Big Money America

EU Nations Should and Will Eventually Drop Off the Euro

2012-01-24T06:56:00.000-08:00

Are we becoming slaves of the financial institutions that gamble with our money? Are we rolling over and play dead when Chinese, German and other banks come asking for money that they loaned us so easily? No, my friends, we should not. Let’s have judges and justice departments all over the globe check in the cloudy and murky waters of the hedge funds. Let's demand from our politicians, left and right, to return to the kind of legislation that did NOT allow banks to gamble, but to simply keep our deposits in TRUST, secure and safe. [more...]

We Are Becoming the Biggest Loser

2012-01-17T11:59:00.000-08:00

By Christopher Markowski

The USA is now ranked 10th in the world in business competitiveness, and in economic freedom, falling behind countries such as Chile and Mauritius. In 2008, I was furious at the fact that we were ranked 5th in the world and offered free market ideas to turn the nation around. Instead we took a sharp left turn. We are now fast becoming a socialist state that takes a back seat to ridiculous government spending that is turning us into a Nanny State. Chris We must change our course immediately lest we go into a socialist death spiral that will be almost impossible to reverse.

Shake-Ups in 2012

2012-01-04T06:01:00.001-08:00

By Wayne Allyn Root

2012 will be the most interesting, significant, exciting, and frightening year in U.S. and perhaps world history. The EU economic collapse will accelerate. Not only are most major European banks insolvent but so are entire EU countries. Eventually this will lead to a massive European economic depression, which will eventually lead to the breakup of the EU and the end of the euro. [more of Wayne's 2012 predictions here...]

Predictions for the 2012 Economy

2012-01-04T05:53:00.001-08:00

"Watchdog on Wall Street" Christopher Markowski, political and economic expert and nationally syndicated radio talk show host, says, "The year is 2012 and the world is seemingly walking a tight rope. From the upcoming election to the never ending European soap opera, our ballooning national debt, China, Venezuela and North Korea to top it all off. What should investors do with such an uncertain and tenuous future?" Call for interviews with Christopher Markowski to find out.

Jon Corzine Scandal Exposes Liberal Ponzi Scheme

2011-11-16T07:01:00.001-08:00

By Wayne Allyn Root

We’re all in trouble when the joke is on our most connected politicians. Jon Corzine is the former CEO of Wall Street powerhouse Goldman Sachs. Even God shudders when the CEO of Goldman walks in the room (or so Goldman executives think). Corzine left Goldman with a half-billion-dollar fortune and became a United States Senator. Soon he was a Governor of New Jersey. His friends are the most powerful people on Wall Street and in Washington, D.C. Only months ago he was a strong bet to be appointed to a major position in the Obama administration. He is the type of guy the media calls “the smartest guy in the room.” But obviously brains and connections aren’t enough to prevent a bankruptcy. Corzine just presided over one of the biggest disasters in Wall Street history; he just resigned as Chairman and CEO of MF Global, one of the most powerful Wall Street bond and futures trading firms. MF Global just filed for bankruptcy. Billions have been lost, hundreds of millions are missing, over 1,700 employees just received pink slips, and Corzine has hired a criminal defense lawyer. [more...]

MS Global: I Smell a Rat or Just Bad Decision Making?

2011-11-02T09:52:00.000-07:00

By Christopher Markowski

After making a risky bet in a tumultuous market, MF Global filed for Chapter 11 this past weekend. Recently, the firm revealed that it had $6.3 billion of sovereign debt in troubled countries like Italy and Spain. The position was nearly five times the firm’s equity of more than a billion dollars. But how can a company such as MS Global go out and invest in something as toxic as European sovereign debt? According to the WSJ, a person familiar to the situation said FBI officials have decided to examine the discrepancy to determine if customers' money is missing. What is the importance and impact of the nation's largest financial institution collapse?

The Obama Plan to Redistribute Housing

2011-10-25T09:20:00.000-07:00

By Wayne Allyn Root

I’m willing to bet that, as a child, Obama was very jealous of other kids’ marbles. He must have felt short-changed of his share of marbles. Unfortunately this made him obsessed with taking other kids’ marbles and redistributing them. I’ll bet he was good at it - so good that no kids were willing to ever play with him ever again. He became a lonely kid, dreaming of growing up to run the country, make all the rules, and take marbles away from everyone.

Unfortunately people rarely change. The way you think as a kid is often the base of your philosophy and personality for the rest of your life. Because as an adult, Obama’s entire life has been built around the idea of government stealing from successful people who worked hard and earned their money, to redistribute it to those who don’t.

First Obama tried to redistribute wealth before he was President, by leading the charge to force banks to make loans to lower income Americans who could not afford to own homes (through the Community Reinvestment Act). Affirmative action for homes didn’t work out so well. That idea imploded the housing market, and led to the destruction of the entire U.S. economy.

Obama did not realize there is a difference between marbles and homes. Marbles are free to kids. Homes come with a mortgage, insurance, repairs and property taxes. Just because you want something, or because it seems “fair” that everyone should have it, doesn’t mean everyone can afford it, or is responsible enough to pay for it month after month.

Then Obama was elected President- on the strength of his promise to give his voters all the marbles they wanted. Soon Obama was busy trying to recreate his childhood and wipe away all that pain and jealousy. He wanted to give everyone equal marbles. But to do that, he’d have to find a way to take the marbles away from those that earned them.

So Obama came up with new and creative ways to punish and tax the rich, while at the same time handing out more goodies and treats than ever before to the poor (ie Obama voters). He redistributed trillions of dollars through the largest stimulus program in U.S. history; the largest increase in food stamps in U.S. history (45 million Americans); the largest free healthcare program in U.S. history (Obamacare); and let's not forget welfare checks designed to look like "tax cuts" handed to people who never paid taxes.

Obama’s voters were swimming in marbles. His childhood dreams had come true. But there was a problem. Jobs were disappearing. The more marbles Obama tried to steal from the rich, the fewer jobs were available for everyone else, and the more people lost their homes. Funny how that works.

Obama was angry and confused. So he doubled down. More marbles would have to be stolen by government and redistributed. Since housing was at the center of America’s economic collapse under Obama, he turned his attention to the redistribution of housing.

But how do you redistribute housing? Obama’s lonely childhood made him very creative. He came up with endless ideas for redistribution of marbles. Part I of his housing redistribution plan is to rescue his voters who can’t afford their homes. So Obama proposes forcing banks who are broke because government encouraged them to give loans to lower income people who weren't qualified...to refinance those underwater mortgages without regard for whether this is economic suicide for the banks. Obama will try any reckless scheme to keep lower income Obama voters in their homes that they can't afford- at least until the election. This is affirmative action for mortgages.

Here is where Part II comes in. Obama isn’t happy just handing marbles to the poor. He’s also got to take them away from the rich. So he desperately plans and plots to eliminate or greatly reduce the mortgage tax deduction for wealthy homeowners- thereby ruining the values of their homes, forcing many of them into foreclosures or short sales, and destabilizing upscale neighborhoods across the USA. No one interested in boosting the housing market could possibly suggest eliminating the mortgage deduction, could they? Well they could, but only if their goal was to wipe out wealthy homeowers.

This is the ultimate housing redistribution plan by the Marxist-in-Chief Barack Obama. Think of the beauty and brilliance of this plan. Government keeps people who can’t afford their homes, in their homes, without regard for the rule of law or contracts. At the same time government raise taxes so high on wealthy people, and eliminates their legal mortgage deductions that have been in place a lifetime, thereby forcing people who can afford their homes, and have responsibly paid their obligations, to lose their homes. Brilliant.

The goal is simple. My hero Ronald Reagan wanted to dramatically cut taxes to starve the government and empower the individual. Obama has the opposite goal- to starve his political opposition (business owners and high income Americans) with dramatic tax increases and loss of deductions that hurt them financially, thereby leaving them powerless to stop him from exploding the size of government.

This is the Obama plan. And it all started with a young boy’s marble envy.

Cain's 9-9-9 Plan

2011-10-18T06:42:00.000-07:00

By Christopher Markowski

“Business are not based on uncertainty, they are based on certainty,” says Herman Cain and he believes it’s the basis for a healthy business sector. Businesses are faced with a minefield of uncertainty. Obamacare, an ever-changing tax code, and a growing regulatory burden. Clear the way and American small businesses will lead this country forward. America needs to get back to its entrepreneurial roots. We need low taxation, less regulations and a business environment that can feel safe. 9-9-9 will provide a base where American businesses can rebuild their lost confidence and it will create an environment that will motivate small businesses to invest. That’s what creates jobs. That’s what will start this engine rolling back and bringing positive results for the American economy and to the American people.

Robbing America's Young By Wayne Jett

2011-09-29T07:13:00.001-07:00

Robbing America's Young

No Jobs, No Homes, No Children, No Future

The truth about how the Great Depression and today's economic crisis were "manmade" is, at long last, told in a stunning new book by classical economist, Wayne Jett - The Fruits of Graft: Great Depressions Then and Now. "Millions of Americans are living in economic depression. All generations are badly impacted. Among the most tragic effects of 21st Century financial conspiracy is the relative poverty of America's new young adults," he says.

Many people outside the financial sector do not understand why anyone would welcome or even plan an economic depression. But, Jett says, financiers know very well that crashes in financial markets are their most profitable times, if they position themselves on the "short" side by betting against companies and the economy. This type of trading, much of it fraudulent, was pervasive in the Great Crash of 1929 and remains so in 2011. Jett calls attention to Monday's statement on the BBC by a London trader, who candidly states he "goes to bed every night dreaming of recession."

In this reality, financial players have tremendous incentive to plan and cause economic depressions. Not only to profit immensely during market crashes, they then have great capital stores to buy assets at fire sale prices (two to five cents on the dollar during the Depression) so their control of the economy is even more complete. Jett says his book presents evidence proving this is what, in fact, occurred during the Great Depression and during the financial "collapse" of 2008.

"President Barack Obama is the new FDR. Into Obama's waiting arms the American electorate flew, driven by financial improvised explosive devices planted within a Republican administration by Wall Street operatives. The same occurred when voters ran to FDR from tariff, tax and financial fraud injuries inflicted during the presidency of Herbert Hoover. Europeans suffer much the same oppression as Americans. Somehow those who impose manmade depressions must be overcome." [more...]

Why Are Businesses Sitting on the Sidelines?

2011-08-09T06:42:00.001-07:00

By Dave Bego

The answer is very simple: government. The federal government needs to get out of the way and let businesses do what they do best - creating jobs and stimulating the economy. Government can do neither because it does not produce either products or services. Despite its good intentions and misguided political or social agendas, the federal government only serves to stifle economic investment and growth at the expense of taxpayers. Smaller government and less regulation are the answer as government overregulation threatens economic growth. Unfortunately, the current Administration continues to push its social agenda to the detriment of the very people who can turn the ship around. [more...]

The Mortgage Deduction Nightmare

2011-07-12T06:59:00.000-07:00

How Obama’s Tax Plans Threaten to Wipe Out the Upper Middle Class

By Wayne Allyn Root

Why is Obama trying to ruin the lives of millions of small business owners and upper middle class American homeowners? And why is Obama trying to do it without warning, without discussion, without hearings - hidden in debt ceiling negotiations? Obama uses words like “the rich” and “fairness,” but it’s important to understand that his goal of taking away the mortgage interest tax deduction won’t hurt his super-rich, jet-set contributors, like Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of G.E. His company made over $12 billion last year and paid zero U.S. taxes. Zero! But that doesn’t bother Obama. His plan to eliminate the mortgage interest deduction is aimed squarely at upper middle class American homeowners, small business owners, and retirees whose entire lifetime of hard work is tied to their home. Those groups will be devastated. [more...]

Why the Greatest Depression of All Time Has Begun

2011-06-02T08:09:00.001-07:00

By Wayne Allyn Root

I predicted doom if Obama was elected. Sadly the results are far worse than imagined. The economy is in shambles. America is staring at economic disaster - Armageddon. Even I, the eternal optimist, am scared at what the future holds. We are the Titanic, headed straight for the iceberg. America has always been a land of boom and bust; it’s just part of the business cycle. But Obama and his socialist cabal have channeled Hoover and FDR, who turned an ordinary bust into The Great Depression, with a toxic strategy of more government, more spending, more debt, more rules and regulations strangling business, higher minimum wages, more power to unions, more entitlements, higher taxes, more printing of money by the Fed, and trade tariffs. This is the Obama blueprint squared. [more...]

Obamageddon: Signs That Obama's Great Depression Has Begun

2011-03-31T06:52:00.000-07:00

By Wayne Allyn Root

If you’ve been paying attention to the news, several ominous signs have appeared that foretell economic disaster. After reading these “tells” or signs, I believe you’ll agree we are entering “Obamageddon” - Obama’s Great Depression. The first sign is the fact Bill Gross, head of the world’s largest bond fund (PIMCO), has just sold all his domestic government bond holdings - every single dollar! Do you have any idea what that means? In my opinion, Bill Gross is one of the ten smartest men on this planet. He knows everything about the economy and bonds. His sell-off indicates he believes local, state and our federal government are all on the verge of disaster - insolvency, bankruptcy, and default on bond obligations. To add insult to injury, Gross disclosed he bought emerging market bonds with the money from the sale of U.S. bonds. That means Gross has more faith in Brazil, Russia and African nations than the U.S.A. The Great Gross sell-off is a sign of economic Armageddon. [more...]

