Socialism cannot compete!

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    • Tue Dec 2nd 17:58 PM
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      Rating: +1 0
      Commented on:
      Can Obama Stop the Current Recession?
      Obama may not be a "natural born citizen"...the Supreme Court is scheduled to conference on the matter on Friday. Stay tuned -- he may not be Prez after all.
      View article »
    • Tue Dec 2nd 15:29 PM
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      Rating: +1 0
      Commented on:
      How Not to Bail Out Detroit
      Let's say this, at a minimum: Chrysler should NOT receive any American taxpayer money -- it is NO LONGER an American company!! It is owned by Daimler. Let the Germans save or sell it.
      View article »
    • Tue Dec 2nd 15:18 PM
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      Rating: +2 0
      Commented on:
      Dollar Rally Should Continue As Recession Reality Sets In
      Are you kidding? Dollar a safe-haven? And the dollar rally should continue?? Get back on your meds!! We're printing dollars left and right! The Fed has taken rates about as low as they can, whereas foreign centrals have MUCH more room left to cut. They will call our debt and use that as their springboard outta this mess. We will hyper-inflate our way out, as is already in progress. The smart foreign nations are already beginning their moves into gold -- read up on the Saudis and Iran in that regard (P.S. -- not that I think Iran has much else in the way of smarts...but OPEC nations going to gold instead of dollars should be a clue to us!!)
      View article »
    • Tue Dec 2nd 15:13 PM
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      Rating: +1 -1
      Commented on:
      Oil: A Slippery Slope Ahead?
      'Scuse me? We keep hearing of record profits. Heavy borrowers? Please back up these statements...if you can.

      > Oil companies are heavy borrowers and depend on healthy credit markets
      > to finance drilling projects. Hence, that is why new drilling has
      > ceased for numerous projects.
      View article »
    • Tue Dec 2nd 14:54 PM
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      Rating: +2 -2
      Commented on:
      Oil: A Slippery Slope Ahead?
      A few thoughts:
      1) Oil IS headed higher. You think recession is the major factor? All it will take is one geo-political event in the right location.
      2) Tax policy -- Are you sure the oil majors are holding off on development projects because of the temporary slack in oil demand? That won't last. How about looking at the more relevant factors: Dems have total Federal control, despise Big Oil and want huge windfall taxes imposed, and are planning tax breaks for alternate energy spends along with cuts to tax credits for oil producers! There's your real story.
      3) Infrastructure spending stimulus -- why build out roads if driving (vs. mass transit) is evil?

      You want the answers?
      1) Obama & Dem foreign policy is a joke - go ahead, sit down with the likes of Chavez & Ahmadinejad. Appeasement didn't work with Hitler either. Iran will attempt to annihilate Israel (not my theory -- Ahm. stated this goal publicly more than once). Obama's lack of real action against Iranian nuclear progress will embolden Iran, and the Middle East will erupt. Watch crude prices skyrocket.
      2) The answer is mandating fuel efficiency standards, not giving tax credits on a per-type basis for certain energy sources -- their economic viability must stand on its own, but we must become more efficient at the usage side of the equation. Oil corporations should not be subject to windfall taxes -- they already pay "mineral extraction" taxes above and beyond the regular corporate taxes. Let's not kill the economic viability of these companies, which provide many thousands of good jobs!! Look at how so many in the industry are relocating HQs abroad to obtain lower corporate tax rates...HAL & RIG are just two examples that come to mind in the Oil Service industry.
      3) The government should be building roads when and where they are needed...not as a "stimulus", but based on need. And I hope the liberals are not conflicted to see the "Messiah" touting the building of roads, given their hatred of those who drive rather than take buses and trains to everywhere, despite the fact that they don't cover half the needed destinations, are not always conveniently timed, and have in many places become a risk to one's safety! Most people don't want to be told what size vehicle to drive...or whether to drive vs. ride public transport! This looks like a win for personal choice.
      View article »
    • Tue Dec 2nd 13:07 PM
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      Rating: +1 0
      Commented on:
      Defining Government Expenditure vs. Investment
      > For that sum of money, we could have purchased universal healthcare,
      > energy independence, free university educations for our brightest
      > students, AND the advanced technology and knowledge base that could
      > keep the US the dominant superpower in the 21st century.

