The Greeks Deserve To be Humiliated
Jul 13, 2015 Opinion, Political
Greece has been on the edge of default for a few years and has been asking for and receiving bailouts in the form of loans to help them through a crisis of their own making.
The Greeks have a generous benefit system that allows workers to retire young and receive a hefty percentage of their retirement. Couple this with countless other programs that can’t be afforded and you get a crisis.
When Greece was bailed out it failed to take any reasonable austerity measures to get on a path to sustainability. It keeps showing up hat in hand wanting even more money.
The members of the European Union (EU) have been in tense negotiations and it is not happy to be asked to shell out more money to a country that seems intent on continuing on the same path that got it to the brink of disaster.
A new deal is in the works and many Greeks are unhappy with it. They claim it is harsh and requires them to do too much. They claim it is humiliating.
It should be humiliating. You have a system that can’t be sustained and you ask for money to help you when it collapses and ten you continue doing the same thing that got you there. You ask for more and more while continuing to refuse reforms.
Then you are forced to agree to harsh measures and you claim it is not right and humiliating.
It is humiliating and it should be. You should be ashamed that you are led by people who ran your country into the ground. You should be ashamed that you continue to suck the life out of your economy by raping the treasury of ever dwindling resources while continuing a life of early retirement and generous pensions.
Other countries are not happy with being forced to bail you out once again. And considering how dire your circumstances are you had better agree to the terms and get your act together.
Americans, pay attention because we are well on our way to a default and we will be like Greece before you know it.
And we too should feel ashamed and humiliated for many of the same reasons.
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Tags: benefits, default, greece, humiliation, us
What Happens If the US Defaults?
Jun 18, 2015 Political
The United States is supposed to be the world’s superpower and the dollar the world’s currency but America is unable to control its spending. Despite taking in record amounts of money the federal government continues to spend even more.
We have 18 TRILLION dollars of debt but we have over 100 TRILLION in unfunded liabilities. These are things the government has promised but cannot pay for. When the day comes for those items to be paid the US will not honor the obligations because it will be unable to.
The war cry from liberals is to tax the rich more. The wealthy folks in our country pay most of the taxes. The bottom 47% of earners pay NO federal tax and often get back more than was withheld in an income redistribution scheme overseen by the IRS.
Taxing the wealthy would not solve the problem. If we confiscated 100% of the money the wealthy have the government would run out of that money in a few months. Then there would be no more to take and we would still have huge bills to pay.
China, among other nations, holds a lot of our debt. If China ever called for us to pay them everything back we would go under. The Chinese could collapse our economy, and thus our nation, and it would never have to take a hostile act to do it.
We are in serious trouble and it is getting worse. Soon, if things do not change, we will be like Greece.
The government there is looking at every possibility to solve its financial woes and that includes confiscating money from citizens and limiting their access to their own money. The US has schemes and one of them is to confiscate all the money in the various retirement plans throughout the nation. Doing so would give the government TRILLIONS of dollars to spend. It would keep us from defaulting for a while but it would leave everyone penniless. We would all be wards of the state.
Nanny state types will insist it is for the greater good and that the money confiscated can pay bills and be used to evenly pay every person a retirement. It would allow them to redistribute to the poor who have little or no retirement money saved while forcing those who saved to accept small amounts and live meager lives in retirement.
This of course assumes that the public will not revolt and stop this from happening by any means possible. That is a distinct possibility since people do not like their money to be screwed with. The poor who stand to gain will likely support it as will politicians who want to enslave even more people to the government plantation. Those who stand to lose will likely not take any action lying down.
The unrest will make for an environment where any enemy can take advantage and start trouble.
This all because our government can’t live within our means. This because our government insists on spending money on things that are not authorized by the Constitution. This because the tax system is screwed up and complicated and because the money that is confiscated from the people of the states is held over the heads of the states to gain compliance with ever increasing federal rule.
We need to abolish the IRS, change to a simpler tax system where EVERY wage earner pays (and we all pay the same percentage) and we need to harness the out of control government to force it to only spend money on things it is allowed to spend on.
Troubling times are coming and we will all pay a heavy price for the things our arrogant government is doing.
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Tags: arrogance, constitution, default, founders, irs, lies, tax laws
Obama Shows Need To Privatize Social Security
Jul 13, 2011 Political
Social Security was supposed to be the safety net that allowed people to have a little money coming in when they retired. This is a program that was designed to assist those incapable of saving for their own futures and it has morphed into an albatross that includes all kinds of things like disability payments to people who are allegedly unable to work.
The money that is taken in each month is sent to the Treasury and the Treasury issues a worthless piece of paper indicating that the money is there if it should be needed. All Social Security has to do is ask and they can get the money they need to make payments. Nice idea except the money confiscated goes into the general fund and politicians spend it on everything under the sun. When Social Security asks for the money to make payments our country has to borrow it from another country (usually one that is not a friend) and then pay interest on the money borrowed. The process costs us a hell of a lot more than it should. If they had left the money alone there would be no problem.
This leads us to the current debt ceiling “crisis” and the statement by Barack Obama that he could not guarantee that Social Security checks will go out on August 3rd if the debt ceiling is not raised. This is a blatant lie because Social Security is required to be paid and that means other programs will be cut so that Social Security recipients get their money. Besides, there is still plenty of money coming in to service the debt and pay Social Security. Other programs will have to be cut. Look at it this way, either the Congress makes serious cuts now or they will happen automatically in August.
