Steve Wynn on Fox News Sunday

I don't own a TV so I listen to Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace online. If it's a really good show, I'll watch later on Fox News Sunday's Hulu channel. This was a really good show.

Steve Wynn, the CEO of Wynn Resorts, was on discussing jobs with Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm...

Wynn: Government has never increased the standard of living of one single human being in civilization's history. For some reason that simple truth has evaded everybody. The only thing that creates an increased standard of living is giving someone a job, the demand for their labor -- whether it's you and I, Chris, or anybody else. The people that are paying the price for this juggernaut of federal spending are the middle class and the working class of America.

…soaring rhetoric and great speeches with or without a teleprompter aren't going to change the truth, and the truth is the biggest enemy, the biggest obstacle that working middle-class America has is government spending.

Granholm: It's just so simplistic to say that! With all due respect, I mean, to say that government has never created a job or increased the standard of living. You know, I mean there -- there are a lot of people who are grateful that in this country we have a minimum wage. There are a lot of people who are grateful that they have access to Medicare and Medicaid. And I hope that we get access further to additional health care for those who are uninsured. I mean, there is a balance here. To say that government is all evil... This is a democracy. It's the greatest country in the world.

Wynn: I didn't say that at all. I'm saying that the source of government revenue, the source of well-being in this country is employment. That allows companies to pay taxes, employees to pay taxes. That's the source here and it's gotten out of focus.

Granholm: I agree with you.

Wynn: Okay. That's my point, Governor. I'm not making any other point. And, believe me, ma'am, I've got 20,000 employees. I've had as many as 150,000 families that I've been self-insuring. There's nothing "simplistic" about my approach to this problem.

Wow, he really handed it to her -- nothing against governor Granholm; if any other statist had been in that chair the results would have been the same.

Steve Wynn is my new hero and, I think, radio listeners everywhere will agree that he has a great voice. If you missed it, catch it. If you saw it, it's worth seeing again.

Watch: Hulu - FOX News Sunday
Rush Limbaugh: Wynn Schools Granholm on Jobs

Millions March On D.C.

Millions of conservatives marched on Washington D.C. - yes, millions. Don't believe what you're hearing from the left-wing propagandists and sycophants in the Obamedia. Preliminary estimates range from one to two million.

Here's proof...
9/12 DC Time Lapse Video
9/12 Protest Was Over One Million
Media Credibility Plunges; Aerial Views Shows Millions
NYT Reports Thousands, Daily Mail Reports Millions

That's not counting the millions that marched in other parts of this great country. True Americans are tired of, and angry about big government's takeover of America. It's not racism and we're not the fringe.

We want to pass on the greatness that America is to our future generations, that's true compassion. We don't want to hand our children a third world, debt ridden, socialist state.

It ends here big government republicans and democrats. Heed the call or be swept aside. Can you hear us now?

Millions, Billions, Trillions

The looters in Washington D.C. throw these numbers around as if there’s no difference between them. Use a word often enough and it loses its meaning.

How awesome was the last thing you heard described as “awesome?” - not so much, right?

How much is a million dollars, a billion dollars, or a trillion dollars? I wrote them out numerically to try to get a better sense of their true sizes.

One Million Dollars = $1,000,000
One Billion Dollars = $1,000,000,000
One Trillion Dollars = $1,000,000,000,000

That helps a little, but I want a more graphic example. I want to know…

"What does one trillion dollars look like?" and, “How big is an 11 trillion dollar national debt?”

Now that's Awesome.

Related: CNN - Is Trillion The New Billion?
Related: Politico - National Debt Hits Record $11 Trillion.

NYT Poll Shows Doubts About Obama

From The New York Times

A substantial majority of Americans say President Obama has not developed a strategy to deal with the budget deficit, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, which also found that support for his plans to overhaul health care, rescue the auto industry and close the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, falls well below his job approval ratings.

A distinct gulf exists between Mr. Obama’s overall standing and how some of his key initiatives are viewed, with fewer than half of Americans saying they approve of how he has handled health care and the effort to save General Motors and Chrysler. A majority of people said his policies have had either no effect yet on improving the economy or had made it worse, underscoring how his political strength still rests on faith in his leadership rather than results.

