FINALLY! Car Title Lenders to have their gas tanks drained.

It only took the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and Budget Proposals from the Governor, State Senate, and House of Delegates that cut so many state jobs for there to be any kind of consumer protection bill to reign in PREDATORY CAR TITLE LENDERS! SB 606 reported out of the Virginia House of Delegates Commerce and Labor Committee with 21 yeas and 1 nay (21 Y - 1 N) and will head to the floor for a vote. I am almost without words.

I haven't had much to say of late, because much of the debate on most any topic is just flailing. Nothing is happening. There's been no leadership. Liberals and progressives have been absolutely awfull at PR and getting their message out. The only thing that is keeping them in the game at this point are absolutely moronic behavior and mistakes by the GOP. The latest example is the fundraising presentation leaked to the traditional press that show how the RNC plans to use FEAR to raise money from their grassroots base. Absolutely disgusting.

OK, back to the Car Title Lenders. Huge message sent by the House of Delegate Commerce and Labor Committee today. The only Delegate to vote against it was Delegate Bill Janis. Janis is the only one to vote against this Bill in either the House or Senate. This bodes well for this bill to pass the House of Delegates and go to Governor McDonald's desk. This should be a no-brainer, so we shall see...

Message to the GOP from Gallup: Don't measure the drapes just yet

Politico is reporting that a year long study by Gallup concludes that most states still prefer Democrats over Republicans. Despite major GOP victories in Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, the apparent resurgence of the GOP may not be what it seems. While the Democrats have lost appeal across the board, the GOP has not seen a reciprocal increase in support.

Almost to a poll, the Republicans have either remained steady or have only seen a one or two percentage point increases in support since Democrats won control of both the Congress and White House in 2008. Congressional Democratic approval ratings are poor, with just 35% saying they approve of the job that Democrats are doing. While this would be reason for Republicans to be dancing in their seats, the GOP approval ratings are even worse at around 25%. While the GOP's strategy of stonewalling all Democratic legislative efforts has worked well enough to raise their own spirits and win them a Senate seat in deep, deep blue Massachusetts, it has not helped them to overtake the Democrats in overall appeal. In short, the American electorate is not ready to give them another shot at running the country.

Could it be that the typical American voter is more sophisticated than once thought? It's clear that Democrats misread the message of the voters in 2008. Could it be that Republicans misread the same message, as well as the most recent elections where the GOP saw independents swing decisively in their favor? While the poll numbers for Democrats are mirroring those that saw their massive defeat in 1994, things are not shifting in the favor of the GOP as much as they would like to believe. The rise of the Tea Party movement seems to be turning off Independents and Swing voters, who are also not excited about the GOP retaking control of Congress any more than the Healthcare Reform efforts of the Democrats.

It seems clear the message Independents and Swing voters are sending is to end the political grandstanding and get something done. They are tired of both parties putting their own political ambitions ahead of the nation. After more than 30 years of bad fiscal policy, our chickens have come home to roost. While Congress will ultimately write the 2011 Federal Budget, the President's budget should be viewed as the message that the American electorate has sent. Everyone is going to have some skin in this game, and the road to getting ourselves out of this mess is going to be a long and hard road to take. The history of the 2010 election cycle has not been written yet, so the GOP shouldn't start measuring the curtains or counting the seats that they haven't won, yet. Most Americans don't trust the GOP, anymore than they trust the Democrats at this point.

Call the EMTs!!! GOP shooting themselves in the foot, agian!

The only thing that is keeping the GOP from a redux of 1994,... THEMSELVES! RNC Chairman Michael Steele can't keep his mouth shut. The GOP Congressional Leadership can't offer one, ONE real solution that the rest of the country can get behind to improve the economy and win the War on Terror. Oh, and the Tea Party whack-jobs are trying to purify the GOP for "real" conservatives.

Right now, the GOP is nothing more than an opposition party when they need to be a viable alternative with real solutions. These guys have no strategy and are so green with envy to be back in power that they can't can't even recycle an original idea or get traction on a bad idea to be a threat to take back the House (which is unlikely anyway). At this rate the GOP doesn't have a prayer of cutting into the Dems majority in the Senate. The only thing that would get them in the ballpark is if there was a successful Terror Attack or the economy did fall of a cliff (god forbid).