The Progressive Model of Tax & Spend is Dead - Even in New York

2011-01-20T05:05:00.000-08:00

By Wayne Allyn Root

It's amazing to me that there are still a few people in America pushing the dinosaur called “the progressive agenda.” How can anyone demand bigger government, more services, higher spending, and higher taxes in the middle of a financial Armageddon? That’s not a progressive agenda; it’s a bankruptcy agenda. The proof is found in my old home state of New York, and my new adopted home state of Nevada. There is a dramatic and truly amazing lesson developing right now in New York. The newly elected Governor of New York is Democrat Andrew Cuomo, the son of one of the heroes of big government "tax and spend" liberalism - former New York Governor Mario Cuomo. Yet this new and improved Cuomo refuses to raise taxes one cent. He is demanding a "radical shift" in the way New York is run (headline quoted from the liberal New York Times). That "radical shift" is built around the idea of dramatic cuts in services, smaller government, far fewer government employees and agencies, and reigning in public employee unions. [more...]

Porter Stansberry: Is This the End of America?

2011-01-20T04:59:00.001-08:00

Is This the End of America?

Why a single event in the next 12 months will radically change everything about our normal way of life... how we shop, travel, educate our kids, invest, save, and even retire.

By Porter Stansberry

A little more than a decade ago, I founded a financial firm called Stansberry & Associates Investment Research. Today we serve hundreds of thousands of customers, in more than 120 countries.

Over the past few years, we were able to warn investors about the inevitable collapse of companies such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, General Motors and dozens of others.

To my knowledge, no other research firm in the world can match our record of correctly predicting the catastrophe that has occurred since 2008. I reference our success and experience with Wall Street's latest crisis because we believe there is an even bigger crisis lurking - something that will shake the very foundation of America.

And the incredible thing is... this has absolutely nothing to do with the stock market. [more...]

America's Most Important Day in 50 Years

In short, I want to detail for you a specific event that will likely take place in America's very near future... which could actually bring our country and our way of life to a grinding halt.

This looming crisis is related to the financial crisis of 2008... but it is infinitely more dangerous.

And as this problem comes to a head, I expect there to be riots in the streets... arrests on an unprecedented scale... and military-enforced martial law.

Believe me, I don't make this prediction lightly and I have no interest in trying to scare you.

I'm simply following my research to its logical conclusion.

I did the same when I tracked Fannie and Freddie's accounting. The same with General Motors, with Bear Stearns and the rest. When I began giving this warning in 2006 no one took me very seriously. Back then, most mainstream commentators just ignored me. And when I presented my case and exposed the facts at economic conferences, they got angry. They couldn't refute my research... but they weren't ready to accept the enormity of its conclusions either.

The same financial problems I've been tracking from bank to bank, from company to company for the last five years, have now found their way into the U.S. Treasury. I want to explain to you how this came to be. What it means is critically important to you and every American... Because the next phase in this crisis will threaten our very way of life.

The savings of millions will be wiped out. This disaster will change your business and your work. It will dramatically affect your financial accounts, investments, and retirement. It will change everything about your normal way of life: Where you vacation... where you send you kids or grandkids to school... how and where you shop... the way you protect your family and home.

A WORD OF WARNING: This presentation contains material that may be offensive to some audiences. Viewer discretion is advised. I promise you this presentation will be worth your time. And I know it will benefit you and your family. That's why more than 2 million people have viewed it already. Go now to watch it at: www.EndOfAmerica22.com

[more...]

Fraud: Why the Tax Cut Bill is Just an Excuse to Spend Another Trillion Dollars!

2010-12-13T08:51:00.000-08:00

By Wayne Allyn Root

Didn’t we just have a historic Tea Party election? Wasn’t the message STOP THE SPENDING, PAY OFF THE DEBT, and STOP THE INSANITY? The message was loud and clear, yet the first major bill after the election adds about one trillion more in debt as we face economic Armageddon - a rapidly approaching debt crisis (that will make Greece look like child’s play), 20% real unemployment, and eventually hyper-inflation that could turn America into Zimbabwe. This is insanity, folks. But hey, what is another trillion in debt among friends? As a small business owner, entrepreneur, and capitalist evangelist, no one has been a bigger cheerleader for lower taxes than I have. Tax cuts leave more money in the hands of those who earned it and deserve it - small business and taxpayers. Their investing and spending of that extra money is what fuels the economic engine that creates jobs to get America out of this mess. [more...]

The Deficit Reduction Trap

2010-12-06T09:06:00.000-08:00

By Dick Bishirjian

This is a warning to those in Congress who want to raise taxes, not cut spending. In 1984, Cong. Newt Gingrich called Sen. Bob Dole, a “tax collector for the welfare state.” That phrase resonated with the Republican faithful and ultimately led to GOP control of the House of Representatives. The “Contract for America” was the culmination of years of labor by supply-side advocates who argued that dropping tax rates would lead to economic growth. The supply-side movement had its day and now the U.S. faces budget deficits - and Obama Administration’s regulatory policies - that threaten to destabilize the American economy, reduce employment and increase inflation to levels that led to the collapse of the Weimar Republic and launched Adolph Hitler’s murderous career. [more…]

It May Take a Depression

2010-12-06T09:03:00.001-08:00

By John LeBoutillier

The United States of America is on the verge of national bankruptcy - in reality if not technically. The printing press can - for a while - disguise how insolvent we are becoming. But we are indeed headed in the direction of Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Spain and other governments, which are broke. We have maxed out our national credit card. A $14 trillion national debt - which requires a one trillion dollar annual interest payment - is a national disgrace. And you can thank both political parties for it. Yes, the Republicans are as equally responsible as the Democrats for thirty years of profligacy. [Go here to read John's ideas on how to solve the problem...]

The Obama Conspiracy Against Small Business

2010-12-06T09:02:00.001-08:00

By Wayne Allyn Root

In the old America known by my father and grandfather, small business owners were “preferred customers,” metaphorically wined and dined to create jobs and keep us in business. But in Obama’s bizarre world of progressives, socialists, unions, and big government, we’re demonized as evil and greedy, singled out for punishment, and targeted. The harder we work, the more we succeed, the more they want to steal our money and redistribute it to others who don’t want to work as hard, or don’t want to work at all. Some of these people collecting entitlements, welfare, food stamps, aid to dependent children, free meals at school, housing allowances, free medical, and free education, aren’t even in the country legally. Small business owners like me are asked to pay for it all, yet we receive nothing in return. The system isn’t working anymore. It’s backwards: it does everything for the people who expect everything from government, and nothing for the people who pay for everything. President Obama and his progressive, big government, socialist cabal are involved in a conspiracy to ruin small business, steal our money (they call it “redistribute”), and destroy our lives. [more...]

International Major Market Crash From QE2 May Come Soon

2010-11-16T07:46:00.000-08:00

By Tim Connolly

The U.S. owes over fourteen trillion dollars - that's over $90,000 owed by every U.S. taxpayer.

In August 2007, I predicted on our radio show that a major liquidity crisis was about to hit the U.S. and have a major impact on the market. I am beginning to see data that suggests the possibility this condition may recur, and the Federal Reserve $600 billion quantitative easing (QE2) may trigger it. It is hard to imagine how we have gotten ourselves into this position. While the USA has a population of 310,700,000, remember, less than half the population actually pays taxes. Taking this reality into consideration, every current taxpayer owes nearly $100k of future earnings towards the national debt. It is a truly scary situation that must get addressed before we face an international bond crisis of epic proportions. We may find ourselves unable to sell our treasury debt at reasonable rates, and we could even lose our cherished AAA credit rating. [more...]

Paul Krugman’s Crack Fix for the Economy

2010-11-10T06:50:00.000-08:00

By Joseph Klein

More crack cocaine, anyone? A narcotic as potentially addictive as crack is essentially what the Federal Reserve is administering to our economy, with its recent decision to infuse $600 billion more of new printed money into our system. The Federal Reserve is monetizing the federal debt - printing more money with which to "cover" it. Nevermind that this strategy has led to hyper-inflation and the devaluation of currency every time it has been tried in world history. Yet left-wing economists like Paul Krugman don't think that the Fed went far enough to get the job done in stimulating our economy. [more...]

Have Big Government Regulations on Small Businesses Gone Way Overboard?

2010-10-27T06:47:00.001-07:00

By Dr. Gerard Lameiro

You might think that Los Angeles with an unemployment rate of 13.7% in September might want to encourage people to start small businesses and earn a living for themselves, or, better yet, start small businesses and create new jobs for others as well as themselves. But, that doesn’t seem to be the case according to The Wall Street Journal. Have big government regulations on small businesses gone way overboard? Are regulations helping to keep unemployment high? And, importantly, are they also holding back the American economy?

Here are some facts from the study. In Los Angeles, if you lose your job and you want to make some money, you might think of starting a business. In LA, if you want to earn some money hanging wallpaper, trimming trees, or building fences, you must first obtain a license called a “speciality contractor” license. But, don’t think you can count on getting that license in a day or a week. It can take years! Suppose you have a flair for clothing and want to design and make hip clothes for teenagers. Sorry to say. But, in LA, you need a garment manufacturer’s license... still other examples of enterprise-crippling regulations.

Free enterprise is not so free anymore in some cities across the U.S. Not only do entrepreneurs have to deal with burdensome Federal and State taxes and regulations, but they also have to overcome City and County taxes and regulations. Have big government regulations on small businesses gone way overboard? The answer is a resounding Yes! Americans need economic freedom and free enterprise to ignite the engines of small business job growth. [more...]

Is America about to be Hit with Inflation?

2010-10-20T11:04:00.000-07:00

By Dr. Gerard Lameiro

In a recent set of articles and editorials appearing in The Wall Street Journal, inflation, the devaluation of the dollar, and the state of the American economy - all are at the top of the news right now. With high unemployment - nearly 15 million unemployed - and about one in seven Americans unable to find full-time jobs, the economy is on people’s minds. Now, there’s new news that inflation - under control for the last few years - is about to take off. Is this true? Is America about to be hit with inflation? Let’s talk about it now...

QE2 is the key term. What is it? In this case, it doesn’t refer to a ship. QE2 stands for “quantitative easing.” That’s a fancy term for a monetary policy of easy money. How does QE2 work? The Fed buys U. S. Treasury Bonds and other assets, increasing its balance sheet. More importantly, at the same time the Fed spends more money, it increases the money supply. From economics, we know when there are more dollars chasing after goods and services, prices for goods and services go up. That’s inflation. [more...]

Choosing the Good Life By Dr. Gerard Lameiro

2010-10-19T07:32:00.000-07:00

Will Americans Choose Economic Growth and Prosperity

- Or Economic Decline and Poverty?

By Dr. Gerard Lameiro

Dr. Lameiro answers this question and many more in his powerful and important new Kindle book, Choosing the Good Life: Two Competing Economic Visions.

Today, America is at an extremely critical juncture in our history. We are a prosperous nation on the brink of economic decline. We are currently in the midst of an exceptionally weak recovery, following the worst recession since the Great Depression. America is following a set of high tax and reckless spending policies that are creating astoundingly high deficits and unsustainably high debt levels. Unemployment is very high at 9.6% with the very real possibility it will increase to 11.5% in 2011.

The dollar appears to be weakening and might even be abandoned as the reserve currency of the global economy. Gold, a potential safe haven in times of fear, is soaring to incredible heights, indicating the skeptical outlook of the American people. It looks as if America might be teetering on the verge of a second Great Recession in 2011 or worse. Is the economy really all that bad? Can we do anything about the economy?

Indeed, all these questions, all these debates, and all these battles, hinge on two competing economic visions when considering whether America can still live the "good life." What are these two economic visions? What economic vision will America choose? Dr. Lameiro believes we do have a choice.

Choosing the Good Life shines a bright light on one of the greatest issues of the 21st century. It also tees up one of the most vitally important decisions you will ever make as a citizen. Indeed, this book presents the two distinct and competing economic visions for what constitutes the "Good Life."

These economic visions represent two different economic systems, two different ways of looking at life, and two different ways of living life. In fact, they are based on two opposing philosophies of life.

Today, at the beginning of the 21st century, each economic vision is fighting for your support. Your choice of economic visions will help to determine whether America will grow or decline; whether we will live in prosperity or struggle with poverty and whether we will live in peace or at war. You have enormous power as a citizen to influence, shape and decide America's future. Truly, your choice and the choices of millions of other citizens will ultimately impact and help to determine which economic vision will become reality in America and in the world.

While this book addresses citizens in America in the early 21st century, its principles and knowledge apply equally well across both time and space. The ideas within Choosing the Good Life can be applicable to citizens in other nations today, too, and likely will be relevant for generations of citizens to come in the future. In that sense, it is a classic book on economic freedom.

Written by Gerard Francis Lameiro, America's Citizen-Philosopher, this book brings with it Dr. Lameiro's engaging and award-winning style, his optimistic vision, and his uncanny ability to make the complex very simple. Downloadable at Amazon for Kindle, it's the most important book you'll read in a long time.

Economic Catastrophe Unfolds: Why Every Bank in America is Bankrupt

2010-10-19T07:07:00.000-07:00

By Wayne Allyn Root

We are now facing the worst economic disaster in history - worse even than the Great Depression. I’ve warned for two years now that the real estate picture is far worse than most Americans understand. The foreclosure disaster we’ve seen is only the tip of the iceberg. At the moment, 30% of all mortgages across the country are underwater. The so-called “shadow inventory” (homes in foreclosure or far behind on payments) is already 11 million homes and growing. And millions of additional homes will soon fall into foreclosure.

Yet the bigger disaster is the commercial real estate market. Banks have been hiding this tragedy by extending loans on properties that are no longer worth ten cents on the dollar. Many commercial properties have lost most or all of their tenants, and haven’t made mortgage payments in months, if not years. Yet by extending the loans, banks have hidden the disaster unfolding on their books. Make no mistake, commercial real estate loans - shopping centers, malls, strip malls, office buildings - will face foreclosure in unimaginable numbers over the next 5 years. Each new wave will cripple the U.S. economy more. [more...]

Are We Heading into Another Great Recession in 2011?

