My Blog

Category: Politics

  • JP Morgan: Public Employee Pension’s Set to Explode

    But they wanted to keep the story to themselves:

    JPMorgan recently circulated a “strictly confidential” report among leaders at the bank and with trusted hedge fund allies outside of the bank which details an impending public pension crisis. And we mean big time nastiness.

    Massive cuts in services will have to happen, or massive tax increases will have to happen, or both, to keep many pensions and municipalities from going over a cliff. The politicians know that disaster is coming. JPMorgan and their hedge fund buddies know that it’s coming. The public, though it has a sense of impending doom, still doesn’t grasp the avalanche that is headed toward states and cities in the very near future.

    Charlie Gasparino details in the attached article that JPMorgan did not want the information in the report to become public because it feared angering the politicians in the municipalities and states where default due to public pensions is a very real possibility. Many local politicians are lying when they tell their fire fighters and teachers that pensions are in good shape. According to what the report supposedly says these workers should probably start making alternative plans for retirement. But to say that is very messy politically.

    JPMorgan didn’t want to lose its very profitable muni bond underwriting business in these same localities, which is determined to a large degree by these same lying local politicians, so this information was kept quiet.

    via AgainstCronyCapitalism.org.

    To the actual article:

    OK, it’s no secret that nation’s public pension funds are in big trouble, holding large “unfunded” liabilities owed to public workers once they retire. But most politicians (New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is an exception) will tell you the problem is fairly containable, that there are simple fixes — such as raising taxes on the rich or pruning benefits. …

    Not so, warns a “strictly confidential” report JP Morgan issued last year. It describes in straightforward, frightening detail how underfunded pensions are huge ticking timebombs for many of the nation’s big cities and states.  …

    Nationwide, the actual size of unfunded public pension liabilities is four times larger than the $900-plus billion that officials are ’fessing up to. That’s right, the bank sees a $3.9 trillion hole; to plug that, states and cities will need large tax hikes, massive budget cuts or both. Plus, public-sector unions will have to accept smaller retirement packages, and later retirement ages, to keep the pension systems going.  …

    In New York, for example, JP Morgan said state officials would have to immediately cut spending by 12.3 percent or raise taxes on everyone by 7.4 percent. And they’d need to make these tax hikes and budget cuts permanent for the next two decades to fully fund public-employee pensions.

    New Jersey faces an even bigger hole. Even after Christie’s reforms, it would still have to cut spending 30.8 percent or raise taxes another 17.2 percent, keeping them in place for two decades, to solve the problem.
    via NY Post.

    No word on how Illinois fares.  But as we are the #1 unfunded pension state in the union it’s no doubt a bad, bad, bad situation.

  • Gun Ownership Up, Crime Down

    Gun-control advocates are noticeably silent when crime rates decline. Their multimillion-dollar lobbying efforts are designed to manufacture mass anxiety that every gun owner is a potential killer. The statistics show otherwise.

    Last week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced that violent crime decreased 4 percent in 2011. The number of murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults all went down, continuing a pattern.

    “This is not a one-year anomaly, but a steady decline in the FBI’s violent-crime rates,” said Andrew Arulanandam, spokesman for the National Rifle Association. “It would be disingenuous for anyone to not credit increased self-defense laws to account for this decline.”

    via Washington Times.

    Well right thinking people have known this for years.  However looks like many in the media still have their head in the sand.

    What’s also interesting is that:

    Mr. Arulanandam pointed out that only a handful of states had concealed-carry programs 25 years ago, when the violent-crime rate peaked. Today, 41 states either allow carrying without a permit or have “shall issue” laws that make it easy for just about any noncriminal to get a permit. Illinois and Washington, D.C., are the only places that refuse to recognize the right to bear arms. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence did not respond to requests for comment.

    I guess when the facts don’t fit the Brady Campaign’s preconceived notion of crime they have nothing to say.

  • Obama’s Policy Strategy: Ignore Laws I Don’t Like

    “In many ways, President Obama has fulfilled the dream of an imperial presidency that Richard Nixon strived for. On everything from [DOMA] to the gaming laws, this is a president who is now functioning as a super legislator. He is effectively negating parts of the criminal code because he disagrees with them. That does go beyond the pale.”

    — Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law scholar at George Washington University Law School

    via POLITICO.com.

    This Jonathan Turley guy is no right-wing nut-job either.  This is a guy who wanted Obama to prosecute folks in GWB’s White House for the alleged use of torture.

    We don’t have kings in this country.  If a president is not willing to recognize the separation of powers enumerated in the constitution then they should not serve.

     

  • Spanish Miners Fire Rockets at Police

    Spanish Miners Fire Rockets at Police in Austerity Protest, Strike | 7 Injured | Video | TheBlaze.com

    In a scene that looks more like Gaza than Spain, striking coal miners armed with homemade rockets and slingshots clashed with police Friday, leaving seven people injured– two of them seriously– the Interior Ministry said.

    The strike is the latest and the most violent of many in Spain in reaction to harsh austerity measures aimed at digging the debt-burdened country out of its financial crisis.

    via TheBlaze.com.

    Where’s the MSM on this?

