Email Your Senators Re:Economic Stimulus Bill

[footdr]

The U.S. Senate will be debating and proposing changes to the House Stimulas Bill passed last week.

The Bill contains rediculous expenditures that are not going to help Citizens/Taxpayers with the financial problems we are currently facing. Nor will it provide any real help for the self-employed and small business owners.

It does not provide any provisions to stop arbitrary credit limit reductions that are having a MAJOR negative effect on Credit Scores; thereby destroying future ability to get loans, Mortgages and future credit!

It does not change the present Bankruptcy Law that prohibits filing Bankruptcy on Student Loans. This allows the Rip-off Sallie Mae to garnish any future wages, unemployment benefits, filing of liens against the borrower or the co-signers(who by the way, currently have no legal rights when it comes to these loans). If recent Grads are unable to get a job or their job does not pay enough to make the INFLATED Preditory payments on these loans; there are no options!
YET, Corporations repeatedly file Bankruptcy and reorganize AND recently our Tax dollars have been used to BAIL them out!

Please let your Senators know that we are tired of our Tax Dollars being wasted and it is time that they put Individuals and Tax-payers FIRST!

The Democrats point fingers at the Republican party for this Crisis, but this crisis actually began back in the Clinton administration. Also, the Democrats in office last year voted for the very legislation they are blaming the Republicans for.

It is time we take back our Government.

It is time we let them know we have had enough!

Both Parties are at fault. Both Parties need to start working for the American Citizens, not the Lobbyists and Contributors to their Campaigns and the Political Parties.

PLEASE DO YOUR PART!

 

[lots0]

It does not provide any provisions to stop arbitrary credit limit reductions that are having a MAJOR negative effect on Credit Scores; thereby destroying future ability to get loans, Mortgages and future credit!

It does not change the present Bankruptcy Law that prohibits filing Bankruptcy on Student Loans. This allows the Rip-off Sallie Mae to garnish any future wages, unemployment benefits, filing of liens against the borrower or the co-signers(who by the way, currently have no legal rights when it comes to these loans). If recent Grads are unable to get a job or their job does not pay enough to make the INFLATED Preditory payments on these loans; there are no options!
YET, Corporations repeatedly file Bankruptcy and reorganize AND recently our Tax dollars have been used to BAIL them out!

Would you be so kind as to explain how these things you state have any relevance on creating Jobs?

Every expert in the world (with the exception of those so called experts that got us into this mess - Remember 30 years of Ronald Regan's "trickle down economics" Well I haven't forgotten. Good Riddance to 30 years of bad Rubbish. ) have said that pumping money into the system is what is needed... Anything to create jobs... Hire people to count cracks in the sidewalk will have a greater effect on creating Jobs than anything the predatory credit card companies can or will do.

It is time we take back our Government.

LOL we already did... It was just the 20th of last month...
Now the people, not big business are back in charge, as it should be.

 

[footdr]

TO THE THE SHEEPLE........

Do you actually believe that all that is need is to create more jobs?

Small Business employees are a good majority of this Countries Workers. Would you like Small business to be provided the same help as the Large Corporation so that they can continue to provide jobs? Do you have any idea what so ever how much money the American worker has lost in the value of their Profit Sharing and Retirement Accounts due to the fact that their Employers believed that investing in American Companies and Stocks was a wise investment? In fact this is what are Government is trying to stimulate; investing in American Companies, Stocks and gaining the trust of investors. How many Small Business Profit Sharing Plans are going to be able to do that without help recouping their losses; an inability to acquire credit?
Do you even get it?

Do you know that it won't matter how much funding they provide to help people get Mortgages and buy homes or for that matter qualify to refinance their homes with the Government subsidizing provided by this Plan is WHEN THEY CAN NOT QUALIFY, their savings accounts wiped out and their Retirement accounts devalued

Do you know that the Clinton Administration(yes Democrat, but it doesn't matter who started this mess) is who pushed for subprime lending and inf act the first Financial Lender had to be bailed out due to this during the Clinton Administration. Look it up.

The Democrats are not doing ANYTHING different than the Republicans are accused of doing in the past. The Legislation that was passed included too much funding for creation of jobs that will not happen for several years and are very occupation specific. I.E. your out of work so do you want to go build roads. In my State Texas, most road workers are Hispanic are probably Illegal workers from Mexico. That doesn't bother me because to be honest I don't know any U.S. Citizen fighting for those jobs. Working on roads in 80 -100 degree temperatures is not that appealing. And lets not forget rebuilding our bridges and water systems, sewage systems etc. Gee do you have the experience to do those jobs. And for that matter how many people have recently been layed off from those jobs? I would say not many as the funding for those jobs does not come from private sources but from Municipal Bonds(ok, maybe it is possible for some small cities to go belly up), Taxes, Government Funding

Stem Cell Research? great for possibly 1000 comprised of lab technicians, Hematologist and other Medical Specialists. Once they find a solution our tax dollars will go for a couple of years of investigation before the Government approves the procedure; if in fact they do. As you know there is much debate on whether this reseach should even be allowed!

