Manufactured Postal Crisis



As American as apple pie.

Democrats and Republicans are considering changing the Postal Service into
something we won't recognise-all based of half truths, exaggerations, and a manufactured crisis. 

We have all been hearing how the USPS is broke and ready for the scrap heap. But is it really true?

A stamp is still a good deal, and having someone deliver your mail is something most Americans take for granted. Hoards of senior citizens, whose lives have become routine look forward each day to see what surprise awaits them in the mail box. It might be just a bill, or a piece of junk , but there is usually a catalog or two to brighten and engage a lonely persons' day and mind. You can't get that much entertainment, and value anywhere for the cost of a stamp.

Besides , just think how many disappointed dogs there would be if we took their "enemy" away.

The Postal Carrier is a person, someone we rely on- someone who is as familiar as a next door neighbor, who may seem invisible to us at times but we know can always be counted on to pay us a visit whether we appreciate it or not. The postal carrier puts a human face on an otherwise mechanistic government behemoth.

In the words of the American Postal Workers Union, Democrats and Republicans are entertaining proposals that will "end the postal service as we know it."

There are proposals to close as many as 3,700 post offices nationwide- most of them in rural communities and inner cities, where services as the most needed. There is talk of ending Saturday service as a way to cut costs, and even more draconian cuts to ensure that USPS is driven out of business to make way for privatization, which would certainly create a more expensive , less effective, and profit centered mail delivery system.

The U.S. Postal Service if part of America's history, and it is being threatened by a corporate coup-that will break union contracts, layoff thousands of postal workers and gut the service due to bad policies forced on it by Congress.

The Postal Service is the only government agency that is forced to pay Seventy-five years of retiree health benefits in ten years, and because it overpaid federal pension funds by more than $80 billion,(and has not been paid back) is financially strapped. Without these manufactured obstacles, the post office would be fine.



Postal Service Broke? Don't
believe it.

This is a manufactured crisis and is more political than economical. For years conservatives have been waiting like vultures for this crisis to come to fruition so they can dismantle what they claim is just another wasteful branch of big government.

They use this lie to poison the publics' opinion that the post office is too big, too expensive to run, and would better serve the public if it was in capable corporate hands.

Truth is, all these greedy profiteers want to do is get their dirty hands on America's second largest employer, and sell it off to the highest bidder.

Once the USPS is gone these same "job creators" will turn our postal service into a fee based business where lower wages ,no benefits, and lousy service rule.

This is the Walmartinization of  yet another of our now shrinking public services we have come to relay on since this country started.


Imagine for a moment if Bank of America ran the post office?


Beginning next year BOA will charge debit card users $5 a month for the privilege of spending your own money. This is one of the same banks that encouraged check users to switch to debit cards in order to save money, and help save the planet at the same time. Now they are cutting tens of thousands of jobs-and charging customers more to get less service.

"The economics of offering a debit card have changed," said Bank of America spokeswoman Anne Pace on Thursday. Bank of America is the largest U.S. bank by assets. (which BTW are inflated)

When BOA says. "The economics of offering debit cards have changed." they mean offering a once good faith free service doesn't line any pockets with easy cash.

The fee will be waived for the bank's premium or platinum privileges accounts tied to its Merrill Lynch brokerage. Isn't that sweet-preferential service to wealthy customers. Wonder how that would work if they ran the post office?

Rich people don't have to buy stamps.

If Bank of America ran the post office, you could look forward to fees being tacked onto to every other service excluding the price of a stamp. which you know they would phase out over time in order to come up with some other scheme to gouge us.

Which seems the be the new business model,

where the less you use a service- the more you pay for it. 

Benjamin Franklin is probably rolling in his grave,

right along with deceased mail carriers nation-wide.




ickenittle

Go To Jail or Go To Jesus

In the small town of Bay Minette Alabama, if you are a first-time, nonviolent offender, you get the privilege to chose your punishment. Go to jail and pay fines- or go to church for a year.

This new plan is called "Restore Our Community", and is drawing heat from the ACLU.

"This policy is blatantly unconstitutional," said Olivia Turner, executive director for the ACLU of Alabama. "It violates one basic tenet of the Constitution, namely that government can't force participation in religious activity."


But the local police chief who is heading up the program starting Tuesday, says no one is being forced to participate.

"Operation ROC resulted from meetings with church leaders," Chief Mike Rowland said. "It was agreed by all the pastors that at the core of the crime problem was the erosion of family values and morals. We have children raising children and parents not instilling values in young people."

Rowland said the idea was simple: get people who are not yet hardened criminals to become involved in positive programs — hundreds of free resources offered by some 104 churches in the region with 56 agreeing to help monitor first-time, nonviolent offenders.

Under this plan, pastors would report weekly to the chief and offenders would bring a signed sheet to prove they attended church. Kind of like going to AA meetings when you get a DUI, but unlike AA they won't let you get away with falling asleep, because you have to take a test about the services you attend.

The upside however is offenders can choose the church they attend, which could be difficult if you are anything other than Christian. If you are an atheist, well,  just fake it.

After pretending for a year - your criminal case will be dismissed!

Rowland says the goal is to produce "productive citizens." If you read between the lines, and if actions do speak louder than words doesn't he really mean,  "productive Christian citizens." 

