Our national debt is a national disgrace!

You’ll hear people complaining that the more than $22,000,000,000,000 ($22 trillion) national debt we have can be blamed on democrats and republicans, and they would be correct, but on the other hand I don’t see liberals attempting to really do anything about it or bring it to anyone’s attention.

There is at least a group of conservative congress people who attempt to act like responsible adults.

In this instance, a number of republican lawmakers are seeking to declare our $22 trillion debt a national security threat, and there is no doubt that our debt IS a national security threat.

According to Doug McKelway, a Washington correspondent for Fox News, “Few politicians appear willing to address the hard choices that debt reduction would entail: higher taxes and less spending.”

Wow…, now that is breaking news…, NOT!

Not only do most politicians not want to talk about debt reduction, quite a few of our liberal friends are actually promoting a seemingly unlimited expansion of the national debt.

“We introduced this resolution because the United States is racing towards a fiscal cliff,” Representative Andy Biggs, a Republican from Arizona, who is sponsoring the legislation, said. “Congress is taking few measures to solve this problem, and it is beyond time for our colleagues in both chambers to become serious about balancing the nation’s budget and recognize this issue as a threat to our national security.”

According to Sally Persons of Fox News, “A similar resolution was introduced last year on the House side, but this time sponsors were able to get some support from Senate colleagues. Biggs has been working with Senator David Perdue, a republican from Georgia, and a vocal advocate for addressing the debt, who even has a debt clock in his office, on a similar resolution in the upper chamber.”

“The single greatest threat to our national security is our national debt, and it’s time Washington comes to grips with that reality,” Perdue told Fox News. “This month, our national debt topped $22 trillion. This news should have sounded alarms throughout Washington, but bureaucrats and career politicians didn’t even blink an eye.”

Senator Rand Paul, a republican from Kentucky, admonished his fellow members last year over the budget and spending increases. His opposition actually led to a short government shutdown.

“If you were against President Obama’s deficits and now you’re for the Republican deficits isn’t that the very definition of hypocrisy?” Paul said on the Senate floor last year. “Don’t you remember when Republicans howled to high heaven that President Obama was spending us into the gutter, spending us into oblivion?”

Leaders in the national security community have also made their concerns known about the massive debt. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats listed the debt as a national security concern last year in a hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

“This situation is unsustainable as I think we all know and represents a dire threat to our economic and national security,” Coats said.

“Ultimately, the debt impacts our ability to fund priorities, like providing our men and women in uniform with the resources they need to protect Americans,” Perdue said. “This debt crisis will only get worse, and if we don’t act now, our country will lose the ability to do the right thing.”

Let’s take a closer look about what we’re actually talking about here when we talk about a national debt of over $22,000,000,000,000 ($22 trillion).

Every citizen, meaning every man, woman, child or whatever you are, would have to come up with about $68,000 to pay off the national debt.

According to Chris Pandolfo of the Conservative Review:

Not every citizen pays taxes, however. Every taxpaying citizen owes approximately $166,000 towards the national debt.

The national debt is bigger than the value of everything produced in America over one year (U.S. GDP, Gross Domestic Product, = $19.3 trillion).

That means every dollar you worked for this year and everything of value produced in this country right now is not enough to meet our debt obligations.

Government estimates currently project this year’s budget deficit alone will be $693 billion, which in turn gets added to the running national debt.

To avoid default, the government needs to make interest payments on our debt. As the debt increases, the interest payments go up, too.

A complete collapse is the threat of such uncontrollable debt. And an economic collapse would mean massive cuts to government programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid in a very short amount of time.

When taxes go up, social services stop, paychecks get smaller, and jobs are lost. There, you have the perfect recipe for civil unrest. This is what happened in Greece.

Our national debt increases at an average rate of $27,762.94 per second.

If it took you five minutes to read this, the debt grew by at least another $8 million in that time.

This obviously cannot last.

Eventually we will be unable to make the payments we need to make. When that happens, this country could see economic devastation that looks like Venezuela.

In his farewell address, George Washington urged the nation to “avoid … the accumulation of debt not only by shunning occasions of expense but by vigorous exertions to discharge the debts, no throwing upon posterity the burden which we ourselves ought to bear.”

It’s time to take President Washington’s advice seriously, or we all will end up suffering.

Additionally, Simon Black from the website Sovereignman.com added:

A “trillion” almost seems like a fantasy… a made-up number like “a bajillion” or “a gazillion.”

It’s a number so large that our minds don’t even have the ability to grasp the real meaning of it, because there is so little within our physical human experience that we can relate to it.

To put the number into perspective, consider that in the entire history of humanity no other nation has ever had as much debt as the United States. And yes, that fact is adjusted for inflation.

Let’s say you start spending money when Jesus was born, on the first Christmas.

You start spending $1,000,000 (1 million) every hour. Over two thousand years pass, and by a miracle, you’re still alive…, and you’re still spending $1,000,000 every hour since Jesus’ birth.

So, spending $1,000,000 X 24 hours per day X 365 days per year X 2018 years…, you’d spend $18 trillion. You’d still have spent less that the current US national debt.

Worse yet, the Treasury Department has already estimated that it will borrow another $1 trillion this fiscal year, an additional $1 trillion next year, and another trillion dollars the year after that.

Can you see the insanity?

But the scariest factor is how quickly the US national debt is growing.

On October 22, 1981, the national debt in the United States crossed the $1 trillion threshold for the first time in history.

People were rightly dismayed. It had taken nearly two centuries to reach that unfortunate milestone.

And over that time the country had been through a revolution, civil war, two world wars, the Great Depression, the nuclear arms race…, plus dozens of other conflicts, financial panics, and economic crises.

So who owns the $22 trillion of our national debt?

If you are like most people, you probably have the most concerns about the Chinese and other foreign holders of the national debt. But in reality you should be most worried about the national debt owned by the American people.

It’s a bigger number than all the foreign holders combined.

