Tax Dollars Used for Racist Sensitivity Training

Diversity at its best?  Hah!  Diversity at its worst and we’re paying for it!  Your tax dollars and mine are being used to do this type of diversity training at all levels of government.  It’s time to raise our voices and let our elected officials know how we feel about this type of indoctrination happening with our tax dollars.

If this is happening in adult settings with our government workers, can you imagine what’s happening in the public school classrooms?  I shudder to think as it was shared with me that public schools (who cannot honor Christmas, Easter or any Christian celebration) commonly have special events like Karl Marx Day, and so many other anti-American, anti-Federalist, or anti-Free Market Capitalism.  Our children rarely spend time studying the history of big-thinkers like President Calvin Coolidge, economists such as the late Milton Friedman or Walter Williams.

Is it really any wonder that our nation is publicly $16.6T in debt, a debt that is 74.6% of our GDP now, and an external debt to GDP ration of 99.8%?  Just for kicks I checked out how the State of Washington is doing in comparison, but you should remember that States are actually supposed to abide by a balanced budget.  So, even though the State of Washington appears to be doing much better than the Federal government, Washington State does spend more than we pay-in. The State of Washington has a debt to GDP ratio of 20.5%.  If that made you feel better, try this on for size.  The State of California’s debt to GDP ratio is 20.4%.  But heck, remember that statement from President Obama at the, no so long ago, State of the Union Address? I am paraphrasing here, but the President said;  “We are living at a time where many political parties are manufacturing crisis after crisis.”

What I’m asking you, if you’ve taken the time to check-in and read this posting, have you, will you take the time to contact your political representatives?  Tell them to stop wasting tax dollars.  Tell them that they could start by demanding that we stop promoting events like the one I’ve shared with you here.

YiT ~  Shelly

---

 

LiveJournal Tags: USDA,Sensitivity Training,Whistle Blower,Debt,Spending,Federal Government,State Government,Washington,California,Glenn Beck

Merry Christmas to who? Is there a “Sandy Scam???”

LiveJournal Tags: Budget Cuts,Economy,Finance,Spending,Hurricane Sandy,Sandy Scam,Pork

---

Obama Sandy aid bill filled with holiday goodies unrelated to storm damage

Vics suffer as $60B aid plan gets porked up

• By S.A. MILLER and GERRY SHIELDS Post Correspondents

WASHINGTON — President Obama’s $60.4 billion request for Hurricane Sandy relief has morphed into a huge Christmas stocking of goodies for federal agencies and even the state of Alaska, The Post has learned.

The pork-barrel feast includes more than $8 million to buy cars and equipment for

the Homeland Security and Justice departments. It also includes a whopping $150

million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to dole out to fisheries in Alaska and $2 million for the Smithsonian Institution to repair museum roofs in DC.

An eye-popping $13 billion would go to “mitigation” projects to prepare for future storms.

BARELY HOLDING ON: A woman stands amid rubble in Sandy-thrashed Breezy Point, Queens, where more federal assistance would be welcome.  Dan Callister

Other big-ticket items in the bill include $207 million for the VA Manhattan Medical Center; $41 million to fix up eight military bases along the storm’s path, including Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; $4 million for repairs at Kennedy Space Center in Florida; $3.3 million for the Plum Island Animal Disease Center and $1.1 million to repair national cemeteries.

Budget watchdogs have dubbed the 94-page emergency-spending bill “Sandy Scam.

---

Click here for full story.

Big Government + Big Promises = Big Problems

Everyday we fail to get honest answers on how the federal, state, counties and cities are going to come up with the funds to pay out all of the unfunded, mandated promises of future pension payments.

There is only one real solution to this problem and that is to stop making promises we cannot afford to keep!  If we the people insist that our elected public servants stop increasing the level of public spending beyond the tax payers ability to pay, remove the mandates to pay prevailing union scale wages, start privatizing as much government services as quickly as we can; maybe we can avoid the upcoming. fiscal train-wreck, headed our way.

