And here’s here’s your sub-title:
“Meanwhile, President Bush’s Answer To America’s Economic Woes Is A 99 Cent Per Month Tax Rebate For Every American”
“Ninety-nine cents per month? Where’d you get that number, GTL?”, you ask. Well, good question. I arrived at that unimpressive number by taking the much MORE impressive, “fuzzy math” number of 145 BILLION, then I divided it by the number of American Citizens, then I divided that number by 365 — the number of days in a year for his so-called “economic rescue package” (source: New York Times); an idea highly endorsed by many Democrats in D.C., too, by the way:
“… “We want a balanced package: a tax rebate for the middle class and spending stimulus that jump-starts this economy quickly,” Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, told reporters.
In declining to offer specifics, Mr. Bush acceded to the wishes of the Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, who had asked him during a conference call on Thursday not to lay out a formal proposal before Democrats had a chance to coalesce around theirs. Administration officials were assiduous on Friday about refusing to comment on details, including a report that the rebate would be set at $800 for individuals and $1,600 for couples. …”
Okay, Exhibits “A” and “B” CLEARLY demonstrate the “charitability difference” between a Democrat and a Republican. While President Bush is saying we should all get a $362 dollar apiece tax rebate (uhhh — 99 cents per day, in other words), the MUCH more “charitable” Democrats are proposing a $2.19 per month (calculated over a year’s time, of course) “economic rescue package of their own. Yep — that’ll take us out of a recession alright. If ONLY we all had an extra THREE to SEVEN extra pennies in our pockets every day, our hugely diving economy will be “instantly and greatly stimulated”. Call it “trickle down economics” if you are a Republican, or “charity” if you are a Democrat. I prefer to call it SMOKE AND MIRRORS and a DOG AND PONY SHOW, even as both of these “oh-so-divided” parties conspire to LITERALLY, sell America down the proverbial “river”; even to so-deemed (by THEM!) “enemies” of our nation.
Meanwhile, even as Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney are pounding their chests over their “gold medal victories” in the Nevada Caucuses today (source: CBS News) — Nevada residents are quoting the economy as their primary concern. AS IF; EITHER of those two DOOMASSES have any sort of a “fix” for our economic woes and plummetting Dollar outside of any ideas even LESS ridiculous than the current ideas coming out of Washington D.C. today.
Check it out — Another one from The New York Times — more “smoke and mirrors” from the “dog and pony show” we call our “leaders”, followed by my own commentary on what the REAL focus should be:
Foreigners Buy Stakes in the U.S. at a Record Pace
By PETER S. GOODMAN and LOUISE STORY
Last May, a Saudi Arabian conglomerate bought a Massachusetts plastics maker. In November, a French company established a new factory in Adrian, Mich., adding 189 automotive jobs to an area accustomed to layoffs. In December, a British company bought a New Jersey maker of cough syrup.
For much of the world, the United States is now on sale at discount prices. With credit tight, unemployment growing and worries mounting about a potential recession, American business and government leaders are courting foreign money to keep the economy growing. Foreign investors are buying aggressively, taking advantage of American duress and a weak dollar to snap up what many see as bargains, while making inroads to the world’s largest market.
During the first two weeks of this year, foreign businesses agreed to invest another $22.6 billion for stakes in American companies — more than half the value of all announced deals. If a recession now unfolds and the dollar drops further, the pace could accelerate, economists say.
The surge of foreign money has injected fresh tension into a running debate about America’s place in the global economy. …”
(Snip!)
“… With a growing share of investment coming from so-called sovereign wealth funds — vast pools of money controlled by governments from China to the Middle East — lawmakers and regulators are calling for greater scrutiny to ensure that foreign countries do not gain influence over the financial system or military-related technology. …”
(Snip!)
“… The most conspicuous beneficiaries are Wall Street banks like Merrill Lynch, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley, which have sold stakes to government-controlled funds in Asia and the Middle East to compensate for calamitous losses on mortgage markets. …”
(Snip!)
“… Some labor unions see the acceleration of foreign takeovers as the latest indignity wrought by globalization.
“It’s the culmination of a series of fool’s errands,” said Leo W. Gerard, international president of the United Steelworkers. “We’ve hollowed out our industrial base and run up this massive trade deficit, and now the countries that have built the deficits are coming back to buy up our assets. It’s like spitting in your face.” …
(Snip!)
“… Perhaps emblematic of national ambivalence, in an appearance on CNBC last week, the voluble market analyst Jim Cramer spoke in menacing terms about the growing role of state investment funds from the Middle East and China.
“Do we want the communists to own the banks, or the terrorists?” Mr. Cramer asked. “I’ll take any of it, I guess, because we’re so desperate.” …
(Snip!)
