Daily Thought Pad: Debt-End Tour

An In-depth Analysis of Obama’s Economic “Debt-End Tour” 2011

Our “Comrade Commander in Chief” Obama on his Economic Rural Tour, consistently calls for the American people to contact their government representatives “because the government has not broken down, but our political system has.” He believes that our political system is the responsible culprit for all our economic problems.

Could it be that Big Government is what is wrong with our economic problem and NOT our political system? Having a republic that values the United States Constitution should not be a problem... The big problem is that our president, his advisors, and his close associates refuse to respect and listen to our Constitutional political process.

Obama has been endorsed by the Communist Party ¹. The goal of the Communist Party is the enslavement of all people for the “common good”. The end game for the Communists is to change the United States into a socialist nation much like Cuba, Venezuela, and China.

During one of the closing remarks given after a break out session, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, former Governor of Iowa, introduced the crowd to Obama.

Vilsak said that the president is someone in whom he has great trust. Vilsack noted that a good leader is someone in whom people have confidence. Obama, likewise, praised Vilsack and it wasn’t too long before Obama made this statement: “We need to fix our politics.”

How can he, as a president of a free country and how can citizens of a free country, blame the very process that guards our freedoms? The political process, albeit somewhat flawed, is the only process in the world that provides government representation “of the people, by the people and for the people”. Indeed, Obama said many times throughout his tour that there was not anyone in any other country who would not want to come to America.

There is a bill---The Start Up Visa Bill ³, authored by Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN), which will boost even more foreigners to our shores. “It will allow an immigrant entrepreneur to receive a two year visa if he or she can show that a qualified U.S. investor is willing to invest in the immigrant’s startup venture.”

How would Obama change our political system? He already has changed the climate of our political system by….cozying up to the SEIU and other unions that encourage thuggery and corruption ⁴. For example, Obama is linked to the corrupt organization of Acorn and his support for the New Black Panther Party is demonstrated by advising our Department of Justice Attorney General Eric Holder, to not prosecute the blatant threats made at voting booths in Pennsylvania.

In June, the President signed an Executive Order establishing the White House Rural Council. ⁵ The Council is tasked with "focusing on increasing rural access to capital, spurring agricultural innovation, expanding digital and physical infrastructure in rural areas, and creating economic opportunities through conservation and outdoor recreation." It was these areas that Obama focused, steering away from disclosing anything upsetting to rural Americans.

Traveling in two buses, one black and the other red, valued at $1.1 million each, purchased by the Secret Service from Provost, a Canadian manufacturer. Obama finally re-connected with his 2007 farm goals that were used as part of his platform while running for the Senate seat in Iowa. ⁶

In 2009, the current administration kicked off the original Rural Tour.⁷ Interest in rural America has now been expanded to include Obama's Executive Order 13575 ⁸ and the White House Rural Council.

The two buses used in this year's tour have drawn much interest and ridicule. When one considers the following information, it is easy to understand why eyebrows have been raised. Certain political parties or positions ⁹ have become associated with different colors at different times. One writer called the red and black buses "Gog and Magog". ¹⁰

Town Hall Atkinson, Illinois 12:45 PM

The Wyffels Company, which manufactures genetically modified (GMO) seeds for Monsanto was the host.

In a warehouse owned by Wyffels Hybrids, amid genetically modified (GMO) corn seed sacks piled high to the ceiling, people were fanning themselves anxiously awaiting the president. Obama, opening with the following statement said, “When I travel I am absolutely confident and the reason I am confident is because of the American people. There is not a country on earth that would change places with us.”

He has that right! So why, day after day, after day…it’s been three days in row, do we hear him say, “There is something wrong with our politics.”

Obama gave incorrect statistics:

Obama, in defense of his administration said, “Two million private sector jobs have been created." But according to Steve McCann's article in the American Thinker: ¹¹

”The reality is 2.5 million jobs in the private sector were eliminated since Obama assumed office.

It is painfully obvious, even to those without access to the BLS reports, that average Americans instinctively know by their own experiences that there has been no job creation in the private sector since Obama became President; yet he so casually and easily can throw out a lie to further his ambitions.”

Obama “moved on”, as in www.moveon.org, explaining his plan for economic recovery.