Enjoy the article provided below and stay tuned…this one is coming soon!

YiT ~  Shelly

---

 

Exclusive: Study shows $1.2 trillion gap for public pensions

By Hilary Russ - Mon Oct 15, 2012 3:01pm EDT

(Reuters) - The largest 100 public pension funds have around $1.2 trillion of unfunded liabilities, about $300 billion above the nearly $900 billion they reported themselves, according to a new actuarial study to be released on Monday.

The pension systems reported a median funding level of 75.1 percent. The study by the actuarial firm Milliman, which used different ways to value assets and measure liabilities, finds an aggregate level of funding of 67.8 percent.

But Milliman, one of the world largest actuarial firms took a close look at U.S. public pension funding for the first time, and said the multibillion-dollar difference was good news.

Rebecca Sielman, the report's author, said results should reassure the public that America's public pensions in general are accurately reporting their funding shortfalls.

The difference between what public pensions across the United States have reported and what Milliman found wasn't significant, Sielman said. She noted that a relatively small change in the way the figures are calculated could lead to seemingly outsized results because the funds are so large.

"The numbers really didn't change that much," she said. "It really didn't move the needle."

Both the pension funds' reported results and Milliman's findings fell within the range of previous estimates from other studies of the total size of the public pension shortfall in the United States.

With the study, Milliman, stepped into the debate about whether public pensions are underreporting the size of their liabilities.  (Click here to read the full story)

LiveJournal Tags: Budget,Deficits,Debt,Fiscal,Fiscal Train Wreck,Pensions,Public Pensions,Spending

Rick Santelli Weighs in on the “Jobs” Report

CNBC’s “Rick Santelli” continues to tell the audience the truth.  Come what may, Mr. Santelli understands that the only real solution to the Country’s, no the World’s problems are by telling the truth.   The dirt that has accumulated under the carpet from the lies and deceit cannot be hidden anymore.  It’s up to “us” to fix-it!

This video that come from the Blaze, shares a recent rant between talking heads and the truth at CNBC.  Thank You Mr. Rick Santelli…we are listening.

YiT ~ Shelly

---

Some more wise words from another private citizen with enough courage to ask the tough questions…

Jack Welch: I Was Right About That Strange Jobs Report

“The economy would need to be growing at breakneck speed for unemployment to drop to 7.8% from 8.3% in the course of two months.”

By JACK WELCH

Imagine a country where challenging the ruling authorities—questioning, say, a piece of data released by central headquarters—would result in mobs of administration sympathizers claiming you should feel "embarrassed" and labeling you a fool, or worse.

Soviet Russia perhaps? Communist China? Nope, that would be the United States right now, when a person (like me, for instance) suggests that a certain government datum (like the September unemployment rate of 7.8%) doesn't make sense.

Unfortunately for those who would like me to pipe down, the 7.8% unemployment figure released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) last week is downright implausible. And that's why I made a stink about it. (Read the full story here)

LiveJournal Tags: Santelli,Rick Santelli,CNBC,Jobs,Jobs Report,Truth,Economy,United States,Free Speech,National Security,Spending

Are “We” better stewards of Animals than to Ourselves???

Found this post on the local “Whatcom Tea Party” Facebook site and just had to share it with you.  Common sense is a rare commodity.  If we had more of it we’d probably be closer to that Utopian vision that the collectivists passion for.