“… If fear of foreign money now inspires Americans to erect new barriers, that would damage the economy, said Todd M. Malan, president of the Organization for International Investment, a Washington lobbying group financed by foreign companies. …”
(Snip!)
“… The soaring price of oil and a widening trade deficit underscore how the American economy is increasingly vulnerable to decisions made far away. …”
(Snip!)
“… No such outcry has greeted the purchase of stakes in major Wall Street banks by state investment funds in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, China, Singapore and South Korea. This is largely because the banks sold passive slices and ceded no formal control, which would have set off a federal review of the national security implications. But the silence also reflects the imperative that these enormous institutions swiftly secure cash. …”
(Snip!)
“… “They’re buying financial assets at well under book value,” said Gary C. Hufbauer, a trade expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Trade experts assume tensions will rise as developing countries — which tend to have more state companies — continue to expand their share of investment in the United States.
Canada still spends the most money buying stakes in American companies — more than $65 billion in 2007, according to Thomson. But other countries’ purchases are growing rapidly. South Korea’s investments swelled to more than $10.4 billion last year from just $5.4 million in 2000. Russia went to $572 million from $60 million in that span; India to $3.3 billion from $364 million. …”
Okay, now that we’ve read the glum news about our economy and all that good stuff, just what did I mean when I said this “economy” stuff goes much deeper to the point the focus is hidden by “smoke and mirrors”?
It’s called “sovereigny”, and it’s NOT just limited to personnel crossing our borders; there should also be ECONOMIC borders established if we wish to remain a sovereign nation. Not that we are completely sovereign right now — we’re losing our sovereignty as we speak and have been for some time as multinational corporations continue to lobby (i.e., PURCHASE) our legislators to endorse legislation, written by the corporations THEMSELVES, to control We, The People. THINK about that one for a moment, will you, please? And a VERY LONG MOMENT AT THAT.
Frankly, I’d rather endure massive layoffs than having my civil liberties and Constitutional protections penetrated by Red Chinese, or Middle Eastern, GOVERNMENT OWNED AND OPERATED CORPORATIONS, wouldn’t you? Their lobbyists are crawling all over Washington D.C. and your own State Capitols as we speak and you are personally, already under their influence in some ways as your elected leaders sell themselves, and America, out to the highest bidders. If we’re going to go that far, why don’t we just admit to ourselves we don’t relish our sovereignty after all and perhaps entertain the notion of allowing ALL of the World’s citizens to vote along with us for our elected officials? I’m SERIOUS. If we’re going to sell out, then why don’t we just sell out TOTALLY? What’s the difference?
We’re already teeting on an Oligarchy; a “Nation of the Corporations, By the Corporations, and FOR the Corporations”, folks. And when those corporations are mostly owned by foreign countries and/or individuals; and when those corporations are writing a new law directly effecting YOU and your FAMILY, then buying off your favorite Democrat or Republican to pound their chests and proudly “endorse” that “legaleze”, you are helping the “big money boys” to sell your soul, your family, and your country down the proverbial “river” just so you can feel more “comfortable” for the short-term. SHAMEFUL.
Do you REALLY own your house? REALLY? Do you hold the deed to it or is it in the hands of a lien holder in the Middle East? Or China? Or Russia? And what about that big screen television in your living room — do you have it paid off yet, or do you PERSONALLY owe money to the Middle East or Asia? The company you work for — does its propaganda originate domestically or does it originate from a nation who harm your children?
Think… THINK… THINK, my fellow Americans, as we follow these 2008 elections and primaries. These issues are MUCH more important than just “the economy”. Our very sovereignty is in great danger at this very moment and it’s up to us to erect those “barriers” the lobbyist in the NYT article and thousands of others just like him are warning us NOT to erect. The voice of another nation is literally warning you PERSONALLY — “Kick us out and you’ll starve. Assimilate and don’t rock the boat”. Doesn’t that torque you off?
It does moi and it should you.
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7:05 pm on January 19th, 2008 1
The plan is pretty straightforward and obvious – give everyone a check for $800 bucks. The poor and lower middle class will then take that money and go buy a new HDTV or Blueray or whatever they can spend their newfound bank on, thus creating a temporary gain for businesses as they see black for the month after the checks arrive. Then, once the market gets its artificial boost, we slide right back into the recession that 7 years of deficit spending created, only now it’s 2009 and the new President gets to take the blame for the past administration’s economic foibles.
You really want to stick it to the President and Congress? Take that $800 and put it in your dresser.
9:06 pm on January 19th, 2008 2
“Free trade” and “trickle down economics” are destroying the middle class standard of living. The only way to stop our downward slide is to reverse these policies.
Politicians have been distorting statistics for years. Things like food, housing and energy prices have been taken out of the consumer price index to make the inflation rate look lower that it actually is.
Any additional spending to stimulating the economy would be better devoted to public works projects to rebuild our decaying infrastructure and create jobs.