Hypocrisy
Updates
Updates
January 15, 2013: Wow, some days I feel just so vindicated. After writing the original post, "anonymous" said that Congress paid the bills and that they were all paid or they were not paid, suggesting that I was wrong when I said the President (i.e., the Executive Branch) prioritized spending once we bumped up against the deficit. And tonight it's being reported. The executive branch, in this case, the Secretary of the Treasury is foregoing "paying" or transferring funds to the federal pension program so other bills can be paid. I won't post comments if it would embarrass "anonymous." Sometimes I wish I did.
Original Post
#1: Social security paymentsThe first group were members of Tom Brokaw's "greatest generation."
#2: Veterans' pensions
Of the second group, "all gave some, some gave all."
And so it goes.
Not on the short list:
- Congressional pay
- executive pay
- White House staff pay
- First Family vacations
- Obamaphones
- payments to government defense contractors
- debt payments to China
- Medicare payments to Fortune 500 health care insurers
- unemployment benefits that were recently extended to 99 weeks (from 26 weeks)
Cue up Connie Francis.
However, good investors will look for the silver lining in this announcement. Who will the winners and losers be? The big winners: credit card companies, companies specializing in reverse mortgages, and loan sharks. It's pretty much impossible to invest in the latter, and I don't know a lot about the companies offering reverse mortgages, but I do know that Discover Card, MasterCard, AmEx, and Visa are easy to invest in. The president only said payments would be delayed. Perfect for short term loans on credit cards. Mastercard is down $6 today; Visa is pretty much flat; AmEX is relatively flat, and ... Discover Financial Svs is down about 1.5%.
Again, this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment decisions based on what you read here.
Overheard at the diner: When social security payments are delayed, more seniors will die of the cold in February who cannot pay their utility bills than the number of polar bears that will die due to global warming.
[Remember: it's the Treasury that determines the order in which bills are paid. Not Congress. Some folks who have written in are confused by all of this. Tim Geithner has already done this, and it has been widely reported on CNBC. In fact, if push comes to shove, the House will pass a bill prioritizing payments and taking this out of the hands of the Treasury. Of course, constitutionally it won't go anywhere -- it wouldn't be voted upon in the Senate in any event -- but the media would have a field day with it, with photographs of Congressmen depositing their paychecks while Social Security recipients wait for theirs. This is not rocket science. ]
[Incidentally, by including Social Security payments on the short list, this is a tacit admission that Social Security is no longer self-supporting. Apparently, already, Social Security payments are being paid from the "general fund" and replaced with Al Gore IOUs. I had not thought of that. Thank you to readers. [Update: wow, huge error by reader who sent this in; I completely missed it. My error and it was a doozie. See comments below -- this was my reply to the individual who caught the error: Wow, you are so correct. Huge error on my part. I did not catch that. I held off publishing this comment for 24 hours to see if anyone else that this huge error. You were the only one. That speaks volumes about ... well, probably that not many read my non-Bakken stories. Smile.
However, that really begs the question. If Social Security is solvent, why are Social Security payments being delayed even in the discussion about the debt ceiling? By the way, this is how the funding works for Social Security.]
[It appears some folks are still confused by all this. The best recommendation: ignore everything written above and simply read this AP lede, taken verbatim from the top news story of the day:
President Barack Obama demanded on Monday that lawmakers raise the nation's $16.4 trillion federal debt limit quickly, warning that "Social Security benefits and veterans' checks will be delayed" if they don't and cautioning Republicans not to insist on cuts to government spending in exchange.It seems pretty straight forward for those who have at least an eighth grade public education.]
This is the second time in his first Administration that 0 has told the American seniors they may not have a Soc. check because of his policies.. this is the Only president to do this..
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of those who described these actions as the actions of a very young angry man.
DeleteAnd again, it was not a freshman representative making up this list; this list was drawn up by the President of the United States.
I've started prioritizing my monthly bills. It's actually a great exercise in what one can do without.
Looks like this is going to be a long second term with this administration and the tremendous damage it will do to our republic. Freedom and liberty will be under assault 24/7. I guess we will have to just learn to take it under this arrogant imperial president and his administration backed his supporters. This is what the American people voted for in November. Enjoy the ride.
DeleteIn another brighter subject what is you take on the narrowing of the spread between WTI and Brent. It is now down to under $18 off an high of $23. Do you think it is a result of the Seaway pipeline increasing to 400,000 barrels a day draining some of the glut off Cushing?
You know, that's an absolutely great question, great observation, whether the narrowing of the spread is due to the Seaway expansion AND reversal.
DeleteThe "party line" is that, yes, the narrowing of the spread between Brent and WTI is due to the Seaway expansion AND reversal.
However, I would have expected an even great narrowing. But it's early in the game. The reversal has been in effect, I believe, for about six months, but the expansion has just begun. If Brent and WTI come within $5 of each other this summer, I think we can attribute it to the Seaway as well as all the other pipeline activity.
[Incidentally, by including Social Security payments on the short list, this is a tacit admission that Social Security is no longer self-supporting. Apparently, already, Social Security payments are being paid from the "general fund" and replaced with Al Gore IOUs. I had not thought of that. Thank you to readers.]
ReplyDeleteThat is backwards. The general fund borrows from Social Security.
Wow, you are so correct. Huge error on my part. I did not catch that. I held off publishing this comment for 24 hours to see if anyone else that this huge error. You were the only one. That speaks volumes about ... well, probably that not many read my non-Bakken stories. Smile.
DeleteHowever, that really begs the question. If Social Security is solvent, why is Social Security even in the discussion about the debt ceiling?
Here is one place to start.
ReplyDeleteThe us operates maintains and upgrades a strategic nuclear force that is desIgned to counter a threat that no longer exists.
The us has a standing army of 0.5 m and an equal reserve component that has fight two third or forth world armies (afghan and Iraq) to at best a draw over 10 years.
The us has all eleven of the worlds navy carrier strike groups. Are us citizens safer than if we had six? Or three?
We have an air force that insists on focusing it's resources and attention on expensive fighter aircraft of dubious tactical value and reliability compared to the very capable equipment they are designed to replace. Not to mention mission overalap/duplication with us navy.
The nations armed forces and the contractors who supply them have become a jobs program characterized by wild out of control spending on weapon systems that have little to no relationship to countering the threats we face. On top of that there are many bases that exist only because of local politics (jobs) and not sound management.
If anyone wants to prioritize spending, above is a good place to start.
Agree 100%. It amazes me that cutting DOD has not been a goal of this administration.
Delete