Thursday, April 30, 2009
Stalking The Fed
King Banaian of SCSU Scholars just posted a very informative post regarding H.R. 1207, a bill that would instruct the General Accounting Office to audit the Federal Reserve. As an economist, he argues against it. You can find out why by clicking here.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Treasury needs record $361B April-June borrowing
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department said Monday it will need to borrow $361 billion in the current April-June quarter, a record amount for that period.
It's the third straight quarter the government's borrowing needs have set records for those periods.
Treasury also estimated it will need to borrow $515 billion in the July-September quarter, down slightly from the $530 billion borrowed during the year-ago period. The all-time high of $569 billion was set in the October-December period.
The huge borrowing needs reflect the soaring costs of the $700 billion financial rescue program and the recession, which is nearing a record as the longest in the post World War II period.
The slump has cut sharply into tax revenue and boosted government spending for benefit programs such as unemployment insurance and food stamps.
The administration is projecting the federal deficit for the entire budget year ending Sept. 30, will total a record $1.75 trillion. A deficit at that level would nearly quadruple the previous record of $454.8 billion set last year.
To cover the government's heavy borrowing needs, Congress in February boosted the limit for the national debt to $12.1 trillion as part of the legislation that enacted President Barack Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus program. The national debt now stands at $11.1 trillion.
The government released its estimate of borrowing needs for the quarter before a news conference Wednesday when officials are scheduled provide exact details of how much debt the government plans to sell next week and in what maturity levels as part of Treasury's regular quarterly debt auctions.
The $361 billion estimate for borrowing this quarter compared with borrowing needs of just $13 billion in the year-ago period. Normally the government's borrowing needs shrink sharply in the April-June quarter because of all the tax revenue being collected.
The government announced in February that it was bringing back the seven-year note and doubling the number of 30-year bond auctions it would hold each year to help finance the surging borrowing needs.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department said Monday it will need to borrow $361 billion in the current April-June quarter, a record amount for that period.
It's the third straight quarter the government's borrowing needs have set records for those periods.
Treasury also estimated it will need to borrow $515 billion in the July-September quarter, down slightly from the $530 billion borrowed during the year-ago period. The all-time high of $569 billion was set in the October-December period.
The huge borrowing needs reflect the soaring costs of the $700 billion financial rescue program and the recession, which is nearing a record as the longest in the post World War II period.
The slump has cut sharply into tax revenue and boosted government spending for benefit programs such as unemployment insurance and food stamps.
The administration is projecting the federal deficit for the entire budget year ending Sept. 30, will total a record $1.75 trillion. A deficit at that level would nearly quadruple the previous record of $454.8 billion set last year.
To cover the government's heavy borrowing needs, Congress in February boosted the limit for the national debt to $12.1 trillion as part of the legislation that enacted President Barack Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus program. The national debt now stands at $11.1 trillion.
The government released its estimate of borrowing needs for the quarter before a news conference Wednesday when officials are scheduled provide exact details of how much debt the government plans to sell next week and in what maturity levels as part of Treasury's regular quarterly debt auctions.
The $361 billion estimate for borrowing this quarter compared with borrowing needs of just $13 billion in the year-ago period. Normally the government's borrowing needs shrink sharply in the April-June quarter because of all the tax revenue being collected.
The government announced in February that it was bringing back the seven-year note and doubling the number of 30-year bond auctions it would hold each year to help finance the surging borrowing needs.
Debt Day Comes Sooner This Year
by Congresswoman Michele Bachmann
For Americans from coast to coast, Sunday, April 26 marked our nation's Debt Day. Debt Day is the day during the fiscal year – which runs from October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009 this year – on which government spending exceeds revenue for the first time during the year.
Last year's Debt Day fell more than three months later, on Aug. 5.
Judging by the penchant for spending we've seen from Congress and the White House, I think it's safe to say that this infamous day will be creeping earlier and earlier for the next several years. It's simply another symptom of a government that spends too much, borrows too much, and taxes too much.
I come from the strong Minnesota culture of thrift, spending only what I truly can and eschewing debt. But, the trend in Washington is just the opposite. It’s very much a “spend now, and our children will pay later” attitude. That’s why I voted against the trillion-dollar-plus so-called stimulus bill, the nearly-half-a-trillion “omnibus” spending bill, and the multi-hundred billion-dollar Wall Street bailouts.
It’s high-time your family budget took priority here in Washington – and that means not just looking out for your finances today, but also looking out for your children’s futures.
For Americans from coast to coast, Sunday, April 26 marked our nation's Debt Day. Debt Day is the day during the fiscal year – which runs from October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009 this year – on which government spending exceeds revenue for the first time during the year.
Last year's Debt Day fell more than three months later, on Aug. 5.
Judging by the penchant for spending we've seen from Congress and the White House, I think it's safe to say that this infamous day will be creeping earlier and earlier for the next several years. It's simply another symptom of a government that spends too much, borrows too much, and taxes too much.
I come from the strong Minnesota culture of thrift, spending only what I truly can and eschewing debt. But, the trend in Washington is just the opposite. It’s very much a “spend now, and our children will pay later” attitude. That’s why I voted against the trillion-dollar-plus so-called stimulus bill, the nearly-half-a-trillion “omnibus” spending bill, and the multi-hundred billion-dollar Wall Street bailouts.
It’s high-time your family budget took priority here in Washington – and that means not just looking out for your finances today, but also looking out for your children’s futures.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Dave Ramsey: The Stock Market Will Rebound
by Dave Ramsey
www.daveramsey.com
History proves we’re going to make it through this recession.
Bear markets—when stock prices decline by 20% or more over at least two consecutive months—are no fun, but they have historically set up the market to bounce back and surpass its previous highs. And it might happen sooner than you think it will. Just look at the past bear markets the stock market has overcome.
What you see below is a graph of past bear markets and how they affected the S&P 500. The graph shows, on average, how long a bear market lasted and how much the stocks improved after it ended.
As you can see, the average bear market lasted around 13 months. Even more revealing is that, on average, the S&P 500 recovered all of its value and more within one to two years after the bear market ended.
If you cashed out your investments during one of those bear markets, you would have missed out on about a 50% gain. That’s a lot of money!
So what does history teach us?
1. Don’t cash out your investments during a bear market. If you do, you may lock in the losses and miss the rebound of the stock market.
2. Never give up hope. This recession and the bear market will end. You and your investments will be stronger in the long run.
www.daveramsey.com
History proves we’re going to make it through this recession.
Bear markets—when stock prices decline by 20% or more over at least two consecutive months—are no fun, but they have historically set up the market to bounce back and surpass its previous highs. And it might happen sooner than you think it will. Just look at the past bear markets the stock market has overcome.
What you see below is a graph of past bear markets and how they affected the S&P 500. The graph shows, on average, how long a bear market lasted and how much the stocks improved after it ended.
As you can see, the average bear market lasted around 13 months. Even more revealing is that, on average, the S&P 500 recovered all of its value and more within one to two years after the bear market ended.
If you cashed out your investments during one of those bear markets, you would have missed out on about a 50% gain. That’s a lot of money!
So what does history teach us?
1. Don’t cash out your investments during a bear market. If you do, you may lock in the losses and miss the rebound of the stock market.
2. Never give up hope. This recession and the bear market will end. You and your investments will be stronger in the long run.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Thune: Use TARP repayments to reduce national debt
The Daily Republic
Published Wednesday, April 22, 2009
U.S. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., introduced legislation today that would require the secretary of the treasury to use taxpayer funds returned by financial institutions under the $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) to reduce the national debt, according to a news release from Thune's office.
From the release:
"Several financial institutions that received TARP funding have returned or expressed an interest in returning billions in taxpayer funding.
“'Congress is responsible for allocating taxpayer dollars and this legislation will prevent the Obama Administration from attempting to turn this money into a revolving slush fund,' said Thune. 'TARP was designed for the President to report back to Congress and seek approval for additional funding. This legislation ensures the returned funds are not reallocated by the administration for other priorities. Instead, this bill would work to reduce the size of the national debt in this country, something that seems to be a forgotten idea with the current Democrat leadership.'
"Recently, Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner has indicated that he intends to spend these funds on additional TARP activities without Congressional approval."
Published Wednesday, April 22, 2009
U.S. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., introduced legislation today that would require the secretary of the treasury to use taxpayer funds returned by financial institutions under the $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) to reduce the national debt, according to a news release from Thune's office.
From the release:
"Several financial institutions that received TARP funding have returned or expressed an interest in returning billions in taxpayer funding.
“'Congress is responsible for allocating taxpayer dollars and this legislation will prevent the Obama Administration from attempting to turn this money into a revolving slush fund,' said Thune. 'TARP was designed for the President to report back to Congress and seek approval for additional funding. This legislation ensures the returned funds are not reallocated by the administration for other priorities. Instead, this bill would work to reduce the size of the national debt in this country, something that seems to be a forgotten idea with the current Democrat leadership.'
"Recently, Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner has indicated that he intends to spend these funds on additional TARP activities without Congressional approval."
Friday, April 10, 2009
Newest National Debt Statistics posted April 2009
Here are the newest National Debt Statistics as of April 9, 2009:
Held by Public:
$6,892,835,801,149.21
Intragovernmental Holdings:
$4,276,630,578,859.11
Total Debt:
$11,169,466,380,008.32
Gifts to reduce the public debt:
February 2009: $31,067.03
Fiscal Year 2009:
$2,232,641.09
Fiscal Year 2008 (comparison):
$2,189,358.89
Increase in Debt during FY2009:
$1,144,741,483,095.83
Increase in National Debt since 'HOPE and CHANGE' of Obama Adminstration began:
$542,589,331.095.24
($6,868,219,380.95 per day rate of increase)
Held by Public:
$6,892,835,801,149.21
Intragovernmental Holdings:
$4,276,630,578,859.11
Total Debt:
$11,169,466,380,008.32
Gifts to reduce the public debt:
February 2009: $31,067.03
Fiscal Year 2009:
$2,232,641.09
Fiscal Year 2008 (comparison):
$2,189,358.89
Increase in Debt during FY2009:
$1,144,741,483,095.83
Increase in National Debt since 'HOPE and CHANGE' of Obama Adminstration began:
$542,589,331.095.24
($6,868,219,380.95 per day rate of increase)
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Communities print their own currency to keep cash flowing
By Marisol Bello, USA TODAY
A small but growing number of cash-strapped communities are printing their own money.
Borrowing from a Depression-era idea, they are aiming to help consumers make ends meet and support struggling local businesses.
The systems generally work like this: Businesses and individuals form a network to print currency. Shoppers buy it at a discount — say, 95 cents for $1 value — and spend the full value at stores that accept the currency.
Workers with dwindling wages are paying for groceries, yoga classes and fuel with Detroit Cheers, Ithaca Hours in New York, Plenty in North Carolina or BerkShares in Massachusetts.
Ed Collom, a University of Southern Maine sociologist who has studied local currencies, says they encourage people to buy locally. Merchants, hurting because customers have cut back on spending, benefit as consumers spend the local cash.
A small but growing number of cash-strapped communities are printing their own money.
Borrowing from a Depression-era idea, they are aiming to help consumers make ends meet and support struggling local businesses.
The systems generally work like this: Businesses and individuals form a network to print currency. Shoppers buy it at a discount — say, 95 cents for $1 value — and spend the full value at stores that accept the currency.
Workers with dwindling wages are paying for groceries, yoga classes and fuel with Detroit Cheers, Ithaca Hours in New York, Plenty in North Carolina or BerkShares in Massachusetts.
Ed Collom, a University of Southern Maine sociologist who has studied local currencies, says they encourage people to buy locally. Merchants, hurting because customers have cut back on spending, benefit as consumers spend the local cash.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Zogby: The Modest Majority
Forget the personal debt horror stories--most Americans are living within their means.
by John Zogby
www.forbes.com
It's no secret that Americans have become addicted to credit in order to maintain an artificially high standard of living. According to a recent CardTrak.com survey of 55,000 consumers, 13% of Americans have credit card balances of more than $25,000.
Have we lost our way when it comes to credit? Now celebrating my 25th year as a pollster, I've learned to read statistics with a bit of dyslexia, taking a look at them backward and upside down. So I discovered that almost half of that 13% were people who could well afford to carry that much credit card debt--which meant to me that approximately nine in 10 Americans were living within their means with regard to credit card debt. The real truth here is that most Americans are living their lives modestly, but this does not make a dramatic headline.
