Monday, August 15, 2011

Willful Negligence

Willful Negligencethe intentional performance of an unreasonable act in disregard of a known risk, making it highly probable that harm will be caused. It usually involves a conscious indifference to the consequences.

Have you ever read a more succinct definition of what President Obama, the Democrats in Congress and the progressive movement are doing to this country?

Obamacare:

Instead of pushing for the removal of 2,000+ state mandates on health insurance carriers, allowing the states to help their own citizens via high risk pools, and allowing the sale of health insurance across state lines, we got a complete overhaul of 20% of the economy. Can anyone say, “fundamental transformation”?

Obama shut out Republicans from the healthcare bill’s drafting sessions despite his campaign promise to broadcast the sessions on C-SPAN.

Federalist Paper #62 - "It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood . . "

* "We have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it" Nancy Pelosi

* “I love these members that say read the bill. What good is reading the bill if it’s 1,000 pages and you don’t have two days and two lawyers to find out what it means after you read the bill?” John Conyers


Never forget how Obamacare was passed through Congress. We had a plethora of bribes of Senators (some of whom paid for it via the loss of their seat in the 2010 election cycle). The bill was finally passed via the reconciliation process with not a peep from the lamestream media.

Regardless of what you might have been told by Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews or Alan Colmes, the purpose of Obamacare is to close down employer-provided health insurance and kill the private insurance industry thus leaving the America people with only one choice – THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. Do a Google search on the recent McKinsey Quarterly survey results for further evidence. Just last week, Aetna announced that they are pulling out of at least one state.

Obamacare waivers: Did you know that over 1,000 waivers to Obamacare have been granted. Further, did you know that, at one point several months ago, 20% of the exemptions went to businesses in Nancy Pelosi’s district? Why do we need to offer waivers for the most important piece of legislation in a generation?

The bill mandates that every American MUST purchase health insurance or be penalized and fined by the IRS.

Remember Sarah Palin’s claim about death panels? Remember what the lamestream media and the Democrats did? They screamed bloody murder, denied it and demonized Palin. Guess what? There are such panels in the law!

The bill contains $500 billion in new taxes.

Unreasonable acts in disregard of a known risk.
Highly probable that harm will be caused.
Conscious indifference to the consequences.


Damaging Fiscal Policies:

Massive, unprecedented levels of national debt. Spending more than the level of revenue requiring us to print money, which will result in inflation, which will hurt every American family ESPECIALLY the poor!

An entire political party hell bent on continuing the pursuit of the unattainable Keynesian utopian regardless of its proven failure. It didn’t work in the 1930’s. It didn’t work in the 1970’s. And it is not working now.

Continued threats of higher taxes for millionaires and billionaires and jet owners. These are the people who actually create jobs. Big companies have been net losers in job growth for at least the last twenty years. Can someone please ask one of these looney progressives how raising taxes on “the rich” will create jobs and cure the economic woes?

Unreasonable acts in disregard of a known risk.
Highly probable that harm will be caused.
Conscious indifference to the consequences.



By keeping the Fed Funds Rate perpetually at zero, the banks have no incentive to lend money to you and me and business owners. They get free money from the Fed and earn 2% - 3% on treasury bonds.

QE1 and QE2 did not work. Now it looks like QE3 is on the way.

Unreasonable acts in disregard of a known risk.
Highly probable that harm will be caused.
Conscious indifference to the consequences.


Anti-Free Market / Anti-Capitalism:

This regime is determined to undermine the small business sector. Constant drumbeat of class warfare and demonization of entire categories of the successful: “people who make over $250,000 a year”, “Big Pharmaceutical”, “Big Oil”, “jet owners”, “Wal-Mart”, “Tea Party”, “millionaires”, “billionaires”,

Moving toward socialism via continued anti-capitalistic policies. “Spread the wealth around”.

