Rick Perry Hates Government Until He Loves It.



I love you, but I hate you too.

Texas Governor (and presidential hopeful ) Rick Perry wants big gubmint to pay Texas for the costs incurred for imprisoning illegal immigrants.

He is calling for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to shell out $350 million to cover the cost, because it isn't Texas' job to secure the borders.


Perry wrote a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano in which he blames the federal government for not securing the border with Mexico, allowing all those illegals to traipse on over to Texas undeterred to steal all of those "Merikan jobs," Americans don't want.

The strain on county jails, according to the 'Texas Miracle,' is getting out of hand.

The letter was dated Aug.10 just three days before Perry announced his campaign for president.

Along with this, Perry recently tried to soften his bogus claims that Social Security is a " Giant Ponzi scheme," saying that Social Security is a way for government to take money from the American people.

( wait a minute)- he can't be that dumb can he? How does he think Social Security gets funded?


The Social Security Fairy?


In his 2010 book, "Fed Up!" Perry suggested the program was unconstitutional, put in place "at the expense of respect for the Constitution and limited government." and calls Social Security " A monstrous lie."

Perry has also criticized recent comments by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack for his comments about food stamps helping to bolster the economy by puting buying power into peoples hands.

"Food stamps are not a solution, they are a symbol of the problem," says Perry, (without bothering to explain what the problem is, or to offer any solutions.) "Today's leaders see it differently." he claims.

Apparently it is better in Perry's eyes to let people (mostly children and the elderly) go hungry than 'enabling' their addiction to government 'hand outs'.

Pick yourself up by your boot straps Grannie!


"Since I've become governor, Texas has created more than 1 million jobs, while the rest of the country has lost 2.5 million jobs," Perry has boasted...repeatedly.

What the good Gov. forgets to tell you is those jobs are mostly in the low wage category- as Texas is a Right to Work state- which in Republican doublespeak means you have the right to work for less than everybody else.

Right to work laws are designed to further pull the teeth from unions, as RTW laws don't require workers compensation if you get hurt on the job. Texas ranks 50th in worker's compensation and has the highest rate of job related injuries in construction in the U.S. So if you're a construction worker in Texas and you fall off a ladder - don't expect your 'job creator' to cover your expenses.

Under a Perry administration every American would be free to work as many minimum wage jobs as they wanted. ( It's just too bad if you can't make enough live on any of them )

Just pick yourself up by your boot straps!

Rick Perry just can't keep his messaging straight no matter how hard he tries. One minute he is dead against the Federal Government giving money to the states, or to the elderly,or the sick, and hungry children.Then he's ready with hands held out crying,  'please sir - can I have some more?'

He didn't turn down one dime of federal money when Texas was an inferno.

"I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the state," Governor Perry wrote in a letter to FEMA.

So Governor Perry hates FEMA until he loves it.

"The governor has put himself a bit on his own petard, as it were, just in terms of the sudden discovery of a need for the help of national government after having lambasted it so resoundingly for so long."


Then there is that little secession albatross hanging around his neck. 

If Texas were to secede from the U.S then Perry could become president of his own state, and run it the way he likes. The only drawback would be America would have to put up with former Texans seeking asylum from the "Miracle."


Unless of course it's all a misunderstanding. Maybe Perry means to say he wants Texas to succeed as an independent state. He did mention just the other day that he believes the states should "compete against each other."

Compete in what? The race to the bottom? Texas is already ahead in that competition.


Rick Perry has signed the National Organization for Marriage pledge to oppose same-sex unions-later he said that New York's gay marriage law was "their business, and that's fine with me."

So which is it Rick? Are you against gay marriage until you are for it?

Dead Peasant insurance Scam

In 2003 top officials from Governor Rick Perry's office pitched an offer to the State's retired teachers.

In essence Perry's scam was to help Wall Street investors gamble on how long retired teachers would live.Perry promised big money for the state in exchange for helping UBS- the Swiss banking giant set up a business of teacher death speculation.

Two weeks before Thanksgiving in 2003, top officials from Texas Governor Rick Perry's office pitched a scheme to get into the business to enrich Texas with dead peasant insurance policies taken out on elderly retired teachers.

When the plan was proposed to teachers, Perry's office resorted to bribery to sweeten the deal. If teachers would agree to letting the state's pension fund take out life insurance policies on them Perry's office would reward them in cash - up to $100 each for the privilege.

