Major
Issue is NOT the Economy
Richard Salbato 4-26-2008
When Ronald Regan
ran for president against Carter, the economy was in shambles, with lines at
the gas pumps, interest rates on 30 year mortgages at 20%, inflation out of
control, and taxes too high. Regan asked,
“Are you better off now?” When
When this election
process began the war was the major issue, but when the housing crisis began
and the war improved, the number one issue became the economy. I would like to talk a little about the
economy first and then show what the real issues should be, knowing all the
time, that no matter what I say, people will still vote their pocket book.
We are in an
economic slow down caused by high gas prices and sub-prime house loans with
adjustable mortgage rates. First let us understand who caused both of these
problems. In both cases it was what the
Congress and Senate did and did not do.
The Housing Problem
In the case of the
housing crisis, it was the government that wanted people who could not afford
homes to have them. They opened the door to the stupidest program in
When I bought my
first home, you had to have a 20% down payment, good credit, and an income four
times your monthly payments. Houses were
cheap and sales were great. Today they
allow people to buy homes with payments equal to more than half their monthly
income even when there are two incomes in the family.
In truth, this housing crisis is the best
thing that could happen to the economy in the long run. Twenty years ago, anyone with an average
income and good credit could by a home.
But because of the change in income (two people working per household),
and because of no-money down rules, and because of adjustable mortgage
payments, house prices got out of control.
In the last 30
years, when income increased 200%, houses increased by 600%. Contractors made a 20% profit 30 years ago,
but before this crisis they were making 200%.
Considering inflation, the cost of property and the cost of
construction, houses are over priced from 30% to 50% depending on the
area. For instance, a house selling for
$600,000 may only be worth $300,000 and a house selling for $250,000 may only
be worth $125,000. The reason for this
is that builders, banks and assessors worked together for maxing out profits,
and because of the laws stated above they got away with it. The government allowed this and the banks
took advantage of it.
Why then did the
Banks also get hit badly when it all fell apart when the adjustable mortgages
re-set? First you have to understand
banks and government regulations. When I
was young we said that Banks had a license to steal because they could leverage
their deposits seven times. That means
that if they had $1,000,000 in deposits, they could lend out $7,000,000. Because of the change from regular banks to
Security Companies and Mortgage Companies, this leverage went from 7 times to
30 times. When you hear of a company
writing off billions of dollars in equity, they are not loosing billions of
dollars, they are simply being honest about what their equity is worth. Banks are no difference than homes. If I have a home that I think is worth
$1,000,000 and have other assets worth $100,000 and cash money of $50,000, I
can say I have a net worth of $1,150,000.
If I find out that my house is only worth $500,000, I can say I lost
$500,000 in equity but in truth I lost nothing.
I simply corrected my false understanding.
If governments
would simply leave the free market alone, with reasonable regulations for
justice, the markets would correct themselves.
The market his time will correct itself, but because of government
interference it will not correct itself quickly. Without this correction, an average household
wage-earner could never afford a home.
I understand that
years ago the government wanted to help everyone own a home, but instead of
building cheaper homes, they came up with these stupid mortgages, which made
temporary renters out of people who thought they owned houses.
What they could
have done is mandate areas where zoning regulations would allow smaller homes,
without two car garages, and without mandatory garbage disposals and
dish-washers. In
You will note that
this housing crisis has not spilled over to the rest of the economy, and before
the elections it will be 70% corrected and over.
The Gas Problem
There is no question that the first gulf
war was for oil because Saddam Hussein invaded oil rich
As we have stopped drilling for oil in
Oil companies are drilling in these areas
but have no incentive to go quickly at it considering the government climate
and what seems to be coming, a completely Democratic Government, whose only
ideas are conservation and alternative fuels.
They want no more oil at all.
Even the companies that are making fuel from
corn and other farm crops admit that even if they use all the land they can
they will never get better that 50% of our needs and they will not reach 10% by
2030.
What about conservation? Hybrid cars are the greatest thing since the
invention of electricity, but even if everyone who buys a new car buys a
Hybrid, in 17 years it will only be 30% of the cars and trucks on the road and
by then we will be using the same amount of oil we do now. That means by 2025
we would not reduce our need for oil by one drop.
The real long term solution is all
electric cars, which are almost developed, but -------.