Obama’s Plan:

1. Pushing for a payroll tax cut, Obama said that it was something we could do right now, but that “politics is holding us back”.

Everyone but Obama knows that Social Security is in trouble, yet he decreases our payroll tax so that LESS is going into the Social Security fund? This is just one more reason that Obama is the wrong man for the job; nearly everything he does is destructive to the people of this country. For the last year, Obama's tax cuts have meant that an employee is contributing only 4.2% of their wages to the Social Security fund (FICA). Whereas before, the standard contribution was 6.2% for both the employee and the employer. The employer still contributes 6.2%. Since the Social Security fund is already in trouble, it doesn't make any sense to cut the fund even more. In essence, what is being done is that Big Government is "borrowing from the Social Security fund". Borrowing money from the SS fund doesn't affect our credit rating with Standard and Poor's, because it is like borrowing from ourselves. THIS MONEY DOES NOT HAVE TO BE PAID BACK INTO THE SS FUND.

In addition, the average tax cut might give each family $1,000. Divided by 12 months, is only $100 per month. Most families would use that money to pay down on their credit card debts." But Obama, in essence, is borrowing that $100 from the pockets of future Social Security funds, thus endangering an already nearly insolvent ¹² government program.

Embed this video ¹³

ELABORATE WELFARE HOUSING PROJECT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu6ok5ykyuQ&feature=share

2. Building of future infrastructure for roads, bridges, and schools, would get construction workers and contractors back to work. “Since interest rates are low, we could finance these investments.”

With whose money? China has said, “Enough, no more lending to the U.S.!” ¹⁴

3. Passing trade bills that encourage more U.S. goods sold to foreign

countries.

How has NAFTA worked out for us? The North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement was pushed and shoved down the throats of Canadian, United States and Mexican citizens under the guise of creating “wealth and prosperity”, when in reality it built plants in foreign countries and closed manufacturing plants across Canada and the United States resulting in the loss of millions of jobs.

Another result of NAFTA is the continued dissolving of our sovereign boundaries. In the following video, a Canadian citizen, in down to earth terms, explains the horror that NAFTA has inflicted on the people of Canada and the United States. "NAFTA A Dirty Lie"¹⁵

3. Providing money to finance entrepreneurs helping them to market their ideas and make money, rounded out his proposal. Again, he added, “The only thing holding us back is our politics”.

Being curious, and looking into this “bill” that he mentioned in passing aimed at helping entrepreneurs, I discovered:

S.565 -- StartUp Visa Act of 2011 ¹⁶ (Introduced in Senate - IS)

To establish an employment-based immigrant visa for alien entrepreneurs who have received significant capital from investors to establish a business in the United States:

You’re kidding me, right? Help immigrant entrepreneurs and not U.S. citizen entrepreneurs? I am sure that the crowd would have reacted very differently had they known that their tax money was yet again destined to help foreigners instead of current United States citizens.

He explained the reason for the S & P downgrade was because the political system couldn’t seem to make a good decision. Again, blaming our political process rather than the problem of Big Government run-away deficit spending!

5. Continuing student loan programs

6. Investing in basic agricultural research

He rounded out his opening remarks by saying, “We need to have shared sacrifice and balance the budget in a balanced way.” He referred again to Warren Buffet remarking that millionaires were coddled under our present tax code. If money from all the millionaires and billionaires were taken and applied to our deficit, it would only cover a small percent of our deficit. Obama's theory that the rich don't pay their "fair share" is incorrect! Look for yourself at the U.S. Federal Tax Code found on page 98 of the official document. The chart <Link> shows that the rich pay 35% of their income toward federal taxes.

Here is an excellent video from Bill Whittle ¹⁷that spells out just how much money it will take to keep the country going each day even after taking away all the money from the millionaires and billionaires. And then what are we going to use for capital?