The plan was tied to former Senator Phil Gramm, who was a Democrat before he became a Republican, who left the Senate in 2002 for a vice president position with UBS. Gramm had also made six-figure contributions to Perry's campaign, and was really the mastermind behind the scam.

Gramm hoped to put together a package of complicated assets for speculators to gamble on. Corporations like Walmart had been caught red handed using massive purchases of life insurance policies on their employees for years as part of a tax avoidance scam, as the government doesn't tax insurance premiums or death benefits.

The employees or their families get nothing - while the corporation who purchased the policy would get it all, when the "dead peasant" died.


Shake the hand of the
Gramm Reaper.

 Gramm's predatory plan was to convince investors to bet on peoples lives by buying into pools of life insurance and annuities taken out on individuals.

Gramm's gruesome scam was a combination of packages resembling mortgage backed securities, only investors wouldn't be placing bets on peoples homes, they could bet on peoples deaths.

Luckily, once the press caught wind- the whole dirty deal fell apart.

But that doesn't absolve all of the players in this- their hands are still dirty- especially Gramm, and Perry's.

So when Rick Perry calls Social Security a "giant ponzi scheme" he should know. He is an expert on schemes ,scams and sleaze...


And what has the "Texas Miracle" done for his home state besides a $27 billion budget shortfall?

Texas ranks #1 for executions!


Some miracles aren't good

Texas has diverted hundreds of millions from education to campaign donors.
Texas wins 6th place for woman living in poverty!
Texas wins 4th place for children living in poverty!
Texas wins first place for uninsured kids, adults, and the elderly!
Texas ranks last for providing help to the mentally ill!

And in the "Poison Your Population" category-Texas wins again!

#1 For carcinogens released in the air.
#1 for toxic chemicals in the water.
#1 for largest amount of hazardous waste generated by a state.

With leadership like this Texas will definitely be a top contender in the race to the bottom.

Perry's reasoning is the Ponzi scheme.


Recently someone said of Rick Perry. "He is just like George Bush- only without the brains."

That would make Rick Perry about as intelligent as a pinecone.



Would you want a pinecone to be your next president?


(don't answer if you are a Teabagger) otherwise,



Don't vote for Rick Perry.





ickenittle

Paul Ryan, Corporate Call Girl.



Will do anything for donors

Corporatist tool disguised as House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has for months, mouthed the words, "close tax loopholes" as a way to pay for his proposed tax cuts.

But like all good liars and frauds, Ryan speaketh with forked tongue when it comes to closing the loopholes of his biggest donors.

This bought-and-paid-for politician's record shows his penchant for weaving in loopholes for the top dogs who give him the most money.

Campaign Finance- another name for bribery.

One of Ryan's biggest Johns' is S.C. Johnson & Son the Pledge and Windex titans who are based in Ryan's district, donated $41,092 to the congressman between 1998 and 2011- with the bribes still rolling in through 2012.

In exchange for the cash Ryan introduced two bills in May 2005 that would have given the company "special exemptions" from tariffs, and 0 duty charged on components that go into air fresheners.

Then, a year later Ryan put forth another bribery bill to lower the duty on Johnson cleaning appliances like the shower cleaning device that spays cleaning fluid (so you don't have to)

Fortunately these bills failed to pass the sniff test in Congress.

Then came the give-a-ways to the beer industry - his second biggest contributor - The National Wholesalers Association. Ryan racked in more than $72,000 on that gig.

In his "I'll wash your back - if you wash mine" favor swap, Ryan cut taxes for brewers, and reduce beer taxes to pre-1991 levels, and repeal taxes relating to distilled spirits, wine and beer.

If that wasn't crooked enough, Ryan later co-sponsored the Caddie Relief Act, which would let underprivileged golf caddies forgo paying taxes on their earnings. 

Ryan also opposed efforts to close offshore loopholes to all of those "job-creators" creating jobs every where but the U.S.

The list goes on and on and you can view it here.

Ryan's spokesperson in charge of spin, Kevin Seifert said this; "Paul Ryan believes the tax code is fundamentally broken -- imposing burdens on small businesses and working families and creating barriers to job creation,"

"He has proposed specific solutions that eliminate or scale back all special interest tax breaks while advancing pro-growth reforms to help get America back to work.”

Small business? S.C Johnson Wax? The Beer industry? Golfing institutions? Small Business?

