If the various stimulus programs around the world were actually doing anything worthwhile, we wouldn’t see this:

China will announce in August a new stimulus package of possibly 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion), the China Business newspaper reported on its Web site, citing unidentified sources.

The plan, from China’s National Development and Reform Commission, will likely cover nine industries including information technology and new energy, the report said.

Mish points out that all the stimulus here and around the world has done is push up stock and commodity prices – and this, in turn, has fueled housing bubbles in places like Australia and Canada where a lot of commodities originate.

There has been no expansion of the wealth-creating part of the economy – no jobs, no rise in wages, nothing of any long term value. And, meanwhile, its all really being fueled by massive amounts of new debt being placed on economies which will increasingly struggle with aging and declining populations – ie, populations which will be less able or inclined to pay off debt.

China’s economy has allegedly been on a tear – just roaring ahead. But if it were, then China wouldn’t be contemplating another massive stimulus. Remember, $586 billion for China would be akin to Obama announcing that he’s going for another trillion dollar stimulus for us, given the size of our economy compared to China’s.

Today, tomorrow, next month, next year – it will happen. The crash is coming.

The news:

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, which has missed $6 million in debt payments since Jan. 1, should consider seeking Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection, City Controller Dan Miller told a three-hour special committee hearing…

…Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, the sixth-most populous U.S. state, has guaranteed payments on $282 million in bonds on the incinerator, run by the Harrisburg Authority. The payments on the bonds and on a working-capital loan this year add up to four times the amount the city collects in property taxes each year, budget documents show.

“It’s not good,” Miller said at the start of the hearing before a silent audience of about 20 that included city officials and union members.

Hasn’t been a Republican mayor of Harrisburg since 1968 – and he was the only GOPer since 1902. 108 years, 104 governed by Demcorats. This is your baby, liberals – we had nothing to do with it.

Some other cities in trouble: Detroit, last had a GOP mayor in 1962. San Francisco, last had a GOP mayor in 1964. Chicago, last had a GOP mayor in 1931. Atlanta, last had a GOP mayor in 1901. Boston, last had a GOP mayor in 1930. Salt Lake City, last had a GOP mayor in 1975.

Some cities not having so much trouble: San Diego, currently has a GOP mayor. Anaheim, currently has a GOP mayor. Miami, currently has a GOP mayor. Tulsa, currently has a GOP mayor.

Seeing a trend here?

Weren’t the Democrats talking about how they are going to take on Wall Street and defend the little guy?

Sen. Chuck Schumer invited Harry Reid to spend Monday morning with him in Brooklyn, where some of Schumer’s well-heeled friends opened their checkbooks to help the Senate majority leader’s struggling reelection bid.

Democratic Whip Dick Durbin has invited Reid to join him next week in Chicago, where he’ll connect the Nevada Democrat with Windy City business leaders who’ll pour even more money into Reid’s campaign.

For Schumer and Durbin, it’s all part of a delicate dance. While Capitol Hill insiders say the two men appear to be jockeying to show their fellow Democrats that they’d be the logical successors to Reid, they’re also showing Reid unyielding loyalty where it counts: campaign cash.

Does anyone believe that the Democrats will do anything to prevent financial chicanery? That they’ll do anything which will risk the flow of campaign funds? That they’ll actually try to level the playing field so that their money bags have to work harder?

If you believe that, you’re an idiot. Only a revolutionary change to a populist/conservative Congress has a chance of protecting the free market from the malfactors of great wealth who now own the Democrat party lock, stock and barrel.

The big boys of finance want their place at the trough secured. They want their easy access to taxpayer bail outs and they don’t want to be troubled by upstart competitors who might have better products or services to offer. In return for a slavish Democrat party, they are willing to pour in the money – and they’ll only pour in the money as long as the Democrats remember who their Masters are.

November is coming – and we’ll clear out both the corrupt fat cats and their kept politicians.

Ian Lazaran over at Conservatives for Palin has a long article debunking yet another anti-Palin hit piece, this one in The New Yorker. My hat is off to Lazaran for being willing to slog through yet another tedious, mendacious liberal attack on Sarah Palin.

Liberals (and a selection of sorta-conservatives) do this because they hate Sarah Palin. They hate her because she’s everything they despise. A woman who is a conservative. A mother who didn’t stop after having a designer child. A wife who loves and admires her husband. A friend who won’t kick you to the curb in order to advance a career. A target of media slanders who will neither curry favor nor fly off the handle.

We once upon a time had another one of these in politics. His name was Ronald Reagan.

Know what I think? I think that if she runs, she’ll win the Republican nomination and be the next President of the United States. The only person who has a realistic chance of derailing the Palin Express is Governor Christie – and that only if he manages to turn New Jersey around. Why should this be? Two reasons:

1. In an increasingly anti-establishment political climate, Palin is the ultimate outsider. As it works out right now, the more the elite attack her, the more viable she becomes. They are making a heroine out of her – there will be quite a lot of “if they hate her, then she must be good” among the electorate.

