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What ARE we entitled to?

8/14/2012

3 Comments

 
There has been much talk lately about entitlements. Most of the talk seems to center around the cost of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. These are called entitlements; because the recipients are entitled to the cash. After all, recipients of Social Security and Medicare have paid into the system for most (if not all) of their working lives. Lately, we've heard that Healthcare, Collective bargaining, and a college education are also universal entitlements. It's time to look at what we really ARE entitled to from our federal government.

We are entitled to a clear separation of powers on the federal level. (Article 2 Section 2)

We are entitled to the separation of powers between the federal and state governments. (Amendment 10)

We are entitled to have the laws that affect us created by legislators elected by ñ and thus answerable to ñ the people. (Article 1 Section 1)

We are entitled to see our tax money spent in ways that we approve; for the benefit of ALL citizens. (Article 1 Section 8)

We are entitled to a common defense from foreign invasion and domestic violence (that the states cannot control). (Article 4 Section 4)

We are entitled to judges who are bound by the supreme law of the land. (Article 6)

We are entitled to vote, no matter who we are. (Amendment 19, 24, & 26)

You will notice that I didn't touch on any of the rights guaranteed (but not granted) by the constitution. These are rights, not entitlements. The difference? Rights are something you're born with. But you can be forgiven if you thought rights and entitlements are the same thing; according to Webster's 9th Collegiate dictionary, they became synonyms in 1944.

It's sad, really; the noble concepts of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness can now safely be lumped together with a monthly check from the government. Money taken from others to be redistributed to those more deserving of it.  

Tim Fullerton

3 Comments

China’s Holdings of U.S. Securities: Implications for the U.S. Economy

12/27/2011

2 Comments

 
Warnings from the Congressional Research Service Report: Sept 26, 2011
>U.S. reliance on foreign savings is not sustainable and may undermine U.S. economic interests over time.
>Turning away from the dollar as the world's reserve currency causing a sudden and large depreciation in the value of the dollar, as the supply of dollars on the foreign exchange market increased, and a sudden and large increase in U.S. interest rates.
>Should Washington continue turning a blind eye to its runaway debt addiction, its already tarnished credibility will lose more luster, which might eventually detonate the debt bomb and jeopardize the well-being of hundreds of millions of families within and beyond the U.S. Borders.

Excerpts from
The Congressional Research Service Report

China’s Holdings of U.S. Securities: Implications for the U.S. Economy

The complete report can be found here. http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL34314.pdf

Growing Bilateral Tensions over the U.S. Public Debt

Since the beginning of the global financial crisis in 2008, U.S. government officials have increasingly sought to offer assurances to Chinese officials regarding the safety of China’s holdings of U.S. government debt securities and to encourage China to continue to purchase U.S. securities. For example, during her first visit to China on February 21, 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was quoted as saying that she appreciated “greatly the Chinese government's continuing confidence in the United States Treasuries,” and she urged the government to continue to buy U.S. debt.26 However on March 13, 2009, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at a news conference stated: “We’ve lent a huge amount of capital to the United States, and of course we’re concerned about the security of our assets. And to speak truthfully, I am a little bit worried. I would like to call on the United States to honor its words, stay a credible nation and ensure the safety of Chinese assets."27 On March 24, 2009, the governor of the People’s Bank of China, Zhou Xiaochuan, published a paper calling for replacing the U.S. dollar as the international reserve currency with a new global system controlled by the IMF.28

The recent contentious U.S. debate over raising the debt ceiling and over how to address long- term U.S. debt issues, along with the downgrade of the long-term sovereign credit rating of the United States from AAA to AA + by Standard and Poor’s in August 2011, appear to have intensified China’s concerns over its U.S. debt holdings.29 Several government-controlled Chinese newspapers issued sharp criticism of U.S. economic policies (as well as the U.S. political system). For example:

• A July 28, 2011, Xinhua News Agency (Xinhua) editorial stated: “With its debt approximating its annual economic output, it is time for Washington to revisit the time-tested common sense that one should live within one's means.”

• An August 3, 2011, a Xinhua editorial stated: “Should Washington continue turning a blind eye to its runaway debt addiction, its already tarnished credibility will lose more luster, which might eventually detonate the debt bomb and jeopardize the well-being of hundreds of millions of families within and beyond the U.S. borders.”