All this from the guy who wants to destroy Social Security and Medicare, and charges admission to town hall meetings.




And the winner of the Douchebag Award goes to....



(Sorry Sarah, but you can't win it every year)





ickenittle

Wisconsin Still Fighting in the Race to the Bottom



To further destroy the middle class

Even though you haven't heard a peep from the propagandists in the corporate owned media, the fight against America's most detested Governor- Scott Walker, is still going on. The battle continues against this corporate owned- union busting sell-out, whose budget repair bill- has blown up in his face.

The corporate owned MSM will continue their black- out of real stories in favor of non- stories as this is their way to keep Americans as dumbed-down as possible because dumb people are easier to herd.

Capital Police in Madison Wisconsin have arrested 13 people for refusing to leave the Capital after closing hours. (6p.m.)

According to the Capital Police Chief Charles Tubbs a handful of protesters promised to leave after the Capital closed but 13 brave individuals hung around after the building closed. These folks sat down in the middle of the Capital and refused to budge.

Police ended up dragging them off at about 7p.m.

"After numerous pleads and requests to the general public, they left cooperatively. We had small group that decided to stay," Tubbs said.

12 adults and one minor were arrested and will face unlawful assembly charges,and some will be charged with resisting arrest and obstructing justice-which if you think about it-just whose justice?

It seems justice these days belongs to to those who wish to destroy Democracy and thugs like corporatist Governor Walker and Koch Industries.

A bulldozer running over a mouse, then blaming the mouse for being in the way.

Earlier in the day - AFSCME and other unions were marching from Library Mall to the Capitol.

Thursday was the first day state workers got their pay cuts since Gov. Dictator Walker's budget wrecking ball bill.

Repair Bill, as in break the budget by giving away tax breaks then turn around and expect the working men and women to pay to repair the damage done.

This is how the Tea Party thugs operate.

Just like the bank bailouts and the so called austerity measures in this fake capitalism, which says." Business can hoard their profits but expect the public to pay for their losses."

How much interest are you getting on your CD's and savings accounts these days?

When the corporations and TBTF banks paid back the government at 0% interest for the bailout money, did you get paid back for your lost interest rate?

Didn't think so.

It's just not right.

And needs to stop.

Wisconsin is just the beginning.


ickenittle

Money for Nothing




Paul Ryan Side Show

Would you pay to sit in a Town Hall meeting to see your Representative?

Apparently Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) believes there is a sucker in every crowd. This free market, Ayn Rand loving republican is planning on charging his own constituents admission to take part in Town Hall meetings.

The unpopular Ryan has had a tough time with constituents who don't buy into his right-wing talking points and his disastrous plan to replace Medicare with a voucher system.

The now tarnished former golden-boy of the Republican party, Ryan has been shouted down in nearly every one of his town hall meetings.

So how does a now despised U.S. Rep. avoid the very people he is supposed to represent?

Charge admission, and have your so-called Town Hall meetings on private property (no trespassing) and have one of your buddies collect the proceeds by providing the space. (one hand washes the other)


Defending this money grabbing scheme where charging the public you were elected to represent may seem pretty outlandish if not down right criminal, but what do you expect from the GOP which by now stands for Greed Over People.

Ryan will speak September 6 to the Whitnall Park Rotary Club in Greenfield Wisconsin. Admission to the non event is $15 per person and includes lunch. Could it be that the lunch part is just to cover to conceal the fact that he is bilking his own constitutes for personal gain?

Maybe he is having trouble making his car payment.

Since charging for Town Hall meetings may become a way for enterprising Republicans who can have their Town Hall cake and eat it too, this may become the new normal for republicans who prefer to pick and choose constituents with willing ears to hear their message.

Social Security is Welfare! The private sector can save the world! Climate change is a lie!


Considering the outrage that Ryan, the chairman of the Budget Committee, faced for his now infamous Ryan Plan which called for vouchers to replace Medicare, it's no big shock that this out of touch elitist brat gets heckled everywhere he goes, and is hiding out like a scolded puppy.

Ryan's spokesman, Kevin Seifert, stressed that the rotary club had invited Ryan to be a speaker, so the congressman had nothing to do with the admission price.

After Republicans voted to gut Medicare, while defending tax breaks for millionaires and corporations, it isn't  surprising that they want to hide from their constituents like cowards.


So, is this is the new face of representative democracy?.....a further disenfranchisement of all but the wealthy?

