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Monday, May 31, 2010

Obama Not the 1st President to Miss Memorial Day at Arlington

Radio and TV talker Glenn Beck (on May 25) said, "Obama is skipping out on a Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington Cemetery because he'll be in Chicago on vacation." On his show, Beck incorrectly asserted that the president "has decided not to honor our troops on Memorial Day."

Beck said, "Maybe this has happened before. I don't recall it."


Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20006346-503544.html

Only a cretin of the highest order would be stupid enough to say things so patently false and easily debunked. And if he's not this stupid, then he is clearly and most certainly one of the most reprehensible creatures ever to use mass media to make himself wealthy while knowingly misleading those who are all too willing to be misled.

It's an unforgivable smear on the gravity, dignity, and importance of this day of somber remembrance. I couldn't let it pass.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

How I Solved the Debt Crisis






How I got the U.S. to an acceptable debt level at http://crfb.org/stabilizethedebt/. My selections are in bold below.


Iraq and Afghanistan

Reduce Troops to 60,000 by 2015
-$350B

Reduce Troops to 30,000 by 2013
-$740B
Maintain Current Funding Levels
$0

2001/2003 Tax Cuts
Renew All the Tax Cuts
$3,280B
Renew the Tax Cuts on Income Below $250k/200k
$2,590B
Reduce Lower Rate Cuts by Half and Let Upper-Income Cuts Expire
$2,060B
Allow All the Tax Cuts, Except for AMT Patches, to Expire
$480


Discretionary Spending Growth
Grow Regular Discretionary Spending with GDP
$1,290B
Adopt the Discretionary Spending Growth Rates in the President's Budget
$680B
Grow Regular Discretionary Spending with Inflation
$0


Defense, Diplomacy & Security
Enact Administration's Proposed Weapon System Cuts
-$30B


Foreign Aid
Cut Foreign Economic Aid in Half
-$110B

Increase Foreign Economic Aid by 50%
$110B

Veterans' Benefits
Reduce Veteran's Income Security Benefits
-$50B
Expand Veteran's Income Security Benefits
$30B


Cancel Missile Defense System
-$50B

Reduce Spending on Ship Building
-$50B

Increase Homeland Security Spending
$50B

Troop Levels
Increase Number of troops by 46,000
$70B
Reverse "Grow the Army" Initiative
-$90B


Domestic Social & Economic Spending
Cancel TARP and Rescind Unused ARRA Funds
-$350B

Enact New Jobs Bill
$210B

Food Stamps
Gradually Reduce Benefits to 2008 Levels
-$100B
Index Current (Post-Stimulus) Benefits to GDP
$140B


Freeze Average Unemployment Benefits at 2009 Levels
-$50B
Cut Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Program
-$50B
Cut Federal Funding of K-12 Education by 25%
-$60
Eliminate the New Markets Tax Credit
-$40B
Cut School Breakfast Programs
-$30
Double Funding on Adoption and Foster Care
$70B
Increase Funding for the Education of Disadvantaged and Disabled Children
$290

Social Security
Raise the Normal Retirement Age to 68
-$110B

Slow Initial Benefit Growth
Gradually Reduce Scheduled Benefits (by 30% in 2080)
-$100B

Progressively Reduce Benefits, Protecting Low Earners
-$80B
Progressively Reduce Benefits, Protecting Low and Medium Earners
-$60B
Use An Alternate Measure of Inflation for COLAs
-$100B

Reduce Spousal Benefits from 50% to 33%
-$20B
Increase Years Used to Calculate Benefits
-$40B
Include all New State and Local Workers
-$80B
Institute a Minimum Benefit
$130B

Health Care
Modify Health Care Reform Law

Expand Coverage to an Additional 5 Million People
$130B
Reduce Insurance Subsidies by 20%
-$160B
Repeal Entire Legislation
$160B
Repeal Legislation, but Keep Medicare/Medicaid Cuts
-$260B
Increase Cost-Sharing for Medicare
-$100B
Raise Medicare Premiums to 35% of Costs
-$140B
Reduce Spending on Graduate Medical Education
-$20B
Enact Medical Malpractice Reform
-$50B
Increase the Medicare Retirement Age to 67
-$80B
Replace Traditional Medicare with Insurance Vouchers
-$120B
Modify Federal Medicaid Funding to States

Reduce Funding Removing Floor on Matches
-$130B
Increase Average Matches from 57% to 60%
$140B


Other Spending
Eliminate Certain Outdated Programs
-$40B
Reduce Federal Highway Funding
-$70B
Reduce or Eliminate Certain Transportation Programs
-$20B
Cut Federal Workforce by Five Percent
-$130B
Cancel NASA Missions to the Moon and Mars
-$40B
Reduce Farm Subsidies
-$80B
Expand Spending on Federal Research & Development
$100
Cut Earmarks in Half
-$80B

Increase Mass Transit Funding
$60B


Revenues
Increase User Fees Across the Board
-$40B
Sell Certain Government Assets
-$70B
Impose Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee
-$80B
Reform International Tax System
-$120B
Enact Carbon Tax or Cap-and-Trade
-$330B
Increase Gas Tax by 10 Cents per Gallon
-$80B
Enact Five percent VAT With Partial Rebate
-$630B

Gradually Increase Dependent Exemption by $3,500
$190B
Impose Surtax on Income above $1 million
-$190B
Gradually Increase Payroll Tax by One Percentage Point
-$130B


Raise Social Security Payroll Tax Cap
Raise Cap to Cover 90% of Earnings
-$420B

Institute Two Percent Surtax on Earnings Above Cap
-$190B
Reduce Corporate Tax Rate from 35% to 30%
$390B
Index Tax Code to Alternate Measure of Inflation
-$80B
Improve Tax Collection (Reduce Tax Gap)
-$20B


Tax Expenditures
Convert Mortgage Interest Deduction to a 20% Credit
-$190B
Limit Itemized Deductions for High-Earners
-$250B
Curtail State and Local Tax Deduction
-$470B
Eliminate Life Insurance Tax Benefits
-$220B

Eliminate Subsidies for Biofuels
-$110B
Make Research & Development Tax Credit Permanent
$80B
Extend $400/person Making Work Pay Credit
-$400B

Tax Credits for Children and Families
Cut the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
-$70B
Expand the EITC and Child Tax Credit
$90B
Extend "American Opportunity" College Tax Credit
$60B

Tax Treatment of Employer Sponsored Health Insurance
Begin Excise Tax on High-Cost Plans in 2013 Instead of 2018
-$110B

Repeal Excise Tax on High-Cost Plans
$10B
Replace Employer Health Care Exclusion with a Flat Credit (In Place of Excise Tax)
-$340B

Friday, May 21, 2010

Reinventing financial regulation

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2010/05/20/GR2010052004992.html


I'm glad to see a return to some degree of sanity.

How many more times will we fall for the lies and deceptions of so-called free markets and deregulation before we learn the lesson?

Eff the Gramm-Leach-Bliley act and all the harm it and Randians everywhere have done to our great country, our economy and our once great society. How much more proof do we ordinary citizens need that the people with money and power can never, ever, ever be trusted to do what's right for anyone but themselves?

Markets only work for everyone when there are some rules that enforce fairness and honesty.