Look at our highways and freeways and imagine
all those cars running on electricity. Where is all that electricity going to
come from? Our electric grid is already
over loaded – maxed out.
We have not built a Nuclear Power Plant
in over 30 years and during that time American companies like Brown and Root
have built over 100 plants world wide but not one in
We are not building Coal Powered plants
but
It has been over a year now that I wrote $5.00
Gas or World War III because
unless we get off of foreign oil now, we will be seeing a shut off of all foreign
oil and our economy will stop dead. Forget about gas prices, there will be no
gas.
It's time for consumers to strike back
against the real culprits behind rising gasoline and food prices. Who deserves blame?
How about blaming our very own United
States Congress? For decades, Congress has led our government into disastrous
decisions by being the patsy of radical environmentalists, naysayers
and prophets of doom. Recent presidents have done little to resist.
Now American consumers pay the price
while politicians try to evade and shift the blame.
However, we can lower gas prices by
reversing misguided federal policies, and lower food prices, too. It's all
about what we learned (or should have) in Economics 101 – supply and demand.
The stifling of domestic oil and gas
production and the suppression of new refineries and nuclear power plants have
choked off the supplies of domestic energy,
forcing us to rely on foreign oil. In the international market, we must bid
against the growing energy appetites of
Politicians keep promising a plentiful
supply of alternative
energy, but
that remains far in the future, and much of it will be more expensive than
$4-per-gallon gasoline. Ponder this: How could you afford any fuel that needs
government subsidies to compete with $120-a-barrel oil? Those will never be
affordable for consumers.
We don't have a shortage
of oil
and gas reserves; they've just been placed off limits. They include parts of
That's why 60 percent of our oil is now
imported. And these restrictions caused
Similar federal policies have blocked
construction of oil refineries and nuclear power
plants for
more than 30 years, again increasing our dependence on foreign supplies of
energy.
Yes, our modern technology can produce
the energy we need without harming the environment. Unfortunately, liberals
have sought to demonize the oil and gas industry, hoping to destroy its
credibility so the public will see it as a greedy bunch of rich polluters.
With gasoline so expensive, oil
executives were called before Congress to discuss record-high profits. The hope
was to justify taxing them for another $18 billion, on top of the $90 billion
they already pay. Politicians then would give that $18 billion to subsidize
other types of energy that are too expensive to operate profitably
Yet the profit margin for oil and gas is about 7 cents for each dollar invested, according to Business Week. That's about the same margin as Avon Cosmetics, Amazon.com and Bed Bath & Beyond, and toothpaste maker Colgate-Palmolive. Apple, with high-tech gurus, was twice as profitable. So were Coke and Pepsi. And Microsoft and Google made four times the average oil company's rate of return.
But is anybody angry about the high cost of toothpaste, iPods or soft drinks? Why don't more profitable companies
get raked over the coals by Congress? Because Congress
doesn't need them as scapegoats. Lawmakers have messed up
Another reason for high gas prices: federal and state regulations that require dozens of "boutique fuels," dictating different blends of gas for different regions. As a result, we no longer have an efficient national market that enables a surplus in one area to be shifted to another part of the country. Boutique fuels require expensive refinery shutdowns to change output from one formula to another, lowering production and risking overproduction for one area and underproduction for someplace else. Consumers pay the price.
A big part of boutique fuels is the ethanol mandate, now set by Congress at $18 billion a year, which shifted the corn supply from food to fuel. The mandate set off a domino effect as the government pays farmers to grow corn rather than other grains, and to sell it for fuel instead of food. And because corn is the major feed for livestock, the prices of meat, eggs, milk and so on climb along with prices for grain, flour, baked goods, etc.
Nobody wants to be blamed for food riots and world hunger, but the public is realizing those are the outrageous results of ethanol subsidies.
Besides, ethanol reduces all-important gas mileage. As the Heritage Foundation's Ben Lieberman put it, "America's energy policy has been on an ethanol binge, and now the hangover has begun."
Unfortunately, we've lost time while we were on that binge. Now, if we want to get serious about lower gasoline prices (and food prices), here's a simple five-point checklist:
1. Understand the causes, especially the role of government
2. Open up reserve areas
3. Build refineries and nuclear power plants
4. End expensive and wasteful mandates, especially ethanol
5. Let the free market develop alternatives for the future
Finally, remember patience: These problems didn't develop
overnight and can't be solved overnight.