Democracy in America only belongs to those who can afford to buy it?

When you are scared of the people you represent, you must be doing something wrong.

The fact that doing this is highly unethical doesn't seem to be a concern to Republicans. After all being unethical is how they operate.

Paul Ryan must have forgotten that he is a U.S. Representative and is therefore obligated to listen to all of his constituents free of charge, even the icky poor ones.

It seems Paul Ryan is applying some of that unregulated free market capitalism to the job of being a U.S Rep. where just like the too big to fail banks believe it's good business to charge you for using your own money.

Double dipping.


ickenittle

Verizon Poison

When the contract with Verizon's 45,000 CWA workers was ready to expire, Verizon decided to take a "scare the workers" managerial style rather than engaging in any productive bargaining.

Using the popular Republican scorched earth approach to negotiating, Verizon seemed to think holding a gun to the head of the ungrateful workforce was a great idea. ( We are all China now )

"We'll shoot you now" or "We'll shoot you later." was Verizon's negotiation.

What the behemoth company is offering to the little people is tantamount to Walmart directing employees to apply to their states for health and food stamp benefits because Walmart just can't find the money to cover those "perks" anymore.

But hey be grateful for that job that pays so poorly you qualify for Welfare. 

In Verizon's case, this take it or leave it negotiation is to strip each and every union worker of pay and benefits totaling  $20,000 a year in lost wages and benefits.

Sounds like a great deal, if you happen to be a plutocrat.

And if Verizon's deal isn't a strong enough slap in the face, they added an additional kick in the teeth to new workers who so foolishly believed they were applying for a good job with Verizon before they were hired.

Verizon decided to unplug the pension promise on all new hires. It's as if Verizon's corporate person-hood persona is a Jekyll - Hyde personality where Doctor Jekyll giveth and Mr. Hyde taketh away, by Verizon's reneging on the pension promise to all new hires just as soon as the ink was dry.

You can almost hear the maniacal laughter coming from corporate headquarters as Mr. Hyde informs employees to look on the bright side, and be grateful they aren't flipping burgers for a living. 

Oh and another little caveat in this bad deal for all.. is Verizon's reneging on medical benefits paid by the company on all retired workers. As Verizon see it retirees need to become more responsible and pick up the $6,000 annually themselves, and stop expecting "entitlements" on the company's dime. 

What nest egg?

The total amount to Verizon's kicking-workers-to-the-curb methodology comes wrapped in a billion dollar benefit to the greedy corporate monster- that views profit seeking as a kind of blood sport.

Profits not big enough!.. (19 billion) Profits not big enough!.....must make more!

The striking workers are landlines and Fios workers; the landlines division has been on the decline for several years ( most likely due to Verizon's poor customer service)

Fios on the other hand is highly successful and Verizon apparently sees a great opportunity to maximize profits through punishing employees for doing such a great job making Verizon a success. This seems to be the way the corporate person rewards hard working folks, with a kick in the ass.

The Attorney General of Wisconsin has had it up to here (I'm holding my hand somewhere slightly over my head) with Verizon and has filed a lawsuit against the telecom giant alleging that Verizon was not only sending bills to people who didn't order Verizon services, but then sent some customers to collection agencies after they refused to pay.

Sounds like Verizon is becoming Bank of America.

It's no wonder they lost so many customers.

They say word of mouth is a business' best advertisement
and it's true in reverse as well.

Verizon has such a track record in poor customer service that entire websites are devoted to Verizon complaints.

I guess being really bad at something is kind of like being good at it.

If true then Verizon is at the top in its field.

Go Verizon!

http://verizonpathetic.com/

http://www.complaintsboard.com/bycompany/verizon-a247.html

http://consumerist.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=1&limit=20&search=Verizon+complaints

Update: Verizon announced in a statement that the wireline employees would return to work under the original contract that expired on Aug. 6.

Maybe Verizon is learning that what doesn't work for Republicans, doesn't work for companies either.

ickenittle

Workforce Optimization

The US Postal Service is nearly broke, and is considering layoffs in the six figure range.

As many as 120,000 employees will get the ax in one way or another from now through 2015 (and you thought the Post Office was a good job ) But before any pink slips go out, the Postal Service needs to get the OK from our do nothing Congress.

The Teabags in Congress will be jumping for joy. Not only will they get to put into practice their 'scorched Earth'  approach to the economy by shoving another big government entity off a cliff, but they get to take turns with the flame thrower by cremating all of those spoiled, greedy, union postal workers who think they are too good to work at Walmart.