This may seem unbelievable at first, but let’s take it step-by-step and in a moment it will all make sense. We’ll start with the biggest holders of the national debt:

Federal Agencies:

The second biggest holder are other branches of the US government. You may feel relieved reading this…, after all, it looks like the US government owes a huge portion of its debt to itself and could simply “erase” it if it wanted to.

But it’s important to look closer, because this is the first way of how you own a big portion of the government debt.

The vast majority of this debt is actually held by various government funds such as Social Security and retirement funds.

So…, the entitlements causing our debt own a lot of our debt? How does that work?

This is getting scary.

The US government has made the promise to take care of its citizens. To achieve this goal they put a portion of the collected tax revenue into various funds.

These funds don’t just keep the money in the bank and instead invest a portion of it into various financial instruments to grow it. One of these financial instruments is the national debt in the form of government bonds.

But the important thing to realize here is that this money belongs to the American citizens and not to the government.

And the government has the obligation to pay back that debt in order to allow the Social Security Trust Fund and other funds to fulfill their obligations to the people.

If they don’t pay it back, then it is you, the American citizen, who is on the hook for that debt.

This seems to be a “circular” nightmare that just cannot end well.

The Financial Industry:

The third biggest holder is the financial industry. These are mutual funds, banks, private pensions, insurance companies, savings bonds and so on.

This is another way of you how are exposed to and own the government debt. Even if you personally don’t own the debt, you certainly have a bank account, a 401(k) or an IRA.

And these financial institutions own government bonds purchased with your money.

Here again, we are somehow profiting from our own debt…, our own demise?

The Federal Reserve (America’s central bank):

The Federal Reserve is the fourth biggest holder. It’s the central bank of the United States and also known as “The Fed.” And although it sounds like a government entity, there is nothing “federal” about the Federal Reserve, it’s a private institution.

This private institution has control over the money supply of the United States. It establishes interest rates and has the power to conjure up money out of thin air.

This is an extraordinary power. And it has been awarded to an unelected committee of power brokers, many whom come from the investment banks.

I don’t like the sound of this already.

It works like this:

“The Fed” literally creates money out of thin air and buys government debt with it. The government uses that money to fund government operations, but in return it has to pay interest to The Fed.

Then The Fed pays out a portion of the earned interest and other profits as dividends to its shareholders, who happen to be other private banks such as JPMorgan.

Much of your income taxes are not used for roads, schools or other public services, but are spent on interest paid to The Fed…, on money it created out of nothing.

Huh?

It’s a perverse system designed to transfer wealth from the American people directly to the banking elite. By continuing its unsustainable spending and debt habits, the US government is stealing from the future, your future and your children’s future.

So it is basically what we have come to expect from “the swamp.”

Other holders:

Other debt holders include individuals, bank trusts and estates, businesses and other investors… to the tune of over $1.6 trillion.

Included among these “other holders” of US debt is legendary investor and CEO/chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett. Berkshire has over $100 billion parked in short-term Treasury bills.

State and Local Governments:

Large financial institutions, hedge funds and other investors are not alone in their holdings of US government debt.

Your state government has money invested in US government debt. And it’s likely that your local government also holds federal debt.

So, with your state and even local government holding a portion of the US national debt, you’re a creditor exposed in multiple ways to a federal government default.

The Social Security “Trust Fund” owns $2.8 trillion of our debt, roughly the same as the top 5 foreign holders of US debt.

Medicare owns another $294 billion.

Financial institutions own $3.4 trillion.

That’s a total of about $6.5 trillion and about one-sixth of the national debt. This is an even larger amount than all the foreign holders combined and makes YOU AND I the largest holders of US national debt.

Whether you like it or not, your money is exposed to the national debt and you are a holder of the US national debt in one form or another.

Nobody knows exactly when, but at some point, this whole debt bubble is going to burst.

This economic disaster will be a government default on its debt, and based on other government defaults throughout history, the situation won’t be pretty.

So, congratulations, you’re on the hook for this massive, unsustainable debt. You’re left holding the bag. You and your family are the ones who will fight for a chair when the music stops.

Do we realistically have a chance at ever paying off our national debt?

The unfortunate and short answer is…, No.

In fact, it’s MATHEMATICALLY impossible for the US to pay off its national debt.

In other words, the government could COMPLETELY CUT FUNDING for these 14 departments:

Department of State

Department of the Treasury

Department of Justice

Department of the Interior

Department of Agriculture

Department of Commerce

Department of Labor

Department of Health and Human Services

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Department of Transportation

Department of Energy

Department of Education

Department of Veterans Affairs

Department of Homeland Security

… And the government’s annual budget would still be in the red.

It’s all about the entitlement programs (programs where we get money back from our government), which account for about 60% of our annual budget.

Entitlement programs are used by politicians to “buy” votes by convincing us how compassionate they are as they dole out our own money (and our own future debt) back to us, as if they were digging into their own wallet or purse.

And now we have liberal politicians promoting the “Green New Deal,” which would make our current debt look like pocket change!

I really don’t want to scare you…, but you should be scared.

You should be very scared.

You should be scared enough to make sure you vote next time for a congressional representative, a senator or a president who is courageous enough to do what is right for our country as opposed to selling us all down the river for their own political gain.

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Thank you, MrEricksonRules.

March 20, 2019 0

So, what the heck is this “Green New Deal” anyway?

Well, first of all it’s NOT a law. It’s more like a “game plan” or a “road map” to follow.

It’s a liberal/socialist/environmentalist manifesto in the same vein as the Communist Manifesto.

Yes…, that’s exactly what it is.

Let me be your guide about something you will be hearing about non-stop for a long time. The “biased, liberal, fake news media” will be getting their propaganda machine cranked up into overdrive for this one.

The people that put this “Green New Deal” resolution together were either high on drugs, extremely naive, extremely confused, stupid, or some combination of all of the above, in my opinion.

So…, let’s see exactly what we have here.

This resolution validates all of its proposed actions based on the October 2018 report entitled “Special Report on Global Warming [of 1.5 degrees centigrade]” by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the November 2018 Fourth National Climate Assessment report.

If the report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is to be believed, humanity has just over a decade to get carbon emissions under control before catastrophic climate change impacts become unavoidable.

