Boehner and McConnell are fools!

In case you hadn’t heard, Armaggedon is tomorrow….

But it is all right because Congress has come together in a rare moment of enlightenment and with Obama’s blessing has arrived at a deal that has Nancy exuberantly smiling (or is that grimacing? Hard to tell)…and Harry nearly wetting himself in glee.

For his part, Boehner is trying to stay serious and express the deep concerns for fiscal responsibility that he has tried to convey since day 1 of this so-called crisis.

Obama is now in the White House gleefully patting himself on the back for a job well done.

As for us, the people, well…we have to live with whatever deal is struck behind closed doors.

Am I relieved that a deal looks to have been done, and Armageddon will be deferred to another day?

Nope…I am furious.

I am not exactly surprised by this outcome…a blind man could have seen this one coming.

So…let’s take a look at what has been determined is a 98% win for conservatives:-

1. The debt limit will be increased by $1 trillion immediately (and a further $1.5 trillion by December.)

Ok, so the immediate risk of default is averted….wait…default? There was never a risk of default. The risk was to programs and government spending on pet projects, or the government having to shut down for a while…there was NEVER a risk of default. That was a fear tactic generated by the President…no wonder he is so gleeful today…his fear tactic won!

So…no default…just a trillion dollars more in debt. By my reckoning, assuming a 2% interest rate, that would be somewhere around an additional $20 billion a year in interest expense. Does not seem to be a lot in the scheme of things, but lets keep that number in mind for a later discussion.

Come December, Obama may be able to increase debt by another $1.5 trillion….generating a further $30 billion in interest costs…total interest burden of around $50 billion annually.

2. The government spending level will reduce by a trillion dollars.

That sounds good if it all happened in the current fiscal year it would represent a good start to the debt and spending challenges facing this country.

A good start but not enough!

On closer examination, the spending cuts are to be spread out over ten years…with the majority of the cuts in the out years. Some estimates have the cuts for the current fiscal year to be as low as $7 billion. Why is this number so important….because the interest costs on the increased debt for this year will be a minimum of $20 billion. Therefore the net saving under this plan, this year is an additional spending requirement of $13 billion.

This is the fuzzy math that Washington uses to try to trick you into believing they are doing the right thing!

But that is not the worst part. This so called spending cut is not based on current spending levels but on already expected future spending levels. Here is what I mean. The 2011 budget is about $3.65 trillion with a deficit of $1.65 trillion.

The 2012 spending is already expected to be 8% higher, or $292 billion. Government income (taxes) are forecast to increase at the growth rate of 4%. 2011 government income was budgeted at $2 trillion, so for 2012 they expect a further $80 billion. SO the “gap” between increased revenue and increased spending is $210 billion. Deduct “planned” spending cuts of $100 billion, and the government has to borrow at least $1.77 trillion to stay solvent in 2012.

In 2013 the numbers get even bigger. And this is assuming 4% growth economically…not the 1.3% (inflated) numbers we are achieving today. I have said it before and I will say it again…numbers have meanings, just like words, but they are easy to manipulate to hide the truth.

I saw a report today that actually said the proposed cuts equal 7% of current spending. Well, that may be true…but they do not represent 7% of the spending over the periods that the cuts are mad. Much closer to about one half of one percent. This is the type of journalistic dishonesty we see every day…and we must be cautious not to buy the BS!!

3. No tax increases.

Wow! That would be a good victory….if it were true.

I have a couple of things to say about this.

a) no tax increases assumes that the tax cuts previously known as the Bush tax cuts (but now should be more appropriately known as the Obama tax cuts) will expire in 2013 and will not be extended. Since Norquist and others have said that the expiration of these cuts does not amount to a tax increase, Obama, Reid, Pelosi and co have tricked Boehner and McConnell into believing no tax increases will occur. BS.  Again…to my way of thinking the removal of a tax cut is akin to the imposition of a higher tax rate…it is a tax increase. No amount of spin or trickery or lying changes that fact.

b) the “committee” that is about to be appointed to look at the “crisis” and determine further spending cuts to allow further increase in the debt limit, has pretty much NO rules about what it considers. That “open book” could certainly include tax increases as a trade-off to other reductions as Obama has wanted all along.