This reorganization is destined to kill off 7,500 administrative, executive and postmaster jobs this year- with deeper cuts to the workforce coming all the way through 2015. They are even talking about eliminating Saturday delivery which will make Netflix customers very unhappy.

The independent Postal Regulatory Commission said that postal officials underestimated the losses the agency would suffer from handling less mail ( everyone pays bills online ) and overestimated the cost savings.

The Postal Service has come up with a strategy where losing a day of service (Saturday) and having less people do more work for the same pay will fix the problem of insolvency. They are already $8.5 billion in the hole from 2010, and project new losses for 2011 to be upwards of some $6.4 billion. Which by- the- way, is far less than some corporate executives get in a year for doing such a great job sending American jobs overseas.



Tea Party Mascot.

Once enough top personnel are forced to trade their future earnings for 'buyout packages', the Kraken (R) will be released from the murky depths to annihilate thousands more terrified postal underlings.

The cuts are expected to save $750 million a year- to give us less service for the same price, which most corporations have been doing for awhile now calling it too... cost savings. An annoying term which means they give you less while charging you more.

Remember when the big banks - in the name of 'efficiency' talked Americans into using debit cards as a way to improve service while saving the planet at the same time? 

What they forget to tell you (on purpose) is that coming down the pike were plans to charge you fees for that planet saving card.

Greed knows no bounds - unless more greed qualifies as bounds.

On the chopping block are up to 2,000 local post offices condemned to death in the next two years - just for your inconvenience.

Employees over age 50 with at least 20 years of service will have a $20,000 carrot shaped check dangled in front of them as 'encoragement' to walk up the slaughterhouse ramp. The rest will be spooked and prodded with threats of layoffs until their day too finally comes. The Postal Service has already eliminated 105,000 full-time jobs in the last two years- many through force-fed early retirements.

Since Congress must agree, and approve of any changes to the Postal Service - it might take awhile.

The Orwellian twist  comes in the re-branding of the old term down-size. The snappy new term, known as 'workforce optimization' is especially clever, as it has a double meaning. It can be applied to both layoffs and those left hanging in the breeze.

Those postal employees who lose jobs will surely take comfort knowing the have been optimized. And those still clinging to their jobs will become inspired to do twice the work for the same pay.

Optimization works! 

Since the average Netflix plan of one DVD at a time means customers get three movies a week- these people won't mind getting only two - thanks to the Postal Service's Workforce Optimization Plan.


So instead of complaining  just get creative and find your inner artist when that movie you were expecting on Saturday doesn't arrive till Tuesday.


It's called '' making lemonade out of lemons " which- when lemons were affordable made more sense.


Now a days making something out of nothing is the new normal.

But don't blame Netflix it isn't their fault.



ickenittle

The Tea Party Down Grade

The Republican Party

For those misinformed brain washed Fox News propaganda zombies out there who actually believe the lie that Standard and Poors downgraded our AAA status because there weren't enough cuts- here is what they really said:

"The political brinkmanship of recent months highlights what we see as America's governance and policy making becoming less stable, less effective and less predictable than what we previously believed,"

"The statutory debt ceiling and the threat of default have become political bargaining chips in the debate over fiscal policy."

The act contains no measures to raise taxes or otherwise enhance revenues, though the committee could recommend them. S&P has indicated things could improve for the rating if  "the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for high earners lapse from 2013 onwards", as the Obama Administration is advocating.


Compared with previous projections, our revised base case scenario now assumes that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, due to expire by the end of 2012, remain in place. We have changed our assumption on this because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues, a position we believe Congress reinforced by passing the act.

First, it's interesting (and correct) that that the GOP is rigidly anti-revenue, and would resist any measure that would raise revenue.

As S&P notes, the tax cuts are due to expire, which means they will simply go away-unless Republican hostage takers attempt once again to extort some nefarious deal to keep them in place.

Who will be the hostages this time? probably the unemployed as that tactic proved a real winner in the last Bush tax cut battle.

Standard and Poors recommendation for America is to raise revenue along with making cuts. And no matter how much the propagandists of the right wing corporate owned media use creative editing by leaving out the part about raising taxes- the truth is the truth.


Lying by omission is lying just the same.