At the rate our government works, I guess we should all start planning our funerals, or preparing to live underground, and stockpiling food and water, because nothing is going to happen over the next ten years to fix our environment, if in fact it is broken, and if in fact it is our fault.

The United States is already the most environmentally friendly country, among major industrialized nations in the world by the way. You sure wouldn’t know this by the way the “biased, liberal, fake news media” demonizes the USA on a daily basis. Is China, Russia, India, Germany, The United Kingdom or Japan on board with any of this? Because we surely cannot effect global climate change without global participation.

If the Paris Climate Agreement is any indication of the level of global participation we could expect, we’re in trouble!

In the Paris Climate Agreement, which President Trump wisely backed the U.S. out of, all of these other countries pledged their support with flowery environmental words and swore to meet the new pollution regulations AFTER the U.S. had piloted the proposed pollution levels for the first 10-20 years of the agreement!

Such determination!

Such support!

Such disingenuousness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The resolution consists of a preamble, five goals, 14 projects, and 15 requirements. The preamble establishes that there are two crises, a climate crisis and an economic crisis of wage stagnation and growing inequality.

The goals are: achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, creating jobs, providing for a just transition, and securing clean air and water.

The projects are things like: decarbonizing electricity, transportation, and industry, restoring ecosystems, and upgrading buildings and electricity grids.

Our liberal/socialist/environmentalist friends have managed to incorporate virtually all aspects of our society, economy, employment, racial issues, gender issues and government into their “end all, be all” “primary directive.”

The document itself is not even 14 pages long, so please, read it for yourself if you get the chance.

In the meantime, let’s take a look at some excerpts taken directly from the resolution:

“Whereas climate change, pollution, and environmental destruction have exacerbated systemic racial, regional, social, environmental, and economic injustices (referred to in this preamble as “systemic injustices”) by disproportionately affecting indigenous communities, communities of color, migrant communities, deindustrialized communities, depopulated rural communities, the poor, low-income workers, women, the elderly, the unhoused, people with disabilities, and youth (referred to in this preamble as ‘‘frontline and vulnerable communities’’); Whereas, climate change constitutes a direct threat to the national security of the United States…”

Say what?

Are you starting to get the point?

This new Raw Deal…, I mean Green Deal, is your typical “bleeding heart” bunch of politically correct mumbo jumbo.

Here are some of the more detailed goals taken directly from the resolution:

“Upgrade all existing buildings in the United States and building new buildings to achieve maximal energy efficiency, water efficiency, safety, affordability, comfort, and durability, including through electrification.”

Well gee…, that doesn’t sound expensive at all.

“Spurring massive growth in clean manufacturing in the United States and removing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing and industry as much as is technologically feasible, including by expanding renewable energy manufacturing and investing in existing manufacturing and industry.”

What exactly is meant by “spurring?” I’m guessing it means spending more money.

“Working collaboratively with farmers and ranchers in the United States to eliminate pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector as much as is technologically feasible…”

“Working collaboratively” mean dictating unmanageable pollution standards.

“Overhauling transportation systems in the United States to eliminate pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector as much as is technologically feasible, including through investment in zero-emission vehicle infrastructure and manufacturing; clean, affordable, and accessible public transportation; and high-speed rail.”

“Overhauling transportation systems” sounds like a lot of money…, again.

“A Green New Deal must be developed through transparent and inclusive consultation, collaboration, and partnership with frontline and vulnerable communities, labor unions, worker cooperatives, civil society groups, academia, and businesses…”

This last part is just a bunch concepts that sound good, but will never actually happen. Just like with The Affordable Care Act legislation, there will be nothing inclusive or transparent about it.

“To achieve the Green New Deal goals and mobilization, a Green New Deal will require the following goals and projects:”

“Providing and leveraging, in a way that ensures that the public receives appropriate ownership stakes and returns on investment, adequate capital (including through community grants, public banks, and other public financing), technical expertise, supporting policies, and other forms of assistance to communities, organizations, Federal, State, and local government agencies, and businesses working on the Green New Deal mobilization.”

“Making public investments in the research and development of new clean and renewable energy technologies and industries; directing investments to spur economic development, deepen and diversify industry in local and regional economies, and build wealth and community ownership, while prioritizing high-quality job creation and economic, social, and environmental benefits in frontline and vulnerable communities that may otherwise struggle with the transition away from greenhouse gas intensive industries.”

Mo’ money, mo’ money, mo’ money!!!

“Ensuring the use of democratic and participatory processes that are inclusive of and led by frontline and vulnerable communities and workers to plan, implement, and administer the Green New Deal mobilization at the local level; ensuring that the Green New Deal mobilization creates high-quality union jobs that pay prevailing wages, hires local workers, offers training and advancement opportunities, and guarantees wage and benefit parity for workers affected by the transition.”

“Ensuring the use of democratic and participatory processes that are inclusive of and led by frontline and vulnerable communities and workers” means only selected “enlightened” liberal individuals and groups will dictate to all of the rest of us “knuckle-draggers” what to think.

“Guaranteeing a job with a family-sustaining wage, adequate family and medical leave, paid vacations, and retirement security to all people of the United States.”

In the government world “Guaranteeing” something means there will be no budgetary concerns.

“Strengthening and protecting the right of all workers to organize, unionize, and collectively bargain free of coercion, intimidation, and harassment; strengthening and enforcing labor, workplace health and safety, antidiscrimination, and wage and hour standards across all employers, industries, and sectors.”

“Enacting and enforcing trade rules, procurement standards, and border adjustments with strong labor and environmental protections, to stop the transfer of jobs and pollution overseas; and to grow domestic manufacturing in the United States.”

Hasn’t President Trump already pretty much taken care of this one?

“Ensuring that public lands, waters, and oceans are protected and that eminent domain is not abused.”

This means eminent domain will be abused.

“Obtaining the free, prior, and informed consent of indigenous people for all decisions that affect indigenous people and their traditional territories, honoring all treaties and agreements with indigenous people, and protecting and enforcing the sovereignty and land rights of indigenous people.”