The War Problem
What
about the war in
But let’s
go back to why we went there in the first place, and
what the liberal media knows but will not admit. Saddam Hussein had weapons of Mass
Distruction and was going to use them on
Iragi General George Sada was one of Saddam
Hussein's top military advisors and the only man who disagreed with him and
lived to tell about it.
Iraqi General George Sada
said:
“I was
No. 2 in the air force. I worked since the revolution of 1968. I was retired in
'86 and then I was recalled again when
“Up to
the year 2002, 2002, in summer, they were in
With
this air bridge, he moved these weapons
of mass destruction to
“They
were moved by air and by ground, 56 sorties by jumbo, 747, and 27 were moved,
after they were converted to cargo aircraft, they were moved to
“The Syrian government knows exactly where
these weapons are today? These weapons
have landed in
“
“We were so supposed to attack Israel by
like eight aircraft, all equipped with nuclear — chemical weapons in two waves,
one wave through Jordan and the other wave through Syria, without telling
Syrians and Jordan about that. But I
mentioned to the president, "Sir, this is going to be a disaster, because
Israelis have got plans to destroy these airplanes before they go to
Now
let’s face it, we will have to go to war with
The Problem of Money
But like all other elections, if people are going to only think of themselves, and their pocketbook, who is better for your money?
The
Tax Problem
Taxes under Clinton
1999
Taxes under Bush 2008
Single making 30K - tax
$8,400 Single
making 30K - tax $4,500
Single making 50K - tax $14,000
Single making 50K - tax $12,500
Single making 75K - tax $23,250
Single making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 60K - tax
$16,800 Married making 60K- tax $9,000
Married making 75K - tax $21,000
Married making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 125K - tax $38,750 Married making 125K -
tax $31,250
If any democrat is
elected, ALL of them say they will repeal the Bush tax cuts.
Proposed changes
in taxes after 2008 General election:
CAPITAL GAINS TAXES EFFECT EVERYONE
MCCAIN 15% (no change)
OBAMA 28%
How does this affect you? If you sell your home and make a profit, you will pay
28% of your gain on taxes. If you are heading toward retirement and would like
to down-size your home or move into a retirement
community, 28% of the money you make from your home will go to taxes. This
proposal will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the income from
their homes as part of their retirement income.
DIVIDEND TAXES EFFECT EVERYONE
MCCAIN 15% (no change)
OBAMA 39.6%
How will this affect you? If you have any money invested in stock market, IRA,
mutual funds, college funds, life insurance, retirement accounts, or anything
that pays or reinvests dividends, you will now be paying nearly 40% of the
money earned on taxes if Obama or Clinton become
president. The experts predict that 'Higher tax rates on dividends and capital
gains would crash the stock market yet do absolutely nothing to cut the
deficit.' And businesses will go overseas.
INCOME TAX
MCCAIN (no changes)
Single making 30K - tax $4,500
Single making 50K - tax $12,500
Single making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 60K- tax $9,000
Married making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 125K - tax $31,250
OBAMA and CLINTON (reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts)
Single making 30K - tax
$8,400
Single making 50K - tax $14,000
Single making 75K - tax $23,250
Married making 60K - tax $16,800
Married making 75K - tax $21,000
Married making 125K - tax $38,750
INHERITANCE TAX
MCCAIN 0% (No change, Bush repealed this tax)
OBAMA and CLINTON keep the inheritance tax
How does this affect you? Many
families have lost businesses, farms and ranches, and homes that have been in
their families for generations because they could not afford the inheritance
tax. Those willing their assets to loved ones will not only lose them to these
taxes.
NEW TAXES BEING PROPOSED BY BOTH CLINTON
AND OBAMA
* New government taxes proposed on homes that are more than 2400 square
feet
* New gasoline taxes (as if gas weren't high enough already)
* New taxes on natural resources consumption (heating gas, water, electricity)
* New taxes on retirement accounts
and last but not least....
* New taxes to pay for socialized medicine so we can receive the same level of
medical care as other third-world countries!!!
Can you afford Clinton or Obama? I can't!!!!!