But Americans have bought into the misconception that most of us are overextended. Taking into account a household's overall financial picture, a Zogby Interactive survey conducted in March 2008 found that 79% of Americans believe they themselves live within their means financially, given their current personal financial situation.
This same survey found that 87% believe that most other Americans are living beyond their financial means. Our more recent polling shows Americans have been trimming their budgets in response to today's financial reality--on entertainment, major purchases, even groceries. The Great Recession has not created a new mindset, because it was already here.
It's not so much that we're a nation of debtors--though there are a lot of us with too much debt--but that we're not a nation of savers. On the surface, it would appear that Americans have an insatiable appetite for things they cannot afford. The Economist reported in 2008 that household and consumer debt was up from 100% of gross domestic product in 1980 to 173% by 2007.
But consider the reality that much new debt has been caused by students who graduate from college with unmanageable credit card payments, and that a substantial burden is being carried by these college graduates well into their thirties. Much of this growing debt is in start-up costs for young people and added penalties and interest rates.
There are many of us working for less, and many who have come to the realization that they cannot achieve the American Dream on a buy-now pay-later basis. The Great Recession is not creating a new trend but rather accelerating one I have noted over the last decade: a move away from easy credit, away from buying what we can't afford, away from seeking out fantasy.
by John Zogby
www.forbes.com
It's no secret that Americans have become addicted to credit in order to maintain an artificially high standard of living. According to a recent CardTrak.com survey of 55,000 consumers, 13% of Americans have credit card balances of more than $25,000.
Have we lost our way when it comes to credit? Now celebrating my 25th year as a pollster, I've learned to read statistics with a bit of dyslexia, taking a look at them backward and upside down. So I discovered that almost half of that 13% were people who could well afford to carry that much credit card debt--which meant to me that approximately nine in 10 Americans were living within their means with regard to credit card debt. The real truth here is that most Americans are living their lives modestly, but this does not make a dramatic headline.
But Americans have bought into the misconception that most of us are overextended. Taking into account a household's overall financial picture, a Zogby Interactive survey conducted in March 2008 found that 79% of Americans believe they themselves live within their means financially, given their current personal financial situation.
This same survey found that 87% believe that most other Americans are living beyond their financial means. Our more recent polling shows Americans have been trimming their budgets in response to today's financial reality--on entertainment, major purchases, even groceries. The Great Recession has not created a new mindset, because it was already here.
It's not so much that we're a nation of debtors--though there are a lot of us with too much debt--but that we're not a nation of savers. On the surface, it would appear that Americans have an insatiable appetite for things they cannot afford. The Economist reported in 2008 that household and consumer debt was up from 100% of gross domestic product in 1980 to 173% by 2007.
But consider the reality that much new debt has been caused by students who graduate from college with unmanageable credit card payments, and that a substantial burden is being carried by these college graduates well into their thirties. Much of this growing debt is in start-up costs for young people and added penalties and interest rates.
There are many of us working for less, and many who have come to the realization that they cannot achieve the American Dream on a buy-now pay-later basis. The Great Recession is not creating a new trend but rather accelerating one I have noted over the last decade: a move away from easy credit, away from buying what we can't afford, away from seeking out fantasy.
Top 10 States in Budget Trouble
Click here for the Top 10 States in Budget Trouble, as reported at Real Clear Politics and cross posted from Obama Alert blog.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Sen. Gregg: Obama's budget plan 'will lead to immense national debt'
Sen. Judd Gregg, once President Barack Obama's choice to be commerce secretary, yesterday said the President's proposed budget "spends too much, taxes too much, and borrows too much."
New Hampshire's senior senator, the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, delivered the weekly Republican address.
The President focused his weekly address to the nation yesterday on the flooding in the Midwest, laying out the multi-agency federal response to the natural disaster.
He praised the efforts of thousands of volunteers who have pitched in to fill sandbags, build levees and provide other support -- and used their example to renew his call for community service.
"In the face of an incredible challenge, the people of these communities have rallied in support of one another," Obama said. "And their service isn't just inspirational -- it's integral to our response."
Gregg began his six-minute address by acknowledging the "difficult times" and "the efforts being made by our President and his seriousness about addressing these issues."
But, he said, the administration's budget would increase the national debt, taxes and government spending.
In contrast, Gregg said, Republicans "believe you create prosperity by having an affordable government that pursues its responsibilities without excessive costs, taxes or debt, that it is the individual American who creates prosperity and good jobs, not the government."
Gregg also said the Obama administration wants to create what he called "a new national sales tax on everyone's electric bill."
Republicans have criticized the administration's proposal to create a "cap and trade" system, which would require companies to purchase credits for carbon emissions.
The administration proposes using revenues generated from such a system to fund clean energy technology, and pay for a tax credit for Americans who earn less than $250,000 a year, a key campaign pledge for Obama. White House officials have said the "Making Work Pay" tax credit would compensate middle-class Americans for any increased utility costs under such a system, according to published reports.
The White House budget includes funding for that tax credit for 10 years. However, current House and Senate budget proposals cut funding for that tax credit beyond 2010, according to published reports.
Yesterday, Gregg warned that Obama's budget plan "will lead to an immense national debt that not only threatens the value of the dollar and puts at risk our ability to borrow money to run the government," but also places the next generation "at a huge disadvantage as they inherit this debt, which will make their chances of success less than those given to us by our parents."
Near the end of his five-minute address, the President hailed Congress' passage of a bill that promotes national service. "In facing sudden crises or more stubborn challenges, the truth is we are all in this together -- as neighbors and fellow citizens," Obama said.
And he closed by offering thoughts, prayers and "our continued assistance" to those dealing with the flooding.
NOTE: When first posted, this article misidentified the Cabinet post that Judd Gregg turned down.
New Hampshire's senior senator, the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, delivered the weekly Republican address.
The President focused his weekly address to the nation yesterday on the flooding in the Midwest, laying out the multi-agency federal response to the natural disaster.
He praised the efforts of thousands of volunteers who have pitched in to fill sandbags, build levees and provide other support -- and used their example to renew his call for community service.
"In the face of an incredible challenge, the people of these communities have rallied in support of one another," Obama said. "And their service isn't just inspirational -- it's integral to our response."
Gregg began his six-minute address by acknowledging the "difficult times" and "the efforts being made by our President and his seriousness about addressing these issues."
But, he said, the administration's budget would increase the national debt, taxes and government spending.
In contrast, Gregg said, Republicans "believe you create prosperity by having an affordable government that pursues its responsibilities without excessive costs, taxes or debt, that it is the individual American who creates prosperity and good jobs, not the government."
Gregg also said the Obama administration wants to create what he called "a new national sales tax on everyone's electric bill."
Republicans have criticized the administration's proposal to create a "cap and trade" system, which would require companies to purchase credits for carbon emissions.
The administration proposes using revenues generated from such a system to fund clean energy technology, and pay for a tax credit for Americans who earn less than $250,000 a year, a key campaign pledge for Obama. White House officials have said the "Making Work Pay" tax credit would compensate middle-class Americans for any increased utility costs under such a system, according to published reports.
The White House budget includes funding for that tax credit for 10 years. However, current House and Senate budget proposals cut funding for that tax credit beyond 2010, according to published reports.
Yesterday, Gregg warned that Obama's budget plan "will lead to an immense national debt that not only threatens the value of the dollar and puts at risk our ability to borrow money to run the government," but also places the next generation "at a huge disadvantage as they inherit this debt, which will make their chances of success less than those given to us by our parents."
Near the end of his five-minute address, the President hailed Congress' passage of a bill that promotes national service. "In facing sudden crises or more stubborn challenges, the truth is we are all in this together -- as neighbors and fellow citizens," Obama said.
And he closed by offering thoughts, prayers and "our continued assistance" to those dealing with the flooding.
NOTE: When first posted, this article misidentified the Cabinet post that Judd Gregg turned down.
National debt needs viable solution
Melanie Thomas
www.wilkesbeacon.com
America, let’s be serious.
It’s not the war in Iraq, party discrepancies, or ideology that is our biggest threat.
In recent months the economy has been the sharpest pain that the United States has been enduring. It’s hard to fathom that in order for us to balance our national budget we would need $53 trillion.
The documentary I.O.U.S.A, recently screened on campus, outlined what is contributing to this economic mess. Certainly, there seems to be no easy solution to eliminate the debt.
Annually, the national budget increases by two to three trillion dollars. The U.S. government continues to borrow money from various countries that it will never be able to pay back in order to cover expenses.
But the reality is clear: ultimately the countries we owe debt to may one day have a ruling voice in U.S. policy.
Within less than ten years, an unequal balance between individuals receiving social security and those paying into it will begin. We won’t be able to take care of the people who took care of us.
According to I.O.U.S.A, “In 2008, the United States spent $610 billion on Social Security benefits, $330 billion on Medicare, and $204 billion on Medicaid.”
A step in the right direction for solving the budget deficit would be to tighten up guidelines for those who qualify for Social Security. I believe that Social Security requirements need to be reviewed and revised.
Only people with legitimate health concerns and issues should qualify for benefits.
If we could reform Social Security successfully, our deficit could be reduced by up to $7 trillion.
Another major factor pertaining to the nation’s debt is our inability to save. Many individuals simply do not live within their own means and saving money has become a practice of the past.
Everyone wants to live comfortably and the leaders in this country have a tendency to make us believe that this is realistic.
What they fail to tell us is the truth. We shouldn’t be lied to anymore. Fiscal irresponsibility shouldn’t be allowed.
The country also needs to change its trading habits. This country has a tendency to consume or import more than it produces or exports. Living with excess is not only bad for the economy but causing an even bigger environmental problem.
Everything that affects the economy can be connected to other serious problems that we face. It’s way past time for our country reign things in and not be foolish. One president is not the solution for this disaster. We need so much more reform.
We literally went from a balanced budget with President Clinton to an $8.7 trillion deficit.
As Americans we need to make sure that we are voting for those truly interested in the betterment of this nation and not let those who have been dishonest in the past get their hands on spending our dollars or lie to us about the severity of the problem.
Even if we ended the war in Iraq, earmarks and pork barrel spending were eliminated, and Bush tax cuts were allowed to expire, we would still not be able to solve the national debt.
The mess that America has created will not be solved easily. We must travel a long path filled with bumps and obstacles in order to maintain our status. If our national debt is not addressed in the near future, we will fail as a nation.
www.wilkesbeacon.com
America, let’s be serious.
It’s not the war in Iraq, party discrepancies, or ideology that is our biggest threat.
In recent months the economy has been the sharpest pain that the United States has been enduring. It’s hard to fathom that in order for us to balance our national budget we would need $53 trillion.
The documentary I.O.U.S.A, recently screened on campus, outlined what is contributing to this economic mess. Certainly, there seems to be no easy solution to eliminate the debt.
Annually, the national budget increases by two to three trillion dollars. The U.S. government continues to borrow money from various countries that it will never be able to pay back in order to cover expenses.
But the reality is clear: ultimately the countries we owe debt to may one day have a ruling voice in U.S. policy.
Within less than ten years, an unequal balance between individuals receiving social security and those paying into it will begin. We won’t be able to take care of the people who took care of us.
According to I.O.U.S.A, “In 2008, the United States spent $610 billion on Social Security benefits, $330 billion on Medicare, and $204 billion on Medicaid.”
A step in the right direction for solving the budget deficit would be to tighten up guidelines for those who qualify for Social Security. I believe that Social Security requirements need to be reviewed and revised.
Only people with legitimate health concerns and issues should qualify for benefits.
If we could reform Social Security successfully, our deficit could be reduced by up to $7 trillion.
Another major factor pertaining to the nation’s debt is our inability to save. Many individuals simply do not live within their own means and saving money has become a practice of the past.
Everyone wants to live comfortably and the leaders in this country have a tendency to make us believe that this is realistic.
What they fail to tell us is the truth. We shouldn’t be lied to anymore. Fiscal irresponsibility shouldn’t be allowed.
The country also needs to change its trading habits. This country has a tendency to consume or import more than it produces or exports. Living with excess is not only bad for the economy but causing an even bigger environmental problem.
Everything that affects the economy can be connected to other serious problems that we face. It’s way past time for our country reign things in and not be foolish. One president is not the solution for this disaster. We need so much more reform.
We literally went from a balanced budget with President Clinton to an $8.7 trillion deficit.
