Retirees in Trouble? Lucky them!

I happened upon this article that explains that with no rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) this year, social security recipients will not get their usual cost of living raise this year. Because medical care costs are not included in the CPI - what government genius thought that up? - rising costs for their health care will effectively make any of our seniors on SS a little poorer this year.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32544620/ns/politics-more_politics/

Do you know what I say????? Boo Hoo HOO! Pretty calous? Damn straight. Here's why: because Citizen Zane has been paying 7.65% of every pay check this year to fund Social Security and Medicare and my dear employer has been matching those contributions. Assuming that I make $100,000 (because that one and those zeros make for an easy calculation) this year, my employer and I will have shelled out $15,300 to pay for seniors. When my wife was still gainfully employed, we were paying her share too, and for what? How much Social Security and Medicare will I be blessed with? I am still a good 25 years away from collecting and we have to survive all of the baby boomers who are holding out their greasy palms for their share and are in line before me. In other words - I AM NOT GOING TO GET JACK SH*T WHEN I AM OLD! That's because that account in my name that Bill Clinton promised would be there has absolutely NOTHING in it. Congress already looted it and used it for some stupid pork barrel project or a war in the Middle East.

So if you are lucky enough to be collecting anything at all right now, count your blessings. When the baby boomers start retiring, we are going to be buried under the social security and medicare obligations owed to them that we don't have savings for. Here's what's going to happen...everybody who isn't collecting SS or medicare will vote to reduce the benefits for the people who are. Either that or the system and the governemnt will simply collapse from the accumulated debt. And the baby boomers have nobody to blame but themselves. Everybody in the free world has known that the system is going broke since as long as I can remember. Problem is, nobody did anything about it. If you think that Congress today is going to worry about your problems 10 years from now, you are a fool. Go check your face in the mirror, point to the reflection, and say thou fool!

I remember when President Bush Jr. was talking about privatizing SS, and there were a bunch of ding dongs out on the street corners with signs telling him to keep his filthy hands off of their benefits. HAHAHAHAAHAHA!!! The joke is certainly on them. There was nothing there for him to sully his paws on. I think that our only hope is to let a bunch of new immigrants who will work and fund the next round of retirees into the country. Let's hope that our immigration policies in the near future will be smarter than our retirement plans are right now - Citizen Zane

Will Reality Eventually Set In?

I wasn't surprised to see this headline, but it turned my stomach nonetheless.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32551518/ns/politics-white_house

Yep, the White House is predicting a $9 Trillion (with a capital T) deficit over the next 10 years. That's in addition to all of the other money that we owe and doesn't include all of those nasty unfunded deficits for Social Security and Medicare that we have conveniently swept under the rug. Big deal you say? We've always had a big debt and we seem to have come out of it ok this far. Well, dear reader, there comes a point where we've finally bitten off more than we can chew.

Here is the problem: we have to continue borrowing from other sources to fund these deficits. So far, big exporters to the United States - China, Japan, and Saudi Arabia among others - are lending us back the dollars that we have paid them for their sundry goods. Its an interesting dynamic. They fund Uncle Sam, who pays federal employees, defense contractors, farmers, welfare moms, and this list stretches out from here to Nancy Pelosi's private jet. These folks buy gas, electronics, clothes, cars, etc., and hand the cash back to the guys who lent it to us to start with and the circle continues. Pretty neat system, eh? Yeah, neat until China decides that enough is enough and quits lending to us and crashes our economy. Of course, they probably could never do it because it would crash their main export market, but they could always threaten to and use it as leverage against us in other matters. Why do you think the government is propping up all of those mortgage backed securities out there. Yup, cuz lots of them are held by the Chinese and they also hold a huge chunk of our national debt too so its wise not to piss 'em off too badly.

So what are we supposed to do with all of this debt that we can never pay back? The answer is....monetize it!!! Yep, those printing presses at Treasury are going to be working overtime to print up more paper money to pay that debt off. When this happens, the value of the dollar will plummet against the world's currencies and we will effectively be The United States of Banana Republic. All of our creditors will take it in the a$$ because their loans to us will devalue to nickels on the dollar. I thought about the US being too big to fail. In a sense, if we crash, we bring everyone down with us. Its like a big game of chicken where we have them by the short hairs and they have us in the ol' genital cuff. But the more I thought about it, I realized that the situation is far more dangerous than that. Those guys know that monetization is the only end game possible if we don't get our house in order and they are going to start parking all of those dollars somewhere where they are backed by hard assets - not flimsy paper.

