Alabama Right News

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Revisiting the auto bailout: Bills the company can never pay back

It's the precedent, stupid. It's the political threats and bypassing established bankruptcy rules. It's the rewriting of corporate debt expectations:

Hopkins says the bailouts have not turned out as badly as he initially feared they would – not that they've turned out well. "It's very hard to think that the taxpayer is ever going get compensated anywhere near fully. The government will eventually get out of the auto business but the taxpayer will be left with a significant, I suspect, unpaid bill."

Ted Frank, adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute, sees more than an unpaid bill on the horizon. "The worst part of the bailouts was the way the administration used political threats to trample over established bankruptcy law and settled expectations," he says "In the long run, the bailout will cost far more jobs than it saves, even in the unlikely event that GM and Chrysler pay back the government in full."

Cato Institute senior fellow Daniel Mitchell doesn't mince words. "I hope Ford does well since they demonstrated integrity," Mitchell says. "Unlike GM and Chrysler, which evaded the normal bankruptcy process to steal from taxpayers."

This poorly implemented bailout will haunt not just the auto companies, but the debt markets for a generation.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/patriotroom/eKBL/~3/ACNCTuABda8/

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Video of Dem Congressman McGovern: "I Think The Constitution Is Wrong"

Of course they do:

via Real Clear politics via HotAir headlines. RCP has this caption:

"We have a lousy Supreme Court decision that has opened the floodgates, and so we have to deal within the realm of constitutionality. And a lot of the campaign finance bills that we have passed have been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. I think the Constitution is wrong. I don't think that money is the same thing as human beings," Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) said at a debate Wednesday. He was commenting on the Citizens United v. FEC decision.

The US Constitution is right. Liberal 'interpretation' of it is not.

UPDATE:By the way, here's a related piece by The Hill: Poll: Voters more likely to see Democrats as dominated by extremists. Gee - ya think?

http://theblogprof.blogspot.com/2010/10/video-of-dem-congressman-mcgovern-i.html

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Ethics complaint to be filed on Harry Reid

By John Ransom for Pajamas Media

The 527 Harry Reid Votes will file an ethics complaint against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada as early as this Friday. The complaint alleges that Reid violated "the Senate rules of conduct by accepting certain contributions from the top executives of a federal government contractor," according to a draft of the letter to be sent to the Select Committee on Ethics. At issue is over $100,000 of campaign contributions made by Nevada defense contractor Arcata Associates to both Reid and the Nevada Democrat Party.

The small Nevada defense firm recently had a program terminated by the Department of Defense which was subsequently reinstated via an earmark request by Reid. According to Harry Reid Votes, the Obama administration initially rejected the earmark request, "but Senator Reid persisted to ensure that his major donor received funding." An email from Arcata boss Tim Wong to PJM previously suggested that Arcata Associates has a long-standing corporate policy of supporting candidates. Corporate contributions to federal candidates are illegal if made by individuals on behalf of a corporation as Arcata's email suggests.

Even if the transactions weren't illegal, the complaint addressed to Ethics Committee Chair Senator Barbara Boxer and Vice Chair Senator Johnny Isakson, says the transactions are improper under guidelines adopted by the Senate. The letter quotes the Senate Ethics Manual, which declares, "[c]ertain conduct has been deemed by the Senate in prior cases to be unethical and improper even though such conduct may not necessarily have violated any written law, or Senate rule or regulation."

The complaint asks that an investigation be opened because "Senator Reid appears to have violated at least one tenet of the Code of Ethics for Government Service." It seeks to have Reid reprimanded "strong[ly] and severe[ly]," citing the case of former Senator Alan Cranston. Cranston, a Democrat, was a member of the "Keating Five" reprimanded in 1991 for intervening on behalf of Lincoln Savings, which was facing mounting federal scrutiny. Charles Keating, the Lincoln boss, made substantial contributions to groups associated with Cranston in return for access to the senator from California. Lincoln Savings failed in 1989. The federal government, which covered billions in deposit guarantees, later sold Lincoln's assets at substantial losses to the government.

swenbwr

http://redwhitebluenews.com/?p=8704

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When Criminals Win… GAP Store Employee Fired For Apprehending Shoplifters (Audio)

The criminals are winning.
97.1 FM's Jamie Allman interviewed Vianni Dickey a former GAP store employee. Vianni was fired last week after she pursued two shoplifters and recovered stolen merchandize.
The store rewarded her with a suspension and later fired her.

The photo in the video is Jamie Allman with his family including his son who is currently serving in Iraq.

http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2010/10/when-criminals-win-gap-store-employee-fired-for-apprehending-shoplifters-audio/

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Weekly Jobless Claims up 13,000, “Unexpectedly,” of course.

Fresh data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Website:

In the week ending Oct. 9, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 462,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 449,000. The 4-week moving average was 459,000, an increase of 2,250 from the previous week's revised average of 456,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.5 percent for the week ending Oct. 2, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's revised rate of 3.6 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Oct. 2 was 4,399,000, a decrease of 112,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,511,000. The 4-week moving average was 4,488,500, a decrease of 34,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 4,523,000.

Without the revision to last week's data, the actual increase would have been 17,000. Not much of a revision, but still worthy of note.

