Obama: Doing the right thing for the wrong purpose?
BRILLIANT IDEA: CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM -- BEAT THE BASTARDS AT THEIR OWN GAME!

Obama pushing U.S. citizens down Alice's rabbit hole...

I feel like Alice falling down the rabbit hole into an Orwellian world where government pronouncements make very little sense and evil has been redefined as good, up as down, right as left.

According to Bloomberg news …

“Obama Says U.S. Long-Term Debt Load ‘Unsustainable’”

“President Barack Obama, calling current deficit spending ‘unsustainable,’ warned of skyrocketing interest rates for consumers if the U.S. continues to finance government by borrowing from other countries.”

“ ‘We can’t keep on just borrowing from China,’ Obama said at a town-hall meeting in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, outside Albuquerque. ‘We have to pay interest on that debt, and that means we are mortgaging our children’s future with more and more debt.’”

“Holders of U.S. debt will eventually ‘get tired’ of buying it, causing interest rates on everything from auto loans to home mortgages to increase, Obama said. ‘It will have a dampening effect on our economy.’”

I must be out of my freaking mind – does President Barack Obama and his merry band of Congressional democrats know that it is they who have created programs which are leading to the largest debt levels in the United States history? More than all of the accumulated debt from George Washington to George W. Bush?

And does not President Obama understand that there are only two ways to reduce that debt:

One, reduce the size of government and its programs; and

Two, grow the size of the overall economy by reducing taxes on those who are creating wealth and jobs.

History has clearly demonstrated that socialism, central planning, the redistribution of wealth and taxing the producers will result in a catastrophic collapse of the United States economy.

Watch not what they say, but what they do …

“Earlier this week, the Obama administration revised its own budget estimates and raised the projected deficit for this year to a record $1.84 trillion, up 5 percent from the February estimate. The revision for the 2010 fiscal year estimated the deficit at $1.26 trillion, up 7.4 percent from the February figure. The White House Office of Management and Budget also projected next year’s budget will end up at $3.59 trillion, compared with the $3.55 trillion it estimated previously.”

Two weeks ago, the president proposed $17 billion in budget cuts, with plans to eliminate or reduce 121 federal programs. Republicans ridiculed the amount, saying that it represented one-half of 1 percent of the entire budget. They noted that Obama is seeking an $81 billion increase in other spending.”

Piling on the debt and placing United States citizens at risk …

In addition to the current debt levels, President Obama has vowed to overhaul healthcare which would cost approximately $2 TRILLION dollars and result in a severe disruption in our current healthcare system. The foreseeable future would be bleak: fewer doctors, rationed healthcare and a state policy based on “best practices” which would deny last-ditch medical treatments to those citizens who were seriously ill and/or dying. All on the basis of statistical studies showing that the medical outcome of experimental procedures and medications is often death.

Doing bad by seemingly doing good …

“Obama prodded Congress to pass restrictions on credit-card issuers, saying consumers need “strong and reliable” protection from unfair practices and hidden fees.”

“Obama called on Congress to send to him by May 25 a bill that would clamp down on what he says are sudden rate increases, unfair penalties and hidden fees. He also wants the measure to strengthen monitoring of credit-card companies.”

Consider for a moment a likely scenario. That which reduces the amount of interest and fee income to private corporations; only to have a corresponding amount be transferred to the government as taxes. On one hand a “feel good” public relations stunt which cripples growth and enlarges the size of the government with the increasing number of unionized workers.

Words, just words …

“ ‘It’s time for reform that’s built on transparency, accountability, and mutual responsibility, values fundamental to the new foundation we seek to build for our economy,’ the president said.”

From the $700 BILLION TARP (Troubled Assets Relief Program) to the release of the pictures of Air Force One flying over the Statue of Liberty, transparency has been lacking. SIGTARP (Special Inspector General, Troubled Assets Relief Fund) has told Congress that the $700 BILLION dollar program was a failure and has been modified into a much larger program of at least 12 separate programs involving up to $3 TRILLION dollars. There is no transparency here. And a clear demonstration that the government cannot account for the taxpayer money it is spending in our name.

