Our Changing Globe » economy

Which Country Has The Highest Venture Capital Investment?

Michael Redbourn — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:21:40 +0000

… timeless problem of obtaining the financing necessary to get their product or service off the ground and out the door, a challenge made all the more tricky given the dearth of venture capital funds floating around the country.

Critical Components for Receiving Venture Capital | eVirtual Sales …

virtualblackswanmarketing.mobi2/6/12

Sometimes nothing is more powerful as opposed to passion along with vision of your entrepreneur. Nevertheless sometimes interest and vision are just inadequate. It helps to understand the criteria in which venture capital companies use to make a decision which firms to fund. A number of venture capital firms and corporate and business investors possess very thin criteria-specific technologies in specific procedures in specific areas of the country. Other individuals …

Israel attracts more venture capital investment per person ($170) than any other in the world, including the U.S. !

From the Internet to alternative energy and communications technology, Israel innovates at a pace that few places other than Silicon Valley can come close to rivaling.

Why is that? And How Can That Be?

Because Israel is a nation where thousands of start-ups are encouraged and nurtured, and there’s great ingenuity too.

Huge Investment Is A Problem Though

Israel can fairly easily attract a small seed investment in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, but getting a $2 million investment to turn a start-up into a mature corporation is much more difficult.

And that’s why in spite of its technical genius, Israel still hasn’t yet created a tech giant on the scale of Intel or Google.

Not yet a tech giant, but check out the things that Israel has already contributed to the world’s technology.

The Acquisition Of Israeli Start-Ups

While there are exceptions, most Israeli start-ups end up getting acquired during their growth stages rather than sticking it out to achieve IPOs (International Public Offerings).

And part of the problem is that with so many start-ups, the country’s small population talent pool is stretched thin, which is a problem the U.S. is starting to have too.

Sell Early

So it makes sense for Israeli entrepreneurs to sell early and become employees of bigger American firms that set up shop in their own country which only has seven million inhabitants.

Right now Intel employs 7,500 people in Israel and Apple is reportedly opening up a new research center too.

How Many Illegals Are In The US And What Is The Cost?

Michael Redbourn — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:41:47 +0000

Obama Slaps Intimidation Lawsuit on South Carolina Over Illegals

www6.lexisnexis.com11/7/11

States and localities bear the brunt of the costs that illegal aliens impose on taxpayers. … State and local costs for services siphoned by illegal aliens and their anchor babies now total $391 million a year in South Carolina.

Illegal Aliens Not “Innocent Immigrants”; U.S., Dem. Party Wasting …

neosecularist.com1/27/12

Why would we want to reelect a man, Barack Obama, who would give the potential illegal alien that much more incentive to become a criminal illegal alien? Isn't it more cost-effective to the American taxpayer to advance a “no …

How Many Illegals In The US And What Is The Cost?

It’s obviously impossible to come up with exact figures because illegal aliens don’t reply to census questionnaires, but the U.S. Border Patrol Union Local 2544 in Tucson, Ariz., says the total number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. today is somewhere between 12 million and 15 million.

And basing its figures on the "Current Population Survey", which is a monthly assessment of about 50,000 households jointly conducted by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau, The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that there are between 11.5 million to 12 million "unauthorized migrants" living in the U.S. today.

Bear Stearns (download pdf) says however that based on school enrollments, foreign remittances, border crossings, and housing permits that, "there is significant evidence that the census estimates of undocumented immigrants may be capturing as little as half of the total undocumented population", meaning that there might well be as many as 20 million illegal immigrants in the US today.

Estimated Number Of Illegal Aliens – State by State

How Much Are Illegal Aliens Costing The U.S. ?

The following estimates are in billions and not millions!

Illegal aliens are said to be costing the welfare system between $14 billion and $22 billion every year – Federation for American Immigration Reform

Medicaid use by illegal aliens costs the U.S. 7.5 billion every year- Center for Immigration Studies

In 2006, illegal aliens sent an estimated $65 BILLION in remittances back to their countries of origin, to their families and friends – rense.com

The following information was sourced from and interview on - Lou Dobbs Tonight

Primary and secondary school education for illegal aliens is said to be costing $12 billion dollars a year.

Anchor (American-born children of illegal aliens) children another $27 billion a year.

The incarceration of illegal aliens – $1.2 billion a year and 28% of all federal prison inmates are reckoned to be illegal aliens.