Rowlands defends his position by saying, "The biggest complaint we have is about separation of church and state. Those issues won't come to the forefront because offenders are not being forced to attend church, and what religion they choose is really up to them. We even have provisions for people who are from out of town to choose a place to worship in their own communities."

But what if the offender is already a church goer? Is there a third choice?

I guess this proves that going to church is a form of punishment.

But any 7 year-old kid could tell you that.

ickenittle

Tax the Rich or Get Out the Pitchforks

Class warfare is real- and those decrying foul are doing so to distract you from the truth. When you hear republicans say "The rich pay 70% of all income taxes!" OMG! What they forget (on purpose) to disclose is the shameful fact that the top 10% make 70% of all income in the U.S.

They make money on their money - on money stolen from U.S. taxpayers through bailouts, declining home values, shipping jobs overseas, and investing in our failing economy.

The top 10% make money when the economy goes up, and when it goes down.

There isn't much that the rich can't make money on these days.

Check out these charts from Mother Jones.

And where are the jobs -- Job Creators?

The rich call for shared sacrifice, which in plutocrat-speak means,

you sacrifice while we stand by and watch our money grow.

Pitchfork time is drawing near.


ickenittle

Job Creators Are Cheap Bastards.

"Where are the jobs?"

Republicans speak long and loud about the mythical job creators whose hands they claim are tied by unfair taxes and regulations that won't allow them to create jobs. It's the job creators who are getting screwed by big government, and if government would just get out of the way-- America would have two jobs in every pot.

What they forget to tell you is those jobs don't pay a living wage.

As Wall Street recovers from the economic crisis, and the rich get richer, the little guy is forced to work more, and get paid less thanks to the very same job creators who are benefiting from the gutting of the middle class.

Productivity theft is one way these reverse Robin Hoods' get away once again with stealing from the poor to pay the rich. As jobs are being slashed those lucky unfortunates left still clinging to a job are forced to produce more for the same rate of pay which in reality means doing twice the job at half the pay.

Companies are borrowing at subsidized rates thanks to the Federal Reserve - which uses the money you used to get on savings accounts and CD's to loan corporations at nearly 0% interest. It's your lost interest rate that partly keeps the cash flowing into the coffers of job creating looters.

The Job Creators are stealing from you and your family, and have been for some time now.

It used to be that construction jobs paid about $20 an hour- especially during the housing boom. Once the crash came, many construction workers find themselves grovelling at the feet of "Job Creators" to get a little more than half that amount today. These same jobs today pay anywhere from $9 - to $12 an hour, hardly enough to make ends meet.

The Texas Miracle Governor Rick Perry who brags about creating over a million jobs in Texas forgets to disclose that those jobs are at poverty wages and many part-time or temporary positions- and none come with benefits thanks to Texas' "Right To Work" scam. It doesn't matter how many jobs you create if the pay is so low people can't afford to live. These so-called miracle jobs are just another scheme to drive down wages.

When part-timers want full-time work these Job Creators will likely boost hours when consumer demand rises before they add any new jobs. Economists say they are using this ploy to appear to creating jobs when they really aren't and it gives them room to expand without hiring.

Since half of all workers make $25,000 a year or less, the job creators are in hog heaven, they can hire less, pay less, work people harder and make more profits on a declining economy.

If you look at for what it is, working people have nearly zero protection from predatory job creators- who don't forget -- have access to near zero percent loans from the Federal Reserve. America workers have been taken hostage by these financial terrorists.

It's all downward mobility from here on- so say many economists, depending where people start on the economic ladder, more and more people are being pushed closer to the edge of poverty. Living wage jobs are becoming a thing of the past- thanks partly to the wage killing "Job Creators. "

What new lousy jobs they are creating are poor paying, low skill, and often temporary, and there aren't enough of them to go around. The 99ers are proof we are looking at a permanent underclass of fringe people-formerly employed folks who had mortgages, a decent job, and a 401K plan. Now these same people are barely hanging on by a thread.

The percentage of the unemployed who have been out of work for more than six months has grown from 8.6% in 1979 to 19.6% today- and even though there are more people today than in 1979 -  the rate of job creation is supposed to keep pace with the emerging workforce.

Too many people--not enough jobs, as the job creators hoard taxpayer subsidized money given them to create jobs.

Another assault on workers by "Job Creators" will be coming in 2014. Nearly one of every 10 midsized or big employers expects to stop offering health coverage to workers after insurance exchanges begin operating in 2014 as part of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, according to a survey by a major benefits consultant.

More than 1,200 companies, suggest that some businesses feel they will be better off dropping health insurance coverage once the exchanges start, even though they could face fines and tax headaches.

If "Job Creators" were given a grade in job creation (after being given generous tax breaks and loop holes) designed to inspire them into (job creation action) They deserve an F-- for FAILURE.



"Life's tough, get used to it," 



Failure to create meaningful jobs, failure to invest in the same America that has been so generous to them.

In a nutshell....Job Creators are just a bunch of Cheap Bastards.





ickenittle

2012 Foreclosure Tsunami Warning

In 2011 several of the too-big-to-fail- banks were forced to stop foreclosures due to robo-signing (fraud by another name) by a handful of employees using  rubber stamps with the name of the bank official supposedly in charge of rubber-stamping foreclosures. One of these officials it turns out had been dead several years - a kind of robo-zombie.