2010-10-06T07:31:00.000-07:00

By Dr. Gerard Lameiro

Donald L. Luskin presents powerful evidence in The Wall Street Journal this week that the current stock market is tracking very closely to the stock market in the 1930's. Of particular concern are two critical economic policies that might help trigger another Great Recession in 2011. Remember, the National Bureau of Economic Research announced a month ago that the recent recession was over. But, two critical economic policies that might propel America into another Great Recession in 2011 are higher taxes and higher barriers to free trade (also known as protectionism). Are we heading into another Great Recession in 2011? [more...]

Is This a Job-Less Recovery or a Job-Loss Recovery?

2010-09-23T08:23:00.000-07:00

By Dr. Gerard Lameiro

In a powerful editorial this week, Investor’s Business Daily talks about our current anemic recovery with high unemployment. They point out that today’s unemployment rate of 9.6% is actually higher that when the recession ended in June 2009, a date that the National Bureau of Economic Research just announced this week. Then, it was 9.5%. So, in terms of unemployment, the recession might be over, but employment has not bounced back. Some call this a "job-less recovery." According to Investor’s Business Daily, since the recovery began in June 2009, the economy has actually lost 329,000 jobs. That makes this a JOB-LOSS recovery. In fact, the American economy requires a GDP growth rate of about 3% to create 1.5 million new jobs - the number of new jobs needed on a yearly basis to keep the unemployment rate from going up even more. [more...]

The Reagan Libertarian Contract with America

2010-09-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

By Wayne Allyn Root

A Detailed and Specific Plan to Save the U.S. Economy

Ronald Reagan turned the worst economic slump since the Great Depression into the greatest economic turnaround and expansion in world history with one simple stroke of genius - the largest tax cut in U.S. history (ultimately reducing top marginal tax rates from 70% down to 28%). That tax cut benefited and motivated the groups that produce virtually all of the jobs and tax revenues in America - small business owners and taxpayers. These are the very groups that President Obama chooses to punish, instead of reward.

Obama redistributes money from taxpayers and small business owners to his voters who create virtually nothing, pay almost no taxes, create no jobs, and ask for handouts and entitlements from cradle to grave. In short, Obama’s voters are bankrupting this once great country. This is precisely why the U.S. economy has fallen off a cliff. We are staring at the abyss - economic Armageddon, chronic massive unemployment, and worldwide depression. It is time for dramatic measures to stave off disaster, deficit, debt and depression.

It is time for a Reagan Libertarian contract with America - a daring plan aimed squarely at motivating entrepreneurs, small business owners, and taxpayers. These are the people who risk, invest and build America. Without their cooperation, motivation and success, there can be no recovery. This daring plan is the polar opposite of the Obama socialist plan. But unlike Republican plans, it places equal importance on limiting the size of government, shrinking spending, and limiting the power of politicians, as opposed to simply cutting taxes. [more...]

Is the Great Recession Over? Will the 2nd Great Recession Start in 2011?

2010-09-21T07:35:00.000-07:00

By Dr. Gerard Lameiro

If the National Bureau of Economic Research pegs the Great Recession over in June 2009, I think most economists would agree the recession is over. So, what can be said of the economy today? Certainly, the recovery has been very weak. Unemployment is still high at 9.6% with about 42% of the unemployed unable to get a job for 27 or more weeks. This represents very high, long-term unemployment. The U-6 metric of unemployment that includes additional categories of unemployed workers (such as discouraged workers and those who want full-time work but settle for part-time employment) is almost 17%. Just think, one in seven Americans can’t find a full-time job. That’s abysmal. [more...]

Why Has It Been a Tumultuous Primary Season?

2010-09-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

By Dr. Gerard Lameiro

With incumbents often in trouble, establishment candidates facing tough challengers, and tea party activists heavily involved, tumultuous is a good word to describe what we have seen thus far. The Wall Street Journal published a related op-ed piece this week that might help to answer these questions. The article by Arthur C. Brooks (President of the American Enterprise Institute) and Paul Ryan (Congressman from the State of Wisconsin) offer their explanation of the true decisions Americans are making this electoral season. According to Brooks and Ryan, behind all the campaigns and candidates and rhetoric, is really a fundamental question. Do Americans want the traditional American system of free enterprise, limited government, and low taxes? Or, do Americans want to replace our system with a European-style social democracy (also known as welfare state socialism)? [more...]

Will Another $50 Billion Stimulus Kick-Start Our Economy?

2010-09-07T09:30:00.000-07:00

By Dr. Gerard Lameiro

Jobs. Jobs. Jobs. It’s at the top of all the headlines this week. It’s the number one story and it’s being debated coast-to-coast. President Obama is proposing another $50 billion stimulus package for roads, runways and railways to boost our economy - in other words, to create jobs by building our transportation infrastructure. The president is also proposing a $200 billion tax credit for business in the form of a short-term research and experimentation tax credit that lasts through 2011. That’s a temporary boost to business. Will such a short-term business tax credit boost our economy? Will another $50 billion stimulus package kick-start our economy? [more...]

Why Is Unemployment So High This Labor Day?

2010-08-31T07:53:00.000-07:00

By Dr. Gerard Lameiro

In a detailed op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal this week, Robert Barro shows why he believes unemployment would be significantly lower if unemployment benefits had not been extended from the standard 26 weeks to 99 weeks. His calculations indicate that unemployment might be under 7% right now if only the unemployment benefits had not been extended to 99 weeks. Is he right? Why is unemployment so high this Labor Day? In economics, we know that when we tax something, we get less of it. We also know that when we subsidize something, we get more of it. It’s just common sense. Taxing something like cigarettes discourages smoking because the price goes up for smokers. Similarly, if we subsidize something, we encourage it because we create an economic incentive for that activity. Incidentally, that’s why we shouldn’t tax income, savings and investment because that is essentially taxing economic growth. We want more economic growth and prosperity, not less. [more...]

Half of Your Taxes Will Go for Interest Under Obama

2010-08-31T07:51:00.000-07:00

By Ronald Kessler

Congressional Budget Office forecasts of government deficits and debt are supposed to be authoritative. But Congress forces the CBO to make unrealistic assumptions when issuing those estimates. The latest assumptions include that the alternative minimum tax will not be adjusted annually for inflation and that discretionary spending unrelated to war will increase no faster than inflation. Brian M. Riedl of the Heritage Foundation has stripped out these and other assumptions to come up with a more realistic look at the government’s spending and debt. Based on realistic assumptions... [more...]

A Small Businessman’s Urgent Plea to Obama: Please Play More Golf and Take More Vacations!

2010-08-30T08:22:00.000-07:00

By Wayne Allyn Root

We are in midst of an economic Armageddon. For months I have described it as “The Great Depression II.” The politicians that run our country and economy are useless idiots - although some might find that comparison offensive to useless idiots. Each move they make, the economy gets worse. Each dollar they spend to “save the economy” results in more economic decline, fewer jobs, and lower tax revenues. No coincidence.

Speaking of useless idiots, enter Joe Biden. As job reports get bleaker and businesses fail by the thousands each month, Vice President Biden repeats endlessly, like a Stepford wife, that the stimulus is working just fine and has “saved” and created millions of jobs. Perhaps Biden believes if you repeat a lie enough times, it becomes the truth. Or at least you keep your job as Vice President.

Obama repeats endlessly that it’s Bush’s fault, even though we have lost millions of jobs, while adding over $4 trillion to the nation’s debt since Obama became CEO of the economy. Recently the nation’s debt increased by more in one day than the entire annual deficit in 2007. I am no fan of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but according to the Congressional Budget Office, Obama’s one-time stimulus program enacted during his first month of office cost $100 billion more than the entire 8-year Iraq war. [more...]

I Would Like 2 Scoops of B.S. With My Recovery, Please!

2010-08-24T11:05:00.000-07:00

By Bill Glynn

Recovery? I am really perplexed by the inaction and incompetence in D.C. in even having the gall to claim anything about a recovery whatsoever. THIS IS NOT A RECOVERY! This is a crisis and the mess is far from being cleaned up. After almost $2 trillion has been borrowed, then loaned and spent, the economy is barely alive. The life support it needs isn’t reaching consumers, PERIOD! Mark my words: the economy will never recover unless people are shored up and able to buy again.

"Summer of Recovery?" NOT! "The economy was in a ditch and we are pushing it out." NOT! "The economy is headed in the right direction." NOT! "The Democrats will keep a majority in the House and Senate." NOT! Pile it on my plate and yours, too. Oh, and add some incompetence gravy and a side of housing mess and hopelessness. Tastes good, doesn’t it? "Choke on it!" That is what the chefs in the D.C. kitchen say. [more...]

But He Can't Fire Soros

2010-08-24T11:04:00.000-07:00

By Joy Tiz

House minority leader, John Boehner called out the community-organizer-in-chief for his calamitous management of the nation’s economy: "I have had enough - and the American people have had enough - of Washington politicians talking about wanting to create jobs as a ploy to get themselves re-elected while doing everything possible to prevent jobs from being created." Not that the moribund media would tell you, but Boehner delivered his remarks at a speech before the City Club of Cleveland. Noting the current administration’s highly effective "war on jobs," Boehner reflected on Obama’s recent visit to Ohio while a few blocks away, Ohioans were standing in line at a job fair, waiting to be told that companies are not hiring. They’re frozen. Or, as the organizer of the job fair put it, employers are - and I’m quoting now - ‘scared to death.’ [more...]

Vote to Balance the Budget

2010-08-24T11:02:00.000-07:00

By Tim Connolly

When will we take the hard steps necessary to stop bankrupting the USA? We have blindly increased our budgets over the years since the last surplus during the Clinton administration. This dubious accomplishment was done with the full participation of BOTH the Democrat and Republican parties, and must be brought to a halt sooner rather than later. My friends and associates know I am an independent fiscal conservative, and believe that we must balance our nation’s budget in order to rebuild America and assure our future prosperity. (Go to the "Freeze the Budget Now" link at www.winningstrategies.net for more complete info on this). A typical example of the insanity we are now engaged in was e-mailed to me this morning from a Florida emergency room physician - see his on-the-ground insights here and then make sure you vote in November for candidates who VOW TO BALANCE THE BUDGET, regardless of party affiliation! [more...]

Finally a Financial Heavyweight Understands My AMERICAN REFINANCE PROGRAM

2010-08-19T07:16:00.000-07:00

By Bill Glynn

Everyone reading this knows I have been promoting a massive two-step program to refinance ALL Americans' debt if they choose to opt into the program I am suggesting. Note: this does not cost the government a dime. Here are the facts: the government is on the hook with a $5 trillion guarantee to Freddie and Fannie. The government is on the hook with TARP. This is a fact! Consumers, vital to our recovery, are in debt already. This is a fact - credit addicted or not! Interest rates are at an all-time low, but 46 million consumers have credit scores under 600, and 70 million with credit scores under 650. They are credit unworthy today and financial reform will make that worse. Therefore, they have little chance to get those great rates, refinance or borrow.

So we are here with massive spending and guarantees by the government and Main Street twisting in the wind. Well, there will be no sustainable recovery until we attack the root of the problem. PEOPLE CAN’T AFFORD TO PAY THEIR BILLS! The plan is so simple it makes me wonder why it has taken so long for the “big dogs” to step it up a notch, and thank God they are. I'm suggesting that we redirect up to half of the government's $5 trillion guarantee to support the program. Not a dime of money needs to be spent and they are already on the hook, as I said before, so it is just taking the same guarantee and splitting it up. [more...]

'Generation Z' - for Zero

2010-08-17T12:55:00.000-07:00

By Bill Glynn

If you are 18-50, you fall into what I call "Generation Z" - for zero - a generation that will soon be known as "less than zero." Our social fabric and the American flag have become a tattered piece of burlap. Our judicial elections are bought off with hundreds of millions. The laws of the land bend to the billions spent to influence the outcome of those laws. Elections and power are definitely for sale. We've got a multi-hundred-billion-dollar pornography industry, deficits, debt, a floundering education system, bankruptcy, out of control spending - and these are just a few of the reasons our society is bankrupt. Where there is big government, there are big problems! [more...]

"Summer of Recovery" is more like a Cold Winter

2010-08-11T08:42:00.000-07:00

By Bill Glynn

The much-touted "Summer of Recovery" is turning out to be just the opposite. It is clear that our most conservative monetary body is bracing us for more - and continued bad news. When the Fed speaks, the world listens; but when the Fed speaks with a shaky voice, then we had better pay attention. The simple fact that the Fed has to “stand ready” to step into the markets again should be a telling sign that we are still teetering on a cliff.

Congress is calling its members into an emergency session to borrow and spend $26 billion, tax foreign companies, and pay off the teachers unions... oh, and toss in a few billion for Nancy Pelosi’s state of California. News coverage yesterday was focused on some key elections but investors and economists focused on what signals the Federal Reserve was sending.

It is very important to understand that the Federal Reserve is limited in its ability to play a dramatic role in pumping blood into our economy. They can buy treasuries to keep interest rates at an all-time low, but their balance sheet is already bloated. They are privy to information and a view of the economy that we are not. One moment they say we are experiencing a “modest” recovery and then they turn and say the recovery is not all it's cracked up to be. Their solution? They point to Washington to step in again and implement more failed programs. But the government is just like a deer in the headlights.

I am hopeful someone will listen to the 2-step program I have come up with to solve this issue once and for all. Read more about Bill Glynn's solutions in his new book, "The United States of Bankruptcy." [more...]

Unemployment Will Go Up and Taxes Will Too

2010-08-03T10:58:00.000-07:00

By Bill Glynn

Did I hear right? Timothy Geithner just said that unemployment is going to go up and the Bush tax cut will stay for 95%. I don’t even need to write one more sentence. This is financial discrimination and a death knell for recovery! It couldn’t come at a worse time for the “shaky” economy. This is pandering for political gain. They are playing Russian roulette with the economy and how many bullets can you dodge?

