Woody's Place

Here's The REAL State Of The Union: Obama's Economic Record, By The Numbers

Hat tip to the Senate Republican Policy Committee.

UPDATE: Here are links to all the source data in case you think I'm making it up.  Facts are stubborn things.

http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS13000000 
http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000 
http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=EMM_EPMR_PTE_NUS_DPG&f=W 
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np 
http://www.census.gov/ 
http://rpc.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=misery-index 
http://trends.collegeboard.org/college_pricing/report_findings/indicator/884#f9011 
http://ehbs.kff.org/pdf/8226.pdf 
http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/34snapmonthly.htm 
http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/p60-239.pdf 
http://www.zillow.com/local-info/ 
http://reports.weforum.org/global-competitiveness-2011-2012/ 

Tax Day Reality Check

According to IRS's own figures from 2008, the top 10% of earners are carrying 69% of the tax burden, while the bottom 50% pay only 2.7%. Yet some people keep saying these folks at the top "aren't paying their fair share"?

If these people really wanted fairness they'd advocate for a flat tax, where we all pay the same percentage no matter how much or how little we earn, but they don't really want fairness... they want to keep buying votes with somebody else's money.

Fairness in the tax code should be about how much we all PAY, not about how much some people have left over that we can further redistribute.

Collective Bargaining 101

Check out this new video from The Heritage Foundation on public employee unions:

I don't know who makes these videos, but they deserve a fat raise and three times the staff.  Nobody breaks these issues down and does a better presentation than Heritage.  Their "Tax Day By The Numbers" was great too.  The RNC and future Republican candidates should take lessons from these guys.

Bernie Madoff & Social Security, A Side By Side Comparison

Bernie Madoff was sent to prison for running what's called a Ponzi scheme.  He convinced people to invest with him but instead of actually investing their money, he just spent it.  When someone wanted to withdraw the money Madoff had been entrusted with he just used the funds from his new "clients" to pay back the old "clients".  But, like all Ponzi schemes, eventually there are not enough new investors to pay back the old investors and the whole thing just implodes.

Now Bernie Madoff is one of the most hated men in America and he is off to jail, and rightfully so.  He stole the life savings and dashed the hopes and dreams of thousands of American families, but the dirty little secret here is that the US government has been doing exactly what Madoff did to his investors to all of us for over seventy years with the Social Security program.  There is no meaningful difference between the two schemes, except that one was operated by a private individual who is now in jail, and the other is operated by Washington politicians who are rewarded by the very people they are defrauding.

You doubt me?  Well here's a side by side comparison:

BERNIE MADOFF	Took money from investors with the promise that the money will be invested and made available to them later.
SOCIAL SECURITY	Takes money from wage earners with the promise that the money will be invested in a "Trust Fund" and made available to them later.
BERNIE MADOFF	Instead of investing the money Madoff spent it on mansions, limousines and yachts.
SOCIAL SECURITY	Instead of depositing money in the "Trust Fund" the politicians spend the money on pork barrel projects and "freebies" to buy votes.
BERNIE MADOFF	When the time came to pay some investors back Madoff simply used some of the funds from newer investors.
SOCIAL SECURITY	When benefits for older investors become due the politicians pay them with money taken from younger wage earners.
BERNIE MADOFF	When Madoff's scheme is discovered all hell breaks loose. New investors won't give him any more cash.
SOCIAL SECURITY	When Social Security eventually runs out of money they will simply force you to send them even more of your wages, and then congratulate themselves for "saving" Social Security.

Bernie Madoff is in jail, but the politicians remain in Washington enjoying the perks and privilges of their offices, once again proving that there is no place more corrupt and hypocritical on this Earth than Washington DC.

P.S.This came in my inbox today and I just tweaked the wording a bit, made the table and added the photos.  The original author is unknown to me, but I figured he's still due a hat tip for his efforts.  I didn't want to pull a Joe Biden and try to pass off his words as my own.

