It's simple, Stupid

With everyone rushing to determine what is the best thing to do to stimulate the economy, I decided it is a good time to offer my advice to individuals. There is a lot of conflicting ideas about what the average American should do once they start receiving that extra $12 a week.

The answer is simple. Americans need to live responsibly. Americans need to save money and make sound investments. Americans need to live at their means, possibly below them for a while - depending on their current state of debt.

In addition, the last thing that the average American needs to do is increase their consumption spending, unless the individual as the means and the desire to increase the spending.

It is outrageous that we have a government that is trying to manipulate Americans into increasing their consumer spending. It is reckless, irresponsible, and incredibly short sighted. The fact that the tax credit in the stimulus package that Americans are getting is divided up to promote spending instead of given in lump sum (which would promote saving and debt reduction) is a clear example of the selfishness of those in power.

To be clear, the government wants an increase in consumption spending because it makes the economy look better now. Consumption spending does not fix the root cause of the economic problem nor does it promote long term economic growth. Our "leaders" are only after consumption spending because it looks good in the short term and ultimately, their only concern is the short term. There are elections coming up in 2010 and 2012. Those people that are currently in power merely want to inflate the economy long enough to get re-elected.

The alternate, which is Americans saving and investing instead of spending, would lead to long term economic growth but would most likely cause short term loss. Some industries would suffer if luxury spending tightens even further and that is unfortunate. The important thing is that while a few would suffer, the great majority of Americans would be much better off.

On a national level, the savings and investment would lead to a growing economy that is more stable. Private investment equals growth because private investors invest money in places where they have a high expectation of return.

On a personal level, the average American would be in a great financial position with more money saved, more money invested, and with less debt. To boot, once individuals reach a point where they have lower debt with more money saved and invested, they will start to increase their spending. Only this spending is done at a sustainable level.

The great thing about a capitalistic economy is that if everyone acts in their own best interest in a legal way, then the economy does well as a whole. It is only in a socialistic society where individuals are asked to sacrifice their own interests for the good of the society as a whole....

-The Banker

Our Green President

One of the most important aspects of being POTUS is your ability to keep your composure when there is a crisis. This particularly important because it gives confidence to average Americans to see their leadership in control and positive. President Obama's ability to keep his composure during this economic downturn has been an abject disaster. Either President Obama has no ability to keep his cool under pressure or he is using fear as a political tool. Both explanations are a condemnation of his ability to lead this country.

President Obama often likes to talk about FDR as an example of how he must handle the current situation. While I find the constant public references to the Depression to be repugnant, if he is to learn something from FDR, maybe it should be how to remain confident and optimistic about the nation's economy. That is, unless President Obama does want to undermine consumer confidence in order to promote his economic agenda. I for one would like to believe that my President would not intentionally undermine our nations confidence for political gain. I did not believe it when President Bush was accused of it, and I refuse to believe it when President Obama is accused of it.

The sad truth of the situation is that President Obama is inexperienced and naive. He is doing the best that he can to deal with the problems of our nation. He wants to fix the problems and improve the lives of everyday Americans. However, the problem is that his naivete is causing him to be overrun by other members of his party. His inexperience and idealism is causing him to make decisions that are neither pragmatic nor practical. It is my hope that he is learning from the mistakes he is making right now so that we can look forward to better leadership from him. So far, President Obama's leadership has been an oxymoron.

-The Banker-

Barry Obama - caught red-handed lying on his own website.

Barack Obama is already not living up to his promises - just three weeks into his Presidency. On change.gov, Obama promises the following in regards to his "Ethics Agenda":

End the Practice of Writing Legislation Behind Closed Doors: As president, Barack Obama will restore the American people's trust in their government by making government more open and transparent. Obama will work to reform congressional rules to require all legislative sessions, including committee mark-ups and conference committees, to be conducted in public. By making these practices public, the American people will be able to hold their leaders accountable for wasteful spending and lawmakers won't be able to slip favors for lobbyists into bills at the last minute.

(source: http://change.gov/agenda/ethics_agenda/)

Now, look at this video posted today by Chairman Tom Price (R-GA):



Funny...I thought Barack Obama promised in writing that there would be no more closed door meetings. If that's the case, then what the hell is going on here?

So this is the new era of Obama - agree with Barack Obama, or get the hell out of the room. In pure Alinsky-esque fashion, opposing viewpoints are ignored and then they attempt to laugh them off as dismissible and destroy them. This is not democracy. This man is holding his first job ever as President of the United States, and has no idea how to handle conflict. He and Pelosi shut out the voices of all who oppose in order to further push ahead their Socialist agenda. These people are Socialists, they are Marxists, and they are power hungry. They don't care about anything more than retaining their own power. America, we must stand up against this style of politics before it's too late.

-The Rocker-

Bigger Government Equals Smaller Liberties and Freedom.

Today, Barack Obama decided to put a $500,000 cap on executive pay for financial institutions receiving bailout aid from the government. Before I continue, here's a link to an article about it.

Hold on to your wallets, kids. Now the federal government is dictating how much we can make. I ask you, what's next? I understand that people are concerned with the market and potential for greed and failure, but let's get one thing straight here: it is not the federal government's place to tell anyone in the private sector how much they are allowed to make. Doing so is a complete slap in the face to capitalism and a free market.

I know what some of you are thinking, that maybe the free market isn't working that well currently, so something needs to be done. Here's where you are sadly mistaken. The market will correct itself. There are ups and there are downs, but government bailouts, salary caps, and more wastes of taxpayer money will only prolong the problem.

I am surprised more people aren't upset at this. What's next? How many more jobs is the federal government under the "leadership" of Barry Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and the rest of this idiot congress going to screw over?

You democrats want to make it fair? You want to "level the playing field?" Fine. Let's play by your rules. Let's level it out. Here's an idea: what if we took the same limits to Hollywood? Do you think the mouths of P. Diddy, Matt Damon, Kanye West, Susan Sarandon and others would be so big if there was a cap on their salaries? Or what about that jerk Tom Brokaw, with his heinous comments on Inauguration Day in relation to George Bush and Dick Cheney? I'll tell you right now, if I could go a day without having to listen to this media and Hollywood suckfest over this man, I would be a happy camper. While we're at it, let's lower the salaries of these leftists in Congress. Let's not allow these idiots to use their private jets or have their gourmet meals on taxpayer money. Let's say that Al Gore can only make $50,000 a year off his alarmist Global Warming propaganda that he pitches to the world.

Suddenly, it doesn't sound like a good idea to everyone involved screaming at "the man," now does it?

Again, it is not the federal government's job to dictate how much money anyone in this country makes. I've said it before, and I'll say it again - bigger government equals smaller liberties and freedom.

There is much more to say on this subject, but I am on my way out the door and am trying to post on a more consistent basis. I'm out for now.

-The Rocker-