Now the Committee will be appointed by both majority and minority leaders of both parties….and does not reflect the current makeup of congress. The fact that republicans make up 59% of the House should have been reflected in republicans having more reps on the council. Likewise, democrats should have more reps from the Senate. The total number would be the same but the makeup would reflect the political makeup of congress. But no…we have to have equal numbers on this very powerful committee.

This is not lost on Nancy and Harry. They see how they can move forward with tax increases through this committee…as can I.

4. IF the super-committee is unable to come up with a proposal for reduced spending as required, or the up and down vote does not pass, a penalty is triggered.

The penalty is supposed to be harsh to ensure that the Committee does its job. Well, the penalty has been written to be that the debt limit will be increased with a corresponding automatic cut in spending on….defense and Medicare!

No wonder Harry and Nacny and Obama are so happy.

The automatic spending cuts are only in the areas where they want to cut anyway.

4. There is a requirement that a balanced budget amendment be voted on by both houses of congress. There is no requirement that it be passed!

So…we have a deal struck behind closed doors that does the following:-

1. allows Obama to borrow more

2. increases spending in the next 12 months by more than the spending cuts will save by virtue of the interest costs on the borrowed money

3. does nothing to address long term spending….in fact allows the spending in every future year to increase at a rate faster than the forecast rate of economic growth

4. assumes the Bush tax cuts expire and are not renewed but is hailed as having no tax increases

5. creates yet another Government committee to come up with additional cuts

6. automatically gives Obama another $1.5 trillion borrowing capacity even if the committee fails to get suggestions agreed by congress

7. penalizes the defence budget and Medicare if the committee fails

8. allows for actual future tax increases

9. does not attempt to balance future budgets

10. gives Obama the ability to ignore debt while he is campaigning for 2012

…and Boehner and McConnell think this is a good deal?

I tell you…this world is totally upside down.

The only hope left is that there are enough sane members of congress to vote against this piece of crap.

As of the writing of this post, no voting had taken place. Harry would not declare victory but indicated he expected to be able to. Boehner was still working the caucus.

This is the worst nightmare I could imagine.

I am sick of the lily-livered pathetic republicans who do not have the balls to make a stand.  I am sick of the lies and the spin. I am sick of the conservative leadership bowing before Obama and being complicit in spreading his lies.

Every so called conservative who votes for this travesty of a bill should be removed from office tat the first opportunity.

Do not forget.

It’s time.

The war is just beginning and we are on the front lines. Be strong and fight wherever these idiots try to lie to you.

…..it’s time.

….devereaux

Actually, "the Rich" Don't "Create Jobs," We Do....Another lie!

It has been a few days since I have posted....that is not because of a lack of topics (it takes no more than 3 minutes to find a multitude of examples of stupidity)...but because I, unlike my liberal counterparts, have responsibilities outside of my blog that I attend to. It is called having a life...something that is sadly lacking in the rantings of many on the left.

Speaking of rantings, I came across this article and thought I should share it with you....

http://truthout.org/actually-rich-dont-create-jobs-we-do/1305380742

If you ever want to understand just how low the education system in this country has become, you just need to read this article. And if you want to truly understand how effective the intellectual dishonesty enjoyed by the author is, simply read the plethora of comments in support of his basic premise.

The few stand-outs who dare to question his premise are virtually lost in the noise of the clapping and cheering of dishonesty.

This article is so wrong on so many levels that I really do not know where to start. Do I start by showing where his thinking is astray? Do I start by showing where his facts are wrong? Do I start by pointing out where his knowledge is deficient?

If I do all the above, this will become a much larger post than anyone with half a brain would want to read, so I will simply select a few things he said and add my opinions/thoughts.... :)

1." The idea that there are producers and parasites as expressed in the example above has become a core philosophy of conservatives. They claim that wealthy people "produce" and are rich because they "produce." The rest of us are "parasites" who suck blood and energy from the productive rich, by taxing them."