Here’s your “bone” Native-Americans!

“Ensuring a commercial environment where every businessperson is free from unfair competition and domination by domestic or international monopolies; and providing all people of the United States with: high-quality health care; affordable, safe, and adequate housing; economic security; and access to clean water, clean air, healthy and affordable food, and nature.”

This last section, and the last section of the resolution, is kind of a catch-all.

According to David Roberts for Vox.com, “The question of how to pay for the many public investments called for in the GND [Green New Deal] is still a bit of a political minefield. There are centrist Democrats who still believe in the old PAYGO rules, keeping a “balanced budget” within a 10-year window. There are Democrats who think deficit fears have been exaggerated and there’s nothing wrong with running a deficit to drive an economic transition. And there are Democrats who have gone full Modern Monetary Theory, which is way too complicated to explain here but amounts to the notion that, short of inflation, the level of the deficit is effectively irrelevant, as long as we’re getting the economy we want. That discussion is just getting underway, and the better part of valor is to do what the GND resolution does: say nothing about it. Leave it for later.”

Just in case you’re keeping score at home, the Green New Deal includes a “federal job guarantee,” the right to unionize, liberal trade and monopoly policies, and universal housing and health care.

In other words, “Hello Socialism…, here we come!”

Some of this stuff is even too far left for Nancy Pelosi! She is actually coming under some attack for even having the slightest bit of skepticism about some of the goals in the Green New Deal!

Remember the name Rhiana Gunn-Wright. She has apparently been tabbed to be the architect of any official policy platforms developed from the Green New Deal resolution.

“Obviously, figuring out how to fundamentally transform the world’s largest economy is a lot for one person to take on. When Gunn-Wright was asked if she knows what she’s gotten into, she laughs. “It’s really exciting!”

Do you mind if I ask if this person has ever really done anything regarding any of this stuff, or is she just working from a theoretical stand point? Has she ever had a non-political job? Does she really know anything about economics?

“If you have more money or access to power, you can either opt out or pay to make it simpler,” she says. “The people who will have to go through all the mess are generally poorer people, with the least access to power.”

So it’ll be just like usual…, with the rich liberal entertainers, athletes, businessmen and politicians being exempt or being able to “buy” their way out of the policies the rest of us are forced to deal with. Again…, “do as I say not as I do.”

David Roberts for Vox.com Thinks, “Gunn-Wright’s command of the issues, coupled with her unapologetic belief in the public sector to “shape markets and direct innovation,” coupled with her evident concern for the low-income and working classes, make me excited to see what New Consensus produces.”

So…, apparently Mr. Roberts is just as clueless as the authors of the resolution, Ms. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ms. Gunn-Wright and all of their partners in crime.

Ocasio-Cortez calls for 100 percent renewable electricity within 10 years, but very few policy experts believe that is possible.

By their own admission, the top three challenges facing the GND are paying for it, convincing the public, and winning over Democrats.

Roberts adds, “In the real world, if the GND looks like it has any chance of becoming a reality, it will face a giant right-wing smear campaign, coordinated across conservative media, think tanks, and politicians, funded by effectively unlimited fossil fuel wealth. The right will rush to define the GND as a silly, ridiculous, naive, unaffordable government boondoggle meant to destroy your way of life and funnel your taxpayer money to Democratic constituencies like illegal immigrants.”

That’s because, Mr. Roberts, the Green New Deal IS “a silly, ridiculous, naive, unaffordable government boondoggle meant to destroy your way of life and funnel your taxpayer money to Democratic constituencies like illegal immigrants.”

Trumpeting the truth about this foolishness is not a “right-wing smear campaign,” it’s just a matter of combating the propaganda of the “biased, liberal, fake news media” and the rest of “the swamp.”

Well, there you have it. I hope this helped.

Like I said…, we’re not going to stop hearing about the Green New Deal anytime soon.

NOTE: If you’re not already “following” me and you liked my blog(s) today, please scroll down to the bottom of this site and click the “Follow” button. That’ll keep you up to date on all of my latest posts.

Thank you, MrEricksonRules.

February 12, 2019 0

The President appealed to lawmakers in both parties to, “Rise above partisan politics and define victory as not winning for one party but winning for our country.” My State of the Union address analysis: Part 2.

Liz Peek for Fox News reported that, “In a speech that was interrupted 102 times by applause, President Trump rocked the House, delivering remarks that were at times moving, funny, inspiring, feisty and visionary.”

I would have to totally agree with Ms. Peek here. I was very impressed by The President’s tone, his overall presence, and his words.

“He appealed to lawmakers in both parties to rise above partisan politics and define victory as “not winning for one party but winning for our country.”

The President “Framed his speech as a celebration of two great occasions: the 75th anniversary of D-Day that liberated Europe [and saved the world’s civilization] from the Nazis and the 50th anniversary of America’s [Apollo 11] moon landing. Heroes from both those historic undertakings were in the gallery, personifying the daring and selflessness that has characterized the United States throughout our history.”

He asked Democrats to partner with him in “choosing greatness” and to “keep freedom alive in our souls.”

“He exhorted Congress to ‘think of this very chamber, where lawmakers before you voted to end slavery, to build the railroads and the highways, to defeat fascism, to secure civil rights, to face down an evil empire.’”

The democrat side of the aisle honestly seemed petty and a bit foolish in comparison.

There was even a large group of democrat female representatives who wore white to represent something, or show some kind of unity. They all characteristically chose to “thumb their noses” at President Trump’s accomplishments, and the country’s historic economic numbers.

Liz Peek added, “The Democrats also pouted as the president listed the economic gains made during his administration. They did not cheer when he said 5.3 million new jobs have been added, including 600,000 manufacturing jobs.”

“Nor did the Democrats cheer when the president cited the all-time low in African-American, Asian-American and Hispanic unemployment and the uptick in the incomes of blue-collar workers.”

“Do Democrats not approve of putting people to work?”

Do they not approve of 5 million people being lifted off of food stamps?

Do they not approve of hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs being brought back to our country?

Do they not approve of us being self-sufficient, energy-wise, in the world?