The Bush tax cuts are the news of the day, but taxes in so many forms are coming. 50 to 60% of your hard earned income will go to pay for everyone else in America if you are part of the 5% that have been categorized as a separate class - treated differently, discriminated against, and the critical component to the recovery. Career politicians, academics, socialists and Marxists are busy plotting how to redistribute your wealth, how to use class warfare to maintain power through elections, and how to stomp out the capitalist heart and soul of our country. [more...]

Will New FinReg Hiring Quotas Further Damage Business Prospects?

2010-07-29T07:06:00.000-07:00

By Tim Connolly

Once again, we find details in FinReg that are absolutely impossible to understand, quantify, or even predict the MASSIVE expansion of federal intrusion into business by the Obama Administration and the Democrat controlled Congress. The 1,261 word Section 342 may be one of the most expensive and damaging provisions for any finance related businesses, on Wall Street or not:

The section establishes at least 20 new Offices of Minority and Women Inclusion across the Treasury Department, Federal Reserve, Securities and Exchange Commission and other finance-related agencies. It orders the directors of these offices to develop standards that "ensure, to the maximum extent possible, the fair inclusion and utilization of minorities, women, and minority-owned and women-owned businesses in all business and activities of the agency at all levels, including in procurement, insurance, and all types of contracts."

The legislation states that this applies to “services of any kind,” including investment firms, mortgage banking firms, asset management firms, brokers, dealers, underwriters, accountants, consultants and law firms. Every contractor and subcontractor must now certify that their workforces reflect a “fair inclusion” of women and minorities.

Who will decide if your firm’s services have a “fair inclusion” of minorities and women? How exactly are we, as businesses in a free market based, capitalist economy, supposed to make long-term planning decisions on investments and expansion when the government continues to make these power grabs throughout the economy? [more...]

Tax the Rich; Lay Off the Poor

2010-07-27T07:57:00.000-07:00

By Bill Glynn

Timothy Geithner continues to speak out about the expiration of the Bush tax credits. Alan Greenspan does, too. But even Ben Bernanke encouraged Congress to continue the cuts to support an already very fragile economy. You see, when you do away with the tax breaks for the "rich" (those making more than $250K a year) and raise capital gains, shove ObamaCare down our throats, tout “redistribution of wealth,” strangle the financial Industry with regulations, and much more to come, it will be a disaster. The simple fact is if you tax people more, they will have less money to spend and invest and, worse, much less money to hire workers and a corporate tax rate that will be #2 in the world. Think about it and don’t forget how much more attractive it’s going to be for big companies to do business overseas. [more...]

An Economic Surge: 2-Step Plan

2010-07-20T07:15:00.000-07:00

By Bill Glynn

Armchair quarterbacking aside, Americans are more concerned than ever with the state of our economy. Everyone seems to have an opinion, but few offer real solutions. My new book, "The United States of Bankruptcy" does, however, offer a plan that can save the economy right away.

First of all, I have mentioned Freddie and Fannie in the past, but don't forget Ginnie. The government committed $5 trillion off the balance sheet to prop up these abysmal failures that despite their guarantee have been reduced to worthless pink sheet stocks. The government has already borrowed over $150 billion to turn around and give it to them and this will be over a trillion dollars, at least in the foreseeable future, and Ginnie is a huge problem on the horizon. This policy is flat out wrong!

What should be done immediately is that a large portion of that same guarantee be redirected to afford all the citizens of this nation, rich and poor, the onetime option to consolidate and refinance ALL their debts. This one move will significantly reduce toxic loans - the horrifying loan guarantees coming home to roost - and reduce the cost of the debt that Americans already have. This would immediately increase disposable income in America by tens of billions and that means more spending, saving, and investing.

Why? The root cause of the housing, credit card, auto, student loan and other bad debts is Americans not being able to pay their bills. You can keep cutting limbs off the tree and buying up all the bad debt, but that costs hundreds of billions at a minimum. It is essential to help people afford the debt they owe and, thus, get to the root of the problem. This doesn't require minting or borrowing more money; they are already in debt and managing this is increasingly becoming worse or has already imploded and virtually destroying their lives. [more...]

The Fact is Consumers' Credit is a Disaster

2010-07-13T08:01:00.000-07:00

...therefore, financial reform, consumption and recovery will be, too

By Bill Glynn

What can the government do right now without spending any money and buying hoards of bad debt?

43 MILLION Americans are in credit jail. These are people with a credit score lower than 600 and considered credit unworthy today; and I assure you, with financial reform, they are not getting bail for a long, long time. There will be millions joining the crowd this year and in the years to come; and even more devastating and with longer-term consequences is the continued rise of foreclosures and bankruptcy. The landmark Financial Reform legislation is about to make it far worse as the result will cause banks and credit card companies to constrain borrowing even more than they have already and taxes will make sure it gets worse. I offer two solutions at the end of this blog.

Obama: Bumbling Incompetent... or Bumbling Marxist?

2010-07-07T06:45:00.000-07:00

By Wayne Allyn Root

Welcome to "the teleprompter depression." Each time Obama steps in front of a teleprompter, another business dies. As a common-sense small businessman, I have a front row seat to a slow motion economic Armageddon that will be written about, discussed and debated for decades to come. Big shot economists don’t listen to guys like me. They scoff as I keep predicting in commentary after commentary that small business is suffering a catastrophe of epic proportions - leading this nation towards levels of unemployment and economic crisis that will rival or surpass the Great Depression. I do not believe the tragedy that is unfolding before our eyes is a mistake, coincidence, or due to incompetence. I believe my old college classmate Obama (Class of ’83 Columbia University) is a Marxist purposefully trying to destroy capitalism, by overwhelming the system, thereby creating a distraction giving him cover to redistribute America’s wealth to his voters (those who create no jobs, pay few taxes, depend on government handouts for survival, or work for government or unions). [more...]

Obama: The Great Jobs Killer

2010-06-29T08:45:00.001-07:00

By Wayne Allyn Root

The current occupant of the White House claims to know how to create jobs. He claims jobs have been created. But so far, the score is Great Obama Depression: 2.2 million lost jobs / Obama - 0 - a blowout. Obama is as hopeless, helpless, clueless and bankrupt of good ideas as the manager of the Chicago Cubs in late September. This “community organizer” knows as much about private sector jobs as Pamela Anderson knows about nuclear physics. It’s time to call Obama what he is - “the great jobs killer.” With his massive spending and tax hikes - rewarding big government and big unions, while punishing taxpayers and business owners - Obama has killed jobs, he has killed motivation to create new jobs, he has killed the motivation to invest in new businesses, or expand old ones. As far as the taxpayers - the people that actually take risks with our own money, to create small businesses, and jobs, and pay most of the taxes - we now require protection under the Endangered Species Act. [more...]

G-19: The U.S. Stands Alone

2010-06-29T08:44:00.000-07:00

By Bill Glynn

Greece's debt was over 120% of GDP when it hit a brick wall. The U.S. debt is now over 90% of GDP. While other nations around the world have mountains of debt, too, the U.S. economy is seen as able to sustain its debt levels and continue to be able to finance more deficit spending. Well, it was clear from the G-19 members that the U.S. stands alone in this assumption. The administration pushed hard for the rest of the world to continue to borrow and spend to assure the global economic recovery is sustained. But the U.S. has signaled through Timothy Geithner that America won't be able to take on the burden of carrying the rest of the world on our back anymore. So, the world is undergoing tax hikes and spending reduction while we trumpet more stimulus that hasn't worked already. The recovery is fragile at best and I do expect a dip coming. The "double dip" we are already teetering on looms and the plan is to borrow our way out of it and flood the market with more of our currency. This is a recipe for disaster. [more...]

Obama's Gulf Crisis Response: Insanity Squared

2010-06-16T09:25:00.000-07:00

By Wayne Allyn Root

As Ronald Reagan would say, "There you go again Obama." Obama is trying to turn a tragedy and national emergency in the Gulf into an opportunity to pass yet another massive tax that will bury our economy. Does it ever end? Every single crisis is an opportunity to raise taxes, damage business, and redistribute the wealth. Now Obama is using the Gulf oil crisis to try to ram through "cap and trade" legislation that will greatly increase taxes and prices for all forms of energy but especially hit the middle and upper classes and business owners the hardest.

Has America picked up on a pattern yet? None of this has anything to do with the crisis. It's all about a Marxist plan to overwhelm the system and redistribute the wealth. The crises are just Obama's "opportunities." They are his WEAPONS OF MASS DISTRACTION to provide cover for massive new taxes that take away money and power from the people - especially business owners - and hand it to big government, big unions, and Obama's masses of voters (the poor, entitlement addicts, government employees - anyone that desperately needs government to survive). [more...]

Housing, Oil, Freddie, Fanny & Spain - Add it Up!

2010-06-16T09:23:00.000-07:00

By Bill Glynn

Now we all see the oil disaster and everyone is focused on the government failure and ongoing oil being spilled into the Gulf everyday. BP for certain will pony up the money to settle lawsuits that will help stave off massive unemployment. But the owners will get the majority of that while thousands of their employees will join the ranks of the unemployed - catastrophic to the economy. Not only is the government pandering Cap & Trade-type policies, it is also forcing the oil companies to put up billions into yet another government slush fund. What do you think is going happen at the pumps? Gas prices will go up! Aggregating the issues that just keep on coming should drown out the pandering and publicity around positive signs for the economy but that would hurt consumer confidence, wouldn't it? The elections are coming - and the airwaves are going to be filled with anything that can be sold and pandered as positive news. All the talking points will take individual metrics and beat the drums; but if we are not aggregating these issues, we will never see through the wool over our eyes. [more...]

Emergency Alert to Small Business

2010-06-15T10:24:00.000-07:00

How One Clause of "Jobs Bill" Could Wipe Out Small Business in America Tomorrow!
By Wayne Allyn Root, CEO, Entrepreneur, Small Business Owner and 2008 Vice Presidential Nominee

Obama and his socialist friends in Congress are trying desperately to replicate California, New York and Michigan where business owners, retirees and taxpayers are fleeing by the hundreds of thousands. In just the past few weeks, Obama and his anti-economic freedom Congress have tried to pass two bills that each could wipe out small business, destroy millions of jobs, and cause a mass exodus of business owners and high income earners out of this country (just as millions of taxpayers have escaped from New York, Michigan and California). Taken together they are a message from Obama: WE ARE OUT TO SEIZE YOUR PROPERTY, STEAL YOUR MONEY, AND DESTROY YOUR LIFE IF YOU OWN A SMALL BUSINESS.

Starting in 2012, every business owner in America must send out a 1099 to the I.R.S. for every bill they pay that adds up to $600 or more in the course of a year. This new law will create a blizzard of compliance issues and paperwork, and an I.R.S. Nanny State unimaginable heretofore. The cost of compliance will be billions of dollars - in the middle of a depression. Very few small business owners have the time, money or manpower (teams of accountants, controllers, bookkeepers) to comply with this new law. It is intended to bleed small business dry and suffocate us under a blizzard of paperwork and I.R.S. tax compliance. If it isn’t overturned by a new Congress before January 1, 2012, say goodbye to millions of jobs.

The battle lines are drawn - it’s us against them. It’s small business against Obama. It’s small business versus big unions and big government. It’s capitalism and what’s left of the American Dream against socialists, Marxists and communists. It’s Obama’s attempt to turn all of America into one big California. It’s time to stop this out of control administration. [more...]

On the Money

2010-06-15T08:20:00.000-07:00

By Bill Glynn

Suffice it to say the America People (what the panderers call us) are fickle and being led by the nose by nothing more than political consumer branding. This is what elections have been reduced to and supported by billions of dollars to make sure you and I go to the voting booths and choose the brand they want you to buy. Consumer product branding is exactly the same. Companies spend hundreds of millions on television, radio and print media to program you into buying their product. If it didn’t work to pull you along by the nose, not a penny would be spent on commercials and ads. Well, the same holds true for the political machines, special interests, unions and many other influencers aiming their media guns directly at us to make sure we stay chained to the platonic TV where the political rock stars can give us our opinions. Obama touring the country selling ObamaCare is just a prime example of what we are allowing to happen. [more...]

Obama's Housing Clunker

2010-05-25T07:51:00.001-07:00

By Joy Tiz

The antiquated media would have you believe that an increase in home sales in April is a signal that the Obama economy is in recovery. Not only are they wrong; the worst hasn’t even hit yet. The recent up-tick in sales was caused not by a better economy, but by the homebuyers’ tax credit, which expired April 30th. Units under contract by April 30th will still be eligible for the credit, so expect more synthetic numbers to be released during the summer. There is no possibility of sustaining the current government driven sales numbers as long as unemployment stays high. [more...]

Will We Be Hit with a Double Dip Recession?

2010-05-25T07:50:00.000-07:00

By Gerard Lameiro

This week an op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal discusses the real possibility that we might face a double dip recession. While many optimists have been claiming that the recession is over and that the economy is looking up, the stock market has been taking investors for a wild ride. Plus, over 17% of Americans are still unemployed or underemployed. Is the economy on its way to a healthy recovery? Or, are we headed instead for a double dip recession? On the plus side, The Wall Street Journal this week also reports on declining mortgage rates that might fall to 4.5% this summer. This is great for consumers that need a new mortgage or who might want to refinance their homes. Interestingly, this mortgage rate drop comes as a result of money from outside the U.S. that is seeking the safety of the U.S. economy. So, money has been flowing into U.S. bonds. While America has its own significant economic problems, we still look a whole lot safer than those European welfare state economies on the verge of potential or technical bankruptcy. [more...]

A Double Dip Recession on the Way?

