The Day the Strength of Men Failed

By Bill Wilson
Tolkien called it the “day the strength of men failed” when the people of Middle Earth failed to destroy the One Ring. So it was with the votes to increase in the debt ceiling, as the American people have received little in exchange for allowing it to keep all of its powers to borrow with abandon.

Was this America’s last chance to kick the spending habit?

All acknowledge the “deal” now struck will not go nearly far enough, as now markets — and the American people — brace for what appears to be an imminent downgrade of our credit rating by at least one major agency.

“Futures down on U.S. credit downgrade worries,” reads a headline from Reuters. “Chinese agency warns of U.S. debt downgrade,” reports CNN International, as Chinese rater Dagong prepares to downgrade the U.S. for the third time since the financial crisis began.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geither, who in April promised the U.S. was at “no risk” of being downgraded, now says, “I don’t know. It’s hard to tell.” Hardly words that inspire confidence about the nation’s credit rating.
In the run-up to the vote, the Obama Administration attempted to strong arm credit rating agencies to back off their threats to downgrade the United States’ Triple-A credit rating, and even to endorse the Reid plan in the Senate in favor over the now-defeated House plan.

S&P, to its credit, has not backed down thus far. Although Moody’s has apparently after hard lobbying from the White House, despite the fact the plan falls far short of the agencies’ calls to cut at least $4 trillion to prevent a downgrade. It cuts only $917 billion over ten years, much of which depends on out-year cuts that likely will not happen based on past experience.

Downgrade or no, the deterioration of U.S. finances was entirely avoidable. That is why the American people, through elections, sent representatives to Congress on a promise not to increase the debt ceiling without trillions in reduced borrowing.

This deal will not balance the budget. It doesn’t even save $1 trillion, when what is required to stabilize American finances totals many trillions in cuts. It will not control the growth of future spending. It will lead to higher interest rates, a sinking dollar, and eventually, a downgrade of our credit rating. Today, the House of Representatives gave America a "deal" when what it was promised was a solution. No amount of spin can obscure the fact that the vaunted pledge to "put us on a path to balance the budget and pay down the debt," has become a hallow slogan.
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The Week Ahead: Obama's Debt Deal Announcement Analyzed

Video by Frank McCaffrey

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NAACP and EPA would inflict heat prostration and death

By Niger Innis and Bishop Harry Jackson, Jr.


From New York, Washington and Atlanta to Chicago, St. Louis and Dallas, America is baking in a furnace. As millions swelter and gasp, they thank their lucky stars for air-conditioned cars, homes, offices and other places of refuge. And for the reliable, affordable electricity that makes AC possible.

Previous generations weren’t so fortunate. When a record heat wave slammed the nation in July 1936, Midwest temperatures hit 100-107 for a week. With most homes and businesses lacking even fans in this pre-AC era, millions suffered heat prostration. In Wisconsin, 449 died. Nationwide, thousands perished.

Now the EPA and NAACP want to send America back to the “good old days.” Under a perverse notion of “environmental justice,” they are promoting tough new air quality rules that would shut down dozens of coal-fired power plants that make affordable AC possible for millions of poor and minority families.
According to them, coal-based electricity is “racist.” Minorities are more at risk because they often live near “dangerous,” older, more polluting power plants.

There is no excuse for the ridiculous “racism” and “justice” rhetoric, or the way EPA used cherry-picked data and computer models to conjure up health risks and benefits that exist only in virtual worlds. (Visit www.AffordablePowerAlliance.org for details.) Worse, the agency refused to consider the disastrous effects its draconian regulations will impose on families and businesses, due to skyrocketing electricity prices.

EPA’s rules will reduce electricity availability and send costs soaring 12% to 60% by 2015 – especially in the 26 states that depend on coal for 48-98% of their electricity. Families and businesses in those states currently pay less than half as much per kilowatt hour as those in low-coal, high-tax, hyper-regulated states. That means jobs, profits, balanced budgets – and protection against life-threatening heat and cold.
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The No Solution Deal

By Bill Wilson
A late deal struck by House and Senate leaders to raise the debt ceiling — with spending cuts that won’t balance the budget anytime soon, if ever — is a sad commentary on the state of affairs in Washington. There is no solution in sight.
It leaves the American people short-changed; who in 2010 voted to rein in government at all levels, most importantly, from spending far more than it takes in. While families struggle with their monthly balance sheets, the federal government has been on an unprecedented spend-a-thon that would wipe out anyone else who tried it.

Since Barack Obama had his first budget passed (accounting for two years of spending), he has accumulated $2.4 trillion in new debt. That’s over $1 trillion a year in new debt, a number that will continue unabated through 2021 when the debt reaches $26 trillion.

