Monthly Archives: November 2012

Senator Pryor asks for Spending Cut Suggestions! Here are a few!(Part 165)

November 12, 2012 – 7:08 am

Senator Pryor asks for Spending Cut Suggestions! Here are a few!(Part 165)

Senator Mark Pryor wants our ideas on how to cut federal spending. Take a look at this video clip below:

Senator Pryor has asked us to send our ideas to him at cutspending@pryor.senate.gov and I have done so in the past and will continue to do so in the future.

On May 11, 2011,  I emailed to this above address and I got this email back from Senator Pryor’s office:

Please note, this is not a monitored email account. Due to the sheer volume of correspondence I receive, I ask that constituents please contact me via my website with any responses or additional concerns. If you would like a specific reply to your message, please visit http://pryor.senate.gov/contact. This system ensures that I will continue to keep Arkansas First by allowing me to better organize the thousands of emails I get from Arkansans each week and ensuring that I have all the information I need to respond to your particular communication in timely manner.  I appreciate you writing. I always welcome your input and suggestions. Please do not hesitate to contact me on any issue of concern to you in the future.

I just did. I went to the Senator’s website and sent this below:

Here are some great suggestions from the Heritage Foundation.  Alison Acosta Fraser Director, Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies

Nowhere to Cut?

  • A grant totaling $25,000 was used to transcribe a Maldivian love ballad.
  • Taxpayers funded a National Institutes of Health study costing $55,382 in 2011, and $170,000 over three years, to study the hookah smoking habits of Jordanian university students.
  • The Department of Agriculture’s Market Access Program spends $200 million a year to help U.S. agricultural trade associations and cooperatives advertise their products in foreign markets. In 2011, it funded a reality TV show in India that advertised U.S. cotton.
  • The Environmental Protection Agency awarded a $141,450 grant under the Clean Air Act to fund a Chinese study on swine manure and a $1.2 million grant to the United Nations for clean fuel promotion.
  • The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that some people are double-dipping from unemployment and disability benefits programs. This lack of coordination among government agencies is costing taxpayers $850 million annually. GAO found one individual who drew $62,000 from unemployment insurance and disability insurance at the same time she was working and earning an additional $7,000 in income.
  • In 2011, the top 20 percent of farm subsidy recipients received almost 80 percent of all premium subsidies. Twenty-six farm businesses each collected over $1 million worth of subsidies.
  • Taxpayer losses from the failed solar cell manufacturing company Solyndra, which received a federal loan guarantee, totaled $528 million. Beacon Power and Abound Solar, two other failed alternative energy companies, cost taxpayers $46.5 million and $73.1 million, respectively.
  • A Congressional Research Service report revealed that among individuals earning $1 million or more, 2,840 received unemployment benefits in 2008 and 2,362 received the benefits in 2009.
  • The Conservation Reserve Program pays farmers $2.1 billion annually not to farm their land for a period of at least ten years.

Sources include Congressional Budget Office and Government Accountability Office reports, Wastebook 2011 from the Office of Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), and news articles from various media outlets, all of which are on file at The Heritage Foundation.

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in spending out of control | Comments (0)

Music Monday “Ringo Starr tour Part 3”

November 12, 2012 – 7:07 am

I went  to a Ringo Starr concert on July 4, 2012 at Orange Beach, AL and enjoyed it very much and here are some of the songs I heard that night:

Concert review – Ringo Starr at Symphony Hall, Birmingham

Tuesday 21st June 2011, 12:52PM BST.

Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band, Birmingham
Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band,  Birmingham
Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band,  Birmingham Symphony Hall, Concert review by Phil  Gillam

Yes, yes, of course it was terribly ‘cabaret’ at times, but what were you  expecting, for goodness sake? This is Ringo.

Now, you might say there are two types of performer in popular music: the  artist (such as Bob Dylan) and the entertainer (such as Engelbert Humperdink).  Ringo has never professed to be an artist, but he’s never stopped being an  entertainer. And entertain is what he did supremely well last night.

“If you don’t know this next song, you’re in the wrong venue,” he told the crowd as  he launched, into Yellow Submarine.

Surrounded by top-notch, if ancient, musicians – all of whom were major  players in their time – Ringo, a sprightly 70 years old, gave us energetic  renditions of Honey Don’t, Back Off Boogaloo, Photograph, and of course  With A Little Help From My Friends.

Starr has suffered down the years at the hands of critics.  But it turns out  the mop-top caricatures of John the thinker, Paul the romantic, George the  mystic and Ringo the clown were pretty accurate after all.

Last night he proved he was still the clown, still the master entertainer,  and still, a much better drummer than many give him credit for. Ringo . . .  you’re fab.

