A Changed Nation

I’m writing this from a position of great sorrow due to the re-election of President Obama.  I’m not saying Romney was perfect (far from it). But Romney being elected would have shown that the country finally figured out that what they voted for back in 2008 was just a charismatic speaker, not a proven leader than could re-direct the country from the fiscal cliff we’re about to plunge off.

George W. Bush was really just a big government progressive republican (I know you Texan’s don’t like to hear that…sorry).  President Bush, even after the 9/11 attacks induced a major defense commitment, pushed the “No Child Left Behind” initiative, which was the largest expansion of federal education spending ever.  Looks like they should have named it “No Child Left a Conservative” as it appears our public educational system is now just a place to indoctrinate children to believe the government is Santa Clause, and business owners can’t be trusted but the government can (now there’s some logic for ya!).  Bush also increased farm subsidies by 80%, and let’s not forget the Medicare Drug entitlement which was the most expensive new program since LBJ.  Bush increased the Federal Budget by 42% adjusted for inflation during his 8 years as President.  Compare that to Bill Clinton who only increased the Federal Budget by 12%.  Is it any wonder the Republican Party is going the way of the Whig party?

I’m going to challenge your thinking in the paragraphs to follow, but it’s time to look at where we stand from a position of truth.  I used to believe our government had the best interest of the people in mind, I believed we had freedom, and that we had over 150 military bases overseas to protect our freedom.  I started to think differently back in 2008 when I heard Bush say, “We need to abandon the free market to save it.”  At that point I started to question whether our leaders in either of the political parties actually believed in freedom, or was this just another term political leaders used to increase their favorability ratings. 

I believe anyone who understands what freedom really is would be appalled at the things that are taking place today.  Contractual law is being thrown out the window as in the case of the GM bailout, Unions and Super Pac’s now have a giant influence on elections, banks and insurance companies are being bailed out based on the amount of political donations they provided, the Federal Government now controls the United States Healthcare system and our educational system, and stimulus packages are being used as free giveaways to political donors.

The results of this presidential election showed that over half the nation does not believe in freedom.  Or at a minimum they don’t understand what freedom is.  The World War II generation is passing away at an alarming rate and being replaced by voters ages 18-29 who have a higher favorability rating of socialism than capitalism.  Our public school system has been infected with a disease called progressivism, and unfortunately the only remedy at this point is to home school.  But we all know most parents don’t have the time to home school, they’re too busy working just trying to put food on the table.  Yet we all have to pay taxes to fund these progressive schools regardless of whether our kids are using them or not.  I have to give the progressives credit, their scheme of infiltrating the schools and having conservatives fund it with their tax dollars was ingenious.  That has paid massive dividends, and in all likelihood was the nail in the coffin of the United States as we know it.

In all of human history, there is no evidence that a nation can actually shrink its government.  What normally happens is a portion of that nation breaks off in what normally is a bloody revolution.  In my opinion, our nation is going to lean further and further left as more of the World War II generation passes away and being replaced by 18-29 year old voters who can’t find jobs and want government assistance.  Add to that the public school system that’s been infected, and a media that may as well be a political action committee for the Democratic Party, and you have a political swing in power like never before in United States history.

Our federal government now has a yearly budget of 3.8 trillion dollars.  In other words, the federal government spends over $10 billion per day.  Our federal government has become so big and complex that corruption and lies have become inevitable.  The time to slow the growth of this cancer has long came and gone.  Once power has become so concentrated at the top, it is pretty much impossible to get them to relinquish that power back to the people.  Even with a divinely inspired document like the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, our nation could not escape the clutches of ever expanding federal power.  It appears nations that are founded on freedom have a life span of around 200 years before the population falls for the lie that you can have a free lunch at the expense of someone else.  Our government has become so big that the large deficits are literally crowding out the private sector from being able to attract new investment to innovate and expand.  We are going to continue to have high unemployment rates and a stagnant economy growing at only around 2% per year.  There will be areas to invest and make money, but those sectors are going to be the exception now rather than the rule.

I wish I could write to you and say that our country in 2016 could be put on the right track.  But unfortunately both parties enjoy the power the federal government now commands.  It will continue to tax the wealthy to the point that production will decline, in a short time the middle class will be shouldering the burden that our politicians promised would reside solely with the “rich.” This is how empires are toppled. 

While the United States may have finally been converted into a European-style socialist government, God still sits on the throne.  He is sovereign and has a plan.  I will take comfort knowing that I am in the great state of Texas surrounded by people who still believe in the principles America once stood for.  We will bind together to try and fend off the continuing assault on freedoms coming from Washington D.C., and if we get pushed hard enough we may just decide to return back to our roots… the Republic of Texas.            

