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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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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.

Times Are Tough, But An Upbeat Outlook Will Prevail

To the Editor:

Today, the news is dominated by the story of 33 Chilean miners being rescued after 69 days trapped more than two thousand feet below the Earth’s surface. It’s a profound story of love, faith, redemption, and of the bright side of human nature. Look at what we can do for each other when we put forth our best efforts!

Metaphorically speaking, we are all trapped underground at different times in our lives. Maybe there was a time when your job, for instance, made you feel like a king in a castle… but now (after things went badly and shook your confidence) you feel trapped under the rubble of it all. Perhaps you are feeling your age, and what was once a strong body that would obey your every command now feels trapped under years of fat-building sloth and avarice. Maybe you used to wake up with smile on your face and a song in your heart, but now, after a steady diet of bad news and setbacks, you feel like you’re trapped in a funeral procession. On bad days, it can even feel like your own!

They say you are what you eat… I think the same is true of your mind. You want to be informed and engaged, but with so much bad news out there, it’s hard to feed your mind anything like a balanced diet, and it’s easy to slide into negativity, anxiety, even depression. Great, positive stories like today’s report on the miner rescue do seem to come by too infrequently – so take some time today to absorb it. Reflect on how heroic the rescuers have been, and how patient and faithful the miners must’ve been. Is there a lesson in all this for you? Like the miners being pulled back to the surface, see if you can pull something up out of yourself that will help you escape whatever’s trapping you. It may be as simple as the realization that, for all your troubles and woes, you have it good. You are lucky. You’re blessed. You’ve been sleeping in a bed for the last 69 days, not in a smelly hole half-a-mile below the ground.

Then, take action. Action is the best prescription against the greatest threat to your well-being (worry). If your job is crumbling, make a new one for yourself. Starting a home-based business could be like drilling a hole to the surface through which you can escape if things go badly. If you’re feeling fat and lazy, make a change… you can at least start drinking more water, taking a good vitamin, and refusing some of the processed food-garbage you sometimes find within your reach.

And you can seek out the good news. Upbeat, “feel good” stories are hard to find these days (and you REALLY want to mute those campaign commercials)… but if you dig around, occasionally you find a nugget of pure gold.

by 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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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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Well, the answer is easy, it is sharp,  yes! Here is why? The relationship between the United States of America (USA) and the United Nations (UN) is like the relationships between rich and poor.  The USA share of the UN budget was 25% until the year 2001, where the United State was assessed to pay 22% of the annual UN regular Budget, In 2006 calendar year, the 22% amounted to $423,464,855. In 2006, the United States and 16 other nations were assessed to pay 86.408% of the UN budget. The other (over 200) nations of the world pay the rest which is about 14% .

Historically, the United States since 1986, provided the UN with 25% of its budget; the USSR provided 10.5%; Angola 0.01% and Saudi Arabia 0.86%. America claimed that such an investment should have its rewards. If the ‘Big Five’ withdrew their financial support or reduced it to the level of other nations in the UN, then the UN itself would face near bankruptcy. There was little the UN could do if members failed to pay their contribution.

In December 2000, the Fifth Committee voted to lower the ceiling rate from 25% to 22% for the Regular Budget. The US had promised to pay its longstanding debt to the UN in exchange for lower assessments. Half a decade later, the US still owes around US$500 million to the UN Regular Budget.

 The UN Five Core Tasks according to Kofi Annan in  2006, the previous UN Secretary, involve Peace and Security,  Economic and Social Issues, Humanitarian tasks, and Development. The fifth category running through all these tasks was Human Rights Issue.  In that year, the United Nations has often failed to live up to its responsibility to promote human rights, while the killing was ongoing in many places in the Middle East. Organizations and individuals in the member states were reminded to make the protection of rights a reality in every country. The United States, however, according to the scale of assessment, can make or break the UN capacity to fulfill its tasks.

 The scale of assessments, however,  reflects a country’s capacity to pay (the scale is measured by factors such as a country’s national income and size of population). The Peacekeeping Budget assessments for instance, are based on the Regular Budget rates, but with discounts for poor countries. The five permanent members of the Security Council, who approve all peacekeeping operations, pay extra fees to compensate for those discounts. In other words, when poor countries cannot contribute to the UN budget, (the  minimum rate of 0.001% to the Regular Budget for poor countries.) the extra pay from rich countries compensate for the poor nations share. A “ceiling” rate sets the maximum amount of any member state’s assessed share of the regular and Peacekeeping Budgets. The US is the only member that is affected by those ceilings.