Photos – Jason Sheldon /  Junction10 Photography

Read more:  http://www.expressandstar.com/entertainment/2011/06/21/concert-review-ringo-starr-at-symphony-hall-birmingham/#ixzz1zlqZ0umd

Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach at their wedding 1981«

_____________________-

Ringo Starr – “Wings” 1/31/2012 Craig Ferguson

Here is a song off of the new album “Ringo Starr 2012.”

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Comments (0)

Open letter to President Obama (Part 168.4)

November 12, 2012 – 7:05 am

Obama 7.13.2012: If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.

Published on Jul 15, 2012 by

Obama at campaign event in Roanoke VA 7.13.2012: “If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.”

__________________-

 

President Obama c/o The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

I know that you receive 20,000 letters a day and that you actually read 10 of them every day. I really do respect you for trying to get a pulse on what is going on out here.

You said on July 13, 2012:

Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business—you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.

I got a simple question. Did Fred Smith come up with the idea for Federal Express and then spend every cent of his own money and gamble to see if his idea was workable or did the government take those risks?

Did you know that Fed Ex started in Little Rock? Entrepreneurs like Fred Smith need to be encouraged, not discouraged by government. This comment by you actually insults them.

 Here is a funny Fed Ex Commercial from the 1980’s.

A few more funny commercials from Fed Ex:

I love the movie Castaway:

 
On July 3, 1981, I was in Prague, Czechoslovakia in the middle of a 20 country student tour. Our group of 48 American students had the opportunity to speak to a Communist government official for over an hour. We asked him several questions. My questions were quite direct and I will share some of them at a later time.
 
However, I did want to share one question that I asked. I told the official about an entrepreneur from Memphis named Fred Smith. Back in the early 1970’s we heard about how Smith had this crazy idea about delivering overnight packages from LA to San Francisco via Memphis. Sounded like it would not work, but Smith was able to invest all his money and eventually it paid off. His idea was successful.
 
I asked the simple question: Could something like this happen here in Communist Czechoslovakia? He responded, “No. That is because no private citizen is allowed to own that much capital. The government must do things like that.”
 
There was no chance for entrepreneurs to exist in communist countries. I was simply pointing out that economic freedom allows an environment for entrepreneurs. Why would someone put the time and energy in putting together a grand plan like Fed Ex when the benefit and reward would just go to a communist government? Entrepreneurship should be encouraged, but many times today in the USA we find that our lawmakers pass laws that discourage entrepreneurs. Now you have insulted these same entrepreneurs!!!!
 

Amy Payne

July 16, 2012 at 9:02 am

That sound you hear is silence—as millions of small business owners and entrepreneurs were left speechless this weekend from President Obama’s latest insult.

The slap in the face to hard-working Americans conveyed Obama’s belief that it takes a village—a heavily subsidized village—to create that venture you’re profiting from:

Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business—you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.

Obama pushed his policy goals of infrastructure (aka stimulus) spending and “government research” as part of a collectivist utopia “doing things together.” It’s simply stunning that he would tell Americans, “If you’ve got a business—you didn’t build that.”

After all, could individuals be resourceful and hard-working enough to create whole new enterprises? Obama said:

Look, if you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own. You didn’t get there on your own. I’m always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart.

It is this view of successful businesses—essentially, “You owe us”—that drives Obama’s continued attacks on the country’s job creators in the form of tax hikes and regulations.

It’s a tough time to be a business owner and entrepreneur in America. Surveys show small business owners are struggling, and they are not expanding or hiring because of tax and regulatory uncertainty. Federal agencies, from Health and Human Services to the Environmental Protection Agency, are regulating them to death. And just last week, President Obama announced his latest economic plan was to hit job creators with a tax increase.

The President’s plan to raise taxes on earnings above $200,000 ($250,000 for joint filers) would hit 1.2 million small-business employers who pay their taxes through the individual income tax, known as flow-through businesses. These businesses that are creating jobs earn almost all—91 percent—of the income earned by flow-through employer-businesses.

The new tax increase could be equivalent to one employee per small business. According to calculations by The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Data Analysis, the average American with $250,000 or more in income can expect an average $24,888 tax increase next year under Obama’s proposed policies. That $24,888 figure is often enough for a salary. So the President could be putting about 1.2 million jobs—perhaps even more—at risk with this tax hike.

Hitting private job creators while advocating more stimulus spending and government jobs. That’s the President’s plan for the economy.

Meanwhile, businesses large and small suffer from the highest corporate tax rate in the developed world. This has long made the U.S. an uncompetitive place for new investment and has driven new jobs to other, more competitive nations, meaning fewer jobs and lower wages for all Americans.

