"...America’s most serious budgetary problem is Medicare..."

"Matheny: Let's give more OT cash to cops" If keeping the White Street Landfill closed costs the City of Greensboro about $7 million per year...?

"Councilman Zack Matheny will ask his colleagues to support
an extra $100,000 for police department in December.

If $7 million divided by 12 months is $583,333,

where will the money come from

if City Council Members voted to fund a budget

by spending millions more than the city recieved

in tax revenues?

"Obama, Democrats, Republicans AND Bernanke All in a Bind – What they will do and when" Bruce Krasting: Would this be a hidden tax hike by both Dems and Pubs?

"We have two distinct groups in D.C. that are stuck between a very big rock and a hard place.

The first is the Federal Reserve.

The second is the Democrats and Republicans and the battle being waged over the debt limit.

...The Fed is in a bind.

The economy is clearly slowing down again.

Unemployment will soon follow.

According to the Fed’s Dual Mandate they should be doing something about that.

...They can’t do more Large Scale Asset Purchases (“LSAP”).

What has become referred to as “QE”, has not worked.

It was also very unpopular (both in and out of the country).

...Now consider where the politicians are on the inflation story.

Republicans have drawn a line in the sand on the debt limit with their position
of “No New Taxes”.

If we cannot raise taxation and we are spending more than we make,

and we cannot borrow more,

where will the money come from to pay for Social Security, Medicare

and Medicaid?

The Democrats have said pretty much the opposite with, “No spending cuts”.

...to go to August 2 without a resolution is just a dumb move.

...the next presidential election is riding on the outcome.

...The “side” that gets the blame will lose the election. And both sides understand this.

So where’s the compromise?

...The government has got to get out of its inflation indexed obligations.

If everything gets more expensive and fixed payments stay the same,

who takes the hit, and who benefits from others having less to spend?

You don’t have to raise tax brackets to raise revenues or cut expenses.

You can mess with inflation adjustments to achieve these ends.

Lying by omission

One lies by omission by omitting an important fact,

deliberately leaving another person with a misconception.

Lying by omission includes failures to correct pre-existing misconceptions.

…Propaganda is an example of lying by omission.

Wikipedia

Both sides can appear to win if this is accomplished.

Consider the words last week of Brian Graff of ASPPA (Lobby for pensions and actuaries)
(The conference was sponsored by the IRS!!)

"Eliminating indexing is one of the proposals receiving serious consideration
as Congress enters “uncharted territory” with legislation to raise the debt ceiling.

If Congress were to stop indexing for a period of time, which would affect tax brackets,
individual retirement account contributions, and contribution limits under tax code Section 415,
“you could raise a lot of money, and those are the kinds of things they are talking about.”

On the expense side of the equation a great deal of fat can be cut
by eliminating/cutting COLA increases in a variety of programs.

The most important of which would be Social Security.

Depending on how the cuts in COLA are defined and how they are applied
a huge amount of money would be saved over an extended period.

If all social obligations had their COLA increases cut in half
it would (on paper) put the US on a much more solid long-term footing.

If some financial estimates and hypothetical illustrations

assume perpetual levels of varying data,

can governmental inflation valuation measures be manipulated

to increase taxes without most understanding what is occuring?

It is a very appealing “kick the can down the road” approach.

No cuts in programs (just smaller increases) and no new taxes
(but higher revenue as the inflation adjustments for AMT and other tax issues kick in).

Why not do the same with federal state and corporate pension funds?

...this is the way it could play out:

We DO go to the 11th hour on the debt limit. But a compromised is reached.

Central to the deal is a broad restructuring
of the way inflation impacts both revenue and expenses at the federal level.

Both sides claim victory."

Bruce Krasting

The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war,

the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture,

and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation.

These contradictions are not accidental, nor do they result from ordinary hypocrisy.

They are deliberate exercises in doublethink.

George Orwell

Do the few who control dissemination of most financial and political information,
enjoy relatively disproportionate levels of influence than the many who don’t?

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

Exodus 20:13

All warfare is based on deception.


…when able to attack we must seem unable,
when using our forces we must seem inactive,
when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far…,
when far away, we must make him believe we are near.


Sun Tzu

Barack Obama's line in the sand? "Obama Team Eyes Payroll Tax Break for Employers" How many times can so many be so stupid?

Where under the [Roman] Principate the strategy had been to tax the future

to pay for the present,

the Dominate paid for the present by undermining the future’s ability to pay taxes.

The Empire emerged from the third century crisis,

but at a cost that weakened its ability to meet future crises.

Joseph Tainter,

The Collapse of Complex Societies

"President Barack Obama’s advisers have discussed seeking a temporary cut
in the payroll taxes businesses pay on wages
amid economic reports suggesting the recovery is slowing...

How big of a hit would another payroll tax cut be

to our $1.65 trillion deficit?

