We hear about the problems of U.S. government debt and deficits all the time. In an election year, politicians make claims about how they will work to solve these problems while keeping benefits in place and leaving taxes low. In reality, solving the budget deficit will require painful tradeoffs that are politically unpopular. Let’s roll up our sleeves, crunch some numbers and identify the major tradeoffs.

To get a better sense of how current budget problems are working against each other, let’s take a look at the U.S. government’s income statement. The government’s revenues come primarily from taxes and social insurance and retirement receipts, while its expenses are made up of the government’s entire budget.

According to the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) historical tables for the Budget of the U.S. Government for fiscal year 2011, here are the estimated figures for what the government’s income statement would look like for 2010:

Revenues

Individual Income Taxes                                   $936 billion

Corporation Income Taxes                               $157 billion

Social Insurance & Retirement Receipts            $876 billion

Excise Taxes                                                    $73 billion

Other                                                               $124 billion

Total Revenues                                     $2.165 trillion

Expenses

Health & Medicare                                           $829 billion

Social Security                                      $721 billion

Defense                                                            $719 billion

Income Security                                                $686 billion

All Other Expenses                                           $577 billion

Interest Expense                                               $188 billion

Total Expenses                                     $3.720 trillion

Net Income (Deficit)                                         ($1.556 trillion)

Before we discuss what each of these line items means, we should put the magnitude of these numbers in perspective. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis — part of the U.S. Department of Commerce — U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) for 2010 is expected to be around $14.5 trillion. This means that the U.S. government budget, at $3.7 trillion, makes up just over 25% of the U.S. economy.

The Bottom Line

So let’s cut right to the chase. The bottom line is that under current OMB projections, the deficit for fiscal year 2010 will come to about $1.6 trillion. That means the government will have to borrow $1.6 trillion to cover expenses because it does not have enough revenues.

Currently, the total U.S. debt stands at around $11.9 trillion ($4.3 trillion held by federal government accounts and $7.5 trillion held by the public). This means that the 2010 deficit will cause the national debt to grow by 13% in a single year.

We won’t get into which administrations had the largest deficits, however, the OMB’s historical tables for the budget have information on the budget, the deficit and national debt going back for decades for those who want to trace the current problem. The point here is that the deficit is unsustainable, and even if a large deficit is unavoidable during the current recession, significant measures will have to be taken soon to tackle this problem.

Government Revenues

Jumping back up to the top of the government’s income statement, we have revenues. The government’s revenues are composed of individual and corporate income taxes, social insurance and retirement receipts (Social Security and Medicare premiums), excise taxes and other receipts.

For fiscal year 2010, all these revenues are projected to amount to $2.2 trillion. This represents approximately 15% of GDP. In other words, if we were to tax the economy as a whole to fund all the government’s revenues for 2010, the effective tax rate would be 15%. The problem here is that these revenues are simply not enough to cover current expenses.

Let’s pretend, for a moment, that all of the government’s current expenses are absolutely necessary and that the deficit must be overcome by increasing revenues. There are essentially two ways this can be achieved: The economy can grow, increasing tax revenues or the tax rate can be increased to generate more revenues.

Increasing the tax rate is politically unpopular — especially if you had to increase it by 66% (10 percentage points), which is what it would take to balance the budget. But the economy would have to grow by 66% in order balance the budget while keeping tax rates where they are.

It is clear that growing our way out of the deficit is simply not possible in the short run, and in the long run, it is likely that expenses will continue to grow making it difficult to ever catch up. A 25% tax rate on the economy as a whole would balance the budget, but such a tax increase may wind up slowing down the economy and reducing revenues the following year.

Cutting into the Budget

Raising government revenues alone cannot solve the deficit, so let’s take a look at expenses. Health and Medicare are the biggest ticket items, racking up $829 billion — 5.7% of GDP. $462 billion of that is Medicare alone.

Next comes Social Security, which amounts to $721 billion — about 5% of GDP. Adding these first two expense items together comes to about $1.5 trillion or roughly the same size as the current deficit. But before we get excited about eliminating these programs to balance the budget, we have to remember that most of the $876 billion in social insurance and retirement receipt revenues are tied to these programs. Cutting them would mean losing the revenues from them as well.

Defense spending is the next big ticket item on the list, weighing in at $719 billion, roughly the same amount as social security. If we cut all three of these programs entirely — health, social security and defense — that would about balance the budget. Of course GDP would also fall by 15% because that’s what these programs amount to. Jobs would be destroyed and tax revenues would fall resulting in another deficit.