The goal should be helping the unemployed find jobs and providing unemployment compensation until they do so.

By assisting Employers to assure they have financing to keep their Businesses afloat we stop further layoffs.

And if you do not see the problem with a Citizen who has been lended money for College(when by the way they should have help by their state or fed goverment to begin with as was in place in the 70s and as provided by for example Argentina who educates their population through College at the Gov. expense) and is not given the right to protect their future earnings through Bankruptcy; then I can only hope you or your child experience this first hand as a large portion of our Population is.

So, you can either have a viable Citizen who works, buys a vehicle, rents or owns a place to live and raises a family and pays taxes; or you can have that Citizen working solely to give an unethical Predatory lender their earnings. Corporations meerly file Bankruptcy leaving their creditors and suppliers high and dry, reorganizes and continues along their merry way at the expese of our Tax Dollars. And now whe given them Billions of dollars to compensate for their financial blunders!


The Stimuls is not just aimed at creating jobs, research it for Gods Sake!. Creating jobs is only one of the pieces to this puzzle. But what ever they do needs to put money into the hands of Employers, Consumers and Retirees not invested in programs that may or may not help us in 2-10 year and after it is to late to help our Businesses and Taxpayers get through this Crisis that they did not create. We can think about that once we take care of more emergent needs of our Citizens.

If we do not maintain individuals creditworthiness and ability to earn by keeping people in their jobs then all we will be doing is playing "Catch-up" And Consumers will have no money to pump into the Economy.

Please don't be a Sheeple. Please read the bills and all that you can so that you truly understand the effect or lack of effect this Bill will have on Us and future generations.

 

[lots0]

Do you actually believe that all that is need is to create more jobs?

Yes I do.

Pump money into the system... That is all it's gonna take.

BTW - I am not alone in thinking this way.
The majority of people at the recent economic summit in Davos agreed with me.

people like... Sir Richard Branson, Bill Gates, George Soros and about a hundred of the biggest private fund managers.

The problem is people that that don't really understand the problems try to lump them all together.

There are the Economic problems.

Then there are the Credit Problems.

Two different animals with two totally different solutions.

The way to fix the Economic problems is to pump money into the system, There is not any disagreement on this between the conservatives and the liberals. All they disagree about is how to do it.

The way to fix the credit problems is any ones guess.
I would think that the Banks are just going to have to bite the bullet and take the losses... they should end up settling for about $0.22 on the $1.00.

But lets face the facts... 30 years of Ronald Regan's Trickle Down Economics and his War on Labor has just about destroyed our country and the World. And Ya Bill Clinton was a big Supporter of Ronald Regan's policies, even though he called himself a Democrat.

If you want to see a real Liberal in action just watch Obama go.
The people have spoken and they say, it's time to give Liberal policies a chance to fix the screwups of the conservative policies of the past 30 years.

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[footdr]

SEPERATE ISSUES?

Sorry but I believe Pumping money into the Economy entails much more than creating jobs for the unemployed.

It needs to include tax credits for Small Business, College expenses, AND making loans available for Business startup, expansion, equipment, etc.

Obviously if you are going to give Financial Institutions money to keep them solvent then there should be provisions in place on how they spend it and it shouldn't include SCREWING their current Customers and demanding thousands of dollars to be payed off with no notice.

Sorry, but not all Economists agree on how to stimulate the Economy.

I dont see how rebuilding our Infastruction is going to assist those who were in White Collar jobs or those Small Business owners who are being forced to go out of business.

Obviously you are a Democrat, what ever that means these days. I on the other hand do not vote straight ticket any longer as I would rather put my trust in individual Candidates and their past track record in Government versus a Political party. To attempt to blame this mess on either Party is a cop-out. We are in this mess because the System is broken. It is too big and has too much power over the States and too much control over the economy.They are no longer accountable to Citizens and go unchecked.

Sub-prime mortgages were not the only problem with mortgage lending. I sold real estate. 95-100% financing and "Creative Financing by Builders and Lenders is also a major cause of the problem as they put many into homes they couldn't really afford.

