Thursday, June 10, 2010

US Liquidity Crisis Coming in 2 Years

Mad Money's Jim Cramer: Senator Coburn: US Liquidity Crisis Coming in 2 Years – Unless… - CNBC
"Cramer is worried that the US could be in a tough position when all of the short-term debt it has been selling to finance its budget comes due in one, two or three years, and the country is forced to refinance at much higher rates."

Were You Fooled By The Biggest Hoax Ever

Irish Examiner USA: Were You Fooled By The Biggest Hoax Ever - Global Warming?
"Being taken for a fool was never an easy thing to admit and when it came to the biggest, most expensive hoax ever committed on modern man, even the brightest people were taken in, especially if they were of a liberal mindset."

SOLD OUT OF HAYEK

SOLD OUT OF HAYEK:
“I just got off the phone with Stephanie Hlywak of the U. of Chicago Press and it’s official — the U. of Chicago Press is SOLD OUT of copies of Friedrich Hayek’s classic The Road to Serfdom after selling over 13,000 copies in less than 24 hours, after the broadcast of Glenn Beck’s show on Hayek and his timeless book.”"

I have mine.

Read it too.

Thanks Cal!

Obama's federal spending doubletalk

Obama's federal spending doubletalk Washington Examiner
' Well, pardon us, please, for being the skunk at the party, but why should anybody take seriously any of these White House PR campaigns to make Obama look responsible on the spending issue?

After all, in less than two years in the Oval Office, Obama had added more than $4 trillion to scheduled federal spending, driven the annual budget deficit from $467 billion in 2008 to nearly $1.6 trillion in 2010, and pushed the national debt from $10.6 trillion to more than $13 trillion."

Should Michigan tax soda to curb childhood obesity?

Should Michigan tax soda to curb childhood obesity? MLive.com

It's for the children...right?

Debt Spreading 'Like a Cancer'

Debt Spreading 'Like a Cancer': Black Swan Author - CNBC
"The economic situation today is drastically worse than a couple years ago, and the euro is doomed as a concept, Nassim Taleb, professor and author of the bestselling book 'The Black Swan,' told CNBC on Thursday.

'We had less debt cumulatively (two years ago), and more people employed.

Today, we have more risk in the system, and a smaller tax base,' Taleb said.

'Banks balance sheets are just as bad as they were' two years ago when the crisis began and 'the quality of the risks hasn't improved,' he added."

G.M. Proposes Leaving a Car’s Popular Nickname in the Dust

G.M. Proposes Leaving a Car’s Popular Nickname in the Dust - NYTimes.com
"And one way to present a consistent brand message, the memo suggested, is to stop saying “Chevy,” though the word is one of the world’s best-known, longest-lived product nicknames.

“We’d ask that whether you’re talking to a dealer, reviewing dealer advertising, or speaking with friends and family, that you communicate our brand as Chevrolet moving forward,”"

Government Motors?

Dems may raid funds to pay teachers

Dems may raid funds to pay teachers - David Rogers - POLITICO.com
"Crossing a line they had hoped to avoid, Democrats are now actively discussing budget options that would mean going back into last year’s Recovery Act and redirecting billions in unspent stimulus funds to more pressing needs, such as averting threatened layoffs of public school teachers next fall."

Michigan ranked 5th nationwide in foreclosures for May

Michigan ranked 5th nationwide in foreclosures for May Detroit Free Press
"Michigan's foreclosure rate continued to outpace the national rate in May."

8 Reasons College Tuition Is the Next Bubble to Burst

8 Reasons College Tuition Is the Next Bubble to Burst Naked Law by Avvo.com
"Here are 8 reasons to believe we’re in the middle of a college tuition bubble (that’s about to burst).
1) Tuition is, and has been, increasing at double the rate of inflation"

American Thinker: America's Predicament

American Thinker: America's Predicament
"America's public debt recently exceeded 13 trillion. This is more than 90 percent of the country's GDP.

Public debts of more than 60 percent of GDP are considered unhealthy. Public debts above 90 percent of GDP cause severe disruptions in the country's financial framework and the economy at large.

According to the Obama administration America's public debt will exceed 100 percent of GDP in the next fiscal year.

History shows that most countries whose debt exceeds this mark are rarely able to control it.

This level of indebtedness usually leads to currency debasement."

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Headline of the Day: Public Sector Union Edition

Headline of the Day: Public Sector Union Edition - Hit & Run : Reason Magazine
"'Metrobus driver that punched McGruff the crime dog rehired'

That headline from today's Washington Examiner says a lot about the sorry state of public sector unionism in America.
From the story:
A Metrobus driver fired after a deadly crash into a taxi and another canned for slugging a cop dressed as McGruff the Crime Dog are back at Metro, The Washington Examiner has learned.

Both men won their jobs back plus months of retroactive pay, the result of an arbitration decision between the bus drivers union and the transit agency.

One driver is getting paid to sit at home while the agency determines where to place him.
The other is expected to return to driving a Metrobus later this month.

'Neither of these incidents should have ever happened,' Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said.
The agency stands behind its decisions to fire the drivers, but Farbstein said Metro does not believe it has legal grounds to overturn the arbitrators' rulings.

Steven Greenhut explained how public servants became our masters in Reason's February issue."

Stop the Federal Spending Spree

Stop the Federal Spending Spree Tad DeHaven Cato Institute: Commentary
"In 2000, the federal government spent $1.8 trillion while debt held by the public stood at $3.4 trillion.