• A Xinhua August 6, 2011, editorial said: “The U.S. government has to come to terms with the painful fact that the good old days when it could just borrow its way out of messes of its own making are finally gone. International supervision over the issue of U.S. dollars should be introduced and a new, stable and secured global reserve currency may also be an option to avert a catastrophe caused by any single country.”

• A Xinhua editorial on August 8, 2011, stated: “The days when the debt-ridden Uncle Sam could leisurely squander unlimited overseas borrowing appeared to be numbered as its triple A-credit rating was slashed by Standard & Poor's (S&P) for the first time on Friday. China, the largest creditor of the world's sole superpower, has every right now to demand the United States to address its structural debt problems and ensure the safety of China's dollar assets.”

Some analysts contend that China’s main concern is not a possible U.S. default on its debt, but rather U.S. monetary policies that have been utilized by the Federal Reserve in recent years to stimulate the economy, namely the purchases of U.S. Treasury securities, agency debt, and agency mortgage-backed securities. Such measures, often referred to as “quantitative easing” (QE), have led the Federal reserve to purchase over $2 trillion in U.S. securities since March 2009 in an effort to lower long-term interest rates.32 An August 25, 2011, editorial in China Daily stated that

“China is not worried that Standard & Poor's has downgraded the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+. Rather it is concerned about the Fed announcing QE3. If the U.S. administration chooses to make the irresponsible choice of devaluating the dollar further, China would not only stop buying U.S. debt, but also gradually decrease its holdings, which would certainly not be in the interests of the U.S.”

Chinese officials have expressed concerns that actions by the Federal Reserve to boost the U.S. money supply will undermine the value of China’s holdings of U.S. dollar assets, either by causing the dollar to depreciate against other major currencies or by significantly increasing U.S. Inflation.

Some Chinese analysts have argued that the debt problems in Europe and the United States will decrease their demand for Chinese products, and that a depreciating dollar will lower the value of Chinese dollar assets. Thus, they argue, China will need to accelerate its economic reforms in order to boost domestic consumption (including increased imports), lower its dependency on exporting for economic growth, and slow or reduce China’s FX reserves and holdings of U.S. securities. If China consumed more and saved less, it would have less capital to invest overseas, including in the United States. Thus, if the United States did not reduce its dependence on foreign savings for its investment needs (and borrowing for deficit spending), and China reduced its U.S. investments, the United States would need to obtain investment from other countries, and the overall U.S. current account balance would likely remain relatively unchanged but U.S. interest rates would be expected to rise.

A potentially serious short-term problem would emerge if China decided to suddenly reduce their liquid U.S. financial assets significantly. The effect could be compounded if this action triggered a more general financial reaction (or panic), in which all foreigners responded by reducing their holdings of U.S. assets. The initial effect could be a sudden and large depreciation in the value of the dollar, as the supply of dollars on the foreign exchange market increased, and a sudden and large increase in U.S. interest rates, as an important funding source for investment and the budget deficit was withdrawn from the financial markets.

Many analysts argue that heavy U.S. reliance on foreign savings is not sustainable and may undermine U.S. economic interests over time.

Posted By:  Stephen McElr
2 Comments

No Phd needed. It's Basic Math.

11/4/2011

1 Comment

 
From 
Sovereign Man
Europe and the United States have much in common in that their sovereign debt problems are really quite simple to understand. You don't need a PhD in economics-- you just need to understand basic arithmetic.

In the US, for example, the government does not collect enough tax revenue to cover even the most basic services that society deems sacrosanct: defense [offense], social security, and Medicare. 

In 2010, the federal government collected $2.2 trillion in tax revenue and spent north of $2.5 trillion just on those three programs-- already $300 billion in the hole. Everything else-- the post office, Homeland Security, the FAA, the FDIC, even the light bill at the White House-- is funded by debt.

That includes the most peculiar debt-funded item-- interest on the debt. The US government has to borrow money just to pay interest on the money it has already borrowed. This is unsustainable, it's simple arithmetic.
1 Comment

The Debt Ceiling

4/30/2011

0 Comments

 

The Sky Isn’t Falling (Yet)
 
With the upcoming vote on raising the debt ceiling, many people are trying to spread misinformation about what will or won’t happen if the debt ceiling is reached before Congress raises it again.  Quite frankly, despite what the “Chicken Littles” out there are saying on the Left, the sky is not falling and if the government reaches its debt ceiling next week, most people probably won’t even notice. 
 
