Spending Too Much Money? Cut Out Pointless Things

Sounds like a good Idea. But?

Hey folks,

Happy Friday to ya. This is actually pretty funny if you think about it.

"Hey Peter. I'm spending way too much money. I can't afford it anymore. I mean way too much money. I spend out of control even. But you know what? It's all ok. I'm going to save money by cancelling my Newspaper delivery and go with only online stuff. Yes, I'm serious about saving money. Now it's ok if I spend $1000.00 on this, and $5000.00 on that. I'm serious about saving money. I'm no longer going to get the paper delivered."

Yeah I got that too. I should probably not admit that, once they find out, I may stop getting it. But I got that too. What they are talking about here is this STUPID Email that David Plouffe, Senior Advisor to the President, sent out. The Topic? Saving money. A Contest for Federal Employees that come up with Ideas on how to save money, then summit them. The Winner gets to sit down with The One himself, and present his / her Idea to Obama directly. {Laughing}

What an Award. I know. The most obvious point here is SO? He doesn't listen to his own Advisers. The "Experts." Those with Degrees and YEARS of Experience. But they want Bobby in Housing to think that Obama will LISTEN to him? {Sigh} Sad thing is, most of these Employees probably DO believe that.

So what are some of the Ideas submitted?

Matthew Ritsko, NASA: At Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA employees purchase specialized tools and ground support equipment for developing and building flight projects. Many of the tools are not tracked once projects are complete, and as a result funds are wasted on duplicative purchases. In order to cut down on repeat purchases, Matthew suggests creating a centralized tool repository – or "lending library" – where these tools can be stored, catalogued, and checked in and out by NASA employees.

Eileen Hearty, Department of Housing and Urban Development: All across the country, HUD contractors and staff conduct annual Management and Occupancy Reviews of multifamily properties (i.e. apartments) that are privately-owned and subsidized by HUD. Many of these properties receive high marks year after year and consistently provide excellent service. Eileen proposes a reduction in the frequency of reviews for high-performing properties – a change that would reward superior properties for their excellent work and reduce the travel costs, staff time, and fees paid by HUD for these reviews.

Kevin Korzeniewski, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency: When Kevin began working as an attorney in the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, he automatically received a new set of U.S. Code books that get updated and reordered every year. Because the information in these books is now available online through LexisNexis, Westlaw, and free sources – where it is also updated in real time – Kevin suggests that his agency stop automatically ordering these books.

Faith Stanfield, Social Security Administration: Every quarter, the Social Security Administration (SSA) produces and mails OASIS, a 25-plus-page, glossy magazine to 88,000 SSA employees all across the country and more than 1,000 retired SSA employees. The OASIS magazine has been around for decades; however, as more and more SSA communications shift online, Faith suggests that the magazine be released only in an online format to save money on printing and shipping that could be put to better use elsewhere.

So basically, stop putting things in Print and go Online, and keep better track of tools to avoid the Cost of buying new ones. Meanwhile, we are Spending TRILLIONS of Dollars. {Laughing}

But that's OK. See? They really care about looking for ways to Save Money. See. They want to listen to the People. They CARE. I agree with you. It is Pathetic. Sad thing is though, most of their Base will actually buy it. See? They care about cutting spending. I even got to Vote. I matter. They care what I think. Unlike that Evil Bush guy. This President wants input by the little people.

2012 is coming. A more important Election has NEVER taken place. Do not get distracted by all the nonsense out there. We need Obama and Crew GONE. We need someone to at least START to save this Country. We can not afford another four years of this.
Peter

LINK:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/save-award

Note: From The Emails is a weekly Segment every Friday, or occasionally anytime, that appears here at the OPNTalk Blog. Please feel free to Email any Articles, Comments, Thoughts, Whatever, that you may like to share to opntalk@gmail.com As always, you never know what you may see here.

Gang of Six, Bipartisan?

Hardly

Hey folks,

So the Gang of Six? Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-OK, Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho.

Is this TRULY a Bipartisan group? No. Not really. It is also not a NEW group. These Six have been together, well, off and on, for over a Year. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-OK, walked away from the group at one point, talking about impasses on certain points. HIS points to be more precise. Coburn wants to reduce the size of the Military, and make Vets pay more for their Healthcare. Not kidding.

Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.? Hardly a true Conservative. He barely got reelected last time. He is another Senator that has just been there WAY too long. He is an Establishment Republican, and a RINO. He keeps the R for times like this so he can say, he is part of a Bipartisan, whatever.

Mike Crapo, R-Idaho? Have you ever heard of him? No? With a name like Crapo? He is another RINO, looking to get 15 minutes.

So there you have the Bipartisan Group. The Gang of Six. It seems that they have patched things up and have released their PLAN. They say it will cut spending and reduce the Debt. Problem is, it WON'T.

IF it does what it says, basically it will cut spending something like 400 Billion a year. It WILL raise Taxes. It WILL raise the Debt Ceiling. It WILL PROTECT Entitlement Programs. In the long run, it will do NOTHING to reduce the Debt. What it DOES do, is guarantee MORE spending. More Spending MEANS, more DEBT.

House Republicans? Back in April, they passed a Resolution that calls for reducing annual Deficits by a total of $6.2 Trillion over the next Ten years. It included no Tax increases but calls for transforming Medicare into a Voucher system that Subsidizes the purchase of Private Insurance Plans. Now the House Republicans Passed a Balanced Budget Amendment Bill last night. These people are SERIOUS about spending and reducing the Debt.

Or ARE they? The whole Balanced Budget thing is GREAT. Florida has that. What it means is that Government will have to make the tough choices that it needs to make to cut out of control spending. HOWEVER, attached to this, is a way to Raise the Debt Ceiling TWO TRILLION. So? Balance the Budget AFTER you spend another TWO TRILLION that we do not have?

The answer is as simple as your normal American Household. DON'T SPEND MONEY YOU DO NOT HAVE! If your Income is not covering your OUT going. THEN CUT SPENDING. Don't spend MORE. STOP putting us in more and more DEBT!

The answer is simple. NO NEW TAXES! CUT SPENDING! DO NOT RAISE THE DEBT CEILING! You know folks, the sad thing is, the TRUTH? As usual with the TRUTH. It is not really all the complicated to understand. Sometimes the TRUTH is hard to accept. But it is NOT hard to understand. Me and you could sit down at the table right now. We could find and cut over a Trillion Dollars in Pork and Waste that the Government spends every year. We could do this in under one day. Most people do not even know that these programs exist. It would only effect a handful of people who's pockets are being padding. Most will not even miss the Programs and Waste. Yet we could save TRILLIONS by cutting this garbage out. Just repealing, or defunding Obamacare would save us a TRILLION we do not have.

The answer is simple. Stop playing games. CUT SPENDING. Stop spending what we do not have. Get rid of programs that are nothing more than money pits that serve no National Interest, or are Unconstitutional. Stop allowing us to borrow more money we do not have. Just STOP!
Peter

Numbers Do Not Lie

It IS Obama's and the Left's fault

Hey folks,

I know, I know. We are going to deal with Numbers. We are going to talk about the National Debt. Some of you are thinking, "I'm not a numbers person. I'm not a money guy. This is boring to me." That may be the truth with a lot of people out there, but with the Looney Left attempting to go back to what brought them to the dance, "Blame Bush." So we have to look at this.

OK. You have a Bank account. Most Banks today, will let you run on a deficit. To a limit. Oh it will cost you a bit more, but they will let it "ride" so to speak. In other words, you go to pay your Mortgage. Your Mortgage is $1600.00. You only have $1400.00. the Bank will still pay it. However, NOW your account is -$230.00. When you get paid again, whatever you make, it subtracted this amount. $1000. minus $230.00, now your balance is $770.00. But the Mortgage is paid.

Here is what you do NOT do. Your account shows -$230.00? You do NOT repay $500.00 and say it's not your fault, you have to fix what was wrong. No. Because the OTHER $270.00 has NOTHING to do with the debt. Only YOU know what you are using the $270.00 for. The dept is nothing more than an excuse. Now if the debt IS $230.00, and you borrow $500.00 to repay that, you NOW owe $500.00. $230.00 of which you can blame the Mortgage on. The rest is all YOU.

