tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28785049.post6506756837700653199..comments2023-10-30T07:54:27.317-04:00Comments on Allegiance and Duty Betrayed:: Sundown in Americajoaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11914891807184694081noreply@blogger.comBlogger85125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28785049.post-38713202893744236932008-10-07T09:10:00.000-04:002008-10-07T09:10:00.000-04:00heroiclife:First of all, just a little personal ad...heroiclife:<BR/><BR/>First of all, just a little personal advice (take it or leave it): When attempting to make a point with someone who has stated 'A', you will rarely win him over to your point of view by starting out your argument with, 'It's ignorant to believe A'. <BR/><BR/>'I'd like to take issue with your argument A' might render the other person a bit more receptive to your point of view. <BR/><BR/>With semantics aside ...<BR/><BR/>I suppose I may agree with you that we now live in a populist democracy (and we both know that our Founders repeatedly warned us about the dangers inherent in a democracy). <BR/><BR/>And, while I also agree with you that every group that participates in the political system is a special interest, in concept, I vehemently disagree that every one of those special interest groups seeks to use the system to extract benefits for its members at the expense of others.<BR/><BR/>Would you say that those who are pressing for drilling in ANWR are doing so in order to receive benefit at the expense of others? If you are as level-headed and well educated as I suspect you are on the supposed 'environmental concerns' inherent in the debate, I hope your answer is no. Despite the fact that they are growing more difficult to find, there still exist arguments whose basis is genuinely the common good.<BR/><BR/>I agree that the existence of special interest is 'just a symptom of the disease', if you are defining 'the disease' as our devolution from a representative republic to a populist democracy, and the coincidental increase in the power of the state. <BR/><BR/>But the power of special interests is (literally) exponentially larger and more well organized on the left than it is on the right, simply by the nature of the beast. Thus my negative reference to special interests in this piece.<BR/><BR/>If you will read this piece a bit more carefully, you will see that I did not ‘blame special interests for America’s problems’. I spread the blame over a very wide area, of which ‘special interests’ was a small segment, and in which ‘special interests’ use the <I>main cause of our problems</I> (namely the corruption inherent in the government – especially, but not exclusively, Congress) to their advantage.joaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11914891807184694081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28785049.post-48084010889147646772008-10-07T06:39:00.000-04:002008-10-07T06:39:00.000-04:00It’s ignorant to blame "special interests" for Ame...It’s ignorant to blame "special interests" for America’s problems.<BR/><BR/>In a populist democracy such as we have now, every group that participates in the political system is a “special interest”, with the incentive and the possibility of using the political system to extract benefits for its members at the expense of other groups. The welfare and regulatory systems are two common means of coercively redistributing property and conferring monopoly benefits to various groups. Everyone in a democracy is constantly on the defensive against the possibility of organized groups extracting benefits from him, and on the offensive attempting to use the coercive power of the state to extract benefits from others.<BR/><BR/>The existence of special interests is just a symptom of the disease: the growth of government power to a degree that allows those in power to violate our rights and steal our property for the benefits of their constituents. Populist “maverick” politicians who claim that they will “fight special interests” and “change the culture in Washington” are just attempting to subvert the power of the state to favor their particular constituency. Take away the power of the government, and you will remove both the incentive and the power of the “special interests.”David Vekslerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09056363942505323454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28785049.post-72883712357547426192008-10-06T20:10:00.000-04:002008-10-06T20:10:00.000-04:00If today's market action is any indication, the wo...If today's market action is any indication, the world ain't buyin' the "bailout."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28785049.post-53237153518615106272008-10-05T12:23:00.000-04:002008-10-05T12:23:00.000-04:00The End of an Era~~~~~"But what makes this particu...<A HREF="http://pajamasmedia.com/edgelings/2008/10/03/the-end-of-an-era/" REL="nofollow">The End of an Era</A><BR/>~~~~~<BR/>"But what makes this particular economic crisis so appalling, at least from this vantage point, is the sheer scumminess, corruption, short-sightedness and general incompetence of everyone involved. At least in the business world, especially in the take-no-prisoners world of high-tech that kind of venality and ineptitude either gets you fired or kills the company; by comparison, in Washington, it puts you in charge of the recovery effort."