      Agreed -- we could have spent the *bailout* money elsewhere. Come to think of it...they could have just given us ALL tax cuts. Stop thinking as though it's *their* money to begin with -- it's OURS. Let us keep more of it.

      > Instead, we have done the equivalent of bailing out pets.com or furniture.com
      > in 2000 or the typewriter factories in the 1980's. Every major investment
      > - excuse me - expense of the last two decades has been for things
      > that have no future - Iraq, Big 3 SUV's, overpriced exurban McMansion
      > mortgages, oil. No wonder people hate paying taxes. The ROI is
      > near zero.

      Every? Sorry, but Iraq is not for nought, despite what leftist thinking mandates its followers believe. There are 25 million people very happy to have a chance at a new life, including a dozen million women who are now allowed an education!! You think that's not a game changer???

      We hate paying taxes because it's our money by right, not government's. We *ought* to kill income taxes (and property taxes)...in order to restore personal property rights, which have gone totally by the wayside!! Move to solely consumptive taxation -- that lets US decide if and when to pay taxes, when we decide we can afford them and want to spend.

      fairtax.org

      > This is how you dismantle an empire. Invest in saving the past instead
      > of producing the future. I hope we're OK with 100 years of Chinese
      > dominance because we are the ones making it happen.

      Define "this" in "this is how". What is your root cause? Socialist housing, followed by socialist bailouts? Those are wrong...but only the symptoms. We have to look at the lack of ethics and generally declining morals in our society and recognize that without morality, disorder cannot be segregated from our finances and kept merely in the "social" sphere.
      View article »
    • Mon Dec 1st 14:11 PM
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      Rating: +1 0
      Commented on:
      Thanksgiving Has Been Historically Favorable to Gold Price
      "The 'damaged credibility' and ethnocentric issues of the Muslim culture are perhaps only matched and exceeded by our own."

      Sorry Bengunnscave, you are patently wrong. The U.S. has not damaged its credibility anywhere near the way Islam has -- if we have erred at times, we have admitted the mistake and taken steps to prevent repeats. Secondly, such recognition is often brought about by groups within our own sphere -- Americans either in the military or civilians, who in the given situation "blow the whistle", call for change, etc. We have a system of government with protections built in for those who would criticize the government and its movements. Islam does not allow that. You criticize, you risk a fatwah being put on your head. And don't dare be a woman and demand equal rights with men. Do you dare to even compare American ideals with Islamic? It is night and day, my friend. And that is clear to any unbrainwashed observer.

      "It takes a good bit of angst to morph an article about gold price around Thanksgiving into a rant about someone else's way of life. Perhaps a little more cultural tolerance and understanding...."...

      Again, don't preach "tolerance" -- because what is being talked about here is not someone's preference for flavor of ice cream. We're talking about Islam's fundamental beliefs that encourage jihad against all non-believers. We all must ultimately either convert or agree to be governed by shariah law as subjects, paying a "blood tax" if we do not convert. Islam has been violently militant almost continuously since its inception in the 7th century. There is *nothing* tolerable about the terrorist tactics employed in their modern jihads, and this is *not* about understanding "someone's way of life."
      View article »
    • Mon Dec 1st 13:58 PM
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      Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Citigroup Report Further Fuels Debate About the Future of Gold
      I agree with one caveat: *they* are not solely responsible for the inflation that has made us require 2 wage earners to get by -- we chose to jump into that. Women decided to not stay home, but instead, have a career...and then we started buying more extras with that additional "discretionary&qu... income...that has brought prices up. Also, do not underestimate the role of taxation in this!!! The current systems of funding government via income & property taxes are completely unjust to those doing the earning and owning. You ask if it isn't better to be able to pay off a home mortgage in 10 years instead of 30, and then have more discretionary spending going on? Of course!! But that is even short-sighted -- why should we have to have a mortgage at all? That wasn't the norm until the last 2 (maybe 3?) generations! My grandparents saved a few years and bought their (very modest) home outright! Our tax code allows the government to have a preemptive claim on our earnings -- and it is an ever-growing share of them. THAT is a huge culprit in all this. If you want to really unwind the problems with our economic system, abolishment of income and property taxes is a crucial element. Then and only then can the average American regain the preemptive ownership of their money and have a chance at living on savings instead of credit. By the way, I'd include cap gains too...why should the government get a part of the proceeds from the payoff of every good investment one makes? That money was already taxed as income...and if income taxes are abolished, cap gains should be too, so that only when it is outlaid in discretionary spending would it be liable to taxation.