Before taking questions, he said: “I want to enlist you to send a message to Congress to stop engaging in rhetoric rather than getting things done and stop worrying about the next election.”…

Who’s worrying about the next election? To me, this remark resembles the old saying where the pot is calling the kettle black. His entire three-day trip has cost the taxpayer millions of dollars. This tour has been labeled as a 2012 election campaign trip for Obama. Even Jon Stewart is calling Obama's bus tour a campaign event. Watch the video for some laughs! ¹⁸

Question and Answer Time

The next 30 minutes was devoted to answering questions that were a little more challenging than the previous days. The first questioner was a corn and soybean farmer who said: “Mother Nature has really challenged us lately …please do not challenge us with new rules and regulations.” Obama reassured him, “Don’t always believe what you hear. The folks in Washington write some of these articles and the lobbyists will send out information saying, ‘Look what’s going down the pike! Just call the USDA directly”

A reporter from "Politico" attempted to call the USDA as Obama had suggested. The reporter attempted for two days to get an answer for a question. After being on the phone continuously for those two days, the reporter received a generic email from the USDA. The email did not answer the specific question. ¹⁹

If the USDA and the Department of Agriculture had not received over 1700 calls and contacts from interested parties, farmers would have been required by the Secretary of the Department of Transportation, Ray LaHood appointed by Obama, to qualify for a Commercial Drivers License (CDL). Yes, the same licenses that are required by drivers of 18-wheelers!

Second Question

Remarking about the slowing of the economy after the S & P downgrade, a local real estate owner asked what was Obama’s plan for “getting the country out from where we are”. Obama said that the banking industry was at fault for getting us into the housing bubble and that banks need to have slightly tighter lending regulations than they have now.

Obama is advocating MORE banking regulations. The Federal Government is actually paying banks now to NOT give housing loans. ²⁰

“The Federal Reserve is quietly continuing with one of the many outrageous bank-bailout programs it initiated during the financial crisis--the one in which it pays big banks interest on their excess reserves.”

Third Question

Concerned with Simpson-Bowles tax hike plan and the Super Committee, a man who works at the local arsenal, asked how the president would balance the budget.

Obama responded that we should have a “balanced approach” that would include cutting defense spending, modifications to Social Security and Medicare, in addition to raising added revenues.

(Hope the arsenal plant where the questioner works is not shut down because of those proposed “defense cuts”.)

Obama said that the deficit was caused by giving tax cuts in 2000, getting involved in two wars that we didn’t have the money to pay for and giving a prescription drug program to seniors.

Note, he made no mention that the skyrocketing deficit was caused by his failed $2.5 trillion Stimulus Bill. Looking at the chart published by the Congressional Budget Office, the true 10-year cost of the stimulus bill is $2.527 trillion in spending with another $744 billion cost in debt servicing. Total bill for the Generational Theft Act: $3.27 trillion. ²¹ At this time, there are rumors of a Stimulus 2.

Fourth Question

When asked, “What can Congress do to help provide more jobs?”, Obama replied, “Things we can do WITHOUT Congress include my creation of a Jobs Council. The Department of Defense has started a new program. It is like a reverse boot camp, which trains returning veterans for jobs. We are looking at changing certifications and regulations. We are studying rules to see if they are cost effective.”

According to an article from ABC News, Obama To Announce New Steps To Get Veterans Back To Work ²²

The president will advocate for a “Returning Heroes Tax Credit,” which would offer participating companies a $2,400 tax credit for hiring short-term unemployed veterans. The White House would also offer additional incentives of $4,800 to companies hiring service members who have faced unemployment for six months or longer.

“This is not a tax credit that we believe necessarily has to be continued indefinitely, but we believe that with the significant number of veterans entering the workforce at a time of significant long-term unemployment as our nation is recovering from the worst recession since the Great Depression, that this is both appropriate and fair and something the American people will strongly support,” the official said.

However, according to Army Times ²³, injured troops are in limbo for discharge because the new bureaucratic delays hinder evaluations.

“A typical service member’s case is handled off between the Defense Department and the VA nine times during the new integrated process. It typically starts about a year after a service member is injured, after it’s clear that remaining on duty isn’t possible, with a goal of 295 days to complete after that initial year. But the average completion time after the initial year is more than 400 days, leaving the service member in limbo for more than two years.”

If Obama’s new jobs program for vets is handled anywhere near these present steps for certification, our hearts should really be touched by the service that they have given to our country.