The Health Care system was destroyed with the creation of PPO and HMO's and the greed of Health Insurance Companies that go unchecked by law. Under the Sherman act they are allowed to work together to fix reimbursements and set Premiums. There are no laws regarding the premiums they can charge. There are no laws regarding how much the will pay for each medical/surgical service. Since my Husband is a Podiatrist and does alot of Surgery; I can tell you that there are some patients that we receive less than it costs to treat them. This is why many Doctors are leaving practice.

More people could afford health insurance if their Premiums and medical expenses were fully deductible from their Gross Income. Thats one thing that can be done and have an immediate positive effect.

 

[bryand]

Being in the mortgage securitization field I believe mortgage-backed securities need to be unwound in order to stabilize the global economy. I penned the plan below in November but could not get anyone in government to respond to my emails.

Put simply, the government should allocate the "bailout" money to US taxpayers that have qualified secured debt (as defined under the Bankruptcy Code). Persons receiving such allocation would have to pay it back in 5 to 7 years at 3% interest (which would cover the government's debt service for new bonds issued). This plan would serve many purposes: (1) repay most securitized bonds (thereby relieving pressure from China and Japan), (2) render the banks solvent, (3) create immediate lending capitol for real estate and autos, (4) halt most foreclosures and (5) allow time for real estate prices to rise normally.


An Alternate Proposal for Immediate Stabilization of
Americas Current Economic Situation

Basic Plan Outline

An agency is created by Congress (the Loan Participation Commission), with its sole purpose being to facilitate this plan.

USA raises $1.4 trillion by issuing 7-year treasury bonds at market interest rate.

$1.4 trillion is apportioned among all Participants according to the Participation Formula.

Each Participant must sign a Promissory Note and Security Agreement in favor of USA.

Each Participants allocation is divided among, and paid directly to, the Participants Eligible Creditors according to the Allocation Guidelines.

All funds received by any Eligible Creditor under this plan must be applied to Qualified Debt principal and without any prepayment penalty or need for defeasance, regardless of any provision to the contrary contained in any loan document relative to such Qualified Debt.

Any company that received financial assistance through the $700 billion bailout immediately repays such financial assistance (including but not limited to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and AIG).

Mortgage-backed securities are paid, securitization pools are unwound and related payment guaranties are dissolved.

Definitions

Allocation Guidelines means provisions in the current US Federal Bankruptcy Code regarding priority of payments to creditors, excluding debts owed to governmental entities.

Eligible Creditor means any bank, savings and loan, credit union or finance company that would qualify as a secured creditor of Participant under the current US Federal Bankruptcy Code.

Participant means any Person that (i) filed at least one (1) US federal income tax return for any year within the Qualifying Period and (ii) voluntarily elects to participate in this plan.

Participation Formula means, for any Participant, a fraction with the numerator (Average Taxable Income) being the sum of such Participants net taxable income as reported on all US federal tax returns on file with the Internal Revenue Service for the Qualifying Period divided by the number of tax returns used to compute such total net taxable income, and the denominator being the sum of Average Taxable Income for all Participants.

Person means any (i) individual issued a social security number or (ii) any corporation, partnership, company, firm or other entity issued a federal tax identification number by the Internal Revenue Service.

Promissory Note means a 7-year, interest only, promissory note from Participant to the US equal to the actual amount realized by such Participant under this plan. For all Participants, the annual, fixed interest rate will be 500 basis points above the market interest rate for treasury bonds as referenced above.

Qualified Debt means, for any Participant, all current debt owed to Eligible Creditors.

Qualifying Period means the 5-year period beginning January 1, 2003 and ending December 30, 2007.

Security Agreement means a security agreement from Participant in favor of the US that defines Participants encumbered collateral (that is, any collateral presently secured by Qualified Debt being paid through this plan). As a practical matter, the Loan Participation Commission should be consulted for payoff information, if any, prior to closing the sale real property and personal property valued greater that some preset threshold.

 

[cynthial]

Wow! Here is a man with a plan. You have really put some thought into this. I am far from an expert in Economics but your ideas sound plausible to little ole me.

 

[lots0]

Sorry, but not all Economists agree on how to stimulate the Economy.

No need to be sorry... and I never said they did.

I dont see how rebuilding our Infastruction is going to assist those who were in White Collar jobs or those Small Business owners who are being forced to go out of business.

If you don't see how small business is going to benefit from the rebuilding/improving of our INFRASTRUCTURE, maybe you should read a little Adam Smith, or better yet just take a high school economics class. Also try changing the Channel off of faux news... Try the BBC, NPR or CNBC for a change.

Obviously you are a Democrat, what ever that means these days.