While there's not much to crow about from the Democratic side, the alternative is even less appealing. GOP economic principles got us in the mess we are in, as well as their twisted take on Foreign Relations. For the sake of the nation, Democrats and Republican, enough politics! GET IT DONE!

What does a $1.1Trillion Federal Spending Bill buy these days?

At first, I read the CNN article on the $447 billion spending bill that the Senate passed this weekend and then I came across an AP article on the Lynchburg News Advance web site that listed the same story as a $1.1 trillion spending bill. Why the massive discrepancy between the two stories on the same spending bill? The CNN article highlights the domestic, non-Defense spending while the AP article adds both the domestic ($447 billion) and the Defense spending ($626 billion) to arrive at the $1.1 trillion figure. The problem with the AP article is that the Senate hasn’t passed the Defense part of the spending bills yet. But this raises the question: what kinds of Christmas goodies do you get from the Federal Government for $1.1 trillion?

For starters, it will likely mean that the Federal Government’s credit card limit will have to increase. The Senate will have to vote to raise the debt ceiling to accommodate the end of the year funding for the Defense budget. On the $447 billion portion, that goes to mandatory payments towards Medicaid and Medicare and also increases funding to things like the FBI, the Veterans Health Administration, and the National Institutes of Health, public schools, highways, and even NASA. It also covers $3.9 billion in spending on more than 5,000 local projects (a.k.a. Pork Projects), a 2 percent pay increase for federal employees and funding for other small scale projects.

Then there is the $626 billion Defense bill that will likely be passed this week, to continue funding the military and other National Security agencies and includes billions of Pork Projects (most all of them inserted anonymously). While there are certainly loads of things that can be and should be cut from the domestic spending bill the Senate just passed, but is there nothing in the Defense bill that can’t be cut? Defense spending accounts for a third of our Federal Budget. According to the information about the Federal Budget on Wikipedia, the 2009 Department of Defense Budget is $515.4 billion and the Global War on Terror Budget is $145.2 billion (2008). The Defense Budget accounts for around 55% of the Discretionary spending side of the Federal Budget ($1.21 trillion). This is compared to the mandatory spending, which is $1.89 trillion includes things like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, Unemployment, Welfare, interest on the National Debt, and other mandatory programs.

Discretionary means that you don’t have to spend the money. In tough times this also means that things will get a harder look and might not get the money they did the previous year or two. In the uncertain economic times we live, and with the fluid situation in the Persian Gulf region, the Defense Budget is the only part of the Discretionary budget that gets a pass with very few exceptions. The Defense Budget dwarfs everything else (even when you don’t add the Global War on Terror). Keep in mind, the Federal Government has no separate funding for the Global War on Terror. Every other war we’ve fought has been funded by some other means than just spending money out of the current Federal Budgets.

So, what does a $1.1 trillion spending bill get us as we head into the Christmas Holidays? We get to keep the Federal Government running. As painful as that is to small government and Tea Party blowhards, it means that maintenance will continue on our roads, bridges, and overpasses. It means that law enforcement agencies (like the FBI) will continue to be funded, as well as keeping open the thousands of crumbling public schools and pay for the teachers, staff, and administrators. State budgets, already cut to the bone, will get another shot in the arm to keep them functioning as well. It also means that the most powerful military in the world will continue to function and they can continue to recycle the thousands of brave men and women that have gone above and beyond the call of duty and get them the best socialized (military) medical treatment in the world, as well as provide them with mental health services that have been severely lacking.

Regardless of what people have been led to believe, our tax money is spent relatively wisely. But, at some point, we are going to have to face reality of choosing between cutting services or raising taxes to pay off the Federal Credit Card (a.k.a. the National Debt).

Picture found at: http://www.lowculture.com/archives/images/budget.jpg

Time Magazine Article: The ‘00s – Say Goodbye (at Last) to the Decade From Hell

What will we remember from the first decade of the 21st Century? Time Magazine concludes that it was one of the worst post-World War II, peacetime, decades ever. Quite a bit was pure nature unleashed but most of it was self inflicted. An excellent article by Time’s Andy Serwer hits the highlights spanning the decade from 2000 to today. Even though we haven’t even reached 2010 yet, and 2011 is still a little more than a year away, I have to agree that the faster we can get out of this decade the better.