2010-05-25T07:48:00.000-07:00

By Tim Connolly

There are now numerous data points that indicate a double dip recession is now on the way for the U.S. First, contrary to most academic thought on how to recover from recessions, the Congress has chosen to raise taxes substantially, via the new taxes for healthcare reform, and now new taxes on capital gains and small business S-corporations that are called for in the new Financial Regulation bill. Don't get me wrong - we need new controls on banks. There should be capital behind every derivative, banks should be prohibited from using leverage beyond ten times their capital, and taxpayers should never be paying for trading losses. Bank sponsored trading should be in separate subsidiaries with dedicated capital that is not covered under any FDIC insurance. Last, but not least, derivatives should be publicly traded for complete transparency. [more...]

Taxes are Going Up - But Will Deficits and Debt Go Down?

2010-05-17T09:12:00.000-07:00

By Gerard Lameiro

Lots of people have been calling for new taxes and tax increases at the federal, state and local levels. We also know that Washington will allow the Bush tax cuts to expire soon. So, taxes are going up - no doubt about it. But, as our taxes go up and up, will our deficits and debt decline? A brand new article in The Wall Street Journal sheds some light on this important topic that impacts both jobs and economic growth.
As first thought, it might seem to make sense that we need to increase taxes to cover Washington’s lavish spending spree. Remember all those costly stimulus bills that failed to bring down unemployment substantially? Unemployment is still around 9.9%. It’s actually 17.1% if you count all those people who have given up looking, or all those people who have settled for part-time work because they couldn’t find full-time work. Washington has spent lots of money following the discredited Keynesian policies of the past. [more...]

Should We Ban Offshore Drilling of Oil in the U.S.?

2010-05-17T09:10:00.000-07:00

By Tim Connolly

There is a tremendous amount of concern over the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill; and senators, congressional representatives, and even President Obama have called for the suspension of offshore oil drilling, and its possible termination. Is this possible, or even the right decision for our country? Let’s look at the data provided today from Gibson Consulting Online. All of the oil that comes from the Gulf is used in the U.S. The total current percentage of oil produced in the U.S. for our consumption by offshore wells is 37%. If we only look at the Gulf of Mexico, that percentage is still 32% of all the oil consumed in the USA. Given that during the 1974 Arab Oil Embargo the Middle East provided 37% of the non-communist world with all of its oil, we can easily see the magnitude of disruption in our markets if we eliminated 37% of all oil produced in the USA - long lines, perhaps $150-200 per barrel oil prices, and an economic crash that would make the last two years look tame. [more...]

From Bullish to Bearish in a Flash!

2010-05-07T08:24:00.000-07:00

By Gerard Lameiro

The stock market crashed! The market went from bullish to bearish in a flash! The Dow was down about 1,000 points at one point during the trading day, closing at about 347 off for the day. All 30 Dow component stocks were down, Bank of America was down around 7%. What happened? Why so fast? What's going on?

Those who run the market will likely check for technical or programming glitches. These might be a contributing factor. But, it appears that the larger issue is simply FEAR. But fear of what? Fear that the problems of Greece will spread to Europe and to the rest of the world, including America. Ultimately, it's really a fear that welfare state socialism will lead to economic bankruptcy. In my book, America's Economic War, I wrote several times that socialism always leads to economic bankruptcy.

Greece has been spending way beyond its capacity to create new wealth. Greece's debt is a staggering 113% of its GDP! According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, "Greece's predicament - like New York's and California's - is signaling loud and clear that the spend-and-tax economic model has hit the wall." [more...]

Why America Faces a Big Fat Greek Bankruptcy

2010-05-06T13:11:00.000-07:00

By Wayne Allyn Root

Forget Global Warming - Catastrophic Government Spending is the True Threat to Our Survival

Have you read the news lately? Greece is bankrupt. The entire country was poised to default on its debt, when the European Union (led by Germany) and the IMF (led by the USA) decided to bail them out... or risk the collapse of the entire EU and their currency, the euro. As always happens any time government is involved, the dollar figure necessary to save Greece keeps rising... first it was $50 billion... then $100 billion... now $145 billion, the biggest loan to a country ever.

But here’s the clincher - this gigantic loan will last only one year. The IMF (International Monetary Fund) assumes in one year, when Greece needs more money to stem the flow of red ink, they’ll be financially stable enough to attract loans on the open market, with no more government help. But what if the IMF is wrong? Then we’ll see one big fat Greek meltdown - taking all $145 billion down the tubes (much of it from U.S. taxpayers). That’s assuming that Greece is telling the truth about their debt in the first place. But just like the U.S. government, Greece has lied to themselves, and their citizens for years. And just like AIG, GM, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the failing public school system in America - the money we give Greece will never be enough. It’s a bottomless pit. [more...]

Will the Financial Overhaul Bill Nationalize America’s Financial Sector?

2010-05-04T08:25:00.000-07:00

By Gerard Lameiro

Rather than eliminate bailouts of companies that are "too big to fail," the current bill being debated in the Senate gives vast new powers to the government to regulate whatever companies it chooses to regulate; to determine how to regulate those companies; to determine what companies to give bailouts to; to determine what companies to close down entirely; to determine what creditors to pay; and, to determine how to pay the favored creditors. Talk about power! Talk about control! With the proposed, new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the government also would essentially gain control over credit allocation across the economy. In effect, the government would control the terms and conditions of financial products and services. It could also decide certain practices were "abusive" and shut them down. That's tremendous control. That's incredible power over companies and consumers! [more...]

Is a VAT Tax Back on the Table?

2010-04-27T07:16:00.000-07:00

By Gerard Lameiro

It has been reported that President Obama might consider a VAT (or Value-Added Tax) - essentially a National Sales Tax. Recently, former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volker brought up the topic of a VAT tax as a potential way to boost taxes. But others thought much differently, including the U.S. Senate that voted overwhelmingly 85-13 last week in a non-binding resolution to state that a VAT "is a massive tax increase that will cripple families on fixed income and only further push back America's economic recovery." After that Senate vote, it sounded like this bad idea would go away. Now, we learn it might be back on the table. What is a VAT tax? What would a VAT tax really do to America and to our struggling economy? A VAT tax is a type of excise tax that works much like a National Sales Tax. However, it’s actually worse than a sales tax. A VAT tax charges a tax on a product at each stage of production, up to and including, the final sale to the consumer. [more...]

Green Jobs vs. Blue Jobs - Which Jobs Are Better for America?

2010-04-21T09:07:00.000-07:00

By Gerard Francis Lameiro

An article in The Wall Street Journal this week discusses the fact that despite considerable hype over green jobs and government spending, green jobs are just plain scarce. Indeed, renewable energy rhetoric has run into real world reality! Is anyone surprised?

The President wants to create millions and millions of green jobs, and, in fact, some money from the $787B stimulus spending package specifically targets green job creation. Earlier this year, a new $100M government program was also announced for the purpose of giving out renewable energy job-training grants. Yet, few green jobs have been created. So, where are all these green jobs? What’s the problem?

America does need new jobs. Since the beginning of the Great Recession, we have lost about 11,000,000 jobs. That’s terrible, especially if you or a family member have been impacted. The answer is not government spending and it’s not green jobs. The answer is blue jobs. Blue jobs are the jobs created by the Free Market. (Blue is the color associated with Freedom. It’s the color of blue skies. It’s the color of optimism.) [more...]

Is the Outlook for Jobs Very Bleak?

2010-04-13T08:52:00.000-07:00

By Gerard Lameiro

An opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal this week paints a very gloomy picture for jobs in America. According to the article, at least one third of the 162,000 new jobs created in March were temporary census jobs and the actual new jobs created were insufficient to keep up with population growth. In addition, the American Economy has fallen behind by 11 million jobs since the start of this “Great Recession” and if job growth were to take off in the near future, it still might take up to eight years to catch up to where we were in 2007. Finally, Americans with jobs are accepting lower pay and lower benefits just to keep their current jobs. Is the outlook for jobs really this bleak? More importantly, is there anything we can do to fix this situation? [more...]

A Strong Case against Health Care "Reform"

2010-03-10T07:17:00.000-08:00

By Gerard Lameiro

It Means Higher Taxes and Additional New Taxes. Yes, a new entitlement program for all Americans will cost lots of money. Higher taxes and totally new taxes will be needed. Already proposed tax increases include the extension of a 2.9% Medicare payroll tax to interest, dividends, capital gains, annuities, royalties, and rents for some tax payers. An additional 0.9% payroll tax has also been proposed. Forcing every American to purchase health care insurance (possibly at a higher cost) is also an implicit tax.

It Means Fewer Jobs. Yes, taxes and jobs are closely correlated. With higher taxes pulling dollars out of the private sector to pay for health care, comes declining investment dollars for new businesses and new jobs. Government spending for health care has a much lower economic multiplier than private sector dollars spent for health care. Overall new job creation will be lower under government-controlled health care. [more...]

Dallas Fed Chief Calls for Breakup of 'Too Big to Fail' Banks

2010-03-04T07:35:00.000-08:00

By Tim Connolly

Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher is calling for the breakup of banks too big to fail; and at Winning Strategies, we believe this is an idea whose time has come.

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher traveled to New York to trumpet a message he's told Texas audiences before: Banks that are too big to fail are too big to exist in the first place. Speaking Wednesday at the Council on Foreign Relations, Fisher said big, systemically important banks should be dismantled before regulators have to deal with another crisis like the one that nearly brought down Wall Street and the rest of the U.S. financial system in late 2008. "The dangers posed by too-big-to-fail banks are too great," he said. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and others have said Congress should pass a law giving regulators "resolution authority" to close down failing financial companies. But Fisher, acknowledging that his views might be "slightly radical," called for an international agreement to break giant banks into more manageable pieces. [more…]

Foreign Demand for U.S. Treasury Securities Take $53 Billion Record Fall in December

2010-02-22T06:41:00.000-08:00

...is this the Canary in the Gold Mine for U.S. Debt Demand?

By Tim Connolly

CNBC reported that per U.S. Treasury data, foreign demand for U.S. Treasury securities fell by the largest amount on record in December with China reducing its holdings by $34.2 billion.

The reductions in holdings, if they continue, could force the government to make higher interest payments at a time that it is running record federal deficits. This could be the leading indicator of a precipitous drop in demand for U.S. debt, and absolutely reinforces the need to FREEZE THE BUDGET NOW!

Per CNBC, The Treasury Department reported that foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury securities fell by $53 billion in December, surpassing the previous record of a $44.5 billion drop in April 2009. The big drop in China's holdings meant that it lost the top spot in terms of foreign ownership of U.S. Treasuries, dropping to second place behind Japan.

Japan also reduced its holdings of U.S. Treasuries, cutting them by $11.5 billion to $768.8 billion in December, but that amount was still more than China's December total of $755.4 billion. The $53 billion decline in holdings of Treasury securities came primarily from a drop in official government holdings, which fell by $52.3 billion. The holdings of foreign private investors fell by $700 million during the month of December. [more…]

True Health Care "Reform" Requires Free Market Solutions

2010-02-18T06:59:00.000-08:00

By Dr. Gerard Francis Lameiro, Ph.D.

Health Care "Reform" continues high in the news this week with President Obama’s upcoming Health Care Summit. What’s important to realize is true health care reform requires free market solutions. More government controls, regulations, mandates, and subsidies will only create more inefficiencies, higher costs for health care, higher costs for health care insurance, lower incentives for medical innovations, lower quality, and eventually, rationing of health care services. Individuals will also find their economic and personal freedom restricted further. It’s true our health care system is broken and needs to be fixed. But, government is the problem, not the solution. Government tax policies as well as regulations and subsidies currently are blocking the health care market from functioning effectively. Giving consumers greater choices through competition (among both medical providers and health care insurers) will spur innovation, encourage price reductions, and improve the quality of health care. [more…]

America: A Big Fat Greek Tragedy

2010-02-17T09:15:00.000-08:00

By Wayne Allyn Root, 2008 Libertarian Vice Presidential Nominee

Greece is the insolvent, bankrupt country that threatens to bring down the entire EU (European Union) with its exploding and toxic national debt. But it's just one of the PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain). The EU is damned if they do, damned if they don't. If they choose to bail out Greece in order to save the union, soon they'll have much bigger bankrupt nations to deal with (Portugal and Spain are next in a long Conga line). There isn't enough money in all the world to bail out all of them. The EU is in big trouble.

But the real problem is that Greece isn't the worst Greek tragedy on the horizon. Greece is only "the canary in the coal mine." The United States is one big fat Greek tragedy. We are Greece-SQUARED. All the same problems that plague Greece, plague this country - huge national deficits and debt; high unemployment; gigantic entitlement programs; too many government employees; not enough tax revenues coming in; endless bailouts and stimulus; and pension and healthcare systems (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid) that threaten to eat every dollar of the budget. Just the interest on our national debt is enough to destroy our economy. It's all a Greek tragedy.

America is Greece- except on a much grander scale. Our economic collapse is still a year or two down the road. Obama is laughing, celebrating, dancing and handing out gifts (stimulus, bailouts, entitlements, corporate welfare) at a big fat Greek wedding… oblivious to the coming economic Armageddon… oblivious to the madness of his plan - to triple down on spending to save us from insolvency. [more…]

Government Wastes 53 Cents of Every Dollar Spent?

2010-02-16T07:21:00.000-08:00

By Tim Connolly

New Washington Post Poll Says Americans Now Believe Government Wastes 53 Cents of Every Dollar Spent - Can This Voter Discontent Spur a Bipartisan Compromise on Deficit Reduction, Healthcare and Tort Reform on the Table in Washington?