What are these CA Officials Thinking?

Today (7/13/12) it was reported that officials in San Bernardino County (CA) have been in secret talks as to whether or not to use the power of eminent domain to seize troubled mortgages from banks.   

 http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/13/us-sanbernardino-eminentdomain-idUSBRE86C14K20120713

California has been one of the hardest states hit by the financial crisis, and as a result has one of the highest rates of underwater mortgages in the country.  For those of you who don’t know, being “underwater” on your mortgage means you currently owe more on your mortgage than what your home is worth.

I have one question for the officials in San Bernardino County.  Is it your intention to put the final nail in the coffin of the state of California?  Maybe the officials in California truly believe they are doing the right thing, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions.  Or are they just doing this to show they are doing something, anything, in hopes of getting re-elected.  It is obvious that fiscally they have ran their county into the abyss, so this may be the “Hail Mary” of their re-election efforts.

Details are still to follow on how this would play out.  But here is what is most likely to happen here.  Banks are currently holding onto these mortgages that are underwater, hoping for two things.  Either the government comes in with QE 3 (quantitative easing… or money printing) and purchasing mortgage backed securities which will help get these under-performing mortgages off the bank’s balance sheet and onto the federal reserve’s (or in other words… the taxpayers), or the U.S. Congress comes in with some sort of bailout for the banks.  This is why the banks have been for the most part unwilling to help out these underwater homeowners.  If there was an actual free market, where the government didn’t pick and choose who they were going to bailout, the banks would have started working with underwater homeowners a long time ago. It would be in the banks best interests to do so in order to minimize the losses on that under-performing mortgage.

So while the banks are waiting on either the Fed or action from Congress, the officials in the County of San Bernardino have decided to take matters into their own hands.  They are going to force the banks to give these mortgages to the County.  The county then will lower the outstanding mortgage to the homes current market value.  This could literally knock off 100k or more in debt on that home in some circumstances.  The question remains… who is going to be on the hook for that loss?  It’s either going to be the bank or the county.  Since the county of San Bernardino is broke along with most counties in California, it is certain the county will force the banks to take this loss. 

On the surface this doesn’t seem like a bad idea right?  The homeowner is no longer underwater; this gives them the ability to refinance to today’s record low mortgage rates.  Now the homeowner also has more discretionary income that could be used to help support the California economy.  Seems all well and good right?  Wrong!

The unintended consequences would be disastrous for California.  These banks that had these mortgages “stolen” from them now have to write down these gigantic losses on their balance sheets.  Banks still have not recovered from the financial crisis.  This giant blow to their financial standing would send bank stocks plummeting as analysts scramble to figure out how big of a blow this will have on bank earnings.  I’m sure at this point you’re thinking… who cares?  The banks deserve to have their stock prices collapse.  Fair enough.

But the biggest unintended consequence would be banks no longer willing to write mortgages in the state of California.  Or at least they will raise interest rates dramatically.  Who can blame them?  Just like with the bankruptcy of the auto companies, contractual law has been thrown out the window by an iron-fisted government.  We look more like Soviet Russia at this point than the “land of the free and home of the brave.” 

With banks refusing to lend, or at a minimum higher mortgage rates in the state of California, housing prices would go into free fall.  The rest of the country also wouldn’t be immune from falling housing prices.  Banks would start to demand higher interest rates on mortgages everywhere in the U.S. as they start to determine the likelihood that counties in other states contemplate using eminent domain as well.  Higher mortgage rates mean’s higher mortgage payments.  This means potential buyers will have to lower the amount they can borrower in order to be able to afford the payments.  The result is sellers having to come down on the asking price.  This is bad news all around.

We all know the saying, that what happens in California tends to make its way into other states.  This is one of those times where I hope, “what happens in California, stays in California.”

An Email to my Congressman

Below is an email I sent to my Congressman about Senate Bill 1867 (National Defense Authorization Act).  This bill that passed the Senate recently leaves it open to interpretation that a U.S. citizen within the borders of the United States can be captured and held indefinitely without trial if they are suspected of terrorist activities.  Some of you might agree with that, but remember, this is the same administration that believes people with Ron Paul bumper stickers, the Tea Party, and returning military veterans are likely domestic terrorists.  Yet this same administration refuses to acknowledge Islamic Terrorism.

I suggest you contact your Congressman and ask them to vote "no" on this bill once it heads to the House.  Below is the text of the email I sent to my Congressman.


