A Fundamental Problem...

One of the stark realities addressing U.S. citizens is the unwarranted, reckless excess governmental spending and never-ending printing of more US Dollars to supply this frenzy.

This CNBC.com article was passed on from my good friend Andrey, in Moscow, Russia:

Jim Rogers talks commodities at the World Money Show in London.

"The dollar's days as the world's reserve currency are numbered, Rogers said at the World Money Show conference in London.
The greenback faces serious devaluation as spiraling national debt and a worsening economic crisis undermine it, he said. America's growing debt problem is "out of control" and Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke's strategy of printing money is a "terrible policy," he said. Bernanke "does not understand economics, he does not understand markets … he is going to run those printing presses until we run out of trees," he added. "

Here is the link to the full article: http://www.cnbc.com/id/27717135

Perhaps a bit dramatic, but the cause for concern is very real.

I will state this simply: If you can identify a government representative (President, Senator, House Rep., etc.) who insists on continuing to spend and print money that the US Treasury doesn't have, then you also have identified an enemy to you and your family, as well as an enemy of the State.

We now see how there is absolutely ZERO visibility on the TARP Bailout. They simply carved out $750B to spend as they see fit with absolutely no accountability from Congress nor the recipients of said bailout.

It is time to start bringing these enemies and their failed policies to the forefront. We need to determine a course of action to liberate this country (once again) from Taxation Without Representation. It is not King George we should worry about this time, it is George W. Bush, Barry Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reed, and Ben Bernanke... Can you identify any other enemies of the State? It's like shooting fish in a barrel, give it a try!

Geo. W. Bush's fiscal policies (as well as that of the US Congress over the last 8 years) speaks for itself: It is a national tragedy. However, if you think a vote for Barry Obama was a ticket to freedom, you are sadly mistaken. His wanton spending policies and need for money that doesn't exist will be the capstone to this failed fiscal methodology...

Time for this to end...

Best,

Mike

On "Hope and Change"...

Friends,

I have been asked a lot over the past week about "why don't I give Obama a chance?" and "what if he does turn it around?", etc.

First, let me ask a few questions: If you were flying on a commercial flight would you want a pilot who "hopes" he can land the aircraft? Or would you prefer to have one who knows he can?

Would you go to a heart surgeon who "hopes" he can make a "change" for the better with your arteries? Or one who knows he can cure you?

In the corporate world, executives are not selected for their ability to "hope for change", they are selected for their ability to execute a measurable, demonstrable improvement. If they fail, they are fired - simple as that.

Somehow, some have allowed themselves as voters to be convinced to let someone "hope to change" the Nation's economic woes and lack of ability to govern itself effectively and responsibly. We "hope" he will do some good... What about making this "hope for change" a mandate? Or is that too much to ask of somebody? Are we going soft on on an even softer candidate? Seems to me that we are...

As to the original questions posed by many: "Why don't I give Obama a chance?" and "What if he does turn it around?"

My rationale is simple for what I forecast will be (another) failed administration... Follow me for a moment:

We are, by the estimation of most credible economists, heading for receding growth as a country as measured by GDP (forecast to decline over the next two years to as low as 1.8% or even 1.5% growth). Yes, that is a recession, folks...

Given a declining GDP, we can also assume that Corporate Tax, Capital Gains, and, likely, Personal Income tax revenues to the US via the IRS/treasury will be on the wane (assuming the Tax rates are left the same).

Now, if you accept that fact pattern, let's examine the new administration's platform going forward and see how it interlocks with the above logic. Barry (and his crack team) have promised the following:

• Personal Tax rates will increase for Personal Income Tax rates at somewhere around $250K per annum income. ($97K if you consider FICA a Tax - I do)


• Corporate Tax Rates will increase, to include F500 level firms down to small business levels.


• He will initiate a sequence of "Bailouts", "Emergency Measures", and other Income Redistribution programs. (We have already seen evidence of this new approach to capital destruction via the current Congress).


