Geithner: Taxes on 'Small Business' Must Rise So Government Doesn't 'Shrink'
I struggle trying to figure out how ostensibly intelligent people can say and think such stupid things. Only tone deaf and clay brained bureaucrats could be this...stupid.
Each week I gather quotes that demonstrate astounding ignorance in action from those running our nation.
Geithner hits the daily double on this one. This advice, coming from a two time tax cheat, a man who is now in charge of the US Treasury itself, is really hard to stomach.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told the House Small Business Committee on Wednesday that the Obama administration believes taxes on small business must increase so the administration does not have to "shrink the overall size of government programs."
Small business is being hammered already. Merchants all over the nation are closing their doors. Impending expenses from OBAMACARE will further erode their ability to stay solvent. The glut of commercial real estate speaks to the overall health of small business.
Yet, it seems the plight of small business, the ability of ordinary Americans to pursue the dream of owning their own business, means very little and must, by necessity, be sacrificed at the alter of big government. German writer Wolfgang von Goethe stated that "Nothing is more terrible than ignorance in action". We are witnessing ignorance on steroids.
Like a growing number of Americans, I have seen too much already and by any legal means, this insane clown posse needs to be sent packing.
If the economy is being sabotaged, who is the saboteur?
Let's examine a few of the Obama Administration policies to see what the Democrats are doing.
- 1) In testimony before the House Small Business Committee on Wed. June 22, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said we have no alternative but to raise taxes or we have to shrink the overall size of government programs. Small businesses are the job creating engine of the country. Raising taxes on them will destroy jobs. So who wants to sabotage the economy?
- 2) On Tuesday June 21, Geithner said we need to have tax increases and spending to help reduce the deficits. A tax increase during a recession is a way to prolong the recession or make it worse.
- 3) The National Labor Relations board has sued Boeing over a decision the company made to manufacture the new 787 Dreamliner at a second plant in South Carolina. South Carolina is a right to work state so the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM) accused the company of retaliating against the union. So theObama Administration, in support of their loyal union voters, sued Boeing. The NLRB is seeking a judicial order for the company to shift all production of its787 Dreamliner commercial jet back to its original planned facility in Washington State. This is a clear example of the Government interfering in the decision making of a private enterprise, so who or what other private decisions are in the crosshairs?
- 4) According to US News, "Two new EPA pollution regulations will slam the coal industry so hard that hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost, and electric rates will skyrocket 11 percent to over 23 percent, according to a new study based on government data." So the Obama Administration has recommended tax increases and implemented regulations that will dramatically increase electricity rates.
- 5) As a direct result of Obama's gulf oil drilling moratorium, The Daily Caller reported "Texas-based Seahawk Drilling, the second-largest shallow-water drilling operator in the Gulf, announced it had filed for bankruptcy Friday and would be selling its remaining assets to Hercules Offshore." How many American jobs did the Administration kill with a policy that punished American drilling operators for the misdeeds of a foreign oil company? Will there be a shortage of drilling rigs as they move to other oil fields? As usual, it is the drilling company employees who suffer the most and isn't the Democrat party the party of the little guy?
- 6) If, after the 2008 election I wrote in this space that the Obama Administration would nationalize GM and Chrysler, dictate the salaries of banking executives and commit the country to a billion dollars of spending for "economic stimulus" I suspect I would have been declared crazy.
Taken together what effect are these policies supposed to have? Does the Administration want a strong, growing private sector or is it trying to sabotage the private sector and the economy?
Note: I'm showing examples of Obama Administration policies that have negative impacts on the economy. The reader can decide if the policies amount to economic sabotage.
Oil Trades Before IEA Move Draw CFTC Eye
By JERRY A. DICOLO
WASHINGTON—U.S. commodity regulators are examining suspicious trading in oil futures markets ahead of Thursday's news that countries around the world would release crude from strategic stockpiles, a person familiar with the matter said.
The fact that oil prices sank hours before the International Energy Agency announced a coordinated release of 60 million barrels of oil could indicate that some market participants got wind of the decision early, the person said. Traders also have raised the possibility of a leak.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is reviewing market data to find clues as to whether some traders may have received an advance tip on the IEA's plan, the person said.
A CFTC spokesman declined to comment. The IEA couldn't be reached for comment.
Trading on leaked data isn't illegal in commodity markets, and companies often use inside information to gain an edge. That is in contrast with the more tightly regulated stock markets, where investors can be prosecuted for trading on material, nonpublic information.
The price of the crude-oil futures contract for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange ended Wednesday at $95.41 a barrel, near the highs of the day. It then fell more than 1% from 2:30 p.m. to 7:10 p.m. EDT in electronic trading. It bumped along at just above $94 until about 3 a.m. on Thursday, then started falling again, losing another 1.5% by a little after 7 a.m.
The IEA said shortly after 8 a.m. that it would hold an "urgent" news conference. The market began speculating on an oil release, driving prices still lower. The IEA confirmed the 60-million-barrel release about an hour later. Nymex crude fell to as low as $89.69 a barrel before settling Thursday at $91.02, down 4.6%.
Analysts and traders noted the irregular activity, which occurred at a time when the market is usually quiet.