YiT ~  Shelly

---

• The US Senate has proudly announced renewal/passage of the "Farm Bill". For those are not already aware of this, the Farm Bill in its present form, has 80% of its funding dedicated to "food stamps." You know, those cards that keep getting used at casino's and fast food restaurants!
• 
  Couple of interesting quotes to think about:
  The SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)/Food Stamp Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is pleased to be distributing the greatest amount of free meals and food stamps ever.
• 
  Meanwhile, the National Park Service, administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, asks us to "Please Do Not Feed The Animals." They say that this is because the animals grow dependent on the handouts and become dependent on handouts rather than forage for themselves.
• 
  So, as Benjamin Franklin so wisely said it; "I am for doing good for the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it."
• 
  So how crazy are we to teach generations of people that they don't have to work to feed themselves or provide shelter for themselves? The government (that's you and me) have not only created the program, we have made dependency a way of life.

  ---

  LiveJournal Tags: Farm Bill,Food Stamps,SNAP,Nutrition,Hand Outs,Benjamin Franklin,Food,Assistance

Are You Part of the Problem? Or, Are You Part of the Solution?

This video says it all…why mess with perfection.

YiT ~  Shelly

---

LiveJournal Tags: America,The Great Experiment,Problem,Solutions,Failure,If I wanted America to Fail

Politicians continue to ask Automobile Drivers to fund more Mass Transit in Washington State

An excellent source for news on what’s happening in “Washington State, Counties, Cities, and even our Local Communities” in politics, is the Washington Policy Institute.

Please enjoy this post from the Washington Policy Institute.  I have added them to my favorite blogs and trust you will check-in with them to read and educate yourself on what’s happening in politics “locally”.  Their articles and posts will help to educate you to become a better informed voter and promoter of “free enterprise” for a truly diverse and healthy economy in Washington State, Whatcom County and all the Cities within Whatcom County.

YiT~  Shelly

---

WA public transit agencies spent $12.6 billion in last five years

April 12, 2012

King County Executive Dow Constantine wants drivers to pay even higher taxes and fees to not only reinvest in the roads they drive on, but to also subsidize mass transit.

In a statement released yesterday, Constantine says the following,

"Despite having the votes and bipartisan support for 'local-option' bills to allow counties to ask voters for desperately-needed transit and road revenues, lawmakers failed to bring those bills to the floor.

The bills would have created local options for cities and counties to raise transportation related taxes and fees. With the exception of the gas tax, those taxes and fees would have been used to subsidize mass transit.

There are two big problems with Constantine’s argument. Public transit is not underfunded and the new taxes and fees would have been unfairly paid by a single user group; drivers.

All transportation taxes and fees paid by drivers should be used for highway purposes only, while alternative travel modes should be funded by their own users (which reduces the public subsidy) or through local options that apply to the general public, like sales taxes.

Will the “Tea Party” play “Moneyball” with the GOP?

The 2010 elections were, without a doubt, a loud message sent to both the GOP and DNC that the average voter has had it with out of control, unconstitutional growth and spending in government.

The 2011 elections were more about seeding local elections with true constitutionalists, committed to restoring the foundations of our Country by working within the confines of the Constitution.  After all, we are a nation of laws?  Aren’t we?

The Tea Party goal is in the long game, to place Tea Party idealists into local and state offices, effect change and gain experience for the long haul.  With a little time, a lot of hard work and demonstrable actions, these tactics will turn around the image of the GOP and draw voters in droves to “morality and ethics” in politics, something that has been lacking in U.S. politics for too long.

While other political groups race for the bottom, the Tea Party works to race to the top.  Not because they strive for money and power.  Tea Party idealists goal is to restore liberty, freedom, and personal responsibility to it’s rightful place.  At the same time they will work to reduce the size and cost of government by reintroducing the private sector as the go-to source for John Q Public’s needs,thus restoring the free markets to their natural state. These goals (and more) have been finely communicated in the posted article below.

Enjoy the ride…YiT,  Shelly

---

Political Moneyball: The Conservative Strategy for Winning the Fight Coming After the Election

by Kurt Schlichter

The GOP Establishment we keep hearing about is real, and it is also doomed.