Every single year a massive $190 billion dollars is spent on welfare and social services for illegal aliens.

It is thought that illegal aliens cause American wages to be suppressed by around $200 billion dollars per year.

The above figures are not 100% accurate of course, but they’re based on extensive research, so it’s probably safe to say that illegal immigration is costing the U.S. around $500 billion a year and $500 billion is half a trillion dollars!

And How Much Do Illegal Immigrants Pay in Taxes?

Most experts agree that many illegal immigrants are paying taxes to Uncle Sam, but just how much they pay is hard to determine because the federal government doesn’t fully tally it.

"The latest available figures indicate however that it will amount to billions of dollars in federal income, Social Security and Medicare taxes this year and one rough estimate puts the amount of Social Security taxes alone at around $9 billion per year". – MSNBC

So What’s To Be Done?

Mass Deportation?

According to The National Policy Institute, the total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion, and you can download a free copy of the The National Policy Institute ebook entitled, deportation if you’re interested in more details.

How Much Overall Support Is There For Reducing Immigration?

What Steps Was It Recommended That The Government Take?

In 1995, the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform asked the National Research Council / National Academy of Sciences to study the economic and fiscal effects of immigration.

Here are the principle findings of their extensive analysis, published in 1997 as The New Americans: Economic, Demographic, and Fiscal Effects of Immigration (ISBN 0-309-06356-6).

Their recommendations on Illegal Immigration were to.

Restrict the eligibility of illegal aliens for publicly-funded assistance.

Implement a nationwide system for easily verifying authorization to work (specifically, a computerized registry based on a secure
social security card).

Increase the resource for border management and interior enforcement.

Is There The Political Will To Implement Either Of The Above?

Obviously not, because in spite of a recent Pew survey (and all other polls that I’ve seen confirm it) showing that 73%of those polled approved of Arizona’s new immigration plan, and in spite of many other States wanting to adopt it, the Obama administration is seeking to have Arizona’s new law ruled unlawful.

The Answer To The Question

A Mexican journalist by the name of Evangelina Hernandez asked in Denver recently, "Illegal aliens pay rent, buy groceries, buy clothes. What Happens to your country’s economy if 20 million people go away?".

The answer would of course be, that the U.S. would be close to $500 billion a year better off, and

US Watchdog Say Taxpayers Still Owed $132.9 Billion From Bailouts

Michael Redbourn — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:35:54 +0000

Bailed-Out Companies Pressured TARP Pay Czar To Keep …

www.huffingtonpost.com1/24/12

The official overseeing executive pay for bailout firms limited cash compensation and made some reductions in pay, but still approved compensation packages in the millions, the TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) inspector general said in the report. Former U.S. pay … In Mexico in the mid-'90s Wall Street engineered a currency coup that tripled the debt owed by small businesses and family farms and also allowed for them to be massively ratejacked on top of it.

Taxpayers Still on the Hook for $133B from Bailouts | Nanavaty …

www.nndcpa.com1/26/12

The federal overseer of the government's bank bailout program says taxpayers are still owed $132.9 billion on investments in 458 bailed-out banks and companies, including failed insurer American International Group (AIG: 25.31, 0.00, 0.00%), General Motors (GM: 25.08, … SIGTARP now warns TARP could be cemented in the government's architecture as a permanent bailout program, even though the public initially “perceived TARP as primarily a bank bailout.” …

Government watchdog Christy Romero says that U.S. taxpayers are still owed $132.9 billion by companies that received bailouts, and adds that much of it will never be recovered.

TARP – Troubled Asset Relief Program

The bailout debt which was launched at the height of the financial crisis in September 2008 will continue for years, says a report issued Thursday January 26, 2012 by Christy Romero, who is the acting special inspector general for the $700 billion bailout.

What’s worse is that some bailout programs, such as the one to help homeowners avoid foreclosure by reducing mortgage payments, will continue into late 2017, and they will cost the government an additional $51 billion, plus or minus a few billion dollars.

The report also notes that the roller coaster stock market slowed the Treasury Department’s efforts to sell off its stakes in 458 bailed-out companies, which include insurers, American International Group Inc., General Motors Co. and Ally Financial Inc.

The Present Share Prices And Needed Share Prices

AIG’s shares closed Wednesday at $25.31, while GM ended at $24.92 and Ally isn’t publicly traded.

They were $28.73 a share for AIG, and $53.98 for GM so it could take a long time for the market to rebound to that level.