Uncertainty over the future impact of Obamacare. More on this below under “Lip Service on Job Growth”.
Unreasonable acts in disregard of a known risk.
Highly probable that harm will be caused.
Conscious indifference to the consequences.


Anti-Domestic Energy Policy:

Lack of domestic sources of energy. Drilling moratorium, EPA restrictions on anything related to the oil and coal extraction business. Obama is willing to collapse the economies of West Virginia and Pennsyvania.

Sending $2 billion to Petrobras and telling the Brazilian company that the “United States will be your biggest customer”. Some experts say we have more oil in the ground in the U.S. than Saudi Arabia. Wouldn’t it make sense to go looking for it?

"Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlTxGHn4sH4

Progressive have stifled the building of nuclear power plants in the United States for 40 years while France gets 80% of their electricity nuclear power. France!

Unreasonable acts in disregard of a known risk.
Highly probable that harm will be caused.
Conscious indifference to the consequences.


Entitlements:

Bread and circuses – The Democrat Party is the master of the bread-and-circus form of governing, which became famous during the Roman Empire. They do it through massive unfunded entitlements that continue to grow year after year. As the dollars grow so too does the number of people dependent on those dollars.

President Bush tried to reform Social Security. Who stood in the way and demonized the proposed solution?

Paul Ryan’s “Roadmap for America's Future” was designed to rescue and strengthen Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Do you remember how the Democrats handled that proposal?

Many states are considered bankrupt if you consider the unfunded liabilities of the state worker’s pension plans.

Almost 50% of the American people pay ZERO federal income tax. The Democrat Party deliberately and purposely increases these numbers year after year through their policies and the pork attached to bills. This is done in an effort to widen their pool of voters. Their end game is to create a large class of people dependent on the government for life’s most basic necessities (food stamps at record highs, 99 weeks of unemployment compensation, school lunch programs, SCHIP, and an endless number of welfare programs). In so doing, that dependent class will vote for the candidates that promise more of the same which, of course is the Democrat Party. At the same time, it allows the Dems to run around demonizing the few sane and responsible Republicans and Independents that attempt to fix the problem – “they are going to take away your Social Security, slash your Medicare benefits, throw children with epilepsy out on the street!” They run advertisements on TV showing grandma in a wheelchair being pushed off a cliff by a Republican. At the same time, they pass a healthcare bill that will ration care to the elderly (see Canada and Britain).

Unreasonable acts in disregard of a known risk.
Highly probable that harm will be caused.
Conscious indifference to the consequences.


Erosion of States' Rights:

Big government / nanny state – the states are now beholden to the federal government for funding on a scale never before seen. State residents pay taxes, the money goes to Washington and Washington doles it out as it sees fit.

Our Founding Fathers never envisioned anything like the current situation. The states were to be laboratories. The 10th Amendment is very clear . . . enumerated powers.

Nothing exemplifies the complete disdain for states rights better than Obamacare.

Unreasonable acts in disregard of a known risk.
Highly probable that harm will be caused.
Conscious indifference to the consequences.


Wanton Disregard for the Economy and Disrespect of the American People:

The Democratic controlled Senate has failed to produce a budget in almost three years something they are legally bound to do.

Passage of Obamacare despite poll after poll showing the American people did not favor passage (see discussion above).

The debt ceiling debacle whereby Obama put no plan on the table, removed himself from the negotiations until the last week only to “move the goal posts” and threaten vetoes of every Republican plan. Did you know that S&P said that the Cut, Cap and Balance bill would have saved the U.S. for the downgrade? If Obama really had the nation’s best interest at heart, wouldn’t you think that he would at least consider it? The Democrat Senate killed the bill after it passed The House.

Unreasonable acts in disregard of a known risk.
Highly probable that harm will be caused.
Conscious indifference to the consequences.


