States Want A Bailout
Apr 23, 2020 Political, Tyranny
The Democrats like to say never let a crisis go to waste. That is particularly true with regard to the Corona Virus. Democrats have used it to impose authoritarian rule, to limit what people can do and to ignore the US Constitution.
This crisis, if you want to call it that, has demonstrated that states were woefully unprepared for the pandemic. It is the responsibility of the states to have plans in place and to have adequate supplies for the beginning of a problem. The federal government is there to provide help to hot spots and coordinate movement of items among the states. It has bulk supplies to supplement the ones the states are supposed to have. As an aside, it is also the responsibility of hospitals to have supplies and plans in place.
When these things occur there is a fouled up response and then they have meetings, blue ribbon panels meet and they come up with plans to “ensure this never happens again” and then they put the plans in a drawer and the next time there is an emergency it happens again. And each time they encroach on our liberties.
Now it looks like these liberals are going to use this emergency (or try) to take more of our money. All these states that were screaming about being in control and not having the feds run their show are now saying they will need BILLIONS of our tax dollars to recover from the pandemic. If you think they mean to recover from Corona related items you are only partly correct. These liberals (and no doubt a few RINOs) want the federal government to pay for failing pension systems, budget shortfalls and billions of dollars worth of other shortcomings that states have had for years.
The Democrats in Congress are all on board making bold statements that the next stimulus (you know I hate stimulus packages) will include money for states to make their public sector pensions whole. There are plans to include money in the recovery to help states pay off debt including debt that was there BEFORE COVID-19. New York was 7 Billion in debt prior to the outbreak. Under the ideas floated by the Democrats, this debt would be paid off by the federal government as part of a stimulus package.
Why exactly should we pay the debt of the states? How is it the states can scream they have rights and the feds need to butt out (all very correct) and then say we need you to pay our bills, past and present? I hate stimulus packages but if the feds are going to take money from workers in each state then some of that needs to go back to the state to make things whole BUT only things that are a direct result of COVID-19.
States are already inflating COVID death numbers to get higher reimbursements. Now they expect the feds to pay all their bills, cancel out all their debt and make them whole again. I do not see that as being the way to go. States are responsible for the pensions of their public sector employees so they need to make those systems whole. Perhaps they should use this crisis as an opportunity to pare down those lucrative pension plans.
Fortunately, Mitch McConnell says that he and most Republicans will not be on board with bailing out the states. He says they might want to consider filing for bankruptcy. I agree 100%. States can pay their own bills or they can file for protection.
Keep in mind, government has the ability to tax you to death (and after you die) so in the long run you will pay for this. If your state has to foot its own bills it will raise taxes (and they will never go back down) or impose new ones (and they will never go away) to pay the bills. States are looking for the easy way out by spreading their misery to all the other states. It is important to remember if the feds pay the bill the federal taxes will need to be raised in order to pay the bills so everyone pays even if they are in a fiscally responsible state.
I am not in favor of paying the bills of the states. I am all for as little government as possible. Government has gotten too big and has imposed tyranny on us in the face of another “crisis”. We need to put an end to this mess. We are speeding toward 25 TRILLION dollars in debt and members of Congress and the leaders (or so called leaders) in the states are stomping down on the throttle.
And they are doing that because they will be dead long before their malfeasance destroys the nation. All of them are old and they will be dead before the mess they are causing has any affect. They will not be bothered by it so they do not care.
But your grandchildren will. Do not allow these cretins to further destroy our nation.
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Tags: corona virus, government tyranny, state's rights, taxes
Obama And Selective Law Enforcement
Dec 1, 2015 Commentary, Immigration, Political, Terrorism
Barack Obama is hell bent on bringing hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees to the United States. Republicans are not keen on the idea and Republican governors have stated they will not accept the refugees. Obama, in turn, claimed that these Republicans were afraid of women and children. He further stated that states do not have the legal authority to refuse refugees and those that do refuse will be subject to enforcement action.