• He will increase spending and programs without regard to current record Federal Budget Deficits and a US Debt to GDP ratio nearing 50% (Wow!!! =-0)

So, given this stated policy of the new administration and the current global economic situation, it leaves us with only a couple possibilities:

• Possibility 1: Barry will raise taxes, as promised and place additional burden on jobs creation and capital investment into new business opportunities. This, coupled with no stated desire or plan to cut other federal-level expenditures to lower the record expenditures of the current and future Congress, both of which will exacerbate the Federal Budget Deficit and National Debt, while further weakening the US Dollar and the Nation's economy.


• Possibility 2: No (or few) tax increases and moderate cuts on Programs and Bailouts. Not very likely and this would, of course, render Barry a liar on his campaign pledges. Not a likely scenario, but we must consider the possibilities!

So, possibility 1 is essentially a roadmap for failure without a real chance for "Hope" of "Change". His only real hope is to have massive shift in the US (and Global) Economy into a real growth situation, such as the one Bill Clinton experienced in the 90's. That likelihood is, however, outside the boundaries of current mainstream economic thinking.

So to answer the questions posed: "why don't I give Obama a chance?" and "what if he does turn it around?"

I don't give him a chance because he has not given himself a chance for success. There will be a combination of lies and failed policy (sounds familiar, no?) as a result of his flawed and misguided plans. He won't turn it around because the building blocks for success are threefold and Barry misses on all three counts:

1. Restore the US dollar's strength through budget deficit reduction and US debt payback.


2. Reduce all taxes to stimulate economic growth.


3. Create visibility into Congressional Spending and mandate a balanced budget and a path to US Debt reduction.

Barry sees it differently and the country will suffer as a result.

(With "Hope" for the) Best,

Mike

The Street Votes: "No Confidence"

Short post here...

Today's Market reaction to the news of Barry Obama's victory was swift and sure:

"The stock market posted its biggest plunge following a presidential election as reports on jobs and service industries stoked concern the economy will worsen even as President-elect Barack Obama tries to stimulate growth.

The S&P 500 tumbled 52.98 points, or 5.3 percent, to 952.77, erasing yesterday's 4.1 percent rally. The Dow retreated 486.01, or 5.1 percent, to 9,139.27. The Russell 2000 Index of small U.S. companies fell 5.7 percent to 514.64. The MSCI World Index of 23 developed markets decreased 2.5 percent to 982.98. "

Here is the complete article from Bloomberg:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aj_ayFUP0riQ&refer=home

To be generous, there were also other factors for today's drop, but the "Hope and Change" promised will clearly not be immediate.

Best,

Mike

A Confederacy of Dunces...

...or League of Morons?

Hard to choose between John Kennedy Toole's classic Southern Novel or John Malkovich's brilliant character's utterance in The Coen Brothers' film Burn After Reading.

I'll choose the latter as I can still hear Malkovich uttering the words "League of Morons" with such sublime disdain... However, though you can choose phrases, you are stuck with the results that the League of Morons, otherwise known as 52% of the voting populace of the US who cast a ballot for Barry Obama (who will quickly inherit the "worst President in the history of the USA" mantle from George W. Bush).

How can you say that, Mike? He went to Harvard! He must be smart! Yes, and so begins the many parallels between the last president and Barry O.

Let's explore some of them, shall we?:

Each are readily able to gut their opponents in back alley inter-party dealings and sell it under the guise of "party unity". Just like a young Dubya's crew did to McCain back in 2000 in New Hampshire ("Live Free or Die" State gives Obama its delegates? Are you kidding me? Time to recall the State motto and press some new license plates, no?!?), so does a Barry-infatuated Democratic party gut the Clinton's in 2008. More party unity you ask, well let's explore the world of Will Bower, founder of PUMA (Party Unity My Ass) in this CNN article:

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/04/puma-founder-obama-is-democrats-bush/

"I see Barack Obama as essentially being the Democratic George Bush," Bower said. "It's a reactionary movement. People like John McCain and Hillary Clinton represent mores stability and sensibility to me."

Gotta love that kind of "Hope and Change"!

But let's get to brass tacks now... Until now George W. Bush presided over the largest increase in Federal Spending in history, destroying the Clinton-led surplus created in the 90's. Shameful, at best, this mismanagement condemns Dubya to the RINO (Republican in Name Only) Gallery of Buffoons. Sure the tax cuts were a good start, but not coupled with the spending debacle.

