Author: Mark Noonan

House Passes “Cut, Cap and Balance”

Mark Noonan56 Comments

Calling Obama’s bluff:

Defying a veto threat, the Republican-controlled House voted Tuesday night to slice federal spending by $6 trillion and require a constitutional balanced budget amendment to be sent to the states in exchange for averting a threatened Aug. 2 government default.

The 234-190 vote marked the power of deeply conservative first-term Republicans, and it stood in contrast to rising support at the White House and in the Senate for a late stab at bipartisanship to solve the nation’s looming debt crisis…

A better description of that would be “The 234-190 vote shows that there are 234 common-sense votes in the House, and it stood in contrast to the desperate efforts of the Ruling Class to scam the American people out of another $2 trillion”.

This bill will now die in the Senate – or, if by some miracle it gets through there, will be veto’d by Obama.  I would have preferred a slightly different bill – you know, with my “trap the liberals” wealth tax in order to entirely get over on them about “taxing the rich” – but this is what needs to be done.  We have a plan, here it is – now, what is your alternative?  Tell us and, more importantly, tell the American people.  Obama and his Democrats and the rest of the Ruling Class will just have to come up with something – and it will either be acceptable to the 234 common-sense votes in the House, or will be a political albatross ’round Obama’s neck in 2012.  Either way, America comes out ahead.

Boehner: Gang of Six Plan Falls Short

Mark Noonan5 Comments

From Zero Hedge:

No, the soap opera is not done just yet. According to The Hill the office of John Boehner has said that the Gang of Six proposed $3.7 trillion fluff “settlement” appears to fall short of goals set by House Republicans. “This plan shares many similarities with the framework the Speaker discussed with the president, but also appears to fall short in some important areas. The House is voting today on our ‘cut, cap, and balance’ plan, and we hope the Senate will take it up soon. That remains our focus,” a Boehner spokesman said…

I don’t like the gang of six plan, either – in fact, I don’t actually like any plan which raises the debt limit.  Raising the debt limit is just a demand of the Ruling Class which wants 18 more months of stealing from us.  What they’ll do after that, I haven’t a clue – we’ll tip in to bankruptcy and it is clear they don’t care…or, perhaps, are really too dumb to even understand their peril (it is a disease of ruling classes that they often really can’t see that the writing is on the wall).  But the main thing is, they want to jack up the debt so that they can continue to live as they have – there is no other reason to do is because we are taking in plenty of money.

Uncle Sam projects that he will take in more than $2.1 trillion in fiscal year 2012 (which begins October 1st, 2011).  Roll it back to 2008 levels and we cut the projected deficit by $300 billion, more than enough to to keep us below the debt ceiling.  Roll it back to 2003 levels and we run a surplus and start paying off the debt – and it isn’t like we were being all tight fisted in 2003…we were, in that year, spending money like water (remember, Democrats, how loudly you complained about those levels of spending and resultant deficit?). We need to set aside sufficient funds for social security, medicare/medicaid, national defense and law enforcement.  Everything else has to stop until we’ve balanced the budget.

Drill this in to your head:  we are, at most, four years from being in the condition of Greece.  We must stop borrowing – we must start paying back.  Anyone who says we must borrow is either a fool or a con artist.  Unfortunately, the combination of the two do seem sufficient to force a debt increase this year – but if we are to get swindled like that, then the GOP had at least better get some real cuts out of the deal or we’ll suffer a disaster among the base with incalculable effects on 2012.

Stand firm, GOP – don’t agree to any tax hikes, don’t agree to any debt increase unless coupled with significant spending cuts which will take effect in fiscal year 2012.  Do that, and we’ll win a crushing victory over liberalism next year – do otherwise and we might see Obama re-elected.

The Welfare State’s Fight to the Death

Mark Noonan93 Comments

Our death or it’s death – from Michael Walsh at the NY Post:

…The debt-ceiling cage match is the culmination of the Democrats’ 75-year-long fight to establish a voting bloc of dependents under the false flags of “compassion” and “social justice.” It’s sapped our strength, created a welfare mentality and, if unchecked, will reduce us to a nation of aging, resentful beggars with eyes cast permanently toward Washington…

The Democrats don’t want citizens – they want easily controlled serfs, and the best way to make them is to put them on the government dole.  In 2011 America we have tens of millions of people who don’t work but yet manage to not just live, but have cable television, cars and cell phones.  Our factories are shuttered, our mines are closed, our farms go unploughed while people sit on their duffs watching day time television, waiting for their EBT card to be re-filled by the taxpayers and Chinese bond purchasers.  And these people are the bedrock of the Democrat party – they people who are horrified that the spigot might be turned off.  Horrified, that is, that they might have to get a job.

