Showing posts with label banking crisis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label banking crisis. Show all posts

Friday, September 21, 2012

Former FDIC Chair Bair: Bank Bailout Was ‘Overkill’

Moneynews:

The billions of taxpayer dollars spent to bailout big banks was largely unnecessary, according to Sheila Bair, former Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chairwoman.

In an excerpt from her new book “Bull by the Horns: Fighting to Save Main Street From Wall Street and Wall Street From Itself,” which was published by Fortune, Bair writes “with the exception of Citi, the commercial banks' capital levels seemed to be adequate.”

“Without government aid some of them might have had to forgo bonuses and take losses for several quarters, but still, it seemed to me that they were strong enough to bumble through,” she writes.

That the U.S. government showered Wall Street with cash during the financial crisis as people were losing their homes and jobs continues to be a hot button issue. Many Americans blame the banks for the crisis and argue that Washington could have and should have done more for the people and less for those who created the problem.

Bair seems to agree and this is not a new position for her.

Last October, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Bair spoke at the National Asian American Coalition conference about her disappointment that so little appears to have been done for the millions of homeowners still in distress.

“I wish I could say things have gotten better, but I don't see that they have. The loan programs are not doing what they need to. Part of the problem is a not very well-functioning mortgage services industry. The resources are not there. The training is not there. The commitment is not there,” the Chronicle quoted her as saying.

Consistent with that sentiment, Bair writes in the book, “We used up resources and political capital that could have been spent on other programs to help more Main Street Americans.”

She admits that there was a lot less information available when the bailout decision was made and that that uncertainty played a factor in how the situation was handled.

Still, she writes, “In retrospect the mammoth assistance to those big institutions seemed like overkill. I never saw a good analysis to back it up.”

Related:

Economist Schiff: QE3 is Coming and Will Worsen Our ‘Depression’

The Student Loan Debt Bubble Is Creating Millions Of Modern Day Serfs

Obama Blocking the Economic Recovery… And Stutistics: What the Media Is Not Telling you About Obama’s Unemployment Record

Why We Have No Budget and Why It Can’t Be Balanced

Obama’s Own Statements on His Vision and Beliefs… in Video

EPA Mandates Motorists Buy At Least 4 Gallons of Gas at Ethanol-15 Pumps

Friday, August 24, 2012

Customer Deposits Are Property of the Bank: Close Your Account NOW

By Susanne Posel - heintelhub.com - August 24, 2012 – h/t to MJ

In June of 2012, Eric Bloom, former chief executive, and Charles Mosely, head trader of Sentinel Management Group (SMG) were indicted for stealing $500 million in customer secured funds.

Both Mosely and Bloom were accused of “exposing” customer segregated funds “to a portfolio of highly risky derivatives.”

These customer funds were used to “back up personal investments” which were part of “collateral for a loan from Bank of New York Mellon” (BNYM).

This loan derived from stolen customer monies was “used to purchase millions of dollars worth of high-risk, illiquid securities, including collateralized debt obligations, or CDOs, for a trading portfolio that benefited Sentinel’s officers, including Mosley, Bloom and certain Bloom family members.”

Fast forward to August 9th of 2012, and the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals (CCA) rules that BNYM can be moved to first in line of creditors over the customers that had their funds stolen by SMG.

When a banking customer deposits their money into their bank account, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SPIC) are in place to protect the customer from fraud or theft.

The ruling from the CCA means that these regulatory systems will not insure customer funds, investments, depositors and retirees who hold accounts in banks.

In fact, the banking institution is now legally allowed to use those customer funds deposited as collateral, payment on debts for loans made, or free use on the stock market to purchase investments as the bank sees fit.

Fred Grede, SMG trustee, explained that brokers are no longer required to keep customer money separate from their own. “It does not bode well for the protection of customer funds.”

Since the ruling gives banks the right to co-mingle customer funds with their own, no crime can be committed for the use of customer deposited monies.

According to Walker Todd , former lawyer for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Cleveland:

“Basically, there is a new 7th Circuit opinion saying that there is no reason to impose a constructive trust on a lender’s takings of customers’ funds from client commodity firms that were used (inappropriately) to secure the firms’ borrowings, as long as the lender can say that it did not know WITH CERTAINTY that customers’ funds were being repledged. Negligence and misappropriation (vs. knowing criminal intent) are now a sufficient excuse for letting the lender keep the money and go to the head of the line for distributions in bankruptcies of the client commodity firms.”

When a customer deposits money into a bank, the bank essentially issues a promise to have those funds available when the customer returns to withdraw the deposited amount.