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28785049.post-5747395904065505692008-10-05T11:29:00.000-04:002008-10-05T11:29:00.000-04:00How do you tell a communist? It's someone who rea...How do you tell a communist? It's someone who reads Marx and Lenin.<BR/><BR/>How do you tell an anti-communist? It's someone who <I>understands</I> Marx and Lenin.<BR/><BR/>--Ronald ReaganAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28785049.post-36502912969736623202008-10-04T20:57:00.000-04:002008-10-04T20:57:00.000-04:00Biden's biggest "mis-statemets" (read LIES) on Thu...Biden's biggest "mis-statemets" (read <B>LIES</B>) on Thursday night, all of which, if done by Palin, would be all over the MSM:<BR/><BR/>1. Hesbollah didn't get put out of Lebanon. It was Syria. <BR/><BR/>2. Hesbollah didn't win an election in the "Palestinian State". It was Hamas. <BR/><BR/>3. Biden's big U.N. initiative to keep Hezbollah out of the Lebanese government was bogus since they were already in. <BR/><BR/>4. Pakistan's nukes can't even reach Israel. <BR/><BR/>5. The Vice-President's constitutional duties do indeed include more than Senate tiebreaks.<BR/><BR/>Where's the media?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28785049.post-14980339109329544282008-10-04T17:26:00.000-04:002008-10-04T17:26:00.000-04:00Good post tod.Ayn Rand called it "Hatred of the go...Good post tod.<BR/><BR/>Ayn Rand called it "Hatred of the good for being the good." It takes a while to get your mind around the fact that the left wants to tear down anything good and replace it with...nothing. She also said their motivation was hatred of life itself. I've come to believe that.<BR/><BR/>Rand also said the way to fight them was on moral grounds.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28785049.post-85363447341306664562008-10-04T16:05:00.000-04:002008-10-04T16:05:00.000-04:00http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUI...http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=1b19d372-eff6-4f8a-86ef-24ffe3463f69<BR/><BR/>Mgrdechian: When you look closely at all the things leftists do and say, you can’t help but notice that they almost always have one very obvious thing in common -- a need to bring others down. A need to undermine, a need to obstruct, a need to get in the way and a need to make themselves feel good by doing and saying superficial things that make no sense on any logical, practical or rational level. <BR/> <BR/>Unfortunately, one of the best ways for them to deflect criticism or justify these sorts of behaviors is to hide behind some sort of guise. Disguise their attack against one group as an effort to help another. Disguise their hatred as outrage. Disguise their failure as oppression. Disguise their real agenda in any way they possibly can in order to make the viciousness of it seem as though it was actually meant to be benign.<BR/> <BR/>But the reality is that these people are so consumed by their own hatred that they’ll sacrifice anything, anybody, any culture and even the survival of our own country to destroy the people they need to attack. Just look at the viciousness of the attacks against President Bush. We have an entire army of incredibly well financed, well trained and completely fanatical terrorists intent on destroying our way of life. But what do Leftists do anytime Bush tries to anything about the problem? They relentlessly attack him in every vile way they possibly can. These people are so obsessed by their need to destroy others, that they can’t even see straight long enough to save their own lives.<BR/><BR/>FP: Why do you think the leftist faith is ultimately self-destructive?<BR/> <BR/>Mgrdechian: I think the answer can be summed up in two words -- Bad Competition, a concept I discuss in considerable detail in the second chapter of the book. <BR/> <BR/>In that discussion, I offer the following proposition: There are in fact, two and only two types of competition -- good and bad. Good Competition is ultimately productive to the competing elements, while Bad Competition is ultimately destructive.<BR/> <BR/>After describing what I mean by this and giving a few examples, I then provide some definitions. As such, I define Good Competition as: Any competitive effort where a person or organization attempts to achieve success based solely on the strength of their abilities, products or services. Similarly, I define Bad Competition as: Any competitive effort where a person or organization attempts to achieve success through any means other than the strength of their abilities, products or services. Rather than working to improve these elements, those engaged in Bad Competition will typically seek to achieve success primarily through the impairment of others.