That will not change whether the Establishment’s candidate Mitt Romney wins in November or not.  After the election, the battle really starts; what is happening now are just skirmishes in a fight for control of the Republican Party.  Not the soul of the party – if it had one, it auctioned it off long ago – but the mechanism of the party.  The Grand Old Party matters only as a vehicle to carry our banner forward.

To do that, we need to seize control, and we do that by destroying the Establishment starting next November 7th.

Superficially, it might seem that we – the outsiders, the Tea Party, the conservatives, whatever the label – are outgunned by opponents with their hands on the reins of power, money in amounts we can’t hope to match, and pals in the media backing them.  But if we understand our strengths, and our opponents’ weaknesses, we can not only compete but eventually prevail.

First, let’s understand our opponent.

The GOP Establishment is an amorphous entity composed of politicians, media types, consultants, writers, lobbyists, party hacks and donors whose first priority is protecting their positions and privileges.  Power, and holding onto it, is more important than ideology.  That’s where we conservatives differ – we have no formal power or position, so changing the power structure doesn’t scare us.  We have nothing to lose; the GOP Establishment has everything to lose.

So, how do we beat it?

The Oscar-nominated film Moneyball tells the story of the Oakland A’s of the early 2000’s and how it had to adapt to compete with clubs like the Yankees with payrolls four times its size.  Under manager Billy Beane, the club reassessed what it thought it knew about baseball, gained a clear understanding of what made a team successful, and then focused ruthlessly on the long game to build a winning team.

What is the key to winning?  In baseball, it is runs – you get enough runs over the course of a year, you tend to be a winning team.  That’s the long game; the short game is the game tomorrow afternoon.  It’s nice to win that fight too, but the secret of moneyball is building success over time by playing the numbers.  Click here to read the full article.

---

LiveJournal Tags: Tea Party,GOP,Moneyball,Politics,Election,Constitution,Conservative,Republicans,Spending,Patriotism,United States

What Country has No Greed?

Time to post more positive truth.  As Donahue pushes Dr. Freidman about the supposed greed of capitalism, Dr. Friedman responds with common sense.  “Greed?  Tell me what Country does not suffer from the immorality of greed?  Capitalism is the only economic model that affords anyone the opportunity, in a free market, to reach as far as they can if they’re willing to work for it.”

Yours in Truth,  Shelly

---

LiveJournal Tags: Milton Friedman,Capitalism,Constitution,Economy,Education,Entrepenuers,Finance,Free Markets,Patriotism,Politics,Regulations,Spending,Taxes,United States

Where are we going?

Another winner!  Milton Friedman is a renowned economist who was capable of forecasting economic projections that foretold of the coming events of today.

Yours in Truth,  Shelly

---

LiveJournal Tags: Milton Friedman,Capitalism,Constitution,Economy,Education,Entrepenuers,Finance,Free Markets,Patriotism,Politics,Regulations,Spending,Taxes,United States

“I’m not sorry we loaned Solyndra $535 bil dollars in tax payer money”

The President of the United States, Barack Obama, gave his first verbal comment on the government subsidized, stimulus funded, “green scam”, to the private company known as “Solyndra”.  I will not re-write POTUS’s words, I have merely pasted the words as they were printed in the LA Times.  The LA Times did not use the exact language that I heard on the radio from Obama’s own lips;  “I am not sorry for the loan to Solyndra!”  Excuse me?  You’re not sorry?  What an outrageous, narcissistic thing to say!  $535 billion dollars were loaned to a company that was not financially qualified to repay the loan. $535 billion dollars were loaned to a company who's financial P&L showed that it was more likely that they would go bankrupt by September of 2011, than they would be a financially viable success.  $535 billion dollars were flushed away.  $535 billion “taxpayer” dollars were wasted on a zero sum gain, that should have either never been spent or used to pay down the debt.  What kind of a tone-deaf, buffoon is serving as our Commander-in-Chief?

Sorry for the rant, but some things do require venting.