    And what do you think it will be like when it’s our turn?  When we have to make the tough decisions and begin cutting programs?  Will there be violence?

  • Teens Employment Lowest Since WWII – Obama Not Helping

    This article was published yesterday about the same time that Obama was in the Rose Garden making the situation worse:

    Fewer than 3 in 10 American teenagers now hold jobs such as running cash registers, mowing lawns or busing restaurant tables from June to August. The decline has been particularly sharp since 2000, with employment for 16-to-19-year olds falling to the lowest level since World War II.  …

    The drop in teen employment, steeper than for other age groups, is partly a cultural shift. More youths are spending summer months in school, at music or learning camps or in other activities geared for college. But the decline is especially troubling for teens for whom college may be out of reach, leaving them increasingly idle and with few options to earn wages and job experience.Older workers, immigrants and debt-laden college graduates are taking away lower-skill work as they struggle to find their own jobs in the weak economy. Upper-income white teens are three times as likely to have summer jobs as poor black teens, sometimes capitalizing on their parents’ social networks for help.

    Overall, more than 44 percent of teens who want summer jobs don’t get them or work fewer hours than they prefer.

    via HeraldNet.com.

    Holy Cow!!  Three passages worth repeating:

    [T]he decline is especially troubling for teens for whom college may be out of reach,
    leaving them increasingly idle and with few options to earn wages and job experience.

    Just who are these kids who are now left with few options?  My guess is urban city kids.  In the country there’s always work on the farm.  But in the city & suburbs we have thousands and thousands of idle kids.  Hanging around with noth’n to do; just look’n for trouble.

    Older workers, immigrants and debt-laden college graduates are taking away
    lower-skill work as they struggle to find their own jobs in the weak economy.

    Isn’t this the truth.  Have you ever been to a Wal-Mart where the greeter was under 50?  And now everywhere you go, every single stinking fast food place, sit-down restaurant, Target, Wal-Mart, grocery store, and nearly everywhere else has adult immigrants working there.  In the ’70s and ’80s these jobs were good (great) jobs for kids to get.  Two people I know very well worked at Jewel when they were in high school.  One put herself through college; the other bought a Camaro.

    With the new (unconstitutional) Obama plan on immigration the job market will now have another few million young people who are eligible to work … but will struggle to find decent employment.  It serves no one when you just set people up to fail.

    Upper-income white teens are three times as likely to have summer jobs as poor black teens….

    This is what I wrote yesterday; inner city kids are going to be one of the biggest losers in the immigration debacle.  Contrary to what some people believe, one cannot just walk into a job that pays $100,000 per year.  Everyone has to start somewhere.  Usually that means that kids bus tables at a local restaurant, caddie, work retail, mow lawns, wash cars, whatever.  These jobs are important because they teach critical lessons necessary to move up in the world: show-up on time, look nice, smile, how to deal with conflict, how to deal with a boss, etc.  You can’t just wake-up one day and think you’re going to get a job as a banker without having decent people skills.

    Obama is dooming generations of inner city kids to lives of and on government sustenance.  These kids will never reach their full potential because they have so many factors stacked against them: poor educational systems, uneducated parents, no access to jobs, and a president who’s bargained their futures for political gain.

  • The ‘Wild, Wild Midwest’

    The city’s murder rate is quadruple New York City’s. Homicides since 2001 total twice the number of U.S. military personnel killed in Afghanistan in the same period. Police have moved to reduce the carnage, but activists say gun use must be reined in—and they will stage a peacemakers’ rally on Friday.

    via The Daily Beast.

    We’re making national headlines on a regular basis now.  In the meantime Rahm and The Machine that run this town are still telling everyone that crime is down.  The local news media is fully complicit with the ongoing lie.

    It’s like they’re all Frank Drebin:

    [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NNOrp_83RU?rel=0]

  • Obama’s Hand Forced on Illegal Immigration Issue

    Yesterday, a/k/a Thursday:

    U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the agency charged with guarding the U.S. borders, has written a secret draft policy that would let its agents catch and release low-priority illegal immigrants rather than bring them in for processing and prosecution.

    The policy, which has not been signed off on, would be the latest move by the Obama administration to set new priorities for the nation’s immigration services, and would bring CBP in line with other Homeland Security Department agencies that already use such “prosecutorial discretion.”

    via Washington Times.

    Today, a/k/a Friday:

    For years the administration had said it didn’t have the authority to make such a move, saying it couldn’t decide to stop deporting wide categories of people on its own without approval from Congress.

    But on Friday President Obama says administration now interprets the law to give it the discretion.

    “Effective immediately, the Department of Homeland Security is taking steps to lift the shadow of deportation from these young people,” Mr. Obama said in an appearance in the White House Rose Garden. “Over the next few months, eligible individuals who do not present a risk to national security or public safety will be able to request temporary relief from deportation proceedings and apply for work authorization.”

    via Washington Times.

    Looks to me like the Washington Times was doing some journalism — printing something that someone did not want printed — and may have forced the issue.  Obama may have wanted to hold this under his hat for a few more days, weeks, or months.  Although slipping in the polls (and needed the Latino vote) a Friday afternoon may not be the best time to announce this program.  He’s going to get torn apart on the Sunday morning shows.