<BR/> <BR/>Now look at things like affirmative action, quotas, empowerment, increasing taxes, thought-crimes or any sort of preferential treatment or special protections for women, minorities, homosexuals or others. How do these supposedly begin liberal programs help people? Simple -- by hurting others. There is no improvement on an absolute level, there is only improvement on relative level by taking from others, lowering standards, denying opportunities to more qualified people or rewarding people for achievements they never managed to achieve. Clearly this sort of thing can never help a society as a whole; it can only hurt it. Worse yet, over time, this dynamic of penalizing success and rewarding failure can only lead to one thing -- the complete collapse of a society. <BR/> <BR/>This simple rule explains exactly why Hillary Clinton cannot ever be allowed to be President -- absolutely everything about her is based solely on the relentless exploitation of Bad Competition. And Bad Competition will -- without a doubt -- be the death of this country.<BR/> <BR/>FP: What is the best way to fight the Left?<BR/> <BR/>Mgrdechian: I think there are two ways to look at that question. The first would be how to fight the Left on an intellectual level, and I think the answer to that part of the question is fairly straightforward: the best way to fight the Left on an intellectual level is through logic, rational arguments and a thorough understanding of exactly what their strategies are.<BR/> <BR/>Unfortunately, debate and logic don’t win street fights and the second way to look at the question is on a practical level -- in other words, what is the best way to fight the Left in order to prevent their ideas and policies from permeating more and more elements of our society? Now that’s a tough one. It’s tough because in a way, liberalism is to politics what fast food is to nutrition -- a quick fix and an easy escape from responsibility. So how do you get people off of that quick fix? The only way that ever seems to work is to force them to go through a complete withdrawal; to go cold turkey.<BR/> <BR/>In other words, don’t compromise. In general, liberalism advances not through sudden shifts in policy, but slowly. Incrementally. A little bit at a time. And the best way to stop this advance is for conservatives to be more proactive in standing up for what they believe in. I admit, it certainly isn’t easy to do -- especially when you know you’ll be relentlessly attacked just for trying to be objective, but it is something that has to be done. If not, I have no doubt that one day we’ll all wake up, stare blankly out our windows and quietly wonder what ever happened to the country we grew up in.<BR/> <BR/>FP: Richard Mgrdechian, thank you for joining us.<BR/> .Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28785049.post-61141109688856899942008-10-04T08:57:00.000-04:002008-10-04T08:57:00.000-04:00From Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: Bailou...From Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: <A HREF="http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2008/10/bailout-bill-passed-so-what-happens-now.html" REL="nofollow">Bailout Bill Passed, So What Happens Now?</A><BR/>~~~~~<BR/>"Bernanke and Paulson think that the Fed buying toxic garbage will spur institutions to start lending. It won't. Banks will still be holding more garbage than the Fed can possibly buy. The market will be able to smell that garbage, even if the rules allow banks to pretend that garbage is a rose."<BR/><BR/>"Banks have no reason to lend in a world of overcapacity, rising unemployment, and increasingly sour consumer attitudes. It was disingenuous at best to suggest this would free up lending for main street as it was packaged."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28785049.post-59135382228544014752008-10-04T04:02:00.000-04:002008-10-04T04:02:00.000-04:00In 6 months time, where will the cash come from wh...In 6 months time, where will the cash come from when the idiots on Wall Street burn through this illegitimate working capital by tossing it back and forth between themselves and paying themselves fat commissions? <BR/><BR/>The velocity of the money that IS in the system NOW before this bailout hits has dropped precipitously as well. This means that after each transaction, the money goes into the bank and stays there. It doesn't get recirculated onto Main Street. It means that it will take about 5 times as much cash injected into the system by the FED to provide the necessary cash for all of the folks screaming for cash. Just ask your local car dealer how many cars he's sold this past month. It won't even cover his secretary's salary.<BR/><BR/>And the problem with that solution? When the world finally starts to move forward, what happens when we have 150x as much cash in the system? Prices WILL ZOOM upward. No, not the stock market prices. Retail prices. Yeah, everyone will have a party for a week and then look out.<BR/><BR/>You and your loved ones will be paying $10 for a gallon of milk and $10 for a gallon a gas. A loaf of bread will cost $15/ And all the bright economists under our Wunderkind Bernanke will scream for wage and price controls and we'll get a Soviet-style economy that only produces shortages and bread lines.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28785049.post-61840558064290754632008-10-03T19:52:00.000-04:002008-10-03T19:52:00.000-04:00On this sad night, I can only add: Bailout bill lo...On this sad night, I can only add: <A HREF="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10057618-38.html?tag=nl.e433" REL="nofollow">Bailout bill loops in green tech, IRS snooping</A>. Read it and weep for America.