If the U.S. is to see economic recovery, we must encourage entrepreneurship. Stopping the biggest tax increase in American history, Taxmageddon, would be a good place to start. It’s a $494 billion tax hike set to hit on January 1, when a number of tax policies expire and just a few of Obamacare’s new taxes kick in. Businesses are already hesitating on hiring decisions because of the impending effects of these taxes.

Democratic leaders are demanding tax hikes, however, and threatening to allow Taxmageddon for the sake of politics—despite warnings that it would send the U.S. back into recession.

Real recovery will take even more than saving job creators from punishing taxes and regulations. It requires leadership that appreciates and values the long hours that America’s business builders put in and the personal sacrifices they make for their dreams. It will take leaders who say, “If you’ve got a business—you built that. And we want more of that in America.”

___________

Thank you so much for your time. I know how valuable it is. I also appreciate the fine family that you have and your commitment as a father and a husband.

Sincerely,

Everette Hatcher III, 13900 Cottontail Lane, Alexander, AR 72002, ph 501-920-5733, lowcostsqueegees@yahoo.com

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events, President Obama | Comments (0)

Johnny Cash (Part 4)

November 12, 2012 – 7:00 am

I got to hear Johnny Cash sing in person back in 1978.  Here is a portion of an article about his Christian Testimony.

 

“Being a Christian isn’t for sissies,” Cash said once. “It takes a real man to live for God—a lot more man than to live for the devil, you know? If you really want to live right these days, you gotta be tough.”

What’s more, he was intimately aware of the hard truths about living God’s way: “If you’re going to be a Christian, you’re going to change. You’re going to lose some old friends, not because you want to, but because you need to.”

“I Don’t Give Up”
Especially since June’s death in May 2003, many wondered how much longer Cash could hang on to life—it’s not uncommon, after all, for longtime spouses to die in close succession to each other. And that’s exactly what happened.

But you have to admit those were fightin’ words to Cash. In fact, shortly after June’s death, Cash headed back into the studio to begin work on more songs with fellow rebel and producer of nearly a decade, Rick Rubin. (Truth to tell, Cash’s last two albums, American III: Solitary Man and American IV: The Man Comes Around, were both reckoned as his farewell offerings.)

“He kind of made a decision,” Rubin told Billboard. “He called me a couple of days after June passed and said that he really has dedicated his life to work and wants to be busy all the time and focused on songs. That’s what he wants to do, so that’s what we’re going to do [and] that’s what we’ve been doing.”

And in his final days, despite moment-by-moment battles with diabetes, glaucoma (which cost him well over half of his vision), asthma, and a progressive, debilitating case of autonomic neuropathy (which deadened his nerve endings, complicated his other ailments, and pretty much confined Cash to a wheelchair during his waking hours), the Man in Black was anything but in a black mood. In fact, he was celebrating life—sopping up every second he could, while he could.

“I’m thrilled to death with life,” he told Larry King during a recent interview. “Life is—the way God has given it to me—was just a platter. A golden platter of life laid out there for me. It’s been beautiful.”

Observers were continually amazed with the grace Cash exuded despite the legion of forces working against him. “He looks more frail than imposing, propped up in his black leather recliner,” one writer noted. “Yet … it’s remarkable just how vital, even unassailable, Cash and his craggy baritone remain … and while Cash’s stentorian vocals may sound tattered, they still convey an almost biblical authority, a reverberant mix of judgment, hope, and, above all, steadfastness.”

“I don’t give up,” he told Larry King. “I don’t give up … and it’s not out of frustration and desperation that I say ‘I don’t give up.’ I don’t give up because I don’t give up. I don’t believe in it.”

Amen to that.

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Comments (0)

Open letter to President Obama (Part 168.3)

November 12, 2012 – 6:58 am

USTV-GOP Address: Spending Crisis Still Looms

Uploaded by on Apr 9, 2011

In the Saturday Republican radio address, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., warns of a coming crisis. (April 9)

___________________

 

President Obama c/o The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

I know that you receive 20,000 letters a day and that you actually read 10 of them every day. I really do respect you for trying to get a pulse on what is going on out here.

Overspending will get you in troublc every time.

The Simple and Predictable Story of Fiscal Bankruptcy in Cyprus

July 5, 2012 by Dan Mitchell

With all the fiscal troubles in Greece, Spain, Ireland, Portugal, and Italy, there’s not much attention being paid to Cyprus.

But the Mediterranean island nation is a good case study illustrating the economic dangers of big government.