When the same customer withdraws funds from their account (whether checking or savings) the customer assumes that the bank has enough funds to cover their withdrawal; including the presumption that their monies are separate from the bank’s assets.

Now, those funds are up for grabs by the bank at their discretion without explanation to the customer – nor is the bank obligated to recoup the customer should they “lose” those funds due to bad loans, bankruptcy or stock market loss.

In Texas, Pamela Cobb, manager of Bank of America (BoA), stole an estimated $2 million from customer funds for personal use. Cobb had been taking customer segregated funds since 2002.

Customers have complained of fraudulent charges placed on their accounts that BoA cannot explain. When the customer brings these charges to the in-house fraud department, they are given the run-around until they acquiesce.

Other customers have had their private possessions stolen right out of their safety deposit box held at BoA. The safety deposit box was drilled into and the contents shipped to the BoA corporate holding center in South Carolina.

In 1992 to 2003, Citibank called their theft of customer funds “account sweeping” wherein they stole more than $14 million from customers nationally.

Using computerized credit card processes to remove positive and negative balances from customers, the scheme included double payments or funds paid out on returned purchases that were then attributed back to the customer.

At Chase bank, an anonymous employee opened an account under a customer name (targeting an Alzheimer’s sufferer), complete with a personal debit card.

An estimated $300 per day was withdrawn on the fraudulent account. When family representing the victim alerted Chase, they brushed them off with an internal investigation claim – even as the family sought legal action.

Banking fraud against the elderly has risen of late, since banks realize they can steal massive amounts of cash from their aging customers with little to no repercussions.

The recent ruling on SMG has given the banking industry the legal backing they have been lacking when stealing from their customers.

Our financial institutions have been planning for a financial collapse wherein the US government will not offer assistance.

The resolution plans required by the Federal Reserve Bank, described schemes to have the major domestic banks remain afloat by selling off assets, finding alternative sources of funding, reducing risky measures that make a quick buck. These strategies were to be perfected with “no assumption of extraordinary support from the public sector.”

The mega-banks, through Wall Street, are also acquiring firearms, ammunition and control over private mercenary corporations like DynCorp and ‘Blackwater” as authorized by the Department of Defense (DoD) directive 3025.18 .

DynCorp is a military-based private mercenary contractor that provides (among other services) intelligence training and support, international security, contingency plans and operations. Ninety-six percent of their funding is based on annual revenues from the US federal government.

The international branch of DynCorp has operated as a “police force” even assisting local law enforcement during Hurricane Katrina.

Named as investors for the amassing of gun and ammunition manufacturers are Citibank, BoA, Barclays and Deutsche Bank who are pouring money into Cerebus and Veritas Equity who have taken over private corporations involved in the controlling riot situations.

The Federal Reserve Bank, one of the heads of banking cartels, has their own police force which operates as a protective security for the Fed against the American public.

As part of the Federal Reserve Act signed in 1913, the designation of a Federal Law Enforcement – special police officers that are exclusively regulated by authority of the Fed (whether in uniform or plain clothes.

These specialized police officers (who train with Special Response Teams) can work in tandem with local law enforcement or US federal agencies. These officers are heavily armed with semi-automatic pistols, sub machine guns and assault rifles as well as body armor.

Of recent, when withdrawing cash from an ATM, the daily allotted amount has decreased with some banks, thereby forcing the customer to go into the branch and extract the difference with a teller.

At this point, according to anonymous informants, the customer is taken into a backroom to be questioned as to why they want the cash, what they are purchasing with the cash, why they are not choosing to use a debit card or another form of digital trade to make the purchase. These questions are not only intrusive, they are illegal.

Some anonymous sources have said that banking representatives who conduct the integrations are directed to keep a record of customer responses on an online application that will be sent to the FBI in conjunction with Patriot Act mandates on tracking banking activity.

Customer funds are no longer secure, no longer backed by the FDIC or other insurance corporations, and banks are legally allowed to co-mingled customer money with other funds of the bank. The only safe place for your money is with you.

Now is the time to close your bank account.

Susanne Posel is the Chief Editor of Occupy Corporatism Our alternative news site is dedicated to reporting the news as it actually happens; not as it is spun by the corporate-funded mainstream media. You can find us on our Facebook page.

Related:

Monday, August 22, 2011

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

imageObama_Tour_Black_Bus

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 moneyChina 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 17 that 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 26A few days ago, it was reported that 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.

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.

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!”