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28785049.post-11816420958820117762008-10-03T00:45:00.000-04:002008-10-03T00:45:00.000-04:00Senator Obama today announced a plan to seize oil ...Senator Obama today announced a plan to seize oil company profits and distribute them to "working class" families. <BR/><BR/>Sound like a viable energy policy to you? Or Marxist redistributionism?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28785049.post-53671221669573510822008-10-02T23:49:00.000-04:002008-10-02T23:49:00.000-04:00Sarah may have turned the tide, at least for now!Sarah may have turned the tide, at least for now!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28785049.post-29980249783375948772008-10-02T18:10:00.000-04:002008-10-02T18:10:00.000-04:00To Chairman Cox- SEC Dear Sir: It is hard to under...To Chairman Cox- SEC <BR/><BR/>Dear Sir: <BR/><BR/>It is hard to understand how low you can go to disgrace yourself and the Administration regarding <BR/>the destruction of the stock market and the lives of so many people who have trusted you. <BR/><BR/>The latest travesty of allowing the hedge funds to usurp your latest decree to report their <BR/>"short" holdings (which is not any different than those who report their "long" holdings) because <BR/>by doing so the hedge funds complicit in destroying the value of so many companies' stocks <BR/>might be known, is a disgrace. <BR/><BR/>Further, the fact that you will not stop the "naked shorting" and the "fails to deliver" <BR/>for all companies (and not just a few) is further evidence of the corruption that you and the <BR/>administration have shown regarding the destruction of the markets and the economy. <BR/><BR/>When this decree becomes more evident, I hope there is an investigation, which <BR/>mercifully will be soon. It is to be hoped that you and your associates in this <BR/>criminal enterprise of destroying the U.S. market and the economy will be brought <BR/>to justice and that you and the others complicit in this corruption will rot in jail for a long time. <BR/><BR/>You sir, are a disgrace to this country and to everything this country has ever stood for <BR/>as a place of equal opportunity for all. You have ruined the lives of millions of people. <BR/><BR/>Yours truly,Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28785049.post-16172215387053896592008-10-02T15:34:00.000-04:002008-10-02T15:34:00.000-04:00Bob Masterson:So sorry I missed your link to that ...Bob Masterson:<BR/><BR/>So sorry I missed your link to that excellent article the first time I ran down this thread!<BR/><BR/>It's powerful! And I have it saved for future reference.<BR/><BR/>Best to you and yours, dear friend ...<BR/><BR/>~ joaniejoaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11914891807184694081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28785049.post-33760482303507781572008-10-02T14:39:00.000-04:002008-10-02T14:39:00.000-04:00My take on the bailout bill:I think dems took adva...My take on the bailout bill:<BR/><BR/>I think dems took advantage of this mess - the timing of the “crisis” was suspect to say the least. The financial problems have been building for a long time and easily could have been triggered a month ago, or 6 months ago. Paulson’s trip to Bush to get Bush to scream “fire” in a crowded theater pulled that trigger now. (not to mix metaphores or anything...) I suspect that if Obama wins, Paulson will be brought into his administration.<BR/><BR/>Paulson’s smart enough to know what’s going on - and he’s smart enough to know the effect this would have on the election. He also could have alerted Bush to this a year ago. It’s that old a situation.<BR/><BR/>I live in Florida - one of the places where toxic loans were made with abandon. Most of us here knew something bad was happening. People were being put into homes with “interest only” loans who would not be able to make payments past the first few months. It was a set up. But when you keep seeing the same pattern, there’s an incentive behind it. And that’s where Obama, Frannie and Freddie and congressional banking regulations come into play.<BR/><BR/>In short, like you - this does not have the feel of being an accident.<BR/><BR/>If the bailout is passed, it will benefit the people and agencies who got us into this mess. The only way it would work is if they are lying to us about the severity of the “crisis” I think that’s a possibility. If that’s NOT one of their lies, the bailout will postpone the problem. Postpone it to a time when we will have less money to do a real “bailout”.<BR/><BR/>Dem regulation insistence on making banks loans to people who never had a chance of making the payments was close to evil, but very effective in bringing down the financial system. Some people at the top understood the consequences of these choices. We’ll probably never know who they were...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28785049.post-32373475938380808832008-10-02T09:37:00.000-04:002008-10-02T09:37:00.000-04:00Let’s boil this ‘new and improved’ bailout bill th...Let’s boil this ‘new and improved’ bailout bill that just passed the Senate down to its bare bones. Then, if you’re moved to do so, it might just be time to pick up the phone and call your congressman, urging him to really ‘stand up for the American taxpayer’ (not to mention <I>do what is right</I>).