For all intents and purposes, Cyprus is now bankrupt, and the only question that remains to be answered is whether it will get handouts from the IMF-ECB-EC troika, handouts from Russia, or both. Here’s some of what has been reported by AP.

Cyprus’ president on Thursday defended his government’s decision to seek financial aid from the island nation’s eurozone partners while at the same time asking for a loan from Russia, insisting that the two are perfectly compatible. …Cyprus, with a population of 862,000 people, last week became the fifth country that uses the euro currency to seek a European bailout… The country is currently in talks with the so-called ‘troika’ — the body made up of officials from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund — on how much bailout money it will need and the conditions that will come attached. Locked out of international markets because of its junk credit rating status, Cyprus is paying its bills thanks to a €2.5 billion ($3.14 billion) Russian loan that it clinched last year. But that money is expected to run out by the end of the year.

So what caused this mess? Is Cyprus merely the helpless and innocent victim of economic turmoil in nearby Greece?

That’s certainly the spin from Cypriot politicians, but the budget data shows that Cyprus is in trouble because of excessive spending. This chart, based on data from the International Monetary Fund, shows that the burden of government spending has jumped by an average of 8.3 percent annually since the mid-1990s.

My Golden Rule of fiscal policy is that government spending should grow slower than economic output. Nations that follow that rule generally enjoy good results, while nations that violate that rule inevitably get in trouble.

Interestingly, if Cypriot politicians had engaged in a very modest amount of spending restraint and limited annual budgetary increases to 3 percent, there would be a giant budget surplus today and the burden of government spending would be down to 21.4 percent of GDP, very close to the levels in the hyper-prosperous jurisdictions of Hong Kong and Singapore.

Actually, that’s not true. If the burden of government spending had grown as 3 percent instead of 8.3 percent, economic growth would have been much stronger, so GDP would have been much larger and the public sector would be an ever smaller share of economic output.

Speaking of GDP, the burden of government spending in Cyprus, measured as a share of GDP, has climbed dramatically since 1995.

A simple way to look at this data is that Cyprus used to have a Swiss-sized government and now it has a Greek-sized government. Government spending is just one of many policies that impact economic performance, but is anyone surprised that this huge increase in the size of the public sector has had a big negative impact on Cyprus?

Interestingly, if government spending had remained at 33.9 percent of GDP in Cyprus, the nation would have a big budget surplus today. Would that have required huge and savage budget cuts? Perhaps in the fantasy world of Paul Krugman, but politicians could have achieved that modest goal if they had simply limited annual spending increases to 6 percent.

But that was too “draconian” for Cypriot politicians, so they increased spending by an average of more than 8 percent each year.

What’s the moral of the story? Simply stated, the fiscal policy variable that matters most is the growth of government. Cyprus got in trouble because the burden of government grew faster than the productive sector of the economy.

That’s the disease, and deficits and debt are the symptoms of that underlying problem.

Europe’s political elite doubtlessly will push for higher taxes, but that approach – at best – simply masks the symptoms in the short run and usually exacerbates the disease in the long run.

______________

Thank you so much for your time. I know how valuable it is. I also appreciate the fine family that you have and your commitment as a father and a husband.

Sincerely,

Everette Hatcher III, 13900 Cottontail Lane, Alexander, AR 72002, ph 501-920-5733, lowcostsqueegees@yahoo.com

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in President Obama, spending out of control | Comments (0)

Open letter to Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin concerning their choice to raise their kids in the Jewish Faith (part 7)

November 12, 2012 – 6:55 am

The Birth Of Israel (2008) – Part 7/8

I have posted before about the religious views of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin. Now it appears they have rejected their agnostic statements of the past and have decided to raise their children in the Jewish faith.

Here is a post from the Huffington Post:

After appearing on the television program, “Who Do You Think You Are,” Gwyneth Paltrow has decided to raise children Apple, 7, and Moses, 5, as Jewish.

According to The Daily Mail, the NBC ancestry show sparked the discovery that the actress descended from a notable line of Eastern European rabbis. Though she’s long practiced Kabbalah, Gwyneth had previously stayed neutral about a formal religion upbringing in her household, which includes crooner husband Chris Martin, who is of Christian background.

“I don’t believe in religion. I believe in spirituality. Religion is the cause of all the problems in the world,” the actress once told The Daily Mail.

_______________

Below is a letter I mailed to Chris and Gwyneth recently:

To Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow, c/o Go Go Pictures, 12 Cleveland Row, London, SW1A 1DH, United Kingdom, , From Everette Hatcher, 13900 Cottontail Lane, Alexander, AR 72002, USA:

I have been a huge fan of both of you and have posted many times on my blog about your religious views which have seemed to have changed over the years. I know that Chris was brought up as an evangelical Christian, but has long ago left the faith behind although he did revisit many biblical themes in his 2008 and 2011 cds.