As Americans we need to make sure that we are voting for those truly interested in the betterment of this nation and not let those who have been dishonest in the past get their hands on spending our dollars or lie to us about the severity of the problem.
Even if we ended the war in Iraq, earmarks and pork barrel spending were eliminated, and Bush tax cuts were allowed to expire, we would still not be able to solve the national debt.
The mess that America has created will not be solved easily. We must travel a long path filled with bumps and obstacles in order to maintain our status. If our national debt is not addressed in the near future, we will fail as a nation.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Deficit Accountability Act of 2009
I think this is a novel idea. Please take time to contact your member of Congress today and request that they co-sponsor this legislation. Congress should not get a pay increase if they can't balance the books! This was introduced by Rep. Cliff Stearns (FL-6) and co-sponsored by Rep. Howard Coble (NC-6).
Deficit Accountability Act of 2009 (Introduced in House)
HR 201 IH
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 201
To provide that no automatic pay adjustment for Members of Congress shall be made in the year following a fiscal year in which there is a Federal budget deficit.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 6, 2009
Mr. STEARNS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A BILL
To provide that no automatic pay adjustment for Members of Congress shall be made in the year following a fiscal year in which there is a Federal budget deficit.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Deficit Accountability Act of 2009'.
SEC. 2. EFFECT OF A BUDGET DEFICIT.
Section 601(a) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 31) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking `Subject to subparagraph (B),' and inserting `Subject to subparagraph (B) and paragraph (3),'; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
`(3) An adjustment under paragraph (2) otherwise scheduled to take effect in a calendar year shall not be made if, as determined by the Office of Management and Budget, there was a deficit (as defined by section 3 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974) in the preceding fiscal year.'.
Deficit Accountability Act of 2009 (Introduced in House)
HR 201 IH
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 201
To provide that no automatic pay adjustment for Members of Congress shall be made in the year following a fiscal year in which there is a Federal budget deficit.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 6, 2009
Mr. STEARNS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A BILL
To provide that no automatic pay adjustment for Members of Congress shall be made in the year following a fiscal year in which there is a Federal budget deficit.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Deficit Accountability Act of 2009'.
SEC. 2. EFFECT OF A BUDGET DEFICIT.
Section 601(a) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 31) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking `Subject to subparagraph (B),' and inserting `Subject to subparagraph (B) and paragraph (3),'; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
`(3) An adjustment under paragraph (2) otherwise scheduled to take effect in a calendar year shall not be made if, as determined by the Office of Management and Budget, there was a deficit (as defined by section 3 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974) in the preceding fiscal year.'.
Friday, March 27, 2009
A List of US Reps who Voted for HR 1586, Imposing a 90% Tax on Bonuses for TARP Recipients
What follows is a list of the US Reps who succumbed to populist fervor and voted for H.R. 1586, imposing a 90% tax on bonuses received by employees of certain TARP recipients (the bill was sponsored by Rep. Charles Rangel, D-NY, and co-sponsored by 51 other Democrats)
The bill, which passed 328-93, is widely believed to be an unconstitutional 'bill of attainder.'
243 Democrats and 85 Republicans voted for the bill; 6 Dems and 87 Repubs voted against it. 6 Dems and 4 Repubs did not vote.
Here is a list of representatives who voted, "Yea" on the bill. See if your congressman is on the list:
Yea HI-1 Abercrombie, Neil [D]
Yea NY-5 Ackerman, Gary [D]
Yea AL-4 Aderholt, Robert [R]
Yea NJ-3 Adler, John [D]
Yea LA-5 Alexander, Rodney [R]
Yea PA-4 Altmire, Jason [D]
Yea NJ-1 Andrews, Robert [D]
Yea NY-24 Arcuri, Michael [D]
Yea CA-43 Baca, Joe [D]
Yea WA-3 Baird, Brian [D]
Yea WI-2 Baldwin, Tammy [D]
Yea GA-12 Barrow, John [D]
Yea TX-6 Barton, Joe [R]
Yea CA-31 Becerra, Xavier [D]
Yea NV-1 Berkley, Shelley [D]
Yea CA-28 Berman, Howard [D]
Yea AR-1 Berry, Robert [D]
Yea IL-13 Biggert, Judy [R]
Yea CA-50 Bilbray, Brian [R]
Yea FL-9 Bilirakis, Gus [R]
Yea GA-2 Bishop, Sanford [D]
Yea NY-1 Bishop, Timothy [D]
Yea OR-3 Blumenauer, Earl [D]
Yea MO-7 Blunt, Roy [R]
Yea OH-16 Boccieri, John [D]
Yea CA-45 Bono Mack, Mary [R]
Yea AR-3 Boozman, John [R]
Yea OK-2 Boren, Dan [D]
Yea IA-3 Boswell, Leonard [D]
Yea VA-9 Boucher, Frederick [D]
Yea FL-2 Boyd, Allen [D]
Yea PA-1 Brady, Robert [D]
Yea IA-1 Braley, Bruce [D]
Yea AL-2 Bright, Bobby [D]
Yea FL-3 Brown, Corrine [D]
Yea SC-1 Brown, Henry [R]
Yea FL-5 Brown-Waite, Virginia [R]
Yea FL-13 Buchanan, Vern [R]
Yea NC-1 Butterfield, George [D]
Yea CA-44 Calvert, Ken [R]
Yea MI-4 Camp, David [R]
Yea VA-7 Cantor, Eric [R]
Yea LA-2 Cao, Anh [R]
Yea WV-2 Capito, Shelley [R]
Yea CA-23 Capps, Lois [D]
Yea MA-8 Capuano, Michael [D]
Yea CA-18 Cardoza, Dennis [D]
Yea MO-3 Carnahan, Russ [D]
Yea PA-10 Carney, Christopher [D]
Yea IN-7 Carson, André [D]
Yea LA-6 Cassidy, Bill [R]
Yea DE-0 Castle, Michael [R]
Yea FL-11 Castor, Kathy [D]
Yea KY-6 Chandler, Ben [D]
Yea MS-1 Childers, Travis [D]
Yea NY-11 Clarke, Yvette [D]
Yea MO-1 Clay, William [D]
Yea MO-5 Cleaver, Emanuel [D]
Yea SC-6 Clyburn, James [D]
Yea TN-9 Cohen, Steve [D]
Yea VA-11 Connolly, Gerald [D]
Yea MI-14 Conyers, John [D]
Yea TN-5 Cooper, Jim [D]
Yea CA-20 Costa, Jim [D]
Yea IL-12 Costello, Jerry [D]
Yea CT-2 Courtney, Joe [D]
Yea FL-4 Crenshaw, Ander [R]
Yea NY-7 Crowley, Joseph [D]
Yea TX-28 Cuellar, Henry [D]
Yea MD-7 Cummings, Elijah [D]
Yea PA-3 Dahlkemper, Kathleen [D]
Yea AL-7 Davis, Artur [D]
Yea IL-7 Davis, Danny [D]
Yea KY-4 Davis, Geoff [R]
Yea CA-53 Davis, Susan [D]
Yea OR-4 DeFazio, Peter [D]
Yea CO-1 DeGette, Diana [D]
Yea CT-3 DeLauro, Rosa [D]
Yea PA-15 Dent, Charles [R]
Yea FL-21 Diaz-Balart, Lincoln [R]
Yea FL-25 Diaz-Balart, Mario [R]
Yea WA-6 Dicks, Norman [D]
Yea MI-15 Dingell, John [D]
Yea TX-25 Doggett, Lloyd [D]
Yea IN-2 Donnelly, Joe [D]
Yea PA-14 Doyle, Michael [D]
Yea OH-1 Driehaus, Steve [D]
Yea TN-2 Duncan, John [R]
Yea MD-4 Edwards, Donna [D]
Yea TX-17 Edwards, Thomas [D]
Yea MI-3 Ehlers, Vernon [R]
Yea MN-5 Ellison, Keith [D]
Yea IN-8 Ellsworth, Brad [D]
Yea MO-8 Emerson, Jo Ann [R]
Yea NY-17 Engel, Eliot [D]
Yea CA-14 Eshoo, Anna [D]
Yea NC-2 Etheridge, Bob [D]
Yea CA-17 Farr, Sam [D]
Yea PA-2 Fattah, Chaka [D]
Yea CA-51 Filner, Bob [D]
Yea LA-4 Fleming, John [R]
Yea VA-4 Forbes, James [R]
Yea NE-1 Fortenberry, Jeffrey [R]
Yea IL-14 Foster, Bill [D]
Yea MA-4 Frank, Barney [D]
Yea NJ-11 Frelinghuysen, Rodney [R]
Yea OH-11 Fudge, Marcia [D]
Yea CA-24 Gallegly, Elton [R]
Yea PA-6 Gerlach, Jim [R]
Yea AZ-8 Giffords, Gabrielle [D]
Yea TX-20 Gonzalez, Charles [D]
Yea VA-6 Goodlatte, Robert [R]
Yea TN-6 Gordon, Barton [D]
Yea FL-8 Grayson, Alan [D]
Yea TX-9 Green, Al [D]
Yea TX-29 Green, Raymond [D]
Yea AL-5 Griffith, Parker [D]
Yea AZ-7 Grijalva, Raul [D]
Yea KY-2 Guthrie, Brett [R]
Yea IL-4 Gutierrez, Luis [D]
Yea NY-19 Hall, John [D]
Yea IL-11 Halvorson, Deborah [D]
Yea IL-17 Hare, Phil [D]
Yea CA-36 Harman, Jane [D]
Yea FL-23 Hastings, Alcee [D]
Yea NM-1 Heinrich, Martin [D]
Yea NV-2 Heller, Dean [R]
Yea CA-2 Herger, Walter [R]
Yea SD-0 Herseth Sandlin, Stephanie [D]
Yea NY-27 Higgins, Brian [D]
Yea IN-9 Hill, Baron [D]
Yea CT-4 Himes, James [D]