[note]I have seen the lines of refugees and most are NOT women and children. Most of them appear to be young men in good shape. They appear to be in good enough shape to stay home and fight the battle. In any event, as Obama told us about fearing women and children a woman suicide bomber blew herself up and the internet displayed pictures of children holding up severed heads. Then again, this is the same Obama who said ISIS was contained a few hours before it terrorized Paris.[/note]
Obama means (at least this is what I gather) enforcement action with regard to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). It seems that this office provides money to states that take in refugees. That should be no surprise since the federal government confiscates our money and then uses it to coerce states to do what big government wants it to do. Unfortunately too many states are eager to get the money so they play along.
Obama also made it clear that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race and national origin with regard to federal financial assistance (according to the linked article).
A few things here. Muslim and Islam are not races so that is a nonstarter. As far as national origin that might apply but these folks are not citizens and are not entitled to most federal programs. The ORR evidently has program money for these things and this is the money I think they are threatening to withhold.
I like the way ORR discusses the money as if it is theirs to give. It came from THE PEOPLE and it belongs to the people. Regardless, states are free to reject anyone they do not want and if that means the federal government cuts off money then so be it. The people already on those programs will suffer. Let’s face it, the everyday Joe citizen is not getting that money. The people getting it will stop getting it. Good. Perhaps it is time they earned money on their own and stopped getting it from the rest of us. Perhaps it is time for those states to refuse to collect money and send it to the feds. Just collect it and put it in escrow until the feds change the way things are done or better yet, spend it on the programs themselves and cut the feds out altogether.
[note]Here is an idea. Every person who thinks the Syrian refugees should come here MUST take a family in and support them. They must provide all their support including health care, food, and education, all of it. If it is such a worthy cause they should step up and help. After all, that is what they want all of us to do with our tax dollars. So make them do it.[/note]
This is a little more sinister than it appears. Notice how Obama is telling these Governors that they have no legal right to refuse refugees. He is citing the law (or his interpretation of it) and he is putting his foot down. All well and good because we want an Executive that follows the law.
But, when was the last time you heard Obama call out Governors (or other leaders like mayors) who allow sanctuary cities? It is against the law to have them. Their existence is a violation of our immigration laws and those involved are aiding criminals who are here illegally. Did anyone ever hear Obama tell these politicians they could not have sanctuary cities and if they did they would lose federal funding?
NO!
The reason is that law is one Obama likes. He selectively follows the laws. The ones he ;likes he enforces and the ones he does not like he does not enforce. Remember, this guy has a pen and a phone and he will bypass Congress to get things his way. He exceeds his authority to get what he wants (and Congress does not have the testicular fortitude to stop him).
It is bad that our petulant leader disobeys laws and selectively enforces them. It is equally as bad that he cares not about our safety and is trying to force states to take in potentially dangerous people.
If these people come here it will only be a matter of time before they plan and conduct a coordinated attack.
[note]They are not all bad Big Dog. Estimates say only 10% of them are radicalized. OK, how about I put 10 M&Ms in a bowl. Nine of them are regular candy and one is a poison that will kill you instantly. Will you select one to eat? Only 10% is dangerous…[/note]
If it happens after Obama leaves office his successor will get the blame. Unless of course his successor is a Democrat in which case the left will blame George W. Bush.
When (not if, but when) the attacks occur Obama should be held accountable as should anyone who worked to bring the terror here.
When that happens all hell will break loose and all the money the ORR has will not stop the administration of justice…
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Tags: Obama, refugees, state's rights, terrorists
States Should Tell Feds To Take A Hike
May 8, 2014 Commentary, Political
The federal government holds states hostage to federal tax dollars. It works like this; the states collect tax money and send it to the federal government, then the federal government doles it out to the states.
This paradigm makes states dependent on the federal government and leads to coercion on the part of the feds.