      fairtax.org
      View article »
    • Wed Nov 26th 22:09 PM
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      Rating: +1 -2
      Commented on:
      Thanksgiving Has Been Historically Favorable to Gold Price
      Too bad Muslims damage their credibility on every other front. Their law demands many other odious things. Those who stick to the letter of the Koran are known as "Islamic fundamentalists".... who don't are "apostates." I wouldn't go encouraging faithfulness to Islamic law, if I were you -- it doesn't end too well.

      On Nov 26 10:44 AM GMiki wrote:

      > Why won't Dubai allow the same? Because Moslem law demands honesty.
      > Too bad we didn't use honesty as a standard here.
      View article »
    • Wed Nov 26th 15:28 PM
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      Rating: +3 0
      Commented on:
      What Obama Needs to Know about Tim Geithner, the AIG Fiasco and Citigroup
      You think just like "they" do -- that continuing to finance economies based on debt is a necessity and is good. It's not. We *need* to kill credit-based economics and have both individuals and businesses operating on what they have *in the coffers*!!


      On Nov 26 01:36 PM Steve Pluvia wrote:

      > @stoneweapon:
      >
      > "Why fund a leveraged wager of CDSs with taxpayers money?"
      >
      > I answered why we cannot let AIG fail; if we let them fail this happens:
      >
      >
      > -- All foreign held debt insured by AIG blows up...
      > -- US treasury and corporate debt immediately has zero credibility;
      >
      > -- US corporations and have zero borrowing power for short term trade
      > and expansion.
      > -- Trade grinds to a halt as foreign partners no longer honor purchase
      > orders from US corporations.
      > -- Run on all banks;
      > -- The dollar gets crushed; and,
      > -- The US has very little ability to jump start the US economy with
      > spending
      >
      > Most do not understand Lehman, Merrill et al packaged ANYTHING with
      > a revenue stream almost ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD into an asset back
      > security, then created synthetic "bonds" when they found it easier
      > than rounding up assets with revenue.
      >
      > Many of these were insured by AIG. If AIG fails within a week we
      > have a worldwide meltdown. The idea of letting AIG fails demonstrates
      > the author of this article has no idea what he's talking about or
      > is supremely ignorant.
      >
      > A simpler example is this: Imagine New Orleans after Katrina --
      > except we let every insurance company out of their obligation to
      > pay policy holders to rebuilding homes/properties. Not only would
      > New Orleans no longer be a city, the lack of confidence in all insurance
      > would go down the toilet.
      >
      > AIG is a big bag of sh*t, no doubt about it. But letting AIG fail
      > instantly makes commercial paper world wide into toilet paper.
      >
      >
      View article »
    • Wed Nov 26th 15:26 PM
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      Rating: +3 0
      Commented on:
      What Obama Needs to Know about Tim Geithner, the AIG Fiasco and Citigroup
      Greed is not the problem: non-transparent greed is; differing rules for how some can capitalize on their greed than others is. The small cabal of power and banking elites are protecting themselves. We end it by reforming tax code (abolish the income tax), and establishing a Balanced Budget Amendment...thereby cutting off both their tax code loopholes and money funnel to those in government to whom they "contribute" (aka, kick back).