The government has now accepted the banksters promises that they have cleaned up their act - so now the flood gates are open for another tsunami of foreclosures - all of those held back homes will be hitting the market in 2012.

According to Realty Trac, "Notices of Default," the first stage in foreclosure is up 33% in August alone.By early next year the housing market will once again be hit with a wave of fresh foreclosures that no one has the money to buy.

"The big increase in new foreclosure actions may be a signal that lenders are starting to push through some of the foreclosures delayed by robo-signing and other documentation problems," said James Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. "It also foreshadows more bank repossessions in the coming months as these new foreclosures make their way through the process."


A hopeful sounding Bank of America spokes-person describes the recent surge of foreclosures this way:

"We are on an ongoing path to return foreclosures to normal levels. Strong gains like that from July to August demonstrate our progress - primarily in judicial states -- clearing more volume to advance to foreclosure once we pass the numerous quality controls we have in place and exhaust all options with homeowners. Our progress each month builds upon foreclosure levels lower than the market realities would dictate."

This is the new normal, and as chipper as they may sound, the old normal won't happen for at least five or six years, and hopefully Bankster of America will be broken up by then.


When Banks can't make enough money by screwing you once -- they find a way to screw you again.

As banks look for more inventive ways to pick your pocket to keep their billionaire CEO's in extortion money, free checking is becoming a thing of the past at the nation's largest criminal financial banking cartels.

 Wells Fargo customers now have to pay $15 per month to keep their current account type if they don't have an average of $7,500 in the bank, across all of their accounts. Which no one can do in this current economy, and can be viewed as a "poor tax" proposed by banking elites.

 Cheap Bastard Citigroup Inc said it will start charging a monthly fee of $10 on checking and savings accounts with combined balances of less than $1,500, joining a growing list of banks seeking to recoup revenue lost under new financial industry regulations which threw a cog in these banks - screw the customer machinery.

This new gouging takes effect in December.

Under Citi's current fee structure, customers are not required to maintain minimum account balances but must complete five transactions a month through an account to avoid a monthly fee of $8.
Citigroup said it will not charge for debit card use or online bill payment.

New regulations -- part of a broad financial sector reform effort -- limit overdraft fees and other penalty fees banks can charge.

In response, many banks have begun introducing monthly service fees for accounts, debit card use and visits to branches for a fee.

Bank of America Corp, the largest U.S. bank by assets, added checking account fees last year. The BofA changes include an ebanking account, which allows customers to use ATMs and online banking for free but charges a monthly fee of $7 for teller visits or receiving paper statements.

Charging you to use your own money.

Charging you to talk to a teller.

When will people wake up and dump these zombie banks?

California just passed legislation paving the way for a state owned bank.

Looks like people are waking up after all.

Maybe - just maybe, too-big-to-fail might just go the way of the Dinosaur.

One can only dream...until someone finds a way to charge you for dreaming...

Don't believe someone won't try.



ickenittle

Climate Change Can Only Hurt You if You are Alive.



"Climate Change can't hurt me,
So why should I care?"



A warning has been released by Project Clamer, a collaboration of 17 marine institutes saying that increased warming of the world's oceans will cause serious illness in the coming future.

Warm oceans are a terrific breeding ground for all kinds of nasty bacteria - which in turn causes food poisoning, deadly gastroenteritis, septicemia and cholera.

The ever warming climate is acting like global petre dish for creating powerful strains of new diseases, and encourages transmission through contaminated seafood, ingestion of waterborne pathogens, and to a lesser degree, through recreational and occupational exposure to marine disease. 

Scientist are becoming increasingly alarmed at the rate of warming, which is happening faster than even they anticipated. Also on the doom and gloom list are other effects of ocean warming - including melting ice, rising sea levels, coastal erosion, increased storm intensity along with chemical changes in the sea , like acidification and (de)oxygenation. (acid kills algae which provides ocean and planetary oxygen)

Scientists have found an increase of the Vibrio genus of  bacteria. This strain has been increasing since 1980, in the North Sea as sea temperatures have risen. One of these Vibrios is the cholera species.

Increased acidification of the ocean leads to decreased carbon dioxide absorption by algae, which leaves more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

 As if we don't have enough to worry about already.

When people argue about the cause, and ignore the fact that our planet is changing - for the worse, what difference does it make if it's man made or not?

If your house was on fire due to a lightening strike, would you just stand there and watch it burn?

A conservative might argue that it's god's will, which translates into meaning, "It isn't my problem."

That may be true today- but your grandchildren sure won't be thanking you in the future,

if there is a future.



ickenittle

Let's Play-- Kick the Unemployed





Are always Republican.

South Carolina's own Tea party pride and joy Gov. Nikki Haley just can't wait to coerce unemployed people - while they are down -  like all sociopath (blame the victim) republicans.



Haley wants all of the unemployed in HER state to submit to drug testing. It doesn't matter to Nikki if you are a middle aged worker, a college grad, or a elderly out of work Walmart greeter who can't compete in a youthful market.

In Nikki's World you must be doing something bad to be in the boat you are in.

You must have a drug problem -- otherwise you would be gainfully employed in South Carolina, and the reason you are unemployed can't possibly have anything to do with the bad e-c-o-n-o-m-y.

Haley, not satisfied with simply kicking the unemployed who are receiving extension benefits, wants to humiliate those who have earned their benefits while working.