Do they not approve of our NATO allies finally kicking in their fair share for their own defense spending?

It sure appeared that way, as democrats declined to applaud, and even smirked at the country’s good fortune.

President Trump did manage to break through their grumpiness, however, by pointing to the record number of women working in the United States today and the all-time high number of women in Congress. Even the “women in white” couldn’t help but celebrate themselves.

One of The President’s guests in the gallery was a survivor of Nazi concentration camps who was enjoying his 81st birthday. It was enjoyable to see the entire House join in singing “Happy Birthday” to him. That was certainly a first at a State of the Union address.

“In fairness, even while calling for a ‘new era of cooperation,’ [President] Trump threw some partisan zingers into the mix. He singled out bills recently introduced in Virginia and passed in New York that allow for late-term abortions, and said he would ask Congress to pass legislation banning such procedures.”

“In addition, The President hammered home his determination to secure our ‘dangerous’ border, and the need for a wall. To make the point, he introduced some family members of an elderly couple killed by an illegal immigrant. Democrats were not pleased.”

How can you not be concerned with illegal drugs pouting over our southern border?

How can you not be concerned with thousands of young girls and children being taken advantage of by human trafficers at our southern border?

How can you not be concerned with gang members and other dangerous individuals coming across our southern border and committing crimes against and taking the lives of our citizens?

Just who do these democrat representatives represent exactly?

They didn’t account for themselves very well during the State of the Union address in my opinion.

The President added that “Great nations do not fight endless wars,” which is a statement no one can really argue with, as he is winding down our engagements in Afghanistan and Syria.

Liz Peek commented, “But for sure, the most contentious issue, and the one that continues to hang over the country, is immigration. Trump said no other issue better illustrates the divide between the working class and members of the wealthy [elite] political class, who hide behind walls [and gates and armed guards] while blue-collar workers suffer the lower wages, overburdened schools, [crime] and depleted safety nets that illegal immigration causes.”

“It will be interesting to see how Democrats answer that charge.”

“President Trump asked us all to ‘rekindle the bonds of love and loyalty and memory that link us together as citizens, as neighbors, as patriots.’”

“He vowed, as he has before, to put America’s interests first and, notably, promised that America will never be a socialist country.”

“Even Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer applauded that one.”

A CBS poll, conducted during and directly after The President’s speech, showed that 76% of viewers liked what they heard.

Since polling numbers regarding The President typically seem to skew low; that would translate into an 85%-90% positive approval rating of The President’s speech.

I would tend to agree with them.

In retrospect, I’m glad The President didn’t take my advice and hold his own State of the Union address away from The Capitol. He definitely came away here as being the bigger person, the more reasonable person and the more responsible person.

Congratulations Mr. President.

Thank you, MrEricksonRules.

February 7, 2019 0

Go for it Mr. President!

With all due respect Mr. President, please all allow me to offer you my advice related to the current partial government shutdown.

If ending the government shutdown truly depends on either side compromising on building the wall, this shutdown could last for a very long time, which really isn’t a good thing in the end.

After discussing my intentions privately with the republican Senate and House leadership, I would tell Nancy Peloser and Upchuck Schumer that I was ready to reopen and fund the government, without any money for the wall at this point, and that if they sent legislation up to my office, I would sign it.

After my signing it, I’m sure Peloser and Upchuck would quickly proceed to hold a victory press conference to rub your nose in it.

But wait…, I’m coming to the good part!

The moment they began their victory speech, I would declare a state of emergency on our southern border and immediately begin construction of the wall. Thus upstaging their announcement, while robbing them of gloating over their victory, and ending the shutdown at the same time.

You might as well get it over with and declare the emergency, because the democrats are going to challenge you in court no matter what you do, so you might as well get the ball rolling. The sooner we get the process moving, the sooner it can get to The Supreme Court, at which time they will deem you are within your rights as The President to do what you have done, and we can get on with securing our border.

Every few weeks now we see another “caravan” has formed, with thousands of people, and is preparing to march through Mexico and challenge our southern border.

If having to deal with these invaders on a weekly basis isn’t a national emergency, what is?

And this is on top of the “normal” amount of drug smuggling and human trafficking.

I would not be overly concerned about setting precedent here. Was Nancy concerned about setting one with the State of the Union address?

And like it has been pointed out before, if these illegal immigrants were turning around and voting for republicans, the wall would be so big you’d be able to see it from space.

The democrats are going to do what they need to do going forward and so should we, and so should you.

Don’t do what a politician would do. Do what a patriot and a leader would do.

Go for it Mr. President!

BUILD THAT WALL! BUILD THAT WALL! BUILD THAT WALL!

Like you said, “One way or another.”

Thank you, MrEricksonRules.

January 25, 2019 0

Brilliant! CNN’s Jim Acosta makes President Trump’s case for him without even realizing it!

“I found some steel slats down on the border. But I don’t see anything resembling a national emergency situation.. at least not in the McAllen TX area of the border where Trump will be today. pic.twitter.com/KRoLdszLUu”

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) January 10, 2019

Ian Schwartz of RealClear Politics reported that, “White House officials and Trump supporters on Twitter roundly mocked CNN White House reporter Jim Acosta after he filmed himself taking a walk along a border barrier he called “tranquil” and claiming there was “no national emergency.”

Per Jim Acosta’s CNN broadcast:

“Here’s some of the steel slats that the president has been talking about,” Acosta said as he grabbed a bar. “As you can see, yes, you can see through these slats to the other side of the U.S.-Mexico border.”

“But as I am walking along here we’re not seeing any kind of imminent danger,” Acosta reported as he walked against the barrier. “There are no migrants trying to rush toward this fence here in the McAllen, Texas area.”

“As a matter of fact, there are some other businesses behind me along this highway. There’s a gas station, a Burger King and so on,” the intrepid reporter said into the camera.

“No sign of the national emergency that the president has been talking about. As a matter of fact, it’s pretty tranquil down here.”

Acosta then ended his transmission.

Ha!

Not only is Jim Acosta obnoxious, he’s an obnoxious idiot.

