

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by Chuck Baldwin

December 15, 2009

Apocalypse Now: Images of war, death, and ecological disaster portray the Book of Revelation in a 2007 Swedish edition of the New Testament. Called Bible Illuminated: The Book

One does not have to be a prophet to know that we are on the precipice of some potentially catastrophic–or at the very least, challenging–days. In fact, most of us are already in challenging days, and some are already enduring catastrophic events. That is, if one would call being out of work, losing one’s home, facing life-threatening medical conditions without any prospect of medical insurance, several families being forced to live in one house due to homes being foreclosed, etc., catastrophic.

The potential for an escalation of cataclysmic events, however, is very real. Only a “blooming idiot” would call someone who attempts to prepare for “the day of adversity” a Chicken Little now. Anyone who does not see the storm clouds on the horizon isn’t paying attention.

For example, can one imagine what would happen if terrorists nuked a major American city or cities? (Once again, I encourage readers to go get the videos of the CBS TV series “Jericho” to get an idea of how quickly life, and even civilization, could change.) Imagine if there was another 9/11-type event. What would happen if some form of Zimbabwe-style inflation hit the US? What would happen if anything disrupted the distribution of Welfare checks, or food to local grocers? Imagine a Hurricane Katrina-style natural disaster in your town. I think people everywhere are beginning to awaken to just how vulnerable we all really are.

As a result, people from virtually every walk of life have recently been asking my thoughts on how they should prepare. Therefore, I will attempt to share with my readers some of the counsel I have given these folks.

First, a disclaimer. I am not an economist; I am not a survival expert; I am not a firearms expert; I am not an attorney; I am not a physician. In fact, I am not an expert in anything! For several years, however, I have tried to learn from others. I am an avid reader. My work has allowed me to travel extensively. I have had the privilege of sitting at the feet of–and learning from–many of America’s most learned, most trained, and most qualified “experts” in a variety of fields. What I write today, I have learned from others. I’ve formed my own opinions and priorities, of course, but everything I’m sharing has been said, or written about, before. But if I can share something in today’s column that will help someone be better prepared for the days to come, then my goal will have been achieved.

Location:

First, analyze your living conditions. Where do you live? Do you live in an urban or rural environment? Is it a big city or small town? Do you live in an apartment or condominium? How close are your neighbors? Do you even know your neighbors? Would you trust them if the electricity was off and they were hungry? Could you grow your own food, if you had to? How easily could you secure your home? If you live in a cold weather environment, how long could you stay warm without electricity? These are the kinds of questions you need to ask yourself now.

Over the past several decades, masses of people have migrated into large metropolitan areas. More people live in urban areas than at any time in American history. While this may be well and good for times of prosperity, it is an absolute nightmare in any kind of disaster. Does anyone remember what New Orleans looked like after Hurricane Katrina came through? Can anyone recall what happened in downtown Los Angeles during the 1992 riots? Needless to say, any inner-city environment could become a powder keg almost instantaneously, given the right (or wrong) circumstances. And the bigger the city, the bigger the potential problems.

If you live in the inner city, I suggest you consider moving to a more rural location. Obviously, now is a very good time to buy property (especially rural property), but the downside is, selling property is not as favorable. If you can afford it, now is a great time to buy a “safe house” outside the city. If you are fortunate enough to have family or some true friends nearby, you might want to put your heads–and some resources–together in preparation for serious upheaval. Obviously, a team of prepared people is much better than being alone.

If you must stay in your urban location, have some commonsense plans in hand in the event of a major disaster. Get to know your neighbors: find out whom you can trust and whom you can’t. Keep some extra gasoline on hand, in case you need to get in your car quickly and leave. Have several exit routes planned ahead of time, in case roads are blocked. Have a “bug-out” bag containing essential ingredients to live on for 3 or 4 days. If leaving is not an option, have a plan to secure your home as best you can. You’ll need to think about things such as food, water, medicine, warmth, self-defense, etc. But at this point, to do nothing is absolute lunacy!

Provisions:

During a major disaster, food will quickly disappear. Living for over 3 decades on the Gulf Coast, I can tell you with absolute certainty that whenever disaster strikes (usually an approaching hurricane, for us), food and provisions at the store sell completely out in a matter of a few hours. People panic, and within hours, you cannot find food, bottled water, ice, generators, batteries, candles, etc. In a matter of hours, every gas station in the area will be completely out of gas. Not days. Hours!

