$14 Trillion or $15 Trillion debt... Who cares?... It makes no difference...

Had a conversation at work the other day and it turned to the next $1 trillion we are about to add to our national debt bringing it to over $15 trillion dollars owed... Now there have been many examples of how much a trillion really is but the conversation got to a point that if the additional $1 trillion is not really felt at the immediate paycheck level what difference does it matter?...

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The average person has not really felt the effects of the last trillion that was added to the debt for it has not hit them directly in their pocket. This is obvious at work for even at the last "Black Friday" we saw a considerable increase in sales over last years numbers and the customers continue to spend as long as the credit card swipes and the approval is instant as it is anymore. I mean let's face it. With the economy as bad as they say it is do you really need to buy that new ratcheting screw driver that works both directions? Thought we did not have any manufacturing jobs in America anymore and who needs a screwdriver like that?....

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It looks like Congress will approve to add another $1 trillion to our national debt this week but will anybody notice? If adding another trillion to our debt resulted in every person seeing $50 missing from their paycheck every week there would be such outrage in the first month we could not imagine. Just look at what happened when Bank of America attempted to raise their fees by just $5 a month...

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Guest Post: "President Obama, please put JOBS under the Christmas tree this year !!!...

Unless you have a high paying government job, and even if you do, you are probably well aware that the majority of American’s are deeply impacted by the ongoing devastation to the United States economy since President Obama took office.

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While overall the unemployment rate hovers close to 9%, minority unemployment remains consistently near 15% and these figures show no indication of significant improvement in the near future. Meanwhile, the current administrations lack of a positive Energy Policy is not only hamstringing companies that could add much needed AMERICAN JOBS to the economy; it is also compromising our long term national security and unnecessarily delaying our economic recovery.
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The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently released a report that shows the U.S. is on track to actually export a net increase in gasoline, diesel and other oil-based fuels in 2011 for the first time in 62 years. This is due to the fact that while our economy is stalled, the economy in emerging markets is booming. However these record exports are not forecast to continue. EIA is also predicting domestic oil production will fall 240,000 barrels/day through 2012, mainly due to the continued Gulf "energy freeze" imposed by our current administration.

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The United States has the highest standards for environmental protection in the free world. Other countries do not endeavor to protect the environment for future generations as we do, yet their lack of concern for the environment will affect all of us. We have the desire to be good stewards of the environment as well as the technology to extract our resources in a safe and efficient manner. The U.S. also has the most stringent work place safety requirements of any nation. We have the energy resources right here within our borders. If President Obama wanted to put American’s back to work he has an entire industry waiting for the green light to help him turn around our economy.

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I grew up in New Orleans and my Dad worked on the oil rigs. I can attest first hand that oil industry jobs keep food on the table, the lights on and the rent paid. If we simply used the God-given resources we have in our great Nation, many American’s would not be needlessly losing their homes and struggling to keep their lights on and their families fed.

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We still import over half of our oil and petroleum products. Instead of selling our debt to China we should be selling our OIL to China and reducing our national debt. We do not lack the resources in America. What we lack is leadership and the political will to demand our administration put forward an energy policy that is beneficial to Americans and the United States. Let’s start the New Year on the right path. It is time to resume drilling within American borders and stop exporting American jobs.

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Melody Himel Scalley is an entrepreneur and talk-radio show host in Virginia.

Newt tells it the way it has to be said if we expect to get anywhere..

Newt has very much been the whipping boy of the past week or so and many are coming out saying he has too much baggage and would not do well against President Obama if he is the Republican candidate...

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No doubt the man has "History" that tends to make some conservatives a bit nervous when they see him in action, but I am telling you he is out there saying what many of us believe and doing it the only way you will be able to beat Obama...

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As in the past the Democrats will go ugly once they see their guy behind and loosing and the personal attacks, not just on Newt but all Republican\Conservatives, will be vicious and paid for with a Billion $$$ they are expecting to raise...

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The Democrats and Obama don't care about anything but being re-elected and the power it brings and will do what ever it takes. Look at the class-warfare they are using now...

