Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Resign! Repeal! Renew!


By Alan Caruba

The salvation of America now depends on forcing President Barack Obama to resign, repealing the appalling healthcare bill that is now the law of the land, and renewing a full measure of financial prudence to the conduct of the nation’s public affairs and obligations.

The numbers are now irrefutable. The huge debt the United States faces, along with the collapse of Social Security (now paying out more than it takes in) and Medicare, will sink our ship of state unless reversed and quickly.

The deadly trio of Obama, Pelosi and Reid, along with the brain-dead Democrats in Congress threaten the very existence of the nation. I am concerned that waiting until the November elections will be to wait too long. I no longer believe their agenda to be merely partisan politics. I believe theirs is a deliberate effort to destroy the nation.

The practical actions that must be pursued as soon as possible include a legal challenge to the president’s place of birth, an effort he has reportedly fought with an expenditure exceeding a million dollars. A challenge must be made to the healthcare bill which legal scholars deem to be clearly unconstitutional.

The trio cited is preparing to pass a Cap-and-Trade act, a huge tax on all energy use, and an amnesty for millions of illegal aliens. The result of this will be to create a surge of more illegals and an even greater burden on all public services and welfare programs.

Porter Stanford, publisher of an investment advisory, has issued a frightening analysis. “My concern is the U.S. already has more debt than it can afford, which puts it at an enormous risk of a debt and currency collapse.”

Discussing debt service, the amount of interest that must be paid on borrowed funds, Stanford warned that, “Right now, the federal government takes in roughly $1 trillion in income taxes and a much smaller amount of money in other fees, duties, etc. The government takes in another $1 trillion from Social Security and Medicare taxes, but it spends more currently on these programs than it takes in. So, as a result, this revenue can’t factor into our analysis of debt service.”

Noting that the official number regarding federal debt at the end of 2009 was $11.8 trillion, Stanford predicts that “By the end of Obama’s first presidency (2013), I believe the U.S. will owe roughly $17.8 trillion in federal debt, $2 trillion in GSE debt/guarantees, $500 billion in FDIC obligations, and $500 billion in FHA obligations. My only big assumption is $1.5 trillion in additional deficits each year, which is what the president’s budget also predicts.”

Just to meet the debt service, “That would equal $1 trillion in interest payments due, per year. That’s 100% of all income taxes paid in 2009.”

The vast majority of Americans are already well aware of the financial crisis that is being deliberately brought about at the direction of the president. The results of a USA Today/Gallup poll released on March 30 revealed that “Nearly two-thirds of Americans say the health care overhaul signed into law last week costs too much and expands the government’s role in health care too far.”

Robert Samuelson, writing on March 29th in The Washington Post, noted that on March 15th Moody’s Investors Service, a bond rating agency, warned that “The exploding U.S. government debt could cause a downgrade of Treasury bonds.” Despite this, the House of Representatives passed the costly health care legislation a week later! “Obama and his allies sowed the seeds (of financial collapse) because they ignored conspicuous warnings.”

“Let’s be clear,” wrote Samuelson, “A ‘budget crisis’ is not some minor accounting exercise. It’s a wrenching political, social and economic upheaval.”

By whatever legal means possible, the president must be required to resign, the healthcare legislation must be repealed, steps must be taken to salvage Social Security and Medicare, and the nation’s debt crisis must be addressed before the U.S. is forced to default.

When that happens, there will be worldwide repercussions that portend a global financial armageddon.

© Alan Caruba, 2010

22 comments:

Ronbo said...

I agree with you Alan, Comrade Obama should resign, and the lack of a birth certificate to prove his American citizenship would be an excellent venue to force a resignation.

However, I don't think it's going to happen at any point in Obama's presidency - The Die Was Cast on March 23rd, when he signed into law the Hitler-like "Enabling Act" a.k.a. the unconstitutional "Obamacare" with majority opposition.

Hence, Obama is now ruling is the name of a cabal of Progressives (no more than 10% of the population)whose agenda is the destruction of the U.S. economy and the imposition of a socialist state over the objections of at least 80% of the U.S. population.

In terms of world history, 2010 in America is parallel to 1933 in Germany - our "Reichstag" - The U.S. Constitution has been "burned" - And the new dictator will either rule by decree (Presidential Orders) or by his lackey Democommie Congress.

The last chance for peaceful redress and limits placed on Comrade Obama's power will be in the November elections that may well be canceled due to a national emergency created by Comrade Obama.