The report concludes that it will also be challenging for the government to get out of the 458 companies as the market remains volatile and banks struggle keep afloat in the tough economy.

The Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP

Congress authorized $700 billion for the bailout of financial companies and automakers and $413.4 billion was paid out.

So far, the government has recovered about $318 billion.

The Treasury’s Response

Treasury spokesman Matt Anderson said the department,

"has made substantial progress winding down TARP and has already recovered more than 77% of the funds disbursed for the program, through repayments and other income".

"We’ll continue to balance the important goals of exiting our investments as soon as practicable and maximizing value for taxpayers".

To be fair however, it needs be said that the government has recovered its investments in four of the companies that received the most aid:

Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Chrysler Group LLC and Chrysler Financial, which is the automaker’s old lending arm.

Criminal Activity

In Romero’s quarterly report to Congress, she said her office,

"has uncovered and prevented fraud related to TARP".

Investigations by her office have resulted in criminal charges against ten people and three convictions.

Were Bear Stearns And 9/11 Economic Terror? Islamic Jihad?

Michael Redbourn — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:30:24 +0000

Economic Terrorism: Was the 2008 Collapse Intentional …

conservativebyte.com1/20/12

Economic jihad perhaps. Reply. Big Ugly, Wyoming says: January 20, 2012 at 10:32 am. There is no doubt in my mind that the “Crash of 2008″ was intentional …. orchestrated by Obama's handlers ….. headed by George …

Ireland may be the first EU state to sell Islamic bonds – Jihad Watch

www.jihadwatch.org1/20/12

McCormick Foundation: Shariah, Law and 'Financial Jihad' and How Should America Respond? 1. Recommendation: Enforce and prosecute violations of current laws on disclosure, racketeering, anti-trust, material support for …

Glen Beck talks to Kevin Freeman, the author of the book "Secret Weapon", about economic terror.

I edited the interview because the sound was so low as to be almost inaudible, and the clip was very long.

It seems like economic terror is now an official part of Jihad and its intent is to cause a collapse of the US economy!

Frightening stuff!

If you can’t destroy the US militarily then destroy it economy!

Both the Arabs and George Soros (seems like he’s involved too) have lots of money at their disposal, and their motivation to destroy the US economy is sky-high.

The bottom line is that the dollar and America’s credit rating are under attack, and the attack is very very serious!

So what can be done?

Please post your thoughts and suggestions.

Who Are The World’s Biggest Debtor Nations? Slide-show!

Michael Redbourn — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:53:27 +0000

Debt-Free United States Notes Were Once Issued Under JFK And …

theeconomiccollapseblog.com12/19/11

Our current debt-based monetary system was devised by greedy bankers that wanted to make huge profits by creating money out of thin air and lending it to the U.S. government at interest. Sadly, the vast majority of the …

The Corporate Cash Myth | Euro Pacific Capital

www.europac.net12/21/11

The death blow to US corporations could come when US interest rates rise to historically normal levels. A four-percentage-point rise in the interest rates paid on debt by US corporations would cost them nearly $300 billion per …

If you think that the US is in a terrible state financially, you’re right, because the US can’t pay the interest on its debts which is why those debts are getting bigger every second of every day.

But take a look at this slide-show and most likely be amazed.

Of the twenty countries listed, America is number twenty meaning that there are nineteen countries who owe much more of their GDP that it does.

And please note how the socialist countries are doing and perhaps cringe, knowing that this is the direction in which Obama would like to lead America.

Coburn’s Wastebook – Biggest Waste Was Congress Itself

Michael Redbourn — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 20:44:51 +0000

The Year in Government Waste: Bridges to Nowhere, Pancakes for …

reason.com12/21/11

A million dollars is nothing nowadays. Just ask the Pentagon, which spent $20 billion a year on air conditioning in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last.

Commonsense & Wonder: Government Waste

commonsensewonder.blogspot.com12/21/11

A highly incomplete, but still infuriating, list of government waste in 2011. Some examples: Republican and Democratic Party conventions: $17.7 million (each); A mango-production program for Pakistani farmers that was …

Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn released his annual “Wastebook” yesterday, December 20, 2011

Highlights In The Wastebook Include

$10 million for a remake of "Sesame Street" for Pakistan.

$764,825 to examine how college students use mobile devices for social networking.

$550,000 was spent for a documentary about how rock music contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

$400,000 for the state’s agriculture department to study how different colors on shade cloths affect vegetable growth.