If the federal government makes the speed limit 55 mph then any state that does not comply has highway funds withheld. If a state does not do what the federal government dictates with regard to health care then Medicare funding is withheld.
See how it works? They take money from the states and then force the states to comply in order to get any of it back.
The newest case of extortion comes from the federal government in regard to the state of Indiana. That state had the audacity to drop the Common Core standards. For those unfamiliar Common Core is billed as a way to teach for better results when it is really a mumbled mess that dumbs down students and teaches them to be dependent on government. Common Core will not prepare students to compete in the modern world. Common Core is indoctrination to the left’s view of things.
The federal government has told Indiana that it must prove that its standards are just as challenging as Common Core or its federal funding will be in jeopardy. It should not be hard to show that any program is just as (or more) challenging than Common Core but since the feds will decide there is no telling if Indiana will make the grade (pun intended).
[note]The only challenging thing about Common Core is making sense of it.[/note]
So Indiana faces losing federal funding for education. Considering there should be no federal funding of education (not in the Constitution as a federal concern) perhaps it is time for Indiana to take a stand.
Ideally the state would stop sending all federal taxes collected to the federal government until the feds left the state alone but that would cause problems for the citizens who pay those taxes.
[note]Technically, employers collect federal taxes on income and send them to the IRS so states would have to force employers to send the taxes to the state for disbursement. Might be a difficult task but it could be done. Any federal tax the state collects directly and sends to the feds could easily be withheld.[/note]
Perhaps Indiana should determine what amount of money the feds have been “providing” for education, determine what percentage that is of the total taxes paid in, and deduct that percentage from the amount sent to DC.
Indiana can tell the feds that the state is withholding the funds and will use them as it sees fit.
The same could be done by states that are forced to comply with some transportation related federal mandate (like speed limits). The state could collect the federal gas tax and hold it in escrow until the feds capitulate.
Force the federal government to stay in its own lane and stop infringing on the states.
Perhaps all states should start withholding the percentage sent to the federal government for unconstitutional programs and spend the money internally without it having to pass through DC. The Tenth Amendment is there for a reason and until states start pushing back the federal government will continue to infringe.
Time to castrate the federal government and bring the power back where it belongs; to the states or the people respectively…
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Tags: common core, constitution, education, indiana, lies, state's rights
The Tenth Amendment Becomes Hip
Jul 25, 2009 Political
Well, Governor Rick Perry has rediscovered (or at least begun to assert) the terms of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution, you know, the one that declares that all powers not specifically granted to the Federal Government by the Constitution, nor prohibited to it by the Constitution, are the specific powers of either the State government, or the people.
This is in regards to all the various programs Hussein wants to cram down the throats of the states. Hussein wants the states to do this, because acceptance of the money would begin to erode the rights of the states that would take the money.
Gov. Rick Perry, raising the specter of a showdown with the Obama administration, suggested Thursday that he would consider invoking states’ rights protections under the 10th Amendment to resist the president’s healthcare plan, which he said would be “disastrous” for Texas.
Interviewed by conservative talk show host Mark Davis of Dallas’ WBAP/820 AM, Perry said his first hope is that Congress will defeat the plan, which both Perry and Davis described as “Obama Care.” But should it pass, Perry predicted that Texas and a “number” of states might resist the federal health mandate.
“I think you’ll hear states and governors standing up and saying ‘no’ to this type of encroachment on the states with their healthcare,” Perry said. “So my hope is that we never have to have that stand-up. But I’m certainly willing and ready for the fight if this administration continues to try to force their very expansive government philosophy down our collective throats.”
star-telegram.com
It’s not just about healthcare- that is just the problem du jour with the Hussein administration, which keeps hammering at the door of State’s Rights, hoping to weaken this fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution.
