Showing posts with label treasury department. Show all posts
Showing posts with label treasury department. Show all posts

Friday, January 3, 2025

January, 2025, Political Class Insanity, Part 1: Government Agents Deal Illegal Drugs, The Treasury Gets Hacked, They Lied About Covid and More

 Every month we devote posts to just general political class insanity that is running rampant through the country. The members of the American political class continue to show that they are incapable of efficiently operating any level of government in this country. 

Even their best efforts are almost always ineffective at resolving any problem facing Americans. They spend a great amount of time not trying to improve the lives of their citizens but continually ensuring their reelection and enriching themselves, their families, and their friends in the process, all at taxpayer expense.


1)One of the many failures of the Biden Presidency is the overwhelming flood of illegal drugs that have entered the country since he allowed the security of the southern border to disappear. These drugs continue to plague the country with well over 100,000 Americans dying every year from drug overdoses.


Obviously the Mexican and other drug cartels are mainly responsible for the problem but it does not help when those in the government charged with stopping the flow of illegal drugs actually help in the distributions of the drugs:


  • Two Department of Homeland Security agents were recently busted in Utah for allegedly selling illegal drugs.

  • They are accused of selling these drugs that had been seized in previous illegal drug related arrests.

  • Allegedly, they made about $300,000 from these drug confiscations and subsequent sales.

  • The drugs were so-called synthetic “bath salts” that were stored in the evidence lockup in Salt Lake City.

  • They then sold the drugs for $5,000 an ounce.


Tough to win the “war on drugs” when the government people supposed to be fighting the war using taxpayer wealth are actually part of the problem.


2)When the covid pandemic started, there was a lot of discussion of how and where the covid virus came into being. Those that proposed that the Chinese government had allowed the virus to escape from one of its labs were shouted down, belittled, and told they were ignorant by many in the Federal government, the political class, and the Biden administration. 


Well, no surprise here, it appears that Biden’s government minions were actually covering up the reality that the virus, indeed, had come out of a Chinese lab:


  • A recent government report concluded that the virus had actually come from a Chinese lab but that information had been repressed.

  • As a result, the false alternative story that the virus had evolved naturally outside of any man made facility was put forth as the truth.

  • Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and  infectious Diseases, and Biden’s chief medical  advisor backed the “virus from nature” theory.

  • The Chinese lab reality was uncovered by three scientists working for the Defense Intelligence Agency’s National Center for Medical  Intelligence.

  • However, their findings were never made public, according to one source that told the New York Post: "The scientists who had the subject matter expertise were silenced." 

  • Also, high ranking members in the intelligence community blocked the findings of the three scientists from being made public or sharing the findings with the FBI.

Just another example of the lack  of integrity from the Biden administration and Washington in general: trust us, we are from the government, we would not lie to you. Seems if you believe the opposite of what the government says you are far more likely to have the truth.

3)Hundreds of times we have discussed the incompetence of just about every facet of the Washington bureaucracy. We give Washington over $4 trillion a year in taxes and more often  than  not, they waste a large portion of that. And the Treasury department appears to be the latest government entity to fail to function efficiently and effectively:

  • Chinese government sponsored hackers recently breached the U.S. Treasury Department's computer security protocols.

  • The hackers ended up stealing Treasury documents in what was called a “major incident.”

  • Fortunately, the documents that were stolen were called unclassified documents, if you believe the government.

  • The breach came via a relationship with a third party vendor used by the Department.

Another day and another misuse of taxpayer funds and failure of a government function.

4)Joe Biden’s failures as President have been many and varied: failed economic policies, failed energy policies, failed foreign relations policies, failed immigration policies, the list sometimes seems endless. But his failed economic policies may be considered his worst failure since they affect every American consumer and worker. And more bad news in this area was recently reported:

  • According to an analysis by the Financial Times, Americans have recently defaulted on their credit loans at levels not seen since 2010 as they struggle to cope with rising prices caused by Biden’s  sour economic policies.

  • Credit card lenders  wrote off $46 billion in delinquent loan balances in the first nine months of 2024.

  • This is an increase of 50% since the same period  of 2023.

  • According to Mark Zandi, the head of Moody’s  Analytics: “High-income households are fine, but the bottom third of US consumers are tapped out. Their savings rate right now is zero.”

