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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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?

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

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

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?

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?

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

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?

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?

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?

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?

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

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!

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

...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?

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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?

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?

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?

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.?

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!

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

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?

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?

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?

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?

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...]