Another Way to Stop Corruption

Of course, it would put a lot of IRS employees out of work, but think how it would help everyday people to have a simple, fair tax code. On top of that, it would encourage recovery from the economic malaise that threatens to overwhelm us. Watch this video to see how countries all over the world are benefiting from a flat tax rate.

I Was So Very Wrong!

I have been patiently waiting for the Congressional Hearings or the criminal trials for ACORN to be announced since they have been publicly exposed giving advice on avoiding taxes, getting fraudulent loans for houses, and smuggling Salvadorian 13 year olds into the country for prostitution.

But instead, Maxine Waters proposed an amendment that gave 5 slots in the Consumer Financial Protection Agency to representatives of "consumer protection, fair lending and civil rights, representatives of depository institutions that primarily serve underserved communities, or representatives of communities that have been significantly impacted by higher-priced mortgages." Which definition sounds a lot like 5 people from ACORN or one of its subsidiaries.

The amendment was adopted by Barney Frank's House Financial Services Committee.

To read the details go Mark Tapscott's article at The Washington Examiner.

The New United States of Goldman Sachs

If you're not angry about the role Goldman Sachs is playing in our country, then you just don't know all the facts yet. On Monday, we covered the "magical" 2009 third quarter earnings for GS of $3,400,000,000 after they had received $70,000,000,000 from the taxpayers just a year ago.

Amazingly, no one has demanded anything be done about this "windfall" profit. There have been no screaming headlines or news specials about making a record $3.4 billion in one quarter. Their executives are not hounded by protestors around their homes nor do they face sarcastic reporters yelling questions as they try to leave their offices.

Today, we discovered that the government and Goldman Sachs have been too close for comfort at least since the Bush administration. His Treasury Secretary, Hank Paulson, held a secret meeting with the board of Goldman Sachs in a Moscow hotel in 2008 between the demise of Bear Stearns and the fall of Lehman Brothers (former competitor with GS). It was supposed to be a purely social occasion for the former Goldman Sachs CEO. But he ended up telling his old friends all about his upcoming big speech and the gathering storm at Treasury -- quite a conflict of interest. For the whole story of the meeting, see the Business Insider article below.
This week Adam Storch, VP of Goldman Sachs Business Intelligence Group, was named the SEC as the Chief Operating Officer for enforcement. So we began researching other Obama administration executives with ties to Goldman Sachs. The list so far includes:

* Pete Coneway, Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein

* Diana Farrell, Deputy director of Obama's National Economic Council

* Michael Froman, Obama adviser and former assistant to Robert Rubin

* Jason Furman, Obama Campaign Economic Policy Director

* Tim Geithner, Current Treasury Secretary

* Gary Gensler, Chairman of Commodity Futures Trading Commission

* Bob Hormats, Under Secretary of State for Economic, Energy, and Agricultural Affairs

* James A Johnson, Fannie Mae

* Reuben Jeffery III, Undersecretary of State for Economic, Energy, and Agriculture

* Neel Kashkari, Treasury official in charge of TARP

* James C Langdon Jr., Treasury, US Mint, Department of Public Debt

* Philip D Murphy, Ambassador to Germany-Designate

* Mark Patterson, Chief of Staff to Tim Geithner

* Karthik Ramanathan, Acting Assistant Secretary for Financial Markets

* Robert E Rubin, Former Treasury Secretary, Transition Advisory Board

* Faryar Shirzad, Global Head of Government Affairs

* Robert K Steel, Under Secretary of Treasury

* Larry Summers, Director of the National Economic Council

* John Whitehead, Advisor

* Robert Zoellick, US Trade Representative and World Bank president

Why isn't someone calling for a thorough investigation of the penetration of Goldman Sachs into Obama's administration, especially at Treasury? What about the Federal Reserve? Is it not unfair for this privileged bank to be making record profits without repaying their creditors (the US taxpayers)? This does not sound like free market capitalism to me.

Gold Price Is No Surprise

First, "they" devalued your carefully saved investments with the great financial crisis and stock market crash last year, then "they" started spending money as fast as it could be printed, setting the stage for inflation to wipe out the value of what little you had left. The dollar that was recently (2002) valued at $1.24 in the international market is now worth $0.74. So people are running to any investment that will rise higher than inflation. Many people believe that it's gold which closed today at $1,055. It still hasn't reached the inflation adjusted high of $2,275.99 from 1980 when the country was mired in stagflation, but it's headed in that direction.

In times like these, you need to exercise all the creativity you have to protect your assets and provide for your family. I suggest you get started by watching this interview with Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad. He may not have the exact plan for your situation, but he will help you to start thinking outside the box.