In a rational, humane and just society, government support for the poor would be just enough to keep body and soul together and always less than the most menial, full time job could provide.  It would be just what it is supposed to be – emergency support when through no fault of your own, you can’t survive.  When there are simply no jobs, not just no jobs other than “jobs American’s won’t do” – and, by the way, “jobs Americans won’t do” means “jobs Americans don’t have to do because welfare pays better”.  Making people dependent robs them of their dignity as human beings – it turns them in to de-facto slaves of government, always willing to do the Master’s bidding in return for the crumbs he provides.  Meanwhile, the real raking it in is done by the Ruling Class…in return for bribe of $1,500.00 a month, the dependents allow the Ruling Class to steal trillions.

If we can end this – if we can destroy Big Government – then we will have saved our people.  We must awaken from this government subsidized stupor and get back to work.  A life of hard work, sobriety and thrift is the only worthwhile life and all aspects of society must be built to encourage and support such a life.  There is no room in a republic of free men for anyone to be idle – certainly not idle while receiving so much as a dime of public money.

Get ready for the battle – the Welfare State and its Ruling Class will not give up easily.  But the payoff for us is an America we can be proud of – an America where everyone you meet, every day, did their part as a citizen for our republic.

Obama Administration: If You Cut Our Budget We Can’t Cut Spending

Mark Noonan8 Comments

Getting more and more Alice in Wonderland over there – a letter from the White House explaining why we can’t afford cuts to the White House budget, quoted over at NRO’s The Corner:

…The level of resources provided in the bill would significantly impact the EOP’s role in assisting the President in carrying out his constitutional duties as head of the Executive Branch, including protecting national security interests, developing policies to address the challenges facing the Nation, reducing the deficit and spending taxpayer dollars more cost-effectively, and managing the Federal agencies…

FDR fought World War Two with a staff of about 50 – Obama’s staff is many times larger.  If FDR could fight WWII with around a 10th of Obama’s staff, then there is no danger in cutting the President’s budget.  But this is the mindset of the government – of the Ruling Class:  each and every person and program is vital and we dare not cut it.  This is why we increased spending by a trillion dollars after Obama took office and neither Obama nor any other Big Government supporter will agree to cut it back to 2008 levels…they simply can’t imagine a world in which government isn’t big and always getting bigger.

The whole debt ceiling debate has this air of unreality about it – with Obama and his troops completely oblivious to facts.  We’re broke – the money is all gone; we teeter on the edge of national bankruptcy…not a default if we don’t borrow more money by August 2nd (surely one of the most obtuse statements ever made) but of complete collapse in 2014 or 2015 if we don’t cut spending right away and by quite a large amount.  We are financially doomed if we don’t roll back spending – by at least some hundreds of billions of dollars next year and it would be better if we knocked of a clean trillion from the estimates.  But they just won’t see it – they can’t see it:  if they do see it, then their entire, liberal worldview is sunk and it isn’t easy giving up a faith.

As we finish up this debate, don’t believe manufactured polls showing that the people want tax hikes or think Obama is doing well – those are polls deliberately created for the purpose of scaring Republicans in to signing on to tax hikes, debt ceiling increases and no real cuts.  The real polls show what is happening – Obama’s popularity is cratering:

While the “generic” Congressional ballot continues to show GOP strength:

…A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 44% of Likely U.S. Voters would vote for their district’s Republican congressional candidate, while 38% would choose the Democrat instead…

These polls are taken over long periods of time and consistently ask the same questions the same way…so even if they don’t get the number exactly right, they reveal the trend.  And that trend is all down for Obama.  He’s losing the debate; liberalism is losing the debate.  We have them boxed in – they either have to agree to cuts, or go in to 2012 explaining why they think the Big Government is the solution.  All we need do is stand firm, and we’ll win it all.

Casino Mogul Wynn Explains Obamunism

Mark Noonan41 Comments

From Seeking Alpha – a transcript of Steve Wynn’s Earnings Call:

…Well, here’s our problem. There are a host of opportunities for expansion in Las Vegas, a host of opportunities to create tens of thousands of jobs in Las Vegas. I know that I could do 10,000 more myself and according to the Chamber of Commerce and the visitors convention bureau, if we hired 10,000 employees, it would create another 20,000 additional jobs for a grand total of 30,000. I believe in Las Vegas. I think its best days are ahead of it. But I’m afraid to do anything in the current political environment in the United States. You watch television and see what’s going on on this debt ceiling issue. And what I consider to be a total lack of leadership from the President and nothing’s going to get fixed until the President himself steps up and wrangles both parties in Congress. But everybody is so political, so focused on holding their job for the next year that the discussion in Washington is nauseating. And I’m saying it bluntly, that this administration is the greatest wet blanket to business, and progress and job creation in my lifetime…(emphasis added)

The bottom line:  because of government policies, especially those of President Obama, Wynn simply will not expand his Las Vegas operations.  That is really all that needs be said – Obamunism is destroying the economy and we must change course if we are to prosper.