This is what Obama and Crew are doing. "We have to spend all this to get us out of the mess Bush left us." This is SIMPLY not true. The numbers do not lie. According to CNS - Obama Added More to National Debt in First 19 Months Than All Presidents from Washington Through Reagan Combined, Says Gov’t Data Wednesday, September 08, 2010 By Terence P. Jeffrey, Editor-in-Chief

(CNSNews.com) - In the first 19 months of the Obama administration, the federal debt held by the public increased by $2.5260 trillion, which is more than the cumulative total of the national debt held by the public that was amassed by all U.S. presidents from George Washington through Ronald Reagan.

The U.S. Treasury Department divides the federal debt into two categories. One is “debt held by the public,” which includes U.S. government securities owned by individuals, corporations, state or local governments, foreign governments and other entities outside the federal government itself. The other is “intragovernmental” debt, which includes I.O.U.s the federal government gives to itself when, for example, the Treasury borrows money out of the Social Security “trust fund” to pay for expenses other than Social Security.

At the end of fiscal year 1989, which ended eight months after President Reagan left office, the total federal debt held by the public was $2.1907 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That means all U.S. presidents from George Washington through Ronald Reagan had accumulated only that much publicly held debt on behalf of American taxpayers. That is $335.3 billion less than the $2.5260 trillion that was added to the federal debt held by the public just between Jan. 20, 2009, when President Obama was inaugurated, and Aug. 20, 2010, the 19-month anniversary of Obama's inauguration.

I know, like I said, many are not numbers people. But I hope you really get this. This Regime, including Pelosi, Reid, and the rest of the Looney Left, are spending at a blinding rate to pay for a bunch or pet projects that they have wanted for years. Most of which, have NOTHING to do with Bush.

By contrast, President Reagan was sworn into office on Jan. 20, 1981 and left office eight years later on Jan. 20, 1989. At the end of fiscal 1980, four months before Reagan was inaugurated, the federal debt held by the public was $711.9 billion, according to CBO. At the end of fiscal 1989, eight months after Reagan left office, the federal debt held by the public was $2.1907 trillion. That means that in the nine-fiscal-year period of 1980-89--which included all of Reagan’s eight years in office--the federal debt held by the public increased $1.4788 trillion. That is in excess of a trillion dollars less than the $2.5260 increase in the debt held by the public during Obama’s first 19 months.

When President Barack Obama took the oath of office on Jan. 20, 2009, the total federal debt held by the public stood at 6.3073 trillion, according to the Bureau of the Public Debt, a division of the U.S. Treasury Department. As of Aug. 20, 2010, after the first nineteen months of President Obama’s 48-month term, the total federal debt held by the public had grown to a total of $8.8333 trillion, an increase of $2.5260 trillion.

In just the last four months (May through August), according to the CBO, the Obama administration has run cumulative deficits of $464 billion, more than the $458 billion deficit the Bush administration ran through the entirety of fiscal 2008.

That is more debt in FOUR MONTHS than Bush TOTAL. Are you getting this?

The CBO predicted this week that the annual budget deficit for fiscal 2010, which ends on the last day of this month, will exceed $1.3 trillion.

The first two fiscal years in which Obama has served will see the two biggest federal deficits as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product since the end of World War II.

“CBO currently estimates that the deficit for 2010 will be about $70 billion below last year’s total but will still exceed $1.3 trillion,” said the CBO’s monthly budget review for September, which was released yesterday. “Relative to the size of the economy, this year’s deficit is expected to be the second-largest shortfall in the past 65 years: At 9.1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), that deficit will be exceeded only by last year’s deficit of 9.9 percent of GDP.”

It is time to STOP blaming Bush. IT IS THE DEMOCRATS in power, and Obama in the White House. IT IS THE DEMOCRATS that are spending our Grand and Great Grand Kids into dept. They can blame Bush all they want. But the numbers tell the truth.
Peter

Obama's Out of Control Spending

From the Emails Friday 022709

Hey folks,

I have several Emails I want to post today, so this one will be long. For those of you who keep asking why I do not just continuously post on Sundays, or like last Wednesday, and why do I start each one with Hey folks? here is why. But Instead of posting several different ones, I will just post all of them in a continuous method. I really need not comment on any of them, I think you will get the point.