Your wrong. I'm an Independent. I Supported Dr. Ron Paul for President.
BTW - Dr. Paul predicted this financial crash way back in 2006.

The Health Care system was destroyed with the creation of PPO and HMO's and the greed of Health Insurance Companies that go unchecked by law.

The health care system and the Financial system were both destroyed by the same thing... Unchecked, Unregulated GREED.

To attempt to blame this mess on either Party is a cop-out.

Oh I agree both parties are to blame... But one party ran things for the last 8 out of 10 years and opened up the system to any corrupt transaction as long as one of the 'good ole boys' got paid.

One party (Republicans) also created 'K" street. The central location for Washington Lobbyists who had a pocket full of money to 'give' elected politicians for 'favors'.

What really amazes me is all the effort by some to defend the conservative financial record that led us to this recession/depression (Trickle Down Economics) and there are even those that want to continue the failed financial and political policies that got us here... Simply F'n Amazing.

 

[footdr]

I ALSO VOTED FOR RON PAUL

I have read everything Ron Paul has written and every speech/testimony he has given.

The problems with the Economy and the Government were discussed by Ron Paul in the Late 70's. Everything he said needed to be done still needs to be done.

Most of my previous statements are also points that Congressman Paul agrees with.

I have a B.S. in Medical Administration, a Minor in Biology, a Real Estate License, worked in Administration for the Veterans Administration Hospitals and Managed several Podiatry Practices.

I took numerous Economics courses in College. I have gained my knowledge from numerous sources including those I was involved in through my various job positions.

Fortunately, it appears the Senate and the News Media are finally addressing many of my concerns in regards to the Simulus legislation.

 

[lots0]

Well you won't see this video on faux news.

Link Removed ( Old/Invalid)

I have not read everything Dr. Paul has ever written. But I am perdy sure that he was against the way the Republicans Ran the Government into debt, the lobbyist ass kissing and the violations of the Constitution all perpetrated by the Republican Bush Administration.

I don't agree with everything Obama is doing. But at least he doing something instead of sitting on his thumbs and watching the country go down, like the last president.

Good leaders... Lead and make their decisions work... poor leaders never make a decision and when something goes wrong they start pointing fingers (I don't know about you, but I am real tired of decades of poor leaders).

Not to mention that unlike our last several presidents, Obama has so far done what he said he would after he was elected. On that alone I'll vote for him next election, a politico that does what they say they will... simply Fn amazing and worth his weight in gold.

One last thing, if this Financial Stimulus Plan fails, are you going to blame the people that delayed when others were crying for haste or will you blame the folks that were afraid to spend money when experts were crying for more money to get the economy going? Or will you blame the man that was out front working and trying to fix the problem and trying to make a bad situation better?

 

[bryand]

Note to footdr: Don't waste time - you're in a debate that's impossible to win.

 

[RobWin]

Damn, what a great debate here guys...excellent points are being made on both sides. How the heck did I manage to miss all of this until just now ??

 

[littlebit]

You do not have permission to view link Log in or register now.

Be sure to take a look at the Least Critical parts of the proposed package.

Supposedly this site is updated every 10 minutes so at least it's a source of what is being proposed or close to it :>)

 

[cynthial]

Thanks Littlebit. I spent a bit of time reading it but got a bit sick to my stomach.

The very first one I read was an earmark for $99,600 for Doorbells to be installed at a housing project/complex. Umm, No!

Over 418 MILLION dollars for a Sheraton Hotel with convention/arena space in downtown Albuquerque? Let Sheraton build their own GDed hotel! And we already have a convention center here that was paid for by our taxes with the promise of the great tourism dollars it would attract. It is still underwhelming us today in that regard. Ummm, NO!

375 Million Dollars for a performing arts center in Las Vegas of all places. I do not even need to read further. Umm, NO!

Some of these requests are just out of this world. Some have merit but should be funded locally and others are so obviously "Pet" projects of one special interest group or another.

Boy oh boy, how are we going to pay for all of this?
Show some sanity and some restraint with our purse strings please.

 

[bryand]

Thanks Littlebit. I spent a bit of time reading it but got a bit sick to my stomach.

My thoughts exactly.

From liberals: "At least Obama is doing something about the problem!"

 

[bryand]

If only Tim Geithner would listen to reason...

The economic spending bill, TARP program and various job bills passed since 2008 may have averted a 'global financial meltdown' (if in fact such meltdown was imminent) but have not caused the economic recovery upon which we were sold - especially in the jobs and residential real estate market.

The logic behind these economic stimulus bills is flawed. The government essentially lent huge sums of money to Wall Street firms, other financial institutions and US auto manufacturers. The money should have been lent to Americans to pay off securitized loans!

