WELCOME TO OPINIONS BASED ON FACTS (OBOF)
Name | Published |
OVERVIEW | Dec. 28, 2010 |
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 1 | Dec. 30, 2010 |
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 2 | Jan. 10, 2011 |
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 3 | Jan. 17, 2011 |
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 4 | Jan. 24, 2011 |
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 5 | Jan. 31, 2011 |
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 6 | Feb. 07, 2011 |
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 7 | Feb. 14, 2011 |
SPECIAL ISSUE | Feb. 18, 2011 |
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 8 | Feb. 21, 2011 |
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 9 | Mar. 01, 2011 |
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 10 | Mar. 07, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 1 | Mar. 14, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 1A | Mar. 21, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 2 | Mar. 25, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 3 | Mar. 29, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 4 | Apr. 04, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 5 | Apr. 11, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 6 | Apr. 18, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 7 | Apr. 25, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 7A | Apr. 29, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 8 | May 02, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 9 | May 09, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 10 | May 16, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 11 | May 24, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 12 | Jun. 06, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 13 | Jun. 20, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 14 | July 05, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 14A | July 18, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 15 | July 19, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 16 | Aug. 03, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 17 | Aug. 15, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 18 | Aug. 29, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 19 | Sept. 12, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 20 | Sept. 26, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 21 | Oct. 10, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 22 | Oct. 24, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 22 EXTRA | Nov. 04, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 23 | Nov. 07, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 24 | Nov. 21, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 25 | Dec. 05, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 26 | Dec. 19, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 27 | JAN. 03, 2012 |
SS & MORE PART 27A | JAN. 05, 2012 |
SS & MORE PART 28 | JAN. 17, 2012 |
SS & MORE PART 29 | JAN. 31, 2012 |
SS & MORE PART 30 | Feb. 14, 2012 |
SS & MORE PART CL1 | Feb. 21, 2012 |
SS & MORE PART 30 EXTRA | Feb. 23, 2012 |
SS & MORE PART 31 | Feb. 28, 2012 |
SS & MORE PART CL2 - 59 | Mar. 06, 2012 |
SS & MORE PART 31 EXTRA | Mar. 07, 2012 |
SS & MORE PART 32 | Mar. 13, 2012 |
SS & MORE PART CL3 - 1 | Mar. 20, 2012 |
SS & MORE PART 32 EXTRA | Mar. 24, 2012 |
SS & MORE PART 33 | Apr. 10, 2012 |
SS & MORE PART CL 4 - 2 | Apr. 17, 2012 |
SS & MORE PART 34 | Apr. 24, 2012 |
SS & MORE PART CL5 - 49 | May 01, 2012 |
SS & MORE PART 35 | May 09, 2012 |
SS & MORE PART CL6 - 19 | May 15, 2012 |
SS & MORE PART 35 EXTRA | May 18, 2012 |
SS & MORE PART 36 | May 22, 2012 |
SS & MORE PART 36 EXTRA | May 25, 2012 |
SS & MORE PART 36 | |
EXTRA II | June 01, 2012 |
SS & MORE PART 37 | June 05. 2012 |
SS & MORE PART 37 EXTRA | June 07, 2012 |
SS & MORE PART 38 | June 12, 2012 |
SS & MORE PART 39 | June 19, 2012 |
1. Let's look at this campaign head on.
2. Interesting supporting facts.
3. Interesting comment and answers to statements made.
4. Pardise lost -- The sinking middle class.
~~~
"VOTE, AN EDUCATED VOTE"
What is an educated vote? It is one that has been made with as much knowledge, based on facts, not misinformation, that an individual can obtain.
~~~
LET'S LOOK AT THIS CAMPAIGN
HEAD-ON
Never, in the history of our country, has there been such a drive, such a tremendous push, and such expenditures of money as we are seeing right now--WHY?
Well, of course, he is a Democrat and that is enough to wage a hard campaign by the Republicans, but not enough to spend the kind of money that is involved in this Republican campaign. There are complete differences between the ideologies between the two parties to consider, but that has always been the case. Of course, this time around the Supreme Court opened the flood-gate for money.
With the exception of the available money, most things are the same as in almost all Presidential campaigns. So, to me, all these various reasons don't answer the question--WHY?