$113,000 for a video game preservation center.

$765,000 to subsidize "pancakes for yuppies" in Washington.

$48,700 for a festival promoting Hawaii’s chocolate industry.

In his report, Coburn writes that while some of the items listed in the book may have merit, they are not national priorities, and shouldn’t be undertaken when the country can’t deal with a massive and growing deficit.

“Instead of cutting wasteful spending, nearly $2.5 billion was added each day in 2011 to our national debt, which now exceeds $15 trillion”.

And added that with a 9% approval rating,

“Perhaps there was no bigger waste of taxpayer’s money in 2011 than Congress itself”.

Dr. No

Coburn, a Republican who is known around Washington as “Dr. No” for his opposition to excess spending, said in a press release Tuesday that his “Wastebook 2011″ details,

“The most egregious ways your taxpayer dollars were wasted”

Items he claims total more than $6.5 billion in “unnecessary” spending.

Fifty Facts About The US Economy That Might Shock You!

Michael Redbourn — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:40:05 +0000

Zakaria: The real burden on the U.S. economy – Global Public …

globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com12/11/11

By Fareed Zakaria, CNN President Obama gave an important speech in Kansas last week. Whether you agree with all of it or not, he has begun a national conversation about the economy and the role of government.

Global Economic Crisis: The U.S. An Insolvent and Ungovernable …

www.marketoracle.co.uk12/18/11

Global Economic Crisis: The U.S. An Insolvent and Ungovernable Country :: The Market Oracle :: Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting Free Website.

Do you now how bad the US economy really is?

If you answered, "Yes" then read on because it’s almost certainly far worse than you thought.

And if you answered, "No" or "Maybe" then sit down before you read on!

The following data along with links appeared on a blog entitled The Economic Collapse and for those unfamiliar with the site, TEC (The Economic Collapse) is a blog that regularly compiles a comprehensive list of the most startling and unsettling facts about the U.S. economy.

Why Does TEC Do It?

A blurb on the site says:

“If we do not educate the American people about how deathly ill the U.S. economy has become, then they will just keep falling for the same old lies that our politicians keep telling them. Just ‘tweaking’ things here and there is not going to fix this economy".

“America is consuming far more wealth than it is producing and our debt is absolutely exploding. If we stay on this current path, an economic collapse is inevitable. Hopefully the crazy economic numbers from 2011 that I have included in this article will be shocking enough to wake some people up"

“If we all work together, hopefully we can get millions of people to wake up and realize that ‘business as usual’ will result in a national economic apocalypse".

So Without More Ado – Here Are The Fifty Figures

1. A staggering 48% of all Americans are either considered to be “low income” or are living in poverty.

2. Approximately 57% of all children in the United States are living in homes that are either considered to be “low income” or impoverished.

3. If the number of Americans that “wanted jobs” was the same today as it was back in 2007, the “official” unemployment rate put out by the U.S. government would be up to 11%.

4. The average amount of time that a worker stays unemployed in the United States is now over 40 weeks.

5. One recent survey found that 77% of all U.S. small businesses do not plan to hire any more workers.

6. There are fewer payroll jobs in the United States today than there were back in 2000 even though we have added 30 million extra people to the population since then.

7. Since December 2007, median household income in the United States has declined by a total of 6.8% once you account for inflation.

8. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 16.6 million Americans were self-employed back in December 2006. Today, that number has shrunk to 14.5 million.

9. A Gallup poll from earlier this year found that approximately one out of every five Americans that do have a job consider themselves to be underemployed.

10. According to author Paul Osterman, about 20% of all U.S. adults are currently working jobs that pay poverty-level wages.

11. Back in 1980, less than 30% of all jobs in the United States were low income jobs. Today, more than 40% of all jobs in the United States are low income jobs.

12. Back in 1969, 95% of all men between the ages of 25 and 54 had a job. In July, only 81.2% of men in that age group had a job.

13. One recent survey found that one out of every three Americans would not be able to make a mortgage or rent payment next month if they suddenly lost their current job.

14. The Federal Reserve recently announced that the total net worth of U.S. households declined by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter of 2011 alone.

15. According to a recent study conducted by the BlackRock Investment Institute, the ratio of household debt to personal income in the United States is now 154%.

16. As the economy has slowed down, so has the number of marriages. According to a Pew Research Center analysis, only 51% of all Americans that are at least 18 years old are currently married. Back in 1960, 72% of all U.S. adults were married.

