Browsing the archives for the spending tag

Latenight laughs?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn Since politicians are such easy targets for our derision, it almost makes you feel bad pointing out their numerous shortcomings…almost. After all, if you can’t laugh at yourself, make fun of other people. From Jay Leno… “Energy Secretary Stephen Chu testified before Congress yesterday that he thought it was [...]

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Neither snow, nor rain?…

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn Proving that not everything gets better with age—especially the U.S. Post Office—consider this article from 1985… James Bovard, “The Last Dinosaur: The U.S. Postal Service” http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa047.html Then compare it to this article from 2010… Doug Bandow, “Postal Bankruptcy” http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/postal-bankruptcy And then try to figure out what has changed since 1985. Consider [...]

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The working man?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn The U.S. Labor Department’s official unemployment index, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), is based on a monthly survey of sample households that only counts individuals who reported looking for work in the past four weeks. http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm What the Labor Department’s BLS index DOES NOT INCLUDE: Part-time [...]

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Meet the national debt

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn To see the national debt statistically visit http://www.usdebtclock.org/ To see the national debt visually visit http://demonocracy.info/infographics/usa/us_debt/us_debt.html WARNING: Viewing these facts may cause swelling of the face, lips, tongue, and/or throat, difficulty breathing or swallowing, anemia, decreased levels of potassium or sodium, dizziness, excessive bleeding, facial flushing, fainting, rapid heartbeat, heart attack, hypertension, hypotension, [...]

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I owe, I owe…

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn Though the sheer size of our national debt makes it difficult to grasp, perhaps the following illustration will help: NOTE: All dollar amounts are expressed in 2010 USD In 2010, the annual interest on the U.S. national debt was $414 billion. [1] To put that number in perspective, remember [...]

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Playing favorites?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn Presidential approval ratings since 1950:[1] George W. Bush…was rated a HIGH of 90% and a LOW of 29%. George H. W. Bush…was rated a HIGH of 89% and a LOW of 29%. Harry S Truman…was rated a HIGH of 87% and a LOW of 23%. John F. Kennedy…was rated [...]

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Making the grade?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn Once upon a time, there lived a young woman who had almost completed her first year of schooling at a prestigious university that she could never afford to pay for herself. But fortunately, her parents had worked hard and saved enough money to cover her tuition.

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How government “works”?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn Once upon a time, the government owned a vast scrap yard in the middle of the desert. But Congress grew concerned that someone might steal from it at night so they formed a Scrap Yard Oversight Committee to determine what should be done. After several drafts and numerous revisions [...]

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WWJFKD?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn [What would JFK do?] President John F. Kennedy appeared to have an excellent grasp of fiscal reality and perhaps ALL members of Congress would do well to heed his advice concerning the immutable relationship between raising taxes and ruining the economy.

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Buying influence?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn “The legislature, like the executive, has ceased, save indirectly, to be even the creature of the people: it is the creature, in the main, of pressure groups, and most of them, it must be manifest, are of dubious wisdom and even more dubious honesty. Laws are no longer made [...]

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An “agreeable” debt?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn Given our nation’s precarious financial condition, I hope that ALL Americans can agree with the following… “Mr. President, I rise today to talk about America’s debt problem.” “The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a [...]

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Got energy?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn The U.S. Congress bears sole responsibility for artificially increasing oil prices since it is OUR oil that remains largely untapped beneath OUR deserts, OUR forests, OUR swamps and OUR oceans. These politicians that we have freely elected…and re-elected…and then re-elected [sigh] are preventing OUR oil from being drilled by [...]

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If the shoe fits?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn Judge for yourself how successfully the planks of the Communist Party platform have been grafted into the tree of American liberty. On 10 January 1963, the following was entered into the Congressional record [1] by U.S. Representative Albert Sydney Herlong, Jr. (1909-1995) [D-FL] who served in Congress from 1949 to [...]

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It’s the thought that counts?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn The federal government is growing at a faster pace than any other sector of today’s economy.[1] [2] [3] [4] WHAT THE TAXPAYER PAYS FOR… Salaries… The federal government is the single largest employer in the United States and currently employs approximately 2.0% of the nation’s work force (4.2 MILLION [...]

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Economic “snapshots”?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn “Debt is the fatal disease of republics, the first and the mightiest to undermine governments and corrupt the people.” –Wendell Phillips (1811-1884) OVERALL… From 1790 to 2010 the DJIA increased by 29,373%. From 1790 to 2010 the NYSE price of gold per fine ounce increased by 389%. From 1790 [...]

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Fiscal Promiscuity?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn With a seemingly insatiable appetite for taxpayer dollars, it would appear that Congress has forsaken their solemn obligation to the People to uphold the U.S. Constitution, and in particular, the sections that restrain their spending.

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You get what you pay for?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn QUESTION: Considering Congress’ low approval ratings, lengthy criminal history, and profligate spending, are they actually worth their collective salaries?

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How much is $1 trillion?

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn …If you were a contemporary of Jesus Christ and began spending $1 million every day from the time of His death until now…you would still not have spent $1 trillion. …If you laid one trillion dollar bills end to end, it would form a chain that stretched from the [...]

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Government spending in perspective…

compiled & edited by Daniel Hagadorn “I, however, place economy among the first and most important republican virtues, and public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared.”[1] The price of history…[2] [3] [4] The Revolutionary War (1775-1783) cost $101,000,000 or $1,258,000,000 (2009 USD). The Louisiana Purchase (1803) cost $23,000,000 or $324,600,000 (2009 [...]

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