The important thing to note is that all along, the credit agencies warned that the final deal needed to be bigger and needed to include some revenue increases. But the only roadblock to revenue increases was the Republican Party. The President presented a deal that fit the bill for the ratings agencies weeks ago. But the Republicans would have none of it.


Now, they want to point the finger of blame

Hopefully the truth will get out enough and maybe even the dumbest amongst us will finally see past the lies.


And the 'Bush tax cuts ' will be re branded as the 'Boehner/Cantor Tax Cuts,'  because these obstructionists will fight to the death before they let them expire.



A lot of hedge fund managers, Wall Street investment bankers, and corporate senior execs are counting on them to betray us.

All this talk about shared sacrifice.



What a crock of shit.




ickenittle

Debt Ceiling for Dummies

Still scratching your head trying to understand the debt ceiling manufactured crisis that was about as confusing as watching a foreign movie without any subtitles?

Don't feel bad, you are not alone because that's the way they like it. Keeping the sheeple in the dark ( before clubbing them in the head ) is a political tactic by our so-called leaders as they howl like a pack of hungry wolves, scaring the sheep with cries of 'default! collapse!' and 'no social security for grandma!'

Once sufficiently stunned, and cowering in fear, the hopes of these 'Disaster Capitalists'' is to terrorize the beleaguered sheeple so much that they will lose all reason and actually get to the point where they beg the murderous wolves to save them. It's part of the charade- where they scare people into giving up more and more - for fear of losing it all.  

So let's break it down into sheeple speak -- FAQ

What the heck is the 'super committee'?

 A 12 -member Congressional panel that meets in November that's supposed to come up with a plan to reduce deficits by $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion (trillion= a thousand billion ) over the next ten years. If for some reason ( insert Republican ) the panel can't agree- then we have what can be called 'the trigger effect' that kicks in where automatic 'penalty cuts' are enacted.



How will the trigger work?

This idea is similar to having a gun put to the heads of stubborn (insert Tea Party)  panel members who can't play well with others and if they don't -  then across-the-board cuts will be set into motion (but don't worry this won't happen till  2013) and half of these will come from defense. ( BTW defense has been re branded as 'security') 

Since defense security is Republican candy- it is meant to make them think twice before before being the obstinate obstructionists they are so fond of being.
Medicaid and social security payments are safe from republican wolves-but limited cuts to Medicare were thrown in as a distraction- to misdirect their predatory gaze from the real target-the bankruptcy of the United States and the discrediting of President Obama.

What happens now?

It keeps us from going bankrupt by borrowing $400 billion now- and another $500 billion later ( Feb )

More borrowing can be added ( $1.2tn-$1.5tn ) can become available if a balanced budget amendment is considered by Congress by the end of the year. This caveat was thrown in to appease the Tea party crazies who would rather see the country fail rather than use that icky word... compromise.

When will we feel the pain of the cuts?

October 1- that's when the governments 2012 fiscal year begins. Supposedly there will savings of $21billion through limits on spending. Just think of it like you choose not to spend money on something you can't afford anyway- but because you didn't spend it - you can fool yourself into thinking you actually saved money.

After the limits are used up then spending caps are put in place that will save another $917 billion over the next ten years by slowing spending increases. If deeper cuts are decided to be necessary by a bipartisan "super committee" that acts as 'super deciderman'.

Is the 'super committee' like super man?

Only in their own minds.

What does a 'balanced budget amendment mean?'

By the end of this year Congress must consider adding an amendment to the constitution that the federal budget be balanced. If they all agree then the president can raise the debt ceiling $1.5 trillion.

But if it isn't approved (most likely scenario) then he only gets to raise this manufactured 'ceiling' by a mere $1.2 trillion. The main idea behind the 'balanced budget amendment' is to not allow the government to spend more than it brings in ( with the exception of no more than an 18% increase ) over the GDP.

 This idea was brought to us courtesy of the republicans who know it's nearly impossible - unless they are willing to give up all those unexpected expensive wars they are so fond of getting into. Since unexpected expenses are impossible to predict this must mean smooth sailing from here on in.

Will this balance the budget?
Nope. Too many 'experts' in the 'know' say it's so full of holes and flaws it might as well be written on Swiss cheese.


And it ain't set in stone either.

Congress can reopen and fool around with it at any time.

This all depends on the outcome of the next election - and the state of the economy in 2013. By then the whole thing can be revised or thrown out.

Was this a big-overblown, melodramatic act of political theatre?

