Archive for the ‘economy’ Category

End the income tax in Massachusetts

Oct 24, 2008 Campaign for Liberty, Ron Paul, economy, politics

from Campaign for Liberty:

Urgent Message to You from Two Strong Ron Paul Supporters

from Carla Howell and Michael Cloud
Dear Fellow Supporters of Ron Paul,

Ron Paul campaigned to Repeal the Income Tax – and dramatically shrink the size and power of government. Now you have the opportunity to take the first step to make Ron Paul’s dream a reality – by helping us to repeal the income tax in Massachusetts this November 4th.

We are co-sponsors of Ballot Question 1, the legally-binding ballot measure that will END the Massachusetts state income tax.

Maybe you’ve read articles about our ballot initiative in the ‘Wall Street Journal,’ ‘the New York Times,’ ‘the Boston Globe,’ ‘National Review,’ ‘Reason,’ ‘CATO,’ ‘the National Taxpayers Union,’ or at LewRockwell.com. Or seen us on CNN or Fox News.

Do we really have a reasonable chance to win? Or is this just another fantasy?

Four different polls show us dead even. One poll shows support for ENDing the income tax at 45% — with 45% against. 9% undecided. Two other polls show 45% For and 45% Against – with 10% undecided. One strange poll showed 37% For and 37% Against - with 26% undecided.

This is the second time we’ve put this END the income tax initiative on the ballot. Last time, with a few hundred volunteers - and a total advertising budget of $89,000 – we got 45.3% of the vote. 885,683 votes.

50/50 odds of repealing the state income tax. And a chance of setting in motion a series of state-by-state repeals of income taxes.

Why will Massachusetts voters vote YES – and END the income tax? What are the benefits to them?

1.      Our Ballot Initiative will give back over $3,700 each to 3,400,000 Massachusetts workers and taxpayers. $3,700 average. Each worker. Not just once. Every year.

2.      It will take $12.6 Billion out of the hands of Massachusetts Big Government – and put it back into the hands of the men and women who earned it. Not just once. Every year.

3.      In productive, private hands this $12.6 Billion a year will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs in Massachusetts.

4.      This will force the state legislature to streamline and cut the waste out of the Massachusetts state spending.

5.      This will force the state legislature to get rid of the failed, flawed government programs that don’t work – and often make things worse.

6.      It’ll make the state legislature accountable to Massachusetts workers and taxpayers – instead of the government employees, lobbyists, and special interests who profit from high government spending.

7.      With less government and no income tax, Massachusetts will become a magnet to private, productive businesses and individuals. More good jobs and more good workers.

8.      And with 3,400,000 Massachusetts taxpayers getting back an average of $3,700 each in their take home paychecks, this just might radically reduce home foreclosures.

Wouldn’t these huge, immediate, direct benefits get you to the polls on November 4th?

But there’s a huge 900 lb gorilla standing between us and victory.

Who? The Teachers Unions.

Massachusetts Teachers Association, S.E.I.U. (the government employees union), AFL-CIO (who get plush government construction pay), and the other unions who get tax-funded jobs.

Union dues have already bankrolled $2,090,100 of the NO on 1 War Chest. That’s 99.93% of the anti tax-cut funding!

In addition, these unions and their allies also reported $443,437 in in-kind donations.

In addition, these unions have mobilized an estimated $1,200,000 worth of paid and unpaid union activists to stop us from ending the income tax.

Plus, with the Massachusetts Teachers Association driving this effort, the unions and their political allies are generating widespread news coverage of Ballot Question 1.

Over 53 newspaper articles and opinion pieces in just the last 10 days!

The unions are very effective. 100% of the newspaper editorials oppose our Ballot Question 1. Over 96% of opinion columns are against us. Over 83% of the newspaper articles are indisputedly against us. The remaining articles usually lean 50% to 70% against Ending the income tax.

Despite our opponents’ $2,090,100 in union dues dwarfing our fundraising, despite their several thousand paid and unpaid union activists being over 100 times the number of our volunteers, and despite their overwhelming advantage in Newspaper and TV support –

WE ARE STILL DEAD EVEN IN THE POLLS.

Some polls show us and our opponents each at 45% — with 10% undecided. One poll shows us and our opponents each at 37% — with 26% undecided.

With everything they’ve thrown at us, we’re still tied.

With less than three weeks left, we can beat them.

We and our team are doing media interviews, debating our opponents, appearing on talk shows – and we’re reaching more and more of the 3,400,000 Massachusetts workers and taxpayers.