Hypocrisy and Double Standard:

Vacations – Every time Bush went to Crawford, TX (his own ranch, his own property rather than bunking up with some rich donor or booking an entire 5-Star Hotel in Spain or 30,000 square foot house in Martha’s Vineyard), he was lambasted by the press and Democrats in Congress. “How can he go on vacation while our boys are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan?” Well, how can Obama go on vacation, spend taxpayer money while we have boys dying in Iraq, Afghanistan and fighting in Libya, with unemployment at 9.2%, and the country’s debt rating being downgraded?

At last count, Obama has played over 70 rounds of golf during his two and a half years in office. I have nothing against the game nor do I really care how much of it Obama partakes in, however, Bush essentially gave up golf during most of his presidency because of the criticism he received from The Left. That same contingent is silent now as Obama hits the links virtually every weekend.

War in Iraq versus Libya. Bush won approval of the United Nations. Obama unilaterally went into Libya.

Enhanced interrogation techniques was an impeachable offense during the Bush Administration. Not a peep since January, 2009.

Guantanamo Bay (Gitmo) had to be closed down during the Bush Administration. Obama promised to close it down. It’s still open for business and The Left is silent.

Patriot Act – Another impeachable offense during the Bush Administration. Again, not a peep since January, 2009!

The Democrat Party talked down the economy for eight years, telling the American people we were in a recession while the economy thrived. Now that we are about to enter a Double Dip Recession, all they can do is blame the Tea Party, Bush, S&P, rich people, Republicans in The House of Representatives, etc.

The debt ceiling debate – Do I really need to bring this up? Do a Google search on “2006 debt ceiling debate” and read what some of the most esteemed Democrats had to say and compare it to this year’s rhetoric.

During the Bush years, it was patriotic to stand up to the President. Stick to your guns and represent the people of your district. Do you remember Hilary Clintons shrilling speech, “I'm sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and disagree with this administration, somehow you're not patriotic. We need to stand up and say we're Americans, and we have the right to debate and disagree with any administration.” Fast forward to today and listen to the Democrats and the lamestream media chastise Republicans and The Tea Party for not just giving the President what he wants.

Crony Capitalism:

If you want to know where a President’s heart lies, look no further than the Visitor Log at the White House. Look at the most frequent visitors. In the case of Obama you will notice labor union leaders! If you know The Left, you are not surprised by this, however, with the economy in the tank and small businesses floundering, it would behoove Obama to spend less time talking about Card Check and more with the NFIB President.

Whenever the President discusses how effective his non-Stimulus programs have been, you will usually see GE’s CEO, Jeffrey Immelt, cozying up to Obama. Immelt’s nose is so far up Obama’s ass that the company surprisingly paid no federal income taxes last year. Good accounting or preferential treatment?

Let’s not forget Obama’s takeover of GM and the government’s “investment” in the nation’s banks to “quell the panic in the market”. There’s nothing like having the federal government owning private businesses to accelerate the march toward socialism.

Unreasonable acts in disregard of a known risk.
Highly probable that harm will be caused.
Conscious indifference to the consequences.


Death by a Million Regulations:

Can you name for me one area of your life in which the federal government does NOT have a hand in?

Consider the unprecedented level of regulations that serve to slow down innovation and growth, while serving as hidden taxes to all consumers - environmental regulations, light bulb restrictions, CAFÉ standards, healthcare regulations, the home buying process, your children’s education, college loans, your tax return, etc.

Untold numbers of Executive Orders have been handed down resulting in thousands of new regulations that have not been approved by Congress.

Companies such as Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Home Depot, and Apple could not be started in America today due to the overregulation and hyper-litigious nature of our country. Hell, I have seen half a dozen stories this summer about the shutting down of kids’ lemonade stands due to lack of permits alone (and that’s at the local level!).

Dodd-Frank

Obamacare offers complex series of new paperwork for business owners.

Unreasonable acts in disregard of a known risk.
Highly probable that harm will be caused.
Conscious indifference to the consequences.


Lip Service on Job Growth:

Massive, sustained levels of unemployment.