OK. So, the author is claiming that the core conservative philosophy is that the rich are producers and that if you are not rich you must be a blood sucking parasite? The author uses Atlas Shrugged and comments from Boehner to support this. Clearly, the author has never read Atlas Shrugged, because if he had, he would understand that the workers are considered to be producers, while the parasites are the union thugs, the government employees, the handout recipients etc. The labor needed to produce goods and services is not considered parasitic. I further question the authors intelligence and ability to understand simple English when he chooses to misrepresent not just the intent of quoted sources, but the actual statements made.


The authors entire basis for this article is intellectual dishonesty. He has created a lie, and then proceeds to attempt to prove it is a lie. Ordinarily one would expect that to be a relatively simple task...after all, it is usually easy to destroy something you created, right?


Apparently not, for this author stumbles in every possible way.


STRIKE ONE!


2. "Democracy Creates Jobs"


Really? Firstly, the author is showing his extreme ignorance by referring to USA as a democracy. He was very clever by not actually stating that but it is certainly inferred in many ways, since he continually writes about "in a democracy". Listen up dude. You obviously either failed history or you were educated in the public school system.  I will say this a few times so that you can understand.


The USA is NOT, I repeat NOT a democracy. The Founding Fathers knew that a Democracy is nothing more than mob rule and that in a Democracy the largest numbers, the most powerful, can control the rest with no in built protections. That was not going to happen under their watch.


So...they created the best political system ever known to mankind...a Representative Republic. A Republic is a nation governed by the Rule Of Law. The Constitution and Amendments are the Law by which USA is ruled. The people elect representatives to the Senate and House to represent them in creating the laws that the country will be ruled by in accordance with the over-riding requirement that all new laws must be consistent with the Constitution. 


So..America is NOT a democracy. It is a Representative Republic...a totally different animal indeed. I know and understand why the left continues to misinform people about the political system in place in America. By convincing and teaching us that we live in a Democracy, they stealthily decrease the extent to which the Constitution drives government. In a true democracy, the law is not restricted by unfortunate Constitutional matters, but is free to be whatever the mob wants it to be. With more and more people relying on the government teat for their sustenance (ie parasites) the tipping point has been reached whereby the numbers are sufficient overpower the right thinking people in this country....and if it wasn't for that pesky Constitution, they cold do whatever they wanted.


Democracy? Bah humbug!!


When one talks with authority implying that USA is a democracy, ones intellectual dishonesty is worn on his sleeve for all to see. What is particularly distressing is that so few see this, and so many blindly agree with the falsehood emanating from this mans fingers.


STRIKE TWO!




3."We do not "depend" on the good graces of a favored few for our livelihoods. We all are supposed to have an equal opportunity, and equal rights. And there are things we are all entitled to -- "entitlements" -- that we get just because we were born here."


Really? Really? Equal rights? We have equal rights....our Constitution (remember that pesky document?) lays out what our rights are. We have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. On those three I will agree.


Equal opportunity? Well, while not a right it is certainly an admirable thing to strive for...nobody should be denied opportunity simply because of color, religion, sexual orientation or any other thing that makes them "different" or "appear different". HOWEVER, equal opportunity does not mean that some should be treated with "more equalness". I am referring here to that nasty thing called affirmative action. How does having to employ a person of color in front of a white person simply because of some arbitrary quota considered equal opportunity? Huh? Tell me? How?


Let's quickly look at entitlements. Equal entitlements right? So a black person should get the same entitlements as a white person? That would be equal, right? And a rich person gets the same entitlements as a poor person? So when a rich person is denied public health because his income is too high, while a person wasting his life on drugs is provided free public health, this is considered equal entitlements, right?


It seems to me that these arbitrary rights, opportunities and entitlements are not at all equal but are based solely on factors that differentiate people.


Yes, we have rights JUST BECAUSE WE WERE BORN HERE...and they are set out clearly in the Constitution. It is unfortunate that successive governments have chosen to not only expand those rights, but to restrict some people from having them based on color or finances etc.


