States in Trouble

Recently I was reading across this list of information from CNN and MSN.

States that will go bankrupt shortly:

• New York – should be bankrupt by Christmas
• California has struggled immensely from the housing meltdown, and state lawmakers face voter-imposed restrictions, including requirements that all budgets and tax increases pass the Legislature by a two-thirds majority.
• Arizona's lawmakers relied on one-time fixes to balance the state's budget instead of making long-term changes.
• Rhode Island faces the highest unemployment rate and the highest home foreclosure rate in New England. It also has high taxes and lacks high-tech jobs.
• Michigan has been slammed by the meltdown of the U.S. auto industry, which has lost thousands of jobs.
• Oregon's leading industries, including timber and computer-chip manufacturing, have been hit by the recession, and the state relies on a voter-imposed revenue cap, which forces the state to give taxpayer rebates when times are good but leaves it unprepared in bad times.
• Nevada has been hit by the downturn in consumer spending, which has weighed heavily on its gaming and tourism industries. Nevada is one of five states without a personal or corporate income tax , so it relies mostly on taxes from gaming and sales to finance most services.
• Florida's population is shrinking for the first time since World War II, and the Sunshine State has long banked on people moving there. Constitutional amendments passed by voters also tie the hands of budget makers.
• New Jersey has dealt with budget troubles for years. It has the highest property taxes in the nation and has increased sales and personal income taxes to help boost revenue. The financial market meltdown is also pressuring the state.
• Illinois' budget gap for fiscal 2010 was one of the three biggest in the country at $13.2 billion. The Land of Lincoln has run deficits every year since the last recession in 2001 and borrows to pay off its bills.
• Wisconsin has been hit hard by the decline in manufacturing as a result of the recession.

The 10 states account for more than one-third of the U.S. population and economic output, according to the report.

How's that socialism working out for your state? Aren't you glad we passed that 1 trillion dollar stimulus package that we needed by 7pm or we would be bankrupt?

I personally am happy to be living in Texas at this time.  It is one of the healthest states fiscially at the moment and one of the lowest jobless rates in the nation...must be doing something right here.  Perhaps its the lower cost of living? Maybe...Perhaps it's the slightly higher sales tax (8.25%)-could be...I think it might be the no state income tax...ding ding ding, we have a winner.

The long weekend...

Today is Sunday and after my usual Friday off, its the worse day of the week for me.  I know what comes tomorrow - Monday.  Not that Mondays are bad for me, its just the waking up after a nice weekend with the wife that's the killer.  It was a pretty slow weekend here: dinner at Chilie's on Friday night where I had their new and improved fire grilled chicken quesadillas with a side of Mexican rice.  I washed that down with a Strawberry Mojito (Man, I loves those).  Saturday was our Body Combat class at Body 3 Fitness and my wife went to the Nutcracker Market at Reliant Center here in Houston with her best friend.  Not that I would not have gone, but that's more of a chick thing.  Let them have a good time out.  For dinner we went out for steak - I know where in Houston can't you get steak.  We went to Saltgrass where I had the 12 oz sirlion steak with a baked potato, house salad with vinergrette dressing and finished it off by splitting a piece of cheese cake.  Sunday was church and food shopping...man I am getting old.

November 11 - News Points

Recently I made the decision to make this blog public, and by public I mean posting the link to my facebook page.  This was a huge step for me.  I still dont think there is anyone who wants to hear what I have to say, but guess what I really dont care.  This is all about me anyway :) Anyway back to the news that the mainstream media will NOT cover.

Ft. Hood shooter:

• White house not able to share information with the ranking republican (Peter Hoekstra) member of House intelligence committee.
• Required by law to inform on a timely basis of national security matters
• Whitehouse has information regarding Islamic contacts, mosque and the FBI was following the domestic terrorist since 2008.
• President Obama stated we should not jump to conclusions – but had information that states the contrary.  Funny thing though...remember this? When President Obama stated while he did not have all the facts the Cambridge Police acted stupidly.
• Compare how much conviction conveyed during that press conference with the press conference for the Ft. Hood shooting.  Does something seem wrong to you...I know it does to me.
• Let’s call it what it is. If it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck – well you get the idea. This was a planned terrorist attack. To call it anything less is just a disgrace to the men & women who died at Ft. Hood.

