Sunday Thoughts . . .

“I consider it a violation of the Constitution for the Federal Government to levy taxes for the support of state or local government; that no State or local government can accept funds from the Federal and remain independent in performing its functions, nor can the citizens exercise their rights of self-government under such conditions.”  Ezra Taft Benson

Sen. Marco Rubio on Debt Debate: You Don't Compromise When the House is Burning Down

DC: When It Becomes Apparent The Emperor Has No Clothes, Legalize Nudity

This morning with Neil Cavuto on Fox News, Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) took the rating agencies to task for signaling that they would downgrade the US and state and municipalities if there is not substantial structural reform to the gaping national debts and annual deficits.  Rep. Frank stated that Congress would do away with all the federal laws that require the holding of only AAA rated investments in the event that rating agencies proceed to downgrade government credit ratings.

Isn't this Washington at its finest?  Like a drunk whining for another drink, while saying they plan to sober up "tomorrow" yet taking no action to actually reduce alcohol consumption and entirely refusing to commit to enter a treatment center.

Now that the ratings agencies, and the American people, can no longer hide the ugly reality that the DC emperor has no fiscal clothes, the drunken emperor will now decree from on high that public nudity is perfectly acceptable.

It's painfully apparent that Washington will never solve the Washington Problem.  That's why our unique, unprecedented system of government provides both "internal" and "external" checks and balances.  Madison stated that "the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments" (federal and states), and they "will control each other" as "a double security to the rights of the people."  Jefferson said "it must be the states themselves, erecting barriers at the constitutional line as cannot be surmounted."  And, John Dickinson warned "it will be their own FAULTS, if the several states suffer the federal sovereignty to interfere in the things of there respective jurisdictions."

It's it time to end the zombie-like focus on a naked, drunken emperor and instead return the fundamentals of our unprecedented systems that provided critical external checks to Washington simply doing what our Founders knew was the very nature of government: to amass unbridled, naked power.  The system is the solution!

Call your state representative and let him or her know that you intend to rely on the Article VI oath he or she swore to uphold the U.S. Constitution and that you do "rely on our state legislatures to erect barriers against the encroachments of the national authority." (Hamilton)

Washington Lacks The Will To Solve The Washington Problem

Washington is still "playing government" with our children's future with the same worn out budget gimmicks that make it "look" like they are doing something meaningful, while still protecting their own interests exclusively: getting reelected by retaining the ability to continue overspending money to their favored interest groups which is charged to our children's future (btw the future is now more than ever).

In Federal Budget Fraud we find this, "Making matters worse, both Reid and Boehner are using the time-honored Washington dodge of “baseline budgeting,” meaning that the proposed cuts are not actual reductions in spending from year to year, but cuts from projected future increases. Thus, under both the Reid and Boehner plans, actual federal spending will continue to rise."

How Will States Be Impacted By Federal Budget Woes?

Where states on average rely on the federal government for 1 out of every 3 dollars they spend, the impact will be serious.  Fortunately, we passed HB138 Federal Receipts Reporting Requirements in Utah this year.  This bill which I sponsored requires all state agencies and departments to reports all federal receipts, the percentage they are of its budget, and their contingency plan if federal funds are diminished for any reason.

Let's See . . . Where To Cut Spending . . .

Major Nidal Hasan, accused of the 2009 mass shooting rampage at Fort Hood that left 13 dead, has retained his military rank and continues to get paychecks from the government, the base commander said Wednesday.

Only in DC Are The Prudent Branded As Extremists

Only in America would people trying to balance the national budget be branded extremists. Is the average American who spends less than they make an extremist? In the eyes of Washington politicians and mainstream media talking heads, you would be an extremist. Let’s peruse some facts and judge who the extremists are:

• Federal government spending has risen from $1.9 trillion in 2001 to $3.8 trillion in 2011, a 100% increase. Federal government revenues grew from $2.0 trillion in 2001 to $2.5 trillion in 2008, before collapsing to $2.2 trillion today. GDP over this same time frame has grown 47%.
• The annual Federal budget deficit in 2007 was $160 billion. Annual deficits between 2002 and 2008 ranged between 1% and 4% of GDP. Since 2009, annual budget deficits have exceeded $1.1 trillion and will continue to exceed $1 trillion as far as the eye can see. Annual deficits now exceed 10% of GDP.
• The Federal government spends in excess of $1.2 trillion per year on the cost of present and past wars, or 55% of all tax revenues.
• With a gun to their head from Wall Street banks, Congress handed over $700 billion of taxpayer money to the criminal banks that had just crashed the worldwide economic system with their casino gambling. These banks have been getting free money from the Federal Reserve since 2008 and have rewarded themselves with in excess of $70 billion in bonuses since 2008.
• Obama handed $800 billion of pork to his constituents across the country in order to create 3.5 million jobs. The $800 billion is gone and we’re still waiting for the jobs.
• The home buyer tax credit scheme cost Americans $22 billion, or $100,000 per additional home sold, and home prices are now 5% lower than they were before this worthless Keynesian scam. And prices continue to fall.
• The Cash for Clunkers debacle cost Americans $3 billion, or $24,000 per junked car, as a payoff to Government Owned Motors and Obama’s union backers.
• The taxpayer bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has cost Americans $160 billion so far, with at least another $150 billion to go.
• The Federal Reserve tripled their balance sheet to $2.7 trillion and is now leveraged 55 to 1, twice the leverage of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers when they failed. A 2% decline in the value of their assets wipes out their capital.
• The government and Federal Reserve threatened the FASB into changing the accounting rules so the Too Big To Fail Wall Street banks could fraudulently report the value of the assets on their books, to appear solvent.
• Obamacare will add 30 million people to the government controlled healthcare system, while adding mountains of new bureaucracy, and trillions of added costs.
• And last but not least, the country goes $4 billion further into debt every day. Or for further perspective: $166 million per hour; $2.8 million per minute; $46,000 per second.

Economy "Unexpectedly" Downgraded Much Lower

Q1 and Q2 downgraded much lower.  Economist continue to be baffled by this "unexpected" sluggishness of the "nascent recovery" despite a central government that has sucked all the life out of the economy with the largest national debts and deficits the world has ever seen.  Wow! Maybe it's not possible to borrow your way to prosperity.  You think?

When the Going Gets Tough, Just Spenditol . . .

Regulating Business to Death . . .

A recent report entitled Ten Thousand Commandments estimates that the cost to business of complying with federal regulation as of 2008 was more than $1.75 Trillion per year.   Ten thousand and one commandments was just too much for this Alabama coal mine operator.

Chinese Credit Rating Agency, Dagong, To Cut US Rating By Monday

When the best the DC can muster is to propose a cut of 1/1,500th of the annual overspending, the credit rating agency of our major banker of the national debt, China, is not amused.  Who will fund the 1,499/1,500ths of the annual $1.5 Trillion federal overspending now?

Why the Debt Crisis Is Even Worse Than You Think

From Bloomberg Business Week: "An honest assessment of the country’s projected revenue and expenses over the next generation would show a reality different from the apocalyptic visions conjured by both Democrats and Republicans during the debt-ceiling debate. It would be much worse."