Stick Figure Logic

Quote Of The Day: Thomas Jefferson On Redistribution Of Wealth

Quote Of The Day: Stossel On "Paying For" Tax Cuts

Via CMBlake6:

The stupidest thing said about tax cuts is the often-repeated claim that "they ought to be paid for." How absurd! Tax cuts merely let people keep money they rightfully own. It's government programs, not tax cuts, that must be paid for. The tax-hungry politicians' demand that cuts be "paid for" implies the federal budget isn't $3 trillion, but $15 trillion – the whole GDP – with anything mercifully left in our pockets being some form of government spending. How monstrous!

Exactly.  How the Republicans let the Democrats get away with this kind of distortion year after year is beyond me.  I think we need to haul them all out of Washington for yearly re-education camps or something!

Why Businesses Aren't Hiring

The Wall Street Journal published a brilliant editorial by Micheal Fleischer explaining why businesses aren't hiring new employees.  It's a must read.

[...] To offset tax increases and steepening rises in health-insurance premiums, my company needs sustainably higher profits and sales—something unlikely in this "summer of recovery." We can't pass the additional costs onto our customers, because the market is too tight and we'd lose sales. Only governments can raise prices repeatedly and pretend there will be no consequences.

And even if the economic outlook were more encouraging, increasing revenues is always uncertain and expensive. As much as I might want to hire new salespeople, engineers and marketing staff in an effort to grow, I would be increasing my company's vulnerability to government decisions to raise taxes, to policies that make health insurance more expensive, and to the difficulties of this economic environment.

A life in business is filled with uncertainties, but I can be quite sure that every time I hire someone my obligations to the government go up. From where I sit, the government's message is unmistakable: Creating a new job carries a punishing price.

Be sure to click over and read the rest.  It's right on the money.

EXIT QUESTION: How long before the MSM/DNC Cabal embargo on the failure of Obamanomics begins to crack?  I'm guessing right after the election.

Obama's Policies Are Damaging The Economy

As you can see by this chart, the ratio of working-age citizens who are employed, versus those who are unemployed or have given up looking for work is at the lowest level in modern history.

This is because Obama's economic policies are doing more harm than good to the US economy.

Obama has engaged in an orgy of spending and defecits the likes of which we have never seen in the history of our Republic, and the money is being used almost exclusively to fund politically oriented programs that have little to no stimulative effect.  This does nothing to inspire confidence that a recovery is near, but does everything to inspire confidence that tax increases are.

Many of Obama's initiatives since taking office have been driven by the Democrats dishonest class warfare agenda.  Rewarding government employees at taxpayer expense, rewarding union members at taxpayer expense, and demonizing the business community and the investor class at every turn.  Hmm... which of those groups is the one that creates new jobs again?

Obama and the Democrat controlled Congress passed a healthcare bill that will significantly increase the cost of doing business in America, just when businesses could least afford it.

Obama & Co. are placing increased regulatory burdens on many sectors of the economy, again to little real effect, but politically popular with ingnorant Democrat voters even though they hurt the private sector and impede the chances of a recovery. 

Obama and the Democrats are threatening to push through a cap & trade style energy bill that would amount to a $640 billion dollar tax increase on American businesses.

Democrats keep floating the possibility of a European style VAT tax, which would just increase the cost of every product or service offered at every business in the nation. 

In addition to all the business tax increases listed above, the largest income tax increase in American history is coming in six months (IS coming, not MIGHT come), and Obama and the Democrats can't wait for all that money to come to Washington.  Money that could be in your community creating new jobs.  This will likely be a crushing blow to an already reeling US economy.

All of this unecessary and politically motivated commotion (a.k.a. "Change") is creating a climate of fear and uncertainty in the private sector.  Would you invest in expanding your business when any increase in profits would likely be taxed away from you?  Would you hire more employees when the healthcare costs are set to skyrocket?  Would you risk your wealth or take out a loan to finance a new business venture when things are so shaky and the leadership of this nation is apparently making every single wrong move you could make?

