“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. Great nations rise and fall. The people go from bondage to spiritual truth, to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from dependence back again to bondage.” - Alexander Tyler, “The Fall of the Athenian Republic ”, 1787
These were the words that came to mind as Obama spoke to Congress recently. This radical administration is now poised to transform our country in unimaginable ways. His address was riddled with bold-faced lies, beginning with his boast that the “stimulus” bill was passed without a single earmark. This claim was greeted by a standing ovation and a chorus of hurrumphs, perhaps in the hope that the scene would help sell the lie. He then said that he doesn’t believe in bigger government, yet never mentioned that he has spent $36 billion a day since taking office a little over a month ago – and the spending has only started.
His budget is massive and his rhetoric is the most anti-market, anti-capitalist speak this blogger has ever heard. For those who are attracted to such language just remember that we didn’t become the wealthiest, most prosperous nation in human history through collectivism. The most appalling component is his attempt at health care reform. In a time of recession he feels that it’s appropriate to tackle this expensive issue and he begins with a $600 billion “down payment”. In other words, this is just the beginning. The actual cost comes later, probably about the same time when we have to start paying back the $2 trillion additional dollars that he has already spent OUTSIDE of the federal budget. And speaking of spending outside the budget, does anyone know what happened to the $700 billion that Congress gave to avert the credit crisis? Neither do I. And Timmy Turbo-Tax now wants more money to spend on this ghostly program. Standing behind him is General Motors, whose portion of the bailout has vanished in the wind. No doubt they will be getting more of our dollars as well.
Obama wants to address the “energy crisis” with a cap-and-trade system on carbon emissions. Unemployment is pushing 9% and he supports an idea that will hurt our industry a great deal. Meanwhile, minimum wage continues to rise, further driving the unemployment rate up. And the markets? Every time this guy speaks the DOW plunges. It dropped another 200 points the day after his Congressional address. If you think that only hurts Wall Street executives, think again. That is our 401k, our IRA, our retirement, our net wealth that is plunging…and, yes, it’s also federal tax revenue as well. The stock market has no confidence in Obama. Today, it is trading at the same level as it was over a decade ago. To make matters worse, Obama plans to RAISE the capital gains tax rate. Yes, we are in a time when we NEED investment in the market, we NEED people to buy stock and invest in companies, and yet Obama plans to do the one thing that will DISCOURAGE such investment. Does he not know? Or does he simply not care?
But let’s not stop there. The Pelosi Congress will now be passing an additional $400 billion spending bill that will add to this year’s current budget. The interesting part of all this is that the bill ONLY covers 9 months of the year. 9 months, $400 billion. Oh yeah, it’s laden with earmarks. So far, over 9,000 earmarks have been identified in this bill. Remember, this is an omnibus spending bill. Congress has already passed a budget for 2009, and the “stimulus” has already been addressed. This bill adds to the year’s budget. $400 billion, 9 months, 9,000 congressional earmarks.
And even though we’ve wasted $750 billion trying to bail out banks, spent $1.2 trillion on “stimulus” liberal pet projects, added $400 billion to the year’s current budget, will soon be passing a $3.6 trillion 2010 budget, and will no doubt be giving Timmy Turbo Tax more money to throw at the banks...despite all of this, Obama STILL says he will cut the deficit in half by 2013. Please keep the laughter to a minimum, I think he really means it. How will he do this? Well, he will raise taxes, but only on the top 2% of taxpayers. Okay, I guess you can laugh now.
Does anyone take him at his word on this? Am I to believe that the top 2% of taxpayers have trillions of dollars they can pay in taxes? Folks, I’ll make a promise. If Obama does all of this while only raising taxes on the top 2%, then I’ll vote for him in 2012. Fat chance.
His tax plan will further drive up unemployment because the folks making >250K are usually small business owners. Their tax bill will go up, and they will cut costs as a result, probably starting with employment costs. More jobs lost.