 The UN as we know, was founded with the objective of preventing intergovernmental wars through a collective security system. This task could not be fulfilled however, due to the blockade of the Security Council and the failings of the system. Emphasis was placed on a new range of tasks because of this. New global issues such as the increasing scarcity of natural resources, the destruction of the environment and the increasing climate change, the rapid growth in the world population, and new forms of threat to freedom and the whole of humanity due to weapons of mass destruction and internal state conflicts came into the picture, where the United States contribution to the UN is vital for the organization to fulfil its tasks mentioned above.

 In conclusion, even though the US pays less than its share of the world economy. But compared with other nations, the US  still pay more than other nations collectively such as: United Kingdom ( 5.5%) , Italy (5.1%), Canada (2.6%),  Spain (2.5%), Brazil (2.4%), and Republic of Korea (1.8%) ,  and tens of other poor nations. The same can be said about Japan and its share of (19.5%) of the UN regular budget. That’s why  the United States and Japan to a less extent, has the key to bankrupt the UN. This role in globalization matters cannot be undermined, in the same time cannot give the United States the master role of ruling the world. www.dryahyatv.com  (738 words)

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About the Author:
Hasan A. Yahya is an American writer, scholar, and professor of philosophy. He’s the honorary member of the Arab & Muslim Writers Union-A&MWU). Has a 2 Ph.d degrees from MSU. He published 40 books (29 Arabic and 11 English), and 230 plus articles on sociology, religion, psychology, politics, poetry, and short stories. Philosophically, his writings concern logic, justice and human rights worldwide. Dr. Yahya is the author of Crescentologism: The Moon Theory,  and Islam Finds its Way, on Amazon. He’s an expert on Arab and Islamic cultures, and was invited to several TV shows and international conferences on religion, world affairs and future strategic planning. www.askdryahya.com
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The mainstream German media (newspapers, radio, and motion pictures) had, by 1936, been forcibly intimidated by the Nazi government into publishing and broadcasting only Nazi propaganda to the German people. The publishers of the smaller newspapers and magazines in various German cities, who refused to go along with the fascist Nazi agenda, were harshly seized by the brown-shirted SA and, eventually, the SS, and shipped-off to concentration camps. Yet, despite the attempts of Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Minister of Propaganda, to indoctrinate the entire German populace with Nazi lies, approximately 18 percent of all the adult Germans had, and maintained, a silent but adamant assurance that Adolf Hitler was not the Christian that he had claimed to be, but, rather, an atheistic megalomaniac. From 1933 until 1945, around 43 percent of the adult Germans remained unsure about Hitler’s Christian principles, while fully supporting the Nazi regime politically and militarily. It was actually the 39 percent of the adult German citizens, and 99 percent of the German soldiers, sailors, airmen, and the Gestapo, who fully believed in Adolf Hitler, that constituted the means of monitoring and controlling the behaviors of the German dissidents and eventual doubters throughout the course of the 2nd World War.

Do these percentages from the past sound recently familiar? In the Friday, August 20, 2010, edition of the “Washington Post,” a Pew Research Center poll was published showing that 18 percent of the American poll-sample firmly believed that Barack Obama is not a Christian, but a Muslim. A surprising 43 percent of those polled reported that they were unsure whether Obama is a Christian or a Muslim, and only 34 percent of the respondents reported a firm belief that Obama is Christian. Interestingly, in 1936, the dissident 18 percent of the population were absolutely correct in their belief about Hitler not being a Christian, despite what the controlling majority proclaimed. Beneath the current Pew poll results was the article written by Jon Cohen and Michael D. Shear, which seemed to reflect the words of Joseph Goebbels strongly worded 1934 German press release, “Adolf Hitler is, without a doubt, the Christian ambassador for God.” Cohen and Shear disputed the unbelieving 18 percent of the recent Pew poll by saying, “Americans increasingly are convinced – incorrectly – that President Obama is a Muslim, and a growing number are thoroughly confused about his religion.” If, perhaps, the “Washington Post,” the “Los Angeles Times,” the “Chicago Tribune,” “The New York Times,” “The Wall Street Journal” and other major U.S. newspapers readily dispute the growing belief among adult members of the American electorate that Obama is not a Christian, but a Muslim, there will be a desperate clamor in the Democratic Party leadership to assert that the voters are absolutely wrong. This might also be the case if CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC and even PBS weigh into the controversy by calling the voters ignorant of the facts.

