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Was America the sole recipient of the bailout?

Ben Bernanke’s testimony before Congress continued today, punctuated by a very entertaining exchange between Bernanke and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), part of which was an allegation of lending to Greece to aid in the financial turmoil there. Decide for yourself whether Greece should be allowed to borrow money from the Federal Reserve.

Bernanke flatly denied Mr. Paul’s allegation, calling them “bizarre.”

Is it so bizarre, though?

Is the Federal Reserve going to perform a Greece bailout? Have they done the same with foreign nations in the past? Greece is still a question mark, irrespective of Bernanke’s testimony. The writing may already be on the wall.

Put in “Texas Straight Talk”

In a recent weekly column at House.gov, Ron Paul wrote about Greece’s economic crisis. The government is defaulting on their public debt, as their treasury cupboards are nearly bare. The level of debt, according to Paul, sits at “about 120 percent of their gross domestic product,” so the public sector soaks up “what amounts to 40 percent of GDP.” European investors have been skittish, suffice to say. The European Central Bank seems suspiciously calm.

Why is that? Outsiders are not sure. Is the Federal Reserve about to bail out Greece? We aren’t aware, says Paul, partly due to the Federal Reserve’s distribution of bailout funds hasn’t been disclosed as well as promised, and also because if they had aided a foreign central bank, they don’t have to disclose it by law and it is exempt from audit. Considering that Greece isn’t the only European country in trouble – and that many of those countries in trouble have some sort of tie to Goldman Sachs – we wonder whether these countries will also be deemed “too big to fail” by the U.S. banking cartel. And who will be on the hook if such is the case? It would be American taxpayers, at a time when the real unemployment rate is still staggeringly high.

Fiat currency and garish disregard for caution in its use

Our government buys into the idea of fiat currency. It’s creating money for whatever purpose they like; it’s a check the bank doesn’t have the actual capital to cash. America’s government and the Federal Reserve are obviously happy to keep such a system in place, with no thought of the debt burden it will place of future generations. Ron Paul has upheld that the people deserve to know if they are “going to be left holding the bag” by the Federal Reserve spending money they don’t really have!

Evidence log for your consideration

1. Federal Reserve money supported Saddam Hussein and the Iraq military
2. Federal Reserve money was involved in Watergate
3. Here’s the Senate Watergate Report for more on Watergate.

Bernanke testimony does not inspire confidence

This is exactly why Ron Paul would like laws to be changed so that we can audit the Federal Reserve. Fast cash going from our pockets to other countries isn’t something that can perpetuate when our own is in trouble. We should know what goes on. Americans deserve transparency from their governmental institutions.

Obama holds meeting with Congress about health care

President Obama has initiated a health care summit with Democrats and Republicans from Congress at the Blair House in order to create a bipartisan consensus on what is supposed to be done about health care reform.  Some Republicans have been receptive, others combative.  Thus far, two issues seem to have emerged – that the health care system as it stands is unfair to consumers, and that the U.S. Government cannot afford to begin picking up the tab.The usual suspect in bankruptcies is medical bills, causing 7 of 10 bankruptcy filings, and one of the most common things sending people looking for payday loans.

McCain and Obama trade barbs

Some of the quotes from the proceedings, from MSNBC, indicate verbal sparring between Sen. John McCain (R, AZ) and President Obama.

“Let me just make this point, John, because we’re not campaigning anymore. The election is over.” — Obama
“I’m reminded of that every day.” – McCain

Republicans strongly contend that market solutions are the better course, which seems to be consensus in other circles.  A recent article in the Wall Street Journal upholds that contention, and two of the authors of the piece are professors of Business and Stanford and Columbia. The spending patterns of government seem unhinged, Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid are on the precipice of insolvency, and a foreign policy in desperate need of review.  (One seems to recall not one, but two wars going simultaneously.)  The House and Senate are also currently holding hearings on whether or not to lift the exemption clause that exists for health insurance companies.

The HHS was holding a meeting too

On Wednesday, The Department of Health and Human Services brought a selection of health insurance CEOs to a meeting, as per this article from ABC News.HHS head Karen Sebulius had the CEOs of 5 major insurance companies come to hearing about the cause of higher costs.CEOS were given a hiding about compensation of executives, such as lavish bonuses and vacations, like WellPoint, Inc. spending over $ 37 million in 2007 and 2008 on executive retreats. Rates were increased almost 40% for some policy holders.

The rate increased was credited to already rising costs irrespective of executive compensation.Increases in costs were attributed to younger policy holders dropping coverage, and leaving policy holders that were older and sicker, and the increased cost of care for the elderly forced insurance companies to raise rates to stay viable as a business.  Anthem Blue Cross, a subsidiary of WellPoint Inc. claimed to have lost over $ 10 million in California in the last year alone.  That said, if a company can afford to spend over $ 30 million on executive retreats, they don’t need a cash advance from customers.

What to pick to help the sick

It would appear that the Washington strategy is to throw money at the problem, instead of dealing with the causes of the rising costs.So far, few outlets have reported on the cause of rising health care costs. It could be attributable to increased insurance and tort claims, or perhaps medical records and insurance filings, but it would appear that the underlying disease should be diagnosed before treating the symptoms.

