VETTING OBAMA – PART I – IT BEGINS

The economy, albeit gradually, is still tanking. Eduardo Saverin, billionaire cofounder of Facebook has jumped ship and renounced his citizenship (last September). I can’t blame him, he’s not American by birth, and he’s about to make $5-$10 billion through Facebook’s IPO. I wouldn’t want to have to hand the United States $750,000,000 to $1,500,000,000 simply because I hold a U.S. passport either. Saverin is the poster child for what ails this nation. The wealthy are tired of paying MORE than their fair share. They are taking their money and their companies elsewhere. The government’s response? Capital gains taxes will increase by 3% next year.

BUDGET AND THE DEBT CEILING

I think the best quote from the 2006 Congressional vote to extend the budget ceiling was the following, “The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that “the buck stops here.” Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.” Too true! Barack Obama nailed it when he said that. Yeah, THAT Barack Obama, y' know the one who promised to cut the national deficit in half by the end of his first term¹. Reid was adamantly against raising the debt ceiling, also². 

THE MYTH OF GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

So the liberal spin is that the Republicans are going to cause a government shut down. Hmm... The budget Obama wants to pass will put this country $4.5 BILLION further into debt every day. Not $4.5B in total spending per day, $4.5B IN DEFICIT SPENDING PER DAY. I don't care how much you tax the rich... that is unsustainable. The Dems should have been passed THIS budget LAST year. They are Constitutionally mandated to do so, but they didn't.

OIL THAT IS, BLACK GOLD, TEXAS TEA

Did you miss me? I tried to quit blogging. I really did. I can't do it. So here we go again -

Oil. We need it. A 42-gallon barrel of oil produces just over 19 gallons of gasoline. The rest goes into products we use everyday. For instance, those big fat tires on your car contain about 7 gallons of petroleum each. The grand aspirations of the current administration, Al Gore, and countless organizations to break our “oil addiction” will not work.

AUDACITY

Taxes irritate me. Not that I don't think they are important. In today's day and age we can't support our necessary infrastructure without them. There are a few things I take issue with though.

A GLIMMER OF HOPE

In February the President enacted an Executive Order thereby creating the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform - this is a bipartisan group with one mission, reduce the deficit.  He has given the commission until 01 Dec 2010 to provide their recommendations.  Publicly nothing has been ruled out, in fact the opposite is true, with President Obama stating, "Everything is on the table.  That's how this thing is gonna work."  So they may recommend raising taxes or cutting programs (yes, even Health Care Reform is on the table), or they may recommend a combination.  But according to the President, "I'm going to be standing with them as they come up with the recommendations."  This press conference excited me with it's possibilities, although I am fully aware this could just be lip-service.

REPUBLICAN SPENDING?

I've been meaning to research this for some time... and now I have.

The current administration loves to blame Bush for the deficit.  I decided to take a little walk down down memory lane... won't you come with me?