The idea...people said on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

...The talks reflect the political constraints the White House is operating under
with the Republican majority in the U.S. House pushing to cut federal spending.

A hiring stimulus based on a tax break for employers may appeal to Republican lawmakers,
many of whom have called for measures to help businesses.

If a nation prints more money,

like cutting a 16 inch pizza into 12 slices instead of 8,

is each slice worth less?

The idea of a cut in the employer contribution to payroll taxes
also has recently been under discussion among Republican members of Congress,
said Douglas Holtz-Eakin,
who was chief economic adviser to the 2008 Republican presidential nominee,
Senator John McCain.

Douglas Holtz-Eakin?

Is he really a lobbyist at this point?

...A temporary break in payroll taxes would echo a centerpiece of the deal
Obama and congressional Republicans reached in December 2010
to extend tax cuts enacted during the presidency of George W. Bush.

What if the pizza shrinks while the number of slices rise?

That package included a 2-percentage-point reduction in employee contributions
to the payroll tax during 2011.

Didn't it cost more than $800 billion borrowed,

not counting interest?

The tax finances Social Security and Medicare
and is divided between portions paid by employers and employees.

What happened to the debt limit?

How is the difference going to be made up?

Are Social Security and Medicare payments going to be reduced

by an equal amount?

Is this the same thing only different?

Obama said at the White House yesterday
that he’s interested in exploring with lawmakers from both parties
extending some of the stimulus measures that were part of the tax-cut package
“to make sure that we get this recovery up and running in a robust way.”

Does that mean borrowing to spend more?

Did Obama make a deal on the debt limit?

The people familiar with the discussions
wouldn’t characterize how seriously the idea is being considered
or whether it has moved beyond initial discussions.

Defensive pre-reason not to know anything about it?

Other ideas that have been discussed in the past -- and rejected,
according to some administration officials
-- include a temporary holiday on corporate taxes on repatriated foreign earnings.

Really.

Payrolls grew at the slowest pace in eight months in May...

...The jobs numbers followed a series of economic statistics
suggesting that the economy is decelerating.

Manufacturing grew at its slowest pace in more than in year in May...

...Consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of the economy,
rose less than forecast in April
as households felt the pinch of grocery and energy costs...

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke
described the economic recovery as “uneven” and “frustratingly slow”...

“Until we see a sustained period of stronger job creation,
we cannot consider the recovery to be truly established,” Bernanke said.

Targeting the employer side of the payroll tax
could both attract Republican support and spur job growth,
said Christina Romer, who was the first head of Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers.

Isn't she a lobbyist now?

“A cut in the employer side of the payroll tax could absolutely help accelerate job creation,”
Romer said in an interview.
“In addition to the usual beneficial effect on demand,
this tax cut would make hiring less expensive.”

When national debts have once been accumulated to a certain degree,

[there has never been] a single instance of their having been fairly and completely paid.

The liberation of the public revenue...has always been brought about by bankruptcy,

though frequently by a pretended payment [through inflation].

Adam Smith

Moral philosopher and Father of Modern Economics

Mike

Guilford County Budget Director Michael Halford on 2010/11's "Budget Gap," otherwise known as the undisclosed until now Budget Deficit

Budget Deficit

The amount by which a government, company, or individual's spending

exceeds its income over a particular period of time.

Also called deficit or deficit spending.

Opposite of budget surplus.

Investorwords.com

"Mr. Hartzman,

Please see my responses below in blue..."

Michael Halford email to George Hartzman


What was the dollar amount of the gap
between Guilford County’s FY 2008/9 spending
and FY 2009/10’s revenues?

$548,894,797 – $547,402,275 = $1,492,522

.
What is the projected dollar amount of the gap
between Guilford County’s FY 2009/10 spending
and FY 2010/11’s expected revenues?

$596,945,277 - $535,745,660 = $61,199,617

.

Maybe that's why Fox refused to offer a number to the question

"what is the deficit" as opposed to "here are the proposed cuts"

George Hartzman, May 9, 2010

.

If the county spends down to thier reserve limit this year,

where are they going to get the $27,502,224

for increased principle and interests payments in 2011/12?

http://www.co.guilford.nc.us/11budgetpro/30%20-%20Debt.pdf
3rd Page, and the chart on the 5th shows debt payments going over the county guidlines

.

So if the county goes down to the reserve minimums this coming year,

will they have to cut the $34 million of no more reserves to raid

and then another $27 million from the budget for debt

on top of $4 million more for 80 new detention officers in 2011/12?

George Hartzman, April 25, 2010

.

Did Someone in Guilford County's Government

Lie to the Greensboro News and Record on the Budget Deficit?

Sunday, April 25, 2010

.
"Once we were able to pry loose the information from the county,

we were told the looming deficit

could range between $20 million and $25 million."

Allen Johnson: I want my county government back

Greensboro News & Record

The City of Greensboro has yet to release comparable numbers

after repeated information requests.