Obama_Tour_Michelle_Dress

Hmmm… There are those colors again~

References

1 Obama has been endorsed by the Communist Party

http://www.obamabiden12.com/obama-biden-2012/obama-endorsed-by-communist-party-usa-sam-webb-chairman.html

2 Communist Party Endorses Obama For 2012

http://nation.foxnews.com/president-obama/2011/08/04/communist-party-endorses-obama-2012

2 Communist Party USA Endorses Obama, Democrats in 2012

http://www.examiner.com/political-buzz-in-fayetteville/communist-party-usa-endorses-obama-democrats-2012

3 The Start up Bill

http://www.entrepreneurship.org/en/Blogs/Policy-Forum-Blog/2011/March/Startup-Visa-Act-of-2011.aspx

4 Following are three links showing violent union tactics:

SEIU Mob Attacks Shopping Mall Security Guards in San Francisco

http://mrctv.org/blog/seiu-mob-attacks-shopping-mall-security-guards-san-francisco

SEIU Men Acquitted of Beating Black Tea Partier During Town Hall Protest

http://weaselzippers.us/2011/07/12/seiu-men-acquitted-of-beating-black-tea-partier-during-town-hall-protest/

Richard Devlin and more evidence of Union Thuggary

http://nwrepublican.blogspot.com/2011/06/richard-devlin-and-more-evidence-of.html

5 Executive Order - Establishment of the White House Rural Council (#13575)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/06/09/executive-order-establishment-white-house-rural-council

6 Politics, Farmers And Change: The End Of Rural America

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-murphy/family-farms_b_929955.html

7 Rural Tour

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/president-obama-announces-rural-tour-with-cabinet-secretaries-and-administration-of

8 Executive Order 13575
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Executive_Order_13575

9 Anarchist Symbolism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchist_symbolism

10 What are Gog and Magog?
http://www.gotquestions.org/Gog-Magog.html

11 Obama's Iowa speech lie

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/08/obamas_iowa_speech_lie.html

12 Social Security disability on verge of insolvency
http://news.yahoo.com/social-security-disability-verge-insolvency-090119318.html

13ELABORATE WELFARE HOUSING PROJECT

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

14As China Says No More Stimulus, Obama Comes Begging For More.... While Promising Even MORE Cuts In The Unknown Future
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/china-says-no-more-stimulus-obama-comes-begging-more-while-promising-even-more-cuts-unknown-fut

15 NAFTA a Dirty Lie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRkWcWGfbiQ

16 S.565 -- StartUp Visa Act of 2011

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s112-565

17 EAT THE RICH!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=661pi6K-8WQ&feature=related

18 Even Jon Stewart is Calling Obama’s Bus Tour a Campaign Event
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/even-jon-stewart-is-calling-obamas-bus-tour-a-campaign-event/

19 Obama's unhelpful advice

http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/0811/call_uncle_sam_5c130fdd-0e34-4b04-99e1-3d923ea3919e.html

20 OUTRAGE OF THE DAY: Do You Realize That The Government Is Still Paying Banks Not To Lend...?
http://www.businessinsider.com/government-paying-banks-not-to-lend-2011-8

21 True Cost of Stimulus: $3.27 Trillion
http://blog.heritage.org/2009/02/12/true-cost-of-stimulus-327-trillion/

22 Obama To Announce New Steps To Get Veterans Back To Work
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/08/obama-to-announce-new-steps-to-get-veterans-back-to-work.html

23 Troops wait in limbo for disability, discharge
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2011/08/ap-troops-wait-limbo-for-disability-discharge-081811/

24 46 Percent of Americans Exempt From Federal Income Tax in 2011

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/28/46-percent-of-americans-e_n_886293.html

25 $1.65 TRILLION IN SPENDING THAT DOESN’T BENEFIT AMERICANS – AND WE CAN’T AFFORD IT!
http://noisyroom.net/blog/2010/12/03/1-65-trillion-in-spending-that-doesn%E2%80%99t-benefit-americans-and-we-can%E2%80%99t-afford-it/

26 Oops! US gives $360 million to Taliban, other enemies

http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=42441&utm_source=catholic.org%2Fhomepage&utm_medium=banner&utm_content=latest%2Bnews

27 Environmental impacts of current biofuels
http://www.birdlife.org/eu/EU_policy/Biofuels/eu_biofuels2.html

28 Debt Clock

http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

29 U.S. farmers oppose EPA's proposed dust regulation
http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/08/19/us-epa-dust-regulation-idUSTRE67I5T120100819

30 Even Democrats Oppose Obama On Gun Control Treaty
http://blog.chron.com/texassparkle/2011/07/even-democrats-oppose-obama-on-gun-control-treaty/