Promised if we passed the non-Stimulus bill that unemployment would not exceed 8%.

The President makes jokes about “shovel ready” jobs.

There are no plans put forth by Obama or the Democrats to grow jobs. Their most often cited solution is to extend unemployment benefits (already maxed out at 99 weeks). To quote Dr. Pelosi, unemployment insurance, “is one of the biggest stimulus’s to our economy. Economists will tell you . . . it creates jobs faster than almost any other initiative that you can name.” Because those who receive the money, spend it! Forget about the fact that the money came out of the pocket of someone else that could have spent the money or hired someone.

Nothing exemplifies Obama’s job growth stance more than the National Labor Relations Board’s interference with Boeing’s plant movement from Washington to South Carolina.

Obamacare alone has stifled hiring. Look at any small business survey for validation of this. Look even deeper into the implications of Obamacare and you will find a penalty for companies with 50 or more workers that do not provide employees with mandated level of health coverage. How do you think that impacts employers with 30-40 employees when they consider expanding their workforce?

According to the Obama Administration, food stamps create jobs.

Unreasonable acts in disregard of a known risk.
Highly probable that harm will be caused.
Conscious indifference to the consequences.


The Deriliction of Duty by the Lamestream Media:

FACT: The mainstream media is dominated by liberals and progressives. They have proved over and over again that their goal is not to report the news but to advocate for their political positions. Try watching CNN, ABC, NBC, MSNBC, CBS or listening to NPR or reading the New York Times, LA Times or the Washington Post with an open mind and tell me I am wrong. The best evidence of the coming demise of those institutions is their paltry network ratings, stagnant listenerhip and dwindling circulation rates.

Reporting the news has become secondary to eight years of cheerleading for Clinton followed by eight years of unmerciful Bush-bashing followed by a nonexistent level of curiosity to vet or critique Obama (or John Kerry or Al Gore for that matter). Instead they prefer to make up stories about Bush’s National Guard service, send dozens of reporters to Alaska to crush Sarah Palin and promise to “Kill Romney” in the upcoming election.

The list of issues with Obama’s background were immense but they were virtually ignored by the lamestream media – Jeremiah Wright, community organizing, Saul Alinsky, Bill Ayers, birth certificate, his two “autobiographies”, his parents, his childhood, his law school professor days, etc.
Highly probable that harm will be caused.
Conscious indifference to the consequences.

Tort Reform:

Second only to our debt problem, this problem depicts our lack of seriousness to resolve issues. The Democrat Party is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the litigation attorneys who donate excessive amounts of money to that Party in return for squashing any and every attempt to wreal them in.
Conscious indifference to the consequences.

The Moral of the Story:

The next time you read a news article or hear pundits spouting talking points, take the time to do your own research. We are incredibly blessed to have the Internet at our fingertips. In the past, politicians could get away with murder due to the ignorance of the populace. Today, the only way they get away with it is due to apathy on the part of the populace.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

How to Cure an Arrogant, Bloated, Gluttonous Behemoth

I just read David Weidner’s column on MarketWatch, How Apple Would Solve the Debt Crisis. It certainly has a cute title. And Mr. Weidner offers nice references to Apple, Whole Foods and Google and their use of debt or federal grants to finance their start-up phases as he makes the argument that all this talk about “cutting spending” is ridiculous.

Below is my brief response to the Weidners of the world who believe giving the federal government an additional $2 trillion is a no-brainer.

#1 – Question: Does the United States of America have a revenue problem or a spending problem? If your answer is "spending", then the argument ends here; we need to cut. If you answered "revenue", I want to suggest that you perform a little research using readily available census and IRS data. Start in 1940, look at population growth versus federal revenue growth and explain why there is such a dichotomy.

Notice that I did not give you a third option - the so called "balanced approach". This problem is so lopsided that, if you subscribe to Obama's focus group tested balanced approach claptrap, you are probably too far gone for me to persuade otherwise.