No.

And the results are already becoming clear:

The Federal Reserve reported Thursday that nonfinancial companies had socked away $1.84 trillion in cash and other liquid assets as of the end of March, up 26% from a year earlier and the largest-ever increase in records going back to 1952. Cash made up about 7% of all company assets, including factories and financial investments, the highest level since 1963.

Businesses are setting aside cash because they have no confidence in Obama.  This cash could be creating new jobs and new opportunities, but Obama and the Democrats have blown any chance of a speedy economic turnaround.  It will take a complete shake up in Washington to fix this, and that's not possible until January 2013, so buckle up folks, it's going to be a long and bumpy ride.

My Version Of The ARRA Road Construction Signs

Doctor Zero On Obama's Deficit Reduction Sham

Doc Zero has a great new piece out on Obama's "Defecit Reduction Commission":

Watching this Presidential commission discuss strategies for deficit reduction is like watching a pack of gluttons talk about getting in shape while they prowl up and down a buffet table. They linger over the deep-fried mortgage interest deduction caps, dip their spoons into the rich chocolate of the VAT tax, and lick their lips as they wait for the expired Bush tax cuts to pop out of the oven. They end up perched on the edge of creaking chairs, tittering at the wonderfully naughty idea of devouring everyone’s 401k plans for dessert. It’s a nauseating spectacle that will only end when they’re escorted from the restaurant by angry voters.

Who knew reading about a Presidential Commission could be so entertaining?  Then again who knew we'd elect an Administration composed entirely of Keystone Kops?  Go read the rest over at Doc's place. 

Federal Spending By The Numbers

Why The Democrats Class Warfare Rhetoric Is Complete Bull$#!+

You'll often hear Democrat politicians like Barack Hussein Obama, Howard "Screamin" Dean or Nancy "Nazi" Pelosi going on and on about how the wealthiest Americans don't pay their "fair share".  Is this really the case?  Well, let's take a look at the numbers.

Here is the top 1% of American wage earners, represented by a tiny sliver on this pie chart.  We're not talking about a big group here.  Bill Gates is in there, my pal Warren Buffet is in there, most successful entrepeneurs are in there, most Doctors and lawyers are in there and pretty much all the professional athletes and Hollywood stars are in there too.  The top 1% is basically anyone earning over $375,000 a year.

Now let's look at income. 

Obviously there have always been people who work harder, are smarter, and/or are luckier than the rest of us.  This is true all around the world, and all throughout history.  I don't think any rational person would want to change society so everyone got the same income as every other person.  Things would quickly grind to a halt, because there'd be nothing for anyone to work or strive for.

So as it stands here in the real world, the top 1% earn 18% of all the income.

Now let's keep in mind that the top 1% are a mostly self sufficient bunch.  They don't use government services at anywhere near the rate of the poorest of Americans or even the middle class, yet take a look at their tax burden!

How the hell is this even fair?  And more importantly, how is it not paying their "fair share" as the Democrats so frequently claim?

Obviously the claim that these people aren't paying their "fair share" is an outright lie.  I believe the deception is deliberate, and is intended to keep the uneducated "working people" riled up and voting Democrat.

The truth is that the top 1% are getting hosed by the system far, far worse than any of us regular Joes, and all these lying liberals know it.  Worse yet, these same lying politicians want the top 1% to pay an even BIGGER share.  They would tax this country back into the stone age if they could, all in the pursuit of some warped idea of "fairness" power.  

Quote Of The Day

A wise man once said:

"You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.  You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.  You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.  You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.  You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.  You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence.  You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves."

What great Republican leader said this?  Reagan?  Bush?  Gingrich?  Friedman? 

Quote Of The Day

George Will:  

The administration’s central activity — the political allocation of wealth and opportunity — is not merely susceptible to corruption, it IS corruption.

Exactly.