      fairtax.org



      On Nov 26 08:41 AM delbmarcs wrote:

      > Thanks for helping me understand what's at the bottom of this - not
      > mortgages, but another financial ponzi scheme. I am putting your
      > blog in my "favorites." Do you have advice about how to temper people's
      > individual greed in our current system so we don't keep repeating
      > these financial pyramids decade after decade?
      View article »
    • Wed Nov 26th 14:29 PM
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      Rating: +1 0
      Commented on:
      Congress Should Address Capital Gains and Corporate Taxes Differently
      We shouldn't be taxed on the income or gains side at all!! That a big part of what is wrong with our economy. WE are no longer the owners of our own money -- the gub'mint has staked a preemptive claim. Income taxes were once ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court...and it needs to go back to that. Moving to solely consumptive taxes gives the people back control of their OWN money and control over government!!

      fairtax.org
      View article »
    • Wed Nov 26th 14:25 PM
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      Rating: +1 0
      Commented on:
      Which Companies Are Set to Benefit from the Obama Response?
      Wrong -- CAT will have to pay higher input costs for steel when commodities take off.


      On Nov 25 03:50 AM The hand wrote:

      > cannot see cat benefiting much unless there is a lot of infrastructure
      > work. cat will benefit when commodities take off.
      >
      >
      View article »
    • Wed Nov 26th 14:10 PM
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      Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      The Failure of TARP and the Government's Solution
      Hilmar von Campe has written a stern warning to America about what is coming!! And yes, regarding FDR's "spend our way outta it" deal, that does *nothing* for self-respect and personal responsibility!! It won't be any different this time: Obama is proposing a big infrastructure spend as part of a stimulus...what happens when the infra is built out? Job losses again? Government can't be the provider of jobs in any long-term scenario. It doesn't work. We need to have non-socialist companies providing jobs...and there are precious few of those left, post-TARP!!



      On Nov 26 07:21 AM PrudentMan, CFA wrote:

      > Government, especially the Fed, have proven they are part of the
      > problem and are clueless about the solution. Like FDR in the thirties,
      > where he turned a recession into a depression, the government is
      > giving virtually everyone the idea that they will bail them out of
      > their stupid, greedy mistakes. That, like FDR's CCC Camps, WPA,
      > etc. exacerbate the problem instead of letting the Free Markets do
      > what the do best: Self Correct?
      >
      > This is all political hogwash! And, it has done more to set the
      > economy back then add anything positive. If the money markets were
      > frozen let them thaw on their own. The Free Market allows losers,
      > thankfully.
      >
      > I imagine few readers lived during the Depression as I did and so
      > the destruction of self-respect, incentive and pride that FDR's polices
      > resulted in. Who know where this country would be if Hitler didn't
      > invade Poland. But one thing I am pretty sure of: We would be the
      > over-consumptive country that we are. Hopefully this comeuppance
      > will cure that deadly disease.
      View article »
    • Wed Nov 26th 14:05 PM
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      Rating: +1 0
      Commented on:
      The Failure of TARP and the Government's Solution
      Searching for a solution? Stimulus package? The idiots. It is sooo obvious, yet they can't see it: the solution is *cuts* to government spending, and massive, permanent tax cuts!!! WE know best how we need to allocate our money. Don't just give us back a sliver of it in the form of a token "stimulus" tax cut...QUIT taking so dang much to begin with!! Those struggling with mortgages would have more money to pay them with...and those not, would have still more for discretionary spending or to squirrel away (the whole point is that we need to spend out of money we *have*, right? vs. on credit!!).

      The bottom line: we need to END government's preemptive grab on our incomes -- abolish the income tax, property taxes, cap gains taxes -- and move to *solely* consumptive taxation to fund government, on all levels!! That puts the PEOPLE back in charge of their own money, regains some privacy (we have to tell the IRS waaay too much personal info), and puts limits on government -- we don't like how they are spending, we limit their revenue by cutting our discretionary spending!!

      fairtax.org
      View article »