Let’s focus on this for a second. Completely eliminating the three largest spending areas of government — over 60% of the total budget — would still not quite guarantee a balanced budget. There are no painless solutions to the deficit. Defense, social security and Medicare are all programs that many Americans care deeply about, and significant cuts to any of them would hurt.

Moving down the expense list, Income Security amounts to nearly $686 billion. Income Security is composed of federal employee pensions, housing assistance, food stamps, unemployment insurance and other programs designed to provide a safety net for Americans during economic downturns. This line item is clearly going to be high during a recession and politically difficult to cut during hard times.

The next category we have on the government’s income statement is All Other Expenses. That’s right: Anything else we haven’t covered falls into this $576 billion bucket. All these programs are barely over one third the size of the deficit. When politicians want to sound tough on government spending, they pick some unpopular program from this bucket and attack it.

There may certainly be a lot of programs in this catch-all category that could be trimmed, but cut them all and you’ve only made a dent in the deficit. Here are just a few of the programs we’d lose if we wiped out this area: veterans’ benefits, transportation, education, international affairs, justice department, energy, science, agriculture, community and economic development, etc.

Finally we come to our last expense item — and perhaps the scariest. Interest expense on the national debt will amount to $187 billion. It may sound like a lot of money, but it’s actually a deal right now. Since our total debt is roughly $11.9 trillion, that would mean that our weighted average interest rate on that debt is around 1.6%.

As recently as 2006, that weighted average rate was around 2.7%. With today’s level of debt that would put interest expense at $317 billion. And every year we have a deficit, that debt continues to grow. With the growth in debt comes increased risk and increased rates on that debt. Interest expense can quickly get out of hand, and the only way to control it is to balance the budget and pay down the debt.

What to Cut?

No matter how you slice it, Americans will have to pay their debts — either through higher taxes or lost government services and benefits (or both). Yet, we still haven’t heard any politicians stand up and say they’ll take the heat for giving the country its medicine.

And this analysis of the deficit problem is in many ways overly simplistic, because it only looks at the current snapshot of the problem. In reality, the issues are even more complex given the fact that many government expenses will continue to rise (Medicare and Social Security obligations), and the source of revenues will fluctuate with the state of the economy.  But this makes it all the more imperative that politicians tackle this problem now, and that Americans make the hard sacrifices necessary to avoid bankrupting the country.

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About the Author:
 
Looking for charts and graphs on the U.S. budget deficit, visit www.financeocean.org.
 
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Back in the shadowy days of the Clinton administration of the stained black dress, wagging fingers telling us he did not have sex with that intern, and friends that got murdered with the Park Police in charge, we have a change that happened in 1994 that allowed the Clinton crew to change the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The methodology included an alternative unemployment rate that removed from the unemployment rolls those that were categorized as the long term discouraged workers which the BLS crossed off the list of those that were considered unemployed.

A Politically Skewed Manipulation

With a politically skewed manipulation of the real unemployment figures getting whittled down to 8.3%, when the real unemployed are figured in it looks like a more truthful picture is found at the logical number of 22.5%. The manipulation of the numbers by the BLS makes it look like the Obama Administration is making headway when in fact real unemployment, when you count in the totals for workers that are no longer looking, runs to 1920′s depression levels of the previous real number of 22.5% that John Williams of the “Shadow Government Statistics” who has railed for years that the fed twists the numbers to make them say what they want them to say.

What is a Depression?

The media in the financial world usually defines a financial depression as being a loss of 10% in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is more than anything just a rule of thumb. Ronald Reagan once said, “Recession is when a neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours.”

Numbers Are Skewed for Political Reasons

In a world where the very thought of trying to analyze a macroeconomic happening measured in dollars in a world where cash is electronic debt, property is still declining in value, capital investments flows freely across economic borders, cheap labor immigrates across our southern borders uninhibited, and politicians leave the government’s biggest expenses off the books has become increasingly absurd over time. How could you ever try to figure out if the economy is expanding or contracting when the numbers used are skewed for political purposes?