Actually, it turns out that he is an obnoxious, useful, idiot!

And that’s the best kind!

I’m sure Mr. Acosta is kicking himself for unwittingly making the President’s point for him.

Let’s see what some others had to say about Jim “I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat” Acosta!

“When I went with President @realDonaldTrump to the border today I never imagined @Acosta would be there doing our job for us and so clearly explaining why WALLS WORK. Thanks Jim! https://t.co/7wC4rdEsZ2”

— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) January 10, 2019

“I would like to thank @Acosta for pointing out how peaceful, safe and secure it is at a part of the border that HAS a wall. #RealNews #BuildTheWall https://t.co/bkssL9nOW3”

— Brad Parscale (@parscale) January 10, 2019

“A sincere and heartfelt “thank you” to @Acosta and @CNN for finally showing what @POTUS has been saying: barriers work! Great job Jim!!! https://t.co/jZx1NanMgh”

— Hogan Gidley (@hogangidley45) January 10, 2019

“Brilliant reporting from CNN’s @Acosta —walls work! Thank you Jim! https://t.co/Ymw9iCgPzx”

— U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (@SenBillCassidy) January 10, 2019

“Is it possible Acosta is actually a pro-Trump false flag operating under deep cover in the media? If so, he’s a genius. https://t.co/EvRYGrIQZI”

— Buck Sexton (@BuckSexton) January 10, 2019

Yes, thank you Jim.

Thank you for your unwitting support.

WINNING!

Thank you, MrEricksonRules.

January 11, 2019 0

Listen to Cher sing her #1 hit, “Do You Believe in Life After Liberalism!?”

Why anyone cares what Cher has to say is beyond me, but in the liberals’ world it seems she is considered a wise old sage, ala Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, and Whoopi Goldberg.

In this instance, Cher has demanded that Nancy Pelosi end this partial government shutdown and fund the border wall, tweeting to Nancy, “DON’T DIE ON THIS HILL.”

Maybe I need to reconsider my thoughts on Cher!

Cher has also admitted that she felt she went “too far” with her latest criticisms of President Trump (Whaaat?!), although she’s not exactly sorry for calling him a “cancer ravaging our nation (That sounds more like the Cher I know and love!).”

“I Say What I feel, But There’s a Responsibility That Goes With That,” the 71-year-old singer and actress tweeted. “I Walk Knifes Edge, But Sometimes It’s Too far. This Is Not An Apology….Its a Reprimand.”

She continued, “Just Because I CAN SAY ANYTHING…Doesn’t Mean I SHOULD. Sometimes I Learn The Hard Way, Over & Over. Humans are Fallible.”

Cher’s semi-apology came shortly after she described Trump as a “malignant tumor eating its way through our constitution” in a since-deleted tweet, according to Breitbart News Network. The news site also reported that Cher called President Trump a “criminal,” a “sociopath” and a “despot.”

According to Fox News, “This is hardly the first time Cher has lashed out against Trump and members of his administration.”

“At an August 2016 Hillary Clinton fundraiser, the singer compared Trump to Hitler and told reporters that Trump was ‘a racist, he’s a misogynist, he’s a horrible person.’”

“She took to Twitter in January to express her sentiments about White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders’ style and shamed her for her everyday wear.”

Cher’s tweet read, “Would someone please tell Sarah Huckabee Sanders to stop dressing like a sister wife?”

“The singer illustrated her tweet with an image of two women in stereotypical clothing. In the photo the women also sport braids, plain lace-up shoes and high-neck dresses with long sleeves and puffy shoulders.”

After President Trump delivered a prime-time address from the Oval Office making the case for funding the border wall, which was followed by a response from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who argued that the president must reopen the government in order to continue conversations about border security, Cher took to Twitter to blast the president for promising that Mexico would pay for the wall and demanded him to end the government shutdown.

The next day, however, she called out Pelosi: “NANCY YOU ARE A HERO. LET (Trump) HAVE HIS FKNG MONEY. PPL WILL STARVE LOSE THEIR HOMES, B UNABLE 2 C DRS.”

Cher then demanded Democrats to “stop” the shutdown before Trump does: “HELL B HERO… HE’LL EAT UR LUNCH & STEAL UR LUNCH YOU’LL B FKD 6 WAYS 2 SUNDAY.DONT DIE ON THIS HILL. HE STOPS AT NOTHING.”

I’m sorry Nancy, but I feel that I have to go along with Cher on this one. You need to let President Trump have the money for the wall.

“If I could turn back time…,” I’d vote for Donald Trump all over again!

Winning!

Thank you, MrEricksonRules.

January 11, 2019 0

Crisis? What crisis?

A “crisis” (from the Greek κρίσις – krisis) is any event that is going (or is expected) to lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, community, or whole society.

Fact: More Americans will die from drugs this year than were killed in the entire Vietnam War.

Fact: Our southern border with Mexico is a pipeline that permits vast quantities of illegal drugs, including meth, heroin, cocaine and fentanyl to enter our country illegally.

Fact: Every week, 300 of our citizens are killed by heroin alone.

Fact: 90 percent of the heroin in our country came across our southern border.

Fact: Last month, 20,000 migrant children were illegally brought into the United States. These children are used as human pawns by vicious smugglers and ruthless gangs.

Fact: 60,000 unaccompanied children crossed the border last year, a 25 percent increase.

Fact: One in three women are sexually assaulted on the dangerous trek up through Mexico. Women and children are the biggest victims by far of our broken system.

Fact: The cost of dealing with the effects of illegal drugs exceeds $500 billion dollars a year in the United States.

Facts according to a study released in 2011 by the Government Accounting Office (GAO) reported on incarcerations, arrests and costs of criminal immigrants (gao.gov/assets/320/316959.pdf):

The number of criminal illegal immigrants in federal prisons in 2010 was about 55,000; the number incarcerated in state prison systems and local jails was approximately 296,000 for the year 2009.

