"Security Advisers Tied to $40 Bln in Contracts"

"National security advisers to the Republican presidential candidates have ties to defense, homeland security and energy companies that have received at least $40 billion in federal contracts since 2008.

...Romney and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia, who are leading in the polls, have advisers who sit on the board of directors of BAE Systems Inc., which has received at least $37 billion in U.S. government contracts since 2008...

If democracy is government by the people, plutocracy by the wealthy

oligarchy by a few, aristocracy by nobility, theocracy by clergy

corptocracy by business and autocracy by one

who has what where, and who’s on who’s side and why?

What is a Banana Republic: "Govt Officials: US Expecting S&P Downgrade -- Based on 'Serious Mistake' in Analysis*"

Banana republic is a pejorative term

that refers to a politically unstable country

...ruled by a small, self-elected, wealthy, corrupt politico-economic plutocracy or oligarchy.

"Two government officials tell ABC News that the federal government
is expecting and preparing for bond rating agency Standard & Poor’s
to downgrade the rating of U.S. debt from its current AAA value.

Official reasons given, one official says,
will be the political confusion surrounding the process of raising the debt ceiling,
and lack of confidence
that the political system will be able to agree to more deficit reduction.

"S&P warned White House of imminent downgrade - source"

"Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's
served the Obama administration with notice Friday afternoon
that it planned to downgrade the U.S. government's AAA credit rating,
an administration official told CNN.

Why would who pre-present a secret downgrade notice?

If the downgrade that was supposed to be secret isn't,

did the downgrade already theoretically happen?

But S&P has yet to make its ruling public,
and the source told CNN that the agency is reconsidering
after the administration challenged S&P's analysis of the government's finances.

How could it be even remotely possible

to not have your facts strait before downgrading

the most powerfull empire in the history of the world?

The source, a senior official involved in the discussions,
said the agency was off by "trillions" in its economic model
and was now working to revise its analysis.

With GDP growth of about 5%

when it's looking like less than 2%?

The official described the talks as a "moving target"
and said "it's clear some people there still want to go forward"
and downgrade U.S. debt.

So S&P says yes,

Obama says no,

and now someone has to man up?

...the two other major rating agencies have both said
the deficit reduction actions taken by Congress were a step in the right direction.

Really?

On Tuesday, Moody's said the United States will keep its sterling AAA credit rating,
but lowered its outlook on U.S. debt to "negative."

CNN Money

"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