Cutting Defense

Mark Noonan46 Comments

An article over at the Army Times details some of what may be coming down as government, looking for places to cut, eyes the military:

…Speaking to reporters in Washington, Cartwright said the Defense Department’s internal planners are bracing for budget cuts far deeper than those announced by President Obama in April. Obama proposed carving $400 billion from the defense budget plan over the next 12 years, a cut of about 7 percent.

“The reality is, what you are most worried about a deeper cut? Is there another $400 billion behind the first $400 billion?” Cartwright said. “Now you start to look at things like, ‘Do I want to hollow out the force? Do I want to start to reduce the force size?’ ”…

There is no way around the fact that cuts are going to be made to Defense.  Part of this is the fact that we have a liberal, Democrat President and as they are always short-sighted, they see the defense budget as a bucket of money they can better use paying off cronies and special interests.  The other part of it, though, is the fact that we’re plain and simple broke – we don’t have enough money to keep spending on any department of government as much as we have been.  The problem is not in the fact of cuts, but how the cuts are to be made.

First and foremost, we must ensure that we maintain a military which is not just more powerful than any likely adversary, but so overwhelmingly powerful that any one who decides to fight us has just signed their own death warrant.  There can be no cuts which would reduce the level of training and readiness of the armed forces.  All members of the armed forces must be completely ready to go – down to the last detail – at a moments notice.  There can also be no cuts to the research and development needed to ensure our forces have the technological edge – though there can be a delay in deploying the new weapons; both in making the initial purchase and in fully equipping the entire armed forces with the new technology.

While there really can’t be cuts to pay and benefits, there can be a concerted effort to lower personnel costs.  We can, for instance, refuse to recruit people who are married and/or who have dependent children at the time of enlistment.  We can offer encouragement to longer enlistments, thus keeping both a highly professional force as well as lowering the very high cost of turning civilians in to soldiers (a longer term force need fewer recruits on an annual basis).  We can set up citizens militia units to take over continental defense in order to leave the regular military free to deploy – and thus we might be able to get away with a smaller overall military force (this is a revival of the old volunteer, part time military force which made up the bulk of our immediate reserve until the early 20th century when its functions were taken over by the National Guard…which has now become the ready-reserve for the active duty forces, and thus isn’t actually available for home defense – and the citizens militia could be activated for full time military service in a “world war” sort of emergency”).  We can also concentrate resources in those technologies which multiply the firepower of each individual service member – if our troops deploy, per man, 10 times the fire power of the enemy, then 1 of ours becomes worth 10 of theirs…and thus smaller expeditionary forces can be used.

The biggest caution I can relate is to remember what happened between the World Wars, especially during the Great Depression.  While spending bags of money, the government continually shrank the defense budget.  By the time we went to war in 1941, our soldiers on the front line were ill trained, forced to use obsolete weapons and were heavily outnumbered by the enemy – and we suffered crushing defeats because of it.  These defeats had to be paid for in rivers of blood later.  Defense must do its part to help repair the horrible state of our finances, but it is criminal folly to use Defense as a mere pot of money – the job Defense does it the primary and most important task of government and it must be able to do its job all the time and everywhere.

Out and About on a Monday Morning

Mark Noonan36 Comments

If we had to lose the World Cup, better to lose it to Japan than any other nation – they really need the tonic right now.

Just as discretion is the better part of valor, so is cowardice the better part of discretion – so, Obama bravely hid the Dalai Lama when he came to visit.  Come on, Barry – you get a thousand points for meeting with the Dalai Lama in spite of Chinese whines about it, but you lose a million by keeping it low key.  Show some guts, for crying out loud.

Turns out that it’s not illegal to peacefully demonstrate in favor of life.  Who knew?  This whole personal freedom thing could spread like wild fire if this gets out…

Just how dumb is the President?  Mark Steyn takes note:

For the Most Gifted Orator in Human History, the president these days speaks largely in clichés, most of which he doesn’t seem to be quite on top of. “Eric, don’t call my bluff,” he sternly reprimanded the GOP’s Eric Cantor. Usually, if you’re bluffing, the trick is not to announce it upfront.

One wonders:  Did Obama ever live in the real world?  I mean, did he ever have a true friend?  Someone who would rake him over the coals when he was being an idiot?

As Governor Perry is all but in the Presidential race, anyone still thinking that Palin will get in?  They’d both be going after the same constituency along with Bachmann, Cain and Pawlenty.  If I were Palin, I’d stay out of it now – victory over liberalism is more important than any personal ambition, and TEA Party/social conservatives are well represented in the race.

Islamic fashion festival in Milan.  Question:  how would any one know they’re not guys in drag?