Read More: Obama Poll Sees Doubt on Budget and Health Care

Socialism's "Shared Sacrifice"

Found at The Belmont Club

President Obama's call last year for "shared sacrifice" doesn't extend to federal employees, at least based on the details of his administration's 2010 budget released this week.

At a time when the official unemployment rate is nearing double digits, and 6.35 million people are receiving unemployment benefits, the U.S. government is on a hiring binge.

Executive branch employment - 1.98 million in 2009, excluding the Postal Service and the Defense Department - is set to increase by 15.6 percent for the 2010 fiscal year. Most of that is thanks to the Census Bureau hiring 102,000 temporary workers, but not counting them still yields a net increase of 2 percent in one year.

There's little belt-tightening in evidence in Washington, D.C.: Counting benefits, the average pay per federal worker will leap from $72,800 in 2008 to $75,419 next year.

Meanwhile, according to Forbes' layoff tracker, there have been 558,087 layoffs since November 2008 at large public companies; even local school districts aren't immune. That's just a sliver of the total unemployed, which government data estimate to be 8.6 percent of the workforce, or an alternate method of reckoning that counts discouraged workers puts at 20 percent.

Read More: It's A Good Time To Work For Uncle Sam
Related: Sacrifice Chuck Todd

Andrew Lloyd Webber on Wealth Creation

America, take note...

I write this article because I fear the inevitable exodus of the talent that can dig us out of the hole we find ourselves in. It is inevitable, given that other countries are bidding for entrepreneurs. The Government must modify its proposals.

[...]

The next few years are going to be horrendous in the UK. The last thing we need is a Somali pirate-style raid on the few wealth creators who still dare to navigate Britain's gale-force waters.

Well said Mr. Webber, as usual, and, you have far too much class to use the the word bastards. I don't - you bastards.

Read More: The Last Thing This Country Needs

Freddie Mac CFO Suicide

From FOXNews.com

David Kellermann, the acting chief financial officer of mortgage giant Freddie Mac, was found dead at his home Wednesday morning in what police said was an apparent suicide.

Read More: Freddie Mac CFO Found Dead in Suicide
Related: FBI Investigates Financial Institutions
Related: The Freddie Mac Meltdown

Tea Parties Racist and Stupid

Pink Elephant Pundit has a video round-up of liberal media reaction to the April 15th Tax Protest Tea Parties. If you're too busy to watch I've summed them up in the title to the this post.

Read More: Stay Classy Liberal America
Media Bistro's TVNewser: CNN Reporter Takes a Break
Related: Memo to Susan Roesgen

Sacrifice Chuck Todd

Chuck Todd is the Chief White House Correspondent for NBC News. Here's his one and only question for President Obama during last nights, prime-time news conference...

Why, given this new era of responsibility that you're asking for, why haven't you asked for something specific that the public should be sacrificing to participate in this economic recovery?

What?... Sacrifice?!

Mr. Todd lives in an elitist media bubble. He's obviously, completely unaware that Americans are sacrificing - homes, jobs, savings. What do you want Chuck, blood? Sit down, shut up, and be grateful you have a job, one you appear to be unqualified for.

Related: Socialism's Shared Sacrifice

AIG Bailout, Bonuses and Bullsh!t

The Treasury (Timothy Geithner's) Department knew about the impending AIG bonuses for months.

Lawmakers outraged at bailed-out American International Group's move to pay $165 million in executive bonuses are turning their fire on the Obama administration, asking why top officials didn't act to prevent the pay-out earlier.

"It seems like they are an administration in disarray," House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va., said Tuesday.

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., suggested Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner does not have a handle on the AIG matter.

"We need to find out when these bonuses were approved and more than that, when they were contracted for. And who knew this?" said the ranking Republican on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. "Did Secretary Geithner know and look the other way?"

The senator, a harsh critic of the Treasury's bailout program known by its acronym "TARP," or Troubled Assets Relief Program, said members who voted for the program bear some blame, but he put much of the fault at Geithner's feet.

Read More...