"Out of chaos, comes order" said Nietzsche. But I don't think most Americans will enjoy the order of Obamaism.

Unknown said...

It would not surprise me one bit if Obama declared martial law before the elections in November.

He has the power to do it if he feels there is a sufficient national emergency. That could be a terrorist attack or even the inevitable financial collapse. The bad thing is that there is nothing we could do to stop it.

Martial law would in effect suspend the constitution and make Obama a dictator for a very, very long time.

All he would have to do is get some of his Muslim buddies to detonate a small nuke in one of our major cities and it would be all over but the crying.

Maybe he told the democrats not to worry about the elections in November...that he would take care of it. Who knows?

All I know is that the ship is sinking. It's had major leaks for years but they managed to keep the water bailed out enough to keep it afloat. Now there is a huge Titanic size gash in the side of the ship and we are taking on water faster than any amount of pumping can handle. Soon they will put another huge gash in the other side of the ship with cap and trade.
I agree that the collapse is all by design. Maybe he promised Reid and Pelosi important positions of power in his new kingdom….

Obamaland?

Alan Caruba said...

Wes: I do not think the martial law scenario is realistic at this point.

People would be quick to point out that Bush did not declare martial law after 9/11, although he did push through the Patriot Act.

Even the left-wing press in America might find that too much if Obama tried it.

Unknown said...

It will be hard to garner any momentum against Emperor Obama whenever he faces opposition, the other side is declared racist, a terrorist, a redneck, or an obstructionist. Unfortunately between a lackey mainstream media and enough followers who have their hand out from the government or are too lazy to become informed,things will get much worse before they get better. November may be too late.

Unknown said...

I know it wouldn't fly right now. But given the right circumstances it could happen.

They have something big up their sleeve and I don't think they are in a position to buy enough votes in November or in 2012.

Naturally there would be an uproar across the land if he tried something like that but he doesn't seem to care what the people think.

He would have the military at his disposal to enforce whatever he wanted to do. The military and his new private army would have to rise up against him in a military coup to throw him out. If he can convince them that they are doing the right thing then it will be over.

Is this likely? Perhaps not. However, if you asked me two years ago if what has actually happened in the last 12 months was likely to happen I would have said no way.

So, is the unthinkable now possible? I believe it is.

No one can prepare for anything unless they first anticipate what could happen and then prepare for it. It's very unlikely that my house will burn down but I still have insurance just in case it does. If I didn't have insurance, and it did burn down, people would think I was an idiot.

I pray I'm wrong but I think it would be wise to prepare for the worse. If it doesn't happen then what have we lost by preparing?

Alan Caruba said...

Wes...with the Obama gang, it is fair to say that nothing is unthinkable.

Ronbo said...

..."with the Obama gang, it is fair to say that nothing is unthinkable."

Well said, Alan!

My analysis of Obama's psychological profile is that he's a psychopath. And not just your average run-of-the-mill murdering psychopath safely locked away forever in prison; he's the president of the most powerful country on earth with over 20,000 nuclear weapons at the ready. The pages of history are stained with the blood of innocent people killed by a psychopathic ruler, or dead by taking part in his conquests.

Alan Caruba said...

Ronbo:
A narcissist for sure, but I think it's a reach to call him a psychopath...yet.

TexasFred said...

Invest America..

Invest in precious metals...

I recommend gun steel, brass and lead...

The Dems are not so bad, but what's in DC now isn't a Democratic anything. All they are now is Socialists bordering on a totalitarian dictatorship!

Some may scoff at the *precious metals* reference, but I am a firm believer that sometime in the near future we WILL see civil insurrection like nothing we've ever seen before...

accounting guy said...

Replacing Obama won't change any of these things. Wall Street will just replace him with someone else to do their bidding...like Biden, since Wall Street already owns and controls our government now.

Obviously, there are many people unhappy with this health insurance law.

Just to relieve some of your fears though, if someone doesn't want private health insurance, all they have to do is pay the new tax. If you want private health insurance then you don't have to pay the tax. No one can get Medicare that isn't already eligible for it...this law only applies to private insurance.

The way it will work is like this: everyone will get a new tax on their 1040. If you get private health insurance, you get a credit so that you don't have to pay this tax. If you don't want the insurance, then pay the tax. The feds aren't going to throw you in jail for failing to buy private health insurance.

People that wanted Medicare for All won't get it.

People that want to keep private insurance can still get it.

The health insurance companies will see record profits since they wrote the damn law.