The Massachusetts Teachers Association and their allies have already begun as much as $5,000,000 in Negative Ads and Fear Ads in these last 2 or 3 weeks.

To win, we probably need to run $500,000 in our high-impact ads. Or as close to that amount as we can.

We have $49,816 in the bank. We need to raise $450,000 immediately – if not sooner.

Our ads can tip the scales – and give us victory for the taxpayers.

We’ve developed and tweaked an advertising language, message and approach that’s viral. Contagious. Infectious. Persuasive and unforgettable to Massachusetts taxpayers.

Each $20,000 in advertising will produce an additional $40,000 in positive news coverage, publicity, and word of mouth.

Together, you and we CAN win if you donate as much as you can, if your donation helps us run just 10% of the advertising our opponents are running.

Join us, and be an indispensible member of the Army of Davids that ENDS the Massachusetts income tax in less than 3 weeks.

Will YOU please contribute $500 or $250 or $150 right now – so we can produce and place the first wave of advertising?

If you are successful in your career, if you have enough cash or credit to make a larger donation, you will make a huge difference. Will you please donate $10,000 or $5,000 or $2,500 or $1,000 today?

Your donation is our advertising budget – to END the income tax. It’s our campaign budget.

Other Ron Paul donors are counting on YOU to give what they are giving. To join them. They need YOU to donate now. Will you please donate $85 or $65 or $45 today?

Even $5 will help.

Don’t wait. Please contribute now by credit card by clicking:

https://secure.bluehost.com/~savyonco/ms/sga/sga2.php

Or please write your check today and mail it to:

The Committee For Small Government
6 Goodman Lane
Wayland, MA 01778
Make history. Make a donation today.

You will remember this for many, many years. Thank you.

Small government is possible.
Your friends and allies,

Carla Howell & Michael Cloud

Co-Sponsors, Ballot Question 1 to END the Income Tax

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The politically incorrect guide to politics with John Stossel

Oct 20, 2008 economy, politics

This is an amazing one hour piece for mainstream media.  I always knew I liked John Stossel.

Why do presidential candidates always act like they can fix everything and run our lives the way they want to?  Why do they promise all sorts of things they know they can’t deliver?  Things like energy independence and health care can only be solved by getting bureaucracy out of the free market*.

*I’m not saying there should not be any regulation in a free market capitalist system.  However, regulation should be reduced to allow the market to work on its own.

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More economic wisdom from Jonathan Lebed

Oct 14, 2008 economy, investing, politics

Jonathan Lebed warns about a new stimulus plan and the sucker’s rally in the dollar:

The crash we saw in the stock market during the past few weeks is nothing compared to the crash we are about to see in the Dollar.
Unfortunately, everybody in the government and media is too focused on current problems… they don’t have the foresight to see what problems are about to come next.
Everybody panicked and sold their stocks… and now they are hoarding Dollars. They escaped a hurricane but are now in the path of a tornado.
The hoarding of Dollars has created a temporarily strong Dollar… which is giving cover for Bernanke and Paulson to create as many Dollars as they want out of thin air to inflate the marketplace with liquidity.
If a publicly traded company was diluting their stock at the same rate as Bernanke and Paulson are diluting the Dollar… the stock would be trading for subpenny.
If your doctor was diluting your medicine or your farmer was diluting your milk, you would be outraged… wouldn’t you?
Just because we haven’t seen a run on the Dollar up until now, doesn’t mean it isn’t coming. It is coming… and it will happen very soon.
Most Americans don’t think it is possible for the Dollar to collapse. Some Americans think Dollars are still backed by Gold. It is this false trust and confidence that is keeping the Dollar propped up for now.
This trust will quickly evaporate. How could you trust a currency when the treasury secretary of the country is injecting $10 billion of this newly printed money into Goldman Sachs, his former company?
Now the Democrats in Congress want a new $150 billion stimulus plan. I told you before the first one was passed that it would be a disaster… and send prices of food and fuel through the roof. We had $5 a gallon gas by the time the checks arrived.
A stimulus is a direct injection of inflation… where you don’t have to wait to feel the effects. The $700 billion bailout will take a few months to work its way through the system… but combined with a stimulus we could see a perfect storm.
I profiled nine Gold and Silver companies as stocks to watch on Saturday, the most new stocks to watch I ever announced in one day. I gave DROOY a speculative rating of 1, my highest level of confidence. DROOY has been in business since 1895.
If you look at its long-term chart, back in 1979-1981… DROOY made a run from $15 to over $500 in less than two years. Another run like this for DROOY and several other of my new stocks to watch… is not only possible, but likely… if Gold prices skyrocket like I expect.
Hopefully those who doubted me in 2005 when I said to get out of Real Estate, will trust me now when I say to get out of the Dollar. Commodities will be the new hot asset class to invest in… and Gold will lead the way.