My favorite quote was Obama’s description of tax cuts for the wealthy, he called it “an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy”. This says a lot, doesn’t it? See, I thought rich people actually earned their money, it belongs to them and they surrender a portion of it to the government. That’s not how Obama sees it. To him, that money belongs to all of us and it’s the government’s job to dole it out accordingly. So if we cut taxes for rich folks, we’re giving them more wealth. Wow. If that’s not Marxist, I don’t know what is.
We made a massive mistake in November. And we will be paying dearly for it, probably for decades. Here comes our bondage!
13 comments:
snake hunters said,
There was no laughter at our home,
Dr John. The only amusing part of the hour-long Omnibus speech, was watching a tired-looking Joe Biden getting to his feet, trying to keep up with Nancy Pelosi. She appeared to be sitting on springs, popping up every minute, foolishly grinning, and wildly applauding every Obama remark.
The National Debt? Thirteen Trillion, and counting...Whewee!
reb
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Prez Barach H. Obama has repeatedly
promised Americans that there will
not be "a single dime" of new taxation on the broad middle class.
Now we hear that his administration
is proposing a 10 cent per gallon federal tax add-on to an already burdensome state/federal gasoline tax!
>
I Want All Of You, to go open up your windows, and shout at the top of your lungs..."I'm sick & tired of the Con-job, I'm tired of the Bullying and the Lying, and We Aren't Gonna Take It Anymore!!!
>
Hah, now doesn't that make you feel proud? reb
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www.lazyonebenn.blogspot.com
WELL, I'M MAD AS HELL
because that dime will affect the long-haul truckers and the local deliveries too, and that will impact the rich, middle-class, and mostly the poor folks that can't afford food and medicine, and raising a family.
What a crock! - greybeard -
You are totally correct--great insight into the history of democracies. There is always a continung struggle between the old existing order and the new, thats what I like to refer too as the protracted conflict which is a part of the over-all systemic revolution. Its does, indeed seem that the older a government gets the more repressive it becomes. I suppose its the nature of the beast. Political leaders feel that when they get together they must pass more and more laws for, "the good of the public and public safety". Many freedoms, have fallen just in my lifetime in the name of "public welfare and safety". Eventually the flow of history catches up and like you say--revolution ensues. I believe this to be part of the natural order of things. The Greek city states gave way to the Roman Empire, which in turn gave way to the middle ages (city state government again), that gave way to Colonialism (large empires again), and with the end of WWI and WWII came the collapse of Colonialism and the rise of raphant nationalism (small states again)----it goes on and on. A continuing revolution. Yes, when a majority of the people are relying on the government the people who are in the minority and supporting not only themselves, but all the others the system will always collapse under its own weight in some cases and with revolution in others. See that Snake Hunter visits you, I enjoy his blog also. Drop by and see me sometimes.
The rich used to load their gold on their ships and sail away. Now the rich load up their gold on Gulfstreams and fly away to Paraguay.
I was born during the Great Depression, and everyone helped each other, and prayed for a better day.
Seaweed Says:
October 16th, 2008 at 12:22 am
Don’t have any food stored up
Not gonna live in a cave
No music can soothe the savage breast
Thru the roar of fear and rage
The hounds of hell are loose in the streets
We’ve all run out of grace
Too late to pull your head from the sand
When it’s staring you in the face
When hope is all sucked dry from you
When the weak and sick are dead
When a good day isn’t for the breathing
There’s no peace left in your head
As a last resort we lift our eyes
For relief from God above
But how are you going to change the world
When you haven’t got the love?
Quell the voices dark and low
Raise up your empty glass
Persevere the hard days still to come
And know this, too, shall pass.