Based on the GAO’s sample of criminal immigrants, it’s estimated that the study population of these 249,000 criminals had actually been previously arrested around 1.7 million times, averaging about seven arrests per person. That translated into a half-million drug related offenses, 70,000 sexual offenses, 213,000 assaults, 125,000 arrests for larceny/theft and 25,000 homicides.

The makeup of those criminal immigrants incarcerated in federal prisons: 68 percent were citizens of Mexico and almost 90 percent were from one of seven Latin American countries: Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Cuba and the Dominican Republic.

The GAO study states the cost to incarcerate these criminal illegal immigrants in federal prisons and for federal reimbursements to states and localities ranged from about $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion annually, 2005-2009.

According to Victor Davis Hanson, a scholar at the Hoover Institution, the 30,000 illegal immigrants behind bars in California alone costs the state $1 billion annually. In addition, the state spends another $10 billion annually in entitlements for illegal immigrants.

And remember, all of these numbers are from 7-8 years ago. We can only expect that these numbers have increased on a yearly basis, and are quite worse by now.

According to the Center for Immigration Studies, “In 2013, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) freed 36,007 convicted criminal aliens from detention who were awaiting the outcome of deportation proceedings. Many of the 36,007 convicted criminal aliens freed from ICE custody had multiple convictions including: 193 homicide convictions; 426 sexual assault convictions; 303 kidnapping convictions; 1,075 aggravated assault convictions; 1,160 stolen vehicle convictions; 9,187 dangerous drug convictions; 16,070 drunk or drugged driving convictions; and 303 flight escape convictions.” (cis.org/ICE-Document-Details-36000-Criminal-Aliens-Release-in-2013)

U.S. Census data shows that the overall population of immigrants is at an all-time high of 41.3 million. As many as 8 million immigrants have entered the United States since President Obama came into office, including 2.5 million illegally, either by crossing the border or overstaying their visa.

So, do we have a crisis on our hands?

Remember, a “crisis” is any event that is going (or is expected) to lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, community, or whole society.

Any reasonable person would have to say the answer to that question is “YES,” we have a national security, humanitarian, social, economic and public safety crisis on our hands, and President Trump has stated as much.

“Over the last several years, I’ve met with dozens of families whose loved ones were stolen by illegal immigration,” President Trump added. I’ve held the hands of the weeping mothers and embraced the grief-stricken fathers. So sad. So terrible. I will never forget the pain in their eyes, the tremble in their voices, or the sadness gripping their souls. How much more American blood must be shed before Congress does its job?”

After President Trump’s address to the nation, in which he asked for a paltry $5.7 billion dollars help secure our southern border with some kind of barrier or wall, Senator Charles Schumer from New York and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi gave the Democrat response on the issue.

Pelosi and Schumer, basically condemned Trump’s words and what they called his “obsession” with building a border wall.

“President Trump must stop holding the American people hostage, must stop manufacturing a crisis and must reopen the government,” Pelosi said.

Manufacturing a crisis?

Have you been listening, Nancy? Have you looked at the numbers? Have you seen the pictures of “the caravan” in Tijuana, Mexico, and at the border?

President Trump has brought manufacturing back to America, but he doesn’t need to do any manufacturing here. The facts are out there for everyone to plainly see.

“Much of what we have heard from President Trump throughout this senseless shutdown has been full of misinformation and even malice,” Pelosi, standing next to Schumer, charged. “The President has chosen fear. We want to start with the facts.”

No Nancy, the President has not chosen fear, he has chosen to address the reality and the seriousness of the situation, as opposed to kicking this political football down the road once more.

“The fact is: On the very first day of this Congress, House Democrats passed Senate Republican legislation to re-open government and fund smart, effective border security solutions,” Pelosi said, referring to bills that did not include funding for Trump’s border wall.

The “smart, effective border security solutions” that you and Chuck support, Nancy, are all good, but they are all reactive and not proactive. Drones and other types of electronic surveillance will produce nice pictures of illegal immigrants running across the border, but they are not going to stop anybody. A physical barrier or wall will. Walls work.

“But, the president is rejecting these bipartisan bills which would re-open government, over his obsession with forcing American taxpayers to waste billions of dollars on an expensive and ineffective wall, a wall he always promised Mexico would pay for,” Pelosi continued.

The President, during his address, emphasized that the wall “would very quickly pay for itself,” and added that “the wall will also be paid for, indirectly, by the great new trade deal we have made with Mexico.”

Schumer and Pelosi seemed to think that federal employees missing a paycheck or two during the shutdown was more of a crisis than hundreds of families who have lost loved ones at the hands of illegal immigrants in our country.

These federal employees will get back pay. These poor families will not get their sons, daughters, wives and husbands back.

“The symbol of America should be the Statue of Liberty, not a thirty-foot wall,” Schumer concluded.

Yes, Senator Schumer, “The symbol of America should be the Statue of Liberty,” but I’m afraid the symbol right now is of an illegal immigrant jumping over a pathetic 6 foot fence and breaking into our country.

Responding to Pelosi’s widely reported comment that a wall would be “immoral,” President Trump concluded his address by saying, “Some have suggested a barrier is immoral. Then why do wealthy politicians build walls, fences and gates around their homes? They don’t build walls because they hate the people on the outside, but because they love the people on the inside.”

According to Marc A. Thiessen for The Washington Post, “Trump won the night. Schumer and Pelosi lost.”

Thiessen added that, “Speaking from the Oval Office for the first time during his presidency, Trump embraced our country’s tradition as a nation of immigrants, declaring ‘America proudly welcomes millions of lawful immigrants who enrich our society and contribute to our nation.’ He then offered a cogent explanation why he believes we face what he called ‘a humanitarian crisis, a crisis of the heart and a crisis of the soul’ along our southern border.”

“He laid out his solution, which he explained were ‘developed by law enforcement professionals and border agents’ and includes funds for cutting-edge technology, more border agents, more immigration judges, more bed space and medical support, and $5.7 billion for a ‘physical barrier’ that he called ‘just common sense.’”

“The president did not unilaterally declare a national emergency. Instead, he called for compromise and said, ‘To those who refuse to compromise in the name of border security, I would ask: imagine if it was your child, your husband, or your wife, whose life was so cruelly shattered and totally broken?’”