<BR/><BR/>Admittedly, the <I>do what is right</I> aspect of this whole thing would represent a complete aberration where any decision-making in Washington is concerned, but you may just sleep better tonight, having at least engaged in a personal effort to revive that archaic concept.<BR/><BR/>The bill that was voted down on the floor of the House on Monday is essentially the same bill that was passed on the floor of the Senate last night, with one glaring exception: <I>the addition of a myriad of ‘you-scratch-my-back-I’ll-scratch-yours’ pig-product codicils</I>. <BR/><BR/>Translation: <BR/><BR/>Monday’s bill: A $700 billion bailout for the congressional/special interest/Wall Street criminals who brought about this economic meltdown to begin with, with the $700 billion needed to ‘keep the economy chugging’ to be paid by the American taxpayer.<BR/><BR/>Today’s bill: A $700 billion bailout for the congressional/special interest/Wall Street criminals who brought about this economic meltdown to begin with, with the $700 billion needed to ‘keeping the economy chugging’ to be paid by the American taxpayer ...<I> with the added stipulation that a huge number of businesses/organizations, with direct ties to congressmen whose votes are needed in order to pass the bill, will be granted enormous tax breaks</I>.<BR/><BR/><B>Result: The fair share of taxes that would normally be paid by ‘friends of Congress’ will now also be shifted onto the shoulders of the American taxpayer ...</B><BR/><BR/>... as if the American taxpayers’ portion of that gargantuan burden weren’t heavy enough already.<BR/><BR/>The self-serving corruption in Washington is so thick as to be impenetrable anymore.<BR/><BR/>The concept of ‘public service’? Capitalism and the free market system in America?<BR/><BR/>Turn out the lights on your way out. It’s over.<BR/><BR/>~ joaniejoaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11914891807184694081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28785049.post-57449760815413271002008-10-02T01:22:00.000-04:002008-10-02T01:22:00.000-04:00Speaking of "at university," there is this article...Speaking of "at university," there is this article of college student funds' angst, in the *Wall St. Journal* this early October morning:<BR/><BR/>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122290590988096397.html<BR/><BR/>Gasp! Ouch! No money?!<BR/><BR/>Hardly.<BR/><BR/>Don't you think, that we should borrow from the Democrats', their "it's only fair," equity rule, and thereby assert in the public eye, that the Harvard Endowment (worth $38 bil, last I checked), which supports so many pampered children, "must do its patriotic duty" (borrowing from, though not plagarizing, Joe Biden) and RESCUE THE $9.3 bil fund MENTIONED IN THE *WSJ* article?!!<BR/><BR/>First_SaluteAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28785049.post-19392293878680669092008-10-02T00:58:00.000-04:002008-10-02T00:58:00.000-04:00Joanie,It would not occur to me, that you were "ni...Joanie,<BR/><BR/>It would not occur to me, that you were "nit-picking."<BR/><BR/>I think that your list of GUBMINT's intrusions and burdens, are on target.<BR/><BR/>It is unfortunate, that so many "Democrats" would agree, but "think" that the Democrat Party knows and cares about these things.<BR/><BR/>These folks are so full of dislike for the Republican Party, on the basis of all the hype put out there by the liberals and liberal media and *at university* - "thinking" that the Republican Party *is* the party of Wall St. banker-fat-cats ... such folks completely overlook that most Republicans and conservatives are not so.<BR/><BR/>Of the well-to-do, whom I know, only about 1/3rd are conservative and Republican. The rest are liberals, and most of them are so, because they fear what *not being a liberal* will do to their financial condition, such is their fear of Democrat Party agitators who "do" the nation's businesses as in "or else!"<BR/><BR/>Example, in Dayton, OH, you cannot get a delivery via the Teamsters, without a $3,000 donation to the local Democrat Party HQ (in which, there is an enormous portrait of FDR).<BR/><BR/>I hasten to add, that most union folks are squared away workers; but they mostly at the mercy of "THE PARTY" because of threats.<BR/><BR/>There are enough elements of the left-wing-nuts' thought police state and "labor's" thought-less police statists running around, not to mention all the federally-funded at-university (hence federally-backed) "protestors" who show up for various liberal media productions, on time and on que ... to scare most people into "maintaining a neutral, 'bi-partisan' position on 'the issues.'"<BR/><BR/>Well, as I believed it true in the 1970's, I still do - that too many people do not get enough of well-written conservative thinking *that is reasonably easy on the eyes.* Such that, they have verifiable details otherwise kept from them/us by the "liberal media" who are inclined to block from our minds, what we are "too dumb to understand."<BR/><BR/>There you have it, as the Socialist Senate stated this evening, it is our betters, and we "just don't understand."<BR/><BR/>Again, you are right, yet I am not quite as jarred as some here, because I know something that our Congress has forgotten:<BR/><BR/>Our Constitution is a peace treaty.