    How do we know this is going to backfire?  Because even the MSM can’t help but call it what it is; from the AP:

    The Obama administration will stop deporting and begin granting work permits to younger illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children and have since led law-abiding lives. The election-year initiative addresses a top priority of an influential Latino electorate that has been vocal in its opposition to administration deportation policies.

    via Deseret News.

    It’s simple pandering. Obama will let your families stay in the country as long as you get him reelected.

    The biggest losers here are of course those who are those who happen to be poor, uneducated.  It’s not a stretch to say that most Latino illegal immigrants are not college educated; but they are willing to work.  The jobs they take come directly at the expense of American citizens who should get priority over someone who’s not even supposed to be here.

    Further, the financial impact of hiring Latinos — who send massive amounts of money home — instead of American citizens — who would spend nearly all the money here in the U.S. — is staggering.

    Lastly, we live in a country with three branches of government.  One cannot overstep the other.  This action today is most likely illegal and will end up being settled by the courts well after the election.  Obama, a former constitutional law professor, knows this.  But he doesn’t care.

    This is all about his winning in November.

  • Indicted Derrick Smith to Host Legal Clinic

    Derrick Smith, the indicted Near West Side state rep accused of accepting a $7,000 bribe, is organizing an event for locals who might need legal help of their own.

    In the first publically organized event for his 10th District constituents since being arrested and indicted on bribery charges in March, Smith is offering a free legal clinic at his West Side office, 2532A W. Warren Blvd., on Saturday, July 21 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.

    via Chicago Journal.

    Laughable until ya think about it for a moment…

    Derrick is facing a massive legal defense bill; one that he probably cannot afford to pay.  But he can leverage his office and invite a bunch of lawyers to come and hear about some new cases.  The lawyers get some fresh cases and will contribute a little something something to Derrick’s legal defense fund.

    There’s no corruption problem and a little more corruption cannot solve.

  • The Media’s Unholy Relationship with Obama

    On the evening of Tuesday, June 30, 2009—just five months into his administration—Barack Obama invited a small group of presidential historians to dine with him in the Family Quarters of the White House. His chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, personally delivered the invitations with a word of caution: the meeting was to remain private and off the record. As a result, the media missed the chance to report on an important event, for the evening with the historians provided a remarkable sneak preview of why the Obama presidency would shortly go off the rails.  …

    Over the two-hour dinner, Mr. Obama and the historians discussed several past presidents. It wasn’t clear from Mr. Obama’s responses which of those presidents he identified with. At one point, he seemed to channel the charismatic John F. Kennedy. At another moment, he extolled the virtues of the “transformative” Ronald Reagan. Then again, it was the saintly Lincoln…or the New Deal’s “Happy Warrior,” Franklin Roosevelt….

    Mr. Obama told the historians that he had come up with a slogan for his administration. “I’m thinking of calling it ‘A New Foundation,’ ” he said.

    Doris Kearns Goodwin suggested that “A New Foundation” might not be the wisest choice for a motto.

    “Why not?” the president asked.

    “It sounds,” said Goodwin, “like a woman’s girdle.”

    via Fox News.

    Absolutely amazing the collusion between  these “historians” and a sitting President.  How can they claim to be objective when they participate in such pandering?  Why doesn’t the media point out the obvious problem with these sorts of meetings?  …

    That last one I can answer.

    Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed:
    everything else is public relations.
    ― George Orwell

    There continues to this unholy relationship between the media and Obama specifically and politicians generally.  The media wants, no needs, access to the pols and the pols need access to the media.  It’s a symbiotic relationship where each benefits the other.

    The New York Times was just last week busted printing stories whereby national secrets where “leaked” from the White House.  What we have is a major news organization dishing out exactly that the White House wanted printed.  That’s not journalism; that’s public relations.

    Thankfully the internet is killing the mainstream media faster than the plague raced across Europe.  At least with citizen journalists the bias is out in the open.  People can make up their own minds considering the source.

  • Drivers Get Creative to Avoid High Toll Fees

    Drivers fed up with New York City’s expensive toll roads are carpooling to save a few dollars on the George Washington Bridge, according to the Wall Street Journal.

    Bridge commuters can save $6 a vehicle by using the “carpooling” lane. Because of this, some rogue drivers have started picking up hitchhikers determined to save money (and help others save money, too).

    According to the WSJ, the George Washington Bridge’s toll booths bring in $625 million for the city. Toll cheats like this cost the city $7 million.

    Port Authority police have caught on to the carpooling scheme. Officers patrolling the bridge have started issuing citations to drivers who pick up passengers near the toll booths. Picking up a hitchhiker isn’t illegal, so the police nab these drivers through tickets for an illegal lane change or stopping at a bus stop (a bus stop near the bridge is popular place for these drivers to pick up passengers).

    via Business Insider.

    Before I took a little break, I wrote about Cook County raising cigarette taxes and have revenue plummet.  This is just another fine example of people changing their behavior in order to avoid taxes.

    The more you tax something the less you get of it.