Nonetheless, if the American voters go to the polls in November 2010, with an increasing number of them saying, “If Obama looks like a Muslim, talks like a Muslim, and acts like a Muslim, he must be a Muslim,” the Democratic Party is in for a big shock, when Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and the majority of the infamous Democrats who voted for fascist Obamacare, and the economically disparaging Stimulus Bill, are voted out of Congress. But it’s much more of a crying shame when a standing U.S. President has gone to the unscrupulous lengths that Obama has gone to keep his long form birth certificate and educational records away from public disclosure, in order to keep from being exposed as a person basically ineligible to be President. A good point to remember, and ponder, about Barack Hussain Obama is that when he was under Islamic instruction as a young person in Indonesia, he had a different name and had taken upon himself a Muslim bond and obligation that, according to the “Koran” and Islamic tradition, cannot be broken. And a noted scripture in the “Koran,” endorsed by Mohammed himself, is that Muslims are allowed, and encouraged, to deceive the infidel by lying, in order to subdue and control that infidel. This fact, in and of itself, is enough to create reasonable doubt about Barack Obama’s Christian faith in the minds of reasonable

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About the Author:
Norton R. Nowlin holds M.A. and B.A. degrees from the University of Texas at Tyler plus one year of law school at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, in San Diego, California.  He also holds an ABA-approved paralegal certification from Edmonds Community College, in Lynnwood, Washington, is a 1985 graduate of the 72nd San Diego County Sheriff’s Academy, at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, California, and worked professionally as a California peace officer. In addition to the foregoing, Mr. Nowlin’s educational prowess extends 70 semester hours beyond a master’s degree in sociology, history, and law. Mr. Nowlin is presently a paralegal, free-lance writer, and political commentator/journalist. He is a published op-ed essayist for the “Seattle Times,” while also a freelance fiction writer and published poet. He is married, the father of three grown children, and resides with his wife, the renown math and science tutor, Diane C. Nowlin, and their two very intelligent cats, in Northern Virginia.`
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This is a prime opening for the Republicans, yet in many ways it’s the Republicans who truly seem at war with one another.  From the media’s perspective, the party or Reagan now seems to view “moderate’ as a term only surpassed in distain by that deadly label – “liberal”.

The Democrats are doing their best to portray Republicans as the party of ‘no” and unless they begin to propose workable alternatives to the Democrat’s agenda, they run the risk of being viewed mainly as obstructionists, as opposed to problem solvers.  Whereas the county does seem to be veering to the right, any true success will most likely not come by making a hard right.  Britain tried that and their Conservatives paid for it.  It took a centrist, David Cameron, to begin to bring Britain’s conservatives back to the forefront.

Michael Steele doesn’t seem to be the chairman that the RNC needs at this time.  As Obama’s ratings nosedive, the Republicans need a strategic co-coordinator to rally the troops and come up with a strategic unified message, as opposed to several splintered messages. The party also needs to develop some strong presidential front runners.  Sarah Palin is definitely a strong brand name, and a wealthy one.  ABC new estimated that Palin had made in excess of $12 million since stepping down as Alaska’s governor. Yet a recent CNN pool has Obama beating her by 55% to 42% in a head-to-head battle.  More worrisome for the Palin camp, 69% stated she was not qualified to be president.  Obviously much can change between not and 2012, but at present there seems to be no urgency to develop a strong conservative platform with room for moderates.

For now, many view the Republicans as the party of obstructionism, with an intolerance that seems to view any form of cooperation or compromise as a type of blasphemy not to be tolerated.  The Tea Party could become a truly influential movement, but without a true agenda apart from big government being a bad thing, chances are it will eventually implode or begin to splinter into various factions.

This is a perfect opportunity for the Republicans to swoop in and capitalize on the current anger and dissatisfaction in the country, but without a strategic media campaign that reaches out to and resonates with the voters; it could well be a missed opportunity

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2010

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About the Author:
Anthony Mora began his media career as a freelance journalist for such publications as Us, Rolling Stone and other local and national publications. He served as editor-in-chief of two Los Angeles-based entertainment and lifestyle-oriented publications, and co-founded Phillips & Mora Entertainment, a public relations and personal management company, which ventured into video and film production. In 1990, Anthony formed Anthony Mora Communications, Inc. a Los Angeles-based media relations company that specializes in media placement, image development, and media training. AMC Inc. has placed clients in: Time, Newsweek, 60 Minutes, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and other local, national, and international media outlets. Anthony has been featured in: USA Today, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, The BBC, CNN, Entrepreneur, Fox News, MSNBC, and other media. He has written three books. The most recent, \”Spin to Win,\” is a step-by-step guide on how to define goals and utilize the power of the media to achieve success in any field. Practical and user-friendly, \”Spin to Win\” can be utilized by heads of major corporations, small business owners, and entrepreneurs.
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