Obama Speech

“As government expands, liberty contracts”  – Ronald Reagan, 1989.  Is that what we heard this evening from Obama?   Here is what he said,  “We need government to protect your liberty”.  Who do you believe?

Scott Brown

To the citizen of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts:  Thank you!  You said enough is enough and hopefully Washington is listening.  Again, thank you from the rest of the country

Government Programs

Here we go again, another tax on business.  The feds are proposing a tax on banks to recoup some of the bailout money.  They should never have bailed out the banks in the first place.  The banks who are subject to the tax would be subject to a 15 basis-point tax on the money they borrow.  Right now their cost of money from the Federal Reserve is zero, so a 15 b-point tax is nothing.  If the feds rally want to do something to reduce the risks the banks are taking (loans), they should raise interest rates, rather than pass a  meaningless tax.  It is just an excuse to force more regulations upon us.

Consumer Debt

As Americans we have become serfs to debt.  Our debt (individual and collectively), has grown out of control.  We need to take our medicine and quit spending.  We need to get out of debt because without debt, we can’t be forced to work; you are free to work.  The difference between the two choices is a matter of freedom or serfdom.

Haiti Aid

I was looking at the Financial Times of London website this morning.  http://www.ft.com/home/us  It appears that the United States is being blamed for the log jam at the airport.  They are reporting that a French plane was turned away because of the crowded airport.  They might be partly right in blaming the U.S., if Obama didn’t send Hilary Clinton down to “inspect” or I mean for a photo shoot, there might be less chaos at the airport.  I say, keep the politicians out of Haiti and let the aid works do their jobs, we might save some lives and help to put the Haitian who survived on a path to normalcy.

New Taxes

Here in Oregon there are only two initiatives on the winter ballot, Measure 66 & 67, both are tax increases.  I live in Washington County and the “pitch” for those in favor of 66 & 67 claim that corporations and “the rich” only pay $10 in taxes.  Let’s see, when has a tax increase led to prosperity?  Taxing the corporations is really taxing the customers of those corporations.  They will roll this cost increase into the pricing of the product, so the tax is being paid by the consumer.  We cannot tax ourselves out of this recession.  We must cut taxes to stimulate job growth.  That is why I am voting No on 66 & 67.  A parting thought:  When was the last time a “poor” guy gave anyone a job?

Stimulus

Doesn’t Congress understand that we cannot spend your way out of a recession. We cannot regulate the economy into oblivion and expect it to work.  We cannot tax people and businesses to the point of near slavery and expect them to keep producing. We cannot keep creating money out of thin air without making all that paper worthless. The government cannot make up for rising unemployment by just hiring all the out of work people to be bureaucrats or send them unemployment checks forever. We cannot keep living beyond your means indefinitely. The economy must actually produce something others are willing to buy. No more stimulus Mr. Obama.

Economy

I heard this morning that Obama is considering another stimulus to “jump-start” the economy.  These jump starts are phony, we need to replace the battery not jump starting a dead one.  The only way out of this economic mess is to quit spending.  We need to focus on production and savings, rather than debt financed spending and consumption.  Savings drives expansion and production.

Census

Why are we doing the census this year when we can’t afford this “make work” that is not productive.  Thats right, the constitution says we must conduct a census every 10 years.  Why does Obama follow this part of the constitution and ignore the rest of the constitution?

Peter Schiff is Right

Peter recently wrote a comment on the Time magazine announcement that the previous 10 years was the “decade from hell”.   He wrote:  “Under no circumstances could the past ten years be described as “the decade from hell.” In fact, in terms of economic good fortune, the period shares parallels with the Roaring Twenties. I would describe this as a decade of sin that paved the way to hell.”

He goes on to say:  “Yes, we had spectacular problems like September 11th and the invasion of Iraq – which were horrific for those who were directly affected – but for most Americans, it was a time of unexpected wealth and unearned prosperity. Up to the days of the stock market crash, the economics of the decade will be remembered for cash-out refinancing for millions of homeowners, no-doc liar loans, no-money-down car purchases, eight-figure Wall Street bonuses, cheap Chinese imports, and trample-to-death holiday sales. In other words, the decade now closing gave us the biggest and most irresponsible spending orgy in U.S. history. The past decade was the party; the one ahead will be the hangover. “

Today Chris Dodd is stepping down from his senate seat because of the heat that Peter Schiff has been putting on him since his announcement to run for senate.  Go for it Peter.