Since South Carolina's unemployment rate in July was 10.9%, the third worst in the nation. Like all narcissitic sociopaths it never occurs to Haley that the problem might have something to do with her own failings as a Governor. ( It can't be that I'm a bad Governor, it must be that YOU are a bad constituent )

Now Number Three in the Race to the Bottom.Gov. Haley blames it on a spike in the labor force.

"You have college students who have now entered the workforce that need jobs and don't have them. We have people who have been let go in their mid-50s who suddenly are getting back into the work force and having to figure out what they're going to do because they can't work in that same industry," Haley said. "And more than anything, we also have people who thought they had retired — thought that they had enough money to live off of — and no longer have it. So they are now having to get back into the work force."

So, with so many people needing jobs all at once Haley needs to eliminate some of the competition, and relieve the pressure placed on her administration. Drug testing seems the first choice in the current crop of Tea party Governors, as they resort to any tactic to falsely appear to be " Job Creators" who drive down wages, bust unions, and create obstacles for those getting unemployment benefits.

Haley has decided to hit S.C high unemployment rate head on, creating what she calls," full- force training

programs," in which 'incentives" are created to upgrade skills. Sadly though, she can't quite say how she intends to pull this off because the "details are still being worked out."

As far as details go- Haley is still working on how the state can require drug testing for people getting unemployment, but didn't hold back her enthusiasm for her demeaning idea.

"I so want drug testing," Haley said. "It's something I've been wanting since the first day I walked into office."



" I sooo.. want a pony daddy!"

This sounds strangely similar to a twelve year old girl's request for her dream pony.

"I so want a pony daddy -- It's something I've wanted since the day I was born!" Oh puleeese daddy! can I have a pony!"

The Legislature is considering a drug-testing measure this year would cut off benefits if an applicant failed a potential employer's drug screening test. Indiana and Wisconsin approved similar legislation this year.

The National Employment Law Project says there are no federal laws barring the practice and states have considered, but rejected, requiring the tests as a condition of receiving benefits. However, federal law won't let them charge the unemployed for the tests and states don't want to cover the costs. For instance, Texas legislators pushed that proposal until they found out it would cost taxpayers $30 million.

"Whaaat? We have to pay for it?."




Advocates for the state's poor and unemployed say it's wrong-headed.

But doesn't that validate it's worth in Republican eyes?

Wrong- headed ideas are a Republican strength.

And since being  guilty until proven innocent appears to be the Orwellian brand of justice favored by Tea Party lawmakers these days , maybe Haley's own little sex scandal needs to return to the surface.


Shouldn't Governor Haley have to prove she isn't a "little slut?"

In Tea Party America- being accused is the same as being guilty.

Maybe Nikki Haley needs to take a mandatory STD test, or in the least, a lie detector test.


After all don't Americans have the right to know when our leaders are wasting precious tax payer dollars sleeping around on the job.


ickenittle

Obama Jobs Act (Two Chickens in Every Pot.) Full Transcript

President Obama gave his sink or swim speech on Sept. 8th. I have taken the liberty to minimize the parts where he is telling you what you want to hear, and maximized the parts that stick out like a sore thumb. Some parts too, cleverly hide some bad news- those parts are highlighted in red (danger!)

As you can tell most of his speech is minimized because he does a lot of telling Americans what they want to hear while leaving out the important details.

Apparently all politicians think details are too cumbersome for average Americans to understand, and as long as each speech promises the impossible -- and ends in God Bless America, everyone will go away happy.

Tonight we meet at an urgent time for our country. We continue to face an economic crisis that has left millions of our neighbors jobless, and a political crisis that’s made things worse.

This past week, reporters have been asking, “What will this speech mean for the President? What will it mean for Congress? How will it affect their polls, and the next election?”

But the millions of Americans who are watching right now, they don’t care about politics. They have real-life concerns. Many have spent months looking for work. Others are doing their best just to scrape by — giving up nights out with the family to save on gas or make the mortgage; postponing retirement to send a kid to college.

This first part is true -- but what does it mean? Pointing out the obvious is the first step in political manipulation. (I feel your pain) 

These men and women grew up with faith in an America where hard work and responsibility paid off. They believed in a country where everyone gets a fair shake and does their fair share — where if you stepped up, did your job, and were loyal to your company, that loyalty would be rewarded with a decent salary and good benefits; maybe a raise once in a while. If you did the right thing, you could make it. Anybody could make it in America.

For decades now, Americans have watched that compact erode. They have seen the decks too often stacked against them. And they know that Washington has not always put their interests first.
The people of this country work hard to meet their responsibilities. The question tonight is whether we’ll meet ours. The question is whether, in the face of an ongoing national crisis, we can stop the political circus and actually do something to help the economy. (Applause.) The question is — the question is whether we can restore some of the fairness and security that has defined this nation since our beginning.

Those of us here tonight can’t solve all our nation’s woes. Ultimately, our recovery will be driven not by Washington, but by our businesses and our workers. But we can help. We can make a difference. There are steps we can take right now to improve people’s lives.

I am sending this Congress a plan that you should pass right away. It’s called the American Jobs Act. There should be nothing controversial about this piece of legislation. Everything in here is the kind of proposal that’s been supported by both Democrats and Republicans — including many who sit here tonight. And everything in this bill will be paid for. Everything. (Applause.)