Emilie
Port Orchard, WA
I generally, like to poke fun at this new occupant of the White House thinking like most that this is only another president and that things will change after the next election. But I'm beginning to face the stark reality that this maniac, this madman, could in just a few years destroy what its taken this country hundreds of years to build. I suppose the final straw for me was the new budget plan. Obama with his twisted understanding of history and his alien social and economic ideals, many of which he learned from the years he spent in the pews of Pastor Wrights church; will in the end not only change this country, as he has promised, but will destroy the very fabric of this great nation. He plan represents a threat far more formidable than any invading army could mount. Great nations generally fall from within, their fate sealed by the common masses who fail to see or understand the unrush of events. Events that are obvious to a few and invisable to the many. Such is the position we find ourselves in now. This man, this misguided fool, must be stopped. I beg, I plead, I pray that each of you raise the alarm---the enemy is not at the gates, but in the house; its not the Russians, its not the terrorist, its not the Iranians--its a charming, likable, young man who wants change. Unfortunately, its a change that will destroy this nation and its way of life. All despots think theirs in the road to greatness for their peoples and this leader is no different. No doubt about it, he is a leader and his followers love and adore him and they wait with eager antipication for his next words and the next words come and flow over the masses and they believe. They compare him to past great leaders and look to him to provide them with a better life. He promises more and more and the people believe and revel in the changes he trumpets. Changes that will give birth to a new nation, changes for a new millennium. A casting aside of the old order and the establishment of a new utopian-like society where all the needs of the common man will be met. He tells the masses that our problems are so great that only government can solve them and he will lead us to greatness again. His vision of American is a dark one, remember he sat in Pastor Wrights pews for years and was completely indoctrinated by his message of an evil and corrupt nation. He disavowed him when it suited his purpose, but gradually we are seeing his true feeling about the Pastors teachings emerge. Obama, in the end will reveal himself, but by that time it may be too late for this great nation to recover. Barack Hussein Obama is a "clear and present danger".
Agreed Ron except for one thing. Obama is NOT a leader. I'm beginning to understand more and more that he is more like a manchurian candidate, a puppet, with the far/radical Left pulling his strings. This guy has shown absolutely NOTHING in the form of leadership. Wall Street is fleeing from his policies and now the international community is getting a taste. Making deals with Russia??? It won't be long before our enemies abroad realize this guy has no backbone and they will essentially get 4 years of free reign.
Like the bumper sticker on my car say: "Don't blame me, I voted for McCain."
Well, I concluded after listening, reading actually, SH's sound byte rants against the Reid-Pelosi axis, that we reap what we sow.
When the voters decided to let the GOP run the country, the Democrats were pushed into the minority and senority went to those longest serving whose seats were safe b/c they were from safe Democratic and usually liberal districts.
Now the pendulum has swung the other way and the minority GOP is comprised of conservative representatives and senators from safe districts--for the most part.
I will add that when it comes to ideas and and governance the current GOP is completely bereft.
The more I read and listen about the nature and particulars of the current economic crisis, the more concerned I become about how systemic is the problem.
I am certain the we all hope to get out of this relatively intact.
I, for one, am certainly against nationalizing the banks which is not the same thing as taking over a failed bank.
Nevertheless, I am not going to gnash my teeth about President Obama being a marionette or a dictator or a Socialist or anything else.
TLGK
You know, John, I remember a time when our rich were in the 90% tax bracket. They bragged about it; they didn't really whine; they considered it a privilege to be that rich. They considered it par for the course for living in this great country. The middle class really grew in those years of the 50s and 60s; those were Happy Days. But as Ike went out, he warned us of the abuses of a coming military/industrial complex.
Then Reagan came and cut taxes for the rich, so when his government needed revenue it wasn't there and he had to borrow it. Then he had a deficit. Cheney told Bush that Reagan had proved that deficits don't matter.
Now Obama is going to raise taxes for the rich so the government doesn't have to borrow so much. He is going to cut out no-bid contracts for the military, and put the military budget in the regular budget and have everything be transparent.
We can't have a government that is too small with no means to save our financial institutions or regulate the abuses of private industry whose only interest is their own to the detriment of the working class and the environment as you find in other countries.
Also, who is the private sector's best customer---isn't it the government? And don't they overcharge the government--like $200.00 for a small tool? I recall that my father worked on government contracts at Westinghouse, and my sister and her husband worked at Lockheed on government contracts, my uncles worked for McConnell-Douglas, people up here worked for Boeing, etc. Halliburton and Blackwater made billions off the government.
The Republicans sure are in disarray now. Imagine, they have made a vile talk show host their hero, a new Messiah that no Republican dare criticize or they will be raked over the coals.
