Government in Action

Re(1):  'State paid $22K each for Internet routers', The Charleston Gazette, Chip Ellis

The sales agents recommended a smaller router -- with a list price of $487.

Here is the ONLY reason for buying and installing a router capable of supporting thousands of connections at a   site of four client machines...

Because requesting, justifying, ordering, and buying equipment via baroque government purchasing processes is so inefficient that it subsumes the cost savings of right-sizing the purchase.

For example, if it takes two years to properly size, request, justify, order, and install the gear it might be more efficient to initiate the process quickly and simplify the purchase.  Oops, it took these goobers two years to buy and install the wrong gear.  Yowser...

What Happens After the Black???

Re(1):  'Deer in the Headlights', The Belmont Club, Richard Fernandez

In the movies the credits roll.

Federal Revenue and Spending Since FY1997

Now, a few points

• A Fiscal Year for the Federal Government is from October 1 through September 30.  Thus, FY2009 ranges from 2008/10/01 through 2009/09/30.  President Bush is responsible for part of FY2009.  His expected spending as of January 2009 was $3.133 Trillion.  President Obama must assume the additional $387 Billion for FY2009 as a result of his spending programs.
• Note how structural the spending under President Obama is.  This is not pure stimulus.  It is structural, expected, and 'budgeted'.  His structural spending increase is at least $600 Billion.  Can we afford that?
• And, note how slowly revenue growth is trending upward.  We could afford Obama's structural spending if revenue was growing as rapidly as occurred during either the Clinton or Bush presidencies.  It has not, however.

Why invest - and thus grow the economy - if the gains are taxed away?  Why take the risk?

Every year since President Obama became president he has threatened to increase dividend taxes.  Why should an investor want - and thus a corporation generate - dividend income when there is a chance of vastly increased taxation?  And, for the Libs out there, corporations must pay dividends with AFTER TAX profits.  Thus, viola, businesses just move a number here and an expense there - resulting in less profit.  I don't want heavily taxed dividends.

With President Obama's dividend tax treatment I no longer want dividends - I want capital gains.  As a result, and because I am a prophet of the obvious, here comes Enron II as corporations game the stock price...


Yowser

President Obama's Reality Based Reality

The annual deficit seems to be accelerating.

 To be honest, there is a chance that the biggest revenue month of the year (April) will initiate a time of budget surpluses - but me not think so. My best guess is that this April will be worse than last April... Yowser, why don't we threaten personal and business income with more expenses and taxes!!! Yea, that's the ticket... 

Anyway, here is reality for the reality based community...

President Bush				President Obama
Year	Deficit			Year	Deficit
2001/02/01 - 2001/09/30	$ -53,129			2009/02/01 - 2009/09/30	$ 1,019,780
2002/09/30	$ 158,520			2010/09/30	$ 1,294,204
2003/09/30	$ 374,219			2011/09/30	$ 1,298,614
2004/09/30	$ 412,553			2012/03/30	$  778,988
2005/09/30	$ 318,615			2013/09/30
2006/09/30	$ 247,698			2014/09/30
2007/09/30	$ 162,833			2015/09/30
2008/09/30	$ 454,806			2016/09/30
2008/10/01 - 2009/02/01	$ 395,943			2016/10/01 - 2017/02/01
Totals:	$ 2,472,058			Totals:	$ 4,391,586

While not funny, note that President Obama's six months of deficit for FY2012 is 188% of President Bush's worst twelve month deficit.

And, for you Libs, by the time you vote for President Obama he will have doubled the entire Bush deficit is a mere four years.  Keep up the good work.  Pretty soon nobody will loan you clowns cash - it will be then fun to watch what you cut!!!

Yowser...