#2 - The federal government does NOT produce a damn thing. Every dollar taken from the pockets of the citizens is a dollar that could have been put to a far more productive use. Whether you are using that dollar to buy lunch, a tank of gas or flying your private jet, it is far more productive to the overall economy than any dollar sent to and spent by Washington.

Besides the few enumerated powers given to the federal government by the Constitution, everything can be accomplished more efficiently and effectively by the private sector. Given that, sending more dollars to Washington is beyond ill-advised.

#3 – What evidence can you produce that justifies giving Washington more money than it already has? Answer: there is none! Washington politicians have abused their spending authority for decades while we, the people, sit back in an apathetic coma allowing them to drive us off a bankruptcy cliff.

Where does the economy stand today after all of the non-Stimulus money spent by both Bush and Obama? How long did it take to end The Great Depression with all of FDR’s spending? What happened during the Carter years? What has become of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid?

Answers: It still sucks! A really, really long time. Malaise. They are bankrupt! So much for any evidence that Washington can be trusted with our money.

#4 – When you rent a house or a car, do you take care of it as if it was your own? Of course not! When someone gives you a gift certificate to your favorite store, do you spend the money as prudently as you would if you were spending your own money? Of course not! That’s human nature.

Since government is comprised of humans, it is no different. Like any disinterested, third-party, government is playing with other people’s money and has proven to be a poor steward at best and criminal at worst. Can you think of one example that contradicts this? I implore you to provide me with just one example where the federal government spends our money prudently and is not brimming with waste.

Back to Mr. Weidner – to solve the debt problem, he gives us only two alternatives saying, “We could take a balanced approach of reining in spending and increasing revenue (cutting costs, raising taxes), or we could simply cut, slashing incomes (Medicare, Social Security, the military).”

Don’t you just love liberals? They are so predictable and intellectually lazy. Notice the incendiary language – “SLASH” Medicare! Social Security! Military! Who in the hell is suggesting that we SLASH these entitlement programs? They need to be reformed but I have not heard anyone argue for a SLASH. For crying out loud, the cuts in the debt ceiling bill are over a decade! They are a mere pittance!

I have a better idea Mr. Weidner, how about we SLASH spending at the Department of Education, or at the Department of the Interior, or at the Department of Homeland Security, or at the Department of Health and Human Services, or at the Department of Labor, or at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or at the Department of Energy, or at the Commerce Department, or at the Department of Transportation? What about Amtrak, the USPS, the Food and Drug Administration, the Labor Relations Administration, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Bureau of Land Management, National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration? I don't imagine there is any waste in any of those agencies!

If you are the least bit interested in how bloated the federal government is? Go to http://www.usa.gov/Agencies/Federal/All_Agencies/index.shtml and see for yourself.

Finally, consider Mr. Weidner’s statement that, “It takes a lot of guts to raise revenues.” Did you also know that the sky is green? Raising taxes takes no more guts than opening your eyes in the morning. Try to cut spending Mr. Weidner and see what happens. You get demonized by The Left, called a “terrorist” by the Vice President and the majority leader, relentlessly ridiculed by the lamestream media and you face a deafening, bury-your-head-in-the-sand apathy by a large part of the population.

Try cutting a bloated, gluttonous behemoth like the federal government and see what kind of guts is required Mr. Weidner!

Unlike Weidner, I only see one way to fix this problem – CUT SPENDING. I don’t care if it is an across-the-board cut, implementing something like The Penny Plan, sticking to a percent of GDP or reverting back to a previous year’s level of spending. Spending must be cut. The federal government’s power must be limited. States’ rights must be resurrected. The Constitution must be followed.

It’s time for stomach tuck surgery on the federal budget!

Footnote: If you don't want to do your own research on the population/revenue question go here: http://apathyreins.blogspot.com/2011_07_01_archive.html