“He was, in short, presidential.”

“Pelosi and Schumer failed to use the one word that millions of Americans were longing to hear, compromise. But Trump did. That is why the president won the night. Schumer and Pelosi appealed to their base, while Trump made an effective appeal to persuadable Americans.”

“Until now, Trump has owned the 18-day government shutdown that prompted this address, because he’s the one who started it. But if Democrats continue to attack him, and won’t entertain any compromise, soon the shutdown will be all theirs, because they’re the ones who have refused to end it.”

Radio and TV talk show host Mark Levin called Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer “pathological liars” and “scam artists” following their response to President Trump’s Oval Office address on the border wall.

“Let’s keep a few things in mind when you watch Schumer and Pelosi, they are pathological liars,” he continued. “They have been in Congress over half a century. What the hell have they done about the border? They are part of the scam artists. They get amnesty, legalization, citizenship, and never secure the border.”

Democrats are well known for not letting facts get in the way of a good political argument, and this argument is no exception.

But in the end, we ARE dealing with a real “crisis” here and it is way past due that we effectively and realistically deal with it.

NOTE: If you’re not already “following” me and you liked my blog(s) today, please scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the “Follow” button. That’ll keep you up to date on all of my latest posts.

Thank you, MrEricksonRules.

January 9, 2019 0

How should taxes be ideally collected?

I believe that no taxes should be taken out of our paychecks.

None.

I believe that taxing based on whether you get a paycheck or not is discriminatory.

I believe the tax rates and certain tax considerations are discriminatory as well.

All money should be collected from national and state sales taxes, along with some other usage taxes and fees.

Things would cost a little more, but we’d have more money to spend as well.

These taxes would be inherently fair because those who spent more money would pay more taxes, and those who liked doing certain things would pay for those things.

Also, people hiding from income taxes, like illegal workers and “cash” workers, would now be paying their fair share.

Corporations and “the rich” would not have to worry about finding “loop holes” anymore, because there wouldn’t be any!

There would be no need for filing tax returns because there would be no deductions, and there would be no more redistribution of wealth via the tax system. There would be no more getting a tax refund or owing taxes. Whatever you pay in sales tax is what you pay.

Items deemed to be “necessities” would not be taxed or taxed at a lesser rate.

The only people that could possibly have a problem with this system are those wanting to rip-off our current system, those actually ripping-off our current system now, and those not paying their fair share of taxes or any taxes at all, leaving the rest of us poor honest slobs to pick-up the whole tab.

Other usage taxes would also be employed. For example, the fuel tax would in turn pay for all things transportation related. The more fuel you purchase, the more you use the roads, so the more you pay. Get it?

People who participate in activities or use certain places, pay for those activities and places with associated fees.

Anything that is not self-sustainable would become unavailable.

Funding for our government, military, social security, and other essential services would come from the base sales tax and would be appropriated as they currently are.

Also, by collecting taxes this way, we are all invested in the process. If you don’t pay any taxes you’re not really concerned with how high they are or how the taxes are being spent.

I understand that this is not a completely original idea, but the concept here as a whole is, I believe.

I’m not holding my breath for this method of tax collection to go into effect, but someday…, maybe.

Please give me some feedback and let me know what you think!

NOTE: If you’re not already “following” me and you liked my blog(s) today, please scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the “Follow” button. That’ll keep you up to date on my latest posts.

Thank you, MrEricksonRules.

December 28, 2018 0

“A person with options is a person with power!”

“A person with the option to take ownership of something is much richer when they decide to invest in that option of their own free will. – Mr. Erickson

What is politics in America basically about?

Politics in America is basically about people fighting to decide who will have the power to decide what we spend our money on, among other things, of course, but primarily that.

What if we took some of that power out of the equation for our politicians?

What if they were only charged with supplying the options, not the actual funding in a lot of cases?

What if we gave some of that power back to the people who are footing the bill?

You might say that could never work because how could you formulate a budget operating that way?

Well, my answer would be that the politicians have not operated within a budget for a long time anyway. And I would be right. The last time the Congress even passed a budget was in 2006.

Some types of basic levels of funding would have to exist for the military, government operations, etc., but the lion’s share of the spending could be deemed discretionary, and those levels determined by the desires of the taxpayers.

For example, in my state, when filling out my tax return form, I can select an amount to go towards any of the following causes: Endangered resources, Military family relief, Cancer research, Second Harvest/Feeding Americans, Veterans trust fund, Red Cross Disaster Relief, Multiple sclerosis, of the Special Olympics.

Why can’t the federal government help to fund different projects or causes the same way?

If people really want something they’ll kick-in money for it, and if they don’t, they won’t.

Why couldn’t we have the option to give additional money to a “Border wall building fund?”

Or to NASA?

Or to a “School Security” fund?

Or to a “Climate change protection fund?”

Or to a “Help the homeless fund?”

Or to an “Education improvement fund?

Think about all of the possibilities and all of the opportunities.

I feel like this would be a more productive way of spending our money.

Instead of these lobbyists wasting money on politicians, they could just directly fund their own cause.

Instead of private citizens wasting their money on supporting politicians, they could just directly fund their own favorite causes.

If you are worried about climate change, then put your money where your mouth is.

If you want a border wall built on our southern border, open up your wallet and chip in.

Having choices is good.

Being forced to pay for programs you don’t support is not good.

Let’s try doing what’s good.

Thank you, MrEricksonRules.

December 28, 2018 0

Category: federal funding

Our national debt is a national disgrace!

So, what the heck is this “Green New Deal” anyway?

The President appealed to lawmakers in both parties to, “Rise above partisan politics and define victory as not winning for one party but winning for our country.” My State of the Union address analysis: Part 2.

Go for it Mr. President!

Brilliant! CNN’s Jim Acosta makes President Trump’s case for him without even realizing it!

Listen to Cher sing her #1 hit, “Do You Believe in Life After Liberalism!?”

Crisis? What crisis?

How should taxes be ideally collected?

“A person with options is a person with power!”

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