<BR/><BR/>The principles and standards, the craftsmanship, that went into forging it, are an eternal achievement that cannot be erased, and they will come back some day to make "clear" to all who tread on the worthy accomplishments of our ancestors.<BR/><BR/>That, by the way, is the basis for why I tell people, I do not care what your race is, because the importance of the previous two paragraphs, the achievements, you are doomed, if you resist, yet blessed if when you realize them, as either you or your progeny will, one day, discover that you too, are a freedom fighter for the rule of law that limits government and government agents, such that they must adhere to their departments and offices and enumerated powers thereof.<BR/><BR/>You cannot beat such liberty; you can only suppress it at your peril.<BR/><BR/>History, will indeed repeat itself.<BR/><BR/>First_SaluteAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28785049.post-2193024334588409422008-10-01T22:59:00.000-04:002008-10-01T22:59:00.000-04:00First_Salute said:Everywhere we are expected that ...<B>First_Salute said:<BR/><BR/>Everywhere we are expected that Supply and Demand will be respected for what they do: causing the rise *and* fall of prices ... except(!) where the GUBMINT wishes to engage in price fixing of large assets - that just so happen to be critical to *our* well-being.</B><BR/><BR/>Very well said, F_S!<BR/><BR/><B>Passbook savings, and investments in stocks and bonds, should be your savings plan, plus other non-cash assets, such as some portion of your net worth as gold and silver, but more importantly, other land and other assets - such as your participating as a silent partner in some worthy free enterprise, and perhaps some steady rental income, and maybe even some royalties on some bright idea that you've had.</B><BR/><BR/>I would agree but for the fact that government has inserted itself into several of those ‘savings plans’ as well. <BR/><BR/>Our monetary policy wonks have so badly crippled the dollar (well on its way to eventual worthlessness) that ‘passbook savings’ are only as long-term valuable as the value of (backed by nothing) paper money.<BR/><BR/>Stocks are so badly and so readily manipulated by the big-money powers that be, while the SEC is so often busy looking the other way, that a small investor can often get burned simply by being in the wrong place at the wrong time (for instance, long in a stock that the ‘big money’ people believe needs to be shorted, for whatever their fancy deems an appropriate reason). Naked shorting has become a popular hobby, whereby such criminals can affect the movement of a stock sometimes by even shorting a number of total shares that is in excesses of the total shares in existence. The playing field is so un-level anymore that the only way to be confident of doing well is to make sure that you are on the same side as ‘the players’. The quality of the company behind the stock matters less than what ‘the players’ decide the stock should be doing at any given time.<BR/><BR/>The free enterprise/rental income used to be a wonderful way for an entrepreneur to make his way, but even those noble pursuits have been sullied by government intervention.<BR/><BR/>An acquaintance of mine owned a bird shop in rural Lancaster County a few years ago. She sold wonderful exotic birds, and kept the shop well-stocked, neat as a pin, and uniquely enchanting – with limbs of trees native to the birds’ native habitats serving as the perches in their cages, etc.<BR/><BR/>I bought two beautiful canaries from her about twenty years ago, and returned to buy another a year or two later, only to find that she had gone out of business. It turns out that her business was thriving so much that she had to hire a part-time helper. But the bureaucratic requirements that that decision caused her to have to meet (changes in insurance, workman’s comp, and a myriad of other regulations and red tape) eventually made her profitability fall to the point where what was once a labor of love became a burden that she was no longer willing to bear.<BR/><BR/>One cannot even buy the home/land of one’s dreams anymore without having to extrapolate the possible increase in real estate taxes (local taxes admittedly, but government intrusion nonetheless) over the lifetime of the home, in order to determine whether it will be possible to stay there forever. We no longer ‘own’ our homes. We simply ‘rent’ them from the tax assessor. And, if the ‘rent’ gets too exorbitant (on that which we saved a lifetime to purchase), we simply have to lower our sights and move into something more modest that the government will ‘allow’ us to afford.<BR/><BR/>I don’t mean to nit-pick your excellent commentary (and excellent it is!) – simply to make a point about just one of your observations, because it is the actions on the part of the government in regard to our saving that chokes me up every time I contemplate it.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the wonderful contribution!<BR/><BR/>~ joaniejoaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11914891807184694081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28785049.post-62106788912584018082008-10-01T21:31:00.000-04:002008-10-01T21:31:00.000-04:00The Senate has just passed the March to Socialism ...The Senate has just passed the March to Socialism Bill, and the House will follow suit later in the week.