The Independent

The Fed's Zero Rate Policy Is Destroying America : ..."Today the situation is reversed. Non-commercial demand for dollars is collapsing in much of the global economy, in part because the Fed is transferring something like three quarters of a trillion dollars annually from individual and corporate savers to the Wall Street banks"

msnbc video: Bank of America reviews foreclosure documents

Linda Foley Identity Theft Resource Center Keep your Social Security number’s last four digits secret. You are only legally required to give out your Social Security number (SSN) when applying for new financial accounts, to an employer or for governmental purposes. The last four digits combined with your name and address could be used to obtain a wealth of information. Safety: Ask why a company would need your SSN -- if you are not comfortable with the answer, seek an alternative company or use another means of ID. Bottom Line/Retirement interviewed Linda Foley, founder, Identity Theft Resource Center, San Diego, www.idtheftcenter.org.

This past Wednesday marked the three month anniversary of ObamaCare being rushed through Congress and signed into law. As Speaker Pelosi famously stated that “we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it,” Americans are beginning to dislike the health care law more and more as its harrowing details are unveiled. Although the Majority claimed the health care law would reduce premiums by $2,500, in actuality it is expected to raise premiums by as much as $2,100, according to the Congressional Budget Office. In addition, during debate of the bill, Democrats claimed their government takeover of the health care sector would create millions of new jobs. However, according to a study by the National Federation of Independent Business, the health care law’s employer mandate could eliminate 1.6 million jobs through 2014, with 66 percent of those coming from small businesses. Because the health care law raises health care costs and kills jobs, among other atrocities, Con...

THE BLUEPRINT by WAYNE ALLYN ROOT , classmate Barach Obama is no fool. He is not incompetent. To the contrary, he is brilliant. He knows exactly what he's doing. He is purposely overwhelming the U.S. economy to create systemic failure, economic crisis and social chaos -- thereby destroying capitalism and our country from within. Barack Obama is my college classmate (Columbia University, class of '83). As Glenn Beck correctly predicted from day one, Obama is following the plan of Cloward & Piven, two professors at Columbia University. They outlined a plan to socialize America by overwhelming the system with government spending and entitlement demands. Add up the clues below. Taken individually they're alarming. Taken as a whole, it is a brilliant, Machiavellian game plan to turn the United States into a socialist/Marxist state with a permanent majority that desperately needs government for survival ... and can be counted on to always vote for bigger gove...

HJTA, California Pension Reform Score a Major Victory for the Taxpayers Judge orders Orange County Employees Retirement System to turn over public records detailing public employee pensions SACRAMENTO --- Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and the California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility (also known as “California Pension Reform”) have won a key victory in the battle against out-of-control pensions for state and local bureaucrats. A judge in Orange County has ordered the Orange County Employees Retirement System (OCERS) to turn over information on the lavish pensions of bureaucrats. OCERS must release the names, gross pension amounts, and the last employing agency from which the worker retired. “This is a great day for every taxpayer in the state of California who is fed up with subsidizing cushy retirement programs for government bureaucrats, and who wants to know the whole truth about what we’re paying for,” said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Associati...

Senate Republican Leader Dennis Hollingsworth (R-Murrieta) and Senator Bob Dutton (R-Rancho Cucamonga) issued the following statements concerning state budget deliberations. Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth - Senate Republican Leader: "The budget proposals Democrats have put forward so far are financially irresponsible or illegal. Only Governor Schwarzenegger has proposed a legal budget proposal that closes the $19 billion deficit without raising taxes. We share the same goals: fix the budget by reducing spending and without raising taxes, reform some of the biggest looming problems, and get the economy moving again by bringing jobs back to California." Sen. Bob Dutton - Vice Chairman, Senate Budget Committee: "I've become increasingly frustrated during this budget process because it has become clear that the only solutions Democrats have offered to close the $19 billion deficit are a mix of accounting maneuvers and tax increases. In fact, the Assembly Democrats' pr...

This week, President Obama embarked on a public relations offensive hoping to convince skeptical Americans that the Democrats’ health care overhaul is good for them.  First up, the President held a nationally televised question-and-answer session with seniors to highlight the one-time, $250 rebate check that relatively few seniors will receive if they reach the Medicare Part D donut hole this year.  In fact, more than 9 in 10 Medicare beneficiaries will never receive one of these checks. Despite the PR campaign, the problem remains in the policy.  According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the $250 one-time check pales in comparison to the $8,980 per senior cut in Medicare spending under the law over the next ten years.  Because the new health care law harms seniors by slashing Medicare, Congressman Miller and his Republican colleagues will continue to fight to repeal the law.   