Furthermore, almost all disasters include a complete loss of electricity. The water supply is compromised. Bottled water becomes more valuable than bank accounts. Dehydration becomes a very real and present danger. I remember witnessing a man offer an ice vendor $100 for an extra bag of ice during Hurricane Ivan. My wife and I went 2 weeks (14 days) without electricity in the aftermath of that hurricane. Believe me, I got a taste of just how precious bottled water, ice, batteries, generators, fuel, etc., can become.

I suggest you have a supply of food and water to last at least 2 weeks. A month would be even better. Personally, I can live a long time on tuna fish or peanut butter. You can purchase MREs from a variety of sources, as well as “camp-style” packaged food from stores such as Academy Sports & Outdoors. Of course, bottled water is available everywhere during normal times. Stock up! Plus, I suggest you have some water purification tablets or a Katadyn water filter on hand. And, if you are able, prepare to grow your own food. Canning food is another very helpful hedge against deprivation. If your parents were like mine, this was standard operating procedure.

Get a generator. Keep a supply of fuel on hand. Stay stocked up on batteries, candles, portable lights, first aid supplies, and personal hygiene items–especially toilet paper. Trust me, during times of intense and prolonged disaster, toilet paper could become more valuable than money. I also suggest you never run out of lighters or matches. You never know when you’ll need to build a fire, and during a prolonged survival situation, fire could save your life. If you live in a cold weather climate, you probably already have some sort of wood stove or fireplace.

Obviously, you need to take stock of your clothing. Do you have clothes suitable for extended outdoor activity? What about boots? During a disaster, you would trade your best suit from Neiman Marcus for a good pair of boots. Do you have gloves? Insulated underwear? What about camouflage clothing? These could become essential outerwear in the right conditions. Plus, any “bug-out” bag will need to include spare clothing.

And one more suggestion, while we’re on this subject: the best resources in the world are of little use if one is physically incapable of making good use of them. In other words, GET IN SHAPE. During any kind of emergency situation, physical exertion and stamina become immensely important.

Commodities:

I suggest you have at least some cash on hand. Just about any and all disasters will result in banks being closed for extended periods of time. That also means credit card purchases being suspended. You need to have enough cash to be able to purchase essential goods (if they are even available) for an undetermined amount of time.

Of course, some survival gurus insist that during any cataclysmic climate, precious metals will become the only reliable currency. But when most of us are trying to feed our families and pay our bills, it is difficult to get excited about buying gold and silver. Obviously, I would never recommend that anyone jeopardize the present on the altar of the future. My parents made it through the Great Depression with canned goods and garden vegetables; gold and silver were certainly not a priority with them. And maybe it should not be with you, either?

In fact, in a disaster, what is considered a valuable commodity can change rather quickly, as the barter system takes a life of its own. What is valuable is determined by what you need and how badly you need it. In a prolonged disaster, simple things such as toilet paper, canned goods, ammunition, and clothing could become extremely valuable; while cars, video games, televisions, etc., could be reduced to junk status. In antiquity, wars were fought over things such as salt.

Speaking of cars, remember that during a prolonged “national emergency” that might involve some sort of nuclear attack or widespread civil unrest, an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) might be employed; in which case, most every late model vehicle would be completely inoperable. Accordingly, if one can keep an older, pre-computer-age vehicle in good working order, he or she might be driving the only non-government vehicle capable of going anywhere.

Self-Defense:

Needless to say, during any kind of disaster, your safety and protection will be completely up to you. If you really think that the police are going to be able to protect you during an upheaval, you are living in a dreamworld.

In both the New Orleans and Los Angeles disasters, police protection was non-existent. Lawless gangs quickly took control of the streets, and people were left to either defend themselves or swiftly become the helpless prey of violent marauders. In fact, in New Orleans, some of the policemen actually abandoned their oaths to uphold the law and joined with the criminals, turning their weapons upon the public.

Face it, folks: in any kind of disaster, you must be able to defend yourself, or you and your family will be meat for these animals of society that will quickly descend without mercy upon the unprepared, unsuspecting souls around them. This requires that you be armed! It also requires that you be skilled enough to be able to efficiently use your arms.