Now the US faces a situation in the commercial real estate market similar to the subprime mortgage crises. Many commercial real estate loans are pooled (securitized) and converted into bonds just like residential mortgage-backed securities. The general economic downturn is affecting commercial developers increasing their loan default rate. As I suggested in my post quoted below, these soon-to-be toxic assets need to be unwound quickly to avert a deepening recession.

Being in the mortgage securitization field I believe mortgage-backed securities need to be unwound in order to stabilize the global economy. I penned the plan below in November but could not get anyone in government to respond to my emails.

Put simply, the government should allocate the "bailout" money to US taxpayers that have qualified secured debt (as defined under the Bankruptcy Code). Persons receiving such allocation would have to pay it back in 5 to 7 years at 3% interest (which would cover the government's debt service for new bonds issued). This plan would serve many purposes: (1) repay most securitized bonds (thereby relieving pressure from China and Japan), (2) render the banks solvent, (3) create immediate lending capitol for real estate and autos, (4) halt most foreclosures and (5) allow time for real estate prices to rise normally.


An Alternate Proposal for Immediate Stabilization of
Americas Current Economic Situation

Basic Plan Outline

An agency is created by Congress (the Loan Participation Commission), with its sole purpose being to facilitate this plan.

USA raises $1.4 trillion by issuing 7-year treasury bonds at market interest rate.

$1.4 trillion is apportioned among all Participants according to the Participation Formula.

Each Participant must sign a Promissory Note and Security Agreement in favor of USA.

Each Participants allocation is divided among, and paid directly to, the Participants Eligible Creditors according to the Allocation Guidelines.

All funds received by any Eligible Creditor under this plan must be applied to Qualified Debt principal and without any prepayment penalty or need for defeasance, regardless of any provision to the contrary contained in any loan document relative to such Qualified Debt.

Any company that received financial assistance through the $700 billion bailout immediately repays such financial assistance (including but not limited to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and AIG).

Mortgage-backed securities are paid, securitization pools are unwound and related payment guaranties are dissolved.

Definitions

Allocation Guidelines means provisions in the current US Federal Bankruptcy Code regarding priority of payments to creditors, excluding debts owed to governmental entities.

Eligible Creditor means any bank, savings and loan, credit union or finance company that would qualify as a secured creditor of Participant under the current US Federal Bankruptcy Code.

Participant means any Person that (i) filed at least one (1) US federal income tax return for any year within the Qualifying Period and (ii) voluntarily elects to participate in this plan.

Participation Formula means, for any Participant, a fraction with the numerator (Average Taxable Income) being the sum of such Participants net taxable income as reported on all US federal tax returns on file with the Internal Revenue Service for the Qualifying Period divided by the number of tax returns used to compute such total net taxable income, and the denominator being the sum of Average Taxable Income for all Participants.

Person means any (i) individual issued a social security number or (ii) any corporation, partnership, company, firm or other entity issued a federal tax identification number by the Internal Revenue Service.

Promissory Note means a 7-year, interest only, promissory note from Participant to the US equal to the actual amount realized by such Participant under this plan. For all Participants, the annual, fixed interest rate will be 500 basis points above the market interest rate for treasury bonds as referenced above.

Qualified Debt means, for any Participant, all current debt owed to Eligible Creditors.

Qualifying Period means the 5-year period beginning January 1, 2003 and ending December 30, 2007.

Security Agreement means a security agreement from Participant in favor of the US that defines Participants encumbered collateral (that is, any collateral presently secured by Qualified Debt being paid through this plan). As a practical matter, the Loan Participation Commission should be consulted for payoff information, if any, prior to closing the sale real property and personal property valued greater that some preset threshold.

 

[kauphy]

Would you be so kind as to explain how these things you state have any relevance on creating Jobs?

Every expert in the world (with the exception of those so called experts that got us into this mess - Remember 30 years of Ronald Regan's "trickle down economics" Well I haven't forgotten. Good Riddance to 30 years of bad Rubbish. ) have said that pumping money into the system is what is needed... Anything to create jobs... Hire people to count cracks in the sidewalk will have a greater effect on creating Jobs than anything the predatory credit card companies can or will do.