17. The U.S. Postal Service has lost more than 5 billion dollars over the past year.

18. In Stockton, California home prices have declined 64% from where they were at when the housing market peaked.

19. Nevada has had the highest foreclosure rate in the nation for 59 months in a row.

20. If you can believe it, the median price of a home in Detroit is now just $6000.

21. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 18% of all homes in the state of Florida are sitting vacant. That figure is 63% larger than it was just ten years ago.

22. New home construction in the United States is on pace to set a brand new all-time record low in 2011.

23. 19% of all American men between the ages of 25 and 34 are now living with their parents.

24. Electricity bills in the United States have risen faster than the overall rate of inflation for five years in a row.

25. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, health care costs accounted for just 9.5% of all personal consumption back in 1980. Today they account for approximately 16.3%.

26. One study found that approximately 41% of all working age Americans either have medical bill problems or are currently paying off medical debt.

27. If you can believe it, one out of every seven Americans has at least 10 credit cards.

28. The United States spends about 4 dollars on goods and services from China for every one dollar that China spends on goods and services from the United States.

29. It is being projected that the U.S. trade deficit for 2011 will be 558.2 billion dollars.

30. The retirement crisis in the United States just continues to get worse. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 46% of all American workers have less than $10,000 saved for retirement, and 29% of all American workers have less than $1,000 saved for retirement.

31. Today, one out of every six elderly Americans lives below the federal poverty line.

32. According to a study that was just released, CEO pay at America’s biggest companies rose by 36.5% in just one recent 12 month period.

33. Today, the “too big to fail” banks are larger than ever. The total assets of the six largest U.S. banks increased by 39% between September 30, 2006 and September 30, 2011.

34. The six heirs of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton have a net worth that is roughly equal to the bottom 30% of all Americans combined.

35. According to an analysis of Census Bureau data done by the Pew Research Center, the median net worth for households led by someone 65 years of age or older is 47 times greater than the median net worth for households led by someone under the age of 35.

36. If you can believe it, 37% of all U.S. households that are led by someone under the age of 35 have a net worth of zero or less than zero.

37. A higher%age of Americans is living in extreme poverty (6.7%) than has ever been measured before.

38. Child homelessness in the United States is now 33% higher than it was back in 2007.

39. Since 2007, the number of children living in poverty in the state of California has increased by 30%.

40. Sadly, child poverty is absolutely exploding all over America. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, 36.4% of all children that live in Philadelphia are living in poverty, 40.1% of all children that live in Atlanta are living in poverty, 52.6% of all children that live in Cleveland are living in poverty and 53.6% of all children that live in Detroit are living in poverty.

41. Today, one out of every seven Americans is on food stamps and one out of every four American children is on food stamps.

42. In 1980, government transfer payments accounted for just 11.7% of all income. Today, government transfer payments account for more than 18% of all income.

43. A staggering 48.5% of all Americans live in a household that receives some form of government benefits. Back in 1983, that number was below 30%.

44. Right now, spending by the federal government accounts for about 24% of GDP. Back in 2001, it accounted for just 18%.

45. For fiscal year 2011, the U.S. federal government had a budget deficit of nearly 1.3 trillion dollars. That was the third year in a row that our budget deficit has topped one trillion dollars.

46. If Bill Gates gave every single penny of his fortune to the U.S. government, it would only cover the U.S. budget deficit for about 15 days.

47. Amazingly, the U.S. government has now accumulated a total debt of 15 trillion dollars. When Barack Obama first took office the national debt was just 10.6 trillion dollars.

48. If the federal government began right at this moment to repay the U.S. national debt at a rate of one dollar per second, it would take over 440,000 years to pay off the national debt.

49. The U.S. national debt has been increasing by an average of more than 4 billion dollars per day since the beginning of the Obama administration.

50. During the Obama administration, the U.S. government has accumulated more debt than it did from the time that George Washington took office to the time that Bill Clinton took office.

So Who’s To Blame?

Take A Look At The Federal Reserve

Since its inception, the Federal Reserve has been a perpetual debt machine that has almost single-handedly destroyed the value of the U.S. dollar!

The Solution

From The TEC website:

"One of the most important steps that we could take to bring prosperity back to America would be to nationalize the Federal Reserve. Doing so would allow the federal government to quit borrowing money, dramatically reduce taxes and eventually pay off the entire U.S. national debt.