31 Executive Order 13583 - Establishing a Coordinated Government-wide Initiative to Promote Diversity and Inclusion in the Federal Workforce

http://1461days.blogspot.com/2011/08/executive-order-13583-establishing.html

32 Obama Amnesty Begins: Halts Deportations for 300,000 Illegal Aliens; Offers ‘Work Permits’
http://standwitharizona.com/blog/2011/08/18/obama-amnesty-begins-halts-deportations-for-300000-illegal-aliens-offers-work-permits/

33 Krauthammer: Problem With Obama's Vacation Is "The Choice Of Place"
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/08/19/krauthammer_problem_with_obamas_vacation_is_the_choice_of_place.html

By Syver Alton Larsen - h/t to MJ, AJ and Jean Stoner

The Great Collapse has Officially Begun

Banks Are Ripping Off Pension Funds Thru FOREX

Thursday, September 18, 2008

The Rest of the Meltdown Story

What in the world is going on here?

You’ve seen the headlines, and you heard of the failures and buyouts. Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, AIG; all big names and all in big trouble. Then those mysterious quasi-government agencies with names like Freddie and Fannie become wards of the state and you learn that you and your fellow taxpayers are potentially on the hook for tens of billions of dollars. At the end of the week Washington Mutual is looking for a buyer, and you start to wonder about the security of your own bank and your own savings account. Let’s change that ad copy to WaMu -- boo hoo.

Somewhere in the back of your mind you understand that this is all tied somehow to bad mortgages. If you start reading a bit further to enhance your understanding you run into terms like Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) and credit-default swaps, whatever in the world those are. Read further and you find out that a combination of falling home prices and mortgage defaults have put many investment banks and other financial institutions in deep puddin’. All this reading, all this watching the talking heads on TV, and you still don’t really know what in the world is going on here.

Fear not. I’m here to help. I know … I’m just another talk show host; but the fact is that when the stage was being set for the problems we’re seeing today I was making most of my money as a real estate lawyer .. closing loans for some of the very institutions that are the tank today. This rather unique combination – closing lawyer and radio talk show host – gave me a front row seat to the politicization of mortgage loans that led us to today’s headlines.

OK .. so we all know that a lot of really bad real estate loans were made. The political class would sure love for us to believe that the blame here rests squarely on “greedy” (try to define that word) mortgage brokers and lenders. The truth is that most of the blame rests on political meddling in the credit decisions of these mortgage lenders.

Twenty years ago the buzz-word in the media was “redlining.” Newspapers across the country were filled with hard-hitting investigative reports about evil and racist mortgage lenders refusing to make real estate loans to various minorities and to applicants who lived in lower-income neighborhoods. There I was closing these loans in the afternoons, and in the mornings offering a counter-argument on the radio to these absurd “redlining” claims. Frankly, the claims that evil mortgage lenders were systematically denying loans to blacks and other minorities were a lot sexier on the radio than my claims that when credit histories, job stability, loan-to-value ratios and income levels were considered there was no evident racial discrimination.

Political correctness won the day. Washington made it clear to banks and other lending institutions that if they did not do something .. and fast .. to bring more minorities and low-income Americans into the world of home ownership there would be a heavy price to pay. Congress set up processes (Research the Community Redevelopment Act) whereby community activist groups and organizers could effectively stop a bank’s efforts to grow if that bank didn’t make loans to unqualified borrowers. Enter, stage left, the “subprime” mortgage. These lenders knew that a very high percentage of these loans would turn to garbage – but it was a price that had to be paid if the bank was to expand and grow. We should note that among the community groups browbeating banks into making these bad loans was an outfit called ACORN. There is one certain presidential candidate that did a lot of community organizing for ACORN. I won’t mention his name so as to avoid politicizing this column.

These garbage loans to unqualified borrowers were then bundled up and sold. The expectation was that the loans would be eventually paid off when rising home values led some borrowers to access their equity through re-financing and others to sell and move on up the ladder. Oops.

Right now this crisis is being sold to the American public by the left as evidence the failure of the free market and capitalism. Not so. What we’re seeing is the inevitable result of political interference in free market economics. Acme bank didn’t want to loan money to Joe Homebuyer because Joe had a spotty job history, owed too much money on his credit cards, and wasn’t all that good at making payments on time. The politicians told Acme Bank to figure out a way to make that loan, because, after all, Joe is a bona-fide minority-American, or forget about opening that new branch office on the Southside. The loan was made under political pressure; the loan, with millions like it, failed – and now we are left to enjoy today’s headlines.