The whole issue shows why privatizing Social Security is an important and necessary measure. People work to put their money into the system and then government takes that money and spends it on things for which it was never intended. When trouble hits, Obama (using scare tactics) says he can’t guarantee people will get the money they paid in. In fact, the Supreme Court has ruled that people have no right to receive Social Security and government can end it at any time (they would have to change the law).
The federal government had its chance and it terribly mismanaged the funds. If any private business took money for one thing and spent it on another and then could not meet the original obligation the people in charge would end up in jail. Ironically, the people in Congress who gave us the Social Security mess would be leading that charge.
It is time to privatize Social Security and allow people to put money in accounts that they own and that they have control over. It is time they owned it all and were able to pass it on to their heirs. This would have an added benefit of allowing people to retire when they felt they could rather than having to hit a government mandated age before they could draw the money. People would be better off and they would not be dependent on government (which is why politicians don’t want you in control).
I know the tired arguments about market crashes and all that. There are funds that start out with risk and get less risky as the worker gets older. There is a certain amount of risk in anything but it is unlikely that people will go completely bankrupt. The simple truth is they can be no worse off than they are right now with all the money they “contributed” squandered on wasteful government programs and Obama telling them they might not get a check in August (and for who knows how long). If they controlled their own money this would not be an issue because they would be in control of their own assets.
The government in general has mismanaged the program by wasting the money. They now have to borrow to make payroll, so to speak. Obama as much as admitted that the program would be better off if we privatized it when he admitted he can’t guarantee that people will get their checks.
It is time to move Social Security away from government control and put it back in the hands of the people who actually earn the money. It will take a while and we still have obligations to those currently drawing Social Security. We could afford to do that if we open a lot of off shore oil leases and allow American businesses to drill for oil. We will create jobs, will produce our own oil and gas and a portion of the revenue can be earmarked specifically for Social Security to pay those currently in the system (with no possibility of the money being used for anything else).
Let the younger generation start setting aside money for their own retirement and let them have a prosperous old age free of dependence on government.
You know they can’t sustain it. You know they can’t run it effectively. You know they can’t keep their hands out of the till. You know that they cannot guarantee you will receive your money. And they know it too.
So let us do the right thing, the smart thing, and push for privatizing Social Security.
We certainly cannot possibly do any worse than the government has.
And in all likeliness we will do much better.
Cave Canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
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Tags: default, lies, Obama, privatize, social security, trust fund
Hoyer Says His Vote Was A Mistake As Well
Apr 14, 2011 Political
If there are any doubts that Democrats do not care about the country, this should dispel them. Steny Hoyer has joined his messiah, Barack Obama, in stating that his past vote against raising the debt limit was a mistake. But was it? Obama indicated that his vote was a protest vote against the policies of George Bush. One would think that there are better ways to protest policies and one would think that a vote against raising the debt limit would be made on the principle of not incurring more debt.
Hoyer is saying the same thing. It was a mistake but he was voting against the policies of George Bush. To be clear, I do not think it is wise to vote to raise the debt limit (unless serious cuts take place) but my opposition is based on the realization that debt needs to be controlled. Obama and Hoyer voted based on spite and political posturing. They do not mind raising the debt limit, they just did not want to do so when Bush wanted them to.
Big Dog, how could you possibly know what they mind and don’t mind? Because they told me. They are both now advocating for raising the debt limit and claim it would hurt America if we do not do so. If not raising the debt limit will hurt America now then one must conclude the same thing was true when they opposed raising it. They don’t mind more debt as evidenced by their out of control spending. What they do mind is working with the other party to get something accomplished. Make no mistake, if they truly opposed it then I would be applauding them but they did not. They have situational opposition based upon who is in the White House. This demonstrates, as Obama put it, a failure of leadership.
These politicians are trying to quash any backlash they might get by Republicans (who voted for it then but oppose it now thus further showing the parties are not that different) who would use their votes and their words against them. But that ship has sailed. These two made it very clear that they opposed raising the debt limit and how bad Bush and Republicans were for even suggesting that that it be raised.
Now they must live by their words and all the claims of “mistakes” have no significance except among the unwashed Obama followers who long for the chance to touch his robe.
We all know what game is being played and we know both sides are playing it. The difference now is that America has awakened and is paying much closer attention to the financial situation in this country. Americans know we are on a path to ruin and they know that more spending is not the answer.
There are many older Republicans who were in Congress at that time who voted to raise the debt limit and now have a change of heart no different that the one Obama and Hoyer had. However, there are a whole lot of new, young, fresh faces in the Republican Party who were elected to stop Obamacare and to end the run away spending and get control of our debt. That is why they were put in office and that is what America expects them to do.
It looks to me like the Republicans (most of them, anyway) learned from the 2010 election and know they could easily be replaced if they do not do what America wants.
The Democrats, on the other hand, are slow learners and those who are running their sideshow are ignoring the results of the last election at their own peril. They were warned prior to November and they did not listen. Looks like they still have earplugs in.
The debt limit cannot be raised until we get substantive cuts. Republicans should push the Ryan Plan (though I think it could be better) as an absolute must before the limit is raised. They should require that it pass before allowing any vote on raising the debt limit. Republicans should also demand the repeal of Obamacare as part of the deal.
There are plenty of other things we could push and tie into the debt limit increase. Though Obama wants a clean bill with nothing else in it he will have to take a taste of his own medicine. He and his cohorts crammed things in Obamacare and used backroom deals and bribes to get it passed so now he will have to deal with a bill that has absolute cuts in it.
If he and the Democrats are unwilling to accept that then we can shut the place down and default on our obligations.
That would be a true demonstration of the failure of leadership.
Time to play hardball and if they don’t like it, too bad.
Cave Canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
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