By Adam B. Summers and Jon Coupal  California’s $19 billion budget deficit seems to worsen by the day, but an even larger financial crisis is brewing in the state’s pension system. Over the last two decades, state lawmakers have bestowed massive pension and benefit increases upon government workers. Unfortunately, taxpayers are now getting the bills for these handouts. Recent studies estimate California has $500 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, not to mention over $50 billion in unfunded retiree health care liabilities. It’s important for the state to recognize how it got into this fiscal disaster—and how to get out of it.   California’s public pension and retiree health and dental care expenditures have quintupled since fiscal year 1998-99, going from about $1 billion to $5 billion this year. And retirement spending is expected to triple again—to $15 billion—within the next decade.  Part of the problem is the growth of state governmen...

This Could be the US within Years Let’s see… Greece is having trouble with unfunded liabilities, runaway debt and constituents that demand they live off the public largess while much of the world recognizes that the current situation as unsustainable. I don’t see how the US is much different. While there are rosy projections that we’ll eventually be decreasing our deficit over the next few years if all goes well, what’s clear even in the most optimistic government models is that in 2030 and beyond we have a runaway situation. We’re seeing states and municipalities struggling to control debt and most of it stems from the overly generous pension and healthcare obligations they’ve made to generations of public-sector workers that is unsustainable. While the private sector has cut jobs, real wages and forced increased employee contributions to benefits for a decade, public workers have pretty much maintained the status quo as if they live in a vacuum. I can’t blame the worke...

By Jon Coupal For those who work in the private sector, the dream of enjoying  a comfortable retirement has become just that -- a dream. The impact of the recession continues to be brutal, especially on older workers. “More than seven-in-ten (72 percent) workers over the age of 60 who said they are putting off their retirement are doing so because they can’t afford to retire,” according to a recent survey by CareerBuilder.  In California, with unemployment and under employment totaling over 21 percent – only Michigan with its decaying auto industry is worse off – older people being forced to work longer may regard themselves as lucky just to have a job. This is not a concern for those who enjoy the job security of working for California government.  The highest paid public workers in all 50 states -- some of whom are able to retire as many 15 years earlier than the private sector average with pensions nearing full time-pay -- continue to be shie...

The House on Thursday passed the Puerto Rico Democracy Act to authorize a federally-sanctioned vote of the people of Puerto Rico regarding their political future. While under current law, Puerto Rico can conduct a vote anytime to determine their voting status, under the legislation, a two-step voting process would occur. The first vote would allow the people of Puerto Rico to choose between selecting a “different political status” or maintaining their “present political status” as a U.S. territory with commonwealth status. If the majority of the people vote in favor of a “different political status”, then a second vote would be held allowing Puerto Ricans to choose between four options: independence, commonwealth, free association with the U.S., or statehood. While Congressman Miller believes the people of Puerto Rico should be able to go to the ballot box to express their views on their future political status, he opposed the bill because it contains serious flaws. Among these fl...

Last week, the chief actuary of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) concluded that under Obamacare half of all seniors who have Medicare Advantage plans will lose their coverage.  Created in 2003, Medicare Advantage (MA) makes Medicare payments to private insurers seeking to provide health insurance to  America ’s seniors as a substitute to traditional Medicare coverage.  Under Medicare Advantage, the beneficiary pays traditional Medicare premiums and sometimes an additional premium for the extra benefits that may be provided under their new plan.  Under the new government-run health care system, CMS estimates that in 2017 – when the MA provisions will be fully phased in – enrollment in MA plans will be lower from its projected level of 14.8 million under the prior law to 7.4 million under the new law.  This will greatly affect seniors across the country.  In fact, in California ’s 42nd Congressional District, over 31,000 seniors rely on MA plans to meet their health car...

San Francisco Chronicle SFGate America's political Grand Canyon Debra Saunders Thursday, April 29, 2010 Let me lead with what should be an unremarkable observation: Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer did not write federal immigration laws that require permanent residents to carry green cards, employers to check documentation or limit the number of legal immigrants admitted each year. Washington did. But because Washington has failed to enforce those rules, Brewer signed into law a bill passed by the Arizona legislature to beef up and expand enforcement of federal immigration law. Yet the law went too far. While a good chunk of the law penalizes employers who hire illegal immigrants - a good thing - the bill also allows local cops to question anyone suspected of being unlawfully in the United States and essentially bans sanctuary city laws in Arizona. One might think that only those who break immigration law need fear such a measure, especially given its ban on investigations based ...

