Tuesday, February 2, 2010 - 5:55pm

Obama's Budget

Despite having revenue of only $2.5 trillion, the federal government released a record $3.8 trillion budget for 2011.  Rather than close the gap, the Obama administration budget plan calls for an increase in spending.  Yes, you heard that right.  In addition, President Obama would like to spend another $100 billion (that he doesn't have) toward a jobs program.

To pay for this, President Obama called for more tax hikes, proving yet again that he is a classic, tax-and-spend liberal.  He continues to believe that big government is the answer to all problems, even if his standard stump speech claims the opposite.

A high-tax, big government, nation will eventually lead to an economic collapse as the private sector becomes smaller and smaller.  As our government takes more money away from corporations, these firms will hire less workers and unemployment will stay elevated.  With a higher unemployment rate, the government will generate lower revenue and create higher deficits.  It's only a matter of time before the country spirals into a great depression or bankruptcy

Our Congress and this president are leading us into the abyss.  If they can't cut spending across the board, the U.S. economy will never completely recover.

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Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - 5:18pm

Geithner Grilled

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testified before the House Oversight Committee this morning about the AIG bailout and the lack of disclosure to the public.  Not surprisingly, the lifelong bureaucrat denied having any involvement in the attempt to withhold critical details about the case. 

The New York Fed is accused of failing to disclose over a dozen controversial actions to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in late 2008.  Geithner was the President of the New York Federal Reserve at the time, but claims he had no day-to-day responsibilities since he had been nominated by President Obama to be Treasury Secretary.

Thankfully, some Republican Congressmen were not buying Geithner's purported ignorance of the situation.  Ranking member Darrell Issa (R-CA) and John Mica (R-FL) effectively called for his head.  Democrats were (painfully) quiet as they didn't want to be seen as defending an otherwise insolvent firm like AIG, nor did they want to attack a man appointed by a Democratic President.

Timothy Geithner has been evasive since Day 1, acting more like a crooked politician than an upstanding public servant.  You'll notice that he rarely, if ever, answers a question directly.  While that may work for a Congressman, we need much more transparency from our Treasury Secretary. 

The bottom line here is that Geithner needs to resign as soon as possible.  Not only does he dodge questions, he doesn't even know what he's doing.  It's astonishing that President Barack Obama ever nominated this incompetent buffoon.

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Thursday, January 21, 2010 - 6:12pm

President Goes After Banks

In a speech today, Barack Obama sought much tougher regulation on Wall Street and American banks.  The president laid out a plan to control the size and complexity of financial companies, limit reckless speculation by commercial banks, and impose fees (i.e. taxes) on the country's largest corporations that construct a highly leveraged balance sheet.

With the exception of the tax increase, the populist message is long overdue.  There has yet to be a single law passed that prohibits financial services companies from creating the same problems that got us into this mess in the first place.  Large banking institutions and Wall Street firms have reduced their leverage and are no longer participating in high-risk loans, but there is nothing stopping them from doing it again.

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Sunday, January 17, 2010 - 9:00pm

Could a Republican Win in Massachusetts?

A special election for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat will be held on Tuesday in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  Republican challenger Scott Brown (father of Ayla Brown) is surging against the establishment Democratic candidate Martha Coakley.   Ms. Coakley held a 17-point lead only two weeks ago, but her complacency, incompetence, and lackluster campaigning has allowed Brown to take the lead in a number of polls.

The power of the U.S. Senate hangs in the balance.  If Brown pulls off this major upset, he will make the Democrats look like fools.  To lose a Senate seat in a special election in one of the most liberal states in the country is nearly unprecedented. 

In addition, if Brown wins, he would be the 41st Republican in the Senate, which means the Democrats will lose their filibuster-proof majority and possibly the health care reform bill.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010 - 8:05pm

100,000 Feared Dead in Haiti

Haitian government officials believe the death toll may surpass 100,000 after the nation suffered a catastrophic earthquake.  The capital city of Port-au-Prince is destroyed as thousands of buildings have collapsed, including hospitals, schools, and the Haitian National Palace.

Aid is pouring into the country and former President Bill Clinton, who is the U.N. special envoy to Haiti, is pleading for donations in order to get much needed supplies to the people.

The most immediate needs beyond search and rescue are food, water, shelter, and first-aid supplies.  Although Clinton mentions his own organization, donations would likely be more effective if sent to the Red Cross.

Friday, January 8, 2010 - 5:51pm

More Job Losses

Today's December unemployment report showed another 85,000 job cuts and a rate holding at a very lofty 10.0%.  The November report was revised upward to +4,000 jobs created, but the economy has otherwise shed jobs every month for two years straight.

The Obama administration attempted to put their best spin on the numbers as Austan Goolsbee, one of their key economic advisors, talked to CNBC this morning to discuss how 'good' this report was and that we're moving in the right direction.

Thus far, the unemployment reports have only been less bad, not actually positive.  The ones in 2010 not only have to turn to the upside, but they need to show the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs each and every month for the American economy to get back to normal.

If that doesn't happen and the jobless rate remains at 10% come the mid-term elections, incumbent Democrats will get crushed.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010 - 9:22pm

Democrats Dodd, Dorgan "Retire"

Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND) today announced they would retire and not seek another term in office, presumably because they were not likely to win re-election. While this development appears to open the door for Republicans, the Democrats should be able to retain at least one of those seats.

In Connecticut, state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is a strong individual to replace Chris Dodd.  He has already announced his candidacy and he polls very well.  In addition, Connecticut is a very blue state and one the GOP would be hard-pressed to flip.