Now, the "League of Morons" (or did we decide on Confederacy of Dunces?) has elected a dilettante, lackluster, small-town journeyman as President of the United States. His main approach to solving the woes of the US? Raise taxes, increase federal spending, and add millions of illegal aliens to the citizenry further impacting the federal benefits depleted state. raise taxes in a Recession? Are you kidding me?!? Harvard?

Let's see... The Rookie will stride into the Oval Office, high on the glib press adulation and fresh full of ideas from recent meetings with Oprah and Gail (Haven't seen much of Steadman these days...) and will promptly be worked over by Nancy Pelosi and Combover Joe, representing the House and Senate to sponsor and sell the American Public a few more of these inane US Mint printing press exercises called "Economic Stimulus Packages". Why, Nancy is already talking about upping her $150B version to $500B. WTF?!?

Can someone please explain to me how more Treasury Bond issuance will strengthen the US Dollar and assist the US Taxpayer? Oh yes, that's right... Barry will shift the tax burden to the large corporations, the high income and net worth individuals, and small business owners and they will happily absorb the demented budget overruns that continue to be signed into law by these slaphappy, drunken-sailor Democratic lawmakers. Well, here's the thinly veiled secret: Corporations will find even more creative ways to shuffle profits and relocate earnings and HQ's, individuals will defer capital gains recognition and defer salaries, and small business owners will... Hmmmn... Well, they will just have to take it on the chin since they can do neither of the above. Well, they can always just cut costs by reducing employee headcount.

A happy tale, yes? Well buckle your seat belts, it gets much worse: The budget deficit is now 7% of the US GDP (most respectable economists would classify 5% as "code red"). The national debt is 38% of GDP, not the highest by percentage in history, but certainly the highest in absolute terms...

Further, The Economist Magazine of Oct. 25th 2008 (not the most Conservative publication in the Universe!) reports the following, "... much of the deficit is still financed by foreigners, and global capital flows are now being rocked by the financial crisis. The next President will no doubt find deficits of 7% or more of GDP sobering enough. Without a plan for cutting that high figure back once the financial crisis and the recession pass - and with the inexorable climb in Medicare and Social Security costs as the Baby Boomers retire, now underway - investors may need to be compensated much more than they are now to keep on buying America's debt."

So, Barry has either of two choices: renege on his numerous campaign promises or further stall the recovery of this country by adding additional debt to the heap... Oh, the Joy!!!

So, we look to new vision and leadership as the mirror ball's glow dims and the smoke clears (the smoke from the machines, not the smoke Barry has blown up your ass... and not the smoke from the 'base pipes the Confederacy of Dunces puffs on)... But instead of inspired visionary, we are faced with the same hapless, untalented, stuttering buffoon they gave us last time. So get ready for more OJT (on the job training) and more deer-in-the-headlights vacant stares as we plod along carried only by the momentum of the world's largest GDP (on the wither).

Have fun at the party tonight... It may be the last time in four years you will be able to smile!

Good Night and Good Luck!

Best,

Mike

Musings From The Road...

Writing from the Gatwick Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse as I return from United Arab Emirates and South Africa... Looking at a 36 hour transit time given 3 flight legs and what looks to be at least a 4 hour mechanical delay on my final leg from London... Gotta love modern air travel!

First comment is how much more glib and useless the CNN International commentators are than their US counterparts! Campbell Brown and Wolf Blitzer seem almost like credible, hard-hitting journalists compared to this cheesy bunch who are simply agog at Obama's ability to purchase himself the US presidency...

Which brings me to my next thought: What will happen when Barry is able to buy himself the White House? Well, I guess he isn't really buying it with his own money, is he? So then can we assume that his campaign budget that exceeds McCain's by 2X or 3X has some strings attached?

Here are the top donors to the Obama campaign:

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00009638

If you don't have time to click the link, then let me tell you the list includes organizations such as Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase & Co., Time Warner, UBS, Morgan Stanley, etc.

What? Wasn't this campaign funded by a record number of $10 donations from the high school cafeteria ladies and college kids digging into their Popov Vodka budgets? Hmmmn...