In fact, on June 3, 2011 on my blog (www.thedailyhatch.org) I wrote:

I have shown what thought processes Solomon went through in Ecclesiastes and then compared them to the evident changes that are occurring with Coldplay. By the way, the final chapter of Ecclesiastes finishes with Solomon emphasizing that serving God is the only proper response of man. My prediction: I am hoping that Coldplay’s next album will also come to that same conclusion that Solomon came to in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14:
13 Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man.

14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.

I have also written before about Gwyneth’s famous Jewish relatives which includes a famous Rabbi and I have wondered if she would decide to return to those roots. Actually that is what has happened. I salute you for rejecting your earlier statements against organized religion and for making the decision to teach your children the Bible and to have faith in God. 

I know that you will spending lots of time in the scriptures and I wanted to share with you some key scriptures that talk about the Messiah. Dr. Hugh Ross wrote the article below:

 

<!–

Jan 2 2010 6:00 AM

–>

January 2, 2010
By Dr. Hugh Ross

Visions and prophecy seem to hold an irresistible attraction for people. Hollywood productions, such as 2012 and The Nostradamus Effect, often use these topics as their main themes and plot points.

Unlike newspaper horoscopes and TV psychics, biblical prophets accurately predicted hundreds of specific events—sometimes in detail—many years, or even many centuries, before their occurrence. Not only were these biblical predictions comprehensive and far-reaching, they were largely independent of each other—making their precise fulfillment all the more astounding. I like to use them as evidence for the supernatural accuracy and authority of the Bible. Here are just a few examples:

  • Some time before 500 BC, Daniel predicted the date of Jesus’ public ministry. He further predicted that the Messiah would be killed and that his death would take place before Jerusalem was destroyed for a second time (Daniel 9:25–26).
  • Around 700 BC, Micah named a particular town, Bethlehem, as the Savior’s birthplace (Micah 5:2).
  • In the fifth century BC, Zechariah said the Messiah would be betrayed for the price of a slave, specifically 30 pieces of silver (according to Jewish law) and that this money would be used to buy burial ground for poor foreigners (Zechariah 11:12–13).
  • Both King David and Zechariah predicted the Messiah’s manner of execution roughly 400 years before crucifixion was invented. Furthermore, they said the Lord’s body would be pierced but his bones, unbroken (Psalm 22, 34:20; Zechariah 12:10).
  • Isaiah foretold Cyrus by name more than a century before his birth and of his triumph over Babylon, Egypt, and many other nations, plus the decision to allow the Jewish exiles to return home without ransom (Isaiah 44:28, 45:1, 13).
  • Both Jeremiah and Isaiah prophesied Babylon’s demise (Isaiah 13:17–22; Jeremiah 51: 26, 43).
  • Jeremiah claimed the then-fertile land of Edom (part of present-day Jordan) would one day become a barren wasteland (Jeremiah 49:15–20).
  • Some 2,600 years ago, Daniel had three visions that predicted in detail the rise and fall of the Persian-Median Empire and the Greek-Macedonian Empire and the rise of the Roman Empire (Daniel 2:31–45, 7:1–11:35).

Remember that the motive of God’s prophets has always been abundantly clear—calling people to repentance and to worship of God. So we must beware of so-called “prophets,” clairvoyants and others, who draw attention to themselves and their own powers. Deuteronomy 18:21–22 (among other passages of Scripture) present the ultimate test of a true prophet of God: 100% accuracy in each prediction, no margin of error.

Subjects: General Apologetics

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Comments (0)

The real truth about the financial condition of Social Security can be seen on the www.thedailyhatch.org

November 12, 2012 – 4:35 am

Uploaded by on Jan 8, 2009

Professor Williams explains what’s ahead for Social Security

If you want to know the real truth about the financial condition of Social Security then check out these links below:

Ark Times reader says Social Security is not Ponzi Scheme

Social Security is a Ponzi Scheme but Blake who is a blogger said I was off base. Ark Times reader says Social Security is not Ponzi Scheme Social Security Disaster Walter E. Williams Columnist, Townhall.com Politicians who are principled enough to point out the fraud of Social Security, referring to it as a lie and […]

Social Security is a Ponzi scheme that needs to be reformed

We got to do something soon about Social Security. The Case for Social Security Personal Accounts Posted by Daniel J. Mitchell There are two crises facing Social Security. First the program has a gigantic unfunded liability, largely caused by demographics. Second, the program is a very bad deal for younger workers, making them pay record […]