Can Senator Judd Gregg broker a compromise in healthcare and deficit reduction with the Obama administration and Senate Democrats? Politico reports a very interesting scenario that could attract Senate Republican support. Senator Judd Gregg has chaired the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee as well as the Budget Committee. He remains the ranking Republican on Budget and, as such, is most preoccupied with the burgeoning federal debt. Gregg has repeatedly pressed Democrats to apply the nearly $500 billion in Medicare-related savings in the House and Senate health care bills toward deficit reduction. One option for Obama would be to split the dollars, keeping half to expand health coverage and half to address the long-term solvency of the existing Medicare trust fund. [more from Tim…] [Read the Politico article here…]

Lessons Obama Should Have Learned From the Super Bowl

2010-02-08T08:52:00.000-08:00

By Wayne Allyn Root

I am probably the only politician in America whose day job is Las Vegas oddsmaker. I’ve learned many valuable lessons from sports and sports betting. On Sunday I made a fortune for thousands of my clients by picking the New Orleans Saints’ Super Bowl upset. Obama, Reid and Pelosi might snicker, but they obviously don’t understand the difference between Vegas and Washington D.C. You know what it is? In Vegas, the drunks gamble with their own money. Maybe we need a politician in D.C. who understands the psychology of winning; who understands the motivation of risk versus reward; who has the guts to take gambles; and the courage to back his convictions with his own money, instead of the taxpayers’ money. Here are the lessons Obama should have learned from yesterday’s Super Bowl [Go Here to Wayne's lessons…]

The Truth About HR 627

2010-02-08T08:50:00.000-08:00

By Mariusz Kapturski

Consumers believe that President Obama really helped them by signing HR 627. But is it true? This bill exposed consumers to higher annual fees and late fees, decreased credit available on the market, and as a result we all can see less consumer spending which is not helping in today’s economy. More credit – more spending – more jobs and more taxes collected by the government. Do the math. Interchange caps would bring more chaos to our markets and very few people would benefit from the regulation. Merchants would see more annual fees and very expensive customer support which now is free. [more…]

America, It’s Up to You - More Taxes or More Jobs?

2010-02-08T08:47:00.000-08:00

By Gerard Lameiro

With the release of President’s Obama’s new budget, a critical debate has started to take place. What’s the best way to create new jobs and economic growth? Keynesian economists advocate increased government spending to create demand. Of course, with increased spending, typically comes much higher taxes. Some say that Obama’s new budget will result in $2T (Trillion!) dollars of new taxes over 10 years after a relatively small $150+B dollars in tax cuts is subtracted out. The proposed budget also calls for about $1.6T in deficit spending. New taxes represents “capital consumption” or the transfer of wealth away from the private sector to the government sector. This tax money is money that could have been employed by the economy more efficiently and with a much higher economic multiplier, if spent by the private sector (individuals and businesses). [more…]

Forget Gutting Tax Breaks; Obama Should Reverse Bailout of Government Motors

2010-02-01T10:48:00.000-08:00

By Kyle Olson

Every time I hear a politician say he's going to end tax breaks for companies that export jobs overseas, I just laugh. It's transparent pandering to the UAW and other labor unions and a great talking point, but the Democrats have just never gotten around to enacting it. President Obama trotted out that old horse again in Wednesday's State of the Union speech. But as a Michigander, it's even more humorous knowing that the federal government has bailed out a Michigan-based company, General Motors, that has increasingly been "shipping jobs overseas." According to a May 2009 Washington Post article, GM has been doing that with a vengeance. But silly me. Why am I complaining? After all, a bail out is totally different than a tax break. Isn't it? [more...]

Obama Unveils $3.8 Trillion Budget Today With $1.6 Trillion Deficit

2010-02-01T08:58:00.000-08:00

By Tim Connolly

In last week's State of the Union address, President Obama talked about tackling the deficit, but CNN reports today that the budget he will announce later this morning for fiscal 2011 will push the deficit to a record $1.6 trillion this year. IS THERE ANY BETTER REASON THAN THIS TO "FREEZE THE BUDGET NOW, AND BALANCE THE BUDGET WITHIN FIVE YEARS?

Re-Build America as an Economic Powerhouse

The prevailing concern of Americans today is that the United States of America has lost its vaunted position as a global economic powerhouse, becoming a debtor nation which cannot fulfill either the long-term financial growth requirements of a vibrant country or the retirement needs of its citizens. How did the world’s greatest economic and social power lose its way?

We began as a nation with a purity of purpose. Our Constitution adheres to a fundamental thesis - “to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessing of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.”

That foundation was critical to the birth of this nation at a time when there were many divergent interests, each wanting to protect their own regions and economic interests, yet knowing the future lay in “a more perfect union.”

Today, that Union our forefathers envisioned is compromised by competing agendas, dangerous turf wars, and divergent economic drains that threaten to rip apart the fabric of this country we hold so dear. The cacophony of special interests, the blatant rhetoric of political infighting, and the financial damage done to our country in the process is damaging our national heritage and endangering the very future of our children and the nation. [more...]

America's Economic War By Gerard Lameiro, Ph.D.

2010-02-01T08:50:00.000-08:00

America's Economic War - Your Freedom, Money and Life
A Citizen's Handbook for Understanding the War between American Capitalism and Socialism
By Gerard Lameiro, Ph.D.

President Obama unveiled a multi-trillion-dollar spending plan today guaranteeing America trillion-dollar-plus deficits for three consecutive years as we Americans tighten our belts more than ever to meet our own expenses. But how will the decisions the administration makes today affect us and future generations?

Are you struggling to understand what's really going on in the American economy today? Do you want to know if our economy will turn around quickly, or get bogged down in a bad recession... or, worse, collapse into a ten-year depression? Do you want to understand why we confront a constant stream of bad economic reports and financial crises? Why we face increasing inflation with mounting food and energy prices? Why our leaders engage in fierce political battles with one another? Do you want to understand why American culture and morality are in steep decline?

Economist and economic growth expert, Gerard Francis Lameiro, addresses all these questions and many more in this clearly written, easy-to-understand, and vitally important book that identifies and describes America's Economic War. In his engaging style and with his optimistic vision and uncanny ability to make the complex very simple, Dr. Lameiro describes in riveting detail:

America's economic war between American capitalism and socialism that is raging across our country today;
The 47 major and three special battles taking place right now that are dramatically impacting American culture, government, and the American economy; and
The serious risks to you and your family's freedom, money and lives.

America's Economic War is a test of America's moral strength and courage, a test of its Constitutional principles, and a test of its great engine of economic freedom and prosperity. This book will help you get a solid understanding of America's economic war and how American capitalism can help all of us to achieve a brighter future for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren.

You might not realize it right now because you are busy with work or school or family concerns, but you and your family's freedom, money and life are all at risk today. America's Economic War is raging and changing everything about life in America. Each and every one of us is dramatically impacted. Yet, few of us recognize that America's Economic War is taking place at all. Indeed, fewer still understand the causes of the war, or its impact and potential dangers.

About the Author: Economist, economic growth expert and CEO of Lameiro Economics LLC, a company focused on bringing practical economic knowledge about freedom, economic growth and prosperity to America and to the world, Dr. Lameiro was previously a member of Hewlett-Packard's Strategy and Corporate Development team, President of the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), and an Assistant Professor in Colorado State University's College of Business.

A Revolutionary Tea Party Plan to Save the U.S. Economy from Economic Disaster

2010-01-26T06:23:00.001-08:00

By Wayne Allyn Root

Obama is about to present his State of the Union. But he doesn't have a clue about the true 'state of the union' for small business owners. I am a small businessman. My friends are almost all small business owners. We all believe that Obama's prescription for saving the American economy is a disaster. His policies of tax and spend are killing jobs, destroying confidence, and wiping out small businesses by the thousands each month. Without a recovery by small business, there can be no recovery for the U.S. economy.

Today I present a plan that can save small business. My plan is "Reagan squared." It has one goal in mind - creating tens of millions of new jobs by motivating and encouraging small business. This plan allows small business owners to keep more of their own money, and encourages them to invest it, risk it, and spend it on building new businesses, expanding old businesses, and creating new jobs. That is how you save the U.S. economy from economic disaster.

Things are bad... and getting worse. As a small businessman with my finger on the pulse of Main Street, not Wall Street, I see the true state of the union. This is not a recession; it is a depression. We are not in recovery. We are in the depths of a long-term depression. I believe America is on the verge of economic collapse. For us to get out of this 'Great Depression II,' we must focus on small business - not big government, not big corporations, not unions, not lawyers, not lobbyists, not government spending, not stimulus spending, not the hiring of more government employees. None of those create jobs (as Obama has proven). Jump-starting small business is the only way out of this catastrophe.

Printing money and passing out piles of fake cash in the form of bailouts and stimulus may make things look better for the short term, but they only make the long-term situation worse. The fact is governments around the world are out of ammunition. As soon as the stimulus and bailouts run out, we will all feel the REAL effects of this economic Armageddon: devaluation of the dollar; dramatically higher interest rates; dramatically higher taxes; dramatically higher inflation; dramatically lower government bond ratings; default on our debt; and sooner, rather than later, economic collapse. That is the future we are facing - and it is ugly. [more...]

The Obama Death Panels: Unions!

2010-01-14T08:30:00.001-08:00

By Wayne Allyn Root

Obama will choose to save unions and destroy small business.

Obama is the first president owned by unions. He models the U.S. after Michigan and California - government employee unions gone wild! There was never going to be a heavy tax on high value “Cadillac” health insurance policies. That was just a smokescreen. That was just a “placeholder” until Obama could come up with taxes on business owners to replace it. Under Obama, it is always the “rich” who will pay. Whether it’s a surcharge on income or a huge increase in Medicare taxes, or an expansion of Medicare taxes to include profits on investment income... you can bet your bottom dollar that it is “the rich” who will pay for universal healthcare.The problem is this category that Democrats call “the rich” is primarily small business owners - the same small business owners that create 80% of all new jobs. Without small business participating - and motivated - there can be no increase in jobs. There can be no increase in taxes revenues. There can be no money to fund Obama’s bailouts, or nonstop stimulus packages, or his gigantic expansion of government. [more...]

The Obama/Goldman Sachs Small Business Scam

2009-11-24T04:35:00.000-08:00

By Wayne Allyn Root

Was Goldman Sachs Forced to Make a Half Billion Dollar Payoff to the Minority Community as a (legal) Bribe to Obama?

Did you see the announcement late last week that Goldman Sachs is giving a half billion dollars to small businesses? Or are they? Why are they suddenly concerned with small business? They've certainly never cared about small business before. Could this sudden interest by Goldman Sachs be because it pays to do favors for Obama's friends? And for Obama, everything - including business - is about race. You see, Goldman claimed they are concerned with small business. But the reality is they are only concerned with one tiny segment of small business - MINORITY-OWNED SMALL BUSINESSES; more specifically, minority businesses in minority neighborhoods. Even more specifically, those loans to minority businesses in minority neighborhoods will only be disbursed through "community organizations." [more...]

Unemployment Hits 10.2%... Obama Sends Us on Path to Economic Ruin

2009-11-06T08:45:00.001-08:00

By Wayne Allyn Root

Obama Wakes Up to Big Surprise - Government Creates No Jobs… Unions Kill JobsThe national unemployment rate hit 10.2% today. What a surprise! Actually it may have come as a great surprise to "the Messiah" a/k/a President Barack Obama, but it came as no surprise to anyone who understands economics. My old college classmate Obama is not among that group.

Small business creates upwards of 75 - 80% of all new jobs. If small business is failing, there are no new jobs. Without a robust small business community, there can be no economic recovery. All the stimulus money in the world going to Obama's big business campaign contributors - unions, government employees, banks, Wall Street - will not end the recession. All the government jobs “saved” and created will do nothing but take money and jobs AWAY from the private sector. All the billions of dollars lavished on unions and union workers will push the country back into recession. All the government union workers honored with raises by Obama will increase the national debt and damage the economic recovery. Only a recovery led by small business can save us. We are staring at an economic Armageddon - not just for us, but for our children and grandchildren.

We have been lied to by Obama, by Pelosi, by Treasury Secretary Geithner, by Fed Chief Bernanke. There is no recovery. The recession isn't over. To the contrary, we are in the start of a long-term depression caused by big government, big spending, onerous taxes and government regulations placed on business, too much deficit and debt. Obama isn't the solution. He is the problem. He knows nothing about business - small or large. He has never owned a business, run a business, funded a business, or created a job in his life. His entire knowledge of economics comes from books. And they are the wrong books - Karl Marx never created a job either. [more...]

Is Obama Our Bernie Madoff?

2009-10-28T11:06:00.000-07:00

By Wayne Allyn Root

Can you imagine investing your life savings with Bernie Madoff now - knowing what you know? Don't laugh. Obama is orchestrating one of the great Ponzi schemes in history. Madoff couldn't have done it any better.

Let's look at the similarities. It's obvious Obama believes he has the answers to every problem, refuses to even listen to opposing viewpoints, and is unwilling to admit mistakes or apologize. Sound familiar? Obama is a Bernie Madoff - a man who thinks he is the "Master of the Universe" and the rest of us are just circling around in his orbit, serving at his pleasure.

Like Madoff, he is charming, flattering, has the gift of gab, and could sell ice to Eskimos. Obama has sold the country on the idea that a man who knows nothing about business, has never created a single job and has never run even a lemonade stand, can run the world's biggest economy. Not only has Obama never run so much as a lemonade stand, my guess is he was the kid who called City Hall to complain about a six-year-old running a lemonade stand without a government license. Now we've entrusted him with the entire U.S. economy in the midst of the worst economic crisis since The Great Depression.

Let's get back to the question: "Would you trust your life savings with Bernie Madoff now - knowing what you know?" We know the government fails miserably at everything it does - the post office, Social Security, Amtrak, to name just a few examples. The government is so inept it even failed running a brothel in Nevada and New York State just declared government run OTB (Off Track Betting) bankrupt. Only the government could lose money on prostitution and gambling! [more...]