Your Homework Assignment

1. To get a fresh understanding of the dangers of current health care proposals, read Thomas Sowell's article at Townhall. Fables for Adults by out favorite economist/philosopher illustrates the folly of Obamacare.

2. To get some idea of the public relations work the US media has performed for liberal causes during the last 60 years, read Media Malpractice: Tom Brokaw's World Implodes in The American Spectator. From Barry Goldwater to John Edwards to ACORN, it reveals the depth of the deception and misinformation the mass media has inflicted on unknowing Americans. In the fifties and sixties, only those few who read National Review knew what was really happening, but now the Internet and talk radio daily bring more truth to light, effectively curtailing their influence.

3. To get a new understanding of the big picture, read about George Soros' nefarious role in our national decline. He prefers to stay in the background, but his power is global. Changing the US is his crowning achievement.

"When you break the big laws, you do not get freedom; you do not even get anarchy. You get the small laws."

And in today's America there are so many small laws that we all engage in criminal activity without even knowing it. As big government grows ever bigger, citizens are burdened with new little laws each time the President signs a bill. The Congressional Clowns may pass a 1,000+ page bill, but when the bureaucrats finish writing up the regulations, it grows much longer, becomes much more complex, and gains innumerable unintended consequences.

Little laws make everyone think first of our tax law that is so Byzantine even the IRS does not understand it, or in Geithner's case, follow it. If you were to call the nearest IRS office to ask a specific question about a specific tax situation, then follow the IRS advice on that same tax situation, you still could be considered guilty if audited by IRS personnel who disagreed with the IRS person who gave you the advice. Not only is the tax code tens of thousands of pages long already, but more pages of regulations are added each year.

Sales tax regulations sound easy, but twenty states follow recommendations of the Steamlined Sales Tax Project or SSTP. The SSTP is currently considering taxing Wheaties, Cheerios, Lucky Charms, and Rice Crispies as candy, although Cookie Crunch will remain a cereal. Their definition of candy is a substance with sugar in it, but no flour. Wheaties, for example, contains wheat flakes, not flour. According to a comment on American's for Tax Reform article about SSTP, Kellogg's Raisin Bran is considered candy, but Post Raisin Bran is a cereal. Candies, in case you were wondering, can be taxed at higher rates than foods in many states with sales taxes.

Since the regulations of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act were approved this spring, federal agents now have the authority to raid Saturday morning garage sales and jail the offending homeowner in a campaign called Resale Roundup. In addition to the draconian rules about plastic and lead products, the new law makes it a crime to resell any item that has been recalled by its manufacturer. Since hundreds of products might be recalled each year, for various reasons, it's impossible for homeowners to keep up with all of them. As a result, many resale shops have been forced out of business, numerous books taken off library shelves, and the hosts at garage sales face the possibility of jail. However, the really bad news is that Obama has asked for a 11.4% increase in CPSI funding, so more inspectors can be hired next year. Then they can do more raids on yard sales, Craig's List, and Ebay.

And, this round up of stupidity only hints at the growing government intrusion into our private lives.

Obviously, God is not a bureaucrat. He only has ten laws for a peaceful society. And they are so simple a ten year-old can easily memorize them.

*The title is a quote from G. K. Chesterton in The Daily News on 7/29/1905.

Shock! We ALREADY Spend More on Healthcare Than Other Countries!

According to Americans for Tax Reform, the US government already spends more money per capita on health care than countries with socialized medicine. Italy, Japan, Australia, Ireland, UK, Sweden, Germany, Canada, and France all spend less than the over $3,000 the US pays out for various government programs. When you think about it, it becomes painfully obvious that the answer to health care costs in the USA is NOT to add more government programs, but to reduce them. Only free market competition can improve products while reducing costs.

If the government had been in control of personal computer market back in the late seventies, the cost of the average home computer would be several thousand dollars by now, and we probably would not be too far advanced beyond the 48kb of memory that the first Apples had. We purchased an Apple II in 1978 for $2,638 (that would be $8,726.97 in today's dollars) plus shipping costs. The few programs that were available at the time were on black disks that really were floppy. We had to insert a different disk each time we wanted to use a different program.

Just 21 years later, the cheapest Apple costs $999 (or $301.98 in 1978 dollars) and comes with 2gb of memory, plus audio, video, color, Internet, and wireless capabilities. And it's portable. That represents an increase in memory of 6 degrees of magnitude - from thousands to billions, not to mention all the ancillary improvements.

We can all thank heaven for the competition between Bill Gates and Steve Wozniak. And pray that more free market competition will be allowed in health care, not a one payer system that only cuts costs by eliminating services.