96.5% of Mortgages Backed by Government entities in Q1 by CalculatedRisk on 5/01/2010 08:42:00 AM From Nick Timiraos at the WSJ: U.S. Role in Mortgage Market Grows Even Larger Government-related entities backed 96.5% of all home loans during the first quarter, up from 90% in 2009, according to Inside Mortgage Finance. The following graph from San Francisco Fed Senior Economist John Krainer puts this in perspective (from Oct 2009): Recent Developments in Mortgage Finance As the U.S. housing market has moved from boom in the middle of the decade to bust over the past two years, the sources of mortgage funding have changed dramatically. The government-sponsored enterprises—Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae—now own or guarantee an overwhelming share of originations. At the same time, non-agency mortgage securitization and loans retained in lender portfolios have largely dried up. Click on graph for slightly larger in new window. This is figure 3 from the Economic Letter....

Brit Hume, Fox News Channel Senior Political Analyst, On Arizona's Immigration Law: "The President says the Arizona law is 'misguided.' His attorney general says it's 'unfortunate.' In San Francisco, they're talking about boycotting the state. Al Sharpton is on the way to lead marches and Linda Greenhouse, the esteemed legal affairs commentator of The New York Times, says she will boycott Arizona because, she says, it is now a police state where 'breathing while undocumented' is a crime... "But it's already a federal crime to enter the U.S. illegally. The new law just makes it a state crime, too... "In fact, once you actually read this law, it becomes clear the fuss over it has little to do with breathing in Arizona and a lot to do with hyperventilating in Washington."

Sen. Harry Reid goes to a local GM dealer in Washington , D.C. with the intention of buying a brand new vehicle. Harry looks around and finds one he likes. After going back and forth with the salesman, Harry settles on a price of $45,000. Harry and the salesman go back to the office to complete the paperwork. Harry works out a 4-year payment plan, and signs on the bottom line. The salesman shakes Harry's hand and says, "Thanks Senator Reid, the car will be ready for pickup in 4 years." Harry says, "What are you talking about? Where are the keys to my new car?" The salesman replies, "No, you don't understand Senator. You make payments for 4 years... THEN we give you the car. You know, just like your health plan." Harry, with a choking voice, says to the salesman, "But that's not fair." And the salesman says without any hesitation, doubt or embarrassment:  WELL, NO SHIT!

We learned Monday that the Central Planners have proposed a $3.8 trillion budget, with $2.0 trillion of tax increases, $1.0 trillion coming by increasing income taxes on families who earn more than $250,000. For those of you earning $250,000 in your families, which is about $125,000 after taxes using current tax rates, I ask you the question, are you rich? You are paying $1,200 a month in health insurance, paying $40,000 a year in college tuition with no scholarship help because you make too much money, and had 40 percent of your stock investments and 20 percent of your real estate investments wiped out the past three years. You pay three times as much in real estate taxes on the same home you lived in ten years ago. Are you rich? You work for a firm that could downsize or go bankrupt at any moment. Are you rich? Government tax revenues decline due to economic recession, and government spending increases because that is what Central Planners do under the guise of stimulating the econom...

... The Senate defeated a measure that would have established a commission mandated to highlight duplicative or wasteful spending by federal government departments and agencies. On Tuesday, lawmakers voted down the creation of a commission to recommend the spending cuts and tax increases necessary to move the federal budget deficit back toward manageable levels. Mr. Obama pledged to create such a commission using his executive authority. Lawmakers of both parties have said this approach wouldn't be effective as the president can't oblige Congress to hold a vote on such a commission's recommendation. Taking the task of resolving the long-term fiscal imbalances from Congress' hands is an idea that has been around for years. As the nation's fiscal position has worsened, the concept has gained steam. Write to Corey Boles at corey.boles@dowjones.com

* The Wall Street Journal * JANUARY 28, 2010, 1:53 P.M. ET Senate Approves Amendment to Raise Debt Ceiling by $1.9 Trillion By COREY BOLES WASHINGTON—The Senate approved legislation Thursday increasing the federal government's borrowing limit by $1.9 trillion, enough to enable the Treasury to pay its bills through 2010. The 60-39 vote was strictly along party lines with no Republicans joining the Democratic majority to approve the legislation. Once the increase is signed into law, the federal government will be able to borrow up to $14.3 trillion, by far the highest amount of debt it has ever held on its books. The current limit of around $12.4 trillion would have been breached by the end of February. House lawmakers must still take up the legislation and are expected to do so next week, according to a senior House Democratic aide. The increase comes just over a month after Congress upped the borrowing cap by $290 billion from its previous limit of $12.1 trillion. A vote to...