Unemployed and Out of Luck: Numbers Don’t Lie

2009-10-05T08:43:00.000-07:00

By Bill Glynn

Anyone can stand up and say "You Lie!" The truth is the numbers speak for themselves. We have all watched the housing depression and wealth being wiped out. We all knew unemployment would continue to rise and have a dramatic impact on the economy ongoing. The new 200,000+ unemployed just adds to the pain. The second wave is coming. Inflation will take a lead role in agitating the economy. Gas prices are high and approaching $3 a gallon again. While food and other products remain relatively stable the basics are even getting out of reach for many. It’s a vicious cycle. The more people that tighten their belts or are losing weight quickly, the less they can purchase. The 'Cash for Clunkers' is over and Chrysler may not even make it a year. Although politics and international affairs have overshadowed or even distracted the economic news, I feel it is time again to put attention back on America’s internal affairs. [more...]

Unemployment Continues to Skyrocket: More Proof that Big Government is Too Big to Succeed

2009-10-02T10:21:00.000-07:00

By Wayne Allyn Root

Obama Loses His Weapon of Mass Distraction: His Olympic Dream Turns to Nightmare...

He Desperately Needed Olympics to Distract the Masses from Deepening Economic Disaster

Experts love to say that certain big companies and banks are "too big to fail." The reality is our federal government is too big to succeed. It's all going down in flames for Obama - "the anointed one." The economy continues to crumble. Unemployment continues to rise (another 200,000+ announced today). The full truthful unemployment picture is now at a unimaginable 17%. Sales of cars - without the "Cash for Clunkers" giveaway - continue to collapse. Banking experts know that a new wave of residential housing foreclosures is on the way. Worse, a complete collapse of commercial real estate is starting, as landlords of office buildings, strip malls, and shopping centers hand the keys to banks. How do I know? It's happening now in Las Vegas - and we all know "what happens in Vegas, doesn't stay in Vegas." Consumer spending is getting worse - small business owner friends of mine report sales are dropping off a cliff - the worst they've seen yet in this 2-year depression. [more...]

Wayne Allyn Root was the 2008 Libertarian Vice Presidential candidate. His new book is entitled, "The Conscience of a Libertarian: Empowering the Citizen Revolution with God, Guns, Gambling & Tax Cuts." For more of Wayne's views, commentaries, or to watch his many national media appearances, please visit his web site at: www.ROOTforAmerica.com.

Bill Glynn Proves Money Does Grow on Trees

2009-09-29T11:41:00.000-07:00

Historic Program Values Landscaping as a Substantial Asset on a Property

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 30 -- Bill Glynn, the co-founder of HMI, Inc., in partnership with the Waynick Book Group, announced that consumers can order a certified, customized inspection and landscaping assessment for their property to use in a real estate transaction to defend that asking price and equity in the home. Care instructions and plant descriptions specific to the property will be provided in a four-color report; and non-certified, consumer self-entered books will be available until January.

Starting in January 2010 consumers will have access to customized landscaping valuation tools and services to help home buyers and sellers defend the value of their home equity and asking price by uncovering the hidden value of existing landscaping in properties being bought or sold. Today certified arborists are ready to do onsite inspections and provide replacement costs values to consumers across the country through HMI's Tree Facts services. The services are also available for property casualty reports, tree removal, increases in insurance coverage for landscaping and health inspections. The Tree Facts service can be ordered at www.moneygrowsontrees.com.

Home values are severely depressed in the U.S. Equity in homes is being wiped out at an alarming rate. Every feature of a home including granite countertops, refrigerators, marble flooring, etc. are aggressively sold as premium features to try to defend the asking price and protect the equity in a home. The market doesn't realize and never before could measure the hidden value in the landscaping which is most often more valuable to replace than their entire kitchen and appliances at a minimum.

The partnership will provide both self-entered and onsite property inspections and assessments of the total replacement cost on individual trees and shrubs and the aggregate landscaping value. In January services will be offered under the Money Grows on Trees brand and can be ordered at www.moneygrowsontrees.com.

Waynick Book Group, owner of Cool Springs Press, the market leader in consumers gardening and care books and guides, is refining the offering to offer custom four-color books that deliver care instructions, plant descriptions that are self-entered, and also produce non-certified replacement cost values. Self-entered books will be offered at $19.95 for the basic book, $39.95 for a bound coffee table book; and a certified site evaluation to be used in a real estate transaction or for insurance upgrades and property casualty claims can be ordered today. The Waynick Book Group is using its considerable "lawn and garden" reach and massive repository of specific care instructions and more consumer friendly content for the January 2010 roll out.

The most considerable investment one will make in his or her lifetime is a home. Valuing every asset on a property is crucial to protect that investment. Caring for the investment over time and valuing the assets simply couldn't be done until now. Each year consumers spend billions on landscaping, services and products to beautify their property. In a property transaction, landscaping has always been referred to as "nicely landscaped" or good "curb appeal." Today homeowners and buyers spend over $1,000 to have a home inspected and appraised. Now consumers can obtain tangible values for the external features of the home to supplement the internal features being marketed. The program will provide consumers with custom books specific to the plants and trees only on their property and care instructions for their assets.

I truly believe that Bill Glynn is a visionary and is unquestionably an American asset. With all the chaos in the real estate market who would have ever thought of a program so substantial in today's housing market? Glynn compares landscaping to a diamond ring. When a diamond is purchased at a value of $12,000 and placed into a $1,000 "setting," it becomes a ring and in most cases the ring is appraised at over double the price of the diamond and ring setting individually. When a tree or plant is placed into a "setting," an investor's yard, it immediately triples in value. Much different from a car that depreciates up to 25% once it is driven off the lot, landscaping appreciates in value every year as it grows. The value of the landscaping assets is based on replacement cost and the values are supported throughout the insurance industry for use in property casualty losses, remediation, upgrading insurance and most importantly an inventory of assets in the event that a loss occurs.

About Bill Glynn: Ranked by Information Week as one of the world's top 15 innovators globally, Bill Glynn continues to shake up industries. He has been a venture capitalist and entrepreneur for 20 years and is the author of Left on Red. He has raised and invested over $1 billion. Bill reaches almost 20 million people a month through his appearances on television and radio. He is an insider in the film and music industry. Of particular note is his involvement in helping commercialize iChat (instant messaging and chat), through one of his venture fund portfolio companies, that became ubiquitous across the world, for co-founding HMI, Inc. that provides landscaping valuation services and systems to provide and augment landscaping insurance and remediation, co-developing structured financing alternatives for liquidity in the private equity space, co-building his first venture capital fund in his late twenties, helping to grow Red Storm Entertainment (Tom Clancy) and a host of other successful ventures. Bill advises Fortune 1000 companies and is a supporter of The Royal Institution's World Science Assembly and the East West Institute with an eye toward harmonizing humanity across the major religions on earth and the weaponization of science. For more information, please visit: www.billyg.net

About HMI: The only national provider of comprehensive tree and landscaping services that includes emergency tree removal services, standardized health inspections of green assets, average replacement cost analysis of trees for insurance, accounting and legal purposes, and tree preservation services and customized reports and inventories of landscaping. For more information, please visit HMI's Web site at www.hmiadvantage.com or call 866-937-6468.

Let Newspapers Fail

2009-09-23T09:08:00.000-07:00

By Wayne Allyn Root

Bailout of Newspapers Threatens Free Speech and Editorial Independence

Bailouts Constitute “Legal Bribery”

Members of Congress have recently suggested that the federal government should undertake a billion dollar newspaper bailout. President Obama seems interested. Really? Why? Because the other bailouts worked out so well? Congressional investigators recently disclosed their doubts that AIG will ever be able to pay back its government loans. At the same time, economists suggest that at least $20 billion of the government loans to U.S. automakers are lost forever. GM and Chrysler now constitute a $100 billion welfare program, that just happens to sell cars (that no one wants). Meanwhile the economy continues to flounder despite the $800 billion economic stimulus package (a bailout to more fat cat corporations and Obama contributors). This disaster just keeps on growing (because government is involved). [more...]

Government Capitalism

2009-09-14T10:46:00.001-07:00

By Bill Glynn

K Street to Look Over the Back of Wall Street

Government capitalism - more like socialism - is still trying to take a larger and larger administrative role in how Wall Street operates. But Wall Street just isn’t going to go along with it. Yes, Wall Street was largely to blame for the economic implosion. And now the government wants to step in and regulate how the firms operate and how they pay people. That isn’t the government’s job. They can create legislation empowering the SEC and the treasury/fed with powers to force regulations and standards upon Wall Street, like the Sarbanes-Oxley act of 2002, but they cannot and will never be able to control the price people are willing to pay for talent. This at the core of capitalism. All eyes are focused again on the high pay of executives on Wall Street. Obama will speak today about this very subject and to a lesser amount about the actual regulatory specifics that need to change. Oh, by the way, this needs to happen globally, too, where the U.S. has no power at all. Regulations and more power being held by the SEC will happen and a lot of that good to reign in pandemic possibilities and rogue practices, but talent is a fluid resource that will go where the money is and, hence, take the business and clients with them. [more...]

The Audacity of Union Worship: Obama Declares WAR on China

2009-09-14T10:45:00.001-07:00

By Wayne Allyn Root

Obama is making a tragic decision to start a trade war with China to appease the unions. It seems whatever unions want, unions get from Obama - even if it destroys the U.S. economy. Is this all part of a plan to destroy capitalism and introduce socialism? Obama's leftist love affair with unions has now reached critical mass. I believe it now threatens our economic future. His decision to start a full-blown trade war with China, by imposing heavy trade duties on imported Chinese tires, will start an economic war that U.S. citizens cannot afford, nor hope to win. It will cost jobs, destroy businesses, hurt U.S. Gross Domestic Product), and damage the future of our children and grandchildren. But, worse, it threatens to plunge the entire world into a global economic catastrophe. This tragic decision was all based on Obama's need to impress his union friends and contributors- even at a cost of deepening and lengthening a global depression. [more...]

THE BIG LIE: Obama Says Healthcare Won't Add to Our Budget Deficit

2009-09-10T08:54:00.000-07:00

By Wayne Allyn Root

Obama told the big lie again last night - promising that his healthcare plan would not add to the deficit. Do you remember Obama's promise that his stimulus plan would “add three million jobs?” Instead we lost almost three million jobs! Do you remember Obama and liberal politicians arguing that the money we gave GM and Chrysler would not be a waste, and that much of it would be repaid? Well, a new study now predicts $22 billion in auto bailouts is lost forever. How about “Cash for Clunkers?” The government ran out of money in just four days! How do we know that government-run healthcare won't run out of money in a week?

Let's examine the predictions for Medicare. Back in 1970, government “experts” predicted that Medicare would cost $12 billion by 1990. The real cost: $110 billion. Government was only off by almost ten times more. Now Obama says his plan will “only” cost $900 billion and not add to the growing budget deficit. Anyone wanna bet? This Las Vegas oddsmaker-turned Libertarian Vice Presidential nominee is taking that action.

But a breaking story in New York may be the best case for defeating government-run healthcare. OTB just declared bankruptcy. OTB (Off Track Betting) is government-run gambling. Not just any gambling - but rather the most profitable gambling business model on earth. You see OTB doesn't even take a chance. They cannot lose. They simply take a cut off the top to pay out winners, and keep the rest for themselves. Yet OTB is over $200 million in debt, and has over $500 million in unfunded liability for the pensions and healthcare of their 40,000 employees.

What does all this prove? That government is incompetent and cannot be trusted to run anything. That government fails at virtually everything it does - from running brothels in Nevada, to running gambling in New York. That many government employees couldn't survive in a private sector job (at least not one that requires showing a profit). And of course that government wastes money by employing too many people and paying them far too much. I'll bet that OTB could run successfully and profitably with 4,000 employees instead of 40,000. The moral of the story is if you can't make money in the sex or gambling business, you can't run the healthcare system of the USA.

But worst of all, the OTB story proves the foolishness of the idea of providing universal healthcare to 300,000,000 Americans. OTB is broke because they have $500 million in unfunded liabilities just from paying bloated pensions and free healthcare for 40,000 people. If you can't fund free healthcare for 40,000 people in the most profitable business on earth (gambling), can you even imagine the debt from trying to pay for free healthcare for every person in the country? [more...]

Madoff Negligence Sets up SEC for Madoff Investors

2009-09-04T08:02:00.000-07:00

By Bill Glynn

I am certain the Billionaire’s Boys club is using every tool - social, political and economic - to wrangle the SEC into a position to help them recover their pilfered monies from the Madoff scam. The recent announcements of negligence and incompetence in uncovering the Madoff ponzi scheme leaves the door wide open for a shareholder class action suit against the SEC for certain.

It already appears to me the powers to be are at work. Having the SEC spit up words like incompetence is a strong indication that behind the scenes pressure has begun to soften the government for another bailout. Powerful people lost huge amounts of money and so did the little guy. The little guy is in good company. I am certain if mom and pop (who also lost millions) stood up, and they have, to cry "foul!" the words would go largely unnoticed. That is one thing. If a billionaire stands up and cries "foul!" that is an entirely different dynamic.

Money and power go hand in hand. Lucky for all the investors the big boys are playing hardball and for certain pressure on the political machine that they have probably paid millions into has their head in a vice to do something. It is not some revelation that the SEC missed all this but it is a revelation to see them set themselves up for a fall. It is really unheard of. I strongly believe this has been brought about at least in part from tremendous pressure worldwide to position a recovery of the monies lost. Heck, you would be shot in the streets these days for a pair of sneakers! In this case the fall guys are being lined up against the wall in front of a firing squad and I bet we will see the SEC in court and forced to cut a deal to pay the investors back. [more...]

