Stimulus Plan

[idesign]

More than

just a simple recession, what we are currently experiencing is a meltdown of the international financial system.

Some countries are seriously considering extreme isolationist policies that would put an end to globalization. (And,

as an environmentalist, I have to wonder if this wouldn't be for the best.)
I don't watch TV and I don't

read speeches. So I don't know if Obama has promised to suddenly make our country prosperous. If he's said such a

thing in public, he certainly hasn't mentioned it in his web site. The stimulus package itself is geared towards

relief and reform. Growth is projected to keep pace with debt and no more. This is the most we can realistically

hope for at this time. And if the Obama administration manages to pull it off, it will be a historic

success.



The first thing that struck me while reading Obama's budget was that it almost exactly

followed his campaign platform. This is the first time I've seen such a phenomenon since I started following

politics back in the early 80's. A politician that actually sticks to his platform. What a shock!
Yes, it is a

political agenda. But he didn't sneak it in through the back door.

Reform is not stimulus, and Obama's

reforms are quite expensive. Growth is historically impossible to predict, especially in this climate. If the

economy recovers under this administration's policies it will be a testament to the resilience of

capitalism.

The Obama campaign was so broad, vague, nebulous and lacking in detail that all he had to do was

spend money where his supporters wanted and he'd be hailed as a success. Its already happened, but the other shoe

is dropping, I hope.

[idesign]

I've been thinking about the

whole issue of ideology v. economics, and thinking about how much I hated the knee-jerk-Bush-bashing that went on ad

nauseum.

I honestly don't know how to separate dislike of Obama's policies from his political/ideological

foundation. I guess Doc is right.

I'd be willing to cut this guy a break if he piddled around like most

new Presidents with this and that aspect of the same old scene. Unfortunately its not so simple right now. The

economy is pretty much a mess, with plenty of blame to go around, in the public as well as private sector.



I'm as much frustrated with the Congress as I am with Obama, perhaps more so. They were directly involved

with the crash of Freddie and Fannie and did nothing but cover their asses when the bubble popped. As well, they

freakin voted for a bill that allowed AIG bonuses (see Dodd amendment) then showed themselves as very poor actors

when the public became outraged, and they had to follow suit. Some leadership.

And that brings me to part of

the problem with Obama; he's no leader. He's following a formula that's been devised and refined over decades.

Confiscatory taxation and public spending is much more than the transfer of wealth. Its the transfer of power.

We're seeing it in spades now. The gov't has assumed ownership of private enterprise and intends to exert every

bit of control over those assets it can. Just look at the outrageous proposal to tax the AIG bonuses after the

fact. Not only is it blatantly unconstitutional, but its downright frightening to any believer in private

ownership.

The shift from a Republican (in the larger sense) form of gov't to a Liberal "caretaker" gov't

has, up to this point, been mostly gradual. FDR rocked the whole system and started it all, and LBJ pumped it up

quite a bit, and there have been those who checked this trend, like Eisenhower and Reagan. What Obama is proposing

to do is complete the shift in one radical move.

His massive spending, the massive printing of new money, the

massive transfer of wealth to the Federal gov't, the massive increase in debt, all amount to transfer of power.

Our economy is resilient, but who knows how it can bear up under such libertine recklessness.

Part of the

scary scenario is the US economy, and the dollar, on the world stage. Obama is rapidly in danger of becoming a

laughing-stock. The EU is complaining vehemently, China is offering unsolicited economic advice and Americans are

slowly waking up to this reality.

Have you heard about the TEA parties that are springing up? TEA = Taxed

Enough Already. One group has organized 250 of these, and some are drawing as many as 4,000 people. Of course

taxation is only a scratch on the surface

[belgareth]

The Tax

Poem





At first I thought this was

funny...then I realized the

awful
truth of it. Be sure to read all the way to the

end!
[COLOR=#4d0000

]
Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table
At which he's fed.

Tax his tractor,
Tax his

mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.

Tax his work,
Tax his pay,
He works for peanuts
Anyway!

Tax his

cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.

Tax his ties,
Tax his shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his

dirt.

Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think.

Tax his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he

cries
Tax his tears.

Tax his car,
Tax his gas,
Find other ways
To tax his ass.

Tax all he has
Then let

him know
That you won't be done
Till he has no dough.

When he screams and hollers,
Then tax him some

more,
Tax him till
He's good and sore.

Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he's

laid.

Put these words
Upon his tomb,
"Taxes drove me to my doom..."

When he's gone,
Do not relax,
Its

time to apply
The inheritance tax.

Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette

Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax

(FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross

Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of

tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate

Tax
Service Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Sales Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State

Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA) Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee

Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring

& Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle

License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation

Tax

STILL THINK THIS IS

FUNNY?

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago,

and our nation was the most prosperous in the world.

We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest
middle

class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What in the hell happened? Can you spell

"politicians?"

And I still have to "press 1" for English!?

I hope this goes around THE USA at least 100

times!!!!! [/COLOR]




YOU can help it get

there!!!!

GO AHEAD - - - BE AN AMERICAN!!!!!!