Selected Blogs
- Details
- Written by: Glenn Jacobs
- Category: Selected Blogs
 |
|
|
H.R. 2454: American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 will result in a totalitarian centralization of the American economy in the administrative agencies of the federal government, especially the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This 1,300 page horror is a prime example of congressional modus operandi -- no one in Congress actually had the opportunity to read the bill which was, incidentally, being amended as it was debated on the floor. As H.R. 2454 shows, this axiom still holds true: the more benign the title of a congressional bill, the more draconian its contents. After all, who could be against clean energy or security? The real goal of H.R. 2454 has nothing to do with either of these; it is a power grab, pure and simple.
While we have all heard much about the tax implications of H.R. 2454 and that every American family could see a $3,000 a year increase in their energy costs, H.R. 2454 does much more than that. H.R. 2454 is a fascistic fait accompli, giving the government expansive powers to regulate, subsidize, and tax more sectors of the economy. The bill authorizes more federal government control over the electrical grid, state and local building codes, lighting and appliances, industry, the financial markets, and, perhaps most ominously of all, the health care system. In addition, it includes wealth redistribution measures and would allow increases in foreign aid.
- Details
- Written by: Matt Welch
- Category: Selected Blogs
Aside from perhaps the question answering itself, Fortune/CNN drills into the case of New Jersey, a state that makes California seem well-governed:
In June 2008 the state estimated that the plan - one of the nation's largest, covering teachers, state employees, firefighters, and police - had $34 billion less than it needed to meet its obligations. Since then the market value of the plan has dropped from $82 billion to $56 billion (a new estimate of underfunding is due in July).
Wha happen? [sic] The pension fund gambled on dot-com stocks, hedge funds, and other equity plays. The state cut contributions based on formulae that assumed such nonsense as an 8.75 percent annual return. Then, against that backdrop, this:
Meanwhile, the obligations keep mounting: Even while they were neglecting pension contributions, New Jersey politicians were sweetening the pot. In 2001 benefits for the state's two largest groups of workers, government employees and teachers, were increased by 9%, creating an additional $4.2 billion in liabilities. In 1999 the state approved a "20 and out" measure that allowed firefighters and local police to collect pensions equal to 50% of their pay after 20 years of service - a perk previously available only to the state police. Benefits added since 1999 have increased liabilities by more than $6.8 billion, according to official estimates.
- Details
- Written by: Alex Pugliese
- Category: Selected Blogs
Over the past weekend, I was watching a report concerning the Bernard Madoff scandal. The report focused on how Madoff defrauded investors and robbed a great majority of them of their life savings through a Ponzi scheme. Overall the reporting was informative, probing and unequivocal. The interviews were top notch and very good. What struck me most about the interviews, however, was when a question was asked. The question was "Should government bail out the victims of Bernard Madoff?" A majority of the victims, including former Colorado Congressman, Tom Tancredo, responded that it should. All were in agreement. I came to a different point of view, however.
- Details
- Written by: Alex Pugliese
- Category: Selected Blogs
There is this mindset among liberals, "moderates," some conservatives and a majority in the mainstream press that believe that the welfare state is a national blessing and that it works and helps citizens meet their needs. They also believe that it is noble and that it can be sustained. With a report that was recently released by the government pertaining toward Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid showing that it will face financial difficulties sooner than expected, and with the nation's deficit projected to become $10 trillion soon, it is very clear that this belief is an illusion. However, these individuals are not deterred. They will continue to peddle this fantasy to the detriment of the nation and to the detriment of its citizens. Though I am an optimist, one must wonder when these individuals will hit bottom and face reality. The moment of truth may be coming soon.
Excerpted from The Tax Foundation:
The trustees of Social Security and Medicare put out their annual report this week on the financial status of the two government programs. Medicare will be in the red this year, paying out more in benefits than it receives in tax revenue. (All Americans pay a 2.9% Medicare tax on their wages, half remitted by the employer and the other half withheld from the employee’s paycheck.) Social Security is still in the black but is expected to enter the red in 2016. (Americans pay a 12.4% Social Security tax on their wages up to an inflation-adjusted cap each year, again half remitted by employer and half withheld from paychecks.)
- Details
- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Selected Blogs
In 1920–21, the United States faced a grave economic crisis, worse than the first year of the Great Depression. Double-digit unemployment and a 21 percent decline in production over the previous twelve months greeted the new president.
That president, the now-despised Warren G. Harding, told Americans that the bust following the artificial, credit-induced boom of the war years had to be faced up to, and that no government, however wise, could make it disappear:
- Details
- Written by: Webmaster
- Category: Selected Blogs
Not surprisingly, immigration warriors are using the swine flu outbreak to buttress their case for closing the borders to the outside world. In the process, they miss a big problem, however, one that I have raised for many years. If we’re going to have the government close the borders to people coming into the country to protect us from infectious diseases, then we’re going to have to also close the borders in the other direction, which means prohibiting Americans from traveling to other countries, where they can catch diseases and bring them back. And that necessarily will mean a lot of control and tyranny, as citizen of North Korea will attest.