Chris Matthews:

• Stated on his show “Hardball” that its not illegal to call Al-Qaeda is it?  I dont know about you...I am sure questions would have been raised if in 1940's people made phone calls to Hilter or his Army.  Maybe it's just me.

Global Warming:

• 3rd coldest October in recorded history.  So again, gotta save those Polar Bears dont we.

President Obama:

• Fired Susan Crawford – Internet Czar. She is behind Net Neutrality.  Don't worry it was another in the middle of the night removal we have come to expect from our "transparent" President.
• I still cannot forgive the President for giving a shout out before addressing a national tragedy.
• Speaking of which, Did President Obama's speech to the Native American's sound familiar.  It did to me.  Check out this video of Van Jones.  I thought he was out of the White House? Hmmm, I guess I was hoping for some change.

Anita Dunn

• White House Communications Director
• Will step down at the end of the month.

US Homeland Security Secretary

• Went to the Middle East to console the Muslim community.

Congressman Barney Frank:

• His partner was arrest for pot in 2007 – however he was not
• Was on front porch in Maine when police found marijuana plants outside.
• Frank did not have an idea of what was happening.
• Would not be able to recognize a pot plant because he is not an outdoorsman.

Eric Holder:

• United States Attorney General
• US Department of Justice – Grand Jury subpoena demanded all IP traffic to and personal information from website to be disclosed:
• SSN
• Banks Accounts
• E-mail addresses
• IP Addresses
• Physical Addresses
• Credit Cards
• Placed gag order on indymedia.us not to mention probe was going on.
• Issued by US Attorney Tim Morrison – Indiana
• Fed representative – “I didn’t think we are doing anything to warrant national attention”
• What is Eric Holder really after?

And to leave you with a quote from a radical - Benjamin Franklin "To get people out of poverty, make them uncomfortable in poverty”.  You think its time to overhaul the system and stop this maddness of entitlement from the government?

Health Care Bill

As many of the citizens know, the Health Care Bill cleared a first major huddle in the law process by just passing in the House. There are now 220 targets that the American people are going after to "fire" you in 2010. Yeah good luck with that. Here are a few snippets from the Health Care Bill that are a little concerning to say the least (Yes I read some parts of this Bill as I liked to be informed. That's more then I can say for the House Representatives):

• Page 111 - Section 223 establishes a new board of federal bureaucrats (the “Health Benefits Advisory Committee”) to dictate the health plans that all individuals must purchase. Comment: Of course this almost certainly will make the insurance companies go out of business. How many times can the new sources state this - this means you will be "nudged" into a government run health plan
• Page 211 - Section 321 establishes a new government-run health plan that, according to non-partisan actuaries at the Lewin Group, would cause as many as 114 million Americans to lose their existing coverage.
• Page 297 - Section 501 imposes a 2.5 percent tax on all individuals who do not purchase “bureaucrat-approved” health insurance - the tax would apply on individuals with incomes under $250,000, thus breaking a central promise of then-Senator Obama’s presidential campaign. Comments: Say what you will about 250k salary, its not what it seems like. You almost cannot live in NYC with that kind of income. My wife and I have over 120k combined income and because of federal taxes, we are still living check to check. This will just hurt the middle class, if there is a middle class left.

Do you believe Pelosi and Obama when they say “if you like your plan you can keep your plan” … that you ultimately won’t be forced to live with government-run insurance? I know I do not believe anything that comes out of their mouths.

Check out this provision…

• Page 94 - Section 202(c) prohibits the sale of private individual health insurance policies, beginning in 2013, forcing individuals to purchase coverage through the federal government. Comments: Where is the media coverage about this. Oh that's right - David Axlerod told the media not to act like Fox News and report the stories.

Of course, Members of Congress and their family members need not worry about how this radical overhaul of our nation's health care will affect them because...

• Page 225 - Section 330 permits—but does not require —Members of Congress to enroll in government-run health care. Comments: I beg everyone to ask their reprsentatives and congressmen if they would enroll themselves in the government plan.

Here Are A Few More Little Nasties In Pelosi’s H.R. 3962.