(in case you want more information on Obama's tax and
spend agenda:
If Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) Could Enact All Of His
Campaign Proposals, Taxpayers Would Be Faced With Financing $874.35 Billion In New Spending Over One White House Term:
The Medicare Problem
Ben Stein, the
economist, commentator, and one-time Nixon speechwriter, also well known for
film and TV roles, says the cost of Medicare is already completely out of hand.
In fact, the
future cost is beyond our ability to pay — period.
“Medicare is
such a crisis you can hardly imagine,” Stein said in a video commentary for
Fortune magazine. “Actuarially, the
He isn’t
speaking theoretically. Stein says that the locked-in, required spending —
figures not up for debate — simply overwhelm not only the potential income from
taxes, but the actual value of the assets themselves.
“The
liabilities foreseeable up until the year 2050 discounted back to present value
exceed the total wealth of the nation,” Stein said.
“Every
building, every warehouse, every K-Mart, every Wal-Mart, every Target, every
Sears, every ship, every plane, every acre of wheat or corn, every oil well,
put them all in one big bond, it would not equal the liabilities of Medicare,”
he said.
According to
the
Remember, too,
that Medicare is not 100 percent coverage, so these estimates are not the total
cost of health care, just the government’s liability.
Add Social
Security entitlements, and things at first blush don’t seem so bad. Social
Security payments added on are projected to total 12.7 percent of GDP by 2030,
rising to 17.6 percent in 2080, according to the actuaries.
It can be easy
to presume that the economy can potentially grow its way out of the
entitlements mess — until you realize that GDP is the whole economy and not the
federal budget.
Consider, for
a moment, that federal revenues average 18 percent of GDP. This means that in
2007 — this year — 40 percent of federal
revenues already goes to entitlements.
All things
remaining equal, the Medicare and Social Security “bite” climbs to 80 percent
of the budget by 2040.
Entitlement spending consumes the entire federal
budget by 2080, bankrupting the government. Education, security, defense, disaster aid,
housing, environment, science, transportation — everything else — gone.
“So it’s a
real serious problem,” Stein said. “The solution to this problem is extremely
difficult to figure out.”
Means-testing
— simply put, requiring wealthier Americans to pay more out of pocket rather
than rely on Medicare — is probably inevitable, Stein said.
That puts
people who are doing the right thing and saving in a bind, since it adds an
inestimable new cost to retirement: health care.
“As a close
friend of mine says, this is the joker in the deck: What are your medical costs
going to be when you retire?” Stein said.
“It could be
much, much larger than you think. That means you have to save even more,” he
said.
The Problem of the Congress
I watch c-span whenever I can to see what the house
and senate are doing day by day. I was
very unhappy with the Republicans and their excessive spending before, but now
that the Democrats are in power, I just want to throw up. The political games played here are beyond
reason. Two years of the stupidest
government I have ever seen. The house is
the worst, where Nancy Palosi acts like a
dictator. Even when both Democrats and
Republicans get together for something and have the votes, if she does not
agree with it, she simply will not bring it to the floor for a vote.
You are not going to believe this, but what body of people have the following: 36 accused of spousal abuse, 7 arrested for fraud. 19 accused of writing bad checks, 117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2
businesses, 3 have done Time for assault, 71 cannot get a credit card due to bad
credit, 14 have been arrested on
drug-related charges, 8 have been arrested for shoplifting, 21 currently are defendants in lawsuits, and 84 have been arrested
for drunk driving in the
last year. This is not the NBA
or NFL. It is the 535 members of the United States Congress.
The same group that cranks out hundreds of new laws each year designed to keep the
rest of us in line.
Gun Control
Since
one of these people running for President wants to do away with all guns in
Hi
Yanks, I thought you all would like to see the real figures from Down Under. It has now been 12 months since gun owners in
While
figures over the previous 25 years showed a steady decrease in armed robbery
with firearms, this has changed drastically upward in the past 12 months, since
the criminals now are guaranteed that their prey is unarmed. There has also
been a dramatic increase in break-ins and assaults of the elderly, while the
resident is at home.
Australian
politicians are at a loss to explain how public safety has decreased, after
such monumental effort and expense was expended in 'successfully ridding
Australian society of guns.' You won't see this on the American evening news or
hear your governor or members of the State Assembly disseminating this
information.
The
Australian experience speaks for itself. Guns in the hands of honest citizens
save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws affect only the law-abiding
citizens.
Take
note Americans, before it's too late!