The purpose of the American Jobs Act is simple: to put more people back to work and more money in the pockets of those who are working. It will create more jobs for construction workers, more jobs for teachers, more jobs for veterans, and more jobs for long-term unemployed. (Applause.) It will provide — it will provide a tax break for companies who hire new workers, and it will cut payroll taxes in half for every working American and every small business. (Applause.) It will provide a jolt to an economy that has stalled, and give companies confidence that if they invest and if they hire, there will be customers for their products and services. You should pass this jobs plan right away.

Everyone here knows that small businesses are where most new jobs begin. And you know that while corporate profits have come roaring back, smaller companies haven’t. So for everyone who speaks so passionately about making life easier for “job creators,” this plan is for you. (Applause.)

Pass this jobs bill — pass this jobs bill, and starting tomorrow, small businesses will get a tax cut if they hire new workers or if they raise workers’ wages. Pass this jobs bill, and all small business owners will also see their payroll taxes cut in half next year. (Applause.) If you have 50 employees — if you have 50 employees making an average salary, that’s an $80,000 tax cut. And all businesses will be able to continue writing off the investments they make in 2012.

It’s not just Democrats who have supported this kind of proposal. Fifty House Republicans have proposed the same *payroll tax cut* that’s in this plan. You should pass it right away. (Applause.)

* Why would he deprive Social Security and Medicare of desperately needed funds - for pocket change?

Pass this jobs bill, and we can put people to work rebuilding America. Everyone here knows we have badly decaying roads and bridges all over the country. Our highways are clogged with traffic. Our skies are the most congested in the world. It’s an outrage.
Building a world-class transportation system is part of what made us a economic superpower. And now we’re going to sit back and watch China build newer airports and faster railroads? At a time when millions of unemployed construction workers could build them right here in America? (Applause.)

There are private construction companies all across America just waiting to get to work. There’s a bridge that needs repair between Ohio and Kentucky that’s on one of the busiest trucking routes in North America. A public transit project in Houston that will help clear up one of the worst areas of traffic in the country. And there are schools throughout this country that desperately need renovating. How can we expect our kids to do their best in places that are literally falling apart? This is America. Every child deserves a great school — and we can give it to them, if we act now. (Applause.)

The American Jobs Act will repair and modernize at least 35,000 schools. It will put people to work right now fixing roofs and windows, installing science labs and high-speed Internet in classrooms all across this country. It will rehabilitate homes and businesses in communities hit hardest by foreclosures. It will jumpstart thousands of transportation projects all across the country. And to make sure the money is properly spent, we’re building on reforms we’ve already put in place. No more earmarks. No more boondoggles. No more bridges to nowhere. We’re cutting the red tape that prevents some of these projects from getting started as quickly as possible. And we’ll set up an independent fund to attract private dollars and issue loans based on two criteria: how badly a construction project is needed and how much good it will do for the economy. (Applause.)

This idea came from a bill written by a Texas Republican and a Massachusetts Democrat. The idea for a big boost in construction is supported by America’s largest business organization and America’s largest labor organization. It’s the kind of proposal that’s been supported in the past by Democrats and Republicans alike. You should pass it right away.

Pass this jobs bill, and thousands of teachers in every state will go back to work. These are the men and women charged with preparing our children for a world where the competition has never been tougher. But while they’re adding teachers in places like South Korea, we’re laying them off in droves. It’s unfair to our kids. It undermines their future and ours. And it has to stop. Pass this bill, and put our teachers back in the classroom where they belong. (Applause.)
Pass this jobs bill, and companies will get extra tax credits if they hire America’s veterans. We ask these men and women to leave their careers, leave their families, risk their lives to fight for our country. The last thing they should have to do is fight for a job when they come home. (Applause.)

Pass this bill, and hundreds of thousands of disadvantaged young people will have the hope and the dignity of a summer job next year. And their parents -- (applause) -- their parents, low-income Americans who desperately want to work, will have more ladders out of poverty.

Pass this jobs bill, and companies will get a $4,000 tax credit if they hire anyone who has spent more than six months looking for a job. (Applause.) We have to do more to help the long-term unemployed in their search for work. This jobs plan builds on a program in Georgia that several Republican leaders have highlighted, where people who collect unemployment insurance participate in temporary work as a way to build their skills while they look for a permanent job.

The plan also extends unemployment insurance for another year. (Applause.) If the millions of unemployed Americans stopped getting this insurance, and stopped using that money for basic necessities, it would be a devastating blow to this economy. Democrats and Republicans in this chamber have supported unemployment insurance plenty of times in the past. And in this time of prolonged hardship, you should pass it again -- right away. (Applause.)

Pass this jobs bill, and the typical working family will get a $1,500 tax cut next year. Fifteen hundred dollars that would have been taken out of your pocket will go into your pocket. This expands on the tax cut that Democrats and Republicans already passed for this year. If we allow that tax cut to expire -- if we refuse to act -- middle-class families will get hit with a tax increase at the worst possible time. We can’t let that happen. I know that some of you have sworn oaths to never raise any taxes on anyone for as long as you live. Now is not the time to carve out an exception and raise middle-class taxes, which is why you should *pass this bill right away. (Applause.)