Senator Obama’s ideas on Social Security

Senator Obama’s Social Security Tax Plan Uploaded by afq2007 on Jul 23, 2008 In addition to several other tax increases, Senator Barack Obama wants to increase the Social Security payroll tax burden by imposing the tax on income above $250,000. This would be a sharp departure from current law, which only requires that the tax […]

Social Security is a Ponzi scheme (part 13)

Saving Social Security with Personal Retirement Accounts Uploaded by afq2007 on Jan 10, 2011 There are two crises facing Social Security. First the program has a gigantic unfunded liability, largely thanks to demographics. Second, the program is a very bad deal for younger workers, making them pay record amounts of tax in exchange for comparatively meager benefits. This […]

What does the Heritage Foundation have to say about saving Social Security:Study released May 10, 2011 (Part 7)

“Saving the American Dream: The Heritage Plan to Fix the Debt, Cut Spending, and Restore Prosperity,” Heritage Foundation, May 10, 2011 by  Stuart Butler, Ph.D. , Alison Acosta Fraser and William Beach is one of the finest papers I have ever read. Over the next few days I will post portions of this paper, but […]

Only difference between Ponzi scheme and Social Security is you can say no to Ponzi Scheme jh2d

Is Social Security  a Ponzi Scheme? I just started a series on this subject. In this article below you will see where the name “Ponzi scheme” came from and if it should be applied to the Social Security System. Ponzi! Ponzi! Ponzi! 9/14/2011 | Email John Stossel | Columnist’s Archive Ponzi! Ponzi! Ponzi! There, I […]

Social Security a Ponzi scheme?

Uploaded by LibertyPen on Jan 8, 2009 Professor Williams explains what’s ahead for Social Security Dan Mitchell on Social Security I have said that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme and sometimes you will hear someone in the public say the same thing. Yes, It Is a Ponzi Scheme by Michael D. Tanner Michael Tanner […]

Dan Mitchell on Social Security

 

 

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Cato Institute, President Obama, Social Security, spending out of control, Taxes | Tagged | Comments (0)

Open letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner (Part 4 on ‘TEFRA Debacle of 1982’)

November 12, 2012 – 1:53 am

 

John Boehner, Speaker of the House

H-232, The Capital, Washington, DC 20515

Dear Mr. Speaker,

I know that you will have to meet with newly re-elected President Obama soon and he will probably be anxious for you to raise taxes and  federal spending, but he will want you to leave runaway entitlement programs alone. DO NOT TAKE THE BAIT AND RAISE TAXES IF THE DEMOCRATS PROMISE YOU THEY WILL CUT SPENDING SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE. Look at the history from 1982.

There they go again: Remembering the ‘TEFRA Debacle of 1982‘ | ‘

By: Gary Hoitsma | Op-Ed Contributor | 07/14/11 8:05 PM
It was the long hot summer of 1982, exactly 29 years ago. The worst economic recession since the Great Depression was in full flower. Unemployment was over 10 percent.The first phases of the 1981 Reagan tax cuts had kicked in, but Washington’s bipartisan ruling class was spooked by ominous deficit projections. The imperative of the moment then — like now — was that something had to be done.In their minds, that “something” boiled down to finding a way to convince the “fanatical” wing of the stupid(er) party — the Republicans — to accept the need to raise taxes.

Only in this case, the fanatic in chief, as present-day New York Times columnist David Brooks might have called him, was none other than the president of the United States.

Enter the “Gang of 17:” An ad-hoc bipartisan negotiating group made up of 17 members of Congress along with high-ranking presidential aides representing the president.

Off to Blair House and a variety of undisclosed locations they went over a period of weeks to work their magic. When they were through, out came TEFRA, the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act, a legislative package sold to President Reagan as a grand compromise constituting a 3-to-1 rate of spending cuts to tax increases.

This is the same ratio that Brooks, in the current context, calls “an astonishing concession” on the part of Democrats, the framework of a deal Republicans should accept without hesitation as the “mother of all no-brainers.” That’s essentially what the Gang of 17 told Reagan in 1982.

Reagan reluctantly agreed, signing the bill into law, saying he was supporting “a limited loophole-closing tax increase to raise more than $98.3 billion over three years in return for … agreement to cut spending by $280 billion during the same period.”

While the tax provisions (including excise tax increases and various business tax adjustments) were promptly put in place, Reagan wrote years later that “the Democrats reneged on their pledge (to cut spending) and we never got those cuts.”

Indeed, spending by Congress increased in subsequent weeks (!) (not to mention years), and there was no discernible progress in reducing the deficit.