So, okay, not a huge shocker... But makes you wonder when the euphoric hysteria wears off a few weeks from now when the corruption will resume... I'm guessing shortly after the inauguration in January.

Allow me to make this one prediction: The 44th president will be one of the worst in history. How can the next president be worse than Geo Bush? Easy... With a couple of giddy years of falsely inflated public opinion polls and deeper ties into corporate and PAC money than ever before, we will experience ineptitude and corruption like never before. Worse yet, if the House and Senate go Demo, they will run roughshod over this Harvard dilettante... Oh, the Joy!

More to come...

Best,

Mike

Stop Thief!!! Hands off our money!

Sure you and I just pumped $850B of our hard earned tax dollars (or now T-Bonds) to finance this massive corporate welfare bill two weeks ago...

But that's not enough for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi... She wants more! (sung to Billy Idol tune...)

"That One" wants $150 Billion more on yet another "economic stimulus plan" This from Newsweek:

"(The) Detailed Plan Will Wait, Democrats have been talking for months about the need to move a second economic stimulus or recovery bill. On Sept. 26, shortly before adjourning, the House passed a $60.8 billion package (HR 7110) that contained funding for many of the items Democrats say they want in a new package. President Bush threatened to veto the bill and Senate Republicans objected to moving a similar bill (S 3604).

But with the economy at the top of voters' concerns, Democrats are looking to keep their proposals front and center. Earlier this month, Pelosi mentioned $150 billion as the potential size of a new stimulus bill, but House Democrats now say they want to hold hearings before making any decisions on the size and scope of such a measure.

When asked why hearings are needed since the priorities for a stimulus package have not changed greatly since Democrats began advocating them months ago, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md. said, "Just to make sure we have the right levels and the right focus in what will work best in helping the economy to recover."

Pelosi said House Democrats have been working closely with Obama, the Illinois senator, on what should be included in the legislation, arguing that he is hearing Americans' concerns while campaigning across the country."

So some recurring themes here and certainly signs of the economic doomsday machine that lurks in the form of a Democratic President and Democratic Majority in House and Senate. Clearly, Barry Obama and Nancy Pelosi haven't met a piece of pork they can't swallow and there have been some huge Boston Butts coming down from capital Hill lately...

But now another loosely crafted bill that will give the middle-class and down another $600 bucks to head over to Wal-Mart to buy more Chinese DVD players and top off the tank of their Saudi-fueled, Mexican-Built Minivans... Is this the way to economic stability in the USA? I think not, Citizens...

This one is simple, but the Folks who would sit on the hill are determined to steer us away from the simple economic solution to our country's restoration: 1) Restore credibility in the US Dollar vis-a-vis a paydown of national debt and budget overruns, and 2) wholesale cuts in Federal Government spending, which now exceeds tax revenues, and 3) Decrease in Income and Corporate Taxes...

I continue to be amazed that people of any income level can support a presidential candidate whose platform includes increased Federal spending, Increased taxation for Corporations and Individuals, and no real plan to cut Congressional Spending. Leave it to a Harvard Attorney to try and legislate his way out of this mess... In this picture Barry thinks of a plan to redistribute Federal Tax Dollars to his PAC friends in Acorn, Fannie and Freddie, et al... Sure he said he would take care of the little guy, but did the little guys all send in their $2300 to boost his candidacy to collect over 2.5X the amount McCain has collected? No that money came from a variety of corporate sources: I-Banks, Hedge Funds, Retail Banks, etc.

When I think of where we are now as a voting constituency, I think of the metaphor of being trapped in a burning building and having the choice of jumping off the top or making a break for it down the burning staircase... Jumping off the top = certain death and the stairway leaves severe burns but a chance for survival...

Obama is the leap off the top... Quick, requires little thought or effort, and almost has a certain fun, giddy feeling attached to it... Nonetheless you are dead... Game Over!

McCain, represents the singed escape possibility... Some tough times, some sacrifice, but the bolstering possibility of beating sure Death...

I weep for the future if this pseudo-intellectual takes office...

Best,

Mike

The Power Grab Is On!

Short post here... Just saw this photo and it really brought it all home to me about this guy...