The key point is that reaching the debt ceiling will NOT lead to the federal government going into default on our national debt.  It will simply mean that we cannot borrow more money to increase the debt further.  It would be like if you had a credit card with a $10,000 credit limit and you had made various charges on it until you reached that $10,000 limit.  Reaching your limit wouldn’t put you into default on your credit card as long as you kept paying at least the minimum balance each month, your account would stay in good standing.  It’s the same thing with the national debt, only on a much larger scale.  The government has plenty of money coming in each day to pay whatever small amount of the debt must be paid that day.  The government can still make its minimum payments on the giant credit card.  What it can’t do is pile up even more debt to further bankrupt future generations.  All in all, I see this as a good thing. 
 
I hope the House of Representatives holds strong and doesn’t cave to the fake debt ceiling “crisis” because, ultimately, what the progressives are really afraid of is not default, but that we will finally cut up the credit card so that they can’t continue to run up more and more debt on our children’s and grandchildren’s tab.  That would be a good first step toward restoring financial sanity to our government.       
0 Comments

Health Care Reform

9/4/2009

0 Comments

 
President Obama will deliver a message concerning health care reform next Wednesday, a day after Congress resumes session. We must keep the conversation flowing. People need to know what this kind of reform will do to the finances of future generations.  The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office says the current House plan would increase the deficit by $239 billion over 10 years. The deficit is the amount added to the debt each year. When we already owe over $11,000,000,000,000 (not including unfunded mandates), why would we institute a program that would increase our spending by so much? Why would ask our children to pay for our responsibility?

This is not the federal government’s job. James Madison would not be able to point out a power in the Constitution that gives Congress this power, as evident by his statement, “I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.”  We can do a more effective job of helping the poor individually and through private charities than the federal government, as long as the federal government preserves an environment that fosters economic freedom.

We should be able to purchase insurance across state lines, buy group insurance for groups other than employers, and get the same tax treatment regardless of how we purchase our insurance.

Both of our senators and Congressman Mollohan have voiced support for this government takeover of health care. Please keep contacting them and keep the conversation flowing with your family and friends.
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What does the Bible say about the debt from the health care bill?

9/4/2009

2 Comments

 
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office says the current House plan would increase the deficit by $239 billion over 10 years. The deficit is the amount added to the debt each year. We, as a country are already over $11,000,000,000,000 in debt.  That does not include unfunded liabilities. The national debt is out of control.  People are talking about a moral imperative to provided health care, but is it true and what does the Bible say about all this debt?

The Bible certainly speaks against debt. Romans 31:8 says “Owenoman anything, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.”

Furthermore, we will not be able to pay off this debt. We will leave an inheritance of debt for our children and grandchildren. I do not think this is the kind of inheritance mentioned in Proverbs 13:22, which says, “A good [man] leaveth an inheritance to his children's children.” We should leave an inheritance of prosperity for our children.

 We should also leave an inheritance of freedom. God wants His people to be free. We are a Christian nation and God has many people in this country He wants to protect from oppression. “Who the Son has set free is free indeed.” As long as we are a nation of borrowers we cannot be completely free. Proverbs 22:7 says, “The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.”

What about the rich poor dynamic? In a free market system everyone has a chance to be rich, instead of everyone being equally poor. In a society where people are free to be rich, God will bring money to those who do His will, which includes helping the poor.

The Bible does talk about giving to the poor. However, I do not remember Jesus saying, “Caesar, give others people’s money that you collected through taxes to the poor.” God’s people are charged with the responsibility of caring for the poor. We should not push this responsibility off onto the government. We could give to charities that provide medical care or help people pay medical bills. We could start a fund at church to help with medical expenses. We can help a neighbor who needs surgery. We should not ask the government to take care of the poor and force our children and taxpaying citizens to foot the bill.
2 Comments

There is Always Something We Can Do

6/16/2009

0 Comments

 

It is wonderful to be in the greatest nation in the world. I am thankful to have been born in the United States of America. However, with the government takeover of the banking and car industries, with czars that are accountable to no one except the president, with a tax system that stifles opportunity, and with a mountain of debt that we will be passing on to our children’s children, the future of the country looks bleak. In this situation, we could find ourselves asking, “Why me?” We could find ourselves saying, “All hope is lost.” We can choose to say, “There is something I can do!” We can choose to say, “I was born for such a time as this, so I will stand up and take my nation back!”