Yea TX-15 Hinojosa, Rubén [D]
Yea HI-2 Hirono, Mazie [D]
Yea NH-2 Hodes, Paul [D]
Yea MI-2 Hoekstra, Peter [R]
Yea PA-17 Holden, Tim [D]
Yea NJ-12 Holt, Rush [D]
Yea CA-15 Honda, Michael [D]
Yea MD-5 Hoyer, Steny [D]
Yea WA-1 Inslee, Jay [D]
Yea NY-2 Israel, Steve [D]
Yea IL-2 Jackson, Jesse [D]
Yea TX-18 Jackson-Lee, Sheila [D]
Yea TX-30 Johnson, Eddie [D]
Yea GA-4 Johnson, Henry [D]
Yea IL-15 Johnson, Timothy [R]
Yea NC-3 Jones, Walter [R]
Yea WI-8 Kagen, Steve [D]
Yea PA-11 Kanjorski, Paul [D]
Yea OH-9 Kaptur, Marcy [D]
Yea RI-1 Kennedy, Patrick [D]
Yea MI-5 Kildee, Dale [D]
Yea MI-13 Kilpatrick, Carolyn [D]
Yea OH-15 Kilroy, Mary Jo [D]
Yea WI-3 Kind, Ronald [D]
Yea IL-10 Kirk, Mark [R]
Yea AZ-1 Kirkpatrick, Ann [D]
Yea FL-22 Klein, Ron [D]
Yea FL-24 Kosmas, Suzanne [D]
Yea MD-1 Kratovil, Frank [D]
Yea OH-10 Kucinich, Dennis [D]
Yea NJ-7 Lance, Leonard [R]
Yea RI-2 Langevin, James [D]
Yea WA-2 Larsen, Rick [D]
Yea CT-1 Larson, John [D]
Yea IA-4 Latham, Thomas [R]
Yea CA-9 Lee, Barbara [D]
Yea NY-26 Lee, Christopher [R]
Yea MI-12 Levin, Sander [D]
Yea CA-41 Lewis, Jerry [R]
Yea GA-5 Lewis, John [D]
Yea IL-3 Lipinski, Daniel [D]
Yea NJ-2 LoBiondo, Frank [R]
Yea IA-2 Loebsack, David [D]
Yea CA-16 Lofgren, Zoe [D]
Yea NY-18 Lowey, Nita [D]
Yea NM-3 Lujan, Ben [D]
Yea MA-9 Lynch, Stephen [D]
Yea NY-25 Maffei, Daniel [D]
Yea NY-14 Maloney, Carolyn [D]
Yea IL-16 Manzullo, Donald [R]
Yea CO-4 Markey, Betsy [D]
Yea MA-7 Markey, Edward [D]
Yea GA-8 Marshall, James [D]
Yea NY-29 Massa, Eric [D]
Yea UT-2 Matheson, Jim [D]
Yea CA-5 Matsui, Doris [D]
Yea NY-4 McCarthy, Carolyn [D]
Yea TX-10 McCaul, Michael [R]
Yea CA-4 McClintock, Tom [R]
Yea MN-4 McCollum, Betty [D]
Yea WA-7 McDermott, James [D]
Yea MA-3 McGovern, James [D]
Yea NY-23 McHugh, John [R]
Yea NC-7 McIntyre, Mike [D]
Yea WA-5 McMorris Rodgers, Cathy [R]
Yea CA-11 McNerney, Jerry [D]
Yea FL-17 Meek, Kendrick [D]
Yea NY-6 Meeks, Gregory [D]
Yea LA-3 Melancon, Charles [D]
Yea FL-7 Mica, John [R]
Yea ME-2 Michaud, Michael [D]
Yea MI-10 Miller, Candice [R]
Yea CA-7 Miller, George [D]
Yea NC-13 Miller, R. [D]
Yea WV-1 Mollohan, Alan [D]
Yea KS-3 Moore, Dennis [D]
Yea WI-4 Moore, Gwen [D]
Yea VA-8 Moran, James [D]
Yea KS-1 Moran, Jerry [R]
Yea CT-5 Murphy, Christopher [D]
Yea PA-8 Murphy, Patrick [D]
Yea PA-12 Murtha, John [D]
Yea NY-8 Nadler, Jerrold [D]
Yea MA-2 Neal, Richard [D]
Yea VA-2 Nye, Glenn [D]
Yea MN-8 Oberstar, James [D]
Yea WI-7 Obey, David [D]
Yea MA-1 Olver, John [D]
Yea TX-27 Ortiz, Solomon [D]
Yea NJ-6 Pallone, Frank [D]
Yea NJ-8 Pascrell, William [D]
Yea AZ-4 Pastor, Edward [D]
Yea NJ-10 Payne, Donald [D]
Yea CO-7 Perlmutter, Ed [D]
Yea VA-5 Perriello, Thomas [D]
Yea MI-9 Peters, Gary [D]
Yea MN-7 Peterson, Collin [D]
Yea WI-6 Petri, Thomas [R]
Yea ME-1 Pingree, Chellie [D]
Yea PA-19 Platts, Todd [R]
Yea CO-2 Polis, Jared [D]
Yea ND-0 Pomeroy, Earl [D]
Yea NC-4 Price, David [D]
Yea FL-12 Putnam, Adam [R]
Yea WV-3 Rahall, Nick [D]
Yea NY-15 Rangel, Charles [D]
Yea MT-0 Rehberg, Dennis [R]
Yea WA-8 Reichert, Dave [R]
Yea TX-16 Reyes, Silvestre [D]
Yea CA-37 Richardson, Laura [D]
Yea TX-23 Rodriguez, Ciro [D]
Yea TN-1 Roe, David [R]
Yea KY-5 Rogers, Harold [R]
Yea AL-3 Rogers, Michael [R]
Yea MI-8 Rogers, Michael [R]
Yea CA-46 Rohrabacher, Dana [R]
Yea FL-16 Rooney, Thomas [R]
Yea IL-6 Roskam, Peter [R]
Yea FL-18 Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [R]
Yea AR-4 Ross, Mike [D]
Yea NJ-9 Rothman, Steven [D]
Yea CA-34 Roybal-Allard, Lucille [D]
Yea CA-40 Royce, Edward [R]
Yea MD-2 Ruppersberger, C.A. [D]
Yea IL-1 Rush, Bobby [D]
Yea WI-1 Ryan, Paul [R]
Yea OH-17 Ryan, Timothy [D]
Yea CO-3 Salazar, John [D]
Yea CA-39 Sanchez, Linda [D]
Yea CA-47 Sanchez, Loretta [D]
Yea MD-3 Sarbanes, John [D]
Yea IL-9 Schakowsky, Janice [D]
Yea MI-7 Schauer, Mark [D]
Yea CA-29 Schiff, Adam [D]
Yea OH-2 Schmidt, Jean [R]
Yea IL-18 Schock, Aaron [R]
Yea OR-5 Schrader, Kurt [D]
Yea PA-13 Schwartz, Allyson [D]
Yea GA-13 Scott, David [D]
Yea VA-3 Scott, Robert [D]
Yea NY-16 Serrano, José [D]
Yea PA-7 Sestak, Joe [D]
Yea NH-1 Shea-Porter, Carol [D]
Yea CA-27 Sherman, Brad [D]
Yea IL-19 Shimkus, John [R]
Yea NC-11 Shuler, Heath [D]
Yea NJ-13 Sires, Albio [D]
Yea MO-4 Skelton, Ike [D]
Yea NY-28 Slaughter, Louise [D]
Yea WA-9 Smith, Adam [D]
Yea NJ-4 Smith, Christopher [R]
Yea TX-21 Smith, Lamar [R]
Yea OH-18 Space, Zachary [D]
Yea CA-12 Speier, Jackie [D]
Yea SC-5 Spratt, John [D]
Yea CA-13 Stark, Fortney [D]
Yea FL-6 Stearns, Clifford [R]
Yea MI-1 Stupak, Bart [D]
Yea OH-13 Sutton, Betty [D]
Yea TN-8 Tanner, John [D]
Yea CA-10 Tauscher, Ellen [D]
Yea MS-4 Taylor, Gene [D]
Yea NM-2 Teague, Harry [D]
Yea MS-2 Thompson, Bennie [D]
Yea CA-1 Thompson, C. [D]
Yea OH-12 Tiberi, Patrick [R]
Yea MA-6 Tierney, John [D]
Yea NV-3 Titus, Dina [D]
Yea NY-21 Tonko, Paul [D]
Yea NY-10 Towns, Edolphus [D]
Yea MA-5 Tsongas, Niki [D]
Yea OH-3 Turner, Michael [R]
Yea MI-6 Upton, Frederick [R]
Yea MD-8 Van Hollen, Christopher [D]
Yea NY-12 Velazquez, Nydia [D]
Yea IN-1 Visclosky, Peter [D]
Yea OR-2 Walden, Greg [R]
Yea MN-1 Walz, Timothy [D]
Yea TN-3 Wamp, Zach [R]
Yea FL-20 Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D]
Yea CA-35 Waters, Maxine [D]
Yea CA-33 Watson, Diane [D]
Yea NC-12 Watt, Melvin [D]
Yea CA-30 Waxman, Henry [D]
Yea NY-9 Weiner, Anthony [D]
Yea VT-0 Welch, Peter [D]
Yea FL-19 Wexler, Robert [D]
Yea KY-1 Whitfield, Edward [R]
Yea OH-6 Wilson, Charles [D]
Yea VA-1 Wittman, Rob [R]
Yea VA-10 Wolf, Frank [R]
Yea CA-6 Woolsey, Lynn [D]
Yea OR-1 Wu, David [D]
Yea KY-3 Yarmuth, John [D]
Yea FL-10 Young, C. W. [R]
Yea AK-0 Young, Donald [R]
Not Voting LA-7 Boustany, Charles [R]
Not Voting TX-7 Culberson, John [R]
Not Voting TN-4 Davis, Lincoln [D]
Not Voting MA-10 Delahunt, William [D]
Not Voting NY-22 Hinchey, Maurice [D]
Not Voting CA-42 Miller, Gary [R]
Not Voting CA-38 Napolitano, Grace [D]
Not Voting TX-22 Olson, Pete [R]
Not Voting CA-19 Radanovich, George [R]
Not Voting IN-3 Souder, Mark [R]
Update: Michelle Malkin has a broken out a list of the 85 republicans who voted for the bill.
The bill, which passed 328-93, is widely believed to be an unconstitutional 'bill of attainder.'
243 Democrats and 85 Republicans voted for the bill; 6 Dems and 87 Repubs voted against it. 6 Dems and 4 Repubs did not vote.
Here is a list of representatives who voted, "Yea" on the bill. See if your congressman is on the list:
Yea HI-1 Abercrombie, Neil [D]
Yea NY-5 Ackerman, Gary [D]
Yea AL-4 Aderholt, Robert [R]
Yea NJ-3 Adler, John [D]
Yea LA-5 Alexander, Rodney [R]
Yea PA-4 Altmire, Jason [D]
Yea NJ-1 Andrews, Robert [D]
Yea NY-24 Arcuri, Michael [D]
Yea CA-43 Baca, Joe [D]
Yea WA-3 Baird, Brian [D]
Yea WI-2 Baldwin, Tammy [D]
Yea GA-12 Barrow, John [D]
Yea TX-6 Barton, Joe [R]
Yea CA-31 Becerra, Xavier [D]
Yea NV-1 Berkley, Shelley [D]
Yea CA-28 Berman, Howard [D]
Yea AR-1 Berry, Robert [D]
Yea IL-13 Biggert, Judy [R]
Yea CA-50 Bilbray, Brian [R]
Yea FL-9 Bilirakis, Gus [R]
Yea GA-2 Bishop, Sanford [D]
Yea NY-1 Bishop, Timothy [D]
Yea OR-3 Blumenauer, Earl [D]
Yea MO-7 Blunt, Roy [R]
Yea OH-16 Boccieri, John [D]
Yea CA-45 Bono Mack, Mary [R]
Yea AR-3 Boozman, John [R]
Yea OK-2 Boren, Dan [D]
Yea IA-3 Boswell, Leonard [D]
Yea VA-9 Boucher, Frederick [D]
Yea FL-2 Boyd, Allen [D]
Yea PA-1 Brady, Robert [D]
Yea IA-1 Braley, Bruce [D]
Yea AL-2 Bright, Bobby [D]
Yea FL-3 Brown, Corrine [D]
Yea SC-1 Brown, Henry [R]
Yea FL-5 Brown-Waite, Virginia [R]
Yea FL-13 Buchanan, Vern [R]
Yea NC-1 Butterfield, George [D]
Yea CA-44 Calvert, Ken [R]
Yea MI-4 Camp, David [R]
Yea VA-7 Cantor, Eric [R]
Yea LA-2 Cao, Anh [R]
Yea WV-2 Capito, Shelley [R]
Yea CA-23 Capps, Lois [D]
Yea MA-8 Capuano, Michael [D]
Yea CA-18 Cardoza, Dennis [D]
Yea MO-3 Carnahan, Russ [D]
Yea PA-10 Carney, Christopher [D]
Yea IN-7 Carson, André [D]
Yea LA-6 Cassidy, Bill [R]
Yea DE-0 Castle, Michael [R]
Yea FL-11 Castor, Kathy [D]
Yea KY-6 Chandler, Ben [D]
Yea MS-1 Childers, Travis [D]
Yea NY-11 Clarke, Yvette [D]
Yea MO-1 Clay, William [D]
Yea MO-5 Cleaver, Emanuel [D]
Yea SC-6 Clyburn, James [D]
Yea TN-9 Cohen, Steve [D]
Yea VA-11 Connolly, Gerald [D]