Instead of inheriting the largest debt in the history of the world, future generations would actually have a chance at economic prosperity because they would not be forced to pay off the horrific debt of previous generations.

There are no good reasons to keep the status quo. Our current debt-based monetary system will inevitably lead to a complete and total economic collapse. We desperately need to make a change while we still can. As you will see below, there are a ton of good reasons why we should nationalize the Federal Reserve.

Right now, most Americans believe that the Federal Reserve is actually an agency of the federal government. But that is simply not the case.

The truth is that the Federal Reserve is about as "federal" as Federal Express is, and the Federal Reserve openly admits as much.

For example, in defending itself against a Bloomberg request for information under the Freedom of Information Act, the Federal Reserve stated in court that it was "not an agency" of the U.S. government and therefore not subject to the Freedom of Information Act".

So Who Owns The Federal Reserve?

According to the Federal Reserve’s own website, it is the member banks that own it.

The twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks, which were established by Congress as the operating arms of the nation’s central banking system, are organized much like private corporations–possibly leading to some confusion about "ownership." For example, the Reserve Banks issue shares of stock to member banks. However, owning Reserve Bank stock is quite different from owning stock in a private company. The Reserve Banks are not operated for profit, and ownership of a certain amount of stock is, by law, a condition of membership in the System. The stock may not be sold, traded, or pledged as security for a loan; dividends are, by law, 6 percent per year.

Will Obama Nationalize The Federal Reserve?

No chance!

So Who Might Do It?

Well Obama’s replacement might, but even that’s not for sure because we don’t know who it will be; or if it will be.

But we do know however that the 2012 election will be one of the most important in US history.

So if you care about the US then make sure you vote, and be sure to vote Republican because with a Republican in the White House there’s a chance of positive change, but with Obama there’s none!

And if you want to know what the interest on Amreica’s debt is doing to our economy then checkout:

Forget The Deficit! How Big Is The Interest On Our Debt?

How To Fix Food Stamp, Medicaid And Gov Housing Problems

Michael Redbourn — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 11:33:07 +0000

Free Democracy: Mr. Romney's Missing Details

freedemocracy.blogspot.com12/6/11

Here's a reminder: It would cut food stamps by $127 billion, which would remove millions of people from the rolls during a downturn and cut the benefits of those who remain. Nearly two-thirds of Mr. Ryan's cuts affect low-income programs like Pell grants, housing subsidies and Medicaid. That's never mentioned by Mr. Romney, who instead talks about big cuts to tiny programs that are wildly unpopular with the party base, like the national endowments, family planning …

Feds Raid Million Dollar Home of Welfare Recipient in Washington …

conservativebyte.com12/5/11

I was in line behind a family that probably was living like the one in the article as they paid for almost $400 worth of food with food stamps. They had some … This is why Medicare and Medicaid is in deep $hit. People abusing …

The following advice appeared in the Waco Tribune Herald on Nov 18, 2010

*I’d be happy to give a link to the article but only subscribers to the newspaper can view it.

It appeared under letters to the editor, and was written by a twenty one year old female.

It’s her future shes worried about and this is how she feels about the social welfare big government state that shes being forced to live in!

Fixing Social Security; Put me in charge of welfare, Medicare and housing grants!

The problems we face today are there because the people who work for a living are outnumbered by those Who vote for a living!

Put me in charge of food stamps. I’d get rid of Lone Star cards; no cash for Ding Dongs or Ho Ho’s, just money for 50-pound bags of rice and beans, blocks of cheese and all the powdered milk you can haul away. If you want steak and frozen pizza, then get a job.

Put me in charge of Medicaid. The first thing I’d do is to get women Norplant birth control implants or tubal ligations. Then, we’ll test recipients for drugs, alcohol, and nicotine and document all tattoos and piercings. If you want to reproduce or use drugs, alcohol, smoke or get tats and piercings, then get a job.

Put me in charge of government housing. Ever live in a military barracks? You will maintain our property in a clean and good state of repair. Your "home" will be subject to inspections anytime and possessions will be inventoried. If you want a plasma TV or Xbox 360, then get a job and your own place.

In addition, you will either present a check stub from a job each week or you will report to a "government" job. It may be cleaning the roadways of trash, painting and repairing public housing, whatever we find for you. We will sell your 22 inch rims and low profile tires and your blasting stereo and speakers and put that money toward the common good..

