First shot across the Bow

The U.S. House of Representatives just passed The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (H.R. 1). This bill, which eventually will cost one trillion dollars, will increase the amount of taxes owed by every person in America by $3,333.But you don't need to worry because you will never have to pay it. Neither will your children. It will be your grandchildren and their children who will pay this tax. It is utterly immoral to force our great-grandchilden to pay off our debt.
Add this amount to the $35,000 which every individual already owes, and that increases each individual's debt to $38,000.
H.R. 1 is the largest pork barrel spending bill in the history of our country. President Obama has said this bill will create four million new jobs. President Obama is under the impression that we can spend our way out of debt! That's like thinking an alcoholic can drink his way to sobriety!
Examples:
$20 million "for the removal of small- to medium-sized fish passage barriers." (Pg. 45 of Senate Appropriations Committee report: "20,000,000 for the removal of small- to medium-sized fish passage barriers)
$400 million for STD prevention (Pg. 60 of Senate Appropriations Committee report: "CDC estimates that a proximately 19 million new STD infections occur annually in the United States ...The Committee has included $400,000,000 for testing and prevention of these conditions.")
$25 million to rehabilitate off-roading (ATV) trails (Pg. 45 of Senate Appropriations Committee report: "$25,000,000 is for recreation maintenance, especially for rehabilitation of off-road vehicle routes, and $20,000,000 is for trail maintenance and restoration")
$34 million to remodel the Department of Commerce HQ (Pg. 15 of Senate Appropriations Committee report: $34,000,000 for the Department of Commerce renovation and modernization")
$70 million to "Support Supercomputing Activities" for climate research (Pgs. 14-15 of Senate Appropriations Committee Report: $70,000,000 is directed to specifically support supercomputing activities, especially as they relate to climate research)
$150 million for honey bee insurance (Pg. 102 of Senate Appropriations Committee report: "The Secretary shall use up to $ 50,000,000 per year, and $150,000,000 in the case of 2009, from the Trust Fund to provide emergency relief to eligible producers of livestock, honey bees, and farm-raised fish to aid in the reduction of losses due to disease, adverse weather, or other conditions, such as blizzards and wildfires, as determined by the Secretary")

See some other "job creating" programs this one trillion dollars will support.

The Spending Spree Continues

US government officials seeking to revamp the financial bailout have discussed spending another $1 trillion to $2 trillion to help restore banks to health, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.
The Journal said the Barack Obama administration could announce its plans within days but has not yet determined the final shape of its new proposal, and the exact details could change.
The administration is also seeking more effective ways to pump money into banks, and is considering buying common shares in the banks, according to the paper.
A Treasury spokeswoman told the paper that "while lots of options are on the table, there are no final decisions" on what she described as a "comprehensive plan." Apparently "The Messiah” has made it clear that he'll do whatever it takes.
He has already directed the Treasury to disbursed nearly $294 billion from the government $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP to shore up the banking system and faltering U.S. automakers. Billions more have been pledged for “Particular uses”.

Here's just a sampling of what is apparently meant by “Particular Uses”:

$2.4 billion carbon capture products...

$4.19 billion for ACORN and other bogus "community organizing" groups...

$650 million digital tv conversion...

$79 billion to bail out the state education system...

Hundreds of millions for family planning...

$400 million global warming research...

$50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts...

$200 million to refurbish the National Mall...

And the bill is not even a stimulus! Just 1% of the so-called stimulus is for tax cuts for small businesses. And according to the Congressional Budget Office, two thirds of the stimulus will not even be spent for nearly two years!

It seems that once the golden pocket book is opened, every hand in Washington wants to stick their fingers in it and you and I (and our children and grandchildren) are the ones who will pay the bill. What happened to people taking responsibility for their actions? Why are the CEO’s of these banks, mortgage houses and the big three auto makers allowed to benefit from their gross mismanagement and inaction?

The last several months are a foreshadowing of a new era of government activism, rather than an unfortunate but necessary (and out of the ordinary) emergency action. We will soon shift from a market-based economy to a political one in which the government picks winners and losers and extends its reach and power in unprecedented ways. The future looks dim!

The Slippery slope

Am I the only one that finds it personally insulting our President-elect is spending close to 160 million dollars on his inauguration at a time when unemployment figures show that the U.S. lost a net total of 500,000 jobs in December. If accurate, that would bring 2008's total job losses to 2.4 million, the first annual job loss since 2001 and the highest since 1945.

This obscene expenditure is four times what was spent at President Bush’s Inauguration just eight years ago. News reports of this allocation are running alongside of statements from our President elect regarding our need to sacrifice over possibly the next four years to pull the U.S. economy out of the hole we are in. It appears that Mr. Obama believes that the American People are the only ones that need to tighten their belts, not our elected officials. I am reminded of how Nero fiddled while Rome burned!

I have news for Mr. Obama:
The first rule of holes: When you find yourself in one.... Stop digging!

But, democratic leaders in the House of Representatives unveiled an $825 billion tax cut and spending bill on Thursday they hope will help President-elect Obama erase the steep decline in the U.S. economy. The bill, which would add to an already massive $1.2 trillion budget deficit forecast for this year, would combine $550 billion in emergency spending initiatives with $275 billion in temporary tax benefits over the next two years.

The goal of the legislation, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is to create and save up to 4 million jobs in an economy that has suffered through a recession for more than a year. It should be noted that when the government says it is going to create jobs that means “government jobs” and that “Saving Jobs” is gov-speak for “Bail out”
Obama has called on Congress to act quickly or risk seeing the economy deteriorate further. Yet this bill calls for questionable new government spending on programs and projects, while providing less tax relief for middle-class families and small businesses than Obama had proposed during the election.
He has not even taken office yet and already he is backing out of his promises to the American people.
This country needs a leader, who offers more than rhetoric; it needs a leader who leads by example.

Inauguration Celebration Dance

Congress Debates Adding Elaborate Dance To Obama's Inauguration Ceremony