The last time the adjusted jobless claims increased was for the week ending August 14. At the time, the four week moving average of new claims was 482,500. With this week's release, the four week moving average is 459,000 so before today, the trend was in the right direction. One point doesn't make a trend, so it will be interesting to see how the numbers fall in the coming weeks.

The moving average is still stubbornly stuck in a range between 450,000 and 500,000. The effect of the decennial Census has now completely ebbed, and last week's payroll figures showed that state and local governments are cutting jobs. From this point forward, it will be up to a very skittish, very uncertain private sector to create jobs through economic expansion.

This is not going to happen at any pace that significantly improves the labor market before the end of the calendar year. This is troubling, because the third quarter is the most important for the retail sector and consumer spending. If jobs are scarce, consumers will not be in a big-spending mood for the Holiday Season.

UPDATE: Reuters trots out a new twist on their favorite term. The figures weren't unexpected, you see. They were merely "higher than expected."

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ibleedcrimsonred/OvJu/~3/LIL_BIx74cU/weekly-jobless-claims-up-13000.html

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BREAKING NEWS: David Axelrod is Revealed to Have Beastiality Problem

There is a dangerous trend moving through the top most ranks of the Obama administration, and no I am not talking about Socialism. Just because this progressive administration believes that government should control industry and our personal lives does not mean that our President is a socialist. And I am not talking about the rumor that the administration is trying to stifle first amendment speech. Just because they attack every broadcaster that disagrees with their agenda and threaten every business that points out a flaw in their legislation it does not mean that they are trying to stymie an open discussion of the issues. No this trend is much more nefarious than that. Some of the President's closest advisers have developed issues with...well beastiality.

That's right, we have learned for example, that when David Axelrod leaves the White House every night, he finds time to stop at the Washington DC Zoo, and well, lets just say he accepts foreign donations.

I have been asked about these charges, specifically the New York Times looked into Axelrod's love life specifically and said that Axelrod is not putting any part of himself into foreign objects. He has been spending lots of time at the petting zoo, said the times but the only thing being stroked is his ego. There is no evidence says the Times, that David Axelrod has a "sheep" problem.

Hogwash I say, Hogwash. True there is no evidence that White House adviser is sleeping with sheep, but does anybody have evidence that he is not? The fact is that Axelrod has asserted these rumors are not true, but won't release any home videos of his sex life is at the core of the problem here.

What we've seen in part because of a loophole in the press coverage, we no see thousands of hours of press reports filed this year and not one investigation of David Axelrod's sex life. What if I told you that the Presidential Adviser's favorite bursary rhymes are Mary Had a Little Lamb and Baa Baa Black Sheep.

Some of you have asked me, "Even if you hate his politics, How could you make baseless charges against a public servant? How could you smear Axelrod's name like that?"

Folks, this isn't smearing anybody. I have learned from our President that It is perfectly OK. Our President believes in equality for all and social justice (Axelrod does also). So if Think Progress can invent charges against the Chamber of Commerce and get extra traffic, so can I. The President will just think of it as "Redistribution of Web Traffic."

Think about it as you watch this video from David Axelrod's Favorite Movie.

Please email me at yidwithlid@aol.com to be put onto my mailing list. Feel free to reproduce any article but please link back to http://yidwithlid.blogspot.com

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/NWlS/~3/qdDsPJb6i3A/david-axelrod-is-revealed-to-have.html

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The 2010 Index of Dependence on Government

http://blog.heritage.org/2010/10/13/44821/

The 2010 Index of Dependence on Government

The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.
October 13, 2010 7:00:08 PM
Patrick Tyrrell

The Heritage Foundation's 2010 Index of Dependence on Government, published today, showcases the disturbing trend of Americans becoming more dependent on their government – via their fellow non-dependent tax paying Americans – than ever before.

The surge in the Index of 13.6% over last year takes the Index to an all time high.
Government support for dependent persons has grown from $7,293 per person in 1962, to $31,950 per person in 2009, both amounts expressed in 2005 dollars.
Many Americans pay no federal income tax for the dependency related programs they use. 132.5 million Americans do not pay income taxes and do not have a head of household paying income taxes in their household. This is up from just 34.8 million in 1984.
And three entitlement programs, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid eat up 41% of all non-interest federal program spending. Unchecked, this will grow to 62% over the next decade as 10,000 baby boomers retire every day.

The problem caused by unsustainable promises of entitlement benefits to millions of Americans will not go away of its own accord. In fact, the IMF predicts that U.S. public-sector debt (federal plus state) will equal 100 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product by 2015 unless the annual deficits are immediately cut by an amount equal to 12 percent of GDP. 100 percent of the dollar value of everything produced in the whole country will be owed! It is no wonder that so many Americans feel the need to turn this ship around.

The images coming out of France and other parts of Europe today and over the past few weeks are a harbinger of what the U.S. will eventually face when entitlement reform is eventually forced on us by the end of the long debt train line that America has been riding for so long. An army of dependents will be angry. The French workers who are being asked to retire at 62 instead of 60 years old are angry now. Who knows how millions of Americans will react if the federal government is forced to reduce the aid currently flowing from dependency creating programs.

It is better to cut spending by 12 percent of GDP per year today than to suffer the financial and political repercussions that will inevitably stem from delay.

Click here to read the 2010 Index of Dependence on Government.