Before you write that I’ve violated someone’s rights, realize that all of the above is voluntary. If you want our money, accept our rules.. Before you say that this would be "demeaning" and ruin their "self esteem," consider that it wasn’t that long ago that taking someone else’s money for doing absolutely nothing was demeaning and lowered self esteem.

If we are expected to pay for other people’s mistakes w e should at least attempt to make them learn from their bad choices. The current system rewards them for continuing to make bad choices.

AND While you are on Govt subsistence, you no longer can VOTE! Yes that is correct. For you to vote would be a conflict of interest. You will voluntarily remove yourself from voting while you are receiving a Govt welfare check. If you want to vote, then get a job.

BTW – I personally think that the author of the book, "How To Get Food Stamps, Welfare And Other Benefits", should be put in stocks and pelted with fruit and vegetables by all those that work for a living!

Is Your State The Worst In The US?

Michael Redbourn — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 18:26:09 +0000

Top political books of 2011 – The Arena | POLITICO.COM

www.politico.com11/24/11

… of obesity, incarceration, homicide, mental illness, drug addiction, infant mortality, teenage pregnancy, illiteracy, and low rates of social mobility, trust and life expectancy. The U.S., tragically, has some of the highest rates of …

Obesity, Drug Abuse Biggest Problems in US Youth

www.inquisitr.com8/16/11

“The perception of drug abuse as a big problem matches recent national data showing increasing use of marijuana and other drugs by US teens. Meanwhile, although obesity remains atop the list of child health concerns for …

I just came across the following map and stats, and whilst I found the whole thing interesting, I wondered if it was really accurate.

So I just spent a couple of hours checking out the sources, and as far as I could see, everything is 100% accurate.

The majority of the stats were taken from either:

America’s Health Rankings

or The US Census Bureau

And if they weren’t, then an alternative source is quoted.

So Here They Are

1. Alabama: highest rate of stroke (3.8 percent) (tied with Oklahoma).

2. Alaska: highest suicide rate (23.6 suicides per 100,000 people in 2004).

3. Arizona: highest rate of alcoholism.

4. Arkansas: worst average credit score (636) – TalkBusiness

5. California: most air pollution (15.2 micrograms per cubic meter).

6. Colorado: highest rate of cocaine use per capita (3.9 percent total population).

7. Connecticut: highest rate of breast cancer – State Health Facts

8. Delaware: highest abortion rate (27 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44).

9. Florida: highest rate of identity theft (122.3 reports per 100,000 people).

10. Georgia: sickly based on highest rate of influenza.

11. Hawaii –highest cost of living (tied with California) CNBC States With The Highest Cost Of Living

12. Idaho – lowest level of Congressional clout – NewWest

13. Illinois: highest rate of robbery (284.7 incidences per 100,000 people).

14. Indiana: rated the most environmentally unfriendly by NMI solutions – Environmental Leader

15. Iowa: highest percentage of people age 85 and older (1.8 percent) (tied with three other states) StateMaster

16. Kansas: poorest health based on highest average number of limited activity days per month (3.5 days) StateMaster

17. Kentucky: most cancer deaths (227 per 100,000 people), and Kentucky also has the highest rate of tobacco smokers – 25.6 percent).

18. Louisiana: highest rate of gonorrhea (264.4 reported cases per 100,000 people) StateMaster

19. Maine: dumbest state claim based on lowest average SAT score (1389) Commonwealth Foundation

20. Maryland: highest rate of AIDS diagnosis (27.6 people per 100,000 people) Avert.org

21. Massachusetts: worst drivers claim based on highest rate of auto accidents The Auto Channel

22. Michigan: highest unemployment rate (13.6 percent).

23. Minnesota: highest number of reported tornadoes (123 in 2010) Woodbury kstp

24. Mississippi: highest rate of obesity (35.3 percent of total population).

* Mississippi ranks last in the most number of categories.

Including the highest rate of child poverty (31.9 percent), highest rate of infant mortality (10.3 percent).

Lowest median household income ($35,078).

Highest teen birth rate (71.9 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19).

And highest overall rate of STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases).

25. Missouri: highest rate of bankruptcy (700 out of every 100,000 people) BSC Alliance

26. Montana: highest rate of drunk driving deaths (1.12 deaths per 100 million miles driven) HelenAir

27. Nebraska: highest rate of women murdered annually.

28. Nevada: highest rate violent crime (702.2 offenses per 100,000 people)and Nevada also has the highest rate of foreclosure (one in 99 houses).