Congressman Doggett,

I am writing to you to ask you to vote NO on the National Defense Authorization Act (Senate Bill 1867) once it gets to the House.  The fact that this bill leaves it open to interpretation that U.S. citizens inside our own borders can be detained and held without trial is unbelievable.  This actually passed the Senate!  For quite awhile now I have noticed that we are no longer a free country.  Just trying to open up my own Investment Advising firm has proven that both parties' goal is to use regulations to keep honest people like me from opening my own firm.

But Senate Bill 1867 is definitely the nail in the coffin of the United States.  I am 31 years old, and I am very disheartened that over the last 20 years we have believed politicians' lies that we can continue to spend and promise social programs that nobody understood the costs in the long term.  All the politicians looked at was the amount of votes they would receive to get re-elected. 

The insider trading I see going on with those in Congress makes me sick.  If I traded on the same information that Congressman act on I would go to prison!  How can these so called "representatives of the people" go into public office an average person and come out millionaires?  No wonder our elected representatives NEVER leave office until being forced out. 

Both parties are at fault.  You have come to love your power and persuasion more than you love our country and doing what is right. 

And no, its not all Obama's fault. 

I see our country is similar to the Titanic.  Our ship is broken in half, bobbing up and down, about to go to the bottom of the sea... and here we are arguing that changing the Captain is going to solve our problems.  It's not going to happen.

Our country has been steered directly into an iceberg by our elected representatives over the last 20 years.  And we the people, have allowed you to do it because we had an unprecedented amount of credit expansion via low rates provided by the Federal Reserve to live way above our means.  We were comfortable as long as we had a 4 bedroom house, 2 nice cars, a boat, reality TV shows and football on TV.  The people falsely believed the lies by our representatives that we could continue to expand the Federal Government and it's programs with no adverse consequences.

It is sad that we have allowed our country to spend itself into its own destruction.

Please vote no on Senate Bill 1867 and show that we at least aren't going to completely throw the Constitution out the window....yet.

Is Social Security a Ponzi Scheme?

I was watching the Fox News Republican Presidential debate today and the back and forth between Romney and Perry really got my attention.  First of all, Perry does believe (as I do) that Social Security is unconstitutional and that if it exists at all it should be provided by the states.  Perry is now back-peddling from that stance because he believes that it will be very difficult to win the Primary (or the General Election for that matter) if he maintains that position on Social Security.

Romney really hammered Perry on that position tonight.  Romney pointed out how in Perry’s book “Fed Up” he called Social Security a Ponzi scheme.  First of all, the average person doesn’t even know what a Ponzi Scheme is.  A Ponzi scheme is basically paying early investors returns based solely on recruiting new investors into the fund.  As long as you are recruiting new investors then everything works fine…especially for the people who got in early.  But as Bernie Madoff found out, once you can’t recruit any new investors, your scheme collapses from within.  Bernie Madoff is now spending life in prison and what’s even more tragic is he lost many people’s life savings.

Social security IS in fact a Ponzi scheme!  People who are collecting the funds (retirees) are not collecting their own funds they put into it (in fact some didn’t contribute at all).  The funds that were initially invested were spent a long time ago by the Federal Government.  The funds being paid to retirees are from the funds being paid by current workers.  If this pool of workers shrinks, this system will fall apart.  Especially in this economy, we are not creating new jobs; hence, the pool of people contributing to social security is not keeping up with the amount of people receiving social security benefits.  It WILL fall apart.  It’s a mathematical certainty.

Social Security IS UNCONSTITUIONAL!  The Federal Government has NO Constitutional authority to force free citizens to pay into Social Security.  NOTHING makes people more dependent on Government than people literally needing those funds to survive.  Shame on us for allowing ourselves into being duped into this program that was made to make us beholden to a Federal Government for our very livelihood.   

Since I’m not running for office I can tell it like it is.  If I offend you…tough.  We must have this conversation.  Most Republicans like Federal Programs as long as it benefits them.  What makes these Republicans any different than a Democrat who believes they should keep the programs that benefit them?  Let’s face it; most Republicans are for a Government that stays within the confines of the Constitution.  Yet, take a poll and see how roughly only 10% are for ending Social Security and sending it back to the states where it belongs.  We have neglected to pay attention to the Constitution and Freedom for so long that 90% of Republicans don’t even know what it is anymore. 