President Obama Gets Choked Up With Phony Anger...

Update! (More BS)
After denying having anything to do with crafting language in the stimulus bill that allowed bailed-out insurance giant American International Group to keep its bonuses, Sen. Christopher Dodd admitted that he and the Treasury Department were responsible for the loophole. See Here...

Dodd blames the administration for making him do it. See Here...

There's a whole lot of Phony Anger going on out there.

Obama's Bear Market

There are many commentators and bloggers that have noted the precipitous drop in the markets since President Obama's November 4th 2008 election. the DOW has lost approximatily 3,000 points - that's a beating of over 30%. A loss of 20% is what most investors define as a bear market.

I'd say Obama owns this bear. On a side note, Michelle spent yesterday telling Americans how good the food is at soup kitchens. Thanks Michelle.

Corporate Taxes

According to The Tax Foundation U.S. corporate tax rates, at 39.25%, are the second highest in the world. Here's the chart worth a thousand words. I'm about to offer a few dozen words anyway - just to try and explain why you should care.

Cost: The first reason is that any cost of doing business is passed on to you and me in the form of higher prices. Corporate taxes really do trickle down and are eventually absorbed by the consumer.

Just think how much cheaper that loaf of bread or jar of peanut butter would be if those companies weren't paying 39.25% in corporate taxes. It's not just the individual companies either. Those companies also hire other companies for things like accounting, shipping, advertising, maintanence... the list could continue. It adds up, and it all comes out of your wallet.

Jobs: The second reason you should care is that our corporate tax rates make it cheaper to incorporate in other countries. It also makes it expensive for foreign companies to come to America. Why would a business come here when they can set up shop in Mexico and Canada and still have access to our vast consumer base? We lose jobs to countries with lower tax rates.

The globalized economy has put the American worker in competition with countries that have much lower wage rates. No American I know is willing to lower their salary to the level of Mexico's or China's. Lowering corporate taxes would provide the incentive for businesses to come to America - and bring jobs with them.

Lower prices on everything, more jobs for everybody, sounds like just the kind of economic stimulus we need to me.

Capitalism Magazine: Who Pays Corporate Taxes?

Obama's Tax Mathemagic

By Kim Strassell - WSJ.com

And now, America, we introduce the Great Obama! The world's most gifted political magician! A thing of wonder. A thing of awe. Just watch him defy politics, economics, even gravity! (And hold your applause until the end, please.)

To kick off our show tonight, Mr. Obama will give 95% of American working families a tax cut, even though 40% of Americans today don't pay income taxes! How can our star enact such mathemagic? How can he "cut" zero? Abracadabra! It's called a "refundable tax credit." It involves the federal government taking money from those who do pay taxes, and writing checks to those who don't. Yes, yes, in the real world this is known as "welfare," but please try not to ruin the show.

For his next trick, the Great Obama will jumpstart the economy, and he'll do it by raising taxes on the very businesses that are today adrift in a financial tsunami! That will include all those among the top 1% of taxpayers who are in fact small-business owners, and the nation's biggest employers who currently pay some of the highest corporate tax rates in the developed world. Mr. Obama will, with a flick of his fingers, show them how to create more jobs with less money. It's simple, really. He has a wand.

Read the rest of the article here...

Here's a related video where Senator Obama tells a tax-burdened plumber that his plan is to "Spread the Wealth Around."

Investors Fear Socialism

From Investors Business Daily

The freeze-up of the financial system - and government's seeming inability to thaw it out - are a main concern, no doubt. But more people are also starting to look across the valley, as they say, at what's in store once this crisis passes.

And right now it looks like the U.S., which built the mightiest, most prosperous economy the world has ever known, is about to turn its back on the free-enterprise system that made it all possible.

It isn't only that the most anti-capitalist politician ever nominated by a major party is favored to take the White House. It's that he'll also have a filibuster-proof Congress led by politicians who are almost as liberal.

Throw in a media establishment dedicated to the implementation of a liberal agenda, and the smothering of dissent wherever it arises, and it's no wonder panic has set in.

