Ron Paul Rules GOP Debate

As anyone can see, Ron Paul put a thumpin on the other GOP candidates according to the folks at Fox, Iowa GOP Debate - Topix. This is the equivalent of the first NFL preseason game. We knew going in that it would be soundbyte city and Obama bashing. The first is boring and the second is a given. But, the race to 2012 is underway.

Does this mean that Paul will be nominated? Nope. It means that so far the political machine hasn't mocked him, marginalized him, or made the voter feel like an overly idealistic neophyte. But it is coming. If you are a Ron Paul Fan, and yes; I am, then stand the hell by. It won't be long before the media disinformation of 2008 is replayed.

Let's not read too much into the debates just yet. The answers were canned and predictable to include Michelles submissive wife answer. And if you didn't figure on Perry's entry timing... well it's early in the season.

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Invasion of the Supercommittee?

I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop. And here it is.

One of the Dems wants to make another supracongressional "supercommittee". This one is for job creation.

The danger is that this committee isn't authorized per the constitution.

• It is, or will be, another branch of government.One that isn't accountable to any non-government citizen.
• This branch will once and for all dispense with the notion that all citizens and every state is represented in the Congress.
• This branch will be a single focus for lobby minded organizations.
• It, and it's proposed siblings, will become the elite of government. They will be removed from the people and leave the weaker congress to answer for its' decisions.

First the debt, now maybe jobs; What's Next?

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How to Budget Congress

It isn't the deficit, it's the debt. I keep hearing that. But in reality it's the first step in killing the debt. A deficit budget guarantees a higher debt. We must balance the budget and include debt reduction as part of the spending plan. Here is the short and sweet method of balancing your budget. It works for families, it works for business, and it will work for any government or government agency.

Forecast Revenue: Figure out how often you are going to stop and count your money. For most of us it is weekly or monthly. For a business it might be quarterly. For the Treasury it is annually. Using that as a base, take your best guess on how much cash you will have. Then subtract about five percent as a fudge factor.


Prioritize Line Items: List everything you are going to spend money on during the period you just forecast. Each item is "Need to spend", "Good to Spend", or "Nice to Spend". Simply put, "Need" means that bad things will happen if you don't fully fund that item and commit the cash. "Good" means that bad things could happen but it's just short of certain. "Nice" means you can postpone it without anything truly bad happening.

Revise Your Revenue: On the prescribed day, count the actual cash on hand.


Revise Line Items: For each item listed as "Need", skip to writing the checks. Total the cash remaining. Let's pretend you now have forty dollars. Will the forty dollars pay off the "Good" items? If it will, write the checks. Is there any left over? Let's say you have ten dollars remaining. Ten is 10% of the original $100. So, pay ten percent of each remaining line item. This way, nothing is totally left out. But, at the same time the truly important (in relation to the other items) stuff is fully funded.


Write Checks: I think we all know how to do that.

I'm not going to try to write the official procedure and the flowchart of tasks needed to accomplish this at the federal level. I also get that our elected neighbors will scream that every item they sponsor is a "need". That exact lack of integrity is what gets us to deficit spending in the first place. You and I must elect someone who can be honest and say that while it would be nice to provide Americorps, the world won't end if we don't. It's a hard call and will take enormous amounts of character and moral courage.

By now you may have noticed that I switched gears in a clumsy ham handed way. Politics is supposed to be the art of getting it done. It takes Statesmen and all we are seeing is the basic professional pol. From the Vice President and others that denigrate the Tea Party by calling them terrorists, to would-be Presidents that use words like "Tar baby" and "Boy" in just the right way to invite screams of racism no matter the intent; We face a deficit of Statesmen. Until we fix that, the debt will never be paid.

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Deeper in Debt: What's the Next Step?

The US Senate has voted 74-26 to approve the plan set out by the US House. The President has already signed it. And, the pundits are very deep into the postgame show. Lest you think that Mr. Obama is happy, his take on it is anything but.

Democrats are furious that tax revenues weren't part of the package, and the president pledged to continue to press for tax increases to help balance the budget.

"Everyone is going to have to chip in. It's only fair," Obama said in a Rose Garden address, singling out subsidies to oil and gas companies and tax loopholes. "That's the principle I'll be fighting for during the next phase of this process."

Read more:

Revenue is code for "Raising Taxes" on everyone. Apparently the political elite can't understand that it doesn't matter who signed the check to the IRS. All taxes are paid by the consumers at the final point of sale. If you raise taxes or remove subsidies, then the increased cost goes to the consumer in the form of higher prices. If you raise the personal tax rates of the richest people, then they will recoup their personal loss with modified business practices.

It's time to get serious about the financial future of the country. Drop the income tax and replace it with the Fairtax. Balance the budget by reducing each line item by the same percentage. Do it now or watch your kids have to do it later under the gun of whoever owns America.

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Is This The Sound of Civil Discourse?

I seem to remember the President asking that some bit of civility return to politics.
Yeah right. A smattering of easynews will cure that wish faster than a firehose on a birthday cake.

Right now, it seems that Politico is calling those aligned with the Tea Party "Terrorists". And that sentiment is echoed by various members of congress in full hearing of the Vice President.

Of course, I'm sure there are people on the other side of the aisle that call the liberals all sorts of names. I could be wrong, but I haven't seen anything from the main stream media documenting it though.

I guess it's too much to hope for that the powers that be will simply get it done in a workmanlike manner. While a well turned phrase is a mark of style it seems that Civility is just another casualty of the culture wars.  

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