Perry also said that by any measure, Social Security has been a failure.  Romney argued saying that it has worked great for the millions of people who have depended on it for decades.  Let me be Perry’s campaign manager for a second here.  EVERY PONZI SCHEME WORKS GREAT FOR THE PEOPLE AT THE TOP!  Bernie Madoff’s 50 Billion dollar Ponzi scheme also worked great for the people who got in early.  This is the question I would pose to Romney, “Bernie Madoff’s investment strategy also worked for years, the people who got in early made money.  Governor Romney, are you also going to claim that Madoff’s investment strategy was a success for many people?”  If that’s the case, Romney should give Bernie Madoff a pardon as soon as he is elected president. 

The fact of the matter is most (but not all) Republican’s don’t understand what Freedom is.  This is why Perry is back-peddling on his stance on social security.  He has looked at the polls and knows that he is on the losing side of the argument.  Instead of back-peddling Perry should be straight with the American people.  He should explain his position as to why Social Security is a Ponzi scheme, he should explain how it keeps people dependent on the government, and he should also give examples of how States can empower their own people to take control of their own retirement. 

Romney also said, “Social Security is part of the bedrock of the social fabric of our country.”  That is a scary statement.  To say the bedrock of our country is a Federal Program should frighten us all.  This is not a statement from a person who believes in empowering the people to take control of their own lives.  If we want to change our country we must come to grips with what Freedom really is.  It means we must give up the false belief in financial security through a Federal Government program.  Freedom is scary, it’s not perfect, but it is the best system there is for giving everyone the best chance for success.  If you believe the Federal Government should stay within the confines of the Constitution, please re-asses your belief in Social Security.  Don’t take my word for it, read the Constitution and determine for yourself if this program in Constitutional or not. 

Debt Ceiling Debate

Hello everyone,

I have some exciting news.  I have been asked to be the Treasurer on a Congressional Campaign here in Texas.  I go into details on that at the end of this write up.

But first lets discuss the current fiasco in D.C.  Well it appears the Democrats and Republicans have come to an agreement on raising the debt ceiling.  If you read my blog back in January on the debt ceiling you probably think I have some sort of psychic abilities.  Well I don’t.  Once you understand that probably 80% of all politicians are only looking toward the next election it is pretty easy to figure out how these important issues will be voted on. 

 I expressed in my blog back in January that there was going to be a lot of bickering between the two sides but in the end they are more worried about getting re-elected than doing the “hard things” necessary to avoid a currency crisis.  I said that they would raise the debt ceiling in the end with no real changes to their excessive spending habits.  Well if you’ve looked at either sides plan, you’ll find this is exactly what they’re doing.

The deal that appears is going to pass today does essentially nothing to address the real cause of our spending problems: Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.  The so called “spending cuts” are not spending cuts in the way you and I think about our budgets.  Instead, the "cuts" being discussed are illusory, and are not cuts from current amounts being spent, but cuts in projected spending increases. 

As Ron Paul said today, this is equivalent to a family saying they are going to save $100,000 by not purchasing a new Lamborghini and instead buying a fully loaded Mercedes.  When in reality, their Toyota works just fine.  Our government is out of control…both aisles.

The results of this dog and pony show will be higher costs for commodities across the board as futures traders realize this is no plan at all and our government will have to continue to monetize (print) our way out of this debt.  This means higher costs for gasoline, electricity, and grocery bills in the not too distant future.  Our only hope to stave off higher inflation is if the economy goes into a massive recession which will help slow the cost of rising prices due to nobody being able to afford to pay the higher costs.  Not exactly something to hope for. 

The manufacturing index (a figure closely monitored on Wall Street) showed we look to be heading back into recession.  The Obama administration forecasted our GDP to grow by over 4% this year, in the first 2 quarters our GDP on average is about .8%.  We need a growth rate of roughly 9% for the next two quarters to make their projections.  Yet these same people claim they can forecast interest rates out 10 years and give us accurate predictions of our deficit in 2020!  What a joke!  They really think we are stupid to not be able to see through these shenanigans. 

As you all know, I am a staunch believer in Freedom.  I have been asked to be the Treasurer on the Brian Matthews for Congress Campaign here in Texas.  Brian Matthews is an elder at my Church.   God called me for some reason to send my blog to him, and he responded with wanting to get together to get my opinion on my view of government.  He is a Constitutional Conservative, and is as concerned as I am how both democrats and republicans have lost their way.  We see pretty much eye to eye on 98% of the issues.  We are trying to raise as much funds as possible since there is sure to be many opponents in this race.  There is no incumbent since this is a new district so we have a good chance of winning.  But even more important than funds, we need prayer.  Politics isn’t exactly for the faint of heart.  There is sure to be a lot of hurtful things said about us, and outright lies being spread about Brian Matthews, his family, and our campaign. 