  • Meanwhile, credit card debt rose to $1.17 trillion in the third quarter as Americans use their credit card to increasingly pay for basic living needs in the face of high inflation over the past four years.

  • With higher use of credit card debt comes higher credit card payment delinquencies.

  • The most recent inflation rate estimates from the government shows overall prices rising at an annual rate of 2.7%, still about 35% higher than what is considered a good annual inflation rate for a healthy economy.

Biden recently, and  delusionally, said that the U.S. economy is the “envy of the world.” Millions of struggling American families would probably disagree with that view.

5) While Biden thinks his economic policies have made us the envy of the world and things are great economically, how does his version of the world stack up with what ordinary American think of his economic and other policies:

  • His last days in office see his job approval rating to be at one of the lowest points in the past four years.

  • According to RealClearPolitics, 57% of those polled had a negative approval rating while only 39% had a positive rating of his Presidency putting him a whopping 18 points underwater. vs. ratings. 

  • In January, 2021, he actually had a 20 point positive difference of his approval rating vs. his disapproval rating.

  • But then his policies and the resultant failures of his policies quickly turned his positive approval rating negative and his popularity never returned, racing a negative 21 point bottom in July 22, 2022, 58% disapproval vs. only 37% approval.

Given all of his failures, it is a miracle that 39% of those polled give him a positive approval rating, unbelievable. He will go down as one of the worst Presidencies of all time: high inflation, raging national debt increases, failed pullout from Afghanistan, unbridled wars raging around the world, millions and millions of un-vetted illegal immigrants coming into the country costing American taxpayers billions and billions of dollars to feed,  house, and service their needs while millions of American go homeless, hungry, and without medical care.

Too much insanity for today: Biden’s  failures continue to rage, the U.S. Treasury cannot protect its computer systems, Americans battle inflation, the government lies about where covid came from, and drug prevention warriors in Utah become drug dealers themselves.


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If you agree that we need to deseat every member of Congress for their lack of success and accomplishment, then please consider going to the following petition link to help the cause:


https://www.change.org/p/deseat-congress-reset-freedom



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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:

Monday, August 6, 2018

August, 2018, Part 2, Political Class Insanity: San Francisco Politicians Go Off The Deep End While Washington Pays Al Qaeda Terrorists

It is another month which means it is again time to review the latest political class insanity from Washington and around the world. Political class insanity takes many forms including the wasting of taxpayer wealth, criminal fraud within government programs, inane and stupid political quotes and actions, the inability to create and implement effective and efficient government programs, stupid and ill performing economic policies and strategies, and other forms of insanity that continue to evolve and surprise and shock us.

Let’s get started:

1) We have previously discussed the disgusting situation on the streets of San Francisco. With an exploding homeless population, the streets are now lined with human feces, urination, and drug user spent needles. The city has actually set up a dedicated helpline for citizens to report piles of human feces on the streets, a condition acknowledged by the incoming mayor.

Daniel Greenfield, writing for the Freedom Outpost website on August 2, 2018, summed up, somewhat comically and ironically, the other horrible conditions, political idiocy, and over regulation that now permeates this socialist “mecca” on the west coast:

  • The title of his article is “San Francisco Bans Everything” which is not too far from the truth.
  • He asserts and provides links that show that the city government has banned straws, fur coats, bottled water, vaping liquids, upholstered furniture, plastic bags, pet stores, electric scooters coffee cups, pacing peanuts, tropical fish, and McDonald’s Happy Meal.
  • However, they have made drug use/abuse, public urination and defecation, and shoplifting legal.
  • Greenfield hilariously and correctly now calls the city “North Korea with a tech industry and some leftover Victorian architecture (which it’s banning tour buses from visiting) has reacted to the collapse of living conditions and fleeing tourists by banning everything.”
  • The public defecation is probably the most disgusting problem facing the city with the article discussing examples of how 20 pounds of human waste was deposited on a city street and how constant human urine had corroded a pole so much that the  metal weakened and fell on a car, almost killing the driver.
  • Official complaints about human waste in the city have gone from 5,685 in 2011 to 18,211 in 2016, a threefold increase in just five years. 
  • But although public defecation and urinating is not illegal, using or serving a straw is illegal with both the city and the state passing anti-straw laws with the state version carrying a potential six month jail sentence.
  • Which raises the satirical question: will Mexican drug cartels now starting smuggling illegal straws across the border for thirst addicted Americans?
  • Straws were banned, according to the city ordinance, because they “may threaten public health” but public defecation and urination must not be a health issue in the city.
  • The city also banned fur coats since, according to a sponsor of that ban, Katy Tang, "fur farming contributes to water and air pollution" because each mink produces "44 pounds of feces in the mink’s lifetime."
  • But since a human being like Ms. Tang generates about 342 pound of feces in a year, about 8 times more than a mink produces in its lifetime, maybe it is the city council members like herself that should be banned.
  • The city spends over $800,000 a day, every day, on its homeless population but city council members worry about and spend time on straws, fur coats, and a myriad of other stupid, useless efforts.
  • The city also decided that employers could no longer provide on site dining/cafeteria services for their employees since such employee perks cause local restaurants to lose business.
  • This forces taxpaying workers to leave their place of business and walk through the feces and drug needle lined streets to find a place to eat, making sure they do not drink bottled water, wear a mink coat, or vape on the way to finding a meal.
This is what happens when politicians think too much, have too much power, over regulate citizens lives, and are really incapable of resolving any type of problem. They waste time inconveniencing and hassling their voters and fellow citizens while the major problems never get resolved.

How bad have things gotten in the city of San Francisco? A major medical organization, based in Chicago, cancelled its future conventions in the city after a long string of years holding their convention there. This raises the the obvious question that the article poses: when the city of Chicago thinks your city is a hellhole, how bad and how low have you sunk?

2) Osama Bin Laden and his terrorist group, Al Qaeda, were responsible for not only the worst terrorist attack ever inside America but untold other terrorist attacks and deaths around the world. They are truly the worst and deadliest group of terrorists ever assembled.

Fortunately, Bin Laden was killed by a secret raid by Seal Team Six under the Obama administration, giving that Presidency one of its very few success stories, and the remainder of Al Qaeda has been greatly diminished over time. 

But before all of this good news happened, apparently the Obama administration gave out hundreds of thousands of American tax dollars to an Al Qaeda terrorist affiliate, a fact verified by the State Department:

  • The Obama administration approved a $200,000 grant to an organization in the country of Sudan that had strong ties to Al Qaeda.
  • In fact, the group had previously and was currently designated as a terrorist financing organization by the Federal government years previously (2004) and yet, Obama still gave them $200,000.
  • The $200,000 was given to the Islamic Relief Agency in 2014, as reported by Sam Westrop of the Middle East even though the group was already on the terror watch list, according to Mr. Westrop: “More stunningly, government officials specifically authorized the release of at least $115,000 of this grant even after learning that it was a designated terror organization.”
  • USAID, the Federal government organization responsible for dispensing the taxpayer wealth to the terror organization confirmed Mr. Westrop’s reporting.
  • Yet 10 years after the group was designated as a terror group, in March, 2014 USAID gave it $200,000 for so-called humanitarian efforts.
  • In November, 2014, USAID finally realized it’s mistake and ordered all contacts and funding be stopped with the group.
  • But in May, 2015 the Treasury gave the group $115,000 despite it being on the terrorist list for now eleven years and six months after USAID realized the error or its ways.
  • According to Mr. Westrop: “Obama-administration officials knowingly approved the transfer of taxpayer dollars to an al-Qaeda affiliate, and not an obscure one but an enormous international network that was often in the headlines.” 
What a frigging mess. A terror group kills almost 3,000 Americans in one morning. Yet somehow two different organizations within the Federal government pay an affiliate of the terror group, one that the same Federal government designated as a terror group years before, $200,000 that was used for who knows what kind of terror and criminal enterprises. You cannot make this insanity up.

More insanity to follow.

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:

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.bankruptingamerica.org

http://www.conventionofstates.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08j0sYUOb5w







Friday, June 8, 2018

June, 2018, Part 2, Political Class Insanity: Social Security and 600 Pension Programs Heading For Disaster

It is another month which means it is again time to review the latest political class insanity from Washington and around the world. Political class insanity takes many forms including the wasting of taxpayer wealth, criminal fraud within government programs, inane and stupid political quotes and actions, the inability to create and implement effective and efficient government programs, stupid and ill performing economic policies and strategies, and other forms of insanity that continue to evolve and surprise and shock us.

