Stimulus Working Great: Unemployment Graph

Unemployment in the United States hit 9.8% in September, despite the $787 billion stimulus that a Democratic Congress passed without a single Republican vote in the House and only 2 in the Senate.

That is roughly 2 points higher than the 7.8% that the White House had promised for September if the stimulus package became law.

How’s that stimulus working for ya?!

Unemployment graph as of August

Source: The Heritage Foundation

Unemployment Rate Continues to Climb

Unemployment Rate (Chart from Google)

As new reports released by the Labor Department show, unemployment and underemployment continue to climb, reaching 9.8% and 17% respectively. Underemployment data includes those who wish to work full-time, but are currently working part-time or have given up searching for work.

I remember back in the summer of 2008, I told some coworkers that I expected unemployment to reach about 14% and underemployment to reach over 20% before all is said and done. They laughed at me and said I had no clue what I was talking about.

I had just finished reading Crash Proof by Peter Schiff that previous winter, so the message was still pretty fresh in my mind. The more money we pump out of the private sector to spend on government projects, the less money we will have for jobs, thus higher unemployment. This is especially true right now as the government continues to spend to help curb the recession. Ironically, it’s the massive spending by government that will prolong the recession.

Peter Schiff has a new book out titled, Crash Proof 2.0. It builds on the previous Crash Proof book and explains how the “crash” that Schiff describes in the first book is no longer theoretical, but is actually happening now. I haven’t actually read the second book yet, but if I know Schiff’s thinking, it probably lays out the case that this isn’t the crash, but the precursor to a much larger crash. The collapse of the dollar.

Source: Associated Press

Tax Money to Make Porn

A student couple at Greene County Central High School in Greene County, North Carolina, used school issued laptops to make sexual videos of themselves and sent them to friends. However, on one occasion, the 16-year old male took a video of himself with his 15-year old girlfriend and accidentally sent it to a teacher at the school.

The laptops were paid for by local property tax increases. This is just another example of how government programs fail to achieve their stated goals.

VIDEO:

Source:
WRAL.com

Another Clinton Sex Scandal?

While everyone is fully aware of Bill Clinton’s sexual promiscuity while in office, it has been recently rumored that the other Clinton, Bill’s wife Hillary, has been secretly involved with one of her aides. Huma Abedin is one of Hillary Clinton’s top aides and, according to officials inside the campaign, “Hillary and Huma are an item.”

Insiders have always rumored about it, but one official says, “I am close enough to Hillary and Huma to tell you that this ‘rumor’ is true.”

Sources:
The Village Voice
Big Head DC

Ron Paul Raises $4.2 Million in One Day

Ron Paul managed to raise over $4.2 million dollars in a single day during a grassroots campaign called, This November 5th. By midnight, the campaign ended up getting donations from 38,610 individual donors. The $4.2 million raised online is the most a Republican has ever raised in a single day before the primaries.

While not getting much attention from the major news outlets, and consequently polling rather low, he has managed to capture a very dedicated group of supporters that seem to grow as fast as his donations.

The donations came largely from a group of supporters who decided to donate on November 5th in honor of the movie, V for Vendetta. “Remember remember, the 5th of November” is the motto of the day. So it appears that day will be remembered for a while. The premise of the movie is about a government who scares the people into giving up their freedom because of threats from abroad. V, the main protagonist, tries to “free” the people by exploiting the government’s lies and show the people just how little freedom they actually have. Perfect for supporters of Ron Paul.

To this date, the Ron Paul campaign has raised $7.2 million for the 4th quarter. This number is well on track to meet their $12 million goal by the end of December. In fact, some analysts predict the total 4th quarter donations could reach as high as $18 million. This could potentially set Congressman Paul up to be a top-tier challenger during the early primaries.

Sources:
AP: Ron Paul Raises More Than $4.2 Million
Ron Paul 2008 PCC Donation Chart
November 5th Donations

Former Asst. Attorney General Declares Waterboarding Torture

This week, Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey answered questions regarding the use of waterboarding as an interrogation technique. Those in the Bush administration say that the use is only a simulated act of drowning, with no severe side effects. However, according to one former DoJ official, it certainly is torture.