<BR/><BR/>For decades the American people have been electing leadership that is doing exactly what we want them to do -- keeping our minds off of anything that makes us have to think, and providing the minimum necessary for the majority to live without too much worry.<BR/><BR/>The majority of the citizenry was up in arms regarding a possible 'Wall Street bailout' ... until Monday, when they saw the results of the House vote reflected in the Dow. Now, because they 'want to live without too much worry', they are slowly changing their minds. <BR/> <BR/><B>'Never mind what any future proposed bailout entails. Just see to it that my retirement savings don't ever again go through what they did on Monday!'</B><BR/> <BR/>If that isn't the battle cry of a conglomeration of ill-informed fools, unwilling to look past their noses, I don't know what is. <BR/><BR/>Our Founders, and our children, deserved better.<BR/><BR/>Turn out the lights on your way out. It's over.<BR/><BR/>~ joaniejoaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11914891807184694081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28785049.post-66359876197386303692008-10-01T20:16:00.000-04:002008-10-01T20:16:00.000-04:00My mistake: The senate was voting on an Amtrak bil...My mistake: The senate was voting on an Amtrak bill. Disregard previous comment. Financial bailout bill coming up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28785049.post-30037641902542372552008-10-01T19:57:00.000-04:002008-10-01T19:57:00.000-04:00...watching (and recording) C-SPAN now in hopes of......watching (and recording) C-SPAN now in hopes of capturing the bailout vote this evening, and have had to take several antacids to forestall uncontrolled projectile vomiting.<BR/><BR/>The Democrats have padded this bill up to 400-600 pages, and are stuffing it with all kinds of pork.<BR/><BR/>In the last thirty minutes, I've had to suffer Barbara Boxer inserting "universal mental health coverage" into the bill, and some other bozo inserting a "railroad safety" section.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28785049.post-70495032971399677052008-10-01T19:47:00.000-04:002008-10-01T19:47:00.000-04:00Joanie,In general, the GUBMINT has artificially he...Joanie,<BR/><BR/>In general, the GUBMINT has artificially held high and boosted as it could, the price of real estate, and over time, higher and higher above the value of real estate.<BR/><BR/>Now, as a consequence of the decline in the value of real estate (for whatever reasons the value has declined), the GUBMINT insists (AGAIN) that "we cannot have deflation" and we "cannot have the prices of homes in decline."<BR/><BR/>Because, the GUBMINT knows well, that it has corrupted the fundamentals of banking and our stock market, leaving people to choose the last thing they should, as their savings: "the farm."<BR/><BR/>Significantly, the GUBMINT used high taxes on dividends and lower tax rates on "capital gains" to compell more and more people to "sell the farm" to the point, that people (while prices were going up - but ignoring value) were stimulated (read the banks' ads in California, such as from 3 years ago) to "flip" their homes.<BR/><BR/>Instead of protecting our homes ("the farm"), we were encouraged by "THE EXPERTS" (very, very well-paid "experts") to flip homes for capital gains and thus increase our net worth ... which worked only as long as prices were going up and values were ignored.<BR/><BR/>With every stumble, Greenspan printed money to keep that game going.<BR/><BR/>At first, Federal Reserve interest rate adjustments succeeded; but over time, the deviation between the higher and higher prices, and the trajectory of the value of things, became bigger and BIGGER.<BR/><BR/>Whenever somebody suggested that we let the market adjust, they were ridiculed by our "leaders" who vigorously claimed that "deflation" is bad!<BR/><BR/>Well, it could be hard times, if the GUBMINT has so abused the fundamentals of free enterprise, that the only savings you have left is "the farm."<BR/><BR/>Indeed, *then,* deflation means that you are forced to work with less capital and fewer tools and slim pickings among your belongings and scarce comforts of home.<BR/><BR/>Yet, if we had been permitted by the GUBMINT to save as we once did, we would have actual savings and investments to fall back upon, without having to sell "the farm."<BR/><BR/>The basics of this, are resounding across the land, where every day for the last couple weeks, people have been trying to buy up hard assets that are *not* "the farm," but have some value and are also *not cash.* So that, they have something to sell in the coming hard times, *other than "the farm!"*<BR/><BR/>The Congress, wishing to make hay in the politics of "the crisis," is ignoring the fact that most Americans (legal citizens who work for a living, don't break the law, etc., and carry the load of all the socialist largesse on our backs - and are loathed by the left-wing-nuts for doing the jobs that liberals will not do ...) are already getting themselves accustomed to the actual water level - meaning, where values and prices meet - well below the PRICE FIXING -set of prices on assets that the GUBMINT has tried to set.<BR/><BR/>The GUBMINT's proposal to charge American workers, the cost of present taxes plus all future taxes, and charge us *now(!)