Yea MI-14 Conyers, John [D]
Yea TN-5 Cooper, Jim [D]
Yea CA-20 Costa, Jim [D]
Yea IL-12 Costello, Jerry [D]
Yea CT-2 Courtney, Joe [D]
Yea FL-4 Crenshaw, Ander [R]
Yea NY-7 Crowley, Joseph [D]
Yea TX-28 Cuellar, Henry [D]
Yea MD-7 Cummings, Elijah [D]
Yea PA-3 Dahlkemper, Kathleen [D]
Yea AL-7 Davis, Artur [D]
Yea IL-7 Davis, Danny [D]
Yea KY-4 Davis, Geoff [R]
Yea CA-53 Davis, Susan [D]
Yea OR-4 DeFazio, Peter [D]
Yea CO-1 DeGette, Diana [D]
Yea CT-3 DeLauro, Rosa [D]
Yea PA-15 Dent, Charles [R]
Yea FL-21 Diaz-Balart, Lincoln [R]
Yea FL-25 Diaz-Balart, Mario [R]
Yea WA-6 Dicks, Norman [D]
Yea MI-15 Dingell, John [D]
Yea TX-25 Doggett, Lloyd [D]
Yea IN-2 Donnelly, Joe [D]
Yea PA-14 Doyle, Michael [D]
Yea OH-1 Driehaus, Steve [D]
Yea TN-2 Duncan, John [R]
Yea MD-4 Edwards, Donna [D]
Yea TX-17 Edwards, Thomas [D]
Yea MI-3 Ehlers, Vernon [R]
Yea MN-5 Ellison, Keith [D]
Yea IN-8 Ellsworth, Brad [D]
Yea MO-8 Emerson, Jo Ann [R]
Yea NY-17 Engel, Eliot [D]
Yea CA-14 Eshoo, Anna [D]
Yea NC-2 Etheridge, Bob [D]
Yea CA-17 Farr, Sam [D]
Yea PA-2 Fattah, Chaka [D]
Yea CA-51 Filner, Bob [D]
Yea LA-4 Fleming, John [R]
Yea VA-4 Forbes, James [R]
Yea NE-1 Fortenberry, Jeffrey [R]
Yea IL-14 Foster, Bill [D]
Yea MA-4 Frank, Barney [D]
Yea NJ-11 Frelinghuysen, Rodney [R]
Yea OH-11 Fudge, Marcia [D]
Yea CA-24 Gallegly, Elton [R]
Yea PA-6 Gerlach, Jim [R]
Yea AZ-8 Giffords, Gabrielle [D]
Yea TX-20 Gonzalez, Charles [D]
Yea VA-6 Goodlatte, Robert [R]
Yea TN-6 Gordon, Barton [D]
Yea FL-8 Grayson, Alan [D]
Yea TX-9 Green, Al [D]
Yea TX-29 Green, Raymond [D]
Yea AL-5 Griffith, Parker [D]
Yea AZ-7 Grijalva, Raul [D]
Yea KY-2 Guthrie, Brett [R]
Yea IL-4 Gutierrez, Luis [D]
Yea NY-19 Hall, John [D]
Yea IL-11 Halvorson, Deborah [D]
Yea IL-17 Hare, Phil [D]
Yea CA-36 Harman, Jane [D]
Yea FL-23 Hastings, Alcee [D]
Yea NM-1 Heinrich, Martin [D]
Yea NV-2 Heller, Dean [R]
Yea CA-2 Herger, Walter [R]
Yea SD-0 Herseth Sandlin, Stephanie [D]
Yea NY-27 Higgins, Brian [D]
Yea IN-9 Hill, Baron [D]
Yea CT-4 Himes, James [D]
Yea TX-15 Hinojosa, Rubén [D]
Yea HI-2 Hirono, Mazie [D]
Yea NH-2 Hodes, Paul [D]
Yea MI-2 Hoekstra, Peter [R]
Yea PA-17 Holden, Tim [D]
Yea NJ-12 Holt, Rush [D]
Yea CA-15 Honda, Michael [D]
Yea MD-5 Hoyer, Steny [D]
Yea WA-1 Inslee, Jay [D]
Yea NY-2 Israel, Steve [D]
Yea IL-2 Jackson, Jesse [D]
Yea TX-18 Jackson-Lee, Sheila [D]
Yea TX-30 Johnson, Eddie [D]
Yea GA-4 Johnson, Henry [D]
Yea IL-15 Johnson, Timothy [R]
Yea NC-3 Jones, Walter [R]
Yea WI-8 Kagen, Steve [D]
Yea PA-11 Kanjorski, Paul [D]
Yea OH-9 Kaptur, Marcy [D]
Yea RI-1 Kennedy, Patrick [D]
Yea MI-5 Kildee, Dale [D]
Yea MI-13 Kilpatrick, Carolyn [D]
Yea OH-15 Kilroy, Mary Jo [D]
Yea WI-3 Kind, Ronald [D]
Yea IL-10 Kirk, Mark [R]
Yea AZ-1 Kirkpatrick, Ann [D]
Yea FL-22 Klein, Ron [D]
Yea FL-24 Kosmas, Suzanne [D]
Yea MD-1 Kratovil, Frank [D]
Yea OH-10 Kucinich, Dennis [D]
Yea NJ-7 Lance, Leonard [R]
Yea RI-2 Langevin, James [D]
Yea WA-2 Larsen, Rick [D]
Yea CT-1 Larson, John [D]
Yea IA-4 Latham, Thomas [R]
Yea CA-9 Lee, Barbara [D]
Yea NY-26 Lee, Christopher [R]
Yea MI-12 Levin, Sander [D]
Yea CA-41 Lewis, Jerry [R]
Yea GA-5 Lewis, John [D]
Yea IL-3 Lipinski, Daniel [D]
Yea NJ-2 LoBiondo, Frank [R]
Yea IA-2 Loebsack, David [D]
Yea CA-16 Lofgren, Zoe [D]
Yea NY-18 Lowey, Nita [D]
Yea NM-3 Lujan, Ben [D]
Yea MA-9 Lynch, Stephen [D]
Yea NY-25 Maffei, Daniel [D]
Yea NY-14 Maloney, Carolyn [D]
Yea IL-16 Manzullo, Donald [R]
Yea CO-4 Markey, Betsy [D]
Yea MA-7 Markey, Edward [D]
Yea GA-8 Marshall, James [D]
Yea NY-29 Massa, Eric [D]
Yea UT-2 Matheson, Jim [D]
Yea CA-5 Matsui, Doris [D]
Yea NY-4 McCarthy, Carolyn [D]
Yea TX-10 McCaul, Michael [R]
Yea CA-4 McClintock, Tom [R]
Yea MN-4 McCollum, Betty [D]
Yea WA-7 McDermott, James [D]
Yea MA-3 McGovern, James [D]
Yea NY-23 McHugh, John [R]
Yea NC-7 McIntyre, Mike [D]
Yea WA-5 McMorris Rodgers, Cathy [R]
Yea CA-11 McNerney, Jerry [D]
Yea FL-17 Meek, Kendrick [D]
Yea NY-6 Meeks, Gregory [D]
Yea LA-3 Melancon, Charles [D]
Yea FL-7 Mica, John [R]
Yea ME-2 Michaud, Michael [D]
Yea MI-10 Miller, Candice [R]
Yea CA-7 Miller, George [D]
Yea NC-13 Miller, R. [D]
Yea WV-1 Mollohan, Alan [D]
Yea KS-3 Moore, Dennis [D]
Yea WI-4 Moore, Gwen [D]
Yea VA-8 Moran, James [D]
Yea KS-1 Moran, Jerry [R]
Yea CT-5 Murphy, Christopher [D]
Yea PA-8 Murphy, Patrick [D]
Yea PA-12 Murtha, John [D]
Yea NY-8 Nadler, Jerrold [D]
Yea MA-2 Neal, Richard [D]
Yea VA-2 Nye, Glenn [D]
Yea MN-8 Oberstar, James [D]
Yea WI-7 Obey, David [D]
Yea MA-1 Olver, John [D]
Yea TX-27 Ortiz, Solomon [D]
Yea NJ-6 Pallone, Frank [D]
Yea NJ-8 Pascrell, William [D]
Yea AZ-4 Pastor, Edward [D]
Yea NJ-10 Payne, Donald [D]
Yea CO-7 Perlmutter, Ed [D]
Yea VA-5 Perriello, Thomas [D]
Yea MI-9 Peters, Gary [D]
Yea MN-7 Peterson, Collin [D]
Yea WI-6 Petri, Thomas [R]
Yea ME-1 Pingree, Chellie [D]
Yea PA-19 Platts, Todd [R]
Yea CO-2 Polis, Jared [D]
Yea ND-0 Pomeroy, Earl [D]
Yea NC-4 Price, David [D]
Yea FL-12 Putnam, Adam [R]
Yea WV-3 Rahall, Nick [D]
Yea NY-15 Rangel, Charles [D]
Yea MT-0 Rehberg, Dennis [R]
Yea WA-8 Reichert, Dave [R]
Yea TX-16 Reyes, Silvestre [D]
Yea CA-37 Richardson, Laura [D]
Yea TX-23 Rodriguez, Ciro [D]
Yea TN-1 Roe, David [R]
Yea KY-5 Rogers, Harold [R]
Yea AL-3 Rogers, Michael [R]
Yea MI-8 Rogers, Michael [R]
Yea CA-46 Rohrabacher, Dana [R]
Yea FL-16 Rooney, Thomas [R]
Yea IL-6 Roskam, Peter [R]
Yea FL-18 Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [R]
Yea AR-4 Ross, Mike [D]
Yea NJ-9 Rothman, Steven [D]
Yea CA-34 Roybal-Allard, Lucille [D]
Yea CA-40 Royce, Edward [R]
Yea MD-2 Ruppersberger, C.A. [D]
Yea IL-1 Rush, Bobby [D]
Yea WI-1 Ryan, Paul [R]
Yea OH-17 Ryan, Timothy [D]
Yea CO-3 Salazar, John [D]
Yea CA-39 Sanchez, Linda [D]
Yea CA-47 Sanchez, Loretta [D]
Yea MD-3 Sarbanes, John [D]
Yea IL-9 Schakowsky, Janice [D]
Yea MI-7 Schauer, Mark [D]
Yea CA-29 Schiff, Adam [D]
Yea OH-2 Schmidt, Jean [R]
Yea IL-18 Schock, Aaron [R]
Yea OR-5 Schrader, Kurt [D]
Yea PA-13 Schwartz, Allyson [D]
Yea GA-13 Scott, David [D]
Yea VA-3 Scott, Robert [D]
Yea NY-16 Serrano, José [D]
Yea PA-7 Sestak, Joe [D]
Yea NH-1 Shea-Porter, Carol [D]
Yea CA-27 Sherman, Brad [D]
Yea IL-19 Shimkus, John [R]
Yea NC-11 Shuler, Heath [D]
Yea NJ-13 Sires, Albio [D]
Yea MO-4 Skelton, Ike [D]
Yea NY-28 Slaughter, Louise [D]
Yea WA-9 Smith, Adam [D]
Yea NJ-4 Smith, Christopher [R]
Yea TX-21 Smith, Lamar [R]
Yea OH-18 Space, Zachary [D]
Yea CA-12 Speier, Jackie [D]
Yea SC-5 Spratt, John [D]
Yea CA-13 Stark, Fortney [D]
Yea FL-6 Stearns, Clifford [R]
Yea MI-1 Stupak, Bart [D]
Yea OH-13 Sutton, Betty [D]
Yea TN-8 Tanner, John [D]
Yea CA-10 Tauscher, Ellen [D]
Yea MS-4 Taylor, Gene [D]
Yea NM-2 Teague, Harry [D]
Yea MS-2 Thompson, Bennie [D]
Yea CA-1 Thompson, C. [D]
Yea OH-12 Tiberi, Patrick [R]
Yea MA-6 Tierney, John [D]
Yea NV-3 Titus, Dina [D]
Yea NY-21 Tonko, Paul [D]
Yea NY-10 Towns, Edolphus [D]
Yea MA-5 Tsongas, Niki [D]
Yea OH-3 Turner, Michael [R]
Yea MI-6 Upton, Frederick [R]
Yea MD-8 Van Hollen, Christopher [D]
Yea NY-12 Velazquez, Nydia [D]
Yea IN-1 Visclosky, Peter [D]
Yea OR-2 Walden, Greg [R]
Yea MN-1 Walz, Timothy [D]
Yea TN-3 Wamp, Zach [R]
Yea FL-20 Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D]
Yea CA-35 Waters, Maxine [D]
Yea CA-33 Watson, Diane [D]
Yea NC-12 Watt, Melvin [D]
Yea CA-30 Waxman, Henry [D]
Yea NY-9 Weiner, Anthony [D]
Yea VT-0 Welch, Peter [D]
Yea FL-19 Wexler, Robert [D]
Yea KY-1 Whitfield, Edward [R]
Yea OH-6 Wilson, Charles [D]
Yea VA-1 Wittman, Rob [R]
Yea VA-10 Wolf, Frank [R]
Yea CA-6 Woolsey, Lynn [D]
Yea OR-1 Wu, David [D]
Yea KY-3 Yarmuth, John [D]
Yea FL-10 Young, C. W. [R]
Yea AK-0 Young, Donald [R]
Not Voting LA-7 Boustany, Charles [R]
Not Voting TX-7 Culberson, John [R]
Not Voting TN-4 Davis, Lincoln [D]
Not Voting MA-10 Delahunt, William [D]
Not Voting NY-22 Hinchey, Maurice [D]
Not Voting CA-42 Miller, Gary [R]
Not Voting CA-38 Napolitano, Grace [D]
Not Voting TX-22 Olson, Pete [R]
Not Voting CA-19 Radanovich, George [R]
Not Voting IN-3 Souder, Mark [R]
Update: Michelle Malkin has a broken out a list of the 85 republicans who voted for the bill.