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I fear the GOP will fold if they get to much public pressure on the payroll tax bill and will agree to the removal of the Keystone Pipeline from the bill as the President plays him game that will be trumpeted by the media...

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Newt is right that we need to send the bill to Obama and make him veto as he has promised. Then you send it again and make him veto it again and again until the public understands the real issue and how it effects them and our economy...

Tell it like it is !!...

Obama's Class-Warfare....

Two very good examples to describe how things actually work as compared to the "Class-Warefare" that Obama is throwing around....

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for dinner and the bill for all comes to $100.If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing like they do now with the present income tax structure.

The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59 of the bill.
So that is what the ten men decide to do.

The ten men ate dinner in the restaurant every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. “Since you all are such good customers I am going to reduce the cost of your daily meal by $20”. Dinner for the 10 men now costs just $80...

The group still wanted to pay the bill the same way that they paid their taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still eat for free. But what about the other six men -- the Paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everybody would get his “Fair Share”?

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth and sixth man would each end up being paid to eat their meal…So, the restaurant owner suggested it would be fair to reduce each mans bill roughly the same amount; and proceeded to work out the amounts each man would pay.

The fifth, like the first four now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth man now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings)
The seventh man now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% savings)
The eight man now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings)
The ninth man now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings)
The tenth man now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings)

Each of the six was better off then before. And the first four continued to eat for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings…

“I only got a dollar out of the $20,” declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man “but he got $10”…“Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a dollar, too. Its unfair that he got ten times more than me!?”“That’s true”, shouted the seventh man. “Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!”“Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison. “We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploit’s the poor!”The nine men surrounded the tenth man and beat him up…

The next night the Tenth man did not show up for dinner, so the Nine sat down and ate without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half the bill!

And that Boys & Girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just might not show up anymore. In fact, they might start eating overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier…David R. Kamerschen, PH.DProfessor of EconomicsUniversity of Georgia
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And then there is this cute little cartoon (makes it easier for some of my Democrat friends to follow) which also shows what happens when you take away the incentive to better and improve your self.....

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Economics 101...

Is it a matter of the "Have" and "Have Not" ?....

With all the riots going on in the UK and class warfare talk coming from our President and the “Liberal Left” media and citizens in our own country,
Is it really a matter of the “Have” against the “Have not’s” ?….

In Israel 250,000 protestors were in the streets because of the rising cost of living. Spain, Greece, and Portugal have had massive demonstrations and costly riots after implementing Austerity programs to cut spending and trying to save their economies…

But yet when I look at the news footage of these riots I do not see what you would expect to see. I do not see people in dire straits breaking into food stores or the local warehouse to steal\take what they need for them and their families to survive. Like New Orleans after Katrina, I see well dressed Kids\adults kicking in storefront windows to steal flat-screen TV’s. We see them flipping cars over and burning them. We see them intentionally throwing objects at police officers and hoping to get an officer to respond with 1/100th of excessive force so that the gathered media can film it to crucify the police force. I see them burning down stores in their own neighborhoods which can’t help them once they work this anger temper tantrum out…

We did not see this in Japan after a massive earthquake & Tsunami wiped out thousands of people creating many people without homes or jobs. We also did not see the Hollywood promised “China Syndrome” when the numerous nuclear reactors melt down. (I knew I couldn’t trust Jane Fonda in that movie). We did not see the people of Japan on their roofs with arms outstretched looking for help from their government. We did not see looting, intentional firestorms, kicked in store fronts, riots, or self pity in the eyes of those effected….

Will this happen in the United States once our economic situation gets worse?
With the lack of leadership we have in the executive branch it’s almost certain and might even be desired(?)… We have had riots here in the past due to stressful incidents and reactions and we have even had numerous riots, lootings, and storefront burnings due to Championship sporting events were even the winners were the actors! …

“What Say You” ?….

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Where is John Galt?....

Local Newspaper assigns titles to "Letter to Editor" as they see it?....