News Release Says

A Feb. 2012 news release from BLS told the public that the rate of unemployment had fallen 0.2% from the previous 8.5% we previously had in Dec. of 2011. However, the part of the report that did not make the evening news is the BLS reports the U6 unemployment is 15.6%, U6 meaning those people that were marginally attached to the work force in what is now called the under employed, people looking for full time wages but had to settle for part time jobs. So in not releasing those figures, then dropping those workers who had fallen off the radar after looking for jobs for a year, it is quite clear what the present administration is trying to do. Williams reported that the stats of 8.3% that made the media sound bites were mathematically manipulated and just simply not believable.

Adding Back

Williams put it this way in a report, his official Alternative Unemployment Rate comes out to be 22.5% when you add back into the Bureau of Labor Statistics U6 numbers, the long termed laborers that have fallen off the radar, and have stopped looking for jobs the past year. The BLS of course only reports the U3 stats that are adjusted seasonally which was the 8.3% that was blared out over every news media station.

Keystone Nuked

You can tell just by looking at the BLS own fully reported stats that the nation is in fact in trouble, has been for quite some time, is getting better no time soon, and there seems to be no remedy on the horizon coming down the road. The torpedoing of the Keystone pipeline that was to run from Canada down into Houston Texas would have employed at the peak at least 100,000 jobs directly and another 20,000 jobs indirectly, has been moved to the back burner.

Jobless Recovery

The jobless recovery scenario is a little more nebulous, with the precise timing of the recovery unknown, with little growth for the future estimated, and in danger of turning into a double dip recession, the uncertainty of the foreign export markets, contractions in the European and Asian markets, the double dip looks like the ice cream of the future.

Obama Stimulus a Bust

While the Obama stimulus package looks like a bust, the call for more recovery money not looking good, the pundits and the economists saying that whatever economic growth we do have will not sufficiently reduce the unemployment numbers and the figures will be much higher than normal, the look for economic growth looks grim for 2012 with little or no growth predicted.

The Straight Ahead Future

Looking into this crystal ball into the straight ahead future, while car sales have been good, manufacturing up slightly, and enough money flowing into the treasury to pay the necessary bills on time, if things just stay the same the double dip still looks like it could happen with the jobless recovery in full bloom. Those who adhere to variants of the jobless recovery say the USA is headed for a prolonged jobless recovery where only certain parts of the economy will recover while other segments will remain stagnant.

The Truth Is Different

What we really have waiting for us is historical warning signs that there are increasing numbers of consumer bankruptcies and mortgage defaults, credit debt is out of sight, there is also the unknown impact of enough possible bank failures to render the FDIC insolvent, the possibility of a U.S. state like California going bankrupt, or a possible crash in the derivatives market. Not speaking to the fact that being 4 trillion in debt will do anything good for the future economy or that the out of control printing of money by the Fed might have on our inflation scale when the working class will be unable to keep up. My take on this is the future looks so bright I have to wear shades.

Sincerely,
Gary Kent Boyd | My Blog

Originally seen here.

Barack Obama came into the spotlight like a tornado but instead of promising destruction he wafted through with hope and change and he did it with kindness, honesty and forthrightness plus he humbly asked for help with his mission. Therein lays the dilemma that the people did not follow his example choosing instead to simulate lost sheep wandering oblivious to their stake and participation in the task at hand.

Unfortunately this is being echoed throughout all countries suffering the indignity of recession and depression because the leaders on the ground are also lost in the quagmire of hapless practices. There are solutions and these have been suggested to us since the dawning of time but blindness overshadows clarity and we have the repetitive scenario of the blind leading the blind.

When we choose leaders like Obama to represent our interests in the highest offices it is our duty to assist them in everyway but without a follow up plan we are clueless as to how we may be effective. We may blame the political machine, individual political parties, religious and business leaders or we can blame green men in outer space.

Whichever route we choose there has to be a fundamental plan of action with direction for the smallest group to follow as well as the biggest groups representing their respective interests. Individual lobbying has no place in a society that desires advancement because if we all do not advance then our civilisation lays dormant in primitive schedules and practices.

When Moses was leading his flock from Egypt it was suggested to him to set up mastermind groups as a way of managing the daily tasks thus delegating the onerous and tedious tasks in the hands of those on the ground and Moses could then facilitate his time to the more demanding objectives of his journey. It worked largely but like all things human involving separate interests brings mostly trivial travails but it is essential to not allow them to enlarge thus creating even larger problems.

