- The value of the dollar vs. other currencies hit a three year low.
- Gas prices continue to climb with multiple states, including the District of Columbia, now averaging over $4.00 a gallon for regular gas. One news report this morning did not stop at $5.00 per gallon but was contemplating $6.00 per gallon by mid-summer.
- Standard and Poors is threatening to downgrade the U.S. States' credit rating, meaning if we do not get our out of control Federal government pending under control, the cost of borrowing money to finance our debt will increase as a result of an S&P downgrade. As the cost of borrowing increases, we will dedicate more and more tax money to borrowing more money and to service the interest on our borrowing, resulting in a death spiral of higher interest rates meaning we need to borrow more, etc.
- While the weekly first time unemployment claims numbers today were down slightly over last week, this news comes with two bad components. First, we still have about 400,000 Americans a week filing for first time unemployment benefits, a relatively constant weekly number over the past few years, indicating that while the economy may not be getting worse according to this measure, it is not getting much better.
The second piece of bad news is that the four week moving average of this statistic, a much better indication of the longer term trend, rose this week. This is not a good sign since it indicates that when you take out the weekly volatility of this statistic, the underlying trend points to more, not less, Americans becoming unemployed.
- We have no one from the political class leading any kind of detailed, coherent deficit reduction process. The President just appointed a six member politician committee, four Democrats and two Republicans, to come up with a deficit reduction plan, under the direction of "Sleepy" Joe Biden. This is not to be confused with the so-called "Gang Of Six" Senators that are working feverishly to develop their version of a deficit reduction plan in just a matter of weeks. This is not to be confused with the President's Deficit Reduction Commission which worked for the better part of a year putting a comprehensive plan together which was totally ignored by Obama, Reid, and Pelosi.
It has taken the political class decades to get us to this precarious position, the financial and economic fate of the United States. Rather than anticipate this huge and ominous event years ago, our political class is futilely scrambling to solve the problem in a haphazard way in weeks.
- Not on television this morning, but discussed elsewhere in the news, is the fact that the sale of existing homes in March was down about 6% vs. March, 2010 on a seasonally adjusted basis and the average selling price of existing homes was also down about 6%. Both of these statistics indicate that the housing market is not about to turnaround anytime soon, creating a further drag on the economy. Additionally, a very high percentage of the March sales were made to investors who are trying to time the housing market's turnaround and not to actual homeowners.
Not a pretty picture. And while America's financial picture is burning up in just about every way, international value of the dollar, unemployment, housing, and deficit spending, where is the President? He was continuing his campaign for President in 2012 by hosting a Facebook event. 400,000 more Americans out of work in the past week and he is hosting a Facebook event. Still rising gas prices with more dire predictions of the endpoint, and he is hosting a Facebook event. The housing market still in critical condition and he is hosting a Facebook event. Deficit spending out of control with no coherent strategy for attacking the government debt issue and he is hosting a Facebook event.
Sounds a lot like ancient Rome, Rome burned while Nero fiddled. America burned while Obama Facebooked. I have never seen a politician who put his own political career and ego so far ahead of the people and nation he should be serving. You get the impression that the President is so much more comfortable campaigning vs. governing that any excuse to pontificate is better than the hard work of fixing and operating the government.
He really should be Prince Of The United States, not President Of The United States. A prince can go around and make speeches, shake hands, talk about sports, visit foreign countries, act like they care about high profile events (remember the President's attendance at an "anti-bullying seminar" during opening days of the Japanese nuclear and earthquake disaster), etc. A prince does not have to lead, they just have to look good and speak eloquently. Seems like a better job for this President who loves to take vacations, play golf, make out his March Madness brackets, and make speeches.
However, the country does not need a Prince, especially one who is perpetually in campaign mode. We need a real leader who will take real risks, make the hard, unpleasant choices, and really unite, rather than divide, the country. Nothing matters if the financial health of the country turns terminal. Facebook does not matter, NPR and Planned Parenthood do not matter, national defense does not matter, freedom and liberty do not matter, Social Security and Medicare do not matter. Nothing matters because the United States as it currently exists will be gone and with it all of the promises of the entitlement programs, the protection from danger, and the freedoms that this country was built on. Let the Prince do his Facebook gig, let's find a fireman who will put out the fires that are burning up America's financial futures.
Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at http://www.loathemygovernment.com/. It is also available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Please pass our message of freedom onward. Let your friends and family know about our websites and blogs, ask your library to carry the book, and respect freedom for both yourselves and others everyday.
Please visit the following sites for freedom:
http://www.cato.org/
http://www.robertringer.com
http://realpolichick.blogspot.com
http://www.flipcongress2010.com/
http://www.reason.com/
http://www.repealamendment.com
No comments:
Post a Comment