13 Republicans and two Independents cross the aisle

Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D) calls it “investing in America.”  After a 70-28 vote in the Senate, the $ 15 billion Democratic jobs bill to stimulate job creation has passed with 55 Democrats, 13 Republicans and two Independents saying yes. Considering just how far the American workforce and their pay day loans have to come, that $ 15 billion is considered to be “modest in scope,” as the New York Times puts it.

What is it that the jobs bill supposed to do anyway?

Fox News had previously shown the parts of the $ 15 billion bill as $ 13 billion in payroll tax breaks for employers who hire employees for over 60 days, $ 35 million for “small business depreciation,” a highway bill extension, and $ 2 billion in infrastructure bonds.

Bipartisan support suggests it could speed through the House

This is turn would mean that the jobs bill gets to the president’s desk quickly. The only way Americans will be able to stimulate the economy long-term is if they are employed, so the current jobs bill comes at just the right time.

Newly elected Republican Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts – a man who has attracted no small amount of controversy – was vital to the process of pushing the jobs bill through the Senate. He acknowledges the jobs bill isn’t perfect, but understands its importance in getting some of the unemployed back to work. But if the House sends through a version “full of pork, waste, fraud and abuse,” Brown told the Times he’d vote against it. That’s almost the sort of “Progressive Republican” that drives Glenn Beck insane, or rather more insane.

Harry Reid is happy about the result

“We have a jobs agenda, not a jobs bill,” the Senate majority leader told the media. “We’re going to have more votes, and create more jobs.”

At this point, any opportunity – from astrophysicist to payday lender – is a good opportunity.

Obama’s health care plan is ready

The Obama health care plan, in its most recent incarnation, is now available for all to see on the White House web site. Of course, it’s a very lengthy document and some parts are a little hard to understand, so I have composed a summary focusing on the parts that have changed since the last health care bill was made public.

Obama’s health care plan contains elements from both the House and Senate versions of the bill, but the White House site says it more closely resembles the senate version. One important question people want to know up front is how the government will pay for Obama’s health care plan. No one wants to see more from their paychecks taken by the feds to be used as another cash loan and more national debt.

How to pay for it

The White House site says the bill will make health care more affordable:

The House and Senate health insurance bills lower premiums through increased competition, oversight, and new accountability standards set by insurance exchanges.  The bills also provide tax credits and reduced cost sharing for families with modest income. The President’s Proposal improves the affordability of health care by increasing the tax credits for families.

Low- and middle-income families also will get tax breaks to help pay for health insurance. Here is a table of tax breaks and applicable income levels.

Crackdown

Part of Obama’s health care plan focuses on cracking down on waste, fraud and abuse. The bill creates a database of sanctions and asks for individuals and billing agencies to be subject to registration and background checks. It expands access to the health care integrity and protection data bank.

The president’s proposal also aims to ensure that people have access to mental health care. It makes real time data review possible and enhances sanctions for fraud of Medicare or Medicaid. Here’s a list of crackdown measures.

Looking at the long term

As far as making sure the cost of Obama’s health care plan can continue to be sustainable, the web site says:

President’s Proposal creates a set of benchmark payments at different percentages of the current average fee-for-service costs in an area.  It phases these benchmarks in gradually in order to avoid disruption to beneficiaries, taking into account the relative payments to fee-for-service costs in an area.

The plan also will delay and reform the high-cost plan excise tax, broaden Medicare hospital insurance, increase fees on brand-name prescriptions and close tax loopholes to prevent unjustified tax shelters. There is a searchable copy of the bill available at WhiteHouse.gov.

The UK government have introduced a scheme where they will give you a voucher worth £400 towards the cost of changing your heating oil boiler. If you have a G rated oil boiler which is over 25 years of age then you will be eligible to apply. The government has made 120,000 vouchers available but as of yet only 50,000 have actually been claimed. If you have been considering getting rid of your old boiler then this will offer you the ideal opportunity to do that.

The government are not doing this to be generous but they actually want more of these energy efficient boilers introduced into homes as they are better for the environment. These new energy efficient boilers are said to save the average household up to £200 on their heating bills annually so this is another benefit on top of the £400 voucher. This means that there are plenty of incentives for people to scrap their old heating oil boiler and get an ‘A’ rated boiler instead. And by getting one of these new boilers you will be helping the environment as they are said to produce less CO2 emissions.

However only residents in England are eligible for this scheme at the moment. The reason for this is that the devolved governments in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland will need to decide if they wish to implement such as scheme.

If you are a resident of England you will need to find out the specifications of your boiler to find out if it meets the criteria. This means checking to see if it is G rated and whether or not it is over twenty five years old. If your boiler has a permanent pilot light then you can be fairly certain that it is a G rated tank. Plus almost all boilers which are over 25 years of age will be G rated.

Some people spend a lot of money heating their homes in the winter. Fuel such as electricity and gas show no signs of coming down in price. Many individuals are now changing over to cheaper home heating oil though. After the changeover they have to make sure that the storage tanks are always full of heating oil to make sure they don’t run dry in the cold weather.