Every country or entity has one leader and it falls into that leader’s workload to diversify each portfolio into the hands of the most competent managers. Each country or state has counties and within these are townslands and cities with their own marginal electorate of counselors and managers. It is with these that the task of organizing the members of each society lays but few if any actually think of setting up a mastermind concept and as a consequence the people are adrift apart from the real happenings of society. This follows the ladder to the President, King or Queen and Prime Minister or whatever the title may be to bear the full responsibility of inept behaviours that need not be present. Basically if local government did its job effectively the successes of the state or country would be real and tangible developing a more positive outlook.

There are too many self interests in government where the little picture takes the place of the larger picture and as long as this practice continues the leaders at the top will be blamed for the ineffectiveness of the leaders down the chain. Everyone wants a definitive leadership to produce amazing results but those results cannot be attained unless everyone in the chain is strong and forthright. If we cannot do this collectively then self interests groups will continue to manipulate and the general populace shall be the fall guy.

We can change governments and leaders all day long but if we do not embrace the change in our own life and our circle of influence then leaders like Obama shall continue to be disappointed while continuing to do something the rest will not do. They bear the full responsibility that is not theirs alone to carry; it is the responsibility of all of us and we need to walk side by side with our leaders not throwing misdirected criticism!

Sincerely,
Tomas Coimin

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About the Author:
Coimin is a master of motivational techniques with a strong desire to help others seek greater peace through positive self-esteem. Based in Co. Tipperary Ireland. Through the years it has been very rewarding to receive acknowledgments from readers indicating the benefits of my writings and thus I pray to continue to deliver quality pieces to continue the trends of previous successes. I write and publish poetry and short stories too but my chief aim is to work towards strengthening self-esteem while eliminating the ravages caused by abuses whether financial, physical, sexual or mental.Tomas may be reached at selfesteemawareness@gmail.com
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Florida is the state that makes or breaks a candidate. Since 1972, the winner of the Florida primary has become the party’s nominee. In 2012, this winner was Mitt Romney.

            Romney won Tuesday’s race in a landslide, receiving 47 percent, with Newt Gingrich coming in second place with 32 percent. Rick Santorum and Ron Paul each received 13 and 7 percent, respectively. The results are a major setback for Gingrich, especially after winning in South Carolina last week, ironically a state that also shares the reputation of choosing the nominee. He skyrocketed in early Florida polls, as well.

What reversed Newt’s momentum? I believe one too many negative ads shot him in both feet. Last week, a Gingrich ad called Romney the “the most anti-immigrant” candidate in the race. While Romney expectedly defended himself against the harsh attack, Marco Rubio, Florida’s senator and a Tea Party favorite, defended Romney, calling the ad “inaccurate and inflammatory.”

Newt’s attack on Romney astounded many. Not only was it harsh, but also incredibly vague. When questioned about the ad last Thursday by CNN debate moderator Wolf Blitzer, Gingrich responded that Romney desires to round up and deport illegal families.

While the ad may not seem like a big deal on its own, this incident is part of a larger issue. Before the primaries began, while still a marginal candidate, Gingrich ran on the notion that his was a “positive campaign” and the main objective was to defeat Barack Obama. However, the optimism disappeared as soon as he saw Romney as a threat, and Newt started berating him with characteristically left-wing attacks, from Romney’s record at Bain Capital to his apparent desire to mercilessly deport illegals. Newt’s latest rant was clearly to pander to Florida’s large Latino population, and a harbinger to the fact that he will say whatever it takes to win. He believed that the Hispanic vote would be awarded to the candidate who is lax and “compassionate” on illegal immigration. By painting Romney as the opposite, Gingrich hoped to find favor in the Latino community.

Rubio proves that Hispanics at large do not feel this way. The senator takes pride in the fact that his parents legally emigrated from Cuba and worked hard for their earnings, and that their son, who came from a poor, working-class Latino family, is now one of the most popular Republican politicians. His story personifies the American dream, not to mention the conservative message of individual liberty and prosperity at its best. The Hispanic community doesn’t stand for politicians who believe that tolerance of illegal immigration will win its vote. It confirmed that on Florida by choosing Romney over Gingrich, 54 to 28 percent.

The American public is growing tired of politicians doing whatever it takes to win, no matter the outcome of their actions. The country wants a president that cares more about the country than his own achievement. It needs leadership, pride, and integrity.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/politics-articles/how-mitt-romney-won-florida-5619823.html

Sincerely,
Jeremy Frankel

Jeremy Frankel is a writer for Quantum Networks and The Talk Radio News Service.