Smug smirk on his face that just says, "Stupid F*cks, I'm in this for the power... Pledge of Allegiance, are you kidding me?!? I didn't go to Harvard to do this crap..."

Pick your favorite BB-Q sauce!

Many like the the Carolina Sauce with its mustardy overtones... For some, it is the sweet tanginess of St. Louis style... Lately I've tended to go with the Dry Rub approach for my own BB-Q's and this will serve me well, because the US Congress is serving up the Mother of all pork-laden bills to me and you, good citizen!

Sure, this new tarted up Boston Butt included another $157 Billion negative budget impact ladled onto the original $700 Billion, to include the following components (from Bloomberg):

"The Senate sweetened the package -- and enlarged the legislation to 450 pages -- by linking the rescue plan to a temporary increase in the limit on federal deposit insurance to $250,000 from $100,000.

The Senate also tied the package to a two-year extension of tax breaks that will save individuals and corporations about $149 billion over the next decade, a move popular among House Republicans. The provisions include $17 billion in credits for the development of solar, wind and other forms of renewable energy."

Sounds good, right? Sure I love a Tax Cut for anyone, anytime... But how does that pair me the Anti-Tax maven with Barry Obama, who voted yes on this one? Well, Barry loves to take care of campaign donors just like the next beltway insider. (See my Blog from September 30th for more details)

Here's the piece of this new Bill I like the most, though... My old friend and workout buddy , Ahh-nuld Schwartzenegger (again, from Bloomberg):

"California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote Paulson last night, saying that his and other states may need emergency federal loans to maintain government operations if the credit crunch continues.

``This credit crisis has the power to grind the U.S. economy to a halt,'' Schwarzenegger wrote in a letter e-mailed to Paulson. "

Why the concern from this trapezoid-infused Teuton?

Well this from thinkprogress.org may give us a hint:

"California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger “warned Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson on Thursday that the state might need an emergency loan of as much as $7 billion from the federal government within weeks.” Schwarzenegger’s plea comes as the state is “close to running out of cash to fund day-to-day government operations and is unable to access routine short-term loans”:

The warning comes as California is close to running out of cash to fund day-to-day government operations and is unable to access routine short-term loans that it typically relies on to remain solvent."

Wait a minute?!? Didn't this type of mismanagement cause Darrell Issa to launch an overthrow of Grey Davis??? How soon we forget...

You heard it here: California's highest income tax rate is 9.3% currently... You will soon see this rate swell to 12% to 15%, especially if Barry and "Combover Joe" take office, making their Tax-Driven, Micromanaged style even more popular - giving you achieving Californians an effective tax rate in the 70% percent range at the high end... Good luck keeping either Corporations or Hi-Income individual contributors in the State after that! Who will pay for the state-constitutionally mandated programs and education for all of the illegal aliens?!?

Anyway, you the taxpayer dodged the $700B version earlier in the week, but your reward is the new porked-up version! Congratulations and Bon Appetite!

Now, on to the Veep Debate!:

I cannot remember the last time I saw a candidate that lacked any real job experience, was unable to function without a teleprompter, and was unable to summon any real gravitas or charisma...

But enough about Obama!

So you think Palin is a "dummy" and don't like the winking and "you betcha's"??? Well, the real truth of the matter (and not the one that Wolf Blitzer or Campbell Brown want you to understand) is that of the four candidates she represents the only true populist of the bunch... sure she is not going to be voted Rocket Surgeon of the year, but then are you really going to make the case that Barry Obama has any more raw intellectual horsepower than she does? Harvard A/B curve aside, this guy stutters like Gomer Pyle as soon as the Poli/Sci intern accidentally hits "reboot" on the teleprompter...

Not to mention, his comprehension of Macroeconomics would make even Professor Steadman Graham blush redder than he does at his typical bi-weekly allowance disbursement at Oprah's Maui Plantation. (C'mon... Points for tieing in the Hawaii connection, right? Or is he from Illinois? Or Kenya?)

In any event, ask yourself who you'd rather spend time with alone on a dark, starry night in Denali National Forest: Barry, John, Combover Joe? Or Sarah?