Former assistant attorney general, Daniel Levin, underwent the procedure himself in 2004. He then issued a memo stating that the waterboarding procedure is torture, however, at the White House’s insistence, further stated that the administration’s previous opinions were not illegal. Subsequently, Mr. Levin was forced out of the Department of Justice. According to sources from ABC News, “Levin was seen as too independent by the Bush administration — not someone who could be counted on to endorse White House policies.”

Sources:
ABC News

America – Keeping Mexicans in and Americans out since 2005

According to an article from The Arizona Republic, Bush and the Department of Homeland Security are planning on implementing a new passport law that states that any American leaving the States, to either Canada or Mexico, MUST have a passport to re-enter the United States. Currently, anyone can go to either place and come back without much hassle. All you need is something proving you are who you say you are (Driver’s License, Birth Certificate, voter registration cards, etc).

What concerns me about this new plan is that while they are making an active effort to ensure that we are who we claim to be, they have no interest in protecting our borders from illegal immigrants. Nor, for instance, do the Canadians visiting America, have to present a passport to the border control as the Americans re-entering will. Also, according to the article, “Most Mexicans visiting the United States must show a passport with a U.S.-approved visa, but the administration wants to exempt an estimated 6 million Mexican citizens who have border crossing cards, or laser visas, from the passport requirement.”

Does this make sense to anyone? Let’s exempt Mexicans and Canadians who want to enter the US from having to show us anything, yet if you are American, then you must pass a fingerprint, retina, and DNA test to prove who you are. This makes no sense and should be challenged by any self-respecting American.

Aid for AIDS

President Bush has recently created a new plan to help Africans in their AIDS crisis. It’s called President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. In this plan, the United Stated will spend $15 billion over the next five years to help aid those with or afftected by AIDS. This is the planned expense breakdown as stated on the PEPFAR website:

1. 55% for the treatment of individuals with HIV/AIDS
   (and in FYs 2006 through 2008, 75% of this is to be spent on the purchase and distribution of antiretroviral drugs)
2. 15% for the palliative care of individuals with HIV/AIDS
3. 20% for HIV/AIDS prevention
   (of which at least 33% is to be spent on abstinence until marriage programs)
4. 10% for helping orphans and vulnerable children
   (and in FYs 2006 through 2008, at least 50% (of the 10%) is to be provided through non-profit, non-governmental organisations, including faith-based organisations, that implement programs at the community level).

There are those opposed to this plan however. (Naturally, they are the anti-Busher’s, otherwise known as liberals). Why opposition to such a plan? Well, because a portion of the 20% assigned to AIDS prevention must be used for abstinence-only programs. I can understand their concern. This portion of the money is to be spent on morals, not education. Many of the African women, based on their culture, have been forced to have premarital sex, either in return for food, shelter, or any other necessity. The Bush administration, in my opinion, has overstepped its boundries in this respect.

HOWEVER, the amount of money donated to this cause, $15 billion, is more than twice the amount donated by all other countries COMBINED. With that said, here is a little analogy:

If someone said hey, I will give you 8 billion dollars to help you with your medical costs, 3 billion to help prevent the illness, but 1 billion of the 3 billion must be presented in the way I tell you, would you decline the money. Of course not! But, that’s what some African officials are wanting to do (with the nudging of the liberals, of course). Many countries have criticized Bush for this plan because of the abstinence plan. Well, at least he has a plan. At least he is doing something! While the other countries are sitting idle, eating their cake, America stepped up and took action. In a sense, that’s similar to criticizing someone who voted for Bush, when you yourself did not vote at all. Come on Europe, instead of criticizing something you are not even participating in, do something! Take action!

Social Insecurity

We are forced to pay taxes on several government sponsored programs for each paycheck we receive. One of these programs is Social Security. The forced savings are stored into a governement Trust Fund to be later issued out to those who paid into it when it is time for them to retire. Though this program technically has three major responsibilities (retirement, spousal benefits, disability benefits), the retirement benefits are what’s causing a mess.

