CaliFAILia

California was voted “Worst Run State” for the second year in a row last week, by 24/7 Wall St.. Due to high levels of debt with no relief in sight, the our S&P credit rating is the worst in the nation, our Moody’s credit rating is the second-worst. Much of California’s fiscal woes involve the economic downturn along with completely incompetent leadership ( see Pelosi, Feinstein, Boxer, Villaragosa, etc.). Home prices plunged by 33.6%!!! between 2006 and 2011, of course that was spurred by Bill Clinton's housing bubble bursting after forcing banks to give out bad loans (called ninja loans- No Income, No Job or Assets). The state’s foreclosure rate and unemployment rate were the third and second-highest in the country, respectively. The space case Gov. "Moonbeam" Jerry Brown is claiming to be making efforts to get finances on track. Stuck on stupid state voters passed a ballot initiative to raise sales taxes as well as income taxes for people who make at least $250,000 a year but like Obama, Brown will not reduce spending and is still pushing the asinine "High Speed" rail project which is looking to waste $100,000,000,000 that's one hundred billion dollars if you get lost counting all the zeros. While median income is the 10th-highest in the country, we also have one of the highest tax burdens on income. According to the Tax Foundation, the state also has the third-worst business tax climate in the country, businesses are fleeing the state like rats off a sinking ship. Add to that illegals sucking $9 billion out of the pot every year and we have what will soon be a bankrupt state. 

Now I love California, there are moments when you are driving near the coast or looking up at the beautiful mountains, that you forget about the potholes, the traffic, the razor wire around the freeway signs, the weeds, the bums, the hippies, the filth, the bars on the windows and miles and miles of graffiti, where you remember what God put here and get that warm feeling. But then the mess comes flying back in your face and I realize, it's time to go. It's time to leave California like many of my friends have and look for cleaner (not greener) pastures. The problem is California is a vacuum, a trap that sucks you in and holds you. I don't have the money to make a move so I am forced to continue slogging through the sludge looking for the moments of sunlight, be that with friends or seeing it in nature. 

So my advice is RUN, run away from this beautiful nightmare. Pull a John Galt and let it fall into the 9th level of hell and when the filth has burned itself away and the cloud of smug has cleared maybe then we can go back and reclaim the beautiful freedom that was once a cornucopia to the world.

I first saw this poster when I was taking a tour of Ellis Island, it's from the early 1920's

Obama Didn't Build That

After last week's speech telling Americans they didn't build their businesses, I felt I had to respond to Obama. You know the car came before the road, and yes the government built that road. Though if cars hadn't exploded in popularity there wouldn't have been a need for those roads. But let's take a second look at the roads, built by government. The roads, police, schools, etc. are in fact from the government, but where is the government from? Yep, that's right US! We the people make it possible for gov. to do all that great stuff, with our money, work, effort, blood, sweat and tears. Take away that and the government has nothing. 
Without us the government has nothing. It cannot create jobs, roads, schools, anything without our tax dollars. We are the income, sure Obama can print money, but that's not creating wealth, that's creating debt. Obama has been spending more than the gov's been taking in for his entire term as president. That's why our national debt has exploded under Obama, up SIX trillion dollars since 2008. Sure the government can hire people to work within, but those people are being paid out of your pocket. Then they pay taxes with money that came from taxes. They can even spend money in the private sector, but because that money is taxes (which is being taxed btw), it's not adding to the growth of the economy. 
Obama wants you to feel bad for being a hard worker, he wants you to be OK with redistributing your wealth to people who are choosing not to work. Obama wants people dependent on government because then gov can control every aspect of your life. You see the gov doesn't believe you are smart or capable enough to run your own life. But somehow Obama is, the guy who won't release his college records, who spent a good amount of that time high on weed or even cocaine, who has never held a job in the real world, knows better than you. Of course 72% of people polled believe Small Business owners do work hard and are responsible for their own success. 

So next time you are driving on a "government" road remember that's your road. You paid for it, you built it. Don't thank Obama for graciously letting you drive on his road, thank the Founding Fathers for creating the system of government that is built of, by and for you. And whatever you do, don't let anyone take that away from you. 

One way you can help stop Obama from continuing down this path of destruction is making sure you're registered to vote and exercise that by voting for Mitt Romney 2012

Time To Stop

You may have heard talk lately about the "US Debt Ceiling". Just in case you don't know; the Second Liberty Bond Act of 1917 established a statutory limit on federal debt. Congress had previously approved each debt issuance separately. The debt limit provided the U.S. Treasury with more leeway in the administration of debt, allowing for modern management techniques in government finance. The Treasury has been granted authority by Congress to issue such debt as was needed to fund government operations as long as the total debt (excepting some small special classes) does not exceed a stated ceiling. Currently we are it $14.015 trillion and rising one million dollars every twenty three seconds or so. The ceiling is $14.294 trillion, so as you can tell we are coming up on it fast, you can watch here, it's quite depressing. Congress has raised the ceiling every time we have come to it, matter of fact we have more than doubled the ceiling in the last ten years.


Now we have never actually hit the ceiling, thanks to the steady raising's, but it is my opinion that it is time to stop. No one knows what exactly will happen when the time comes (sometime in march btw) but it probably won't be good. So yeah I hear you asking "Then why not just raise it again, if not won't be 'good'?" Short answer is we can't afford it. Even if the consequences are severe, and they probably will be, our children's children will already be saddled with our debt at this rate. Sure we could push off the impending punishment, but do our kids deserve it? Personally I might say yes, but I have no kids of my own and all and all don't like kids. But it's the big picture I am talking about here. 


We made this mess, with Dumb, Dumber and Dumbest... I mean Clinton, Bush and Obama, who we elected, the fault lies with us and we need to take responsibility for it. Yes it will suck (technical term) but this is what I have been saying for a long time now. Tightening the belts and taking responsibility. Times will be tough and things will get lean (most of us could use to lose a few lbs. anyway), but if we stand together and trust the system that our Founding Fathers built on that foundation of God given rights, we will pull through and be stronger for it.