Poor Man
Survival
Self
Reliance tools for independent minded people…
ISSN
2161-5543
A Digest of Urban Survival Resources
When you change the way you see the
world, the world you see will change.
- Dr. Wayne Dyer
- Dr. Wayne Dyer
Although I
don’t have my own talk show on Fox News, enough people have suggested I
should. My place as a political pundit
is nevertheless assured. More than 78%
of you have given me your ‘thumbs up’ on Yahoo News Groups and other
polls. The Poor Man has retained his
place in the Top 50 Best Self Reliance
Sites as well…our fourth year running!
The fiscal outlook is bad, still. According
to the Congressional Budget Office, the 2014 federal deficit rings in at $486
billion. That’s 2.8 percent of gross domestic product—the federal budget
deficit’s smallest share of the economy since 2007. (It was nearly 10 percent
in 2009.) Should President Obama and federal lawmakers pat themselves on the back?
Megan McArdle summarizes the rest of the story:
Congressional
Budget Office projections currently show the deficit
beginning to grow again in 2016, just in time for the presidential election. By
2019, it’ll be above its historical average, where it will stay until the end
of the forecast window – and that historical average is itself a bit high, as
it includes the post-war record deficit of the Obama administration, which ran
close to 10 percent for several years.
If
the growth in health-care costs continues to moderate, that may help a bit, but
mostly, the rising cost of health care is not the problem. The problem is the
rising number of aging citizens who will require Social Security benefits,
Medicare and, eventually, Medicaid to pay for their nursing homes. For the next
decade or so, it is demographics, not compound cost growth, that will account for most of our budget
problems. And you can’t fix the demographics by directing providers to charge
2.9 percent less for their senior citizens. […]
As
the Fed tightens up on monetary policy, our borrowing costs are going to rise,
not just for the new debt we take on, but also for the debt we already have. As
old debt matures, we’ve been borrowing at record-low interest rates, which has
helped hold down the deficit. But as the Fed tightens, that party will end, and
the numbers will start moving in the other direction. [Bloomberg View, October 14]
Locked doors only keep honest people out. Prying into ALL of our private affairs
demonstrates that our government is not honest.
The
reason the deficit has come down slightly is not that spending has moderated.
Rather, as the CBO reports, tax revenues are up 9 percent—$239 billion over
last year. [“Monthly
Budget Review for September 2014,” Congressional Budget Office, October 8]
Starting
in 1999, the Poor Man had created a case and strategy to reform our
antiquated tax system which would include a flat tax system, the
elimination of taxation on the first $25,000 of income for seniors and others,
the elimination of many tax breaks and more…
· Long-term reforms of US tax system required to stop 'deserters'
Spare a thought for the poor US
multinational. It has had a horrible time lately and been called lots of
beastly names…
It would be nice to see our president and
other politicians begin practicing that archaic art of telling the truth…
Here’s what we still know about stupidity in
government. The government has, in recent months, been:
- conducting warrantless surveillance of law-abiding citizens and the
media;
- arresting law-abiding citizens guilty of nothing more than
criticizing government policies;
- labeling military veterans who stand strong in defense of the
Constitution as potential domestic terrorists;
- carrying out military drills, complete with black-ops helicopters
and tanks, in small towns and cities across the country;
- distributing an arsenal of military equipment and amassing
hollow-point bullets for domestic use;
- and authorizing local, state and federal law enforcement agencies
to use drones equipped with weapons and surveillance devices.
That’s just a small sampling of the
countless tyrannies being exercised against the American people right now,
tyrannies that have no place in a republic such as ours.
An overwhelming majority of voters in the most competitive
2014 elections say it feels as if events in the United States are “out of
control” and expressed mounting alarm about terrorism, anxiety about Ebola and
harsh skepticism of both political parties only three weeks before the Nov. 4
midterms. The accumulation of disparate
fears has created a sense of pessimism and frustration across the midterm
landscape.
The most dangerous element freedom faces are incompetent and/or
corrupt politicians who are polluting our Constitution and bankrupting our
nation.
What
good is freedom of speech if no one is listening?
What
good is a free education if no one uses it?
What
good is democracy if no one participates?
What
good is our Bill of Rights if politicians and law enforcement community can
ignore them?
The "economic recovery" that we all keep hearing about is mostly just a mirage. The percentage of Americans that are employed has barely budged since the depths of the last recession, the labor force participation rate is at a 36 year low, the overall rate of homeownership is the lowest that it has been in nearly 20 years and approximately 49 percent of all Americans are financially dependent on the government at this point.
Vote all you want. The secret government won’t change.
The people we elect aren’t
the ones calling the shots, says Tufts University’s Michael Glennon
If
you’re not planning ahead, you’re already in trouble…I’m giving this library
away…get it now while you still can!
War on Middle Class and All 9 Bonus Reports can be
downloaded here:
Bruce ‘the Poor Man’
Got a News Tip or Resource to Share With the Poor Man?
Send it to: PoorManSurvivor@Gmail.com
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