The local newspaper printed my Letter to the Editor regarding the actual profit rates made by the oil\gas industry as compared to other industries. It also provided information on how much is paid to the government each day and it's about $86 million dollars a DAY. Unfortunately the newspaper chose to title the piece "Oil Companies have Consumers over a Barrel" instead of showing true theme of my letter.... Below is the submitted LTE and a link to the comments section online for the piece....

NewsLeader Section

Once again the drumbeat against oil company profits is getting louder with the release of profits and the high cost of gas to the consumers.

But let's get some info out there that you don't see in the attack ads or "targeted" reporting by some of the media outlets.

According to API (American Petroleum Institute) the 2010 earnings of the oil\gas industry was 5.7 percent net income per dollar of sales. Compare this to 21.7 percent for the Beverage\Tobacco industry or 17.3 percent for the Computer equipment companies. In fact the average for All Manufacturing industry is at 8.5 percent ....

Some claim that we need to tax more and\or cut "subsidies" to the evil oil\gas companies but the truth is they pay 41.1 percent income taxes as a share of net income as compared to 26.5 percent of the non-oil S&P industries. They also pay over $86 million every day in rents, royalties, bonuses and income tax to the government.

It seems the ever-hungry government is looking for even more money and the oil\gas industry is a favorite target of many in the government. The truth is affordable and easily available energy is important to our economy and national security and let's not forget the 9.2 million jobs that the industry provides and with that income tax paid by those individuals.

Fortunately Gov. Bob McDonnell understands the importance of developing the numerous energy sources we have here on land as well as the offshore potential of windpower and oil\gas resources.

Obama will try to make Big Oil "Profits" a four-letter word...

Watch for the "Dem Talking Points" on High Gas Prices this weekend.....

Talkradio host Tom Sullivan had the top four "Talking Points" (blame~game) that the Democrat Politicians will be using while home in their States this weekend regarding High Gas Prices....

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1. The evil oil speculators

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2. The evil BIG OIL companies and be sure to bring up all of those oil leases that they already have but refuse to use thus creating the oil shortage... The Energy Tomorrow site has a good piece by Erik Milito that provides the facts regarding the Government oil leases sold to the oil companies and the amount of money needed to work the leases with no guarantee of oil find....

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3. OPEC

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4. Blame it on the Republicans and the old fallback..... George W. Bush......

Don't look for President Obama...

He will be in Rio for the weekend doing important Presidential stuff (?)

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Remember Obama's call for civility?.....

18 Republican senators from Wisconsin report getting death threats after passing bill to end collective bargaining for most public workers

Grothman said he is hesitant to completely disregard the threat given the volatile atmosphere in Madison. A note shoved under his door Wednesday night said, "The only good Republican is a dead Republican."

The letter tells lawmakers to "make your peace with God as soon as possible and say goodbye to your loved ones," warning they will be killed "due to your actions in the last eight weeks."

Amen.....

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"Price Gouging" by Who?....

With rising Gas prices President Obama got on the NEWS channels saying that he will have his administration watch out for "Price gouging" going on at the gas pumps... At the GAS PUMPS?!!!

What about the "Gouging" that Obama and his enviromaniac friends have been doing over the years? With the natural resources and technology that we have here in the States and offshore of our coasts we should be doing much more to control our own energy destiny...

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Obama went on to claim the the U.S. is now running highest oil production here in the U.S. but FAILS to state that his efforts and efforts of his Demoncratic team has nothing to do with the current production....

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“It’s completely disingenuous to say that offshore production has increased due to anything this administration has done,” Milito said. An increase in public land leased for oil and gas development is “attributable to these decisions to lease almost a decade ago.”
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Gas price is at $3.45 a gallon and with that I drove past a local coffee shop here in Staunton that I use to enjoy visiting. But with fuel prices going up and cutting into fun money, I will pass this "Obama\Democratic" stronghold and spend my money elsewhere....


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"Look for the Union Label"......

And make no mistake, GM is in a horrible bind. That $1.1 billion loss in the first quarter doesn't begin to tell the whole story. The carmaker is saddled with a $1,600-per-vehicle handicap in so-called legacy costs, mostly retiree health and pension benefits. Any day now, GM is likely to get slapped with a junk-bond rating. GM has lost a breathtaking 74% of its market value -- some $43 billion -- since spring of 2000, giving it a valuation of $15 billion. What really scares investors is that GM keeps losing ground in its core business of selling cars.