This one's easy folks...

Best,

Mike

One Little Victory...

It has been difficult to tear myself away from Bloomberg over the past couple of days as I'm sure many of you would agree...

Still, this sad episode in our country's history has one small silver lining: The House voted down the $700 Billion Bailout Bill on Monday, September 29th, 2008. This is very good news, indeed...

You and I just avoided buying the Banks' mortgage portfolio offal and converting it to US Government (and taxpayer's) ownership. The idea being the Banks would have their books cleared of bad mortgages and the renewed mark-to-market valuations would allow them freer access to lending capital and hence greater credit liquidity in the marketplace.

Yes, the taxpayers courtesy of George Bush, Nancy Pelosi, and Henry Paulson and all the supporting members of Congress want to sell you a sh*tload of bad paper while their PAC and corporate supporters get to freshen up their books to continue this shameless money grab. Sounds good, no?

So back to that silver lining... The failed measure came after Nancy Pelosi chose to use the event to restate partisan rhetoric and blame assignation to the House Republicans. She was rewarded with not only 133 House Republicans, but also 95 of her fellow Democrats voting down the measure. Let there be no doubt that there was tremendous pressure from the voting populace for the Congress to, just once, do the right thing...

Here's the voting record for those who are interested:

http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=63183&cat=0

The "Friends of Liberty" in the equation are those that voted "nay"... Some names from that column include: Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich, Duncan Hunter, Conyers, Duncan, Forbes, et al. They are to be congratulated for now.

Notable supporters of adding another $700B to our more than $9 Trillion in public debt are: Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank, and Tom Tancredo...

But let's explore the most disturbing two supporters of this bill: They are your two presidential candidates Barry Obama and John McCain

McCain stated: "This is something that all of us will swallow hard and go forward with," McCain said on ABC's This Week. "The option of doing nothing is simply not an acceptable option."

Obama, in a typically non-committal statement was able to offer: "My inclination is to support it... While I look forward to reviewing the language of the legislation, it appears that the tentative deal embraces these principles"

Wow! Now why would these guys support this poor excuse for legislation? Well, McCain has rather nervously endorsed this out of caution and fear of appearing uninvolved and unaware in terms of the economy, especially as the media has chosen to paint him into a corner on that issue.

With Obama, the case worsens... Stanley Kurz of The National review brings the association with ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) into clearer light, as he writes:

"According to the New York Times, Obama’s memberships on those foundation boards, “allowed him to help direct tens of millions of dollars in grants” to various liberal organizations, including Chicago Acorn, “whose endorsement Obama sought and won in his State Senate race.” As best as I can tell, Acorn maintains both political and “non-partisan” arms. Obama not only sought and received the endorsement of Acorn’s political arm in his local campaigns, he recently accepted Acorn’s endorsement for the presidency, in pursuit of which he reminded Acorn officials of his long-standing ties to the group."

So who cares if he is associated with ACORN?

You do! Michelle Malkin reports on her website the following:

"...Lindsay Grahamnesty told Fox that the Mother of All Bailouts includes a reported $100 million more in funding for the left-wing housing entitlement thugs and heavily tax-subsidized fraudsters at ACORN. Under the original bailout proposal, apparently, a large portion of any repayment of the $700 billion would go to Barack Obama’s good friends at ACORN with a smaller allocation to debt repayment. Readers heard him say it was 20 percent."

Aware of this and many other potential re-election threatening issues attending the Bill, a majority of both Democrats and Republicans voted the issue down, as the following CBS news report suggested before the vote took place.

Regardless, House Republicans are saying that unless the possibility of ACORN seeing any money from this bailout is eliminated, there's no deal. "Doling out favors to ACORN and other liberal special interest groups are a non-starter for House Republicans," said Behner spokesman Kevin Smith. "If Rep. Frank wants to keep ACORN in the bill he can secure the necessary Democratic votes for passage because he'll need every one of them."

Bottom line: We dodged a bullet for the moment. Tomorrow is likely to bring a new, revised Bill with other flaws, but for now our nation's maxed-out Credit Card avoided a $700B charge

Best,

Mike

Your Reading List...

Why am I pimping these books?