Sometime back , I asked the same question. The one thing that sticks with me, is the statement made by the Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell, the first day after the inauguration. Now there hadn't been any actions at all by President Obama at this point and still McConnell said that the Republican agenda for the next four years was to make Obama a one term president.
Now, keep in mind that this is the first day after inauguration. Couple this with all the obstruction there has been for the past three plus years, by the Republicans, and the down right dirty misinformation they are putting forth, which is worse than any before, and it seems to me there has to be more to it than this.
The only other reason that I can find, and I know how explosive this can be, is that he is black and they can't stand to see a black person in that position. Now, I am not the only one saying this. It is said on some TV shows as well.
President Obama has accomplished more with less help from Congress than any previous President. History will show that he is one of the best we have ever had. If you honestly look at his record and forget that he is black, the result is undisputable.
SOME INTERESTING SUPPORTING
FACTS
Sheldon Adelson recently donated $10 million of his personal fortune to a super PAC supporting Mitt Romney's campaign. Mr. Adelson has said he's willing to go as high as $100 million to defeat Barack Obama. Now, Mr Adelson is worth more than $20 billion, this donation is about the equivalent of $40 to a middle-class family.
NOW, I ASK YOU, what has President Obama done, or not done, that makes it worth a man's $100 millions to defeat the President? I really hate to say this, I really do, but what other reason can anyone find, other than our great President is black. I suppose I should insert here that I am Caucasian, which of course, is another way of saying I am white. I just call it as I see it.
EXAMPLES OF MISINFORMATION.
On May 29, 2012, Mitt Romney.com posted this statement. "Federal spending has accelerated at a pace without precedent in recent history." This is wrong. In fact, the Washington
Actually, under President Obama, annualized growth of Federal spending has been the slowest in decades. The following tells a better story with a graph, but my blog won't print graphs.
Obama 2010-13 1.4%
W. Bush 2006-09 8.1%
W. Bush 2002-05 7.3%
HW Bush 1990-93 5.4%
Reagan 1986-89 4.9%
Reagan 1982-85 8.7%
Spending under President Obama has grown at the slowest rate of any President in last 60 years. All this shows that, the Obama spending binge never happened. The above information from WSJ Marketwatch.
Our President has signed into law spending cuts or deficit reduction measures, amounting to $2 trillion. All of this by eliminating programs that aren't working. This is part of a balanced plan to reduce the deficit by $4 trillion.
The Congressional Budget Office has determined that Mitt Romney's plan would increase the nation's deficit by as much as $5 trillion. This would occur by the additional tax cuts for the wealthy that would allow an average of $250 thousand per millionaire and billionaire, which Romney has not paid for in his plan.
The Washington
President Obama has found new ways to cut waste in Washington
~~~
INTERESTING COMMENTARY FROM
the
OK. GOP CHAIRMAN
with
IMPORTANT CORRECTIONS
&
THE PRESIDENT'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Following, President Obama's re-election kick off speech, Mr. Matt Pinnell, Chairman, of the Oklahoma Republican Party, had some, not to correct, statements relating to the Presidents speech.
He first stated, "....at the actual launch, the big news was what wasn't mentioned ... his record." I missed the long defense of Obamacare -- his signature piece of legislation -- and his long defense of the stimulus. Furthermore, I missed his defense of the state of our economy, its debt, its deficits and lack of strong job creation.
Well, how about all that? Lets take a close look at what the President has done, IN THE FACE OF A GOP AGENDA THAT OPENLY HAS BEEN SAID "DON'T PASS ANYTHING THE PRESIDENT WANTS, NO SECOND TERM."
First, the President inherited the economy and almost everything he tried to do about it was blocked by the manipulations in Congress by the Republicans. This is simply fact. Anyone can look at the record and see that that is what happened. IN SPITE OF ALL THIS, THE PRESIDENT PRODUCED TEN (10) QUARTERS OF ECONOMIC GROWTH. He certainly has us going in the right direction to do that.
About the "debt and the deficits," they were already in place when Obama took over and it was inventible to increase the debt and operate with a deficit or let the country go bankrupt. The choice, in that case, is relatively easy. This brings us to the Stimulus, which was passed just 28 days after Obama became President.