Enough is enough....

Interesting writings regarding the stand-off in Wisconsin and many missing Democrat Senators & House members....

Here's a lesson that is both ironic and sad at the same time. According to the U.S. Department of Education, two-thirds of the eighth graders in Wisconsin cannot read proficiently. But assuming the kids are skilled enough to watch TV, they can now see their teachers demonstrating to keep their generous union benefits. So while things do not seem to be going well in the classroom, any thought of holding teachers somewhat responsible is cause for a protest march.

In 10 years, starting in 1998, Wisconsin doubled the amount of money spent on each public-school student to more than $10,000 per pupil per year. And test scores went down! Doing the math, the equation seems to be that money is not the key to knowledge.

In the private sector, the capitalist knows that when he negotiates with the union, if he gives away the store, he loses his shirt. In the public sector, the politicians who approve any deal have none of their own money at stake. On the contrary, the more favorably they dispose of union demands, the more likely they are to be the beneficiary of union largesse in the next election. It's the perfect cozy setup.

Obama's Democrats have become the party of no. Real cuts to the federal budget? No. Entitlement reform? No. Tax reform? No. Breaking the corrupt and fiscally unsustainable symbiosis between public-sector unions and state governments? Hell no.

We have heard everyone — from Obama's own debt commission to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — call the looming debt a mortal threat to the nation. We have watched Greece self-immolate. We can see the future. The only question has been: When will the country finally rouse itself?



Meanwhile, 14 Democratic state senators who don't belong to organized labor but who with one exception are owned by unions have run off to Illinois so the state Senate can't vote on a bill they don't like.

As those Democrats ignored their constitutional duties a state away, that bill was passed early Friday in the Assembly where a mob of adults wearing orange T-shirts and acting like spoiled children chanted "shame, shame, shame" from the floor and gallery.




If anyone should be ashamed of their behavior, it's the public-sector workers and their supporters who think they have a moral title to jobs with bloated pay and benefits provided by others. They believe it's acceptable to bully those with whom they disagree and behave like riotous rabble. They've conducted themselves in an infantile, cowardly and undignified manner

If the AWOL Democrats don't start acting like adults and return to Madison by Monday to debate and vote on the bill passed in the Assembly, they should be recalled. Should government workers, including the teachers, continue to skip work without using their legitimate time off to join the protests, they need to be fired.

enough...

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Enough said.... Regarding why we need to look at the Public Service Unions.....

Richard Cohen makes some obvious observations regarding why we need to look at the pensions of the public Unions and the abuse of these programs....

In New York City, the No. 2 guy in the Fire Department retired on a pension worth $242,000 a year. In New York State, a single official holding two jobs and one pension took in $641,000. A lieutenant with the Port Authority police retired with an annual pension of $196,767, and 738 of the city's teachers, principals and such have pensions worth more than $100,000 a year.

In some cases, retirement came a mere 20 or so years after first reporting to HR and, if you were lucky enough to fake a disability — oh, my aching back! -- the sky is virtually the limit. Fully one-third of all New York City cops who retired during a recent 17-month period did so on disability.

They have dangerous jobs, we all know — but not nearly as dangerous as Long Island Rail Road workers. Almost all of them retired on disability. All aboard!

California state police often retire at age 50 with 90% of their salary. Corrections officers in that state earn $70,000 in base salary. New York City, the home office of featherbedding, supports 10,000 cops who retired before the age of 50.

It was one thing when unions went after giant corporations run by guys who played golf at restricted clubs. But when it comes to government workers, we are the boss and we pay the bill. To quote what Sam Spade told the woman he loved in the "Maltese Falcon, "I won't play the sap for you." When it comes to public-sector unions, my sentiments exactly.

Small Town Stimulus Package....

It is a slow day in the small Saskatchewan
town of Pumphandle and streets are deserted.

Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and
everybody is living on credit.

A tourist visiting the area drives through town,
stops at the motel, and lays a $100 bill on the
desk saying he wants to inspect the
rooms upstairs to pick one for the night.