Obamunism!  Banks continue to fail.  But now that the economy is all better, the worst is behind us.  Oh, wait…

Venezuela’s dictator, Hugo Chavez, sought the Catholic sacrament of Anointing the Sick.  Yes, that used to be called “last rites”, but it was always just about helping the ill. But, odd that this man who has so ardently fought the Church should run home to it when he hears God calling…or, not so odd.  And hopefully it will cause him to reflect.

Victor Davis Hanson on Obama:

So Obamism did not work, and now is the politically opportune time, before the 2012 election, to follow the famed Obama reinvention stratagem: Cite straw men and extremists on both sides, and put St. Obama plop in the middle as the sober, great dragon slayer, who blames both his contemporaries and his predecessor. Hard to do, I know, when you wasted $5 trillion, but do it nonetheless he has. In the word of Obama, wasted borrowed money is “stimulus,” not so shovel ready jobs are “investments,” and hiking taxes on someone else is “revenue enhancement.”

Yep.

 

 

Gold to $1,600.00

Mark Noonan5 Comments

Geesh – from MSNBC:

Gold prices rallied to record highs above $1,600 an ounce in Europe on Monday, as investors spooked by the euro zone debt crisis and the threat of a U.S. default bought into the metal as a haven from risk…

First off, really wish I had listened to the old man when he wanted to buy gold at $400 or so an ounce.  Secondly, this is the world of investment giving a vote of no confidence to all governments and central banks…this is a flight to safety, and a bet that things will get even worse.

Can’t Keep Their Story Straight

Mark Noonan5 Comments

Two headlines, both from Bloomberg:

Crude Oil Trades Near Two-Day High on U.S. Economy, European Debt Optimism

Asian Stocks Decline on U.S. Economic Concern

And I generally have a lot of respect for Bloomberg’s economic reporting – but, come on!  Which is it?  Are people optimistic or pessimistic?

Honestly, I think it is ultimately a matter of no one really knowing for sure – theories say it should be this, reality is starting to show that it is quite different.   We’re all just waiting at this point – will they pull a rabbit out of the European hat?  Will China manage a soft landing?  Will the US debt be brought under control?  Or does it even matter at this point?  Have things got to a point where no matter what we do, pain is in our future?

I’m of that last view – I don’t think we can avoid some really rough times.  The best we can do with some wisdom and grit is make them bearable while we clear out the mess.  Maybe I’m wrong, but when you get a respected news source with headlines at such variance – and posted just 31 minutes apart – you can be sure that something is screwed up somewhere.

Mmmmm, Toasted Obama: My Favorite!

Mark Noonan39 Comments

From James Pethokoukis at Reuters in response to Goldman Sachs lowering GDP projections:

…Alarms bells must be ringing all over Obamaland today. Unemployment on Election Day about where it is right now? Sputtering — if not stalling — economic growth? To many Americans that would sound like the car is back in the ditch — if it was ever out. Maybe Goldman is wrong, but economists across Wall Street have been growing more bearish.

And recall that back in August of 2009, the White House — after having a half year to view the economy and its $800 billion stimulus response — made an astoundingly optimistic (PDF) forecast. Starting in 2011, with Obamanomics fully in gear and the recession over, growth would take off. GDP would rise 4.3 percent in 2011, followed by … 4.3 percent growth in 2012 and 2013, too!  And 2014? Another year of 4.0 percent growth. Off to the races, America…

Do take a look at that “astoundingly optimistic” White House forecast – as far as Obama and Co were concerned, the stimulus was going to get us rip roaring in to boom economic times.  It is all there – carefully laid our projections about how wonderful things were going to be.  I can only guess that they really believed it – after all, they were being rather arrogant in their assumptions of 2012 victory back there when questions first arose about the effects of the stimulus.  Only people who really believed in it could have looked at the 2010 data and assumed that 2011 would have 4.3% GDP growth (if we’re lucky – very lucky – we’ll see official growth at 2.5% for the year 2011; which is not nearly enough to get things rolling).  The big question:  do they still believe it?

As Pethokoukis notes at the end of his article, there is still a very short time left for Obama to change course and have a chance at a reasonably good economy for election day, 2012.  But I mean he’d really have to move fast – in the next few weeks we’d have to see serious proposals to cut the tax and regulatory burden on wealth creation for it to have a noticeable positive effect by election day.  Wait until the end of August and it will be too late – the good news would start to roll in around January of 2013, just as we’re swearing in President Bachmann.  But if they are still retaining their faith in the stimulus, then they’ll do nothing and just cross there fingers that some how, some way, what has thus-far failed will start to work in an astounding manner over the next 15 months.

And if that is the case, then the good news is that Obama won’t be re-elected – the bad news is that the economy will be very much worse before we get rid of him.