Fifth Question

A young man, noting that some Republicans have signed a pledge against no new revenue, asked what Obama’s feelings were about pledge signing. Obama submitted that we could raise taxes without seeing harm to the middle class. He also offered a suggestion of closing up tax loopholes and again offered up Warren Buffet’s quote about the rich people being “coddled” with the capital gains tax.

Obama’s main error in his statement ²⁴ was, “The richer you are the lower your tax rate.” This statement has previously been proven wrong because the tax chart on page 98 of the 1040 Tax Code shows incomes above $373,650.00 are taxed at 35%; whereas, nearly one-half of our population pays 0% tax. Tax credits are actually beneficial because they place more money into the system and stimulate the economy.

Obama said, “Every day I take an oath; my pledge is that every day I am looking out for the American people.”

I guess he is NOT using Wikipedia’s definition of American people: “The people of the United States, U.S. Americans, or simply Americans or American people, are citizens of the United States.”, because he has made sure billions of our tax dollars have been given to foreign countries ²⁵ and even terrorists ²⁶. A few days ago, it was reportedthat our government mistakenly gave $360 million to the Taliban and other terrorist organizations.

Our government sends hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars to other countries every year and we’ve been happy to help when we’re doing well at home. Do you consider these spending items to be “essential?”

Sixth Question

“What training offers the best prospective job opportunities in the future?” Obama’s response was, “The days are over for getting a job just because you work hard…the world is shrinking. Products from Addison end up in China… We can do more to encourage math, science, engineering and technical skills. Having a foreign language skill is important too.”

Seventh Question

An eleven-year-old boy asked what could be done to keep his grandfather’s ethanol plant running. Obama emphasized that Sec. Of Agriculture Vilsack is a strong supporter of biofuels and that the government wants to find diversity in products that can be used for fuel. Wanting to make biofuels out of things that are not in the food chain will require an investment in research. He gave the example that one-third of Brazil’s fleet operates on biofuels.

But using biofuels ²⁷ has not been without consequence to the rich rain forests that have been cut down in order to grow biofuels and growing some of the biofuels have been identified as adding to more CO² emissions because of the fertilizer used.

Eighth Question

A young man who had promised his grandmother that he would be a lobbyist for senior citizens asked when Social Security would get a cost of living (COLA) increase. Obama replied that it is likely that a COLA increase will happen soon. He added, “Social Security is NOT in a crisis”.

Two weeks ago, who would have believed that Social Security was solvent after Obama threatened to not send out the Social Security checks for lack of money! He added, “We tried to pass a $250 supplement, but Congress wouldn’t pass it.”

Ninth Question

A young woman working for Community Services, concerned about budget cuts from programs that “help people keep their head above water” such as low income housing programs and heating assistance, asked why these programs were being cut. She added that the formulas for calculating the funds did not take into consideration the total number of unemployed. One of Obama’s responses included news of a future program where companies would get subsidies for hiring people.

What if those people needing help with heating fuel and housing costs are not veterans?

He concluded by saying that if we pull together using American know-how and ingenuity, we will be stronger and that he needs their voices to be heard in Congress.

Town Hall Alpha, Illinois August 17

With a green John Deere tractor, hay bales and the U.S. flag being the outdoor

stage focal points, the audience waited for over an hour in the sun and heat for Obama to begin his speech. Basically, he said the same thing that he said in all the other rural towns. He spoke of how bad it was two-and-a-half years ago when he first became president. Again, he made a reference to the false statistic that the private sector had created over two million jobs. He blamed the Japanese Tsunami, debt crisis in Europe and trouble in the Middle East for our economic problems.

His standard line came through again: “There is a lot wrong with our politics and that is what we have to fix. The debt debacle was a self-inflicted wound. Six months ago, if we could have come together on a bi-partisan basis we wouldn’t have had a problem.”

If Congress had raised the debt ceiling, giving Obama an unlimited charge card, every man, woman and child living in America would owe much more than the ever increasing figure ²⁸ $47,011.12. You might want to check that link again to see if that figure has increased. I think the increase is almost a thousand dollars a day because it was $46,000+ yesterday!

He spoke briefly about modifications that he would like to have made to Social Security and Medicare and ended by saying: “I am here to enlist you to send a message to Congress that we are tired of the games and posturing. Think about the next generation instead of the next election.”