It is a fact that the various states know better than the Federal Government just what specific concerns the residents of a specific state need- that is so simple and true that it needs no further elaboration, but in their quest to have the federal government supreme in its authority (contrary to the Laws of the Constitution), it has hoped, begged, pleaded, and threatened the various State governments to take the bait, er, money.
Alaska declined. In what would be Sarah Palin’s last official act, she reasserted the soverignity of State’s Rights with regard to Alaska- so far, only two states have signed this statement, Tennessee being the other one. Hope reigns supreme that other states regain their sanity, as well as their pride.
This statement was defeated in the Texas Legislature, by the same Democrats who thought that running off to Oklahoma was a good idea, instead of doing the job their constituents had elected them for. As far as I am concerned, they are traitors- turncoats who refuse to truly represent their electorate.
Nevertheless, Governor Perry knows that there is now a need and a time to draw the line in the sand, and just say no, in the strongest possible terms.
It really is a state issue, and if there was ever an argument for the 10th Amendment and for letting the states find a solution to their problems, this may be at the top of the class,” Perry said. “A government-run healthcare system is financially unstable. It’s not the solution.”
Perry heartily backed an unsuccessful resolution in this year’s legislative session that would have affirmed the belief that Texas has sovereignty under the 10th Amendment over all powers not otherwise granted to the federal government.
In expressing “unwavering support” for the 10th Amendment resolution by state Rep. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, Perry said “federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion into the lives of our citizens and its interference with the affairs of our state.”
star-telegram.com
In our society, every part of the various governments have their place- county, state, and federal all have a place in this mosaic we call government, but when one part threatens to overwhelm the others, and attempt to assert an overwhelming and illegal control over the others, well, then it is time to tell the federal government to back the hell off.
That time is now.
Former Rep. Arlene Wohlgemuth of Burleson, a senior fellow for healthcare at the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation, echoed Perry’s assertion that the Obama plan is the wrong approach and could have disastrous financial consequences for Texas.
Under the Senate version of the bill, she said, an expansion of the joint federal-state Medicaid program for the poor could cost Texas $4 billion a year.
“There are good solutions” to the country’s healthcare problems, Wohlgemuth said. “This isn’t it.”
Perry said the plan is another example of the Obama administration’s “massive takeover of the private-sector economy.”
“I hope our leaders will look for solutions that don’t dig our country further into debt,” he said.
Perry called on Texans in the House and Senate to oppose the plan. “I can’t imagine that anyone from Texas who cares about this state would vote for Obama Care. I don’t care whether you’re Democrat or Republican,” he said.
Of those Texans who might consider supporting the plan, he said: “This may sound a little bit harsh, but they might ought to consider representing some other state because they’re sure not representing Texas.”
star-telegram.com
Yes, Texans need to represent Texas, no matter where they are on the political spectrum- now is definitely not the time to cowardly cave into pressure from the Feds, because ceding control to the Federal Government on this and many other initiatives the Hussein Administration has proposed or passed is to give up your liberty, your freedom, and your identity as a member of the state (in this instance, Texas) that you’re from.
Over the years, we, as a people, have become more homogenized, our regional identities softening, and in some cases disappearing entirely. This is not always a good thing. True, it is in some cases easier to understand someone’s accent from Maine, (or Texas) than it used to be, but the “Identities” of these regions have gone also, and that was always, for me, such a wondrous way of underscoring the fact that we were separate and very different states, held together by a federal government that allowed the states to retain their regional flavor.
That is no longer true, and while the slide towards a vanilla, tasteless, sameness has begun awhile back, this intrusion by the Feds would absolutely kill any individual state’s sovereignty, and that is not good, that’s bad.
Almost as bad as the Healthcare plan itself.
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Tags: federal mismanagement, healthcare, state's rights, texas
Print This!
Jun 3, 2009 Political
I can’t believe Hussein has the gall to ask for more than six billion more dollars for transportation costs related to ongoing projects, simply because the federal gasoline taxes won’t cover the bill. This is due mostly to the economic decline that his party began, but he apparently doesn’t know this, because he has never held a real job, where he had to adhere to a budget, or be responsible for employees under his watch.