Our message is based on three principles:  Faith, Family, and Freedom.  Brian Matthews is a small business owner; he is NOT just another career politician.  Please visit our website at BrianMatthewsforCongress.com and see where he stands on the issues.  Brian may be running for Congress in Texas but he plans on being a voice for Americans all over the country.  If you feel called to help us with a donation of any amount you can donate through our website or mail a check made out to Brian Matthews for Congress and mail it to 7401 West Slaughter Lane, Suite 5031, Austin, TX 78739. 

Thanks everyone!

Tribute to Glenn Beck

For those of you who didn’t know, today was the final episode of Glenn Beck on the Fox News Channel.  I wanted to take some time in using this blog to thank Glenn Beck for his tireless effort in pursuit of bringing a different perspective to politics.  I can’t imagine how many enemies he has made on both the right and left.  It really was a breath of fresh air to see someone stand up for what’s right regardless of the heat he has taken for it. 

He was (and still is) a polarizing figure.  He questions the motives on both sides of the aisle.  This is what makes him so dangerous and why he has come under such relentless attacks.  He has exposed how dirty of a game politics truly is, and yes, it is on both sides of the aisle.  We have allowed a President to take our freedom away as long as it was a Republican…or as long as it’s a Democrat.  Government ran by a republican or democrat is the enemy of freedom.  It is like fire, if kept small and controlled it is great, but left to grow out of control it will destroy everything in its path.  Glenn has helped to awaken us to this.  I believe more and more people on both sides of the aisle are starting to realize that it doesn’t matter who the President is, we end up with more debt, more wars, higher prices, and a bigger government.  There has been an awakening.

For the first time I don’t have much interest in the Presidential election coming up.  I guess after doing my own research and watching Glenn I have come to the conclusion that politicians will do anything to get elected.  That doesn’t mean I won’t vote.  I will vote for the person who wants to take power away from the government.  I refuse to vote for anyone who says government is the answer to our problems.  That has been the attitude that has brought us to the brink of collapse.  Putting our faith in politicians will ALWAYS lead to disappointment.  The answer does not lie with politicians, it lies with us…the people.  Before fixing our government we must fix ourselves.  We must become the people we were born to be, not the people we have allowed ourselves to become. 

At our core we are good and decent people.  But our pursuit for “stuff” has set us on a crash course.  We are told that without everyone spending recklessly our economy will collapse.   If this is the case, I say let it collapse.  A society built on buying things of no value is a society I don’t want to be a part of. 

We must become the type of people that can be depended on to help others in their time of need.  Next time you see a woman with a flat tire on the side of the road, pull over and help her.  If your neighbor needs help, lend a hand.  Instead of buying your son a video game he can indulge himself in, buy him a baseball glove and spend quality time playing catch.  God and the family has always been the foundation that builds strong communities; we must focus on that before we can change our country. 

Glenn Beck has started his own online T.V. broadcast.  He has NO investors and is relying solely on paid memberships in order to fund his new venture.  This way he has free reign to speak the truth, he does not have to worry about sponsors.  I admire Glenn for stepping away from a platform like Fox, where financially he was doing great.  He himself has said that his new venture could be bankrupt in a year if he doesn’t get tons of members.   I encourage anyone reading this to support him in his new venture.  You can get access to his T.V program for $4.95 per month.  Go to GlennBeck.com for details.  It’s very easy to hook up your laptop computer to your T.V, all you need is an S-Video cable and an audio cable.  You also need a T.V. new enough that has these connections.  

You can bet that if Glenn is successful with his new venture that the push to regulate the internet will increase dramatically.  At the moment there truly is freedom on the internet.  The government is salivating to get their hands on it.  We must not allow this.  They will clothe it under the disguise of protecting your children from pornography, or keeping your banking information secure.  We must not fall for this.  It is nothing more than another power grab.

I always thought it must be tough with a person of his character and beliefs to live in New York.  I recently moved to Texas because I just couldn’t live in a state like CA that is destroying itself from within.  I had to live out my principles.  Even as scary as it was for my wife and I to quit our well paying jobs and come here with no employment waiting for us.  Turns out the New York Daily News reported today that Glenn signed a lease in Dallas, TX.  He is finally making the move from New York to Texas.  Amen to that.  We could always use more jobs and freedom loving people here in Texas.  

Glenn's closure to his Fox T.V. show is not the end...with people like you supporting him, this is only the beginning.