The people are tired of career politicians who only care about advancing their career. Palin’s resignation of the governorship will not be a liability by 2012 but, instead, proof that she doesn’t need office in order to feel complete. In or out, she’s going to be comfortable with herself.

2. She’s really quite a lot smarter than her critics. Like so many other conservatives in the past – especially Ronald Reagan – Palin has been tagged as “dumb” because she didn’t attend an elite university and hasn’t read all the book the elite think important. They think like that because it is what they have and they think they’re smart – ergo, if you don’t have it, you’re not smart.

But Palin has been running rings around them from day one (Reagan did, too – and so, to only a slightly lesser extent, did President Bush). Its not a matter of staying a step ahead, its a matter of Palin being in a whole, different intellectual league. Not fettered by the idiocies of orthodox liberalism, Palin is free to think – to see things as they are and devise ways and means based upon actual facts.

Now, will she run? Beats all heck out of me. Does this mean I’m endorsing her for the primary? Not at all – I haven’t settled on whom I’ll support and my support in the primary is always lent to the person I think most in tune with my ideas, which isn’t necessarily the person who can win. If I had to make any sort of declaration right now, I’d have to say Jindal is my man…but he’ll probably end up as HHS Secretary in the Palin Administration.

But I’m going to stick with this – if she runs she will win, with the only joker in the deck being Governor Christie. If he’s a sitting governor who has cured New Jersey, then than will be very hard to beat. Though, of course, one could easily see a Palin/Christie ticket (or Palin/Jindal, or Palin/Gingrich, or Palin/West…any of these four would perfectly dove-tail in to a Palin-headed ticked).

So, keep misunderestimating her, liberals – it will make her swearing in that much more fun to watch…especially if the camera cuts to Obama while its happening.

That is the demand – and Democrats and RINOs ignore this at their political peril:

With lawmakers on Capitol Hill reviving debate over a comprehensive immigration overhaul bill, Republicans and border-state residents are urging congressional leaders not to lift a legislative finger until they’ve dealt with border security.

Violence on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border is raging. On Friday, gunmen killed seven police officers in Ciudad Juarez across the border from El Paso, Texas. The Juarez drug cartel claimed responsibility for the brazen attack.

Gunmen attacked another government convoy on Saturday in the western state of Michoacan — in a sign that the cartels have shifted tactics and are starting to target law enforcement and government officials, as opposed to rival gangs.

U.S. authorities suspect an illegal immigrant murdered Arizona rancher Robert Krentz on March 27.

If Democrats press for anything even remotely resembling amnesty without first securing the borders, then that in and of itself will cost them 50 House seats. Even people some distance from the border (such as us here in Las Vegas) have the same demand: secure the border. Don’t do anything before that – don’t try to put border security with anything else.

Just secure the border. Because we don’t trust the government, at all – so, any attempt to do anything along side or instead of border security will be viewed as a slap in the face as well as a dereliction of duty. The government is already overwhelmingly unpopular – something like this would be just what is needed to turn a big year of political change in to a revolutionary, political tsunami.

UPDATE: Poll – 60% back AZ law.

A bit premature, I think, but here it is:

…Christie’s fate is largely in his own hands. New Jersey has one of the most powerful chief executives in the country — with authority to rewrite legislation and cut spending with the stroke of his pen. Christie is using this power — for example, freezing $2.2 billion in spending by executive action. His showdown with teachers unions has been compared to Reagan’s confrontation with the air traffic controllers union. If he wins this and other battles, he could emerge as the conservative favorite in 2012 or beyond.

Tough medicine can be tough to swallow, and recent polls show Christie’s approval rating slipping. But if he succeeds in putting New Jersey on solid fiscal ground, his poll numbers will probably rebound. And if the voters of New Jersey don’t want him, perhaps the rest of America will.

I have to say that I’m all admiration for Governor Christie – the man has courage and he’s doing precisely what he said he’d do. That, in and of itself, makes him a breath of fresh air in politics.

2012 is a long way off and the results of 2010 will go a long way towards deciding how 2012 will shake out – but Christie can credibly be the man whether the GOP wins or loses this year. If we win, then Christie is the fore-runner who lead the way. If we lose, then Christie’s gutsy leadership showed us the way, and we flubbed it.

We’ll just have to see how it comes out – but if Christie can turn New Jersey around, then he’ll have put together a nearly unanswerable argument for a Presidential campaign.

A naked appeal to vote on racial and gender lines:

The Democratic National Committee this morning released this clip of the president rallying the troops, if rather coolly, for 2010. Obama’s express goal: “reconnecting” with the voters who voted for the first time in 2008, but who may not plan to vote in the lower-profile Congressional elections this year.