Remember a few years ago when the Japanese were making headlines buying up trophy real estate and golf courses in the US? The dern fools overpaid for everything and their investments went belly up in a lot of cases and they were left with nothing more than Michael Crichton's "Rising Sun" novel and subsequent movie (with Tia Carrere - rrrowr!) for their trouble. Take it from me, the Chinese are not so foolhardy with their cash. And neither will be the Japanese next time around. They will buy on the cheap. What will they buy with all of their cash? Property? Yes. Equity stakes in US companies? Absolutely. Defense contractors, technology companies, and research labs? Yup. Oil and other natural resources? For certain. Heaven forbid...lawyers...lobbyists...congressmen...and...dare we say it...baseball players??? Yeah, the imagination runs wild. Those dirty imperialists!

So when Congress and the President casually talk about these crazy deficits blowing up like they are nothing too important, and continue to flood us with stupid legislation and pork barrel projects, I can only shake my head and wonder when this house of cards will come tumbling down. All those free goodies and neat social programs that we are borrowing money to pay for. Those will be up in smoke. Our tax bills will be up too - just without the smoke. Is it too late to vote them all out and put some sensible people in charge? I don't know.

Geez, I just reread this rambling and I have become a certified nutcase. Oooooh, I need some insurance reform to cover all of the psychiatric care that is in my future - Citizen Zane

Read My Lips....

Remember when George H.W. Bush provided us with those immortal lines that came back to bite him in the butt at the next election? Well, President Obama has likewise promised the middle class that they would not pay one more dime of taxes. That being said, I wasn't surprised in the least when White House Senior Advisor David Axelrod came out and admitted that the President may not be able to keep that promise.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2009/06/axelrod-obama-wont-rule-out-tax-hike-.html

Shortly after I saw this, I heard a similar announcement from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner stating that tax increases were not completely of the table. Of course the President came rushing out to deny that there will be any tax increases for those making less than $250K per year, but reality tells us otherwise. The bloating of the national debt under President Obama and the left-leaning Congress is going to make for a lot of ammunition for the Republicans next fall and the Chinese, Japanese, and Saudis have got to be chewing the fingernails down as our national debt threatens to eat away the value of the treasuries that they hold.

I'm guessing that the idea of a tax increase for all of us was floated out there for two purposes: 1) to check the reaction of the public to get a reading on how we will react when the tax increase comes; and 2) to start to get us all used to the idea that taxes are going to go up soon. Despite all of the campaign promises that the President made regarding taxes, he and Congress are going to have to face the reality that they need money to fund all of their ridiculous spending. They will certainly soak the rich to some degree, but the rich can only be taxed so far before they are tapped out. We are already taxing our corporations heavily, so don't expect much more from them either. Let's see....who does that leave....hmmmm...who could it be? Is it going to be you and me? Count on it.

The tax increases are coming. The only mystery that remains is whether or not the mainstream press will hold Obama accountable for his campaign promises like they did Bush the Elder. My guess is that everyone and his dog will rush to the President's side, sadly shake their heads, and say, "That mess that Lil' Bush left us gives us no choice but to ask for a tax increase". The stupid among us will nod their heads in agreement and blindly mark that "Democrat" box on their ballots next fall - Citizen Zane

Pitchforks and Torches Show Green Shoots

I really had to smile when I came across this article describing the trouble that current members of Congress are having at their once sedate "town hall" gatherings:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090731/pl_politico/25646

It seems as though the local villagers are showing up with their pitchforks and torches and brandishing them at their noble, self-sacrificing Representatives who come to discuss the issues. Apparently, the targets are likely to be members of the Democratic Party who are following lock-step with President Obama's agenda. Iowa Rep Bruce Braley puts out his own theory for the town halls gone wild as, “I think it’s just the fact that we are dealing with some of the most important public policy issues in a generation...I think in general what is going on is we are tackling issues that have been ignored for a long time, and I think that is disruptive to a lot of people...We are trying, one by one, to deal with a set of issues that can’t be ignored, and I think that’s unsettling to a lot of people.”