- Details
- Written by: Alex Pugliese
- Category: Selected Blogs
Political Scientist, David Easton, developed a formula concerning politics and government. It was called the "Input/Output Model." The "input" came when people demanded something from the governmental system and the "output" came when people got what they wanted. If the people of a state or country demanded so-called "Universal Health Care," for example, they usually got it. The same with other legislation designed to spend funds. The problem with this is that it evades very important questions It is here that that questions are never asked. People usually think it is "free" when the reality is that it is not. Someone pays for it.
- Details
- Written by: Alex Pugliese
- Category: Selected Blogs
When I was in college, I was taught that journalists were like Joe Friday from the television show “Dragnet.” All they cared about was “just the facts, madam” and nothing more. That may have been true once. It is no longer the case. Today many journalists put ideology ahead of the news and the profession has been the poorer for it. If one were to take a look at organs like the New York Times, The Star Ledger, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and other outlets, you can tell that there is very much of a liberal bias in how the news is reported. They will deny it and say that “bias is in the eye of the beholder,” as the late Peter Jennings did, but in surveys, in the journalists’ own words, in the choice of content, in the prominence of play, there is no denying this truth. It is because of this bias that people are going elsewhere to get their information whether on the internet, talk radio, other cable channels or elsewhere.
- Details
- Written by: Alex Pugliese
- Category: Selected Blogs
It was Niccolo Machiavelli that wrote in "The Prince," that in order to do good you had to do evil. In the United States, and in the rest of the world, there have been politicians, dictators, judges, special interest group leaders and more, that have followed this teaching. They have justified wrong conduct in order to do, at least in their minds, "good works." For example, there have been many liberal and "moderate" politicians that have defended the growth and spending of government in order to "help the people." What they do not say, is that they are ignoring the Constitution and other laws with regards to limits on power. In order to justify this all, they say that the limits on power is "antiquated," "does not apply to today's society" or "belongs in the horse and buggy days." Franklin D. Roosevelt should be smiling on these folks.
- Details
- Written by: Alex Pugliese
- Category: Selected Blogs
There is nothing more intense and passionate than when men and women debate political, social, judicial, religious, philosophical and economic issues. Debates have a tenacity to raise voices, evoke feelings and raise the blood levels up a notch. They are also morally stimulating and, at least to me, morally fulfilling (what can I say, I like to joust).
- Details
- Written by: Alex Pugliese
- Category: Selected Blogs
Over a period of years, I have witnessed the deterioration of the public discourse with regard to politics, social and economic issues and religion and so on. I have witnessed this with churches being attacked, because they oppose abortion or gay marriage; I have witnessed this in the colleges and universities, where invited speakers have been assaulted, heckled, spat upon, bum rushed and shouted down; I have seen this with the mainstream press, where if someone strays away from an individual, collective, editorial position, or even an ideological position, that person is tarred, feathered and personally attacked along with his or her family; and I have even seen this when a private citizen has been attacked and investigated solely because he or she dares ask a question of a politician regarding his or her position or policy.
- Details
- Written by: Alex Pugliese
- Category: Selected Blogs
There have been politicians that have ran for executive offices such as governor or president, that have promised that they were going to deliver great changes to the state and to the country. Often times, the moment that these politicians are sworn in, is the moment that reality hits them. They find that it is difficult to bring about changes and reforms because the legislative branch is controlled by the opposition party with its own agenda, and because some of the executive branch's own party members may not be on board. This situation can not only be seen in Washington, D.C. but also in the northeastern states, in California and elsewhere.
- Details
- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Selected Blogs
Our current income tax system, inaugurated in 1913 with the adoption of the 16th Amendment, began with a 1 percent tax on taxable income above $3,000 ($4,000 for married couples). A series of surcharges of up to 6 percent were applied to higher incomes, with the maximum rate being 7 percent on taxable income over $500,000. Less than 0.5 percent of the population ended up paying income tax.
From these humble beginnings, the income tax soon blossomed, thanks to World War I, into a tax with a minimum rate that doubled and a maximum rate that reached 77 percent on income of over $1 million.
- Details
- Written by: Alex Pugliese
- Category: Selected Blogs
Over a period of time, I been hearing this phrase that there are "businesses that are too big to fail." Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey stated that of the automobile industry with regards to General Motors, Chrysler and Ford when he wrote me in response to an online letter that I sent him. Now it seems like that is the case with regard to every industry, particularly the newspapers.