Reagan’s counselor and later attorney general, Edwin Meese III, who supported the TEFRA deal along with Reagan at the time, summed it up succinctly in hindsight in his 1992 book, “With Reagan: The Inside Story.”

“I believe that the TEFRA compromise — the ‘Debacle of 1982’ — was the greatest domestic error of the Reagan administration,” Meese wrote. “It was a complete departure from our tax-cutting mandate, failed to reduce the growth of government spending, (and) did not decrease the deficit. … Judged by the results, TEFRA was not only a mistake, it was an abject lesson in how not to reduce the deficit.”

The question for today is whether we are watching history repeating itself in the talks aimed at addressing the current debt crisis and whether the powers that be are going to show evidence of having learned the right lessons from that history.

Brooks suggests that accepting the “no-brainer” business-as-usual deal would be a sign of maturity (he says normality) on the part of Republicans. Others might wonder if acquiescing to doing the same thing that has so obviously been done before, and expecting a different result, might be a sign of something else.

Gary Hoitsma, a political appointee in the Reagan administration, is managing associate at Carmen Group, a Washington-based government relations firm.

_________

Sincerely,

Everette Hatcher, 13900 Cottontail Lane, Alexander, AR 72002, lowcostsqueegees@yahoo.com, www.thedailyhatch.org, ph 501-920-5733

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By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in President Obama, Ronald Reagan, spending out of control, Taxes | Comments (0)

If you raise taxes on the job creators then guess what you get? The answer is France!!

November 12, 2012 – 1:00 am

Government Must Cut Spending

Uploaded by on Dec 2, 2010

The government can cut roughly $343 billion from the federal budget and they can do so immediately.

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If you lower taxes on the job creators then you will get more businesses starting up and more jobs created. If you raise taxes on the job creators then guess what you get? The answer is France.

Ayn Rand’s famous novel, Atlas Shrugged, tells the story of what happens when society’s most productive people go on strike because they don’t want to subsidize the looters and moochers.

I won’t give away the plot, but one interesting twist in the story is when government officials realize that they need some people to produce. Otherwise, as the former President of Brazil acknowledged in real life, there’s nothing to redistribute.

Well, some people in France don’t understand the risks of driving away the geese that lay the golden eggs. Here are some excerpts from a Christian Science Monitor story.

“au revoir, looters and moochers”

As French President François Hollande outlined new taxes and spending cuts while promoting reforms to turn the economy around – word leaked out that France’s wealthiest man, Bernard Arnault, was heading for Belgium in a rumored tax dodge. At first, the timing could not appear to have been worse for the national morale and Mr. Hollande. …he will hit those with direct salaries over 1 million euros ($1.3 million) with a 75 percent tax. The French have not forgotten the national shame when British Prime Minister David Cameron told the world from Mexico in early summer that London was “rolling out the red carpet” for wealthy French seeking tax havens.  Yet, instead, in a national spasm of pique, France spent all day making accusations of “traitor” and “ingrate” at the rich guy – Mr. Arnault, worth $41 billion. …The anti-Arnault frenzy spurred far-left guru Jean-Luc Mélenchon to call him a “parasite,” and far-right darling Marianne Le Pen to proclaim “scandalous” what appears to be a financial exile. A screaming headline in Libération – “Get Lost You Rich Idiot”… Hollande yesterday said the fashion tycoon, who also left France for the US during the last Socialist government of François Mitterand, “should have measured what it means to apply for citizenship to another country. In this period, we need to appeal to patriotism.”

I’ve already posted about productive people escaping France, so that’s not exactly a new development.

What is remarkable, though, is the way French politicians, journalists, and ordinary citizens (presumably of the moocher variety) have viciously attacked Mr. Arnault.

Sort of like thieves who want moral sanction from their victims. Hmmm…seems that somebody wrote a book with that theme – and it didn’t end well for the looter class. Which is exactly why I’m predicting that France will soon face a Greek-style fiscal crisis.

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Taxes | Comments (0)

Francis Schaeffer’s film series “How should we then live?” (The Reformation) can be seen on the www.thedailyhatch.org

November 11, 2012 – 3:11 am

 

        Francis Schaeffer and his wife Edith are remembered for their ministry L’Abri

This film of Schaeffer’s really demonstrated why the period of the Reformation was so important. Here is a portion of that episode below:

How Should We Then Live 4-1

I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970’s and I wanted to share it with you. Click on the links below for the other episodes. Schaeffer makes three key points concerning the Reformation: “1. Erasmian Christian humanism rejected by Farel. 2. Bible gives needed answers not only as to how to be right with God, but concerning the meaning of life and what is right and what is wrong, and concerning mankind and nature. 3. The people of the Reformation did not have humanism’s problem, because the Bible gives a unity between God—as the ultimate universal—and the individual things.” What a great difference this made in the world!!!