I give Representative Braley half credit for being half right. Congress is tackling some of the most important public policy issues. The half that he forgets is that they are making an absolute sh**ty mess of the whole thing. While the vast majority of the American electorate runs around as confused as Patrick Star on those Sponge Bob cartoons that my little boy loves, enough people are actually figuring out that we are not exactly getting good representation and that the slide that we have been on for the past 10 years or so is getting steeper by the minute. Blame it on whatever you like Mr. Braley, but the real culprit is the Internet. I can follow the regular goings on of the nitwits in Congress and read quick analysis, both pro and con, of the nonsense that is tucked into legislation (at least when the leadership of the Democratic Party finally allows it to go public after it has passed by their majority vote before any of them bothers to read it).

The other problem seems to be that our so-called Representatives are nothing of the sort. Do you really think that the majority of sane Americans were for cap and trade? Would the average American who is paying attention want your version of health care "reform"? No wonder your constituents are angry! If you are a citizen of the United States and you are not appalled by the job being done by Congress then its time to turn off the Sponge Bob and introduce yourself to the wonders of the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and the politics section of your favorite internet portal. Well, be careful if that portal is frequented by Elliot Spitzer, Larry Craig, Mark Sanford, and Bill Clinton, it may not be informative enough to stimulate you above the waistline - Citizen Zane

Mission Impossible

Boy, I thought that my job had some tough moments. I came across this gem about Treasury Secretary Timothy Giethner's latest assignment. It seems that the President has sent Mr. Geithner out on a world tour to convince the world that U.S. Treasuries were still a good investment.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31995295/ns/business-world_business

I suppose that I could probably walk into the office of my counterpart in China or Saudi Arabia and deliver this message if it were my job, but I would be shocked if I could pull it off with a straight face. It seems that the Secretary pretty much stuck to the same script: "The Obama administration was committed to guarding the value of the dollar and, once the economy improves, shrinking the deficit." Only a first class fool would take the Secretary's word on this subject seriously. You couldn't sell me on that snake oil. In fact, the article stated that a group of Chinese students at Peking University laughed when the Secretary told them that investments in U.S. Treasuries were a safe investment. The article states that his quick answer when asked was the reason for the laughter, but come on, those students aren't as stupid as President Obama hopes that the public here will continue to be.

Here is the problem, according to the Congressional Budget Office, this year's budget deficit is estimated to be $1.84 TRILLION dollars and that the smallest deficit the Obama administration will incur under its current spending plans is $633 BILLION, pushing our already insane national debt up to $9 TRILLION plus. I was sick with President Bush's deficits, but this is unconscionable. Before the President took office, I was actually hopeful that he would do something to bring spending under control. I guess that I missed on that one a bit, didn't I?

So why is all of this deficit such a bad thing? Because as anyone who has maxed out their credit cards knows, the bigger your debt load to income, the less likely that someone will loan you money. Eventually, we are going to reach the point where our debt is so big, that other countries will quit lending money to us. Here is a more eloquent explanation that I could make:

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/SuperModels/mad-world-chinas-bind-is-ours-too.aspx?page=1

The way that our current Congress is spending, I don't think that insovency is very far out in the future. With cap and trade, health care "reform", and whatever bailouts and stimulus that the administration will waste another trillion or two on, we can bet our last dollar (soon to be worth 19 cents) that interest rates and inflation are to follow. Tim Geithner's world tour is not going to save us on this one. The only hope that I have is that the U.S. is too big to fail, or something comes along to stop this madness. If something is to be done, it will have to come from the taxpayers. We have to send a message to this Congress by voting their reckless a**es out of office - Citizen Zane.

Whoa....Slow Down Cowboy!

I came across this article that explains that some Democrats in the House are not exactly enamored with the current health care "reform" bill.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31980862/ns/politics-the_new_york_times

Hopefully this is the beginning of a little sanity from the left side of the aisle. Despite the fact that the President and his supporters are referring to the proposed changes in health care as "reform", they are not even coming close to doing any actual reform that I can see. How can adding several million people on to the government's health care plan and having a bunch of other people pay for it be considered reform? Thinking back to my Social Studies class during my junior year of high school, we called that Socialism, not reform. I suppose that "reform" makes it sound like we are going to get something really great to the uniformed and the clinically stupid.

The problem with the current bill under construction was clearly pointed out by the Congressional Budget Office - it does nothing to slow the growth in health spending. I've heard various estimates on what the shortfall would be that the taxpayers would have to pick up after we sock it to the wealthy. Let me tell you a secret. Despite Nancy Pelosi's claim that there will be substantial savings built into the plan, THIS BILL IS GOING TO BANKRUPT US!!! Was that subtle enough?