Because I feel they represent a quantum leap forward in terms of documenting true IRS reform and creating a natural limit to wanton US Congressional spending.

What is Fairtax?: The FairTax plan is a comprehensive proposal that replaces all federal income and payroll based taxes with an integrated approach including:
- A progressive national retail sales tax.
- A prebate to ensure no American pays federal taxes on spending up to the poverty level.
- Dollar-for-dollar federal revenue neutrality.
- Repeal of the 16th Amendment through companion legislation.

Have a readthrough of the following title:


http://www.amazon.com/FairTax-Answering-Critics-Neal-Boortz/dp/0061540463/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b


Neal Boortz and Georgia Congressman John Linder defend their initial treatise entitled "The FairTax Book: Saying Goodbye to the Income Tax and the IRS" and give readers an alternative to the current state of Progressive (Regressive?!?) US Tax Code.


Highly recommended for folks from both sides of the aisle.

I also council you to explore the Fairtax website at the link below:


http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer


Best,


Mike

Taxation without representation...

Econ 101: Profit = Revenue - Cost

Given above, how will increased cost drive a business (or an nation's economy)?

Given less profit, how will a business ever find a way to increase investments, increase payroll, fund R&D and most importantly, pay you more $$$?

Either we (and I mean all of us) pay the tax or the employer does, either way, the money is left to congress to spend, which I think you would agree has been a very bad idea over last 8 years under both Demo and Republican leadership...

Read this (This breaks down the actual positions of each candidate in a mater-of-fact, unbiased manner (that will certainly appeal to the data junkie in you!):

http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxtopics/election_issues_matrix.cfm

Obama has clearly stated (and when I say "he" has stated, I mean his PAC bankrolled speechwriters) that he will both raise taxes and raise spending (socialism, no?). Whereas John McCain has stated the opposite: cut spending and balance budget in four years/reduce taxes... sure, he may be unable to actually achieve that, but the Libertarian in me likes the candidate who at least speaks to this approach.

BTW, the tax hit really comes in once you hit $100K in salary once you factor for Obama's increase in FICA taxes, so the $250K utterance is yet another dubious statement from the candidate among many...

Let us revisit the Profit = Revenue - Cost model, but this time apply to the US Govt. (or more specifically the US Congress' Budget)...

Obama promises to increase both taxes and spending. McCain, promises to cut taxes and cut spending (if you ask how McCain will cut spending, I will grant you that one - I haven't heard his details either!). However, Obama essentially promises to blow up the P=R-C model above and continue to sell US T-Bond paper to our "friends" in China and Saudi further bankrupting the USA and our children. (I find it is people with children who can understand these precepts the best, because of the generational implications).

The only way to dig ourselves out of this mess is to pay down the National Deficit and strengthen the US Dollar. Any other approach misses the mark and dooms us and our children. On top of that, Barry wants to pull money out of the tax constituencies that pay over 95% of the entire tax revenue stream - the upper fifth of the tax base and the corporations - the very people and organizations who actually create jobs, large-scale innovation, currently saddled with paying the highest corporate tax in the world already!. Remember, income tax was intended to be a "temporary" tax to support the WWII effort and then be removed after the War. It never was...

Now people like Barry (and McCain, to a lesser extent) make their living by disbursing it to their PAC pals. This is where Obama really loses me, BTW: He portrays himself as "a man of the people" while his largest supporters are Fannie/Freddie, GE, Hedge Funds, I-Banks, etc. He is every bit in the pocket of the PAC's as McCain is...

To set context: this is written by a lifelong Democrat who has finally severed ties with the party... I have for years adopted a Libertarian approach (less government = better for the population). After Barry has lined up with his Corporate/PAC donors, we can see where his bread will be buttered and that is an untenable combination of Populist and Corporate Socialism. Does McCain represent the "best" solution? Absolutely not! Do I like Bush? No chance - he will be seen as the worst president in history (until/unless Obama takes office where he will quickly make Bush look like a Tiberius to his Caligula)...

I'm just asking good people to follow a path of independent thinking and a path of Liberty. When you do this, you find McCain is the only viable candidate of the two, as poor a selection as we have been given.

Best,

Mike