It would be nice if he took his own words to heart.

The question and answer session was brief. Questions included a woman concerned about losing the family farm because of estate taxes. Obama said, “We should be thinking about what is ‘“fair’. Some people can afford to give more than others and there is nothing Socialist about paying your fair share.” Hmmmmm……….wonder why

he used that “S” word?

Another farmer voiced concern about increasing government regulations. Obama countered that before every regulation is passed it goes through intensive discussion and that he should just call the USDA.

The farmer is correct in voicing his concern about increased governmental agriculture regulations. New demands are coming from the EPA to regulate DIRT. "If there's ever been rural America, that's what rural America is," said Nebraska hog farmer Danny Kluthe. "You know? It's dirt out here, and with dirt you've got dust."

The Environmental Protection Agency is looking to tighten standards for the amount of harmful particles in the air, facing opposition from U.S. farming groups ²⁹ who call it an unrealistic attempt to regulate dust.

A woman working for the tourism council asked if he would elaborate on his and Michelle’s philosophy of eating properly. Obama praised Michelle for the great job she had done with nutrition and exercise. He mentioned how Wal-Mart, Farmers’ Markets, and the Child Nutrition Act utilize more vegetables and produce.

The last questioner, a girl of 13 whose step-dad is a sheriff, asked what could be done to better equip and train our law enforcement officers. Obama said that although the violent crime rate is down, the crime rate against law enforcement officers is going up. “The problem is criminals have gotten better weapons. We need to have improved tracing of weapons. I am a big believer in the Second Amendment and hunting. Keeping guns out of the hands of criminals is something we need to do.”

According to what I am reading, Obama is also a big fan of gun control, just ask any member of the National Rifle Association and they will tell you that Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are chomping at their bits trying to enact more gun confiscation ³⁰…errrrrrr…I meant gun legislation. Twelve Democratic senators have joined 45 Republicans in a fast growing movement to halt progress on an Obama-backed United Nations effort that could bring international gun control into the United States and slap America’s gun owners with severe restrictions.

As predicted, his closing remarks were that government is NOT the problem.

He said, “Government is the policemen, men and women serving us in Iraq, people who work for FEMA, our astronauts, food inspectors, so don’t buy into this problem that government is the problem, we have a problem because we didn’t HAVE government looking over the shoulders of banks who were taking crazy risks.”

So According to this last statement made by Obama, banks need more regulation too!

Of course, he would criticize our political system because he is not readily getting his hidden agenda railroaded through as easily as he would like. That is, except for his list of 92 Executive orders signed thus far in his 30 months as president which is at least 3 Executive Orders per month. The last being Executive Order 13583 - Establishing a Coordinated Government-wide Initiative to Promote Diversity and Inclusion in the Federal Workforce. ³¹

This Executive Order has conveniently circumvented Congress, has given amnesty to 300,000 illegal aliens awaiting deportation ³², plus giving them access to U.S. tax identification numbers and access to work permits.

Talk about making a fast get-away, Obama signed the order the night before leaving for his August Martha’s Vineyard vacation. You remember the one that “all presidents take in August.”

Charles Krauthammer discussing the president's Martha's Vineyard vacation ³³ said, “Choosing an exclusive enclave like the Vineyard after spending three days on the road railing against the rich and the wealthy and the millionaires and the billionaires and the corporate jet owners who vacation exactly in the same place and then spending 10 days in their company speaks of a kind of dissonance or hypocrisy."

Dear Comrade Obama:

It isn't that our political system is wrong. The problem is that your politics don't fit with real Americans who would like to see a United States flag or the Presidential insignia on your bus....after all, you were not on a "campaign".

We would like to see a real love of country. We would like you to stop giving our money to terrorists. We would like you to start abiding by our government's rules that are written in the United States Constitution. We would like you to stop doing things behind our backs.

The amnesty that you gave to illegal aliens in your recent Executive Order was written in defiance of our LAWS. The health care bill that you rammed down our throats was another knife in the back to our country.

We would like you to respect our laws and our Constitution

Obviously, if Obama has his way we are looking at more Big Government regulation and more Big Government spending. All I have to say after listening to his speeches for the last three days is “Thank God for the American Political Process!”