What did the Recovery Act do? The Republicans screamed that the sky would fall. Well, it sure didn't Instead, it accomplished a great deal. For example, it raised employment by as many as 4.2 million. It made it possible to fix more than 9,000 bridges, roads and highways. It saved or hired 650,000 firemen, teachers and police officers. It raised our nation's GDP as much as 2.9%.
Lastly, the Chairman said ...lack of strong job creation.
The economy was losing over 700,000 private sector jobs per month when the President Obama took over. With 24 straight months of job growth, the private sector added more than 3.9 million jobs.
Sure, we need more, but considering the condition of job losses three years ago, you can't say that we are on the wrong track.
HOW ABOUT THE BIG ONE? THE ONE THE GOP WAS REALLY UPSET ABOUT. I won't go into all that they said about it. I'M TALKING ABOUT SAVING THE AUTO INDUSTRY. Take note, I said "saving" not "bailout."
That's right, it was a loan that Chrysler and GM have paid off years ahead of schedule. Those loans included interest too, so the Treasury is making a little on the deal. By the way, besides saving the industry it also saved more than one (1) million jobs. Those holding those jobs pay taxes too, so the country is a winner there, also. To top it all off, GM has regained the title of the largest auto maker in the World and besides the one (1) million jobs that were saved, the industry has added another 200,000 in 2 1/2 yrs,
BY THE WAY, ROMNEY, JUST TODAY, MAY 8, 2012, WAS TAKING CREDIT FOR SAVING THE AUTO INDUSTRY. HOW IN THE WORLD COULD HE POSSIBLY DO THAT? HE HAS BEEN TOTALLY AGAINST IT FROM THE BEGINING.
AT ONE POINT, HE SAID "LET THEM GO BANKRUPT." SEE, THAT IS, THE WAY HE DOES BUSINESS AND THE WAY HE HAS MADE ALL HIS MONEY. BUY UP COMPANIES, GUT THEM, LET THEM GO BANKRUPT, THEN SELL THEM. IS THAT THE KIND OF MAN WE WANT AS PRESIDENT? I DON'T THINK SO.
I think that pretty well corrects the Chairman's statements and then some. Before we finish however, let's take a quick look at other things President Obama has accomplished.
1. Ended the War in Iraq
2. No question, he improved our standing in the World.
3. Cut taxes for all working Americans.
4. Cut taxes on Small Businesses 18 times.
5. Stopped insurance companies from dropping coverage when you get sick and from refusing coverage when you have a pre-existing condition.
6. America
7. Ended hidden fees & unfair penalties for credit card
users.
8. Passed landmark Wall Street reforms.
9. Made it easier for women to receive equal pay for equal work.
10. Doubled investment in scholarships and financial aid.
11. Expanding health care coverage to 32 million
uninsured.
12. Provided new incentives to hire Veterans.
13. Brought oil imports to the lowest level in 16 years.
There are more, but these are some of the most significant ones.
NOW, THE ABOVE GIVES YOU PLENTY OF ACCURATE, TRUTHFUL, INFORMATION THAT IS MORE THAN ENOUGH TO RE-ELECT PRESIDENT OBAMA.
THE PROBLEM WE FACE IS GETTING THIS KIND OF INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC. I URGE YOU TO READ AND RE-READ THIS INFORMATION. GET IT SET IN YOUR MIND AND USE IT EVERY CHANCE YOU GET. WE HAVE TO RE-ELECT THE PRESIDENT, GAIN CONTROL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND A DEMOCRAT FILIBUSTER PROOF SENATE.
~~~
Paradise Lost: The Sinking Middle Class
by Thomas Magstadt
Nationofcahnge/ OP-ED
Published Monday June 15, 2012
“According to a new survey from the Federal Reserve, the median American family’s net worth dropped by nearly 40 percent from 2007 to 2010 — from $126,400 to $77,300 — wiping out 18 years’ worth of accumulated wealth.”
Deep down we know there's no paradise on earth, but as the children of immigrants who came to this country believing it was a land of milk and honey, we are stalwart. For generations now, it's the middle class that has sustained the dream of "America
[The] numbers on the loss of personal wealth [since 2007-2008] are staggering and say a lot about why the economic recovery has been so sluggish — and why the government will need to do a lot more to turn things around.