It’s your fault – you stupid people …

“The president said Americans have been hooked on their credit cards and share some blame for the current system. ‘We have been complicit in these problems,’ he said. ‘We have to change how we operate. These practices have only grown worse in the midst of this recession.’”

Last I checked, it was the financial industry who sent lobbyists to turn politicians into political whores – grabbing money with both hands to offer up legislation that permitted problematical behavior and to restrain the regulatory agencies from enforcing the laws on the books. 

“The American Bankers Association, which represents card issuers, has warned lawmakers and the Obama administration against taking punitive action or setting requirements that are too stringent. Doing so, the lobby group says, would limit consumer credit and worsen a credit crunch.”

“Obama said that restrictions ‘shouldn’t diminish consumers’ access to credit.’

You can’t have it both ways …

You cannot keep offering credit to those who are fundamentally uncreditworthy based on class, ethnicity, gender or any other social criteria and then excoriate the industry for pricing the risk premium into the interest rate.

Uncollectible credit-card debt rose to 8.82 percent in February, the most in the 20 years that Moody’s Investors Service Inc. has kept records. Lawmakers have said they’re under increasing pressure from constituents to respond to rising interest rates and abrupt changes to consumers’ accounts.”

Has anyone noticed that the availability of cheap capital made possible by government policies has introduced a moral hazard into the equation. In spite of the protestations to the contrary, the credit issuers need not be concerned about the creditworthiness of individual borrowers and card users as they play a numbers game to issue the most cards.

Likewise, they really do not have any incentive to assist troubled borrowers as the jack the interest rate to the stratosphere and pile on the rates – which is counterproductive to an honorable person seeking to pay there just obligations. The industry even lobbied to make bankruptcy even more difficult than before to reinforce their continuing income stream.

And, just when you thought that the credit card issuers could not be any worse than loan sharks or payday lenders, they sold off the debt to investors using the very same toxic derivatives as were used by the mortgage industry. Of course, a closer look at the mortgage industry would have revealed that many financial institutions which originated mortgages also issued credit cards – some being collateralized by the equity in your home.

The government you thought was protecting you was complicit in your ongoing monthly rape at the hands of their “special interest friends” – all spearheaded by elected officials like House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-CT).

What hypocrisy?

“Obama held a White House meeting last month with executives from the credit-card industry, including representatives from Bank of America Corp. and American Express Co. Afterward, he told reporters that credit-card issuers should be prohibited from imposing ‘unfair’ rate increases on consumers and should offer the public credit terms that are easier to understand.”

It is apparent that President Obama and his merry band of democrat thieves are upset that someone else is picking your pocket before they get their share through hidden taxes and fees.

“ ‘The days of any time, any increase, anything goes -- rate hike, late fees -- that must end,” Obama said today at Rio Rancho High School. We’re going to require clarity and transparency from now on.’”

I call bullshit. The government openly requires and condones credit disclosures no one can read or understand even though they use common English words. Unilateral agreements that are presented to consumers on a “take it or pay us off” basis.

Bottom line …

If President Obama were an honest broker for government reform, he would note that the largest controllable government costs involve under productive personnel and that the increasing union interference in government affairs is causing severe damage to our economic health. He would also note that the interference of the lawyers, lobbyists and special interests is similarly hurting our economy. And being a purported constitutional scholar, he would notice that much of what the federal government is doing is unconstitutional and a usurpation of states’ rights. Similarly, he should be worried about the loss of constitutional checks and balances as we move further toward a one-party domination of the government and a Supreme Court that often usurps Congressional authority by legislating from the bench.

All I can hope is that the Republicans will somehow find their core values and invite the rest of  America to join us in fixing the nation before it is too late.

-- steve

Reference links …

Obama Says U.S. Long-Term Debt Load ‘Unsustainable’ (Update2) - Bloomberg.com


“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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