A mere decade later, the federal government is on pace to spend $3.7 trillion while publicly held debt is approaching $10 trillion."

This is during a decade of very low inflation and huge tax revenue increases to the government!

US to unveil Palestinian aid package: Obama

US to unveil Palestinian aid package: Obama
"President Barack Obama said Wednesday the United States was to unveil a 400-million-dollar civilian aid package for the Palestinians, as he called the situation in the Gaza Strip 'unsustainable.'"

No problems dude.
The Obama stash in bottomless!

Administration Advances Plan to Federalize Private Pension System

Administration Advances Plan to Federalize Private Pension System

"More evidence that it's unions vs. everyone else

"More evidence that it's unions vs. everyone else -- everywhere else" by America's Finest
"Last week, the consistently liberal/Democratic-leaning editorial page of the Washington Post explained and then lamented how public employee union power had brought ruin to wealthy Montgomery County, Maryland.

Now the influential Politico web site is saying bipartisan fear of these unions has become a national trend.

...pitched battles over wages and pensions are being waged from Sacramento to Springfield to New York City and the conflict is marked by its bipartisan tone, with public employee unions emerging as an intransigent public enemy number one in cities and state capitals across the country.
The article features Arnold talking tough. California ...
... remains ground zero for pension fights,"

Hitler loses his public pension!

A humorous look at the growing problem of underfunded public employee pensions

This is hilarious!

http://www.californiapensionreform.com/?p=946

The Underfunded Schools Myth

Hello Michigan: Analysis: The Underfunded Schools Myth
"A common claim by Michigan's public school establishment and its political allies is that, despite spending $20 billion annually on education, our schools are 'underfunded.'

Comparisons to other states and to historical funding levels show that the claim is unsubstantiated and misleading."

New post at Muskegon Tazpayers Alliance

Democrat county clerk Nancy Waters instantly ignores a citizen request.

http://muskegontaxpayers.blogspot.com/2010/06/county-clerk-ignores-plea-for-more.html

FTC floats Drudge tax

EDITORIAL: FTC floats Drudge tax - Washington Times
"In other words, government policy would encourage a tax on websites like the Drudge Report, a must-read source for the news links of the day, so that the agency can redistribute the funds collected to various newspapers."

Random Thoughts on the Passing Scene

RealClearPolitics - Random Thoughts on the Passing Scene
"Even though some people say we are living in a 'knowledge economy,' we are living in a political atmosphere in which ignorance has more power than ever.
Washington politicians who have never run any business are telling all kinds of businesses - from automobile companies and banks to hospitals and insurance companies - how they have to run their businesses.

This is the golden age of ignorance in power."

The More We Learn, The Worse It Gets

The More We Learn, The Worse It Gets ObamaCare Watch
"This week, we learned that the Obama administration is orchestrating a $125 million propaganda campaign to sell the recently enacted health-care law to the public.
That effort will be funded by labor unions and other groups from the Democratic political orbit.

It comes on top of the misleading government mailer sent to the nation’s seniors, at the expense of taxpayers, touting the supposed benefits of ObamaCare for the elderly.

On Tuesday, the president himself will join the fray again to make the sales pitch, this time promoting the colossal waste of taxpayer money associated with $250 per senior bribes to be issued this summer and fall."

The EPA’s reckless endangerment | NetRight Daily

The EPA’s reckless endangerment NetRight Daily: "This week, the Senate is expected to vote on S.J. Res. 26, Senator Lisa Murkowski’s resolution that would overturn the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) carbon dioxide endangerment finding that was infamously issued on December 7th, 2009."

What's the matter with Michigan?

What's the matter with Michigan? Washington Examiner
"Tentative conclusion: rich liberals may be able to afford Obamastimulus and Obamacare, but voters with modest incomes don’t think they can."

US Financial Crisis: Ambac Warns of Default as Bondholders Organize

US Financial Crisis: Ambac Warns of Default as Bondholders Organize - CNBC
"Ambac Financial Group, the bond insurer whose toxic assets were seized by Wisconsin state regulators in March, said it could default on its loan obligations and was still considering filing a prepackaged bankruptcy."

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Taxpayers can't sustain generous benefits for education employees

Editorial: Taxpayers can't sustain generous benefits for education employees The Detroit News
"A Detroit News survey of Metro Detroit school districts reveals that many have contracts in which teachers pay absolutely nothing for their health care -- in contrast with private sector workers who have faced increasing co-pays and deductibles.

Teachers union officials have responded that teachers have traded pay hikes for benefits.
But Michigan teachers remain relatively highly paid compared to their peers in other states while residents' income has been declining."

Gulf Oil Spill Makes Alberta Tar Sands Look Good

FuturePundit: Gulf Oil Spill Makes Alberta Tar Sands Look Good
"For example, BP is going to develop an Alberta oil sands (really tar sands) project that has 10 times the reserves as BP was drilling for with the Deepwater Horizon.

No worry a blow-out."

SpotCrime - Know Your Neighborhood

SpotCrime - Know Your Neighborhood

I can't say if this is accurate but it sure is interesting.

I've followed it for a month and it seems to be accurate.

A Tale of Two Counties

A Tale of Two Counties [Mackinac Center]
"The Post calls attention to the association between collective bargaining and spendthrift public officials."