Dave Ramsey: How to deal with setbacks
by Dave Ramsey
www.daveramsey.com
(You can catch Dave Ramsey on a radio near you - or go to the FoxBusiness Network to watch his show)
Failure? I never encountered it. All I ever met were temporary setbacks. —Dottie Walters
We’ve all encountered setbacks. They’re just a part of life. But one thing makes the difference between a setback and a failure—your attitude. If you don’t believe that, hello! This is your wake-up call!
MyTotalMoneyMakeover.com members Carl and Tricia in Indiana are an amazing example to us all. For several months, they and their three youngest children have been surviving on as much as a 60% pay cut, all while maintaining a fully funded emergency fund and learning how to live on $60-a-week grocery budget. How have they done it?
According to Tricia, the biggest help has been simply having a plan and a six-month emergency fund socked away. They have made substantial sacrifices to maintain their long-term financial goals. Eating out has become a rare, almost celebratory occasion. Tricia cooks nearly all of their meals from scratch. She’s a true home economist who not only hunts for bargains but also home schools her three youngest children. They have avoided Murphy a couple of times thanks to a tax refund and squeezing extra dollars out of their monthly budget.
In addition to day-to-day family obligations, Tricia and Carl have been proactive in their community by helping their neighbors who are financially hurting and losing their jobs. They have hosted a money workshop and Financial Peace University, and they have also been mentoring four families in their hometown. They invite other couples over for dinner, discuss the Baby Steps, and show them how to apply the proven principles to their lives.
While most people would have interpreted Carl’s income drop as a devastating blow, Tricia and Carl have seen it as an opportunity to pass on the knowledge they’ve gained and continue to live on less than they make. Because of their dedication to planning and saving, their family is taking a vacation this year to the Grand Canyon!
See, there’s nothing flashy to it. Your attitude and decisions make a world of difference every day, despite everything going on around you. It takes discipline, creativity and sacrifice to win in all areas of your life. No one ever said it was easy, but most things in life that are worth it are not easy.
www.daveramsey.com
(You can catch Dave Ramsey on a radio near you - or go to the FoxBusiness Network to watch his show)
Failure? I never encountered it. All I ever met were temporary setbacks. —Dottie Walters
We’ve all encountered setbacks. They’re just a part of life. But one thing makes the difference between a setback and a failure—your attitude. If you don’t believe that, hello! This is your wake-up call!
MyTotalMoneyMakeover.com members Carl and Tricia in Indiana are an amazing example to us all. For several months, they and their three youngest children have been surviving on as much as a 60% pay cut, all while maintaining a fully funded emergency fund and learning how to live on $60-a-week grocery budget. How have they done it?
According to Tricia, the biggest help has been simply having a plan and a six-month emergency fund socked away. They have made substantial sacrifices to maintain their long-term financial goals. Eating out has become a rare, almost celebratory occasion. Tricia cooks nearly all of their meals from scratch. She’s a true home economist who not only hunts for bargains but also home schools her three youngest children. They have avoided Murphy a couple of times thanks to a tax refund and squeezing extra dollars out of their monthly budget.
In addition to day-to-day family obligations, Tricia and Carl have been proactive in their community by helping their neighbors who are financially hurting and losing their jobs. They have hosted a money workshop and Financial Peace University, and they have also been mentoring four families in their hometown. They invite other couples over for dinner, discuss the Baby Steps, and show them how to apply the proven principles to their lives.
While most people would have interpreted Carl’s income drop as a devastating blow, Tricia and Carl have seen it as an opportunity to pass on the knowledge they’ve gained and continue to live on less than they make. Because of their dedication to planning and saving, their family is taking a vacation this year to the Grand Canyon!
See, there’s nothing flashy to it. Your attitude and decisions make a world of difference every day, despite everything going on around you. It takes discipline, creativity and sacrifice to win in all areas of your life. No one ever said it was easy, but most things in life that are worth it are not easy.
Monday, March 16, 2009
On this date in 1959...
March 15, 1959:
An 11-year-old girl living in Miami, Fla., sent her savings of $61 to President Dwight Eisenhower to be used to pay down the rising national debt. The fifth-grader had been saving for a horse. The debt had reached $285,578,690, not including another $422.6 million not subject to statutory limit.
An 11-year-old girl living in Miami, Fla., sent her savings of $61 to President Dwight Eisenhower to be used to pay down the rising national debt. The fifth-grader had been saving for a horse. The debt had reached $285,578,690, not including another $422.6 million not subject to statutory limit.
Complaints pile up against debt collectors
By ALISON YOUNG
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sunday March 15, 2009
Consumers complain that a Marietta debt collection firm uses deceit and abusive tactics to collect money, even when it isn’t owed, records show.
Enough complained that the Georgia Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs began investigating last fall. It ordered Frederick J. Hanna & Associates to answer questions about collection practices, consumer disputes and what it does to ensure the validity of debts.
But for three months the state’s top consumer watchdog agency and the debt collector have been in a standoff.
Frederick J. Hanna & Associates says its tactics are none of the state agency’s business. Because it’s a law firm, the debt collector contends it is outside the consumer office’s jurisdiction. It refuses to answer the agency’s questions.
“We don’t feel like they’re entitled to anything. Period,” Frederick Hanna said. He said his firm gets 50,000 new debt files each month and its collection methods are legitimate.
The consumer office says it has a right to investigate whether the firm’s tactics are breaking state law. “If we perceive an infraction of the law, we don’t believe your status as a law firm will protect you,” said Bill Cloud, a spokesman for the consumer office.
A hearing is scheduled March 30 in Cobb County Superior Court and the outcome could have a significant impact on thousands of Georgia consumers targeted by debt collectors — especially those who don’t owe money.
Here and across the nation, consumers complained more about debt collectors than any other industry in 2008, according to new data from the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Network.
The network, used by law enforcement, tracks complaints to the FTC, as well as to groups such as the Better Business Bureau, FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Social Security Administration and the National Consumers League.
Last month the FTC issued a report saying the debt collection legal system needs reform and the 1977 Fair Debt Collection Practices Act needs to be modernized to reflect changes in technology, debt and the collection industry.
While the FTC said timely payment of debts is important, it said the law needs changes to better ensure that collectors are going after the right people for the right amounts of money. The law also needs to mandate that collectors give consumers better information about their legal rights.
Complaints about debt collectors are on the rise and some of the tactics firms use are already illegal, Cloud said.
“A lot of them are buying up ‘zombie debt.’ It’s old debt you cannot collect anymore by normal means,” Cloud said. “It’s essentially debt renewal. To get you back on the hook they try to intimidate and try to berate you.”
Zombie debt, like the name implies, is debt — legitimate or not — that refuses to die. It may be debt that resulted from identity theft years ago that the original creditor wrote off. It may be a legitimate debt that is several years old, was already paid off or has been legally erased by bankruptcy. The debt gains new life when sold to a collection agency for pennies on the dollar.
In November, the state consumer office served an investigative demand notice, similar to a subpoena, on Frederick J. Hanna & Associates. It asked for documents about the firm’s collection practices, including those involving zombie debts. Officials with the consumer office declined to give details about the complaints they have received about the firm, citing the ongoing investigation.
The firm has an “F” rating with the BBB because of its complaint history, including failing to respond to consumer concerns, according to BBB records.
State officials are investigating potential violations of Georgia’s Fair Business Practices Act, according to the notice, including allegations the firm engaged in abusive or oppressive tactics prohibited under state and federal laws and allegations the firm used misleading and deceptive methods. The notice does not provide details or examples.
Hanna said Friday that if the consumer office wants to review a few specific files, he’d allow it. But he said he has hundreds of thousands of files and it is unreasonable to provide them all, as has been requested.
Until recently, it was unclear whether the state Fair Business Practices Act could be applied to debt collectors. In 2007, the Georgia Court of Appeals held that collection of a debt is a consumer transaction covered by the law.
Frederick J. Hanna & Associates, in documents filed in Cobb County Superior Court, says the consumer office is asking for an unreasonable amount of information. But beyond that, the debt collection law firm contends that the consumer office has no jurisdiction over the practice of law and therefore no jurisdiction over its activities. The consumer office is seeking an order from the court to force the firm to comply with its demand for documents and information.
State consumer officials have opened a similar investigation of Mann Bracken, a national debt collection law firm with an office in Atlanta. Mann Bracken also contends the consumer office doesn’t have jurisdiction, according to Fulton County court records. Lawyer conduct is regulated only by the State Bar and the Supreme Court of Georgia, the firm said in documents filed in court.
Hanna said Spotlight should not be focusing on debt collection firms. The problem is the debtors and the amount they owe, he said, adding that consumers should try to work with people like him.
Cloud warned that consumers should be careful about anything they say to a debt collector. Insist the firm send you written proof you owe the money, he said.
“If this is an old debt and you do not believe you owe this money, do not in any way, shape or form reaffirm this debt,” Cloud said. “They are probably recording you.”
————————————————
DEBT: KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibits debt collectors from using abusive or deceptive practices, such as threats of harm, harassing phone calls or misrepresenting what you owe. Here are some tips from the Federal Trade Commission:
Proof of debt: All collectors must send you a “validation notice” within five days after they first contact you. It must include how much you owe and what you need to do if you don’t think you owe the money.
Managing calls: Collectors can’t call you at inconvenient times, such as before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., unless you agree to it. They also can’t call you at work if you’ve told them that you are not allowed to take personal calls there.
Calls limited to others: Collectors are generally prohibited from discussing your debt with anyone besides you, your spouse or your attorney. They can only contact other people to find out your address, your home phone number and where you work.
For more information about your rights, go to: www.ftc.gov.
——————————
ID THEFT CAN CAUSE DEBT PROBLEM
David Vallin of Canton was one of the 4,430 Georgia consumers who complained about debt collectors last year to agencies in the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network.
Vallin said a firm with a Michigan address began calling and sending letters last fall, ordering him to pay $322 for cellphone bills unpaid since 2006.
Vallin assumed T-Mobile, where he’d once had an account, had simply made a mistake. “I knew I’d paid it off,” he said.
But after a few calls, Vallin said it was clear the bills weren’t his. They were for two separate accounts and five phone lines. But his name and Social Security number were on the accounts.
“I have no idea how they got my information,” said Vallin, 23, who complained to the BBB last fall and then turned to a private identity theft protection firm to help him freeze his credit against further fraud and sort out the debt collection mess.
Vallin said he learned last week that the matter is nearly resolved; he said the ID theft protection firm told him that T-Mobile has agreed that the accounts were fraudulent and is calling off the debt collector.
T-Mobile officials said they can’t comment on individual accounts. The company issued a statement saying such situations are rare and that the company has safeguards to prevent identity thieves from opening accounts.
Georgians filed 10,748 complaints last year about various types of identity theft — many involving the fraudulent opening of accounts or use of credit. Nearly 1,200 complaints involved phone or utilities fraud; 1,900 involved credit card fraud, according to the FTC’s data.
“Identity theft, that’s our No. 1 consumer education item,” said Fred Elsberry Jr., president of the BBB serving metro Atlanta, Athens and northeast Georgia.
You can find help at the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs’ detailed help guide. The FTC’s tips are at www.ftc.gov/idtheft.
——————————
WHERE TO COMPLAIN
Whether it’s an abusive debt collector, a problem with identity theft or one of the many scams consumers encounter each year, these groups can help:
Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs (Georgia): 1-800-436-7442.
Better Business Bureau (Georgia): 404-766-0875, www.bbb.org
Federal Trade Commission: www.FTCComplaintAssistant.gov
——————————
TOP CONSUMER COMPLAINTS
Georgia residents filed 27,470 complaints in 2008 with government and nonprofit watchdog agencies about fraud and other consumer issues. Here are the top categories:
Issue type Complaints
Debt collectors: 4,430
Internet services (providers, Web hosts) 1,455
Credit bureaus, report issues: 1,439
Shop-at-home, catalog sales: 1,239
Television, electronic media (reception, installation, billing, etc.): 1,229
Foreign money offers, counterfeit check scams: 1,017
Banks, lenders (predatory lending, overdraft charges, customer service, etc.): 911
Prizes, sweepstakes, lotteries: 861
Telecom equipment and mobile services: 844
Business opportunities, work-at-home, employment agencies: 712
Source: FTC Consumer Sentinel Network, www.ftc.gov/sentinel/reports/sentinel-annual-reports/sentinel-cy2008.pdf
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sunday March 15, 2009
Consumers complain that a Marietta debt collection firm uses deceit and abusive tactics to collect money, even when it isn’t owed, records show.
