Thursday, January 17, 2008

None So Blind

Were you aware that you owed roughly $500,000 dollars as your part of the "National Debt"? Were you also aware that your government has been lying to you about that same debt? Using 3 sets of books for their accounting purposes the US Government has understated the debt by $50 TRILLION. The US government would have you believe that the Debt is a measly $9.19 trillion. If a corporation or small business kept their books in such a manner they would already be in prison and their company would be defunct.

The real current National Debt is $59 Trillion dollars and growing by the day. It may well have already reached the point where this country cannot even afford to pay the interest on this debt. This is not something you're likely to hear on the evening news since the powers that be would much rather the public stayed ignorant of the truth. If the truth of the matter were well known those who valued their families would likely break out the torches and ropes. US Today reported on the matter last year and guess what? Not a peep from the establishment or the other media.

Modern accounting requires that corporations, state governments and local governments count expenses immediately when a transaction occurs, even if the payment will be made later.

The federal government does not follow the rule, so promises for Social Security and Medicare don't show up when the government reports its financial condition.

Bottom line: Taxpayers are now on the hook for a record $59.1 trillion in liabilities, a 2.3% increase from 2006. That amount is equal to $516,348 for every U.S. household. By comparison, U.S. households owe an average of $112,043 for mortgages, car loans, credit cards and all other debt combined.

Unfunded promises made for Medicare, Social Security and federal retirement programs account for 85% of taxpayer liabilities. State and local government retirement plans account for much of the rest.

This hidden debt is the amount taxpayers would have to pay immediately to cover government's financial obligations. Like a mortgage, it will cost more to repay the debt over time. Every U.S. household would have to pay about $31,000 a year to do so in 75 years.

Your elected representatives have screwed us and continue to screw us. With every dollar they spend on ANYTHING that debt grows some more. Our children will be no more than indentured servants, more like slaves in reality in order to pay this debt. We also shall have to pay our part as it is going to be coming due with a vengeance as the Boomers retire and start collecting all of their "benefits" like Social Security and Medicare.

Tax rates in this country will be skyrocketing as reality catches up with the obligations the power brokers have taken on in our names. There is a solution, according to the government, tho. They allude to it in the US Today article, (it's their "reason" for not including SS and the like in calculations).
The White House and the Congressional Budget Office oppose the change, arguing that the programs are not true liabilities because government can cancel or cut them.
Cancel and cut Social Security and Medicare. That'll go over real well, eh?

The Comptroller of the US, (the head bean counter at the GAO) has been speaking about this debt for years and, for years he has been ignored. He even went so far as to create a "Menu of Delayed Pain" to insert into the budget back in 2003. The powers that be removed it. He did manage to get it inserted in the back of a Social Security budget, tho. It gives you an idea of what is necessary to fix things. It ain't pretty.

Menu of Delayed Pain
  • Increase Federal Income Taxes: 2003 - 69% 2008 - 74%
  • Increase Payroll Taxes: 2003 - 95% 2008 - 103%
  • Cut Federal Purchases: 2003 - 106% 2008 - 115%
  • Cut Social Security and Medicare: 2003 - 45% 2008 - 47%
The Menu shows what needed to be done in 2003, when he first started sounding the alarm bells. The 2008 figures show what we need to do right now. Doesn't look very nice, does it? The government actually needs to start selling "its" assets. They have to cease their wars, foreign aid and spending. They must downsize. You know what, tho? Nothing's going to be done this year. Or next year. Or the one after that. Politicians are notably silent on this matter and will continue their silence until it is too late and we reach a tipping point. If we do reach a tipping point we will likely be looking at an economic catastrophe that makes 1928 pale in comparison.

The politicians are silent, along with their partners in the media. With one exception. CNN's Glenn Beck has actually had the Comptroller on his show to highlight the situation. Judging from the stunning silence it looks like no-one cares. Perhaps they'll care when the house of cards comes crashing down. Perhaps they'll care when they realise what has been done to future generations of Americans. All in the name of expanding government power. Perhaps we'll get lucky and the masses who are currently hypnotised by American Idol, Oprah and the race for the White House will finally wake the hell up and grab their pitchforks. I'm not going to hold my breath for any of those, tho.




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Wednesday, January 16, 2008

They Are Not Your Friends. They Are The Enemy.

How often do gun owners need to be told this? Republicans, Democrats and politicians in general are not your friends. Few of them take a pro-gun stance as anything other than an election year tactic. And it should be abundantly clear by now that the bureaucrats in D.C. certainly are not our friends, especially those in the law enforcement sector. So, why should it come as any surprise when George Bush sends his Solicitor General to the Supreme Court to side with the anti 2nd Amendment forces arrayed against the upcoming case of District of Columbia v. Heller?

George Bush is no friend of the 2nd Amendment. Few politicians are. I, for one don't understand how gun owners kept voting for him. What did he ever do for us? He was eagerly awaiting a chance to sign the AWB, but was thwarted by the grass roots efforts of folks like the GOA, (the NRA was, until the very last minute in favour of the AWB being re-instated so they could get a piece of pet legislation passed. The NRA are also not your friends). Beyond this what has he actually done for us? Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zero.

Right now there are actually gun owners out there defending Republicans where your gun rights are concerned. I can't imagine a greater incidence of delusion. Defending any politician where guns are concerned is sheer folly. They will all surrender your rights, take them, infringe them or just flat out refuse them at any time, for the sake of "political expediency". This instance is all about power, (as are most of them) and its maintenance by the so-called Department of Justice.

John Lott cut straight to the heart of the matter.
Worried about the possibility that a Supreme Court decision supporting the Second Amendment as an individual right could “cast doubt on the constitutionality of existing federal legislation,” the Department of Justice felt it necessary to head off any restrictions on government power right at the beginning.
Politicians crave power. It doesn't matter if they are already ensconced in the halls of power or are currently seeking to be the ultimate power broker in the form of the Presidency. They continuously tell gun owners what we wish to hear. It's long past the time that gun owners woke up to this fact and acted accordingly.
Unfortunately, it may take an uprising by voters to rein in the Justice Department.
Unfortunately, Mr. Lott may only be partially correct in his final statement. Voting is unlikely to change things and voting for Republicrats is especially useless.

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