First up, By Chris Gonsalves Posted at Newsmax.com

President Obama's $1 Trillion Tax Hike Plan

Looking to fund an ambitious healthcare program and put more money in the hands of the poor and the non-working, President Barack Obama wants wealthier Americans and businesses to pay nearly $1 trillion in higher taxes over the next decade.

In his proposed 2010 budget, released today, Obama suggests bringing back the top two Clinton-era tax rates of 36 percent and 39.6 percent for the nation’s highest earners. Those taxpayers currently pay 33 percent and 35 percent. More than 2.6 million Americans would be forced to pay the higher rates, according to Bloomberg News.

Tax rates on capital gains and dividends will rise to 20 percent for top earners, up from the 15 percent rate set by former President George W. Bush in 2003.

“It’s a clear repudiation of Bush’s policy,” Peter Morici, an economist at the University of Maryland in College Park, tells Bloomberg. “It’s more Obama Robin Hood.”

As if the rate changes weren’t enough, Obama also proposes punishing the rich by stopping the scheduled repeal of the controversial estate tax next year. The president suggests imposing a 45 percent tax rate on any family’s estate worth more than $7 million.

The Obama tax hikes also include new restrictions on itemized deductions for families that earn more than $250,000 per year. Deductions for things like charitable donations, mortgage interest and investment expenses will be capped at 28 percent for the wealthiest taxpayers, some 30 percent less than they currently get.

By 2020, taxpayers in the wealthiest households will pay $636.7 billion in additional taxes according to estimates in the budget proposal.

The changes would be phased in gradually over the next few years, according to an analysis of the budget by the Wall Street Journal. For the 2009 tax year, the 33 percent tax bracket starts with couples with adjusted earnings of $208,850. A taxpayer in the top bracket paying $1,000 of mortgage interest, for example, would see a tax break worth $350 reduced to $280.

According to estimates from Deloitte Tax, a married couple with 2 children under age 17 and income of $500,000 a year would owe approximately $11,300 more than under current law if all of the tax provisions in Obama's budget request outline were enacted, CNN reported.

The remainder of the $1 trillion tax hike would come from $353.5 billion in additional levies on businesses, especially U.S.-based multinational corporations. Obama’s proposal calls for significantly rewriting the rules on the taxability of profits earned overseas, increased enforcement of international tax collections and changes in accounting that would serve as a “windfall profits tax” aimed largely at the oil companies.

"This budget plan is once again a missed opportunity for American taxpayers — it raises taxes on all Americans, implements massive new spending and fails to make any tough choices to control the deficit," Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., the top Budget Committee Republican, told the Associated Press. Gregg was nominated by Obama to join his Cabinet as commerce secretary but later withdrew.

Next sent in by BG, from The Heritage Foundation,

Another $275 Billion Down the Drain

The House of Representatives is set to vote on a bill today that would round out the legislative authority necessary for President Barack Obama to institute his $275 billion mortgage bailout plan. Taken together the plans three main components (enabling some select borrowers to refinance their loans through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, enabling other select borrowers to modify their loans at the cost of taxpayers and lenders, and changing bankruptcy law to allow mortgage cram downs) will bailout the most irresponsible borrowers, raise the cost of borrowing for honest and prudent home buyers, and do nothing to stop the inevitable and necessary correction in housing prices.

Bailing Out the Most Irresponsible: Obama's mortgage bailout bestows new and costly benefits on those who took on more debt (including credit cards, auto loans, and mortgages) than they could handle. Worse, the value of the benefits vary in direct proportion to the degree borrowers were financially irresponsible. Borrowers with as high a debt service payment to income ration of 55% will be eligible for the taxpayer bailout.

Increasing Costs for Honest Borrowers: There are two ways Obama's mortgage bailout hurts honest home buyers. First, the portion of the plan that makes lenders responsible for half of all mortgage rate reductions will deter private sector investment in all but the best mortgages. Second, the mortgage cram down provisions would create additional risks for lenders who will be forced to compensate for that risk by making new mortgage rates more expensive for future home buyers. First time home buyers and those with moderate incomes would be hardest hit.