Enough complained that the Georgia Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs began investigating last fall. It ordered Frederick J. Hanna & Associates to answer questions about collection practices, consumer disputes and what it does to ensure the validity of debts.
But for three months the state’s top consumer watchdog agency and the debt collector have been in a standoff.
Frederick J. Hanna & Associates says its tactics are none of the state agency’s business. Because it’s a law firm, the debt collector contends it is outside the consumer office’s jurisdiction. It refuses to answer the agency’s questions.
“We don’t feel like they’re entitled to anything. Period,” Frederick Hanna said. He said his firm gets 50,000 new debt files each month and its collection methods are legitimate.
The consumer office says it has a right to investigate whether the firm’s tactics are breaking state law. “If we perceive an infraction of the law, we don’t believe your status as a law firm will protect you,” said Bill Cloud, a spokesman for the consumer office.
A hearing is scheduled March 30 in Cobb County Superior Court and the outcome could have a significant impact on thousands of Georgia consumers targeted by debt collectors — especially those who don’t owe money.
Here and across the nation, consumers complained more about debt collectors than any other industry in 2008, according to new data from the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Network.
The network, used by law enforcement, tracks complaints to the FTC, as well as to groups such as the Better Business Bureau, FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Social Security Administration and the National Consumers League.
Last month the FTC issued a report saying the debt collection legal system needs reform and the 1977 Fair Debt Collection Practices Act needs to be modernized to reflect changes in technology, debt and the collection industry.
While the FTC said timely payment of debts is important, it said the law needs changes to better ensure that collectors are going after the right people for the right amounts of money. The law also needs to mandate that collectors give consumers better information about their legal rights.
Complaints about debt collectors are on the rise and some of the tactics firms use are already illegal, Cloud said.
“A lot of them are buying up ‘zombie debt.’ It’s old debt you cannot collect anymore by normal means,” Cloud said. “It’s essentially debt renewal. To get you back on the hook they try to intimidate and try to berate you.”
Zombie debt, like the name implies, is debt — legitimate or not — that refuses to die. It may be debt that resulted from identity theft years ago that the original creditor wrote off. It may be a legitimate debt that is several years old, was already paid off or has been legally erased by bankruptcy. The debt gains new life when sold to a collection agency for pennies on the dollar.
In November, the state consumer office served an investigative demand notice, similar to a subpoena, on Frederick J. Hanna & Associates. It asked for documents about the firm’s collection practices, including those involving zombie debts. Officials with the consumer office declined to give details about the complaints they have received about the firm, citing the ongoing investigation.
The firm has an “F” rating with the BBB because of its complaint history, including failing to respond to consumer concerns, according to BBB records.
State officials are investigating potential violations of Georgia’s Fair Business Practices Act, according to the notice, including allegations the firm engaged in abusive or oppressive tactics prohibited under state and federal laws and allegations the firm used misleading and deceptive methods. The notice does not provide details or examples.
Hanna said Friday that if the consumer office wants to review a few specific files, he’d allow it. But he said he has hundreds of thousands of files and it is unreasonable to provide them all, as has been requested.
Until recently, it was unclear whether the state Fair Business Practices Act could be applied to debt collectors. In 2007, the Georgia Court of Appeals held that collection of a debt is a consumer transaction covered by the law.
Frederick J. Hanna & Associates, in documents filed in Cobb County Superior Court, says the consumer office is asking for an unreasonable amount of information. But beyond that, the debt collection law firm contends that the consumer office has no jurisdiction over the practice of law and therefore no jurisdiction over its activities. The consumer office is seeking an order from the court to force the firm to comply with its demand for documents and information.
State consumer officials have opened a similar investigation of Mann Bracken, a national debt collection law firm with an office in Atlanta. Mann Bracken also contends the consumer office doesn’t have jurisdiction, according to Fulton County court records. Lawyer conduct is regulated only by the State Bar and the Supreme Court of Georgia, the firm said in documents filed in court.
Hanna said Spotlight should not be focusing on debt collection firms. The problem is the debtors and the amount they owe, he said, adding that consumers should try to work with people like him.
Cloud warned that consumers should be careful about anything they say to a debt collector. Insist the firm send you written proof you owe the money, he said.
“If this is an old debt and you do not believe you owe this money, do not in any way, shape or form reaffirm this debt,” Cloud said. “They are probably recording you.”
————————————————
DEBT: KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibits debt collectors from using abusive or deceptive practices, such as threats of harm, harassing phone calls or misrepresenting what you owe. Here are some tips from the Federal Trade Commission:
Proof of debt: All collectors must send you a “validation notice” within five days after they first contact you. It must include how much you owe and what you need to do if you don’t think you owe the money.
Managing calls: Collectors can’t call you at inconvenient times, such as before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., unless you agree to it. They also can’t call you at work if you’ve told them that you are not allowed to take personal calls there.
Calls limited to others: Collectors are generally prohibited from discussing your debt with anyone besides you, your spouse or your attorney. They can only contact other people to find out your address, your home phone number and where you work.
For more information about your rights, go to: www.ftc.gov.
——————————
ID THEFT CAN CAUSE DEBT PROBLEM
David Vallin of Canton was one of the 4,430 Georgia consumers who complained about debt collectors last year to agencies in the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network.
Vallin said a firm with a Michigan address began calling and sending letters last fall, ordering him to pay $322 for cellphone bills unpaid since 2006.
Vallin assumed T-Mobile, where he’d once had an account, had simply made a mistake. “I knew I’d paid it off,” he said.
But after a few calls, Vallin said it was clear the bills weren’t his. They were for two separate accounts and five phone lines. But his name and Social Security number were on the accounts.
“I have no idea how they got my information,” said Vallin, 23, who complained to the BBB last fall and then turned to a private identity theft protection firm to help him freeze his credit against further fraud and sort out the debt collection mess.
Vallin said he learned last week that the matter is nearly resolved; he said the ID theft protection firm told him that T-Mobile has agreed that the accounts were fraudulent and is calling off the debt collector.
T-Mobile officials said they can’t comment on individual accounts. The company issued a statement saying such situations are rare and that the company has safeguards to prevent identity thieves from opening accounts.
Georgians filed 10,748 complaints last year about various types of identity theft — many involving the fraudulent opening of accounts or use of credit. Nearly 1,200 complaints involved phone or utilities fraud; 1,900 involved credit card fraud, according to the FTC’s data.
“Identity theft, that’s our No. 1 consumer education item,” said Fred Elsberry Jr., president of the BBB serving metro Atlanta, Athens and northeast Georgia.
You can find help at the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs’ detailed help guide. The FTC’s tips are at www.ftc.gov/idtheft.
——————————
WHERE TO COMPLAIN
Whether it’s an abusive debt collector, a problem with identity theft or one of the many scams consumers encounter each year, these groups can help:
Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs (Georgia): 1-800-436-7442.
Better Business Bureau (Georgia): 404-766-0875, www.bbb.org
Federal Trade Commission: www.FTCComplaintAssistant.gov
——————————
TOP CONSUMER COMPLAINTS
Georgia residents filed 27,470 complaints in 2008 with government and nonprofit watchdog agencies about fraud and other consumer issues. Here are the top categories:
Issue type Complaints
Debt collectors: 4,430
Internet services (providers, Web hosts) 1,455
Credit bureaus, report issues: 1,439
Shop-at-home, catalog sales: 1,239
Television, electronic media (reception, installation, billing, etc.): 1,229
Foreign money offers, counterfeit check scams: 1,017
Banks, lenders (predatory lending, overdraft charges, customer service, etc.): 911
Prizes, sweepstakes, lotteries: 861
Telecom equipment and mobile services: 844
Business opportunities, work-at-home, employment agencies: 712
Source: FTC Consumer Sentinel Network, www.ftc.gov/sentinel/reports/sentinel-annual-reports/sentinel-cy2008.pdf
Saturday, March 14, 2009
China 'worried' about U.S. Treasury holdings
By Joe McDonald
Associated Press
BEIJING - China's premier didn't say it in so many words, but the impled warning to Washington was blunt: Don't devalue the dollar through reckless spending.
Premier Wen Jiabao's message is unlikely to be misunderstood at the White House, which is counting on Beijing to help pay for its stimulus package by buying U.S. bonds. China already is Washington's biggest foreign creditor, with an estimated $1 trillion in U.S. government debt. A weaker dollar would erode the value of those assets.
"Of course we are concerned about the safety of our assets. To be honest, I'm a little bit worried," Wen said at a news conference Friday after the closing of China's annual legislative session. "I would like to call on the United States to honor its words, stay a credible nation and ensure the safety of Chinese assets."
The appeal suggested the outlines of Chinese President Hu Jintao's stance when he meets with President Barack Obama at an April 2 summit in London of the Group of 20 major economies on possible remedies for the global crisis.
Wen gave no indication whether Beijing wants changes in U.S. policy. But economists said his comments reflect fears that hihger U.S. budget deficits from Washington's $787 billion stimulus package could drive down the dollar and the value of China's Treasury notes.
In Washington, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs responded to Wen's concerns by saying the Chinese should rest assured because investments in the U.S. are the safest in the world.
Gibbs also said Congress can help by passing Obama's budget for next year, which promises to halve the deficit by the end of his term.
Analysts estimate China keeps nearly half of its $2 trillion in foreign currency reserves in U.S. Treasuries and notes issued by other government-affiliated agencies.
"Inside China there has been a lot of debate about whether they should continue to buy Treasuries," said Frank Gong, chief China economist for JP Morgan.
Beijing is trying to increase its leverage at the London G-20 meeting by remeinding its partners of its role in financing U.S. spending, Gong said.
Finance officials from the G-20 meet this weekend. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is pressing for a new coordinated global stimulus. Japan is supportive but European governments are reluctant to make expensive commitments before they see how current plans are working.
Associated Press
BEIJING - China's premier didn't say it in so many words, but the impled warning to Washington was blunt: Don't devalue the dollar through reckless spending.
Premier Wen Jiabao's message is unlikely to be misunderstood at the White House, which is counting on Beijing to help pay for its stimulus package by buying U.S. bonds. China already is Washington's biggest foreign creditor, with an estimated $1 trillion in U.S. government debt. A weaker dollar would erode the value of those assets.
"Of course we are concerned about the safety of our assets. To be honest, I'm a little bit worried," Wen said at a news conference Friday after the closing of China's annual legislative session. "I would like to call on the United States to honor its words, stay a credible nation and ensure the safety of Chinese assets."
The appeal suggested the outlines of Chinese President Hu Jintao's stance when he meets with President Barack Obama at an April 2 summit in London of the Group of 20 major economies on possible remedies for the global crisis.
Wen gave no indication whether Beijing wants changes in U.S. policy. But economists said his comments reflect fears that hihger U.S. budget deficits from Washington's $787 billion stimulus package could drive down the dollar and the value of China's Treasury notes.
In Washington, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs responded to Wen's concerns by saying the Chinese should rest assured because investments in the U.S. are the safest in the world.
Gibbs also said Congress can help by passing Obama's budget for next year, which promises to halve the deficit by the end of his term.
Analysts estimate China keeps nearly half of its $2 trillion in foreign currency reserves in U.S. Treasuries and notes issued by other government-affiliated agencies.
"Inside China there has been a lot of debate about whether they should continue to buy Treasuries," said Frank Gong, chief China economist for JP Morgan.
Beijing is trying to increase its leverage at the London G-20 meeting by remeinding its partners of its role in financing U.S. spending, Gong said.
Finance officials from the G-20 meet this weekend. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is pressing for a new coordinated global stimulus. Japan is supportive but European governments are reluctant to make expensive commitments before they see how current plans are working.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
A Short History of the National Debt
Deficits are nothing new. It's the trend that should worry us.
by John Steele Gordon
When President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 into law yesterday, he was adding to what is already almost guaranteed to be the largest deficit in American history. In January, the Congressional Budget Office projected that the deficit this year would be $1.2 trillion before the stimulus package. That's more than twice the deficit in fiscal 2008, more than the entire GDP of all but a handful of countries, and more, in nominal dollars, than the entire United States national debt in 1982.