Otherwise the status quo will remain. Health insurance will remain a privatized industry like no where else on earth.

Secondly, Reagan set up a trust account to handle this predictable shortfall in revenue to Social Security. Obviously, Reagan's administration and Congress realized that when the "baby-boomers" retired, there would be more retiring than working. This would create the shortfall that Social Security is starting to experience...right when it was predicted to.

Reagan set up a trust fund for this eventuality. The trust account has not been used yet. The trust fund was designed to be used now to handle this deficit in Social Security. No federal debt will have to be taken on to pay for this shortfall, unless the trust fund runs out.

Have you thought what would have happened if Bush was successful in privatizing Social Security when he pushed for it? The market crashed and Social Security would have been severely damaged. It would have been a disaster as people would see their mutual funds and their social security drying up over night. Luckily that didn't get put into place.

Medicare shortfalls can easily be fixed if we stop exempting the rich from paying Medicare taxes. As you know, if you make over a certain amount, you don't pay Medicare taxes. If you remove that cap, and start taxing the rich the same way you tax the poor, then the problems with Medicare will disappear over night.

Or would you rather give up your Medicare? If enough people stop using Medicare and get private insurance, then there won't be any problems either with Medicare. As you say, government can't manage health insurance, so why do you use Medicare? It is quite simple: if you don't like Medicare, don't use it.

Ron H. said...

>"The trio cited is preparing to pass a Cap-and-Trade act, a huge tax on all energy use, and an amnesty for millions of illegal aliens. The result of this will be to create a surge of more illegals and an even greater burden on all public services and welfare programs.

Alan, don't forget that amnesty for millions of illegals could also produce a fresh crop of Democratic voters. This can't have gone unnoticed by those now fearful of losing their seats in November. Thus, the urgency of immigration reform right now on the heels of the Healthcare disaster.

Unknown said...

Instead of borrowing money from foreign creditors, the federal government spent the $2.5 trillion trust fund money and issued Treasury bonds to replace it.


By law, Social Security cannot pay out more than its balance in any given year.


Last week, Alan Greenspan (NYT) recalled from a 1970’s interview that there were only three choices: raise taxes, lower benefits or bail out the program by tapping general revenue.


Mr. Greenspan said that the same three choices exist today — though there is more time now for the painful deliberations.


Quote: “Even if the trust fund level goes down, there’s no action required, until the level of the trust fund gets to zero,” he said. “At that point, you have to cut benefits, because benefits have to equal receipts.”

Guy said...

Accounting guy, there are so many things wrong with what you've said, I just don't know where to start ...

First of all, you say:
"if someone doesn't want private health insurance, all they have to do is pay the new tax...."

Last time I checked, this was still America. Taxation is supposed to be fair and equal, and not supposed to be used punitively, as a hammer to force people to do what the government wants them to do.

Next, you say:
"The feds aren't going to throw you in jail for failing to buy private health insurance...."

But they WILL throw you in jail, or seize your business or your assets if you refuse to pay the "tax". You don't see a problem with our government using this sort of threat to make you BUY INSURANCE?

Next comes:
"People that want to keep private insurance can still get it..."

Yeah, for now. Until they ram their single payer scheme through, and all the private companies are run out of business. Legislation has already hit the floor to do just that, and it has been stated several times, by Obama and others in his administration, that single payer is their eventual goal.


Then we have :
"Health insurance companies will see record profits ...."

Can I borrow your crystal ball? And, what's wrong with profit? We live in a Capitalist society. Profit is NOT a dirty word. If the free market were allowed to function as it should, their profits would be right in line with the profits in any other market sector. Tell us the truth ... you don't think ANY corporation should be allowed to make a profit do you?


Followed by:
"Reagan set up a trust account to handle this predictable shortfall in revenue to Social Security.... The trust account has not been used yet...."

Oh yeah? Where is it? They've looted every last source of funds they had available, and if you need proof of that, then ask yourself why they feel they need to attempt to turn our 401K's into annuities. If we had been allowed to privatize our Social Security, the influx of funds out of the hands of the politicians and into the market would have probably averted most of our problems of late.

And finally, the whopper:
"Medicare shortfalls can easily be fixed if we stop exempting the rich from paying Medicare taxes..."

The rich pay plenty of Medicare taxes, and if you find me someone who doesn't, I'll guarantee you they can easily pay their own medical costs without USING Medicare. Like most Socialists, you just want someone else to pay your bills for you.... You say "It is quite simple: if you don't like Medicare, don't use it...." That's easy for you to say, but we still have to PAY for it. How is THAT fair?