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A Lesson on Inflation from Duck Tales

Oct 13, 2008 economy

How better to outline the negative effects of inflation, or creation of new money, than a cartoon?

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Intent of the tightening of credit markets and the resulting recession unfolding?

Oct 11, 2008 economy, news, politics

In light of the buckling of the U.S. economy, and economies around the world, China and France are calling for a global currency and a new world order, respectively.

The People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, calls for a new currency order after “financial tsunami” saying, “The world urgently needs to create a diversified currency and financial system and fair and just financial order that is not dependent on the United States.”

Chinese call for a New Currency Order in wake of “Financial Tsunami”

Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France, called for a new world order.  “There will be no peace unless the international community stands full square in its determination to fight terrorism”.  Poorly chosen words, perhaps, because Sarkozy also talks about ending the wars in the middle east.  Perhaps not though, since Sarkozy is friendly with George W. Bush, who’s father George H.W. Bush was a huge proponent of a “new world order”.

Nicolas Sarkozy calls for a “new world order”

The Chinese Communist Party, Nicolas Sarkozy, and George H.W. Bush are not the only ones that have called for a new world order:

Barack Obama calls for a new world order in Berlin

Bill Clinton’s new world order worldview

Gordon Brown, Britain’s new Prime Mininster, new world order speech

Tony Blair, former Britain Prime Minister, new world order speech

George H.W. Bush original new world order speech

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Jonathan Lebed on the $700 billion bailout

Oct 9, 2008 Ron Paul, economy, politics

Jonathan Lebed, a stock promoter ,market genius, and Ron Paul supporter commented on Bernanke and Paulson’s $700 billion bailout in a recent email (subscribe here).  Lebed has consistently heralded his distaste for Bernanke, Paulson, and the current financial system (of monetization of debt and deficit financing) of this country.  Since I wholeheartedly agree with Lebed on the subject, I simply quote his email:

It is amazing how Bernanke and Paulson were able to scam America into believing the $700 billion in “illiquid” mortgage-backed securities they are about to purchase, will somehow be resold in the future to recoup the money or potentially even make a profit.

If a homeowner stops paying their $400,000 mortgage, instead of the bank foreclosing on the home… they will simply sell the mortgage to the government. A year later, the government will call the borrower and offer to reduce the mortgage to only $200,000 and refinance it at a 30-year fixed rate… allowing them to stay in the home.

If all these borrowers pay their new reduced mortgages, it is theoretically possible the government could recoup $350 billion of the $700 billion over the next 30 years.

What these Congressmen are too stupid to realize is… the millions of responsible Americans who are paying their mortgages on time… will realize they can get their mortgages cut in half too if they only stop paying. Therefore, the $700 billion in bad mortgages will quickly multiply to as much as $3 trillion.

At this point… everybody will rush to max out their credit cards and not pay any of that money back… which will add another $1 trillion. Of course, nobody will pay back their student loans either.

So while the intention of this bailout was to get credit flowing again, it will have the complete opposite effect… and destroy what is left of the credit market.

The dow dropping another 600 points today is a painful reminder that Ron Paul was in fact correct about the consequences of our monetary policy.

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House Democrats defended Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before current meltdown, but who is really at fault?

Oct 8, 2008 economy, politics

This video shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that Democrats covered up the looming problem with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Despite Republicans wanting more regulation for the two companies (which somehow dodged Sarbanes Oxley), which seems great in light of the current crisis, who is really at fault in this whole mess?  The answer lies with the root of the credit problem, the Federal Reserve Bank.  The Federal Reserve, which is not federal at all, but rather a privately owned and controlled bank owned by member banks, makes loans to the federal government and banks who are members of the Federal Reserve System.  This system of monetization of debt in effect attempts to create wealth out of thin air, which is an impossibility that will ultimately result in a devastating collapse.  When the Fed monetizes debt and prints money out of thin air to give out as loans, not only does this increase the money supply which causes inflation, it encourages malinvestment because credit is too easy to get; therefore the market does not operate in its most efficient manner.  Market determined interest rates and a gold and silver backed currency would fix this problem permanently and stop the unrelenting madness of the fed and the boom/bust cycle they create.

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