Any major decision by the IEA is made in consultation with its 28 member nations that include many of the world's biggest oil consumers. "Twenty-eight countries—it's tough to keep a secret," said Dominick Chirichella, analyst at the Energy Management Institute in New York. "I don't know how you keep a secret from the oil market when there are that many countries involved."
Successfully tracking down who—if anyone—profited from an early tip is likely to be difficult for the CFTC. The agency would have to work with foreign regulators to pursue any traders outside the U.S.
It wasn't only the Nymex contract that exhibited unusual trading. The Brent crude futures contract, traded on ICE Futures Europe, had record trading volume, outpacing the usually more-active Nymex trading.
Brent also posted bigger declines, ending down 6.1% on the day. On Friday, Brent settled at a four-month low of $105.52 a barrel, down 1.6%, or $1.74. Nymex crude rose 14 cents, or 0.2%, to $91.16 a barrel. Nymex crude is down 0.2% year-to-date, while Brent is up 11%.
To be sure, several factors were pushing down values of risky assets, such as commodities, on Thursday. Some at the time attributed the decline to weak U.S. jobs data and concerns about Greece's debt crisis. Also, oil prices have been falling steadily for weeks in a bear market punctuated by sudden and mysterious plunges.
The IEA's decision to release stockpiles was already controversial in the oil market, as it made more oil available after Saudi Arabia had agreed to boost output. The stockpile release comes two weeks after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries roiled oil markets by failing to agree to raise production, despite pleas from consuming nations worried about oil prices.
Obama Losing Voter Support in Green and Blue States
I just received some very interesting results from a poll I commissioned with IBOPE Zogby International.
While it is well-known that President Obama is losing voter support nationwide, the lesser known fact is that the President's support is eroding among two key voter groups: Democratic Blue states and battleground Green states. The Zogby poll question asked: "Do you think President Obama deserves to be re-elected or do you think it is time for someone new?"
Overall, a 54% majority of voters say it is time for someone new in the White House, and just 40% say that Obama deserves re-election. That's certainly bad news for the President, however, an even worse trend is developing.
One month ago, just 41% of voters from Green states said they would vote to re-elect Obama, and today that number has plunged four percentage points to 37%. A sizeable 56% of Green state voters say it is time to elect someone new to the Oval Office. These Green states are the crucial states that President Obama won in 2008 but are now considered in play as a result of Republican gains in the 2010 election.
The President's support among Blue state voters is eroding quickly as well. One month ago, 47% of Blue state voters said they would vote to re-elect Obama and 47% said it was time for someone new. Today, a plurality of Blue state voters (49%) say it is time for someone new and just 44% say Obama deserves re-election.
These new poll results clearly show that President Obama can be defeated in 2012, but only if the eventual Republican candidate runs on the issues and resists the temptation to run againstObama the person. Even then, and despite these poor poll numbers, Obama should still be considered the odds-on favorite in 2012. The reasons for this are three-fold:
1) There still could be a third-party candidate.
2) Obama has a $1 billion fundraising goal and he has 14 months to accomplish it. On the other hand, his Republican challenger can't start raising money for a general campaign until September 2012, and then he or she will only have 60 days to compete with Obama and try and match his war chest.
3) The national press seems to still be enamored with Obama, and will spend the next 16 months convincing the public that he should be re-elected. Over on the Republican side, there will be at least 12 Republican voices competing for media over the next 15 months.
If you read the polling data and analysis in my new book, How Obama Can Be Defeated in 2012, which I co-authored with Dr. Jerome Corsi, you'll see that on all of the major issues, 75% of voters disagree with President Obama. You'll also discover that two-thirds of voters reject his vision for the future of America and the cost we'll have to pay to achieve his vision.
For example:
- 59% of voters disagree with Obama's desire to borrow more money to spend on education, infrastructure and technology.
- 87% of voters want teachers unions to get rid of their tenure system and fire bad teachers. Just 7% want to keep the tenure system.
- 79% of voters disagree with the federal government regulating Internet access and content.
- 62% of voters think Obama should be reducing spending and balance the budget.
- 69% of voters are opposed to Congress raising the debt limit.
- 63% of voters disapprove of Obama's use of stimulus money to try to create jobs for the small business community.
- 58% of voters support a law that would grant citizens with permits to carry a firearm in the thirty-nine states that have reciprocal agreements in place for concealed carry permits, to carry a firearm in all of those states.
- 51% of voters would support a filibuster should the President appoint a Supreme Court justice that would change the current make-up of the Court.
- 59% of voters disapprove of Obama's handling of the economy.
- 58% of Americans think that Obamacare is unconstitutional.
Go to www.BarackObamaTest.com where you can see for yourself where you and the rest of the American public stand in relation to Obama on the issues.
The Poll was conducted by IBOPE Zogby International and surveyed 2,013 likely voters from June 17-21, 2011. The Poll has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 2.2 percentage points.
Red states: AL, AK, AZ, AR, GA, ID, KS, KY, LA, MS, MT, NE, ND, OK, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, WV, WY
Blue states: CA, CO, CT, DE, HI, IL, ME, MD, MA, MN, NV, NJ, NY, OR, RI, VT, WA
Green states: FL, IN, IA, MI, MO, NH, NM, NC, OH, PA, VA, WI
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