E P I S O D E 4

T h e

REFORMATION

I. The Reformation as a Reaction Against Medieval Religious Distortions of the Biblical and Early Christian Church’s Teaching

A. Illustration from Luther.

B. Luther—German; Zwingli—Zürich; Thomas Cromwell—England; Calvin—Geneva.

C. Biblical view of salvation (grace only) and its effect on certain aspects of church construction.

D. Real meaning of destruction of artwork in Reformation.

E. The Reformation rejected.

1. Medieval distortion of Church’s having made its authority equal to the authority of the Bible.

2. Medieval distortion of Church’s having added human works to the finished work of Christ for salvation.

3. Medieval distortion introduced by Aquinas: mixture of biblical thinking and pagan thought.

F. Summary of humanistic influence in church.

1. Illustrated by Raphael’s School of Athens and Disputà.

2. Illustrated by Michelangelo’s making pagan prophetesses equal to Old Testament prophets in Sistine Chapel.

G. For William Farel and the other Reformers it was the Scriptures only.

1. Erasmian Christian humanism rejected by Farel.

2. Bible gives needed answers not only as to how to be right with God, but concerning the meaning of life and what is right and what is wrong, and concerning mankind and nature.

3. The people of the Reformation did not have humanism’s problem, because the Bible gives a unity between God—as the ultimate universal—and the individual things.

4. The Reformation was no golden age, but it did aspire to depend on the Bible in all of life.

Other segments:

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 10 “Final Choices” (Schaeffer Sundays)

E P I S O D E 1 0 How Should We Then Live 10#1 FINAL CHOICES I. Authoritarianism the Only Humanistic Social Option One man or an elite giving authoritative arbitrary absolutes. A. Society is sole absolute in absence of other absolutes. B. But society has to be led by an elite: John Kenneth […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 9 “The Age of Personal Peace and Affluence” (Schaeffer Sundays)

E P I S O D E 9 How Should We Then Live 9#1 T h e Age of Personal Peace and Afflunce I. By the Early 1960s People Were Bombarded From Every Side by Modern Man’s Humanistic Thought II. Modern Form of Humanistic Thought Leads to Pessimism Regarding a Meaning for Life and for Fixed […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 8 “The Age of Fragmentation” (Schaeffer Sundays)

E P I S O D E 8 How Should We Then Live 8#1 I saw this film series in 1979 and it had a major impact on me. T h e Age of FRAGMENTATION I. Art As a Vehicle Of Modern Thought A. Impressionism (Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Sisley, Degas) and Post-Impressionism (Cézanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 7 “The Age of Non-Reason” (Schaeffer Sundays)

E P I S O D E 7 How Should We Then Live 7#1 I am thrilled to get this film series with you. I saw it first in 1979 and it had such a big impact on me. Today’s episode is where we see modern humanist man act on his belief that we live […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 6 “The Scientific Age” (Schaeffer Sundays)

E P I S O D E 6 How Should We Then Live 6#1 I am sharing with you a film series that I saw in 1979. In this film Francis Schaeffer asserted that was a shift in Modern Science. A. Change in conviction from earlier modern scientists.B. From an open to a closed natural system: […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 5 “The Revolutionary Age” (Schaeffer Sundays)

E P I S O D E 5 How Should We Then Live 5-1 I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Francis Schaeffer noted, “Reformation Did Not Bring Perfection. But gradually on basis of biblical teaching there was a unique improvement. A. […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 4 “The Reformation” (Schaeffer Sundays)

How Should We Then Live 4-1 I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Schaeffer makes three key points concerning the Reformation: “1. Erasmian Christian humanism rejected by Farel. 2. Bible gives needed answers not only as to how to be right with […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 3 “The Renaissance”

How Should We Then Live 3-1 I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Schaeffer really shows why we have so many problems today with this excellent episode. He noted, “Could have gone either way—with emphasis on real people living in […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 2 “The Middle Ages” (Schaeffer Sundays)

How Should We Then Live 2-1 I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Schaeffer points out that during this time period unfortunately we have the “Church’s deviation from early church’s teaching in regard to authority and the approach to God.” […]

Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 1 “The Roman Age” (Schaeffer Sundays)

How Should We Then Live 1-1 Today I am starting a series that really had a big impact on my life back in the 1970′s when I first saw it. There are ten parts and today is the first. Francis Schaeffer takes a look at Rome and why it fell. It fell because of inward […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Francis Schaeffer | Comments (0)