Let's get started:

1) We have pointed out the reality that the Social Security system is fast approaching collapse and a major financial shortfall. Payouts have exceeded revenue collection for a while now and demographics guarantee that this will not reverse itself under a business as usual reality. Too many Baby Boomers are retiring for the financial picture to improve on its own.

This means any or all of three bad things might happen:

  • Social Security taxes get raised.
  • Social Security benefits get cut.
  • Both of the above.
Let’s review how bad things are based on a recent article by Romina Boccia from the Heritage Foundation:

  • The Social Security Administration had a $41 billion cash flow deficit in 2017. Since its so-called trust fund is void of real wealth and consists of only Treasury Department IOUs, the Social Security Administration had to dip into general taxpayer funds at Treasury to make up the $41 billion shortfall.
  • This cash flow deficit has existed since 2010 and has grown strongly ever year since.\Over the next 75 years the Social Security Administration (SSA), if nothing is done to change the current operation, will be short $16.1 TRILLION (yes that is trillion with a “T”).
  • Under the present law, the SSA can receive money from the Treasury Department’s general taxpayer funds based on those fictitious IOUs.
  • But when the IOUs run out then the SSA can only payout what revenue it brings in by itself every year which by 2034, when the trust fund IOUs disappear, will be only about 79% of current payout levels, i.e. every Social Security recipient would see about a 21% decrease in their monthly check, a decrease that will be devastating to a lot of poorer, older Americans.
  • Despite these dire financial numbers, as always, the Washington political class has no energy, clue, or brain power to attack a problem that will affect tens of millions of Americans. Neither Bush, Obama, and now Trump put forth any kind of plan that would fix this situation ASAP since the longer the wait, the more painful the solution. 
However, there is one guy, just one guy, in Congress who has put together a plan to address the problem, a plan that looks remarkably similar to the plan we put forth nine years ago in our book, “Love My Country, Loathe My Government” (which is available on Amazon):

  1. Raise the retirement age for those that can afford to wait to get their Social Security benefit.
  2. Increase the Social Security tax rate, making it fairer across the entire household income range.
  3. Reduce SSA benefits for people that have the financial wherewithal to go without or with reduce SSA benefits.
Congressman Sam Johnson is trying to get this type of plan made a reality before the whole system goes down a death spiral. Of course, it is a good idea so it gets no traction in Washington or the White House. Insane.

2) If getting a 21% reduction in your retirement Social Security check is not bad enough, consider how poorly local and state governments have handled the pension funds of state and local government workers:

  • Harvey, Illinois is a poster child for politicians screwing up as pension plan and the impact it will have on their town.
  • Harvey has a 20% unemployment rate, high property taxes, and home values that have declined 80% over the past decade or so, putting it in a very serious financial situation before talking about pension obligations for retired city workers.
  • Given that Illinois does not allow cities like Harvey to declare bankruptcy, it will have to pay off a heavy pension burden which it is ill able to do, given the financial situation discussed above.
  • It will have to raise taxes which will drive away more residents which will cause Harvey’s tax revenue to get lost which will require more tax increases and the death spiral is underway.
  • But Harvey is not the only U.S. government entity in such dire straits because of their local politicians since according to a recently published study by the Lombardi organization, all 50 states and hundreds of towns and cities are going to get crushed by unpayable pension obligations: “A study of the 649 different pension systems…found systematic problems with the assumptions underlying many trusts… This will have profound effects on citizens of all 50 states… In short, a pension crisis is in the works.”
  • Just five short years ago, only 37 states had state pension plans that were underfunded and now almost every state pension program is underfunded.
Which makes these plans similar to Social Security in that they will have to raise taxes, cut benefits or do both, all of which will have dire consequences for the local and state taxpayers. And of course, virtually no one in the political class is making any plans to head off these potential financial disasters. 

That will do it for today’s insanity. Big time pension and retirement funding issues facing everyone in the face and virtually no politician at any level of government even trying to fix what is surely going to be hard financial times for retirees in a very short time. More insanity to follow.

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:


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:

Term Limits Now: http://www.howmuchworsecoulditget.com
http://www.reason.com
http://www.cato.org
http://www.bankruptingamerica.org

http://www.conventionofstates.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08j0sYUOb5w