* notice the urgency - is it another "Shock Doctrine" tactic to get something passed that may sound good at first, but contains hidden agendas (like de-funding Social Security and Medicare.)

This is the American Jobs Act. It will lead to new jobs for construction workers, for teachers, for veterans, for first responders, young people and the long-term unemployed. It will provide tax credits to companies that hire new workers, tax relief to small business owners, and tax cuts for the middle class. And here’s the other thing I want the American people to know: The American Jobs Act will not add to the deficit. It will be paid for. And here’s how. (Applause.)

The agreement we passed in July will cut government spending by about $1 trillion over the next 10 years. It also charges this Congress to come up with an additional $1.5 trillion in savings by Christmas. Tonight, I am asking you to *increase that amount so that it covers the full cost of the American Jobs Act. And a week from Monday, I’ll be releasing a more ambitious deficit plan -- a plan that will not only cover the cost of this jobs bill, but stabilize our debt in the long run. (Applause.)
This approach is basically the one I’ve been advocating for months. In addition to the trillion dollars of spending cuts I’ve already signed into law, it’s a balanced plan that would reduce the deficit by making additional spending cuts, by making modest adjustments to health care programs like Medicare and Medicaid, and by reforming our tax code in a way that asks the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations to pay their fair share. (Applause.) What’s more, the spending cuts wouldn’t happen so abruptly that they’d be a drag on our economy, or prevent us from helping small businesses and middle-class families get back on their feet right away.

Now, I realize there are some in my party who don’t think we should make any changes at all to Medicare and Medicaid, and I understand their concerns. But here’s the truth: Millions of Americans rely on Medicare in their retirement. And millions more will do so in the future. They pay for this benefit during their working years. They earn it. But with an aging population and rising health care costs, we are spending too fast to sustain the program. And if we don’t gradually reform the system while protecting current beneficiaries, it won’t be there when future retirees need it. *We have to reform Medicare* to strengthen it. (Applause.) 

*There it is! the red flag!

I am also -- I’m also well aware that there are many Republicans who don’t believe we should raise taxes on those who are most fortunate and can best afford it. But here is what every American knows: While most people in this country struggle to make ends meet, a few of the most affluent citizens and most profitable corporations enjoy tax breaks and loopholes that nobody else gets. Right now, Warren Buffett pays a lower tax rate than his secretary -- an outrage he has asked us to fix. (Laughter.) We need a tax code where everyone gets a fair shake and where everybody pays their fair share. (Applause.) And by the way, I believe the vast majority of wealthy Americans and CEOs are willing to do just that if it helps the economy grow and gets our fiscal house in order.

I’ll also offer ideas to reform a corporate tax code that stands as a monument to special interest influence in Washington. By eliminating pages of loopholes and deductions, we can lower one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. (Applause.) Our tax code should not give an advantage to companies that can afford the best-connected lobbyists. It should give an advantage to companies that invest and create jobs right here in the United States of America. (Applause.)
So we can reduce this deficit, pay down our debt, and pay for this jobs plan in the process. But in order to do this, we have to decide what our priorities are. We have to ask ourselves, “What’s the best way to grow the economy and create jobs?”

Should we keep tax loopholes for oil companies? Or should we use that money to give small business owners a tax credit when they hire new workers? Because we can’t afford to do both. Should we keep tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires? Or should we put teachers back to work so our kids can graduate ready for college and good jobs? (Applause.) Right now, we can’t afford to do both.

This isn’t political grandstanding. This isn’t class warfare This is simple math. (Laughter.) This is simple math. These are real choices. These are real choices that we’ve got to make. And I’m pretty sure I know what most Americans would choose. It’s not even close. And it’s time for us to do what’s right for our future. (Applause.)
Now, the American Jobs Act answers the urgent need to create jobs right away. But we can’t stop there. As I’ve argued since I ran for this office, we have to look beyond the immediate crisis and start building an economy that lasts into the future -- an economy that creates good, middle-class jobs that pay well and offer security. We now live in a world where technology has made it possible for companies to take their business anywhere. If we want them to start here and stay here and hire here, we have to be able to out-build and out-educate and out-innovate every other country on Earth. (Applause.

And this task of making America more competitive for the long haul, that’s a job for all of us. For government and for private companies. For states and for local communities -- and for every American citizen. All of us will have to up our game. All of us will have to change the way we do business.
My administration can and will take some steps to improve our competitiveness on our own. For example, if you’re a small business owner who has a contract with the federal government, we’re going to make sure you get paid a lot faster than you do right now. (Applause.) We’re also planning to cut away the red tape that prevents too many rapidly growing startup companies from raising capital and going public. And to help responsible homeowners, we’re going to work with federal housing agencies to help more people refinance their mortgages at interest rates that are now near 4 percent. That’s a step -- (applause) -- I know you guys must be for this, because that’s a step that can put more than $2,000 a year in a family’s pocket, and give a lift to an economy still burdened by the drop in housing prices.

So, some things we can do on our own. Other steps will require congressional action. Today you passed reform that will speed up outdated patent process, so that entrepreneurs can turn a new idea into a new business as quickly as possible. That’s the kind of action we need. Now it’s time to clear the way for a series of trade agreements that would make it easier for American companies to sell their products in Panama and Colombia and South Korea -– while also helping the workers whose jobs have been affected by global competition. (Applause.) If Americans can buy Kias and Hyundais, I want to see folks in South Korea driving Fords and Chevys and Chryslers. (Applause.) I want to see more products sold around the world stamped with the three proud words: “Made in America.” That’s what we need to get done. (Applause.)