As soon as he walks upstairs, the motel owner
grabs the bill and runs next door to pay his debt
to the butcher.

The butcher takes the $100 and runs down
the street to retire his debt to the pig farmer.

The pig farmer takes the $100 and heads
off to pay his bill to his supplier, the Co-op.

The guy at the Co-op takes the $100 and
runs to pay his debt to the local prostitute,
who has also been facing hard times and has had to
offer her "services" on credit.

The hooker rushes to the hotel and pays
off her room bill with the hotel owner.
The hotel proprietor then places the $100
back on the counter so the traveler will
not suspect anything.

At that moment the traveler comes down
the stairs, states that the rooms are not
satisfactory, picks up the $100 bill and leaves.

No one produced anything.

No one earned anything...

However, the whole town is now out of debt
and now looks to the future with a lot more
optimism.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how a
"stimulus package" works.

Now we have Professors starting websites for the RICH to give back tax-cuts ?.....

So now we have three professors from the elite universities of Yale & Cornell out there who have come up with a website so the "RICH" can now donate the "Tax-cuts" (?) that they just got with Congress extending the "Bush Tax-cuts" last month....

"three professors at Yale and Cornell universities have created a website that encourages wealthy Americans to give their tax savings to charities and send a political message in the process."

One professor is a political scientist while the other two are law professors and with hope they may find a economics professor to help explain tax cuts and their effects but don't count on it. What tax-cuts? Congress extended the "Bush Tax-cuts" keeping the tax rates the same for all federal taxpayers so actually nobody or any one bracket actually got a Tax-cut. It is amazing that people exposed to the "Spin" coming from the Left actually believe that by NOT RAISING a tax rate it is actually a tax-cut !!!...

"The professors started giveitbackforjobs.org to allow Americans "who have the means" to calculate what their tax cut would be and donate that amount to a charity."

Who is it up to when it comes to determine who is of "means" and what amount they should pay? Who determines what is the "fair share" that many claim the rich need to pay? With tax brackets that go from 5% all the way up to 35% for federal income tax payers who determines the "fair share"? When will it ever be enough and what about the 50%+ of the income earners that pay NO federal income tax at all?

Many people will work all of their lives building up their assets, develop businesses and investments, defer monetary and personal gains and put it right back into the business and investments while paying taxes on these assets all along the way. Only to be TAXED AGAIN at the time of their death before the assets are passed onto their families. What right does the government have to assets that have been taxed already?...

"Extending the tax cuts for the very wealthiest Americans is frankly unconscionable," Yale Law School professor Daniel Markovits said Wednesday. With the website's help, "donors can pledge their money to support the kinds of programs that will help families, create jobs, and set the country moving toward a just prosperity,"

Another perfect example of class warfare. Not sure what a professor from Yale or Cornell makes but are they in the "wealthiest of Americans" as described and who determines that? If they are in fact in this group who is stopping them from donating their "fair share" to the website? If these "Professors" were to go out and find a real economics professor other than one from their elite universities, they might understand how to really "help families, create jobs, and set the country moving toward a just prosperity," They might learn that if you really want to help families, the economy, and lower the un-employment rate, the best way is to actually lower the tax rates again to inspire investment and faith in the economy. This is a proven fact with the data after the Kennedy tax-cuts, the Reagan tax-cuts, and the Bush 43 tax-cuts. Many stated that when Reagan lowered the top tax rate from 70% that the treasury would go broke. In fact the tax revenue coming into the federal treasury doubled within two years. This week Canada lowered their corporate tax rate to half of what the United States corporate tax rate is at 35%. We have the second highest tax rate in the world. Where do you think business is going to go? The economy is "Dynamic", not "Static" as many of the Left and at Universities believe.....

"The professors say other features of the tax package, including a payroll tax cut and an extension of unemployment benefits, are acceptable but the overall package does not go far enough to help the middle class and doesn't expect enough of those who can afford to give the most."

Who determines "Who" and "How" much?.....

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Let's focus on the goverment waste.....

Obama and gang looking to destroy our energy independence....