Ron says "he is a leader and his followers love and adore him and they wait with eager antipication for his next words and the next words come and flow over the masses and they believe". That sure sounds like Rush Limbaugh, who probably hops on his Gulfstream and laughs all the way to his off-shore bank after each ruckus he starts. He better give up the foie gras and French champagne and the stogies. He looks like a heart attack ready to happen, don't you think?
So what if Obama tries to appease Russia? We need allies, and former enemies like Germany are now our allies, so is Japan. What's the big deal? We still have the power to annihilate anybody, and no American president will hesitate to use the power he holds when necessary; the world knows it and resents the big tomahawk we wield. We should try diplomacy and not just the big stick.
Yes, the economy is bad now, but there have been times like this before; we are not yet begging for food or rummaging through the dumps, we are not all dying for lack of medical care or freezing in unheated places like in North Korea or during the Great Depression. If things had been so hunky dory after 8 years of a Republican administration, we wouldn't have a Democratic one now.
Change came already. Deal with it.
Emilie
Port Orchard, WA
Em,
When taxes are cut, government revenues INCREASE! This is indisputable. Facts are facts. Government revenues were at their highest levels in history under Bush 43, prior to that Reagan enjoyed the highest.
It's simple economics. Lower taxes leads to more growth, which leads to more government revenue. Higher taxes stunts growth and revenue drops. You can tax at 90% all you want but it doesn't bring in money if very few fall in that bracket.
The reason we have to borrow is because we spend too much. Pure and simple. Did you see the WSJ article on Obama's plan? They used IRS records to show that even if you taxed every American who made over 75K a year at 100% income tax, you STILL wouldn't have enough money to pay for his spending (or "investment") programs.
There's a reason why the DOW is plunging. That's because anyone with any economic sense can see that Obama and high taxes are BAD for the economy. He can blame Bush all he wants, but the stock market is a bet on the future, not an analysis of the past. He is running up obscene deficits, has tripled the amount of circulating money. This will inevitably lead to astronomical inflation and a NEW recession just as we recover from the current one. Just remember how things were under Carter and you'll get an idea of what's in store for us.
And stop with the Limbaugh stuff. That's nothing but politics. Limbaugh just happens to be right about Obama's fiscal policy which is probably why they're targeting him so much.
Ten Comments.
Obama-Mania Conversations Rule; It Dominates the MainStreamMedia, Talk Radio, and from Larry King to Barbara Walters blatherings on 'The View', it's all the same.
George Soros "Open Borders" policy now look ridiculous with the Mexican Drug Lords Terrorizing The City Streets in Phoenix, Arizona...
and Towns on Both Sides from El Paso/Juarez to Tijuana, into San Diego County!
Dr John & Ron Russell clearly score highest on this weblog.
Meanwhile, Iran's Grand Ayatollah Khameinei still enriches his stash of U-235; he is relying on his dead Madhi Prophet, and his dancing puppet Ahmadinejad performs at the United Nations... and Ben Netanyahoo mutters "Never Again" and waits for his holy-moment to strike!
Go back to sleep, America. reb
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www.lazyonebenn.blogspot.com
Another Great American Woman, check out Sandra Magnus. She's an Astronaut and Space-blogger!
Can You Top That? reb
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Prez Obama must have kissed the Irishman's Blarney Stone, but his advisors certainly have not. There is no 'Pot of Gold' at the end of this rainbow for the gasping and stunned working folks.
The top executives at AIG insist on huge bonuses for their key people. Any fat bonus to these incompetent rascals...that only should be awarded on the basis of performance, not on failure.
How many more billions did you say?
Logic, reason and common sense is not on display here; arrogance and a sense of "entitlement" rule when there is no penalty for abject failure. The taxpayers are justifiably angry!
One hundred and sixty five million dollars in contracted bonuses for the privileged few? Hum-bug!
Where is the over-sight? Where is the transparency of logic & reason in this ridiculous situation? reb
3/17/09
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www.lazyonebenn.blogspot.com
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