Yours in Truth, Shelly

---

Obama defends loan to Solyndra, calling it a 'good bet'

In a short but wide-ranging interview, the president spoke for the first time on the collapse of Solyndra, the solar start-up company that got a government-backed loan in 2009.
The question arose shortly after Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee released copies of internal emails in which senior administration officials warned against having Obama visit the company as its financial troubles piled up.
Obama said the loan guarantee program is working well overall, despite the fact that "not every single business is going to succeed."
If the U.S. wants to compete with other countries that are subsidizing "industries of the future," Obama said, the government has to make sure American companies "get a shot" to compete.

"Hindsight is always 20/20," Obama said. "It went through the regular review process and people felt this was a good bet."

---

LiveJournal Tags: POTUS,President,Barack Obama,Solyndra,Stimulus,Green,Energy,Solar,Fraud,Tax Dollars

Think “Solyndra” is a freak example of “Pay to Play”? Think again!

Looking over emails and news hi-lights, I like to peruse the comments for links to related articles that didn’t make it to the headlines of the mainstream media.  The article posted below I found interesting, and wanted to share with you.  The original article was about the 2012 Continuing Resolution, of which the Republican House has stripped further funding for activities like Solyndra.  The comment section contained a link to this article on “Abound Solar”, Colorado’s own Solyndra.

The Republican’s in Congress have cut further energy underwriting with your tax dollars, to offset the additional funds needed for 2012 and FEMA.  Wasn’t the selling point of the agreed upon 2011 CR, that any increased, future spending, was to be offset with an equal dollar in spending cuts?

Be sure to contact your Republican or Democrat, Congressman and/or Senator, to show your support for principled representation in politics, such as the 2012 Congressional version for Continuing Resolution.  The few jobs created for an average cost of $300,000.00 per job in the “green economy’”, isn’t due to it’s environmental superiority, it is due to the number of “Benjamin’s”, it’s bringing to private businesses and public Universities to nudge society ever closer to the brink of economic collapse.  The public/private compacts that have contributed to the demise of real free markets, continue to be politically accepted and are a stark example of the public’s tolerance for fiscal malfeasance, in their hopes of getting some of that “free” money.

Yours In Truth    Shelly

---

Amy Oliver

Counting the Democrat Bodies Involved in a Taxpayer-Guaranteed Loan

Email Amy Oliver | Columnist's Archive

By now it’s obvious that the Solyndra scandal never should have happened.  It’s not even a case of Monday morning quarterbacking. A number of people involved could see the disaster coming.

There is a larger principle here. Government should not use taxpayer money to socialize risk while privatizing profits. Examples such as Colorado-based Abound Solar, which received a $400 million loan guarantee, prove that crony capitalism simply rewards the well connected at taxpayer expense.

Abound Solar

Abound Solar, according to its Web site, “produces next-generation thin-film cadmium telluride solar modules” and “is committed to reducing the cost of solar electricity to levels competitive with fossil fuels.”

It is the brainchild of former Colorado State University (CSU)Professor W.S. Sampath and two former students Kurt Barth and Al Enzenroth.  It began as AVA Solar and then incorporated into Abound in 2007.

The Web site says it employs 350 people in three Colorado locations.  Its Colorado manufacturing plant is located in Weld County, which granted Abound up to $100,000 per year for the next ten years in business property tax rebates.  According to sources, the reason for the rebate was job creation intended to benefit Weld County residents. Yet when officials and interested parties ask how many of the 350 jobs have gone to Weld County residents, the solar company does not answer.

Currently Abound has a manufacturing capacity of 65 megawatts expanding to 850 megawatts – at some point. However, in 2010 it manufactured only 30 megawatts. One wonders, if Abound can produce more, why doesn’t it? Click to read full story.

---

And this paragraph (located further in the story) has a link to another interesting story on the "Colorado Miracle”, the transition of the state of Colorado from a red state to a blue state, politically:

Stryker is also a charter member of the notorious “gang of four” which changed the political landscape in Colorado through an organization called the Colorado Democracy Alliance (CoDA).  Their success was titled the “Colorado Miracle” and is being replicated in other states. Click to read full story.