To be a politician now with a unique perspective combined with a charismatic personality shall spell success beyond any wildest stretch of the imagination. This recession is threatening to double dip in every country that has been destroyed by its consequences and will take invigorating innovative responses to reverse its swirl.

Unlike tornados and other natural challenges that we have no control over our hands are not as confined in dealing with economic woes. The obsession with diversity needs to be restricted and like the depression of the early 1900′s the media need to be asked to curtail their advertising of negativity while focusing more space to successful ventures. If you keep pouring vitriol on any substance that substance no matter how strong shall be depleted of all energy and perhaps refuse to resuscitate. Perhaps that toxic aluminum sludge spill in Hungry is proverbial as well as factual and a lesson could be gleaned from the event.

We are all in this world together and as such we shall take control and punish appropriately those responsible irrespective of position and by and large the general populace are resourceful thus shall resume control. Apathy serves no one and likewise complacency is a self destructive activity and thus need to be shed allowing positive growth to resume.

Curiously enough unlike the financial states of the world that may have dipped as much as fifty percent however the population did not dip by an equal amount. In fact the population is growing and with it possibilities await those who shall shirk recessive attitudes arriving at positive solutions enhancing a turn around. We may have to accept less wages but which is better: empty pockets, abandoned homes or sustenance that benefits everyone?

How funny too that so much is invested in bad news with companies like CNN, BBC, SKY News, France 24 and Euro News to mention a few giving humungous salaries to the reporters that come up with the best of the worst stories imaginable. TV dramas like detective shows are widely accepted and feel good shows are disdained as if they were in fact detrimental to survival. In fact if there are no bad guys or more in a movie it shall have limited success or perhaps even face absolute failure. What does this tell us of our society?

One last question: is it an oxymoron to have enlightened politician in the one sentence? Perhaps it is even more incongruous to believe that such a possibility could exist beyond the remotest possibility of a few but definitely not existing in any great numbers. Of course if you believe that a politician who can wave at Russia from her back yard is enlightened then we are all doomed! Although I do love soccer and love being able to see the mountains of south Tipperary from my window so perhaps there is hope. Alleluia! Besides I can wave at the leprechauns and the faeries now that the Celtic New Year is fast approaching hmmm it is the same time as Halloween…oooh! Magical!

Sincerely,
Tomas Coimin

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About the Author:
Coimin is a master of motivational techniques with a strong desire to help others seek greater peace through positive self-esteem. Based in Co. Tipperary Ireland. Through the years it has been very rewarding to receive acknowledgments from readers indicating the benefits of my writings and thus I pray to continue to deliver quality pieces to continue the trends of previous successes. I write and publish poetry and short stories too but my chief aim is to work towards strengthening self-esteem while eliminating the ravages caused by abuses whether financial, physical, sexual or mental.Tomas may be reached at selfesteemawareness@gmail.com
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Remember that story that consumed our news media three months ago about the U.S. Department of Agriculture manager who was accused of being a racist? Yeah, remember, she was caught on tape saying she wouldn’t be zealous in helping a farmer because he was white? And it turns out those quotes were taken out of context from a speech in which she was talking about something that happened years ago, a story she was using as an exhortation to her audience never to act that way?

Yeah, that was crazy. People trying to drum up more racism in America. While that was going on, another group of “media journalists” were asserting that the “tea party is full of racists” – never mind the troubling facts that the “tea party” is a large, non-centralized movement with no clear identity (“journalists” hate anything that isn’t centralized) and that there was absolutely no evidence anywhere that anyone in association with any tea party event or group ever exhibited any racist behaviors.

No evidence? No problem. Not in this age of what passes as “journalism” in this country.

Here we are now, three weeks before the mid-term U.S. elections, and it’s Stupid Season. Judging from the ads we see and hear in a constant daily bombardment, we are supposed to be stupid enough to believe anything, and evidence would only confuse us.

A commercial in Florida pulls sound-bites from a candidate’s speech that makes him sound like a right-wing Christian zealot who expects his wife to obey him… he was giving a speech in which he was making exactly the opposite point.

A major governor’s race is mired in an accusation that one candidate employed and then heartlessly fired a self-proclaimed illegal immigrant. The candidate’s opponent (who happens to be the state attorney general and has done nothing to prosecute the only sure criminal in the case – the illegal immigrant) asserts that the other candidate knew she was employing an illegal when it was to her economic benefit, and then quickly scrapped the poor unfortunate when she decided to run for governor because it would look bad, of course. There are absolutely no facts to substantiate any of those assertions; in fact, there are a few facts that refute them.