Therefore, I strongly suggest that you purchase firearms sufficient to keep you and your family safe, and also that you practice sufficiently to know how to proficiently use them.

Now, when it comes to a discussion of which firearms are preferable for self-defense, the suggestions are as varied as the people who proffer them. These are my suggestions:

I believe every man (along with his wife and children of adequate age) should be proficient with the following weapons: a handgun in .38 caliber or above, a .22 rifle, a center-fire hunting rifle, a semi-automatic battle rifle, and a shotgun.

My personal preference for a self-defense handgun is either a .45 ACP 1911 (either Colt or Kimber) or a .40 S&W. In the .40 caliber, my favorite is a Glock 23. In the 1911, I like the Commander size configuration. I also like the Glock 30 and 36 in .45 caliber. My wife prefers to carry a Smith & Wesson .38 caliber revolver in the snub-nose, J-frame configuration. But this is primarily due to the reduced weight of these weapons for carry purposes. If needed, she could make a good accounting of herself with a Glock 19 in 9mm. If you are someone who has never owned and seldom fired a handgun, I recommend you buy a Glock. They are as simple as revolvers to operate, reliable, and almost indestructible. Plus, they provide increased magazine capacity, and are safe. They are also very easy to disassemble and clean.

For a .22 rifle, I really like the Ruger 10/22. For a hunting rifle, my suggestion is either a .270 or .30-06 caliber bolt-action rifle. (If I had to pick one, I’d pick the .30-06.) I prefer the Remington Model 700 BDL, but there are several fine weapons in this configuration and caliber by numerous manufacturers. For a battle rifle, I suggest an AR-15-style weapon in .223 caliber. Here I prefer a Bushmaster. (Please, I don’t need to hear from all you .308 lovers out there. I love the Springfield M1A, too.) For a shotgun, I suggest a 12-gauge pump. Here I prefer a Winchester Model 1300, which is not made anymore. So, you’ll probably have to choose between Mossberg and Remington.

Whatever you choose, practice with it to the point that you are able to use it proficiently. And be sure you stock up on ammunition. A gun without ammo is reduced to being either an expensive club or a cumbersome paperweight.

Spiritual Power:

I firmly believe that man is created to have fellowship with his Creator-God. I really don’t know how people can face the uncertain future that we currently face without the spiritual knowledge, wisdom, comfort, and power that is made available through Jesus Christ. I believe the maxim is true: “Wise men still seek Him.” I strongly suggest that you seek to possess a personal relationship with God’s only begotten Son.

That we are facing challenging days is a certainty. Exactly what that means is yet to be determined. I trust that some of my suggestions will help you be better prepared for what lies before us.

*If you appreciate this column and want to help me distribute these editorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, donations may now be made by credit card, check, or Money Order. Use this link:

To donate to Chuck Baldwin click here

© Chuck Baldwin

Source: Chuck Baldwin Live

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By Patrick J. Buchanan

“It’s time to stop worrying about the deficit — and start panicking about the debt,” the Washington Post editorial began. “The fiscal situation was serious before the recession. It is now dire.”

The editorial continued:

“In the space of a single fiscal year, 2009, the debt soared from 41 percent of the gross domestic product to 53 percent. This sum, which does not include what the government has borrowed from its own trust funds, is on track to rise to a crushing 85 percent of the economy by 2018.”

What are the risks of an exploding U.S. public debt?

The Chinese, Japanese and Arabs still buying that debt will begin to suspect they are holding onto paper on which the United States will default, or will cheapen by inflating its currency — as the Germans did in 1923 to avoid paying war reparations.

When they do, they will stop buying U.S. debt and start dumping. The Fed will then have to raise interest rates to attract borrowers, throwing the economy into a tailspin.

Is Congress even aware of what is happening?

Harry Reid is talking about doubling Medicare rolls to include folks 55 to 64. Facing a second straight $1.4 trillion deficit, Congress is moving to raise the debt ceiling by another $1.8 trillion.

And the lead story in the Post Monday began:

“The Senate cleared for President Obama’s signature on Sunday a $447 billion omnibus spending bill that contains thousands of earmarks and double-digit increases for several Cabinet agencies.”