* in order to take our money and use it to chase the GUBMINT's newly acquired assets, on the GUBMINT's (Paulson/Bush) theory that e-v-e-n-t-u-a-l-l-y, somewhere in the future, *our* future wages will miraculously be enough to have f-i-n-a-l-l-y boosted value up to meet the GUBMINT set prices of assets, *AND* our future wages still have enough adjusted income in them to be taxed at that future date where GUBMINT-set prices and value finally meet ... phew! ... is what is ridiculous.<BR/><BR/>Paulson/Bush propose to "reach out" into our future and find the money to PRESENTLY chase assets and thus keep up - up - up ... prices of assets that it wants to [capital gains] tax.<BR/><BR/>My humble opinion is, that game is over. No sense in spending the money we do not now have plus the money we are projected to have, on a theory that we will at some future moment, be able to justify the price of "the farm" - yet, having exhausted ourselves getting there.<BR/><BR/>In a nutshell, the GUBMINT wants to freeze the price of homes, which would be as fated as trying to freeze the price of the stock market.<BR/><BR/>To pay for that, the GUBMINT wants to embark on a scheme, "borrowing" (we're led to believe) from Americans who actually pay taxes.<BR/><BR/>The GUBMINT claims that with *our future income* we can support such prices and still have money left over to pay future taxes and the cost of living and be able to save and invest.<BR/><BR/>The whole GAMBIT relies upon some spectacularly rosy future picture of incredible growth in the *value* of assets and the phenomenal growth of jobs with "wages that can't be beat!"<BR/><BR/>Can we really freeze the DJIA where it's at, then go about our work, while laboring mightily to keep the DJIA levitating ... on some hope raving success stories and leaps of real wages, such that value finds its way back to these levels and then floats the DJIA once again?<BR/><BR/>Maybe, but the chances are so small, that the "experts'" plan seems to be one of huge, care-less egos.<BR/><BR/>Everywhere we are expected that Supply and Demand will be respected for what they do: causing the rise *and* fall of prices ... except(!) where the GUBMINT wishes to engage in price fixing of large assets - that just so happen to be critical to *our* well-being.<BR/><BR/>It's a racket being promoted by people who want to buy and sell big assets and make big money. They want low capital gains taxes, accordingly, and they can justify that, as long as the prices are flat or going up ... despite actual values.<BR/><BR/>Ironic, that, because the liberals always claim that cuts on dividend taxes "help the rich." When in fact, it is low capital gains taxes *in combination with high dividend taxes plus taxes on interest income from banks* that help the rich.<BR/><BR/>Such taxes - as we have seen - compell people to not save as they should in non-"farm" assets, and instead, the people gamble on the chance of large, fast gains by "flipping homes."<BR/><BR/>That makes "the man on the street" / "the little guy" a patsy for the high stakes real estate gamers. When *that* game goes bad, "the man on the street" is at the mercy of rich real estate (usually limousine liberals, by the way) - having "lost the farm," the little guy finds himself having to rent some "sustainable" space on property owned by "the rich."<BR/><BR/>To wit: your home ("the farm") should not be your savings plan.<BR/><BR/>Passbook savings, and investments in stocks and bonds, should be your savings plan, plus other non-cash assets, such as some portion of your net worth as gold and silver, but more importantly, other land and other assets - such as your participating as a silent partner in some worthy free enterprise, and perhaps some steady rental income, and maybe even some royalties on some bright ideat that you've had.<BR/><BR/>*These* are the fundamentals of growing and having earthy wealth, versus reck-less-ly grasping for large capital gains without consideration for your basic well-being.<BR/><BR/>People who the GUBMINT reduces to only being able to get by with a GUBMINT paycheck "week to week" and/or only being able to get by on the proceeds from their selling "the farm," are "the poor" who "get poorer as the rich get richer" ... by acts of the Congress that claims its tax laws redistribute the benefits and burdens of society, otherwise.<BR/><BR/>While I would like to see, always, a capital gains tax cut, it must come *after* a significant cut on dividend taxes and on interest income taxes, so that those of us who start life with less, or who passing the later stages with less, have savings upon which to fall back *and they are not in the form of being our homes, "the farm."<BR/><BR/>First_SaluteAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28785049.post-22438370583125045632008-10-01T13:02:00.000-04:002008-10-01T13:02:00.000-04:00Here's another one:If we can prevent the governmen...Here's another one:<BR/><BR/><B>If we can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people, inder the pretence of taking care of them, they must become happy....Thomas Jefferson</B><BR/><BR/>Somebody ought to get up on the Senate floor and filibuster today by reading that over and over and over again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com