Failing to Stop the Housing Price Correction: Our current economic crisis was created by the inevitable popping of a housing bubble. Our financial system and economy will not recover until housing prices correct themselves. The sharp decline in housing prices is largely confined to just five states (Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, and Nevada). And the drop in housing prices in these localities is so steep that few borrowers will qualify for Obama's bailout. Hence home prices will only keep self-correcting. Also mortgage lenders are already at full capacity refinancing borrowers who do not need government aid. There is simply no way the existing industry has the capacity to refinance another 8 million homeowners in time to stop the market correction. Finally, the re-default rates on mortgages that have already undergone mortgage modifications suggest Obama's mortgage bailout will be, at best, just a temporary band-aid.

For over a year, first the Bush Administration and now the Obama Administration, have been throwing billions of taxpayer dollars at a problem that does not have a big, invasive, government solution. The road back to economic prosperity lies in an honest assessment of our future spending liabilities, cutting spending, and not raising the tax burden on the American entrepreneurs who have always been the true source of our economic growth.

Up next, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford

We live in perilous times. Jobs are hemorrhaging. Investments and retirement accounts are dwindling. Real estate values are plummeting. And what's the liberal Democratic leadership in Washington doing about it?

Pushing us further in debt with a trillion dollars in so-called "stimulus" money that is really little more than a social policy wish list of the Left. Throwing taxpayer dollars at one failing corporate giant after another with a "bailout-of-the-month" strategy that gets us no reforms, no accountability, and no job growth. And yes, now they're openly talking about raising taxes once again.

Where does this stop?

Unfortunately, it won't stop in Washington. It stops with the nation's conservative Republican Governors. I'm proud of the leadership of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, and so many others, who have taken a stand for fiscal responsibility. But we need more of us, and you can help.

This year we have great opportunities to push back the Democratic bailout tide and win governorships in Virginia and New Jersey. And next year, there are a whopping 36 more governors races in every corner of the nation. With your help, we will stop the flow of red ink coming from Washington, and we'll do it by elected a new generation of conservative governors like Bobby Jindal, Sarah Palin, Haley Barbour, and so many others.

Please go to www.TheGOPComeback.com. Sign our petition to Congress to stop the move toward a bailout nation. And please donate whatever you can to the RGA efforts to win key governors races this year.

Sincerely,

Mark Sanford
Chairman, Republicans Governors Association

Sorry Gov. Sanford. I cannot get the link to work. I even tried to search for the website and it just will not go. However, I am posting it for the information in the actual Email.

OK. Just one more. This one from Bill Miller, Senior Vice President and National Political Director U.S. Chamber of Commerce:

Now is Not the Time to Raise Taxes

Dear Peter,

We've heard a lot about tax increases this week.

Bad idea.

The best way to stimulate our economy now is through tax cuts to put more money into the pockets of Americans and employers.

The evidence is clear: tax cuts spur economic growth and boost tax revenues.

Click here to sign the open letter to Congress telling them not to raise taxes.

In these challenging times, the last thing Americans need is an added tax burden on top of their other economic woes. Worse still, small businesses - the drivers of our economy - bear the burden of these increases. How are we going to recover if we are placing further burdens on the job creators in this economy?

Let's let them keep more of their hard-earned money to spend, invest and hire new workers.

Sign the open letter today to help make tax relief a reality.

Sincerely,
Signed
Bill Miller
Senior Vice President and National Political Director
U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Need I really need to add anything? OK folks, I'm outta here. I have a conference call to attend and a doctors appointment to keep. See you Sunday.
Peter

Note: "From The Emails" is a weekly segment in the Friday edition of the OPNtalk Blog. If you care to send in News Articles, Comments, Stories, or anything else you may wish to share, please feel free to send it to opntalk@aim.com As always, you never know what you are going to see here.

Links:
Newsmax.com - President Obama's $1 Trillion Tax Hike Plan
The Heritage Foundation - Website
Friends of the US Chamber of Commerce - Letter