It’s no wonder that he thinks that all he has to do is print more money, despite warnings from the Chinese, for whom debt is a serious obligation. Somehow this hasn’t translated into anything Hussein has yet to understand, hence the request for more money.
” We’ll just print it, the Chinese were just kidding, besides I am Barak Hussein Obama and I transcend all- They will bow before me soon.” It would sure seem that these must be his thoughts- because what he is doing isn’t rational, in the least.
The Obama administration is warning lawmakers that the trust fund that pays for highway construction will go broke in August unless Congress approves an infusion of as much as $7 billion.
Sen. Barbara Boxer, chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said at a hearing Tuesday that the administration has told senators the Federal Highway Trust Fund will need an estimated $5 billion to $7 billion to keep current construction projects going.
The California Democrat said another $8 billion to $10 billion will be needed to keep the fund solvent through the year ending Sept. 30, 2010.
Transportation Department spokeswoman Jill Zuckman confirmed those figures.
“The administration is working closely with Congress to solve this difficult problem and ensure that states have the resources they need to maintain our roads and highways,” Zuckman said.
chron.com
I want to speak for a minute about the state’s role in roads and transportation. The federal government has, through the years, insidiously slithered into the states’ domain, by offering first money for assistance, but then insisting on control of the projects. This is wrong- I might see that the Interstate system could be federalized, as it assists in interstate commerce, but state roads should be state controlled, with absolutely NO federal interference.
The states know best what suits their states needs than the Feds do, and that is just a logical fact, not to mention that this interference violates the Tenth Amendment regarding States Rights. Still, that hasn’t stopped them before.
Now, here comes a tax increase- yet another, on top of all the other tax increases that liberal socialists say are not true- and this “non-existent” tax increase will hurt the poor the most.
The law that authorizes federal highway programs is due to expire at the end of September, but the issue hasn’t been on Congress’ front burner. There is a consensus among transportation experts and lawmakers that there will have to be some form of a tax increase — always unpopular, but especially so in a recession — to make up for the lower gas tax revenues and to address a backlog of crumbling and congested highways, bridges and public transit systems.
Two congressionally mandated commissions have called for an immediate increase in the gas tax. The first commission, which issued its report in early 2008, recommended a 40-cent per gallon hike. The second panel, which issued its report earlier this year, recommended the tax be increased 10 cents per gallon for gas and 15 cents per gallon for diesel, and that both be indexed to inflation.
The two panels also said fuel taxes are not a sustainable source of revenue over the long term as drivers shift to more fuel efficient vehicles. Both panels recommended Congress find a new revenue source to pay for highway and transit programs.
chron.com
And guess how the new way these brainiacs are going to choose to tax us on fuel as our vehicles begin to be more fuel efficient? Ooohhhh, wait for the tingle down your leg- they want to track your mileage, and probably also track your whereabouts. Big Brother Hussein, oh Boy! I can hardly wait.
Their top recommendation was to tax motorists based on how many miles they drive. That would require equipping cars and trucks with devices that use GPS technology to record not only how many miles the vehicle was driven, but whether the driving occurred on interstate highways or secondary roads and whether it was during peak travel periods. The device would calculate the amount of tax owed and the bill could be downloaded.
A mileage-based tax system would take about 10 years to implement.
chron.com
Yea, I am sure that this is NOT the Change most of the people voted for. I think it is probably fortunate for Hussein that fewer people are reading the papers these days. This way he might be able to fool the people long enough to shackle the people with GPS monitoring of their cars , then their person- who knows how far this could go.
And still the liberal socialists will excuse their exalted leader for destroying this country.
They have Brains You Don’t Use. That should be their real slogan.
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Tags: debt, energy, government intrusion, responsibility, sanity, state's rights