According to a new survey from the Federal Reserve, the median American family’s net worth dropped by nearly 40 percent from 2007 to 2010 — from $126,400 to $77,300 — wiping out 18 years’ worth of accumulated wealth. The crash in house prices accounted for most of that loss. Median family income, which was already edging down in the years before the recession, continued to decline, dropping from $49,600 in 2007 to $45,800 in 2010, about where it was in the mid-1990s.
The middle class was hit the hardest…
The recession "would have been much deeper and the weak recovery much weaker", we are told, but for past government support (for example, payroll tax cuts and extended jobless benefits). Of course, Republicans in Congress opposed these measures. Give the socialist Obama an inch, you see, and he will turn this country into a Marxist dictatorship.
The Times editorial calls for "…more support, including federal spending on education and public-works projects to create jobs, targeted tax credits for hiring, programs to deliver mortgage relief that supports house prices…as well as a renewed commitment to financial regulation to ensure that the system doesn’t melt down again." However, "The Republicans — for reasons of ideology and self-serving election-year politics — are determined to block all of these necessary programs."
In case you haven't heard: Freedom isn't free. Just ask the rich Republicans who seem to think it's fair that millionaires and billionaires get big tax breaks not available to middle class working families. After all, "earned income" is for losers; winners have "capital gains" to keep them warm.
And so what if losers pay a higher rate of tax than winners. Somebody has to pay for all that freedom they…uh, I mean we…enjoy.
There are no two ways about it. When the middle class is in decline, the storied "American way of life" is imperiled. Neither a republic worthy of the name nor a robust market economy can exist without a strong and vibrant middle class. That's not bleeding heart schmaltz; it's a fact that only block-headed fools dare to dispute.
In its latest report, the Federal Reserve published a bleak analysis showing – guess what? – the the impact of the Great Recession hit the middle class the hardest. The 60 percent of American families in the middle of the middle had a larger decline in wealth and income on a percentage basis than the very wealthy or the very poor.
The reasons are fairly obvious. The most important asset for the average middle-class household is, well, the house it's holding (or trying to hold onto), an asset which is worth a frightful fraction of what the owners paid for it in the bank-driven Bubble Era before the Big Meltdown in 2008. The median value of home equity plunged from $110,000 in 2007 to $75,000 in 2010. While the stock market has staged a comeback of sorts, housing prices have barely budged.
Meanwhile, median family income has plummeted. The crash of housing prices accounts for three-quarters of the loss, but it's also clear from this mass of data that the crisis of the middle class cannot be explained in terms of a single cause or fixed with bobby pins and band-aids.
The rot has eaten deeply into the political system as well. We will see the effects of this decay on display in the 2012 election. Casino tycoon and multibillionaire Sheldon Adelson says the money he's prepared to pour into Mitt Romney's bid for the presidency is "limitless". Here's the scenario Steve Bertoni writing in Forbes magazine lays out:
Thanks to the Citizens United decision, there are no curbs on how much Adelson could give the pro-Romney Super PAC, Restoring Our Future. Given that he’s one of the 15 richest people in the world, the Sands chairman could personally bankroll the equivalent of entire presidential campaign–say, $1 billion or so–and not even notice. (The $10 million donation he just made to Romney is equivalent to $40 for an American family with a net worth of $100,000.)
What we are experiencing in this country is an unsustainable state: the rich get everything they want, and they want everything. It's as though the plutocrats have a death wish. Tragically, they alone are in a position to move the machinery of government toward necessary reforms, but they persist in doing the opposite. If the inequality and injustice of the New Derivative Economy does not provoke a popular uprising, the combination of fundamental structural imbalances and corrupt politics will eventually bring the whole degenerate system crashing down.
No mass consumption society can prosper if its middle-class citizens lack the means to consume and the confidence to invest. And no republic can flourish or long survive when the people's elected representatives get in bed with billionaires and bankers, rig elections, sell votes, polarize society for personal gain, and place partisan interests above the public interest.
~~~
PARTING THOUGHT
Keep changing. When you're through changing -- you're through.
Bruce Barton
~~~
If the good Lord is willing and the creek don't rise, I'll talk with you again on Tuesday June 26, 2012, till then:
God Bless You All
&
God Bless the United States
Floyd
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