The Loft > Will Tea Party Activists Bring an End to RINOs? Will Tea Party Activists Bring an End to RINOs? Posted By Bobby Eberle On January 25, 2010 at 9:01 am Last week, Scott Brown showed that running a campaign built on conservative principles could not only win, but it could win in the bluest of blue states. His platform keyed in on the frustration felt by Tea Party activists that the federal government is out of control. He made Barack Obama and left-wing policies his targets, and he won. But what does it mean for the future? The answer is simple; it means that the so-called Republicans in Name Only (RINOs) should beware. Actually, any Washington incumbent should probably be sleeping with one eye open as we move into the primary election season, but those Republicans who put politics over principle and helped pave the way to massive spending should be particularly troubled. In order to truly change Washington, there needs to be a fresh approach. You can't do that with stal...

Schwarzenegger's effort to release 40,000 prisoners put on hold by Supreme Court [Updated] | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times January 19, 2010 | 8:18 am Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's effort to release more than 40,000 prison inmates in California was placed on hold -- at least temporarily -- by the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court left unclear today the status of a court order in California that calls for the release of the prisoners to relieve overcrowding. The Republican governor wants to release the prisoners as part of an effort to reduce the state's nearly $20-billion budget deficit. The justices said they did not have jurisdiction to hear an appeal filed by Schwarzenegger, but said the prisoner-release order had been put on hold "pending review by this court." That suggests the justices may revisit the issue later. -- David G. Savage

California single-payer plan advances Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau Friday, January 22, 2010 (01-22) 04:00 PST Sacramento - As national health care reform grew more uncertain, the California Legislature on Thursday pushed forward a controversial proposal to create a single-payer health system in the state. The Senate Appropriations Committee voted 6-3 along party lines, with Democrats in favor of the proposal, which will be considered by the full Senate next week. The vote came two days after Massachusetts voters elected a Republican U.S. senator to fill the seat long held by Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy - putting President Obama's national health bill in jeopardy. Backers of the California plan said the timing was coincidental and due to legislative timelines. But political observers said the vote could come back to hurt state Democrats in November and viewed the move as motivated by the turmoil in Washington, D.C. Similar incarnations of the Cali...

For those with a sense of "math" humor... A teacher was arrested today at John F. Kennedy International Airport as he attempted to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a compass, a slide-rule and a calculator. At a morning press conference, the Attorney General said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-Gebra movement. He did not identify the man, who has been charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction. "Al-Gebra is a problem for us," the Attorney General said. "They derive solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in search of absolute values." They use secret code names like 'X' and 'Y' and refer to themselves as "unknowns", but we have determined that they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country. As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say, ''There are 3 sides to every triangle...

January 8, 2010 By Jon Coupal For a decade, California state government has spent more than it receives in revenue. The result? Our state has the lowest credit rating of all 50 states, we rank in the top four in unemployment, near the top in tax burden per capita, and we rank last or close to last in a number of surveys that measure business climate. Not coincidentally, California small business bankruptcies are up 81% over last year. For lawmakers, spending is a compulsion. During the historic recall campaign of 2003, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who correctly labeled the spending problem as an addiction, promised he would be the antidote. His pledge to “blow up the boxes” and bring fiscal sanity to Sacramento led voters to support his candidacy by a huge margin. Sadly, and perhaps predictably, the spending terminator quickly succumbed to a more regional strain of the Beltway fog – some have even likened it to the Stockholm Syndrome where, after just a few months in office, elected o...

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"The government is spending money like it is going out of style," groans one justifiably disgruntled reader. "Part of reason is huge pay to government employees and corruption by Congress. "Data from Cato Institute of Federal Pay Vs Private (i.e. taxpayers) shows federal pay and benefits in 2008 of $119,982 vs. $59,909 private industry. Twice as high! And, the gap is growing fast. A decade ago, the average federal civilian employee earned 66% more in wages and benefits than the average private taxpayer. Today, it is double. In 2009 Federal Government budget for wages is up 3%, while private employees are losing their jobs and pay is being reduced. And, state and local town employees are paid about 35% more than private taxpayers. "Is that fair for taxpayers to be supporting Federal pay double their own?" the reader goes on to ask. "The federal employees are now the elite, upper class - like in Russia. It is the reason why Washington and s...

MEXICO UNDER SIEGE Wife of slain El Monte civic leader tells how night out with friends morphed into horror - latimes.com 'You never think this kind of thing can happen . . . to innocent people,' Betzy Salcedo says.