LiveJournal Tags: Continuing Resolution,CR,Appropriations Committee,Budget,Congress,Senate,Conservatives,Economy,Energy,Environment,Free Markets,Legislature,Regulations,Public/Private Partnerships,PPP,Spending,Tax Dollars

How to Steal the American Dream

Does anyone really believe that the $535 million of the tax payer guaranteed money is the only crony, fraudulent lending done with the reported $25 billion dollars of tax payer largesse?

Steve Spinner, who helped monitor the Energy Department's issuance of $25 billion in government loan guarantees to renewable energy projects, was one of Obama's top fundraisers in 2008 and is raising money for the president's 2012 reelection campaign.

I’ve created a little image I’d like to share with you.  If you like it, share it.

Yours In Truth    Shelly

---

---

Obama's Solyndra scandal reeks of the Chicago Way

Those of us from Chicago know exactly what the Solyndra scandal smells like. And It doesn't smell fresh and green.

President Barack Obama tours the Solyndra solar panel company plant in Fremont, Calif., last year. Solyndra, which got a $535 million government-backed loan, recently went bankrupt. (Paul Chinn, Getty photo / September 18, 2011)

John Kass

September 18, 2011

The Solyndra scandal cost at least a half-billion public dollars. It is plaguing PresidentBarack Obama. And it's being billed as a Washington story.
But back in Obama's political hometown, those of us familiar with the Chicago Way can see something else in Solyndra — something that the Washington crowd calls "optics." In fact, it's not just a Washington saga — it has all the elements of a Chicago City Hall story, except with more zeros.

Read the full story here.

---

LiveJournal Tags: Solyndra,Sustainable Development,Solar,Solar Panels,Chicago Way,Environment

Tea Party Message to D.C., “Clean-up Your Room!”

A recent conversation with a friend consisted of:

“Don’t you think the Tea Party has kinda screwed things up between the Democrats and Republicans?  They used to be able to work things out between each other and now they can’t.”

“The Tea Party screwed things up?  The Tea Party didn’t exist while the D’s and R’s created the financial fiasco that’s headed straight for the American taxpayer.  A better description of what’s happening is that the Tea Party adults have come into the bedroom of the D’s and R’s, pulled out all of the unpaid bills from under the mattresses, beds, rugs, stuck in toy boxes and any place they could think of to put them out of sight and told the children to clean their rooms!”

Well after that rant I’d like to share this horrific article of what has led and continues to lead this nation into the greatest potential depression ever known.  This is not just a problem for our nation, it’s going to be a global problem.  Come to think of it, that’s partly how we got here, isn’t it?  This article comes courtesy of “The Onion” and I wish to warn you that Bernanke is finally speaking the truth even if it isn’t pretty.

Yours In Truth    Shelly

Drunken Ben Bernanke Tells Everyone At Neighborhood Bar How Screwed U.S. Economy Really Is

AUGUST 3, 2011 | ISSUE 47•31

The intoxicated Federal Reserve chairman informs bar patrons of the dangers of reckless spending.

SEWARD, NE—Claiming he wasn't afraid to let everyone in attendance know about "the real mess we're in," Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke reportedly got drunk Tuesday and told everyone at Elwood's Corner Tavern about how absolutely fucked the U.S. economy actually is.

Bernanke, who sources confirmed was "totally sloshed," arrived at the drinking establishment at approximately 5:30 p.m., ensconced himself upon a bar stool, and consumed several bottles of Miller High Life and a half-dozen shots of whiskey while loudly proclaiming to any patron who would listen that the economic outlook was "pretty goddamned awful if you want the God's honest truth."