If the government wanted to truly reform health care, it would be focusing on the various cost drivers that are causing year-to-year costs to spiral like they have. Unfortunately, there are no easy answers to bringing those costs under control. Anyone who tells you that eliminating the private insurers who are trying to turn a profit and replacing them with a benevolent government agency is going to reduce the costs of health care is either too stupid to fog a mirror, lying through their teeth, or feels obligated to believe it because the Democrats are always right (go back and test that fog a mirror thing on yourself ding dong). Congress doesn't want to make hard decisions and work through thorny problems. They want a quick bill that spreads some cash to the greasy palms of their friends and strengthens their supporters desire to reelect them. That's why at the end of the day, we will all get stuck with sh**ty health care and another mountain of taxes and debt.

I WANT health care reform. The President is absolutely darn tootin' correct that health care costs and our nations delivery system are insane. However, being in such a rush to get any old stupid a** legislation passed and trumpeting it as reform is even more insane than our current situation. Slow down, Cowboy. Let's all take our time and make sure that before we jump over this cliff that there is a pile of soft mattresses down there to catch us. Take an honest look at what is driving the costs and address them first. Then come back to us with a plan to add a few more million into the insurance pool. I realize that the President wants something rammed through the House right away that nobody looks at before his approval rating dips again, but only a fool would rush in to something of this scope and complexity without being sure. Oh jeez...I just remembered who is on the Hill. Kind of feels like the time I thought that marrying that girl six years older than me with two kids, a drug problem, and a credit score of 350 would be a good idea because she looked good in a short skirt and sling-back heels and everyone would congratulate me because my wife was hot. Vegas was only a 4 1/2 hour drive away at the time....Citizen Zane.

My Congresswoman Responds!

I sent an e-mail to my beloved Representative, Nita Lowey, detailing out why I thought that cap and trade was a ridiculous bill. To her credit, she responded with a form letter (that means that she read my e-mail, right?). Here is the contents for your reading pleasure:

Dear Citizen Zane:

Thank you for contacting me to share your thoughts on global warming and climate change legislation. I appreciate having the benefit of your views and welcome the opportunity to respond.

I believe it is critical that we take real steps to reduce global warming. The science is conclusive -- human activity is contributing to a change in the world's climatic patterns. In fact, more than 1,500 scientists, including 102 Nobel Prize winners and 60 U.S. National Medal of Science winners, agree there is a discernible and negative human influence on the global climate. In addition, over 2,500 leading economists, including eight Nobel Prize winners, have stated that climate change "carries with it significant environmental, economic, social, and geopolitical risks" and that "preventive steps are justified." If greenhouse gases continue to accumulate in the atmosphere at the current rate, temperature zones, rainfall patterns, and agricultural belts would all be detrimentally affected and, under certain scenarios, the sea level would even rise.

That is why I supported H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act, when it was brought before the House of Representatives on June 26th, 2009. This legislation will increase the availability and use of clean, renewable energy sources, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to eliminating 57 million cars from our roads.

I agree that preserving our planet should not hinder our economic recovery. In fact, this legislation will create millions of new, green jobs. It will also increase our national security by reducing our dependence on foreign oil by more than 5 million barrels per day.

As utilities upgrade their technology to fully utilize alternative energy sources, this legislation also protects consumers from energy price increases. According to recent analyses from the Congressional Budget Office and the Environmental Protection Agency, the legislation would cost each household less than 50 cents per day in 2020, while the household savings generated from greater efficiency standards is expected to total over $4000, far exceeding any potential increase in costs.

Rest assured that as this legislation continues to move through the Senate, I will push for the highest levels of consumer protection, keeping our shared concerns in mind.

Thank you again for sharing your thoughts with me. If you would like more information on this or other issues, or to sign up for my regular e-newsletter, visit my website at www.lowey.house.gov. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can help you in any way.

Sincerely,
Nita Lowey
Member of Congress

Holy Cow - the science is "CONCLUSIVE", we are causing climate change! We better pass this bill right away, especially because it will create "millions of new jobs" in green energy and not "hinder our economic recovery". Who does she think that this e-mail was sent to, somebody stupid???? Nope, it was sent to Citizen Zane who knows that Congresswoman Nita Lowey is full of Sh*t! This is why we need to vote all of these irresponsible fools out of office. They don't care about the truth and they certainly don't care about us. I will be voting against Nita Lowey in 2010. I'm so fed up, I may even run against her out of spite. I may even garner 10 votes or more if anyone is paying attention. That may be a longer shot than me actually winning the dang seat - Citizen Zane