What is that agenda? It starts with a tax system right out of Marx: A massive redistribution of income - from each according to his ability, to each according to his need - all in the name of "neighborliness," "patriotism," "fairness" and "justice."

It continues with a call for a new world order that turns its back on free trade, has no problem with government controlling the means of production, imposes global taxes to support continents where our interests are negligible, signs on to climate treaties that will sap billions more in U.S. productivity and wealth, and institutes an authoritarian health care system that will strip Americans' freedoms and run up costs.

All the while, it ensures that nothing - absolutely nothing - will be done to secure a sufficient, terror-proof supply of our economic lifeblood - oil - a resource we'll need much more of in the years ahead.

You can read the rest here...

Let me remind you of this exchange between Barack Obama and Charlie Gibson during the Democratic debate in Philadelphia back in April of 2008.

GIBSON: In each instance, when the capital gains tax dropped, revenues from the tax increased. The government took in more money. And in the 1980s, when the tax was increased to 28 percent, the revenues went down. So why raise it at all, especially given the fact that 100 million people in this country own stock and would be affected?

OBAMA: Well, Charlie, what I've said is that I would look at raising the capital gains tax for purposes of fairness.

You see, it's not about increasing revenues to the Treasury, it's about Marxism, wealth redistribution, and punishing those that make whatever Barack Obama believes is too much money.

FBI Investigates Financial Institutions

From FOXBusiness.com

The FBI is investigating four major U.S. financial institutions whose collapse helped trigger a $700 billion bailout plan by the Bush administration.

Two law enforcement officials said the FBI is looking at potential fraud by mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers and American International Group Inc.

A senior law enforcement official says the inquiries, still in preliminary stages, will focus on the financial institutions and the individuals that ran them.

Update: Jim Angle of FOX News reports on who's resposible for the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac meltdown.



Update: From Powerline - 2003 NY Times article on proposed reforms to Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac.

Update: From Newsbusters - 1999 NY Times Article Revealed True Cause of Current Fannie Mae Crises.

I think any reasonable person (those that can read) should have a clear idea how we got ourselves into this situation.

Facts on the Financial Crisis

From News Busters

Since the current financial crisis is taking place under a Republican administration it is easy for people to automatically blame Republicans. The media have happily pushed this misconception too. Facts the media ignore are things such as the very groundwork for today’s problems being rooted in legislation created by Jimmy Carter , or that in 2003 President Bush proposed “the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis" that was blocked by Democrats on party lines. However, the media don’t report these very important and significant facts and so it is no wonder that the GOP takes the brunt of the blame in this recent CNN poll.

Read More: Facts on the Financial Crisis
Related: Fannie and Freddie Meltdown
Related: The Housing Crisis Blame Game

Fannie and Freddie Meltdown

From Investor's Business Daily Editorials

Clinton-era corruption, combined with unprecedented catering to affordable-housing lobbyists, resulted in today's nationalization of both Fannie and Freddie, a move that is expected to cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars.

And the worst is far from over. By the time it is, we'll all be paying for Clinton's social experiment, one that Obama hopes to trump with a whole new round of meddling in the housing and jobs markets. In fact, the social experiment Obama has planned could dwarf both the Great Society and New Deal in size and scope.

There's a political root cause to this mess that we ignore at our peril. If we blame the wrong culprits, we'll learn the wrong lessons. And taxpayers will be on the hook for even larger bailouts down the road.

But the government-can-do-no-wrong crowd just doesn't get it. They won't acknowledge the law of unintended consequences from well-meaning, if misguided, acts.

Obama and Democrats on the Hill think even more regulation and more interference in the market will solve the problem their policies helped cause. For now, unarmed by the historic record, conventional wisdom is buying into their blame-business-first rhetoric and bigger-government solutions.

While government arguably has a role in helping low-income folks buy a home, Clinton went overboard by strong-arming lenders with tougher and tougher regulations, which only led to lenders taking on hundreds of billions in subprime bilge.

Market failure? Hardly. Once again, this crisis has government's fingerprints all over it.

And you want the government to run the healthcare system?

Read More: The Real Culprits In This Meltdown
Related: Facts on the Financial Crisis
Related: The Housing Crisis Blame Game