29. New Hampshire: highest rate of corporate taxes New Hampshire Watchdog

: the link went dead. So what’s NH bottom at? Email me!

30. New Jersey: highest rate of citizen taxation (11.8 percent) The Retirement Living Information Center

31. New Mexico: antisocial claim based on lowest ranking in social heath policies Los Alimos Study Group

32. New York: longest average daily commute (30.6 minutes) StateMaster

33. North Carolina: lowest average teacher salary Facing South

34. North Dakota: ranked last in ugliest residents report as chosen by The Daily Beast

35. Ohio: nerdiest state claim based on highest number of library visits per capita (6.9) StateMaster

36. Oklahoma: highest rate of female incarceration.

37. Oregon: highest rate of long-term homeless people.

38. Pennsylvania: highest rate of arson deaths (55.56 annually) StateMaster

39. Rhode Island: highest rate of illicit drug use (12.5 percent of population) EconomicMix

40. South Carolina: highest percentage of mobile homes (18.8 percent) StateMaster

41. South Dakota: highest rate of forcible rape 76.5 per 100,000.

42. Tennessee: chosen most corrupt state by The Daily Beast

43. Texas: lowest high school graduation rate (78.3 percent) Statemaster

44. Utah: highest rate of of on-line porn subscriptions Desert News

45. Vermont: infertility claim based on lowest birth rate of any state (10.6 births per 1,000) (tied with Maine) StateMaster

46. Virginia: highest number of alcohol-related motorcycle deaths The Virginia Biker

47. Washington: most cases of bestiality (4 reported in 2010) Pet-Abuse

48. West Virginia: highest rate of heart attack (6.5 percent of population).

49. Wisconsin: highest rate of binge drinking (23.2 percent of population).

50. Wyoming: highest rate of deadly car crashes (24.6 deaths per 100,000) AutoInsuranceQuotealer

The bottom line is, if you do find any errors then please let me know and I’ll make the updates.

Is President Obama Earning His Salary?

Michael Redbourn — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 12:39:19 +0000

Barack Obama Vacations In Martha's Vinyard While Job Crisis, Debt …

www.huffingtonpost.com8/17/11

WASHINGTON — Is there ever really a good time for the president to go on vacation? President Barack Obama's summer getaway to Martha's Vineyard has reignited a seemingly annual debate.

Town Hall Patriots: Michelle Obama Vacations – While America …

thpatriots.blogspot.com11/14/11

"Everybody's going to have to give a little bit. … If you're a family trying to cut back, you might skip going out to dinner, you might put off a vacation." President Barack Obama Barack Obama has been President over …

A great many people are now asking what President Obama, his family and his political supporters are getting paid for.

Their Vacations?

His Reelection?

To Fulfill His ideology?

Or What?

And now Gov. Chris Christie wants to know what Obama is being paid for!

"I was angry this weekend, listening to the spin coming out of the administration, about the failure of the super-committee".

"The president knew it was doomed for failure, so he didn’t get involved".

"Well, then what the hell are we paying you for?

"It’s doomed for failure, so I’m not getting involved?".

"Well, what have you been doing, exactly?".

It’s been a slow steady decline, but President Barack Obama‘s job approval rating has finally dipped below Jimmy Carter’s, earning Obama the worst approval rating of any president at this stage of his term in modern history.

Gallup’s daily presidential job approval index puts the current president‘s job approval rating at 43% compared to Carter’s 51%.

And US News adds:

Back in 1979, Carter was far below Obama until the Iran hostage crisis; something that is being eerily duplicated in Tehran today with Iranian protesters storming the British embassy.

The early days of the crisis helped Carter’s ratings, though his failure to win the release of captured Americans, coupled with a bad economy, led to his defeat by Ronald Reagan in 1980.

According to Gallup, these are the job approval numbers for other presidents at this stage of their terms, a year before the re-election campaign:

– Harry S. Truman: 54%.

– Dwight Eisenhower: 78%.

– Lyndon B. Johnson: 44%.

– Richard M. Nixon: 50%.

– Ronald Reagan: 54%.

– George H.W. Bush: 52%.

– Bill Clinton: 51%.

– George W. Bush: 55%.

And to make matters worse for Obama, Gallup reports that his overall job approval rating ranks among the worst in American political history, averaging 49%.

And only three former presidents have had a worse average rating at this stage:

Carter, Ford, and Harry S. Truman.