A national ad proclaims that one party’s supporters are taking “secret foreign money” – it even shows a ruffling stack of Chinese yuan bills – and paints the picture for Us Stupid (U.S.) Dummies that, basically, the Chinese are putting forth that evil party’s candidates to take over the country and do their bidding. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is implicated (those capitalist pigs!). David Axelrod, the president’s longtime friend and advisor, appeared on a “media journalism” program over the weekend and was actually asked if he had any evidence of this serious charge – in reply to which Mr. Axelrod asked the “journalist” whether he had any evidence that it WASN’T true.

No evidence? No problem.

These are supposed to be our leaders. Oh, boy. I suggest you not wait around to be led by these people, because you don’t want to go where they’re going! Start a business of your own so you can build your entrepreneurial skills and have an income of your very own… don’t expect your employer to take care of you. Start a health-kick so you can keep yourself energetic and vital… not just because you’ll need that energy to drive your business and run your household, but because you can’t expect the government’s health care program to take care of you. And start getting a real education about the global conspiracy against your money, before it’s too late.

It’s Stupid Season. Let the stupid have their season… meanwhile, take this time to quietly build a future around personal responsibility and personal values. After all, if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.

Sincerely,

Michael D. Hume, M.S.
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About the Author:
 
Michael Hume is a speaker, writer, and consultant specializing in helping people maximize their potential and enjoy inspiring lives. As part of his inspirational leadership mission, he coaches executives and leaders in growing their personal sense of well-being through wealth creation and management, along with personal vitality.
Those with an entrepreneurial spirit who want to make money “one less thing to worry about” can learn more about working with Michael at http://oneyearplan.net/michaeldhume
Anyone wanting to jump-start their vitality can browse through the best (and most travel-friendly) nutraceuticals on the market at http://shop.enivausa.com/239824
Michael and his wife, Kathryn, divide their time between homes in California and Colorado. They are very proud of their offspring, who grew up to include a homemaker, a rock star, a service talent, and a television expert. Two grandchildren also warm their hearts! Visit Michael’s web site at http://michaelhume.net
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One year ago, President Barak Obama gave his inaugural address to record crowds. His campaign was run on the promise of hope and change. With the anniversary of his speech upon us, it’s time to reflect on the past years events in order to take stock of where we are in our lives. What has Barak Obama done for this nation? By some estimates: nothing. But by others: everything.  What did that speech change about the lives of Americans?

The presidential inaugural address was a call to action for the American people. Obama made it clear that in our current situation it would take the help of each individual American to make a change within our nation. Obama said, “what is required of us now is a new era of responsibility—a recognition, on the part of every American” and “starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.”

With that call to action came a wave of response. American volunteerism surged and is still running strong. Immediately after that speech was made, food banks that were critically low began to slowly fill back up. Homeless shelters received much needed donations and charitable organizations that were nearly defunct due to high demand were given hope for tomorrow.

But, nearly a year later, some of those donations and food drives have slowed. Due to the economic recession and the war, our nation is facing times some are comparing to the Great Depression. That is why the Blanket America charitable organization was formed. The Patchwork Heritage quilt was created with the idea of uniting America under one blanket. Blanket America has come up with the perfect response to the presidential call to action.

When Obama said, “we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness,” Mesh Gelman and his design crew created the Patchwork Heritage quilt to benefit charity. For every quilt sold, a new fleece blanket is donated to charity. Gifts in Kind International, one of the largest charitable organizations in America, is acting as an intermediary to distribute the donated blankets to Americans in need. Their goal is to help one million Americans in need throughout the next year. To learn about how you can help, visit <a target=”_blank” href=”http://www.blanketamerica.com”>America</a>.

Blanket America is about more than blankets. It is about changing the way charity and business works. For every quilt sold, Blanket America will donate a blanket to an American in need.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/politics-articles/obamas-inaugural-speech-inspires-change-1767924.html

Usually the Politician who has the most well financed campaign is the one who gets elected. And who controls most of the money in this country? It’s not the government itself or the politicians, it’s big business. So this ruling is in direct contradiction to the McCain & Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Law which was established to limit the amount of influence a Corporation could have in the past.

