Congress’s Budget Proposal to Slash Student Aid

By Allen Kors

The recent Republican budget proposal to slash student aid by $150 billion represents an egregious elimination of vital support for our higher education system.  The United States faces $1.3 trillion in outstanding student debt, a three-fold increase in tuition cost over the past 30 years, and an increasingly competitive labor market for college graduates.  These variables have created an environment in which a college education is increasingly necessary in order to achieve the "American Dream," now that a college education is becoming less accessible than ever before.

The higher education system is evolving, yes, but cutting off access to the lifeblood of our economy and workforce at this pivotal inflection point may cause irreparable harm to our rising generation of producers and creators.  The recent proposal in Congress includes cutting Pell Grants by $90 billion, slashing in-school interest subsidies by $34 billion, and eliminating benefits and safety net programs for borrowers by $27 billion.  To establish the severity of these proposed cuts, the Pell Grant used to cover 80% of college costs in 1975, and is projected to cover only 20% by 2025.  It helps put 9 million students through school each year.  That means that while the purchasing power of the Pell Grant is already organically deteriorating based on inflation and rising tuition costs, the government is accelerating its extinction by actually reducing the size of the Pell Grant fund itself.  That alone is like a double whammy hit to college accessibility.

We cannot sit back and allow this to happen.  These programs are integral to the success of our nation.  Education is a portal to achievement and fundamental to our people’s evolution.  We must put an end to these proposals and unite in support, not abandonment, of our nation’s students.  If you agree, please show your support by signing the Student PIRGs petition: bitly.com/helpsavestudentaid. [more...]

The Fed Just Made a Big Move That's Great for Big Business, But Awful for You

By Lowell Ponte

How did political appointees take control of our economy? Can we ever find our way back to free markets and honest money? Would the Federal Reserve keep a key interest rate at or near zero, continuing to give free money to the biggest corporations and banks, the casino known as Wall Street, and the growing federal government? Business networks counted down to the economy-shaking Fed announcement: the easy cash will keep coming until at least June – and perhaps until 2017. [more...]

In the End, the Government Wins Again... if You Let Them

By Bill Tatro

When it comes to wills, most people procrastinate.  They say, "I’ll get to that later," "I don’t have enough money to worry about," or "It’s way too expensive."  Most recently a colleague of mine quoted an appalling statistic - appalling because for over 30 years I have been calling out to America through radio, television, newspapers, seminars and the Internet, to get their legal/financial affairs in order. The statistic he quoted was that in 2014, 72% of all the deceased in America passed away without so much as a simple will.  Was he accurate?  I have no reason to believe he wasn’t but if even only half of his statistic was true, the number is stunning. The reality is that procrastination is a decision - to allow the government, the courts and attorneys to determine the what, who and how of the distribution of your assets and even the guardianship of your children. [more...]

Create Your Own Economy

By Michelle Seiler-Tucker

A few things are certainly true today: President Obama is finally seeing approval ratings teetering around the 50/50 level recently – which is great for him. This is worth about as much as saying that progress is underway in the fight against poverty in third world countries – which is true, it’s just happening excruciatingly slowly; and it depends on who you ask or where you go to obtain that information. Complicated problems aren’t they?  And by the end of the day, it all feels like a bunch of smoke and mirrors. Instead of betting on policy changes, luck, or the existing plan working to perfection thus necessitating no changes of any kind, perhaps alternatives should be considered. My alternative is to create your own economy. [more...]

From Multiplier to Domino

By Bill Tatro

The reality of falling gas prices has finally hit home. It is not 1973 when the bulk of every dollar put into the tank went to a Sheik who could care less about the well-being of the American public. It is now 2015 when about 80% of gasoline fill-ups stay in the continental United States and the Sheik be d____d. Being energy self-sufficient is a wonderful thing and will probably be touted by the President in his SOTU address. Unfortunately self-sufficiency brings the need for a profit margin to sustain the business AND everything else that has grown up around it. $45.00 oil doesn't cut it. [more...]

Obama's Unbelievable "Statist of the Union" Speech Promises a "New Foundation" for U.S. Economy

By Lowell Ponte

In his "State of the Union" speech, President Obama recalled his campaign promise to "rebuild our economy on a new foundation." He offered few specifics Tuesday night, promising instead to "in two weeks... send this Congress a budget filled with ideas that are practical, not partisan." In previous years he had spoken of his plan to "fundamentally transform" the United States, and to "Joe the Plumber" of his belief that America works best when we "spread the wealth around." White House media allies reported that Mr. Obama has been planning to increase federal expenditures by at least 7 percent, despite a national deficit that has grown by an astonishing $7.5 trillion since he became president in 2009. As with Obamacare, "Doc Barack" apparently still believes in the collectivist progressive notion that government can create health, wealth and happiness by prescribing ever-greater doses of the hallucinatory, addictive drugs of taxing, spending and borrowing. [more...]

How GOP Can Destroy the Myth of the Obama Economy

By Wayne Allyn Root

Everywhere we turn in the media, we hear the lie that the Obama economy is in "recovery." Now it appears that Hillary has bought into this great lie. The word is that Hillary is about to tie her presidential campaign to Obama’s economic policies. Why? Because for the first time she believes the economy is in "recovery." She is no longer afraid or embarrassed to support Obama’s policies. Where are the GOP leaders to rip this narrative to shreds? Are they so blind, deaf and dumb that they have no idea there is no recovery for the middle class? There is only misery and poverty. Do Republican leaders believe the lies and propaganda spewed by Obama, his socialist cabal and the biased leftist media? It’s so easy to attack the lies and rip the "good news" to shreds. [more...]