Did I about cover it folks?

Guy said...

Accounting guy, there are so many things wrong with what you've said, I just don't know where to start ...

First of all, you say:
"if someone doesn't want private health insurance, all they have to do is pay the new tax...."

Last time I checked, this was still America. Taxation is supposed to be fair and equal, and not supposed to be used punitively, as a hammer to force people to do what the government wants them to do.

Next, you say:
"The feds aren't going to throw you in jail for failing to buy private health insurance...."

But they WILL throw you in jail, or seize your business or your assets if you refuse to pay the "tax". You don't see a problem with our government using this sort of threat to make you BUY INSURANCE?

Next comes:
"People that want to keep private insurance can still get it..."

Yeah, for now. Until they ram their single payer scheme through, and all the private companies are run out of business. Legislation has already hit the floor to do just that, and it has been stated several times, by Obama and others in his administration, that single payer is their eventual goal.


Then we have :
"Health insurance companies will see record profits ...."

Can I borrow your crystal ball? And, what's wrong with profit? We live in a Capitalist society. Profit is NOT a dirty word. If the free market were allowed to function as it should, their profits would be right in line with the profits in any other market sector. Tell us the truth ... you don't think ANY corporation should be allowed to make a profit do you?


Followed by:
"Reagan set up a trust account to handle this predictable shortfall in revenue to Social Security.... The trust account has not been used yet...."

Oh yeah? Where is it? They've looted every last source of funds they had available, and if you need proof of that, then ask yourself why they feel they need to attempt to turn our 401K's into annuities. If we had been allowed to privatize our Social Security, the influx of funds out of the hands of the politicians and into the market would have probably averted most of our problems of late.

And finally, the whopper:
"Medicare shortfalls can easily be fixed if we stop exempting the rich from paying Medicare taxes..."

The rich pay plenty of Medicare taxes, and if you find me someone who doesn't, I'll guarantee you they can easily pay their own medical costs without USING Medicare. Like most Socialists, you just want someone else to pay your bills for you.... You say "It is quite simple: if you don't like Medicare, don't use it...." That's easy for you to say, but we still have to PAY for it. How is THAT fair?

Did I about cover it folks?

Ron H. said...

accounting guy,

You need to get a clue. You are wrong in so many ways, I can't even respond to them all.

>"People that wanted Medicare for All won't get it."

>"People that want to keep private insurance can still get it."

>"The health insurance companies will see record profits since they wrote the damn law."


None of this is true. Let me explain. Try to follow along.

Something you failed to mention is the provision that insurance companies must cover preexisting conditions.

This means that no rational person will buy insurance until they get sick. They will chose to pay the relatively small fine instead.When they get sick, they will then buy coverage as the insurance company can't turn them down.

This means that those who are already paying for insurance will see their premiums skyrocket to cover the costs of those who haven't paid. As rising premiums can't possibly keep up with rising costs, insurance companies will go out of business, or quit offering healthcare coverage.

The gnashing of teeth and tearing of hair by those upset by rising premiums and lack of available coverage, will force our benevolent federal government to provide a single payer government funded solution to replace private insurance as the "free market" will obviously have failed.

I think that addresses all three of your erroneous statements above.

Social Security:

>"This would create the shortfall that Social Security is starting to experience...right when it was predicted to."

The shortfall was predicted for 2016. It's happening this year.

>"The trust fund was designed to be used now to handle this deficit in Social Security. No federal debt will have to be taken on to pay for this shortfall..."

What do you think is in the Trust Fund? It is $2.5 trillion in IOUs. Yes, they are special Treasury Bills, and the money has all been spent. When the Bills are redeemed, which must start soon as the SSA is short of paying all benefits promised,the US Treasury will have to come up with the money in one of three ways; taxes, borrowing, or creating money out of thin air. Which do YOU prefer.

Another way I didn't bother to mention would be to cut spending on other programs. Not worth discussing.

Medicare:

>"Medicare shortfalls can easily be fixed if we stop exempting the rich from paying Medicare taxes."

What a great idea! Lets "tax the rich".

When will clueless people like you learn that taxing the rich isn't the answer? The "Rich " are innovative, industrious people that have good ideas that benefit all of us by providing us with things we want and need. They create jobs and wealth for all of us, and become rich in the process. They DESERVE their wealth. The idea that government can somehow make better decisions on how to spend their money than they can, is really stupid.