And on all of our efforts to strengthen competitiveness, we need to look for ways to work side by side with America’s businesses. That’s why I’ve brought together a Jobs Council of leaders from different industries who are developing a wide range of new ideas to help companies grow and create jobs.
Already, we’ve mobilized business leaders to train 10,000 American engineers a year, by providing company internships and training. Other businesses are covering tuition for workers who learn new skills at community colleges. And we’re going to make sure the next generation of manufacturing takes root not in China or Europe, but right here, in the United States of America. (Applause) If we provide the right incentives, the right support -- and if we make sure our trading partners play by the rules -- we can be the ones to build everything from fuel-efficient cars to advanced biofuels to semiconductors that we sell all around the world. That’s how America can be number one again. And that’s how America will be number one again. (Applause.)

Now, I realize that some of you have a different theory on how to grow the economy. Some of you sincerely believe that the only solution to our economic challenges is to simplyeliminate most government regulations. (Applause (R)

Well, I agree that we can’t afford wasteful spending, and I’ll work with you, with Congress, to root it out. And I agree that there are some rules and regulations that do put an unnecessary burden on businesses at a time when they can least afford it. (Applause.) That’s why I ordered a review of all government regulations. So far, we’ve identified over 500 reforms, which will save billions of dollars over the next few years. (Applause.) *We should have no more regulation than the health, safety and security* of the American people require. Every rule should meet that common-sense test. (Applause.)

*Does this exclude environmental protections?

But what we can’t do -- what I will not do -- is let this economic crisis be used as an excuse to wipe out the basic protections that Americans have counted on for decades. (Applause.) I reject the idea that we need to ask people to choose between their jobs and their safety. I reject the argument that says for the economy to grow, we have to roll back protections that ban hidden fees by credit card companies, or rules that keep our kids from being exposed to mercury, or laws that prevent the health insurance industry from shortchanging patients. I reject the idea that we have to strip away collective bargaining rights to compete in a global economy. (Applause.) We shouldn’t be in a race to the bottom, where we try to offer the cheapest labor and the worst pollution standards. America should be in a race to the top. And I believe we can win that race. (Applause.)

fact, this larger notion that the only thing we can do to restore prosperity is just dismantle government, refund everybody’s money, and let everyone write their own rules, and tell everyone they’re on their own -- that’s not who we are. That’s not the story of America.
Yes, we are rugged individualists. Yes, we are strong and self-reliant. And it has been the drive and initiative of our workers and entrepreneurs that has made this economy the engine and the envy of the world.

But there’s always been another thread running throughout our history -- a belief that we’re all connected, and that there are some things we can only do together, as a nation.

We all remember Abraham Lincoln as the leader who saved our Union. Founder of the Republican Party. But in the middle of a civil war, he was also a leader who looked to the future -- a Republican President who mobilized government to build the Transcontinental Railroad -- (applause) -- launch the National Academy of Sciences, set up the first land grant colleges. (Applause.) And leaders of both parties have followed the example he set.

Ask yourselves -- where would we be right now if the people who sat here before us decided not to build our highways, not to build our bridges, our dams, our airports? What would this country be like if we had chosen not to spend money on public high schools, or research universities, or community colleges? Millions of returning heroes, including my grandfather, had the opportunity to go to school because of the G.I. Bill. Where would we be if they hadn’t had that chance? (Applause.)

How many jobs would it have cost us if past Congresses decided not to support the basic research that led to the Internet and the computer chip? What kind of country would this be if this chamber had voted down Social Security or Medicare just because it violated some rigid idea about what government could or could not do? (Applause.) How many Americans would have suffered as a result?
No single individual built America on their own. We built it together. We have been, and always will be, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all; a nation with responsibilities to ourselves and with responsibilities to one another. And members of Congress, it is time for us to meet our responsibilities. (Applause.)

Every proposal I’ve laid out tonight is the kind that’s been supported by Democrats and Republicans in the past. Every proposal I’ve laid out tonight will be paid for. And every proposal is designed to meet the urgent needs of our people and our communities.
Now, I know there’s been a lot of skepticism about whether the politics of the moment will allow us to pass this jobs plan -- or any jobs plan. Already, we’re seeing the same old press releases and tweets flying back and forth. Already, the media has proclaimed that it’s impossible to bridge our differences. And maybe some of you have decided that those differences are so great that we can only resolve them at the ballot box.
But know this: The next election is 14 months away. And the people who sent us here -- the people who hired us to work for them -- they don’t have the luxury of waiting 14 months. (Applause.) Some of them are living week to week, paycheck to paycheck, even day to day. They need help, and they need it now.

I don’t pretend that this plan will solve all our problems. It should not be, nor will it be, the last plan of action we propose. What’s guided us from the start of this crisis hasn’t been the search for a silver bullet. It’s been a commitment to stay at it -- to be persistent -- to keep trying every new idea that works, and listen to every good proposal, no matter which party comes up with it.