This is still the land of the free and the home of the brave.   We still have the freedom to speak out and let our beliefs be heard. We still have the freedom to choose our leaders. We still have the freedom to say, “We’ve had enough!”  The well being our children hangs in the balance. If we want our children to enjoy the freedom we have enjoyed, we must speak out. If we want our children to enjoy the freedom for which so many people have fought and died, we must speak out. Are we brave enough to take a stand for the future this nation? I think we are.

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Disease that Could Plague Generations

5/4/2009

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Last week we were all watching the “swine flu.” Of course, we watched. We do not want a deadly disease to afflict us or our children, but there is a deadly disease that is afflicting our country, debt. We must remain vigilant concerning this disease that could affect countless people over multiple generations. This week congress passed a budget of $3.4 trillion with $1.2 trillion in deficit spending.  Deficit spending is added to our national debt. We need to not just cut our deficit spending we need to completely eliminate it. How can we continue to spend more money than we make and ever have the hope of getting out of debt? If we never get out of debt, our children will pay for our reckless spending.  Let’s start by not adding expenses like bailing out failing companies. Chrysler was considered “too big to fail.” Last week, while we were all watching the swine flu it was announced that Chrysler went into bankruptcy. We bailed Chrysler out and the company still failed. I have learned from experienced parents that if you continually bail your children out they will continue to fail. This has got to stop we must let some companies fail so we can all learn how to succeed. Let’s keep a watchful eye on our government and make sure we do not miss what is happing in Washington by being blinded by fear.

Find out how your Representative voted on the budget.

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll216.xml

Find out how your Senators voted on the budget.

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00173#position

0 Comments

Remember the Children

4/27/2009

0 Comments

 

Children will shape the future of our nation. The Tea Party movement is not about today; it is about tomorrow. It is about the future of our nation, the children. We are fighting against the trend of spending because if we do not pay off our debts and we continue to let our debts rise, our children will pay our debts or lose the freedom we enjoy as Americans. We cannot stop with fighting for our children; we must continue to the next step.  If we want are children and grandchildren to live the best lives they can, we must teach them for what we are fighting. The children must be instructed in our values of freedom and responsibility. We do not want this movement to die with us. We want it to continue for generations, because we want the freedom and prosperity of America to continue for generations. Teach your children about constitution. Teach your children about responsibility. Teach your children about America, the great nation we love.

0 Comments

Extremist?

4/21/2009

1 Comment

 

The word extremist has been thrown around frequently in the last week. One way to use the word extremist is as an adjective. This refers to opinions or actions that are “far beyond the norm.”1 According to Rasmussen Reports, 51% of Americans view the Tea Parties favorably.2 Even with negative media coverage, half of the Americans surveyed viewed the Tea Parties favorably. If people knew the Tea Parties were about securing the future of our nation, fighting growing debt that will be left for children, and keeping the government from controlling our lives, more people would have viewed these Tea Parties favorably. Only 13% of the political class viewed the Tea Parties even somewhat favorably.2  Who is “far beyond the norm?” At the Tea Party here in Clarksburg, WV, I met a woman who remembers her mother looking at ration books during the Great Depression, by the light of an oil lamp. I met grandparents worried about the dept our country is leaving for their grandchildren. These are regular people, who have lived through hard times. They believe in this country and want their children and grandchildren to inherit a strong nation.  Who are the extremist, the responsible people who are simply asking their government officials to be responsible, too? Could it be the young family, who struggles to get ahead, but every time they do get ahead, they find themselves in a higher tax bracket and just continue the struggle for just enough? Whose opinions are “far beyond the norm?” It is time the politicians listen to the people. It is the people who make this nation great. We have a message for the “extremist” in the political class, “Stop spending and start listening!”

 

 

1.    "extremist." WordNet® 3.0. Princeton University. 21 Apr. 2009. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/extremist>.

2.    “51% View Tea Parties Favorably, Political Class Strongly Disagrees.” Rasmussen Reports. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics2/51_view_tea_parties_favorably_political_class_strongly_disagrees

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