"Look, they don't want anyone except for the Washington, D.C. bigwigs to know how bad shit really is," said Bernanke, slurring his words as he spoke. "Mounting debt exacerbated—and not relieved—by unchecked consumption, spiraling interest rates, and the grim realities of an inevitable worldwide energy crisis are projected to leave our entire economy in the shitter for, like, a generation, man, I'm telling you."

Read the entire article by clicking here, it’s worth it and be sure to share this with all of your contacts.

LiveJournal Tags: US Budget,Bernanke,Economy,Deficit,Budget,Spending,Taxes

It’s A Spending Problem–Not A Taxation Problem

Congressman Allen West, FL, discusses the latest polls which show that Conservatives, Independents and especially those of the Tea Party persuasion want Congress to stick to their promise of deep spending cuts to bring down the deficit, salvage the United States credit worthiness and insure that the nations children and grandchildren will not be burdened with this generations spending problem.

In other words; “It’s time to dance with those who brought you to the dance!”  Compromise shows weakness to the Obama Administration and if you didn’t hear the real Barak Obama in the audio clip that was released on Thursday, then you’re deaf.  Speaker Boehner and the U.S. Congress must stand-up to his “Chicago Thug Tactics” and demand that the U.S. Military are funded.  Just ask “We the People” if we’ll stand for the “Commander in Chief” to deny the troops their wages in a time of war!

Enjoy these short clips as Congressman West discusses with the Fox News interviewers, his thoughts on the road back to prosperity.

Yours In Truth    Shelly

LiveJournal Tags: Congressman Allen West,Allen West,Budget Cuts,Spending

March Madness in Washington D.C.

It’s time for the citizens of the United States to demand that their elected representatives of this Great Country get a grip and implement fiscal sanity into the U.S. Federal Government at all levels. This posting is a wake-up call from those in-the-know about the fiscal insanity that is currently taking place with ‘our’ precious human resources, productivity and tax dollars.

Yours In Truth    Shelly

March Madness: U.S. Gov't Spent More Than Eight Times Its Monthly Revenue

Monday, April 04, 2011
By Terence P. Jeffrey

Erskine Bowles, co-chairman of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsbility with his co-chair former Sen. Alan Simpson (R.-Wyo.) (AP photo/Alex Brandon)

(CNSNews.com) - The U.S. Treasury has released a final statement for the month of March that demonstrates that financial madness has gripped the federal government.

During the month, according to the Treasury, the federal government grossed $194 billion in tax revenue and paid out $65.898 billion in tax refunds (including $62.011 to individuals and $3.887 to businesses) thus netting $128.179 billion in tax revenue for March.

At the same, the Treasury paid out a total of $1.1187 trillion. When the $65.898 billion in tax refunds is deducted from that, the Treasury paid a net of $1.0528 trillion in federal expenses for March.

That $1.0528 trillion in spending for March equaled 8.2 times the $128.179 in net federal tax revenue for the month.

The lion’s share of this federal spending went to redeem Treasury securities that had matured during the month—most of which were short-term Treasury bills that have terms of one-year or less.

In fact, during March the Treasury redeemed $705.3 billion in Treasury securities of which $623.9 billion were short-term bills with a term of one year or less.

After the disbursements made to pay off the $705.3 billion in loans that came due in March, three of the other top four federal spending items for the month were entitlements programs. The other top item was payments to defense contractors.

The Treasury paid $49.8 billion in Social Security benefits in March, $47.4 billion in Medicare benefits, and $22.575 billion in Medicaid benefits. It also paid $37.9 billion to defense contractors.

To help pay off its $1.0528 trillion in monthly bills on only $128.179 in monthly tax revenue, the Treasury turned primarily to new borrowing. During the month, according to the Treasury statement, the government sold $786.5 billion in new securities. It also drew down its cash balance from $190.6 billion at the beginning of the month to $118.1 billion at the end of the month. It also reaped $18 billion from the sale of assets in the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The federal government’s cash-flow situation was summed up pungently in Senate Budget Committee testimony by Erskine Bowles, who served as chief of staff to President Bill Clinton and is now the co-chair of President Barack Obama’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility. (See video below.)