Beyond that, you are just wrong. there is no upper limit on Medicare contributions. You may be confusing that with Social Security; that other program you don't seem to be familiar with.

>"If enough people stop using Medicare and get private insurance, then there won't be any problems either with Medicare."

You cannot "stop using" medicare unless you pay cash. At age 65 you WILL be eligible for Medicare benefits. No private insurance plan will pay benefits that are covered by Medicare. So, it's not a choice you can make to use one or the other.

You could have said the same thing about Social Security:

"If enough people stop using Social Security and get private retirement plans, then there won't be any problems either with Social Security."

Except in that case it would actually solve the problem. few, however, are likely to give up something they feel they have paid for.

Ron H. said...

>"Instead of borrowing money from foreign creditors, the federal government spent the $2.5 trillion trust fund money and issued Treasury bonds to replace it.

I might reword that to read:

"IN ADDITION TO borrowing money from foreign creditors..."

Guy said...

Ron H., you read my mind! Most of the blogs I read lately are riddled with comments like the one from "accounting guy" ... and they all have common threads. Bash Capitalism, demonize the insurance companies, encourage willing payment of higher taxes, blah, blah, blah.

You know the old story ... if you say something often enough ... But, I don't care how many times someone tells me it's OK to take from one person and give it to another (minus the chunk they keep for themselves) I'm not buying it.

I'm curious how much money was buried in TARP or the health care bill to pay people like them to troll these blogs and spread their propaganda ...

I find it hard to believe that there are more than a handful of people out there who actually believe the Obama administration's lies, like to read conservative blogs, and have the language skills necessary to write the comments I've been seeing. My instincts tell me these are paid operatives ....

Unknown said...

Thank you Ron H. for the correction of "IN ADDITION TO borrowing money from foreign creditors..."

Guy and you explained the sitituation much better than I could.

Ron H. said...

Guy, I noticed the similarities in our comments and the nearly coincidental timing.:-)

I can usually ignore comments that contain willful ignorance, but in this case there was just so much of it, I couldn't. My head just exploded, and you can see the result. Calling someone stupid probably isn't the most effective form of argument, but I didn't care. Being told, in effect, that we shouldn't worry so much, that everything will be all right, was more than I could stand.

Mind you, I AM interested in hearing viewpoints that differ from mine, as that is how we learn, but drivel like "accounting guy" wrote didn't qualify as thoughtful comment, in my opinion.

I don't understand what could be gained by paying people to troll conservative blogs, and it would be too much to ask that everyone who disagrees with me have poor writing skills. :-)

In any case, we probably shouldn't feed the trolls if such they be.

Guy said...

Ron, I am also open to differing opinions. It's only through responsible, open discussion that the truth can be revealed. However, lately I've noticed that there seems to be a coordinated effort on the part of the left to propagate a specific set of ideas and concepts....

"Our Constitution is flawed", "we don't pay enough taxes", "big business is bad", "insurance companies are abusing their customers" ... the lies go on and on. They constitute a laundry list of Progressive Socialist philosophies that must be drilled into the minds of the public if these traitors have any hope of succeeding in implementing their agenda.

Repetition of their anti-American talking points ad nauseum, in blogs, editorials, TV news, commercials, school curricula, and every other outlet they can think of, until they become "fact", is their strategy.

Of course, having the MSM playing along is making that very easy for them. The media control they currently enjoy gives them a major advantage. We're going to have to work very hard to overcome that advantage and expose their Progressive philosophies for what they are .... lies designed to undermine our society, give them control over our lives and our assets, and "fundamentally change" the American way of life.

Ron H. said...

Guy, you are absolutely right. I agree 100%.

Hopefully there are enough of us who are now wide awake to make a difference.

As to the MSM, notice how their ratings and viewership has fallen over time. The NY Times print issue is almost out of business. People are catching on.

Airing our views on blogs is a good way to reach others who may not have given much thought to the issues we are concerned about.

Guy said...

If these tyrants have their way, this may soon be about the ONLY way we can communicate. The MSM has been hijacked, the mail system is a joke, and private radio is under heavy assault. Sadly, from what I've heard, they have their eye on the internet as well. In any battle, whoever controls the air and communications will almost certainly be victorious....

I've worried for several years now that we were becoming too dependent on cell phone and internet communication. Either system can be shut down in seconds, and I see it as a major weakness ...

Once printed media is gone, with the flip of a switch or two, we could find ourselves with nothing but the "Public Broadcasting System" ....