That is, if the government’s rosy economic projections turn out as everyone hopes, with a robust economic recovery and millions of new jobs created. If the projections are wrong, and the economy does not double in size in the next ten years, revenues will fall far short of expectations.

Aside from the lack of spending cuts, an essential feature of any plan a family would follow to reinstate fiscal prudence, the other essential ingredient missing from the deal is a recipe to get the economy growing again. It will do nothing to reduce the exorbitant cost of doing business in America, with corporate taxes among the highest in the developed world. Where the federal regulatory overkill threatens to shut down millions of more jobs. And where the new costly healthcare entitlement, ObamaCare, threatens to topple the federal treasury once and for all.
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Gov. Jindal's Opposition to Health Care Exchanges Divides Libertarian and Conservative Scholars

By Kevin Mooney


By refusing to set up a health care insurance exchange system that could be used to advance ObamaCare regulations, Gov. Bobby Jindal has cut a path that other state officials should follow, argue analysts with the Cato Institute. However, other leading figures within Gov. Jindal’s own Republican Party remain divided on this question.

Governors Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Scott Parnell (R-Alaska), Susana Martinez (R-N.M.) and Rick Perry (R-Texas) have all expressed opposition to an exchange system in their states. But Gov. CL “Butch” Otter of Idaho, Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), and other GOP officials, disagree. They view the exchange system as a viable tool for advancing patient-centered, market-friendly health care reforms that can lower costs and expand consumer choice.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a set of proposed rules that “set minimum standards” for the exchanges. But the suggested guidelines are so incomplete and uncertain that states cannot make an informed decision on whether they should participate, said Bruce Greenstein, Louisiana’s secretary for the Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH). Greenstein supports Gov. Jindal in his decision to remain outside of the exchange system.

“This is very good policy on the part of Gov. Jindal for today, and tomorrow it will be seen by the rest of the market as very forward thinking, and very savvy in terms of the way we move forward and protect the market of health insurance in Louisiana; we need to be able to access high quality insurance products at a good cost,” Greenstein said. “We continue to be very prudent in our approach.”

However, Cassidy, who is a medical doctor and a vocal opponent of the federal health care law, said in an interview that it may be advantageous for states to put their own “imprimatur” on a health care exchange before federal officials advance new regulations. He cited the Utah system, which is already up and running, as a model for what might work in Louisiana and other states.
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Libya rebels hunt ‘pro-Gaddafi infiltrators’ – Aljazeera.net

Libya rebels hunt 'pro-Gaddafi infiltrators'
Aljazeera.net
 
At least 15 dead as opposition says it has captured members of pro-Gaddafi brigade operating under rebel banner. Opposition leaders say they arrested dozens of armed men loyal to Muammar Gaddafi in their eastern bastion, but have suffered a blow in ...

Congress, President Reach Debt Ceiling Agreement

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle in Congress have said they have reached an 11th hour agreement with the president that would lift the nation's debt ceiling.

The agreement, according to media outlets, would raise the nation's credit limit — the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling — by $2.4 trillion, likely through 2012.

However, before the agreement will come to fruition, it must be voted on by both legislative chambers.
West Virginia's delegation in Washington, D.C., issued statements soon after the agreement was released.
Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said while the agreement increases the debt limit, it will fundamentally change the way Washington works.

"This debate, often stressful and tiring, is an opportunity to prove to the American people that we can reverse the cycle of reckless spending that got us here in the first place," she said. “We never wavered from our goal of more spending cuts than the increase in the debt limit and no new taxes. I appreciate the leadership in both parties for coming together to reach an agreement that does not give up our principles and puts us on a path toward a brighter, more prosperous future."
 
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., described the agreement in a news release as a "reasonable compromise." However he expressed frustration with the process.

“This never should have dragged on to the 11th hour, and I am disappointed that so many in Congress used this debate for political purposes," he said. "That said, we have settled on a reasonable compromise that all sides should immediately support and which I intend to vote for. The plan will allow us to extend the debt ceiling — avoiding a major economic catastrophe that would have hurt families and individuals from all backgrounds by raising interest rates, making it harder to get a loan and forcing the federal government to ration how it pays its bills. The compromise proposal helps us secure our nation’s economy, reduces the deficit by making more than $900 billion in immediate spending cuts and setting up a plan for future cuts as early as this fall. Thankfully, those cuts will not come at the expense of Social Security, Medicaid and other safety net programs for low income Americans, which I have insisted since Day 1 should not be on the table right now.”

According to Fox News, President Barack Obama said the agreement calls for an immediate cut of $1 trillion over a 10-year period, followed by the creation of a committee to come up with additional cuts worth $1.5 trillion to be voted on by the end of the year. Tax increases are not part of the deal, Fox News reported. However, lawmakers say the agreement does include a promise to put the Balanced Budget Amendment up for a vote.