Total cost of the Senate bill passed Sunday was “$1.1 trillion, including average spending increases of 10 percent for dozens of federal agencies.”

Ten percent hikes for federal agencies? What is going on?

Democrats say the money is needed to make up for the neglect of the George W. Bush years. But the Bush years were the fattest years for federal social spending since the Great Society.

Sen. Dick Durbin says the spending is necessary “to keep cops on the street … so that families feel secure. … Money spent to help our first responders, firefighters and policemen is a critical investment.”

But aren’t cops and firemen a state and local responsibility?

“It is business as usual, spending money like a drunken sailor, ” said Sen. John McCain. “And the bar is still open.”

But when sailors get drunk and spend crazily, they are on shore leave and spending their own money. When they get back aboard ship, they sober up and shape up, and do the vital work they enlisted to do.

These congressmen never stop bingeing. They are addicts. They are alcoholics. And they are spending our money. According to Taxpayers for Common Sense, there are 5,200 earmarks in that one Senate bill, which averages out to 12 pork projects for every House member — and 52 for every senator.

What is going on in Washington?

Democrats are following the Rahm Rule of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel. “Don’t allow a crisis to go to waste. … There are opportunities to do big things.”

The Party of Government is exploiting the economic crisis to grow the government. And from the standpoint of self interest, this makes sense. Most government employees are Democratic voters, as are most beneficiaries of government programs.

Moreover, Democrats have to get the money out the door before the midterms, where the party is going to take a bath and lose power.

How else to explain this lead story last week in USA Today:

“The number of federal workers earning six-figure salaries has exploded during the recession. …

“Federal employees making salaries of $100,000 or more jumped from 14 percent to 19 percent of civil servants during the recession’s first 18 months — and that is before overtime pay and bonuses are counted.

“Federal workers are enjoying an extraordinary boom time — in pay and hiring — during a recession that has cost 7.3 million jobs in the private sector.”

When the recession started, the Defense Department had 1,868 civilian employees earning $150,000. Defense now has 10,100. The Transportation Department had one person earning $170,000 when the recession began. Transportation now has 1,690 employees earning above $170,000. Recession in America means boom times in D.C.

The financial crisis that almost sank the capitalist system was the work of Washington and Wall Street. The Fed created the bubble. The White House and Congress goaded banks into making all those subprime mortgages. Fannie and Freddie bought up the lousy paper and turned it into securities. Wall Street banks bought them up and put them on their books as Triple A assets. Federal regulators looked the other way.

Yet happy days are here again on Wall Street. And Washington never saw better times, with federal workers now earning, on average, $31,000 a year more than workers in the gutted private sector.

Is this the government the Founding Fathers dreamed of — or is this the kind of arrogant government they took up arms against?

Source: Patrick J. Buchanan

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Old photo from a local Chamber of Commerce telling men to keep walking—don't ask for jobs here.

December 15th, 2009

by Michael Luo and Megan Thee-Brenan
- New York Times

WebNote:  Read this column then check out the comment section on the NY Times site. Looks like Americans might finally be getting mad enough for that R3volution.

More than half of the nation’s unemployed workers have borrowed money from friends or relatives since losing their jobs. An equal number have cut back on doctor visits or medical treatments because they are out of work.

Almost half have suffered from depression or anxiety. About 4 in 10 parents have noticed behavioral changes in their children that they attribute to their difficulties in finding work.

Joblessness has wreaked financial and emotional havoc on the lives of many of those out of work, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll of unemployed adults, causing major life changes, mental health issues and trouble maintaining even basic necessities.

The results of the poll, which surveyed 708 unemployed adults from Dec. 5 to Dec. 10 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points, help to lay bare the depth of the trauma experienced by millions across the country who are out of work as the jobless rate hovers at 10 percent and, in particular, as the ranks of the long-term unemployed soar.

Roughly half of the respondents described the recession as a hardship that had caused fundamental changes in their lives. Generally, those who have been out of work longer reported experiencing more acute financial and emotional effects.

“I lost my job in March, and from there on, everything went downhill,” said Vicky Newton, 38, of Mount Pleasant, Mich., a single mother who had been a customer-service representative in an insurance agency.

“After struggling and struggling and not being able to pay my house payments or my other bills, I finally sucked up my pride,” she said in an interview after the poll was conducted. “I got food stamps just to help feed my daughter.”