Yep...but that seems to be all we have for leaders these days,

just a bunch of drama queens.


Meanwhile the Oligarchs, the Disaster Capitalists and the 'Free

Marketeers' are laughing themselves all of the way...

to the bank.


"We The People" lost a little more heart, and a lot more faith in the people we entrusted to represent us. They just turned out to be actors all playing roles as real representatives in this debt ceiling made- for- TV movie.


I think it's time to completely change the cast- because this production is really starting to stink.



ickenittle

Bulldoze Bank of America

Waste in the name of profit.

 Bank of America has come up with a creative way to deal with it's glut of foreclosed and abandoned homes they can't sell and won't modify -  let a bulldozer fix the problem.


The biggest mortgage servicer in the U.S. is graciously donating - out of the goodness of their heart - 100 foreclosed homes in Cleveland to hide the fact they have been tearing down perfectly good homes in order to avoid paying property taxes and maintenance ( which they haven't been doing anyway )

Since this creative destruction seems a cheap easy way for BOA to avoid any further loss - Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and JP Morgan Chase & Co. have joined in on the demolition derby fun.

Disposing of repoed houses is a costly and untidy business for these TBTF institutions that have been borrowing like gambling addicts from the Federal Reserve's discount window at nearly 0% to keep them from falling off the financial cliff, that they created. But when it comes to helping the little guy stay in his home through refinancing - the answer is no, and they choose the path of least resistance to cut their losses and avoid responsibility for their reckless lending practices.

The word loss does not compute in the minds of these for - profit  free marketeers, where the word profit  is misconstrued to mean " being like Jesus."

Right now there are 1,679,125 houses - or one in every 77 are in some stage of foreclosure clear across America. With more on the way the banksters have been calculating the cost of their responsibilities on maintenance and taxes and have found this to be far too burdensome for profiteering.

It's far more cost effective to just kick people out- then to bother with such cumbersome things like mortgage modification and short selling. The two options though possible for many underwater homeowners just sticks in the throats of these greed driven gluttons of profit.



 Olden times move it don't destroy it.

Tidal wave warnings are on alert as a new storm of foreclosures are expected to flood the market. As it stands today - anyone with half a brain will not run out and buy a house until housing values settle somewhere between being, not worth much - to not worth shit.


“There is way too much supply,” said Gus Frangos, president of the Cleveland-based Cuyahoga County Land Revitalization Corp., which works with lenders, government officials and homeowners to salvage vacant homes. “The best thing we can do to stabilize the market is to get the garbage off.”

Bank of America had 40,000 foreclosures in its first quarter, and along with foreclosures come taxes and maintenance costs. Which greedy banksters just hate to pay. Bank of America has been one of the leading banks responsible for turning entire blocks of modest neighborhoods into rambling reeking blocks of squalor.

In an act of false generosity Bank of America is willing to chip in as much as $7,500 for demolition to the cities and towns they helped down the road to ruin. In areas eligible to receive funds through the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program - Bank of America offers a whopping $3,500 for demolition - letting the publicly funded program pick up the rest. ( See how it works?)

Ohio ranked among the top 10 states with the most foreclosure filings in June, according to RealtyTrac. The state has 71,617 foreclosed homes. According to Beacon Economics LLC, a forecasting firm.

"No one needs these homes, and no one is going to buy them."  said Christopher Thornberg, founding partner at the Los Angeles office. " Bank of America is not going to be able to cover its losses, so it might as well give them away and get a little write - off and some nice public relations. "

Apparently Christopher Thornberg doesn't encounter the homeless in the gated community where he lives.

Plow the crops under, pour the milk down the drain, let the grain rot in mountainous piles, let people starve.

Demolish houses to solve the homeless problem! But never sell at a loss to clear the overproduction that can never occur in the first place… efficient market hypothesis at work?

Or is it irrational exuberance? Or creative destruction?

Hungry, jobless, homeless persons with signs begging for your help on main thoroughfares outside opulent gated communities ( castles without the moats? )

Is there anybody the banks don’t screw including ultimately themselves?

Don't worry - they are working on it.

And they will do it with the blessing of the Republican party.


Business before people.


Where profits are hoarded - and losses passed onto the tax payer.



Welcome to " Job Creator " America.


Oh by the way... Bank of America hasn't paid one penny of taxes in the last three years.


Keep your pitchforks handy.



ickenittle