“I'm really concerned,” Bowles told the committee last month. “I think we face the most predictable economic crisis in history. A lot of us sitting in this room didn't see this last crisis as it came upon us. But this one is really easy to see. The fiscal path we are on today is simply not sustainable.

“This debt and these deficits that we are incurring on an annual basis are like a cancer and they are truly going to destroy this country from within unless we have the common sense to do something about it,” said Bowles.

“I used to say that I got into this thing for my grandchildren,” Bowles said. “I have eight grandchildren under five years old. I'll have one more in a week. And my life is wonderful and it is wild. But this problem is going to happen long before my grandchildren grow up.

Continue to read this story by clicking here.

LiveJournal Tags: Budget Cuts,Congress,Budget,Constitution,Economy,Federal,Finance,Legislature,Senate,Patriotism,Social Security,Spending,Tax Dollars,Taxes

“Head of Congressional Appropriations Get It”

Congressman Dennis Rehberg, has released a letter to his Montanan constituents that tells it straight to his State Voters.  For those of you who do not know who Congressman Rehberg is, he is the recently appointed head of the Congressional Appropriations Committee.  In other words, he’s chairing the spending proposals that have come out of Washington D.C. since the House change in January of 2011.  Please take the time to send the Congressman an email, a letter, a phone call, a Facebook post, to show your support or disagreement, with the direction of the “2011 U.S. Congressional Appropriations” efforts to reduce federal spending to “sustainable” levels.

Washington, DC Office
2448 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC, 20515
phone: (202) 225-3211
fax: (202) 225-5687

Billings Office
1201 Grand Avenue Suite 1
Billings, MT 59102
phone: (406) 256-1019
fax: (406) 256-4934

Yours In Truth    Shelly

Rehberg Opinion: The Middle Ground Between Collapse and Shutdown: Spending Less

03/29/11

Why are Montanans being told that they have only two choices: More government and record-deficits, or a complete government shutdown.  The Montanans I’ve talked to at 77 listening sessions offer the third common-sense choice:  The federal government can spend less.
And we’ve got to because our overspending is strangling economic recovery and destroying jobs.  It’s putting the American Dream out of reach for our children and grandchildren.  We face great challenges, but this is still America.  We will overcome those challenges.
It’s a 704 mile drive across Montana on I-90 and I-94.  Imagine those miles represented our national debt of $14,238,130,000,000.  Each mile on the way is $20.2 billion borrowed from our children and grandchildren.  Every foot across our state is $3.8 million of debt.
From the birth of our country through January 2007, the total federal deficit was about $8.6 trillion.  On our road trip, this gets us from Lookout Pass on the Idaho border to about 20 miles west of Billings at a leisurely pace of about 2 miles per year.  This part of the journey spans the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the Great Depression, two World Wars, the Cold War, 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and everything in between.
In January 2007, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi took the wheel with new majorities and a lead foot.  They cranked the big-government throttle and our deficit accelerated from 2 miles a year to a mind-boggling 69 miles a year.  With them at the wheel, we completed the second half of the trip through Billings all the way to North Dakota in just four short years.  They nearly double our national debt.
The American taxpayer has been taken for a ride with their own money and in November, they told Washington to hit the brakes.  But for some in Washington, that’s just not an option, they want to set the cruise control instead – freezing spending at the very highest levels of the last four years.

Click here to read the full letter…it’s worth it.  Thank You Congressman Rehberg for all you are doing to make America the melting pot to protect and defend “We the People”.

LiveJournal Tags: Congress,Congressman Rehberg,Rehberg,Montana,Appropriations Committee,Taxes,Spending,Deficit,U S Congress Appropriations,Committee,Budget Cuts