LOL we already did... It was just the 20th of last month...
Now the people, not big business are back in charge, as it should be.

lol i find that funny that you say the people r back in charge since when. if you keep up on things you will find that we r not in charge and r still fighting to take back our country. i know caz i,m in the fight every single day trying to stop big goverment from ramming things that we don,t need or don,t want down r thorts. and don,t even tell me that you listen to the news they r so one sided its not funny anything for the wheel of power that is obama,reed and polisk. so many people have their heads buryed in the sand that when they do wake up to whats really going on it will be 2 late and they will have no rights lifted and it will be hitler all over again. yes i know alot of people will read this and shake their heads and say to them selfs that girl is off the deep end it is not that bad but yes it is and if people don,t start standing up now and let the goverment know we r not going to take it anymore it will be to late. its for the people by the people not for the goverment by the goverment. and i don,t care when it started or whos to blame or who was in the white house when it started to much with the blame game anyway we won,t let r kids get away with blameing someone eles why r we letting the goverment get away with pointing fingers. instead of pointing fingers and saying they r to blame not us why don,t they just try to fix whats broken and say see we got the job done the way the american people wanted. not the way we think it should be but the way the american people wanted. enough is enough and people need to stand up now not wait until its 2 late. thanks for letting me rant. by the way did anyone see where reed came on t.v and said that only 36,000 jobs were lost and that was a good thing gezzz i bet the 36,000 people who lost their jobs don,t think it was a good thing. i bet he won,t think that when come nov hes voted out of office and loses he big fat paycheck. oh wait he still gets how much for retriment?

 

[rockycatt]

in a nut shell

What the hell happened -
545 people vs 300 million people


Charlie Reese, a retired reporter for the Orlando Sentinal has hit the nail

directly on the head, defining clearly who it is that in the final analysis must

assume responsibility for the judgements made that impact each one of us every day.

It's a short but good read. Worth the time. Worth remembering!

545 vs. 300,000,000

EVERY CITIZEN NEEDS TO READ THIS AND THINK ABOUT WHAT THIS JOURNALIST HAS SCRIPTED IN THIS MESSAGE. READ IT AND THEN REALLY THINK ABOUT OUR CURRENT POLITICAL DEBACLE.


Charley Reese has been a journalist for 49 years.
545 PEOPLE --By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them..

Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits..... The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red ..

If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power..

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.

Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees...

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.

What you do with this article now that you have read it........ Is up to you.
This might be funny if it weren't so darned true.
Be sure to read all the way to the end:
Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table,
At which he's fed.

Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.
Tax his work,
Tax his pay,
He works for peanuts
Anyway!

Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.

Tax his ties,
Tax his shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think..

Tax his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he cries
Tax his tears.

Tax his car,
Tax his gas,
Find other ways
To tax his ass.

Tax all he has
Then let him know
That you won't be done
Till he has no dough.

When he screams and hollers;
Then tax him some more,
Tax him till
He's good and sore.
Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he's laid...

Put these words
Upon his tomb,
Taxes drove me
to my doom...'

When he's gone,
Do not relax,
Its time to apply
The inheritance tax..
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Sales Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service FeeTax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax
STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY? Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, & our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What in the hell happened? Can you spell 'politicians?'

I hope this goes around THE USA at least 100 times!!! YOU can help it get there!!!
GO AHEAD - - - BE AN AMERICAN!!!











=

 

[gloria460]

It is truly amazing to me that people don't take any responsibility for this mess that we're in. Numerous people foreclosed on their mortgages knowing full well they couldn't afford their homes. Instead of trying to work with the banks they walked away.

If we're to fix this country everyone needs to take responsibility for their actions. How many people have actually read the whole bill which I belive is over 300 pages. To be credible we must be fair in our judgement of the given situation.

I support whatever president is in office and would hope that congress, the senate and house support him. Wouldn't it be wonderful if they all could sit down and work out reasonable solutions to our problems instead of trying to score political points and get perks for their own states.

It takes guts to do what's not popular.

 

[felicie]

You can keep "the change"

Yes I do.

Pump money into the system... That is all it's gonna take.

BTW - I am not alone in thinking this way.
The majority of people at the recent economic summit in Davos agreed with me.

people like... Sir Richard Branson, Bill Gates, George Soros and about a hundred of the biggest private fund managers.

The problem is people that that don't really understand the problems try to lump them all together.

There are the Economic problems.

Then there are the Credit Problems.

Two different animals with two totally different solutions.

The way to fix the Economic problems is to pump money into the system, There is not any disagreement on this between the conservatives and the liberals. All they disagree about is how to do it.

The way to fix the credit problems is any ones guess.
I would think that the Banks are just going to have to bite the bullet and take the losses... they should end up settling for about $0.22 on the $1.00.

But lets face the facts... 30 years of Ronald Regan's Trickle Down Economics and his War on Labor has just about destroyed our country and the World. And Ya Bill Clinton was a big Supporter of Ronald Regan's policies, even though he called himself a Democrat.