Hey, Did Warren Buffet Just Agree With Me?

2009-08-20T09:06:00.001-07:00

By Bill Glynn

I’m in Good Company Finally on Debt and Deficit

Okay, I am not a national economic brand like Warren Buffet, but very proud to be “On the Money.” With that, I must say I do have a pretty large voice across the country and I have been ranting about the deficit and debt for two years. Finally, the big boys are going public with their vision of a catastrophe just waiting to happen to the entire U.S. economy that will be much worse than the financial crisis. Yes, I am frustrated and a bit red-in-the-face that I don’t have an Op Ed in the NY Times. But my book IOUSA NOT is coming out in the next few months. I do feel a great deal of pride in the “On the Money” track record I have built. The debt and deficit as I have been shouting about at the top of my lungs are cancer, brain trauma, suicide... It is simply not sustainable and with everything done over the past two years and foreseeable future, we are sunk. During the time of World War II, the nation had a deficit of 4% of GDP. We have triple that this year - 13% or $1.8 trillion. Here is the catch - what do you think the GDP back then was compared to today? These comparison figures are apples and oranges and astronomically different. This will come home to roost and be devastating - MARK MY WORDS! Dare I say again. [more...]

Federal Deficit Numbers are WRONG

2009-08-13T09:58:00.001-07:00

By Bill Glynn

$1.8 Trillion in 2009 - $1.3 Trillion 2010

We can add! $11.7 trillion debt + projected $3.1 trillion (2 yr deficit) + a trillion of newly printed currency. Taxes projected to be down another $500 billion this year. Whoops! I forgot the other $1 trillion (sure to be much higher) for healthcare. The fact is this is too rosy a picture. As bad and fiscally irresponsible as this is, I am calling the shot now that this will be much worse. Let’s not forget the interest on the debt. We are fast approaching $750 billion in interest annually alone. This will be at $1 trillion in just a few years. Projecting a 2-year $3.1 trillion deficit, far beyond anything ever seen, won’t be the number. I expect we will be closer to $4 trillion than $3 trillion. Why? Well we all know numbers from our government are always much lower than they tell us, for one. Second, recovery will be slow and painful, so tax revenue will be less and less. And does someone think taxing the $250K+ earners will make up for it? Not in a million years! It will make matters worse. [more...]

Churches & Non-Profits Get Hammered

2009-08-11T10:26:00.001-07:00

By Bill Glynn

Christians Are Not Exempt From Financial Woes

Churches and all non-profits are severely wounded by the financial crisis that has really hit home. Dependant on donations, both are struggling to keep the lights on in some cases and significantly reducing programs for those that need it most especially now. This is a time in history where more and more people are looking for help and turning to the church for guidance while the coffers are running dry. Non-profits across the nation are also being tapped out so people can’t turn there either. Add to this the Administration’s proposal to pay for healthcare reform by eliminating the Non-Profit tax exemption for people who earn over $250K. Who the heck do you think gives the money to non-profits? Yes, financial discrimination again; but this is the bread and butter that keeps these institutions alive. People that tithe at churches definitely write off their donations. Those who can afford to tithe are mostly higher income families. So inflow of money is down severely and now you want to eliminate the deduction too? [more...]

If Government Can't Run a Brothel, They Can't Run National Healthcare!

2009-08-04T08:38:00.001-07:00

By Wayne Allyn Root

My new book, THE CONSCIENCE OF A LIBERTARIAN, describes the failures, mistakes, lies and losses of government at every level, from every program, literally from the inception of government. The list is long - Amtrak, The U.S. Postal Service, Hurricane Katrina, The VA System, the Walter Reed Hospital scandal, post-Iraq War planning, the public school system, and of course Medicare and Medicaid - the government-run healthcare programs that threaten to eat up the entire U.S. non-military budget and single-handedly bankrupt our country.

But no story paints the picture of why government shouldn't and cannot possibly be allowed to run national healthcare (adding up to 17% of the United States economy) like the story of a brothel called The Mustang Ranch. My adopted home state of Nevada is the only state in the nation with legalized prostitution in rural counties. The sex industry is obviously lucrative. It's impossible to lose money selling sex. Brothel owners have been retiring as multi-millionaires since the days of the Wild West. But no brothel in the history of Nevada ever made more money than the infamous Mustang Ranch; the owner reportedly made over one hundred million dollars. But he refused to pay his taxes. He was indicted by the IRS, fled the United States, and now lives on his mega-million dollar fortune in Brazil, a fugitive from justice.

But it's what happened next that defines the failures of government. The greedy federal government actually decided to take over the management of the Mustang Ranch. And under the management of our federal government, the most successful brothel in America went bankrupt in one year.The moral of the story is... IF YOU CAN'T MAKE MONEY RUNNING A BROTHEL, YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY RUN THE HEALTHCARE OF THE ENTIRE COUNTRY! [more...]

An Economic Playbook 2009

2009-08-04T08:35:00.000-07:00

By Bill Glynn

Economy May be Bottoming but Main Street will Remain Under Water

Economists are being conservative in a quarter-by-quarter analysis of how and when the U.S. economy and housing market will recover. Based on manufacturing output, exports, and a host of variables, everyone is eyeing GDP growth - especially when compared to last year. I am of the opinion that a lemonade stand would look positive against the last year. Expect that U.S. "big business" will take some time to begin to revive itself - not the expected big bounce, but a slow, painful and gradual increase. The key will be you and me getting back to buying products, goods and services. It has always been the key. Without consumption, no economy can survive. Credit-addicted consumers will remain in rehab and locked out of the spending game for quite a while. The unemployed and under employed will be a huge factor in recovery given that they are hobbled and scared. Those consumers are likely to have curbed their spending or stopped all non-essential purchases already. These consumers will most likely be withdrawn from spending and focus on rebuilding their lives - that is if they can ever get a job or something comparable. Expect this to further impact domestic growth. The credit-addicted can't get more credit and the creditworthy aren't going to spend enough to make up for all that. It is the credit spending that artificially boosted the economy for so long. [more...]

The $5 Trillion Skeleton in Congress's Closet

2009-07-21T08:07:00.001-07:00

By Bill Glynn

Contingent Liabilities Add up to Almost $30 Trillion

How's that! Someone telling the truth. Better than my economic bulimia. The figures are out and just the bank bailout program alone will equal more than ONE THIRD of the U.S. economy. And, yes, there is more to come - commercial real estate and jumbo loans - so it's not over yet. But I think some real business people are realizing that Congress has no clue how much money is being spent (whoops! borrowed to be spent), how much it is costing, and, oh, by the way, all those financial commitments to Freddie and Fannie and a host of others. If you add all that to the $111 trillion of unfunded liabilities of the government, we start to see the picture they don't want us to see. "The Full Faith of the U.S. Government" is backing up all these commitments, liabilities, contingent liabilities and the world's investments in our country.

Oh, and add a $2 trillion deficit this year and over $1 trillion for healthcare reform. So, in a nutshell, our sovereignty has been forfeited to foreign nations, we are bankrupt at best, we've got rampant moral and social decay, uneducated and ignorant voters, sub-par education for our children, and a nuclear economy. It is true that I am a radical thinker but it doesn't take any education to see all the cave drawings on our wall. You tell me if I am wrong. [more...]

History in the Making: Deficit Tops $1 Trillion

2009-07-14T09:57:00.001-07:00

By Bill Glynn

Expected $2 trillion by year end...

A direct quote from me: “If the U.S. was a company our Board of Directors, management and employees would be fired, the business bankrupt and a lot of people would go to jail” is as true today as six months ago. The U.S. has many milestones that have impacted our nation and the world very positively. Now we are seeing the negative side of our leaders' actions and management. Try to comprehend what a $2 trillion deficit will do to the national debt. Yes, $2 trillion more! This doesn’t include the minting of currency and other debt we are taking on but simply our national profit and loss. Imagine if the U.S. WAS a company! Well, the best way to gain perspective and a proxy for where we are fiscally is to see the U.S. as a business. We are a capitalist nation, after all. [more...]

Stop The Stimulus: The Fox is in the White House and Congress

2009-07-13T10:41:00.001-07:00

By Bill Glynn

Democrats are turning up the volume on the stimulus while the GOP has finally put their foot down. Obama is using TV, again, to pander to us. Can you even imagine that there are now talks about another stimulus package of borrowing and spending in D.C.? I don’t know if I am blind, deaf and dumb, but wasn't it borrowing and spending money across every part of economy that got us into this mess in the first place?

The current stimulus package has already shown the typical mismanagement and ineffectiveness of the government to run this kind of operation. Already pilfering the money for pet projects should have every American marching in the streets and should be a real sign of what else is coming. Worse, we are allowing them to do it. Why? Because they don’t care about, listen to, or even acknowledge our ideas and outrage. How does it feel to be impotent and marginalized in America?

It should be more than apparent, only four months into it, that the program is not working as planned and the unemployment and economic downturn continues to worsen. Only 6.8% has been invested in the turnaround, which is appalling from my perspective. If you are going to do it, do it quickly and massively.

As the pandering continues and the promise that the money will be invested (after borrowing, I may say) in the second half of the year and next year is bad policy. The money should have been sheltered from the politicians and placed under the reigns of our best business executives to make sure it all - I mean 100% - went into a massive and radical economic boost. But in D.C., it's just another piggy bank to raid and now they want even more. We can all see the paw prints on the cookie jar and the writing all over that wall.

You see the I.Q. in D.C. - especially the economic I.Q. - is sub-par. Economic savvy by career politicians and academics would be the last thing I would ever retain to run my business or manage money. Economic I.Q. to just borrow and spend is their only solution? And, worse, they want to do it again! What is wrong with our representatives? I just can’t believe this happening. I am really sick to my stomach.

We must stop the borrowing and spending. The world needs a signal that we can get our fiscal crap together and fast. But the very people that have bankrupted our nation are all foxes in the White House and Congress eating away at us - the stupid chickens that let them in to begin with. [more...]

GM Bankruptcy Plan Approved

2009-07-07T08:56:00.001-07:00

By Robert Weiss

Late Sunday night, General Motors won permission from a federal bankruptcy judge, Robert Gerber, to sell its assets to a new government-backed company in order to complete a restructuring plan backed by both GM and the Obama administration. All of this in hopes of reviving the ailing auto industry. It should be no surprise that even after a surge of nearly $50 billion to this restructuring plan, the people who will suffer the most are the consumers once again. Because this is a non-traditional bankruptcy structuring, GM’s desirable assets, such as Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and other GMC brands, would be sold to a "new," leaner GM. What becomes of their other profit-less assets and high value liabilities? They will be left behind in bankruptcy for hundreds of creditors to fight over. [more...]

Wal-Mart on Health Care

2009-07-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

By Ross Reck

Wal-Mart is way ahead of the pack in terms of its thinking on employee health care. By partnering with its employees’ union to support the proposed government mandate for large businesses to provide health care insurance for their employees, Wal-Mart is demonstrating extraordinary foresight and leadership. When push comes to shove, nearly everyone in America wants better health care coverage for our citizens. Employer provided health care coverage is the only way this can ever happen; taxpayers can’t afford it and neither can the government. American businesses, on the other hand, can afford to pay for it and it will not cost them jobs nor will it drive down wages. In fact, doing so will not only make American businesses more profitable, it will make them more competitive in the global economy. [more...]

The Big Blue States Bellying Up: How about IOUs!

2009-07-01T10:23:00.001-07:00

By Bill Glynn

California, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania

The economies of the most liberal and largest states in our union are in jeopardy of bankruptcy and collapse. Who would ever think that we would see such chaos and fiscal mismanagement across the nation? It is hard to believe that California, one of the world’s largest economies, is on the brink of bankruptcy. Is this the writing on the wall for the federal government, too? You bet! This should be taken with the utmost seriousness on Capitol Hill - or should I say CAPITOL CLIFF - because that is what America is teetering on and close to going over while our government has the peddle to the floor. Does anyone see the borrowing and spending coming to a halt at the state or federal levels? Poll people - and I bet an overwhelming majority - would say Hell No! When state governments across the nation are in dire need of money, in political stalemate after stalemate what is their answer? More borrowing - even California is ready to issue IOUs to keep itself afloat. That means more debt on top of mountains of debt. Our currency and treasuries are not dissimilar - these are IOUs to the world. How long can states and the federal government keep the house of cards afloat? [more...]

The Madoffs of the World: Hit 'em Where it Hurts

2009-06-30T07:27:00.001-07:00

By Robert Weiss

At the age of 71, Bernard Madoff will likely live out the rest of his life in prison. Victims of the fraud were given the opportunity to speak about the impact of Madoff’s scheme, which affected thousands of investors, including charities, hedge funds, trusts and individuals. Some of Madoff's investors went from being millionaires or having comfortable retirements to being nearly destitute overnight after the fraud was revealed.

In 2005, Bernard Ebbers, the then-63-year-old former chairman of Worldcom Inc., was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his involvement in his company’s fraud, which was valued at nearly $11 billion. I had the opportunity to represent thousands of WorldCom employees who saw their hard-earned retirement savings vanish before their eyes. As I sit here almost four years to the exact date of Bernard Ebbers’ sentencing date, I have concluded that the threat of incarceration is no deterrence to these corporate giants. Clearly, Madoff - in his prime during Ebbers’ era - did not learn from the mistakes of other swindlers who were sent to prison.

I have said this once and I will say it again: the only way to get to these people is by hitting them where it hurts - their bank account. These people need to be watched over like a fox loitering in a chicken coup. We are their prey. Millions of dollars of year are not enough for the Madoffs of the world - only when their billions are at risk will they find a sense of remorse for all that they have taken from us. The SEC must step up their watch or we will face the same situation in another four years. [more...]