So … why aren’t you reading the whole story in the mainstream media? Come on, are you kidding me? Do you really expect the media to blame this mess on deadbeat borrowers and political interference in the free market when it is so easy to put the blame on greedy lenders and evil capitalists? Remember … there’s an election going on. One candidate is decidedly anti-capitalist. Do the math.

by Neal Boortz, talk show host and columnist for Townhall.com as well as co-author of The FairTax Book

For those of you that don't want to do the digging...

Inside Obama’s Acorn
By their fruits ye shall know them.
By Stanley Kurtz

What if Barack Obama’s most important radical connection has been hiding in plain sight all along? Obama has had an intimate and long-term association with the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (Acorn), the largest radical group in America. If I told you Obama had close ties with MoveOn.org or Code Pink, you’d know what I was talking about. Acorn is at least as radical as these better-known groups, arguably more so. Yet because Acorn works locally, in carefully selected urban areas, its national profile is lower. Acorn likes it that way. And so, I’d wager, does Barack Obama. 

This is a story we’ve largely missed. While Obama’s Acorn connection has not gone entirely unreported, its depth, extent, and significance have been poorly understood. Typically, media background pieces note that, on behalf of Acorn, Obama and a team of Chicago attorneys won a 1995 suit forcing the state of Illinois to implement the federal “motor-voter” bill. In fact, Obama’s Acorn connection is far more extensive. In the few stories where Obama’s role as an Acorn “leadership trainer” is noted, or his seats on the boards of foundations that may have supported Acorn are discussed, there is little follow-up. Even these more extensive reports miss many aspects of Obama’s ties to Acorn.


AN ANTI-CAPITALISM AGENDA


To understand the nature and extent of Acorn’s radicalism, an excellent place to begin is Sol Stern’s 2003 City Journal article, “ACORN’s Nutty Regime for Cities.” (For a shorter but helpful piece, try Steven Malanga’s “Acorn Squash.”)


Sol Stern explains that Acorn is the key modern successor of the radical 1960’s “New Left,” with a “1960’s-bred agenda of anti-capitalism” to match. Acorn, says Stern, grew out of “one of the New Left’s silliest and most destructive groups, the National Welfare Rights Organization.” In the 1960’s, NWRO launched a campaign of sit-ins and disruptions at welfare offices. The goal was to remove eligibility restrictions, and thus effectively flood welfare rolls with so many clients that the system would burst. The theory, explains Stern, was that an impossibly overburdened welfare system would force “a radical reconstruction of America’s unjust capitalist economy.” Instead of a socialist utopia, however, we got the culture of dependency and family breakdown that ate away at America’s inner cities — until welfare reform began to turn the tide.


While Acorn holds to NWRO’s radical economic framework and its confrontational 1960’s-style tactics, the targets and strategy have changed. Acorn prefers to fly under the national radar, organizing locally in liberal urban areas — where, Stern observes, local legislators and reporters are often “slow to grasp how radical Acorn’s positions really are.” Acorn’s new goals are municipal “living wage” laws targeting “big-box” stores like Wal-Mart, rolling back welfare reform, and regulating banks — efforts styled as combating “predatory lending.” Unfortunately, instead of helping workers, Acorn’s living-wage campaigns drive businesses out of the very neighborhoods where jobs are needed most. Acorn’s opposition to welfare reform only threatens to worsen the self-reinforcing cycle of urban poverty and family breakdown. Perhaps most mischievously, says Stern, Acorn uses banking regulations to pressure financial institutions into massive “donations” that it uses to finance supposedly non-partisan voter turn-out drives.
According to Stern, Acorn’s radical agenda sometimes shifts toward “undisguised authoritarian socialism.” Fully aware of its living-wage campaign’s tendency to drive businesses out of cities, Acorn hopes to force companies that want to move to obtain “exit visas.” “How much longer before Acorn calls for exit visas for wealthy or middle-class individuals before they can leave a city?” asks Stern, adding, “This is the road to serfdom indeed.”


IN YOUR FACE

Acorn’s tactics are famously “in your face.” Just think of Code Pink’s well-known operations (threatening to occupy congressional offices, interrupting the testimony of General David Petraeus) and you’ll get the idea. Acorn protesters have disrupted Federal Reserve hearings, but mostly deploy their aggressive tactics locally. Chicago is home to one of its strongest chapters, and Acorn has burst into a closed city council meeting there. Acorn protestors in Baltimore disrupted a bankers’ dinner and sent four busloads of profanity-screaming protestors against the mayor’s home, terrifying his wife and kids. Even a Baltimore city council member who generally supports Acorn said their intimidation tactics had crossed the line.

Read Full Story

Source:  National Review/Posted:  Townhall.com