The Senate seat in red-state North Dakota is another story.  The Democrats are expected to lose to whomever runs on the Republican side. All indications are that Byron Dorgan was the only Democrat with a chance to win and even that was tenuous at best.

Current projections from FiveThirtyEight.com show the GOP picking up about two seats in the mid-terms, thus breaking the filibuster-proof majority the left now hold.  However, with six Republicans retiring, it would be nearly impossible for them to regain control of the Senate.

At the end of the day, the Democrats should maintain control of the Senate after the November elections.  They may fall to 57 or 58 seats, but it will still represent a strong majority.

Sunday, January 3, 2010 - 12:50pm

War in Yemen?

The United States and Great Britain decided to close their embassies in Yemen today after threats of increased violence by al-Qaida elements in the country.  Both nations also announced an increase in counterterrorism funds to the Yemeni government in the wake of the failed bomb attack on the Northwest Airlines flight by a 23-year old Nigerian man.

The American Embassy in Yemen was attacked two times in 2008 and expectations are that it could be targeted a third time.  The embassy released a statement citing "ongoing threats" from terrorist organizations as their rational for closure.

Shutting down the foreign embassy may be a prelude to further violence in Yemen.  The U.S. appears to be stepping up their efforts in money, resources, intelligence, and surveillance to fight off al-Qaida radicals in the nation.  Considering the Yemeni government doesn't even have total control of their own country, U.S. involvement could escalate into another full-fledged war.

Thursday, December 31, 2009 - 9:05pm

Happy New Year!!!

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year in 2010!!!  It should be an incredibly exciting year!!!

Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - 11:59pm

Government Bails Out GMAC...Again!

Really?  Hasn't the administration learned their lesson yet about bailing out random companies? GMAC, the financing arm of General Motors, said today that the Treasury Department has given them $3.8 billion of taxpayer dollars.  This would mark the 3rd time the government has handed over money to GMAC.

The American taxpayer now owns 56% of this firm.  That sounds like a lot...until you realize that GMAC is a worthless, insolvent company without government intervention.

At what point will the Obama administration realize that bailing out bad corporations is a terrible decision?  Just like the CIT bankruptcy, which cost taxpayers $2.3 billion, this will also be a wasted effort.

Monday, December 28, 2009 - 1:45pm

Napolitano Admits Failure

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano admitted that the system did not work in preventing a man with explosives on board a Detroit-bound flight on Christmas Day. The man had already been flagged as a potential threat, yet was still allowed on the plane.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was listed in the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (TIDE) database, but his name was apparently not screened before boarding the Northwest Airlines flight.  The list holds nearly 550,000 names and is much larger than the 'Do Not Fly' list, but it still should've kept him from flying.

Why bother keeping a database of 550,000 possible terrorists if you're not going to use it to screen possible threats?  Is it really that difficult to run every passenger's name through the computer system before allowing them on board?

If Homeland Security doesn't fix this major flaw in the system, a terrorist will bring a plane down eventually.  We got lucky this time as the bomb didn't explode, but the next time we may not be as fortunate.

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Wednesday, December 23, 2009 - 8:40pm

Final Vote Set For Christmas Eve

Democrats are determined to pass healthcare reform before the end of the year.  With Ben 'Kickback' Nelson on board, the Senate voted on cloture by a party-line 60-39 tally.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has scheduled a final vote for 7am on Christmas Eve.  If the date and time hold, it would mark the first vote on Christmas Eve in more than a century.

Once the Senate passes the bill, it will need to be reconciled with the House bill.  There are significant differences in the two bills, but President Obama has (finally) promised to get involved to move the process along. 

It remains to be seen how much longer this will take.  In the meantime, Congress is ignoring just about everything else.

Sunday, December 20, 2009 - 5:05pm

Reward for Nelson

In order for Harry Reid and the Democrats to get 60 votes on their healthcare reform bill, they needed to coax Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) to side with them.  They got Nelson's vote, but only after giving his state of Nebraska a huge payoff.

As a result, Nebraska will now receive a permanent exemption from their share of Medicaid expansion.  They are the only state to get this sweetheart deal and it will end up costing federal taxpayers an additional $45 million in the first ten years to make up the difference.

Deal-making is commonplace in politics and other Senators did get special treatment, but rarely do they rise to a monetary value of tens of millions of dollars dedicated to one, sparsely populated state.

The bottom line is that Senator Nelson was effectively bribed into voting for this healthcare bill. It's a shame politicians don't cast votes on what they actually believe.

Friday, December 18, 2009 - 11:35pm

Weak Global Climate Deal

As soon as you hear the phrase "non-binding" in any agreement designed by politicians, you can be sure that it doesn't mean a thing.  Such is the case with President Obama's climate pact reached in Copenhagen today with four other countries.

Poor countries immediately denounced the deal because of the non-binding language and since it didn't set a target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  They quickly realized this accord was simply a way for the American president and other world leaders to save face.

Let's be serious...President Obama's trip to Demark was a complete waste of time.  For months, the Copenhagen summit was expected to yield significant progress on global warming. Instead, it will end without a legally binding pact and with no deadlines or targets on emissions.

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Tuesday, December 15, 2009 - 6:20pm

Debt Ceiling Hitting Limits

Even though our federal government carries an enormous debt burden, the Treasury Department is actually limited in terms of how high they can go.  Currently, they are restricted to stop at $12.1 trillion, which they anticipate hitting by the end of the year.

House Democratic leaders are having trouble raising the ceiling as fiscal hawks oppose them.  As a result, a short-term extension may be the only option available to lawmakers.  The debate has been ongoing for some time now with little progress.

Why is Congress wasting all this time debating debt limits.  Wouldn't it be more productive to, oh, I don't know, figure out how to stop spending so much taxpayer money?