If you want to see a real Liberal in action just watch Obama go.
The people have spoken and they say, it's time to give Liberal policies a chance to fix the screwups of the conservative policies of the past 30 years.

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So, Let's Recap
"2009"...what a year!

1. The American people inaugurate a half-arab president with a total of 142 days experience as a US Senator from the most politically corrupt city/state in America whose governors have been ousted from office, and his first official act is to order the close of Gitmo and make sure terrorists civil rights are not violated.



2. The U.S. Congress rushes to confirm Attorney General, Eric Holder, whose law firm we later find out represents seventeen Gitmo terrorists.

3. The CIA boss appointee, Leon Panetta, has absolutely no experience, has a daughter Linda, we find out, who is a true radical anti-American activist and a supporter of all the Anti-American
regimes in the western hemisphere.

4. We got the second most corrupt American woman (Pelosi is #1) as Secretary of State; bought and paid for. (You can put lipstick on a pig, but it still stinks!)

5. We got a tax Cheat for Treasury Secretary who did not properly file his own taxes for 12 years. (He misspoke!)



6. A Commerce Secretary nominee who withdrew due to corruption charges. (Another honest mistake???)



7. A Tax cheat nominee for Chief Performance Officer who withdrew under charges. (Hmmm... another screw-up?)



8. A Labor secretary nominee who withdrew under charges of unethical conduct. (Ok, maybe this person was just plain stupid.)



9. A secretary HHS nominee (Daschle) who withdrew under charges of cheating on his
taxes. (I'm running out of excuses for these idiots!!)

10. Multiple appointments of former
lobbyists after an absolute campaign statement that no lobbyists would be
appointed. (Dear God, I am getting a headache!)

All this occurred just during the first three weeks. . . but who's counting?

America is being run by the modern-day Three Stooges; Barry, Nancy and Harry and they are still trying to define stimulus..."it's spending!"

The congress passes the $800,000,000,000 (that's $800 billion) pork-loaded spending bill where the government gives you a smidgen of your tax dollars ($13 per week), making you feel so good about yourself [stimulated], that you want to run out to Wal-Mart and buy a new Chinese-made HDTV!

Here's the good news though:

1. Obama took Air Force One to Denver to sign the stimulus package, and failed, wasting as much as 10,000 gallons of fuel OR 24 JOBS FOR ONE YEAR.

2. Obama went to the International Olympic Committee to have them choose Chicago
for a host city and failed.

3. Obama went to Copenhagen to lecture them on global warming and failed.

4. Obama went to New Jersey to promote the Democratic candidate for governor and failed.

5. Obama went to Virginia to promote the Democratic candidate for governor and failed.

6. Obama went to Massachusetts to promote the Democratic candidate for senator and failed.

7. Speaking of praying, Obama has now been president for a full year and yet he & wife (first lady) Michelle, the Christian family they claim to be, have not attended church since the inauguration.

8. Obama is the 1st president in history who did not attend any Christmas religious
observance.

9. He must miss Reverend Wright!

10. And finally, he is the 1st president to remain on vacation after a terrorist attack.

In these times 'I'll keep my God, my freedom, my gun and my money. Anyone who supports this insanity can keep "THE CHANGE"..... GOD 'HELP' AMERICA ....

 

[slotplayer]

Do you know that the Clinton Administration(yes Democrat, but it doesn't matter who started this mess) is who pushed for subprime lending and inf act the first Financial Lender had to be bailed out due to this during the Clinton Administration. Look it up.

The Community Reinvestment Act which Clinton gets blamed for actually started in 1977.

Actually it was Phil Gramm that undid the Glass Stegall Act of 1933 that started the whole mess. Feel free to Google him and/or the Glass Stegall Act.

Small Business employees are a good majority of this Countries Workers

You are 100% correct, small businesses create 60-80% of new jobs and employ about 50% of American workers.

Remember 30 years of Ronald Regan's "trickle down economics"

Exactly, Ronald Reagan cut taxes so dramatically it caused too much growth too fast which inturn caused high inflation. Consumers have been trying to catch up ever since.

Wern't the Bankruptcy Laws change under Bush's second term? I do remember it and a quick seach turned up The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005

Obama is spot on only in the fact that something has to be done. The way it is implemented is another issue. But think about it, Bush wanted to fix SSI and there was talk of getting off oil. Well its how many years later and zipo has been done.

In any event get used to it, its a new economy now.

 

[gloria460]

I can see why it's no use trying to get this country back on track. Your first sentence spoke volumes about what you believe.

You entered all that dirt on Obama and the democrats but failed miserably to spend anytime on those corrupt republicans...believe what you want to. This truly amazes me that people only see what they want to and neglect the good this president has done.