Regardless of your political views or economic philosophy, the measurable events of this last decade are pretty bad. While my generation, Generation x, is just starting to flex its collective economic and political muscle, I hope that this trial by fire experience has instilled a sense of practicality and common purpose that has been missing for quite some time. A lot of mistakes were made during this decade, mistakes that have rocked us to the foundation of our economy and society. In short, it will get better, it should get better, and it has to get better (just have to get past December 21, 2012).

Please feel free to click on the hyperlink above to the article and come back to offer your thoughts and perspective. Could it be that Generation X is the next Greatest Generation since the generation that led us through the Great Depression and World War II?

Picture found at:
http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/~voce-someno.y/images/open_fire.gif

RNC Purity Pledge: And they call me a COMMIE

I don't know if I should laugh, shrug it off, or be fearful that the Republicans have a list like this. This has the scary ring of "Party Loyalty" that Communist Totalitarianism (or National Socialism) demands. In similar fashion, the Republicans are PURGING the Party of anything that whispers of cooperation, bi-partisanship, or a moderation of Conservative Ideology.

In case you missed it, in order to get Republican endorsements or financial support, you have to support 7 out of the 10 Republican Commandments:

(1) support smaller government, smaller national debt, lower deficits and lower taxes by opposing bills like Obama's "stimulus" bill;

(2) Support market-based health care reform and oppose Obama-style government run healthcare;

(3) Support market-based energy reforms by opposing cap and trade legislation;

(4) Support workers' right to secret ballot by opposing card check;

(5) Support legal immigration and assimilation into American society by opposing amnesty for illegal immigrants;

(6) Support victory in Iraq and Afghanistan by supporting military-recommended troop surges;

(7) Support containment of Iran and North Korea, particularly effective action to eliminate their nuclear weapons threat;

(8) Support retention of the Defense of Marriage Act;

(9) Support protecting the lives of vulnerable persons by opposing health care rationing, denial of health care and government funding of abortion; and

(10) Support the right to keep and bear arms by opposing government restrictions on gun ownership; and be further.

Boy! I'm sure glad they clarified all that. I guess that I'll just have to live with the disappointment of knowing that I won't get their support or money.

Healthcare Reform: Expanding quality, affordable health care options no help to Virginia according to Gov-Elect McDonnell

In case you missed it, Gov-Elect Bob McDonnell made the Sunday morning news circuit to crow about last Tuesday’s sweeping victory in Virginia. When asked about the U.S. House of Representative bill that was narrowly passed (220-215) just before midnight on Saturday, Gov-Elect McDonnell admitted that he hadn’t read the entire bill but that “either way my preference would be not to have Virginia participate from what I know this plan contains.” He went further stating that he’s “very concerned about turning this significant section of the American economy over to the federal government.” Where do I begin…?

First, for all the ranting and raving from the Tea Baggers, Birthers, and the rest of the Conservative Purists about Congressional Members (Democrats and President Obama) about not reading the bill, when are they going to pick up their pitchforks and torches and go after the Gov-Elect for not having “read the entire bill?” The answer… They’re not. They got their guy and they are just fine to continue using duct tape and Crisco for their version of health care.

Second, while the U.S. Federal Government is the largest employer in the nation and has greater collective bargaining power to negotiate rates and reimbursements to private insurers, and the Medicaid and Medicare systems (along with the VA, and Armed Services) are government run and for the most part work very well, they still don’t have the 25% administrative costs that private insurance has and passes along to their policy holders. Also, private health insurers are exempt from federal anti-trust laws which allow them to collaborate and “conspire” to set rates in a totally un-capitalistic and non-competitive system. For all their hollow advocacy for pure market competition, fiscal and social Conservatives continue to support the private health insurance industry which already has a non-competitive advantage over this “significant section” of the American economy.

I guess that the additional public options that Gov-Elect Bob McDonnell supports are laying hands, speaking in tongues, dancing with rattlesnakes and drinking their venom, or praying in front of a TV tuned to the 700 Club. Lest we forget that God gave man FREE WILL to make rational decisions. There’s nothing rational about healthcare reform that doesn’t have some form of a Public Option and doesn’t take away the anti-trust exemption from private health insurance to make them compete. It just isn’t Christian to support suffering and greed.