This is what happens in a democracy. See point 2 above. This is exactly why the left wants us to think of ourselves as a democracy and not as a representative republic. 


I guess it is fine to want everyone to have equal rights and entitlements. That is one side of the coin. Clearly, according to the author, this equality does not extend to funding the government that provides these rights and entitlements. The more equal rich guy gets to fund more while the more needy poor guy gets to take more. 


Yep...that is definitely equality!!


Another example of intellectual dishonesty from this author.


STRIKE THREE!


In any normal situation that would be enough...but let's see if there are some examples of stupidity in this single article.


4. A democracy is supposed have a progressive tax structure that is in proportion to the means to pay.


Maybe a democracy is supposed to have a progressive tax...although I do not know where that is mandated. It is simply an opinion of the author. In any event, I don't care what a democracy is "supposed to have", or by what authority such a statement is made because USA is not a democracy. So, that basically kills the crux of this argument, however it may be entertaining to review the rest of this statement.


I love the italicized part ..."in proportion to the means to pay". OK...who determines what that proportion is? Who determines the means to pay? What arbitrary amount should be included? What is a fair tax rate? Obviously if a person has the means to pay above a certain level, why not tax that at a 100%> Indeed, why not tax everything above, say, $20k annual income at 100%? If we did that, everybody would be equal as the left wants it to be?


What's that? You don't think that number is high enough? Why? What is your basis for determining that? Is it because you earn more than $20k per year and want to maintain a certain lifestyle based on the effort you contribute to earn that money? Or is it because you don't want your hard earned money going to help some miscreant who never worked a day in their life?


I have found that most so called liberals want the poor to be looked after...but not with their money. With the money of the rich people. 


It is all well and good to make everybody equal...as long as it is with somebody else's money. I have discovered very few liberals who actually live what they profess. They still want their homes, caers and flat screen TV's while stridently yelling for somebody else to look after the poor and disadvantaged.


This author is no different. Hypocrite!


STRIKE FOUR!


5. MY favorite:  "The rich do not "create jobs, We, the People create jobs"


Really? I started a business and created 12 jobs that did not exist before I started the business. My business was built in advance of the demand for the service I offered. It was funded by my own savings. Let me tell you, a poor person would not have created that business. A poor person, or even an ordinary hard working every day Joe, would not have started that business.


Why?


Because it took over $500k in start-up costs before the first penny of revenue was received.


"We the people" did not create the demand for the service. The business was created first and then the demand was created. This created jobs based on the use of capital...and poor people and ordinary people simply do not have the capital to start businesses that create jobs. By the way...that $500k created 11 jobs...around $45k investment per job. How many jobs does the government create for every $45k it spends? So don't go telling me that taxes create jobs.


And don't tell me that this magical thing called demand creates jobs without first explaining where demand comes from, ok?


So where does it come from? It comes from money that is earned by other workers (or government handouts). So how do people get jobs? Because a company that is probably owned by a rich guy, decides he needs to grow and to do that needs to employ more people!


What if the business owner is not  a rich guy? Well...somewhere along the line, his business has been supported by a rich guy, or by a pool of funds provided by several rich guys.


The intellectual dishonesty of this author astounds me...although it shouldn't because he is clearly the product of a poor education. However, to discuss demand as if it were something that comes out of nowhere is really sinking to the bottom of the intellectual barrel.


This time he is lying by means of not following an idea to its source. He has chosen to simply disregard reality in his attempts to make a point.


STRIKE FIVE!


OK...if I have not shown you how wrong that article is, I guess I have failed. The reality is that the left concocts these lies, and builds very elaborate straw men that sound "right". The truth is they remain lies.


Taxes at whatever level, and charged to rich or poor alike, simply takes money from an efficient private sector and is then spent (wasted) by an inefficient government sector.


Someone, please tell me how this creates jobs? Please tell me how you can justify treating people unequally under the banner of equal rights?


Stop the hypocrisy, the lies and deceptions. Speak about it wherever and wherever you see it.


Stupid is as stupid says.


.............................................devereax