Over the summer, she abandoned her home in Flint, Mich., after she started receiving foreclosure notices. She now lives 90 minutes away, in a rental house owned by her father.

With unemployment driving foreclosures nationwide, a quarter of those polled said they had either lost their home or been threatened with foreclosure or eviction for not paying their mortgage or rent. About a quarter, like Ms. Newton, have received food stamps. More than half said they had cut back on both luxuries and necessities in their spending. Seven in 10 rated their family’s financial situation as fairly bad or very bad.

But the impact on their lives was not limited to the difficulty in paying bills. Almost half said unemployment had led to more conflicts or arguments with family members and friends; 55 percent have suffered from insomnia.

“Everything gets touched,” said Colleen Klemm, 51, of North Lake, Wis., who lost her job as a manager at a landscaping company last November. “All your relationships are touched by it. You’re never your normal happy-go-lucky person. Your countenance, your self-esteem goes. You think, ‘I’m not employable.’ ”

A quarter of those who experienced anxiety or depression said they had gone to see a mental health professional. Women were significantly more likely than men to acknowledge emotional issues.

Tammy Linville, 29, of Louisville, Ky., said she lost her job as a clerical worker for the Census Bureau a year and a half ago. She began seeing a therapist for depression every week through Medicaid but recently has not been able to go because her car broke down and she cannot afford to fix it.

Her partner works at the Ford plant in the area, but his schedule has been sporadic. They have two small children and at this point, she said, they are “saving quarters for diapers.”

“Every time I think about money, I shut down because there is none,” Ms. Linville said. “I get major panic attacks. I just don’t know what we’re going to do.”

Nearly half of the adults surveyed admitted to feeling embarrassed or ashamed most of the time or sometimes as a result of being out of work. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the traditional image of men as breadwinners, men were significantly more likely than women to report feeling ashamed most of the time.

There was a pervasive sense from the poll that the American dream had been upended for many. Nearly half of those polled said they felt in danger of falling out of their social class, with those out of work six months or more feeling especially vulnerable. Working-class respondents felt at risk in the greatest numbers.

Nearly half of respondents said they did not have health insurance, with the vast majority citing job loss as a reason, a notable finding given the tug of war in Congress over a health care overhaul. The poll offered a glimpse of the potential ripple effect of having no coverage. More than half characterized the cost of basic medical care as a hardship.

Many in the ranks of the unemployed appear to be rethinking their career and life choices. Just over 40 percent said they had moved or considered moving to another part of the state or country where there were more jobs. More than two-thirds of respondents had considered changing their career or field, and 44 percent of those surveyed had pursued job retraining or other educational opportunities.

Joe Whitlow, 31, of Nashville, worked as a mechanic until a repair shop he was running with a friend finally petered out in August. He had contemplated going back to school before, but the potential loss in income always deterred him. Now he is enrolled at a local community college, planning to study accounting.

“When everything went bad, not that I didn’t have a choice, but it made the choice easier,” Mr. Whitlow said.

The poll also shed light on the formal and informal safety nets that the jobless have relied upon. More than half said they were receiving or had received unemployment benefits. But 61 percent of those receiving benefits said the amount was not enough to cover basic necessities.

Meanwhile, a fifth said they had received food from a nonprofit organization or religious institution. Among those with a working spouse, half said their spouse had taken on additional hours or another job to help make ends meet.

Even those who have stayed employed have not escaped the recession’s bite….

Read more at the New York Times

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We are the nearest alternative for Canadians for real, timely healthcare. Watch this video, ObamaCare Yay Or Nay? The Truth About Canada! and you will see what I mean. For all intents and purposes, Canadians are without timely healthcare. America is their only choice when they have an urgent need for real healthcare.

Does anyone think our government will do any better by us when they are in charge of our healthcare than the Canadian government has done by their citizenry? One of the best answers to that question is, are you kidding?

Consider this:  Our federal government has run every business into the ground that it has ever attempted to run. Fanny Mae, Freddie Mac, the Post Office, and the list goes on; they are all broke, so why should it be any different with Healthcare? Not only would they kill the best healthcare delivery system in the world, they would kill many of us in the process.