Here’s how it works. You pay taxes every paycheck. 5.3% to be exact. Your employer pays 5.3% as well, for a total of 10.6% going into the Social Security program under your name. Though you may imagine the money being stored in a bank somewhere accumulating interest over time, it is not. Your money is sent to the IRS. At the end of the year, the IRS determines the amount of money you paid in Social Security benefits, and lets the Social Security Administration know. The SSA writes this amount down (or enters it into a computer) and the federal government spends it, usually to pay off what they owe to current retirees. However, before they spend it, the SSA orders bonds from the Treasury with this money (though there is not actually any money transferred, just all on paper). These a special governement bonds issued by the federal governement and used exclusively by the Social Security Administration. No one else can buy these bonds. Therefore, the government is essentially loaning itself money that it can redeem whenever necessary. Keep in mind, the SSA does not directly deal with the money, just the bookkeeping of it. Nor are these bonds anything other than government IOUs. Until recently, these bonds were just bookkeeping devices to keep track of the money. Now they are printed out and stored in a safe in Parkersburg, West Virginia. (Side note: I taught a class there a few years back. It’s a really nice place, but really small).

Here’s where the problem begins. As of right now, if the Social Security program was left as it is, we will start spending more than we are bringing in (paying retirees more in benefits than we are receiving in taxes by workers) by the year 2018. Once we reach this point, the SSA will have to redeem the bonds that they created. Remember, the bonds, or Trust Fund, are nothing but IOUs issued by the Treasury Department. Since the government has spent this money, it will have to be obtained by some other means. There are currently three options: Raise taxes, cut other government programs, or lower benefits.

This is where Bush’s plan to privatize a portion of the benefits paid from now on, known as Personal Retirement Accounts (PRA), comes into play. According to the plan, 4% of the 10.6% being paid in social security benefits by each worker will go into a PRA. The remaing 6.6% will continue on as it has been for decades. When the worker is old enough to retire, the government splits his retirment into monthly payments based on the PRA and the old social security system. They will calculate what the PRA would have generated in earnings based on the 4% they put in throughout their career after inflation, as well as the amount put into the traditional program. This ends up being a FAR greater return than if it was left untouched.

Using the traditional Social Security method, with my same pay rate as I am making now, when I retire at 67 (with a life expectancy of 85), I will make $3,115 a month. (Keep in mind that I’m pretty young and make a lot). Now, if I was to contribute all of the same money into a PRA system, with the same data provided before, I would make $14,638 a month. This is not under Bush’s reform plan however, this is straight through a PRA. Now imagine if 4% of your social security went to this. It would be no $14,638, but the 4% could sure add up. But, you can definitely see the difference between the two.

What’s wrong with this? It’s a little risky. You would essentially be investing in government bonds and large corporations. In a sense, it’s similar to an IRA or any other personal retirement plan, just a government sponsored plan. It’s not perfect, but it GREATLY enhances the system we currently have in place. But that’s just my opinion. And I’m always right.

Texas :: 19th District Race

In the local congressional race here in Lubbock, TX, the RNC is calling out its bloodhounds. They demand that their opponent, Charlie Stenholm (Democrat), stop airing an ad that shows him shaking hands with President Bush. They argue that this ad is misleading by showing Bush’s support when he in fact supports Randy Neugebauer (Republican). Stenholm declined to stop airing the ad and stated that he “has worked successfully with five presidents from both parties, including President Bush and is not campaigning for anyone in the presidential race.”

Neugebauer went on to accuse Stenholm of verbally supporting Kerry for president, a claim that would obviously hurt Stenholm’s chances in West Texas.

===========
::COMMENT::
===========
It’s obvious to me that Neugebauer is feeling the pressure of Stenholm’s ads because not only does he show himself getting along with republicans, but he shows himself as a congressional veteran. Stenholm has been in representing the 17th district in congress since 1979 until recent changes which moved him to the 19th district. Neugebauer, on the other hand, has only served in Congress since 2002.