But while the sum is huge, it is not in and of itself threatening to the solvency of the Republic. At 8.3% of GDP, this year's deficit is by far the largest since World War II. But the total debt is, as of now, still under 75% of GDP. It was almost 130% following World War II. (Japan's national debt right now is not far from 180% of that nation's GDP.)
Still, it's the trend that is worrisome, to put it mildly. There have always been two reasons for adding to the national debt. One is to fight wars. The second is to counteract recessions. But while the national debt in 1982 was 35% of GDP, after a quarter century of nearly uninterrupted economic growth and the end of the Cold War the debt-to-GDP ratio has more than doubled.
It is hard to escape the idea that this happened only because Democrats and Republicans alike never said no to any significant interest group. Despite a genuine economic emergency, the stimulus bill is more about dispensing goodies to Democratic interest groups than stimulating the economy. Even Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) -- no deficit hawk when his party is in the majority -- called it "porky."
It was not ever thus. Before the Great Depression, balancing the budget and paying down the debt were considered second only to the defense of the country as an obligation of the federal government. Before 1930, the government ran surpluses in two years out of three. In 1865, the vast debt run up in the Civil War amounted to about 30% of GDP; by 1916 it was less than a tenth of that.
There even was a time when the U.S. made it a deliberate policy to pay off the national debt entirely -- and succeeded in doing so. It remains to this day the only time in history a major country has been debt free. Ironically, the president who achieved this was the founder of the modern Democratic Party, Andrew Jackson.
Jackson was a Jeffersonian through and through. The smaller the federal government, the more he liked it. And, like Jefferson, he hated banks, speculation and the "money interest." Unlike Jefferson, however, he was born poor and made his own fortune. An early personal encounter with debt had taught him to fear it. When the notes of someone who had bought land from him proved worthless, he became liable for the debts he had secured with those notes, and it took him years to pay them off.
When he ran for president the first time, in 1824, Jackson called the debt a "national curse." He vowed to "pay the national debt, to prevent a monied aristocracy from growing up around our administration that must bend to its views, and ultimately destroy the liberty of our country."
"How gratifying," he wrote in 1829 as he began his presidency, "the effect of presenting to the world the sublime spectacle of a Republic of more than 12 million happy people, in the 54th year of her existence . . . free from debt and with all . . . [her] immense resources unfettered!"
When Jackson entered the White House, the national debt, which had reached $125 million at the end of the War of 1812, had already been reduced to $48 million. To get it to zero he was perfectly willing to forego what were then called "internal improvements" and are now known as infrastructure projects. One Kentucky congressman, after a trip to the White House to beg Jackson to sign one such bill, reported to his allies that "nothing less than a voice from Heaven would prevent the old man from vetoing the Bill, and [I doubt] whether that would!"
At the end of 1834, Jackson reported in the State of the Union message that the country would be debt free as of Jan. 1, 1835, with a Treasury balance of $440,000. Government revenues that year would be twice expenses.
It didn't last long, to be sure. The great prosperity of the early 1830s broke in the summer of 1836 when a bubble in land speculation, fueled by easy credit, abruptly ended. The bubble burst, ironically enough, thanks to Andrew Jackson's issuance of the "specie circular," which required that all land bought from the government, except that actually settled on, be paid for in gold or silver.
By the next spring, just as Jackson left the White House, the longest contraction in American history -- six years -- had begun. As one Wall Streeter put it, "The fortunes we have heard so much about in the days of speculation, have melted like the snows before an April sun." Federal revenues fell by half that year and the national debt was back, this time for good.
While today there is no hope of balancing the budget -- or wisdom in trying to -- until the economy substantially improves, we could make a sort of down payment on reforming Washington's porky ways by simply starting to tell the truth.
It has been widely noted that 2009 will have the first "trillion-dollar deficit" in American history. Actually it's the second. In fiscal 2008, the national debt increased from $9 trillion to slightly over $10 trillion. Yet the budget deficit in the last fiscal year was officially reported as being $455 billion. How could the national debt have increased by considerably more than twice the "deficit"? Simple. Just call the money borrowed from the Social Security trust fund an "intragovernmental transfer" and exclude it from the calculation of the deficit.
Corporate managers have gone to jail for less book cooking than that.
Mr. Gordon is the author of "Hamilton's Blessing: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Our National Debt" (Walker, 1997).
by John Steele Gordon
When President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 into law yesterday, he was adding to what is already almost guaranteed to be the largest deficit in American history. In January, the Congressional Budget Office projected that the deficit this year would be $1.2 trillion before the stimulus package. That's more than twice the deficit in fiscal 2008, more than the entire GDP of all but a handful of countries, and more, in nominal dollars, than the entire United States national debt in 1982.
But while the sum is huge, it is not in and of itself threatening to the solvency of the Republic. At 8.3% of GDP, this year's deficit is by far the largest since World War II. But the total debt is, as of now, still under 75% of GDP. It was almost 130% following World War II. (Japan's national debt right now is not far from 180% of that nation's GDP.)
Still, it's the trend that is worrisome, to put it mildly. There have always been two reasons for adding to the national debt. One is to fight wars. The second is to counteract recessions. But while the national debt in 1982 was 35% of GDP, after a quarter century of nearly uninterrupted economic growth and the end of the Cold War the debt-to-GDP ratio has more than doubled.
It is hard to escape the idea that this happened only because Democrats and Republicans alike never said no to any significant interest group. Despite a genuine economic emergency, the stimulus bill is more about dispensing goodies to Democratic interest groups than stimulating the economy. Even Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) -- no deficit hawk when his party is in the majority -- called it "porky."
It was not ever thus. Before the Great Depression, balancing the budget and paying down the debt were considered second only to the defense of the country as an obligation of the federal government. Before 1930, the government ran surpluses in two years out of three. In 1865, the vast debt run up in the Civil War amounted to about 30% of GDP; by 1916 it was less than a tenth of that.
There even was a time when the U.S. made it a deliberate policy to pay off the national debt entirely -- and succeeded in doing so. It remains to this day the only time in history a major country has been debt free. Ironically, the president who achieved this was the founder of the modern Democratic Party, Andrew Jackson.
Jackson was a Jeffersonian through and through. The smaller the federal government, the more he liked it. And, like Jefferson, he hated banks, speculation and the "money interest." Unlike Jefferson, however, he was born poor and made his own fortune. An early personal encounter with debt had taught him to fear it. When the notes of someone who had bought land from him proved worthless, he became liable for the debts he had secured with those notes, and it took him years to pay them off.
When he ran for president the first time, in 1824, Jackson called the debt a "national curse." He vowed to "pay the national debt, to prevent a monied aristocracy from growing up around our administration that must bend to its views, and ultimately destroy the liberty of our country."
"How gratifying," he wrote in 1829 as he began his presidency, "the effect of presenting to the world the sublime spectacle of a Republic of more than 12 million happy people, in the 54th year of her existence . . . free from debt and with all . . . [her] immense resources unfettered!"
When Jackson entered the White House, the national debt, which had reached $125 million at the end of the War of 1812, had already been reduced to $48 million. To get it to zero he was perfectly willing to forego what were then called "internal improvements" and are now known as infrastructure projects. One Kentucky congressman, after a trip to the White House to beg Jackson to sign one such bill, reported to his allies that "nothing less than a voice from Heaven would prevent the old man from vetoing the Bill, and [I doubt] whether that would!"
At the end of 1834, Jackson reported in the State of the Union message that the country would be debt free as of Jan. 1, 1835, with a Treasury balance of $440,000. Government revenues that year would be twice expenses.
It didn't last long, to be sure. The great prosperity of the early 1830s broke in the summer of 1836 when a bubble in land speculation, fueled by easy credit, abruptly ended. The bubble burst, ironically enough, thanks to Andrew Jackson's issuance of the "specie circular," which required that all land bought from the government, except that actually settled on, be paid for in gold or silver.
By the next spring, just as Jackson left the White House, the longest contraction in American history -- six years -- had begun. As one Wall Streeter put it, "The fortunes we have heard so much about in the days of speculation, have melted like the snows before an April sun." Federal revenues fell by half that year and the national debt was back, this time for good.
While today there is no hope of balancing the budget -- or wisdom in trying to -- until the economy substantially improves, we could make a sort of down payment on reforming Washington's porky ways by simply starting to tell the truth.
It has been widely noted that 2009 will have the first "trillion-dollar deficit" in American history. Actually it's the second. In fiscal 2008, the national debt increased from $9 trillion to slightly over $10 trillion. Yet the budget deficit in the last fiscal year was officially reported as being $455 billion. How could the national debt have increased by considerably more than twice the "deficit"? Simple. Just call the money borrowed from the Social Security trust fund an "intragovernmental transfer" and exclude it from the calculation of the deficit.
Corporate managers have gone to jail for less book cooking than that.
Mr. Gordon is the author of "Hamilton's Blessing: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Our National Debt" (Walker, 1997).
Newest National Debt Statistics posted March 2009
From www.treasurydirect.gov as of March 9, 2009.
Debt held by the public:
$6,662,204,653,404.08
Intragovernmental holdings:
$4,290,458,377,199.33
Total:
$10,952,663,030,603.41
Interest payments
February 2009:
$10,311,076,391.59
Fiscal Year 2009:
$148,761,285,212.28
Gifts to reduce the public debt
January 2009:
$1,688,747.34
Fiscal Year 2009:
$2,201,574.06
INCREASE IN NATIONAL DEBT DURING FISCAL YEAR 2009:
$927,938,133,690.92
INCREASE IN NATIONAL DEBT SINCE 'HOPE and CHANGE' of OBAMA ADMINISTRATION BEGAN:
$323,781,545,093.18
($6,745,448,856.11 per day since January 20, 2009)
Debt held by the public:
$6,662,204,653,404.08
Intragovernmental holdings:
$4,290,458,377,199.33
Total:
$10,952,663,030,603.41
Interest payments
February 2009:
$10,311,076,391.59
Fiscal Year 2009:
$148,761,285,212.28
Gifts to reduce the public debt
January 2009:
$1,688,747.34
Fiscal Year 2009:
$2,201,574.06
INCREASE IN NATIONAL DEBT DURING FISCAL YEAR 2009:
$927,938,133,690.92
INCREASE IN NATIONAL DEBT SINCE 'HOPE and CHANGE' of OBAMA ADMINISTRATION BEGAN:
$323,781,545,093.18
($6,745,448,856.11 per day since January 20, 2009)
Ron Paul says to stop the spending
The following appeared on page 3A of the St. Paul Pioneer Press on Monday March 9, 2009.
Remember Congressman Ron Paul, the long-term libertarian-like representative from Texas who sought the Republican presidential nomination last year and come within something like 1,000 delegates of upsetting John McCain?
Paul warned all during his campaign about a looming economic disaster if government just kept growing and growing and printing more money like Republicans and Democrats wanted.
Paul was on Bloomberg TV recently, and he patiently explained that we got into this national financial whirlpool by spending too much government money, and so the solution was probably not to spend even more money.
"We should be cutting spending. We should be trying to live within our means and not just try to spend our way out of a recession that was brought upon us by too much spending and too much borrowing and too much printing-press money," he said.
Paul also said the reason housing prices are falling is that there's too much housing on the market. So, Paul reasons, instead of spending hundreds of billions of deficit dollars to build more houses, making hte supply even larger, politicians should risk unpopularity, cut spending and taxes and let the market settle out.
- New York Times and Los Angeles Times contributed to this report
Remember Congressman Ron Paul, the long-term libertarian-like representative from Texas who sought the Republican presidential nomination last year and come within something like 1,000 delegates of upsetting John McCain?
Paul warned all during his campaign about a looming economic disaster if government just kept growing and growing and printing more money like Republicans and Democrats wanted.
Paul was on Bloomberg TV recently, and he patiently explained that we got into this national financial whirlpool by spending too much government money, and so the solution was probably not to spend even more money.
"We should be cutting spending. We should be trying to live within our means and not just try to spend our way out of a recession that was brought upon us by too much spending and too much borrowing and too much printing-press money," he said.
Paul also said the reason housing prices are falling is that there's too much housing on the market. So, Paul reasons, instead of spending hundreds of billions of deficit dollars to build more houses, making hte supply even larger, politicians should risk unpopularity, cut spending and taxes and let the market settle out.
- New York Times and Los Angeles Times contributed to this report
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)