Obama speaks with unusual demographic frankness about his coalition in his appeal to “young people, African-Americans, Latinos, and women who powered our victory in 2008 [to] stand together once again.”

So much for a uniter – he’s desperate to make up for the collapse of support among Independents and is now hoping that a surge of voters from preferred groups will stand forward and rescue the party. The real trouble is that when you play this sort of divide-and-conquer strategy, the people who back you demand their pound of flesh.

We can expect yet more heated, slanderous rhetoric about the TEA Party activists as well as more government goodies for those groups who will toe Democrat line. Its a nasty, disgusting development.

UPDATE: For some odd reason, I found myself doing a Rosary for the President and our leaders as I drove home from work today. I can’t help but think that I was moved to pray for those who hate me…hopefully, this will help. It helped me – a lot of bitterness rolled right away from me as I did it.

UPDATE II: Gay Patriot wonders if liberal gay groups will get upset that Obama also excluded gay people from his grand coalition?

Betting the farm on it, as it were:

The Republican National Committee (RNC) is going all in to win back control of the House and Senate.

RNC spokesman Doug Heye said committee chairman Michael Steele is committed to using most, if not all, of its cash on hand in this year’s midterm elections.

Steele’s decision means that the RNC is not going to hold back significant funds for the 2012 race for the White House.

If we win, then the surge of support will generate whatever money we need for th 2012 cycle – and so I agree with this. Raise as much as possible and spend every red cent in 2010. Spend it everywhere – even in places where it might look a little forlorn. A wave is building out there – but to ensure it develops, we have to put the resources in to it.

We have this grand chance to really reshape American politics in 2010. A chance to take back our Congress in preparation for taking back the White House and then restoring America to the Founders’ vision. We can’t let worries drive the cart – do what needs to be done today, and let tomorrow take care of itself.

Democrats are betting that the economy will turn around enough by November to convince people to forget about how angry they are in April. Maybe it will come out that way – I don’t see it happening, but anything is possible in politics. Our bet is that the passion will not just continue, but continue to grow. Even if the Democrats get another couple months of alleged growth, it won’t be enough to save them – not when people are as upset over government as they are now.

So, lets have at it – all in and fight it out to the last cent and last minute.

Getting rather close to home for the President:

U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias, the Democratic nominee seeking the seat once held by President Barack Obama in Illinois, vowed to press on with his campaign after regulators seized the bank his family owns.

“My campaign for the United States Senate goes forward, with a renewed determination to turn Illinois’s economy around and to fix what’s broken in Washington, D.C.,” Giannoulias said.

The bank ties in with convicted influence-peddler Tony Rezko who, in turn, worked the crooked deal which secured Obama a swank home at a bargain price. Its all of a piece, this Chicago corruption – there is no isolating in. They are all in it, together.

And now Giannoulias’ bank has failed – while he’s running for Obama’s old Senate seat. Good news for the GOP, but bad news for the people who foolishly invested in the bank.

Now, just for a moment imagine this were 2008 and this bank had been owned by a friend of President Bush. Wonder what our liberals would have had to say about that?

Perhaps things aren’t as rosy in the economy as the banksters and Obama want us to believe?

…it’s hardly surprising that a massive debt-financed stimulus has led to an uptick in economic activity. The question is whether or not it will enhance long-term growth in light of the impact of a heavy public debt burden going forward. Has it moved the economy in the right direction by facilitating the liquidation of bad bets made during the housing boom, a process that might dampen GDP expansion in the short term while enhancing long-term growth? That is an entirely different question. As Jeffrey Sachs has argued, the United States has been engaging in extreme policy swings throughout the Greenspan era, veering from recession to bubble and back again. By running a double-digit budget deficit, we’ve severely limited our options in the face of the next economic crisis, all without making the painful adjustments—to tax rates, to spending, to the bloated financial sector—that would make another crisis less likely.

That’s my case for economic pessimism. I sure hope I’m wrong. But I get the distinct impression that we’re walking into a decade-long buzzsaw.

But that’s not all – Dollar Collapse has more:

* We’ve replaced the housing bubble with a government debt bubble, and there’s no way to transition back to private sector-led growth. The amount of debt needed to fuel an economy this unbalanced is simply too great.

* Some kind of serious negative event is virtually a lock in the coming year. It might be the spread of Wall Street lawsuits or a PIGS country default. Or the bond market might simply decide it’s eaten enough and get up from the table. No way to know what it will be, but we’ve created the conditions for another nasty “surprise”.

It ain’t over, not by a long shot. When will it hit? Beats all heck out of me. And, in fact, there can still be a lot of money made in this bubble by a savvy investor – but timing will be everything. How to predict just when we’re about to crash?

As I can’t do that, I’m staying out.

UPDATE: Alternately – as in “alternate universe” – the New York Times wonders if the “boom” will get bigger. You can bet with the NY Times, if you like. I won’t.