Regardless of the arguments we’ve had in the past, regardless of the arguments we will have in the future, this plan is the right thing to do right now. You should pass it. (Applause.) And I intend to take that message to every corner of this country. (Applause.) And I ask -- I ask every American who agrees to lift your voice: Tell the people who are gathered here tonight that you want action now. Tell Washington that doing nothing is not an option. Remind us that if we act as one nation and one people, we have it within our power to meet this challenge.

President Kennedy once said, “Our problems are man-made –- therefore they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants.”
These are difficult years for our country. But we are Americans. We are tougher than the times we live in, and we are bigger than our politics have been. So let’s meet the moment. Let’s get to work, and let’s show the world once again why the United States of America remains the greatest nation on Earth.
Thank you very much. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.

The GOP should be giddy; this plan cuts SS tax receipts in half. That's like a whole box of nails, and a power nail gun, for Social Security's coffin.





Just who is this non progressive, pretend Democrat president?

Will it be a Democrat who ultimately destroys the New Deal?



This payroll tax holiday seems none anything other than a cynical ploy to attack Social Security. (and perhaps Medicare too). These tax holidays serve to whittle away at the massive savings (over $2 trillion) of the Social Security Trust Fund to create an insolvency in Social Security where none would otherwise exist.

Tax cuts have already been far over used to stimulate the economy. Instead further tax cuts at this point constitute the same tired neocon / neoliberal mantra of making government smaller: and Obama has embraced this corrupt and malicious ideology full force.

The only reason these corrupt capitalists and corrupt politicians want to make government smaller is because when these necessary government functions can be privatized, the plutocrats take over from our democratically elected representatives and the profits from this monopoly commerce accrues to private interests rather than to the public treasury (costing us all dearly in terms of higher taxes or diminished government services).

A wolf in sheep's clothing?

Pay attention America -- The times they are a changing. 


ickenittle

Did he REALLY say this?

The time is coming to take out our pitchforks and use them.

This little gem comes from American Thinker's own Mathew Vadum in an article entitled:

Registering the poor to vote is unAmerican.

Why are left-wing activist groups so keen on registering the poor to vote?

Because they know the poor can be counted on to vote themselves more benefits by electing redistributionist politicians.  Welfare recipients are particularly open to demagoguery and bribery'

Registering them to vote is like handing out burglary tools to criminals.

Read the rest

unbelievable.

This guy is clearly a card carrying member of the " I got mine club."


ickenittle

What Consumer Confidence?

According to the corporate controlled info-tainment "news", consumer spending is on the rise right along with home values.

The recession is over!- the recession is over...yippee! Go buy stuff America!

So, if consumer spending is up- then why on earth would consumer confidence be in the gutter?

That depends on which consumers you ask.

Wall Street consumers are doing just fine and if things were viewed only through their eyes, well, America couldn't be doing any better. High-end durables are on the rise, while the consumption of low-end products have gone into the ditch.

Walmart sales are off, and even the Gap is complaining. The San Francisco-based company, the largest U.S. apparel chain, reported a 19 percent decline in second-quarter profit as price increases failed to keep up with higher costs to make clothes.

Confidence among average consumers of ordinary goods plunged in August to the lowest in over two years. Why? because real people see the light at the end of the tunnel- and that light's getting dim. There are no jobs, and they are almost out of money.

The Conference Board said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index fell to 44.5, down from a revised 59.2 in July. The number was the lowest level since April 2009 when the reading was 40.8. It also is far below the 53.3 that analysts had expected. A reading above 90 indicates the economy is on solid footing; above 100 signals strong growth.

In other words unless you are one of the fabulously rich you are probably pretty pessimistic. And who wouldn't be? The labor market has weakened and the stock market is suffering from chronic arrhythmia.

An arrhythmia (ah-RITH-me-ah) is a problem with the rate or rhythm of the heartbeat. During an arrhythmia, the heart can beat too fast, too slow, or with an irregular rhythm.

Way back in 2007 the consumer confidence level was at 90, which was normal, until the 2008 financial crunch and it fell to on the average 71-73..or the new normal.

Now this old normal is looking good compared to our new-new normal, which means we might soon be looking at the crisis in 2008 as " the good old days."

Consumer confidence could be called  jobs' outlook, which is directly proportional to employment rates, which are also at all time lows.
Jobs' picture equals consumer confidence and since the jobs' outlook sucks, so does consumer confidence. Even if you have a job, the concern is the economy isn’t going to get any better unless, and until, jobs are regained, and since they’re not and everything is in the toilet, the only sound left to hear is swoosh as everyone’s status of living decreases 40%, except for the top 1%, who get the slave labor they’ve always wanted.

On the upside, however,

Home canning is on the rise across the nation, with industry data claiming a 35 percent increase in home canning supplies over the past three years. Canning blogs are popping up all over the Internet, and canning swap meets are being coordinated in some parts of the country for canners to trade jars and recipes.


What's your favorite home canning recipe?

Pickled beets is mine.

Some beet facts:

Beets are highly nutritious and “cardiovascular health” friendly root vegetables. Certain unique pigment antioxidants present in this plant have found to offer protection against coronary artery disease and stroke, lower cholesterol levels in the body and have anti-aging effects.

So look on the bright-side.

Update:  The economy has ground to a halt with the latest jobs report  This is the first time since 1945 that the government has reported a net monthly job change of zero.

Well, so much fot that "looking on the bright-side comment."

Sheesh.


ickenittle