The US Supreme Court struck down this law, saying that it limited the amount of free speech Corporations could have regarding the public debate in the political process. The decision was 5 to 4 in favor of this new law. So what lies ahead. Many critics are very concerned that this will allow big business to monopolize the entire political process and think this is the very worst decision the Supreme Court has ever made.

Also of concern is an avalanche of Corporate Spending, which is a tax write off anyway, of big business. Expect to see many more TV ads, political ads in magazines on flyers and even promotional gear during future political elections. Although the people ultimately will decide who goes into office, hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising will go a long way to influence their opinions on who they should vote for.

President Obama seemed to also be opposed to the decision. He mentioned just like I said above that it helps them to continue to wield their power everyday so they can continue to drown out the voices and opinions of your average, hard working american citizen.

Let Brian Garvin & Jeff West teach you more about the Japanese Katana Sword and the Ancient Beastly Sword on our website today.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/politics-articles/how-will-the-supreme-court-campaign-finance-judgment-affect-us-1762803.html

Although Arlen Specter spent 44 years as a Republican, in April 2009 he let everyone know that he was returning back to becoming a Democrat. If he didn’t return to becoming a Republican, he would have had a hard time beating Pat Toomey in the 2010 Republican Senatorian Primary. His voting record switched to a more center-left since switching political ideologies. This year he’ll be competing with Joe Sestak in the 2010 Democratic Primary.

Arlen Specter was born in Kansas in the city of Wichita. He took classes at the University of Oklahoma. His major was in International Relations. He was also an officer in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War with the Office of Special Investiations. Later he graduated from Yale Law School, an Ivy League school and passed the Pennsylvania State Bar Exam. Later that year he settled down and opened up a Law Firm called Specter & Katz.

He also took a role as part of the investigation of the assasination of John F. Kennedy. Arlen Specter took a big role on the Single Bullet Theory, which mentions that the fatal gunshot wounds to Kennedy and Texas Governor John Connally were both inflicted with the same bullet. This theory basically implies that there was only one, not two assassins involved in the John F. Kennedy murder.

No Senator has held a Senate Seat as long as Arlen Specter has in the State of Pennsylvania, running a full 5 terms. His approval rating with democrats is quite a bit higher than republicans respectively. T.J. Rooney who is part of the Democratic Party suggested that Joe Sestak drop out against Arlen, and that he would rather see Joe Sestak in Congress and would hate to lose such a good Congressman.

Let Brian Garvin & Jeff West teach you more about the Japanese Katana Sword and the Ancient Beastly Sword on our website today.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/politics-articles/a-review-of-us-senator-arlen-specter-1762698.html

I am not talking about the band entertaining the politicos in Washington, D.C. I am talking about Chicago-style politics being established in the White House under the final authorization of one Barack Obama and carried out by Rahm Emanuel. 

What we have seen so far this year is that if you do not agree with the Obama administration, you are trashed and left out in the COLD!

The most recent attacks have come against Fox News whom the White House has tried to do away with, mainly because they can’t “manage” them as they have affirmed they do all the rest. But, the so-called Nixon-style “enemies list” is much bigger, and far more serious.

A top Senate Republican took to the Senate floor Wednesday morning to suggest that the Obama White House is plotting a political strategy similar to that of ex-President Richard Nixon and may be on the verge of preparing its own “enemies list.”

Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) read off a list of examples he says support his contention, including: a reported effort by the White House to marginalize the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a supposed effort by the Health and Human Services Department to put a “gag order” on the insurer Humana, the White House move to take on Fox News, Obama’s repeated criticisms of banks and investment houses, his alleged “taking names” of “bondholders who resisted the GM and Chrysler bailouts,” and the president’s move to make insurers the bogeyman of the health care debate.

And we’re not even mentioned the “White House czars who have been established to circumvent the Congress and report to no one but the administration. This isn’t just a Republican-Democrat issue but one of “integrity of an administration”.

Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) rose to speak on a different topic, but he first commented that it appeared Alexander was accusing the administration of “Nixifying” the White House — adding that he hoped the term would enter into “the lexicon.” Alexander replied that he was “seeing some signs” in the Obama White House that he had seen “at the early stages of Nixon.”

Sincerely,
Ernie Fitzpatrick

Fitzpatrick is a spiritual-futurist, with a BA degree in history.

Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/politics-articles/chicago-does-dc-1364325.html