We have all heard how bad the Canadian healthcare system is, but this video will take your knowledge of just how bad it is to a higher level. The video is enlightening, and fortunately it is also entertaining.

ObamaCare Yay Or Nay? The Truth About Canada!

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By Patrick J. Buchanan

While America was consumed this summer with quarrels over town-hall radicals, “death panels”, the “public option” and racism’s role in the plunging polls of Barack, what happens to health care is not going to change the history of the world.

What happens in Afghanistan might.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal has done his duty. He has bluntly told his commander in chief what he must have in added combat troops and warned that if he does not get them, America faces “mission failure.”

Translation: a Taliban victory and U.S. defeat—as in Saigon 1975.

Not only does President Obama face the most critical decision of his young presidency, this country is facing a moment of truth. Obama, now the Decider, has four options.

• There is the Biden option of drawing down troops, drawing away from Hamid Karzai, and focusing McChrystal’s men on what they do best—running down and killing al-Qaida, be they in Afghanistan or Pakistan.
• Second is the option of indecision—holding off on more troops until the 68,000 already committed have arrived by December, and seeing how McChrystal does with them until spring.
• The third option is to give McChrystal some but not all the tens of thousands he says he needs.
• Final option: Give Gen. McChrystal the blank check George W. Bush gave Gen. David Petraeus, with the surge of 2007 in Iraq, which radically reduced the violence and set the stage for U.S. withdrawal beginning in 2010.

If Obama meets some or all of McChrystal’s request, America will stave off defeat in the short term. But the cost will be hundreds and perhaps thousands more U.S. dead, tens of billions more sunk, growing divisions in our country and more innocent Afghan victims.

And the surge may simply push a U.S. withdrawal and Taliban takeover a few years off into the future.

This assumes that Afghanistan is unwinnable, that America does not have the perseverance or will to send the hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops for the decade needed to crush the Taliban and create a government and army able to stand on their own when we depart.

If, however, Obama comes to believe the cost of “victory” in blood, money and years is not worth it, or the American people, already against the war and adding more troops, will not sustain it, or the war is unwinnable, then we need to look defeat in the face.

For that is what McChrystal says we are risking, if Obama dithers or draws down troops.

Russia’s withdrawal of 1988-89 led to the collapse of the Soviet Empire. What would a U.S. withdrawal do to the American Empire?

A Taliban triumph would mean the Afghans who sided with us in this war would face the same retribution as our allies in Cambodia and Vietnam.

Western aid workers would have to flee the country.

Under Taliban control, Afghanistan would be a sanctuary for the Pakistani Taliban, which would be emboldened to settle scores with the Islamabad politicians who had sided with the United States.

Taliban allies in the Pakistan army and intelligence services would be seen as on the wise and winning side, while those who sided with America would be seen as losers. The odds would rise that Pakistan would face a revived insurgency and acts of terror against the regime. The odds on the survival of a pro-American regime in a country already marinated in anti-Americanism would fall.

Among Islamists worldwide, news that the Afghan Sunni Taliban had defeated and driven the United States out, as their fathers had the Soviet Empire, would be electrifying. Muslim governments aligned with America would be shaken and perhaps imperiled.

Al-Qaida, thwarted by U.S. security services and ravaged by U.S. Predator and Special Forces strikes, would be seen as having helped inflict a defeat on America unseen since Vietnam.

Osama bin Laden would be a candidate for Man of the Decade.

With his 9-11 attack, he had fired a shot heard ’round the Islamic world, sucked America into two wars that bled, divided and helped to bankrupt her, and seen the last superpower off in Afghanistan.

Osama’s ultimate goal from the start—the removal of all U.S. troops from sacred Saudi soil and expulsion of all Crusaders from the Islamic world—would no longer be an impossible dream.

For America, loss of Afghanistan would poison U.S. politics as did the loss of China and of Vietnam. It would discredit nation-building for decades and ring down the curtain on Wilsonian interventionism for a generation. And it could bring about the defeat of Barack Obama as the liberal who lost the war al-Qaida began on 9-11.

Whether Obama cuts U.S. forces and advances the day of a Taliban victory, or doubles-down and sends the tens of thousands of U.S. troops Gen. McChrystal demands, Afghanistan has claimed another hubristic imperial power.

Source: Patrick J. Buchanan Blog

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