Get over it...support the government and hope that they can come together and rebuild this great nation of ours.

 

[kauphy]

I can see why it's no use trying to get this country back on track. Your first sentence spoke volumes about what you believe.

You entered all that dirt on Obama and the democrats but failed miserably to spend anytime on those corrupt republicans...believe what you want to. This truly amazes me that people only see what they want to and neglect the good this president has done.

Get over it...support the government and hope that they can come together and rebuild this great nation of ours.

you tell me what he has done his frist 100 days in office he put us father in debt then any other man who has been in office. him and his power team r trying to shove obamacare down r throats when the american people have said we don,t want it. yes we all know we need health reform but not what they r trying to do. both sides r corrupt yes. but you tell me what has he done name something that has helped this courty that he so hates that he has to tell everyone in the world that he sorrie for everything that the u.s has done and his wife saying this is the frist time that she is proud to be an american. tell me what we have done to be sorrie for we r the frist there when any other country needs help r man and women r dieing fighting for everyones right not just ours and he had enough nerve to call them crybabys caz they did,nt think they should have to pay for their own health insurance they r dieing for him to be where he is right now. he gave interpol the right to walk into anyones house and arrest them for no reason and they now have the right to not let you talk to a lawyer and can now send you to anoughter country to stand trial or make you go before a world court if they think you r going against ur goverment or any other. now tell me again what has he done to make jobs when his lift hand man went on t.v and said only 36,000 jobs were lost and that is a good thing. i won,t go into what i think of him caz big brother is always watching and listening. but again tell me what he has done that people will look the other way and still say hes a doing a good job? oh and heres a afterthought where the hell was he borned and his mentor said not god bless america but gd america but then again if you like him then you must think its o.k that their trying to take in god we trust off r money when r you people going to wake up to what he really is and what hes really trying to do to this country and its people.

 

[bryand]

The Community Reinvestment Act which Clinton gets blamed for actually started in 1977.

Actually it was Phil Gramm that undid the Glass Stegall Act of 1933 that started the whole mess. Feel free to Google him and/or the Glass Stegall Act.

That's like saying Smith & Wesson is the root of all murder.

The problem began during Clinton's term when mortgage lenders ran out of money to lend due to reserve requirements. Lehman Bros and others devised the securitization of mortgages as a way for lenders to write more loans (and get more origination fees).

Clinton caused the bubble. Phil Gramm just helped give banks enough rope to hang themselves.

 

[gloria460]

e.

Everyone has their own opinion and I'm not trying to change your mind or anyone elses. Peace

 

[slotplayer]

most of these posts are ideological talking points take from whatever side you lean on and whatever cable news channel you're watching.

Although I'm gulity of watching fox news and cnn I take what they say
say with a grain of salt. fox is notorious at using psychology to convince its' viewers. cnn for most part leans left but seem to provide some actual facts.

and said only 36,000 jobs were lost and that is a good thing.

Although it seems odd to say it is a good thing, that is a positive sign, considering we were losing 700k+ jobs a month. jobs are a lagging indicator and a true barometer of how the economy is doing overall. Although technically the recession is over (a recession is defined as 2 consecutive quarters of negative GDP.) we don't feel it until we see jobs come back.

That's like saying Smith & Wesson is the root of all murder.

The problem began during Clinton's term when mortgage lenders ran out of money to lend due to reserve requirements. Lehman Bros and others devised the securitization of mortgages as a way for lenders to write more loans (and get more origination fees).

Clinton caused the bubble. Phil Gramm just helped give banks enough rope to hang themselves.

this explains those to blame
xhttp://www.ickypeople.com/2008/04/bill-clinton-major-part-in-subprime.html

notice our friend there as in the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
Leach the guy that supported the 2006 UIGEA and even years before that.
xhttp://www.tax-news.com/news/Jim_Leach_Reintroduces_AntiGambling_Bill_In_Congress_____10507.html

 

[bryand]

this explains those to blame
xhttp://www.ickypeople.com/2008/04/bill-clinton-major-part-in-subprime.html

notice our friend there as in the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
Leach the guy that supported the 2006 UIGEA and even years before that.
xhttp://www.tax-news.com/news/Jim_Leach_Reintroduces_AntiGambling_Bill_In_Congress_____10507.html

Ok, let's look at this a different way. No ideology here. What if Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 never happened? (a) Financial services firms would still have underwritten MBS's, (b) Freddie and Fannie would still have gone bankrupt, (c) AIG still would have issued credit default swaps insuring the bonds, and most importantly, (d) the US housing market would still have tanked.