• Page 110 - Section 222(e) requires the use of federal dollars to fund abortions through the government-run health plan—and, if the Hyde Amendment were ever not renewed, would require the plan to fund elective abortions. Comments: You know what that means? Chrstian/Baptist/Catholic run hospitals would be forced to close down, meaning even less healthcare out there. I am not going to tell you where to stand on abortion as its a decision each person will have to make, but You have to face your maker in the end and be accountable for you actions. Having said that, I do not want my tax dollars going to pay for such a thing.
• Page 313 - Section 512 imposes an 8 percent “tax on jobs” for firms that cannot afford to purchase “bureaucrat-approved” health coverage; according to an analysis by Harvard Professor Kate Baicker, such a tax would place millions “at substantial risk of unemployment”—with minority workers losing their jobs at twice the rate of their white counterparts.
• Page 336 - Section 551 imposes additional job-killing taxes, in the form of a half-trillion dollar “surcharge,” more than half of which will hit small businesses; according to a model developed by President Obama’s senior economic advisor, such taxes could cost up to 5.5 million jobs.
• Page 520 - Section 1161 cuts more than 150 billion from Medicare Advantage plans, potentially jeopardizing millions of seniors’ existing coverage. Comments: Where is the senior outrage?! It's just aweful that the AARP is in support of the Health Care Bill. While it does not suprise me, I wonder what was the trade off?
• Page 733 - Section 1401 establishes a new Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research; the bill includes no provisions preventing the government-run health plan from using such research to deny access to life-saving treatments on cost grounds, similar to Britain’s National Health Service, which denies patient treatments costing more than 35,000. Comments: I wonder if all those children who come to the US for charity care work (You know you have seen the TLC and Discovery specials), if they will still come after all this?

And last, but certainly not least:

• Page 1174 - Section 1802(b) includes provisions entitled 'Taxes On Certain Insurance Policies' to fund comparative effectiveness research, breaking Speaker Pelosi’s promise that 'We will not be taxing benefits in any bill that passes the House,' and the President’s promise not to raise taxes on families with incomes under 250,000.

This is not to mention the fact failure to pay such a tax could lead to five year prision terms and fines up to $250,000.

If this bill passes and is signed into law by President Obama, I will almost bet the house that a revolution will insue. History will repeat itself, and when you children ask where were you, what will you tell them?

Elections in the News...

My apologies for not writing in some time.  It has been a hectic week to say the least. 

NY District 23 Race:

• Democrat Bill Owens wins.
• Withing 24 hours of taking office, he breaks 4 crutial campaign promises.
• Republicans spent almost 1 million dollars to destroy Doug Hoffman
• Democrats spent 2 million dollars to destroy Hoffman
• Democrats are screaming failure of tea party
• 8 weeks ago Hoffman was an unknown accountant.
• Hoffman makes the Republican drop out.
• Republican and Democrat double team and win by only 3 percentage points – Can you imagine Hillary Clinton supporting John McCain?
• So really, is this a complete failure?  If you combine the republican vote with the conservative vote, Bill Owns would have lost by 3 percentage points.

NYC Mayoral Race:

• Incumbent Mayor Michael Bloomberg wins re-election.
• Bloomberg spent 100 million dollars to win election
• Only won by 5 percentage points
• Interesting fact - No one wanted Rudy to stay for a few months after 9/11 to ensure a smooth transition of power - city council cried term limits and city constitution
• Yet Bloomberg got city council to change the term limits so he is able to run again - interesting...

New Jersey Governor’s Race:

• Republican Challenger Chris Christie wins.
• And he is a Morris County guy - my home county in NJ.
• First republican to win the overall state for the first time in 40 years.  Sure he didnt carry the typical counties of Essex and Bergen, but this was a race that Christie has no business winning.  So what does that say about Incumbent Jon Corzine?
• It was about the economy - plain and simple.
• Soon to be former Governor Jon Corzine fails to win re-relection, only the 3rd incumbent to loose election in New Jersey history.  Even McGreevy won re-election.  Looks like Jonny boy will join the ranks of Jim Florio (remember the motto - Florio Free in '93?)
• He's to hoping Christie can live up to his promises and may I can afford to return to my home state.