Occupy Wall Street, Democrats, the Obama administration, Davos, the Communist Party, and various and sundry fans of government have recently gotten on yet another predictable kick about replacing capitalism with some form of highly regulated central planning. When people are free to buy what they want and make what they want, they say, the marketplace goes wild, dogs and cats start living together, the poles melt, glaciers topple into the sea, polar bears float away, banks collapse, hedge funds steal grand-pappy’s Teamsters’ Union pension, and generally a whole boat-load of bad things happen. As an alternative to all of this chaos with people trying to maximize their own happiness, they claim, maybe just maybe we should have the government step in and regulate the amount of happiness that everyone is allowed to have, including controlling manufacturing so that everyone can get exactly as much stuff as they need in order to be happy, no more and no less.

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On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech discuss last night’s testy debate in South Carolina, Newt’s battle with Juan Williams, and the millions of Americans on government hand out programs.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Related Links:

Rivals attack Romney in testy debate
Video: Newt Gingrich vs. Juan Williams
Ben: Be it resolved …
Over 46 Million Americans On Foodstamps For The First Time Ever

Follow Brad on Twitter
Follow Ben on Twitter

Subscribe to The Transom

The hosts and guests of Coffee and Markets speak only for ourselves, not any clients or employers.

Download audio here

Download Podcast | iTunes | Podcast Feed

On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech discuss last night’s testy debate in South Carolina, Newt’s battle with Juan Williams, and the millions of Americans on government hand out programs.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Related Links:

Rivals attack Romney in testy debate
Video: Newt Gingrich vs. Juan Williams
Ben: Be it resolved …
Over 46 Million Americans On Foodstamps For The First Time Ever

Follow Brad on Twitter
Follow Ben on Twitter

Subscribe to The Transom

The hosts and guests of Coffee and Markets speak only for ourselves, not any clients or employers.

Re-posted from PJMedia.com

In 2011, the political, social, and economic fabric of our nation stretched a little too far. Will 2012 be the year the seams burst?

For starters, we have a broke, broken, polarized, and dysfunctional government, and that saga will play out on center stage in election year 2012. The people are polarized as well. However, one issue has upwards of 70% of Americans in total agreement — our nation is headed on the wrong track. Hard to argue: no nation or empire in the history of the world has ever been burdened with  $15 trillion in debt. I am known to be an optimist, but reviewing the statistics that reveal the sorry state of our nation, I find myself joining the chorus of voters who believe national decline can only be managed but not avoided.

Many Americans, especially Republicans, think the 2012 election is our last chance to turn our ship of state around, but it may already be too late. For exactly how to turn the ship around and who will be captain will cause more polarization, more dysfunction, and potential for upheaval. Per Bob Dylan: “When you ain’t got nothin’, you got nothin’ to lose.” Some facts supporting that statement:

Half of All Americans Are Poor or Low-Income

According to the latest census data, 146.4 million  Americans, or 48% of the population, either fall below the poverty line or are in the low-income category.

Of that number, 97.3 million are considered low-income, while 49.1 million are poor. But the fact that should be of greatest concern to all Americans in regards to our future economic well being: 57% of all children are either poor or low-income.

Unless there is some radical change, the national trend towards a have vs. have-not society is already set in stone. Expect class warfare to grow and government entitlement battles to become even more vicious. There is no escaping that income inequality, on a scale that we have never seen before, will have a profoundly negative effect on our traditional American way of life. A child born into poverty has fewer chances to move into the middle class given all the disadvantages poverty heaps on a young life, both mentally and physically.

Census data from 2010 reveals that Hispanics account for 73% of our nation’s poor, and they are the largest and  fastest growing minority demographic, comprising 16.3% of the population. Hispanic growth increased 43% from 2000 to 2010.

Therefore, a massive public/private initiative must be developed to help lift Hispanics into the middle class or the U.S. will eventually cease to be a top tier nation. Our standing in the world economy is directly tied to Hispanic upward mobility.

The American Workforce Is Shrinking

According to USA Today, in 2010 the share of the population that had a job fell to 45.4%, down from a peak of 49.3% in 2000 — the lowest percentage of workers since 1983. This downward percentage translates into 27 million more non-working adults. Looking at male workers only, 66.8% had jobs, the lowest on record. Obviously this downward trend must be reversed, or national decline is inevitable.

High-Skilled Jobs and Low-Skilled Workers

This is a problem — closer to a crisis — that few of our national leaders bother to discuss. Too many  high skilled-high paying jobs are going unfilled. Met any unemployed computer engineers lately? Not likely you will.

Jobs, jobs, jobs may be the battle cry of the 2012 election but it is skills, skills, skills that are the real problem. Moreover, the lack of high-tech skills in our working population is impeding our future economic growth.

When I graduated from high school in the early ’70s, men who did not go to college often became auto mechanics. That path is not as easy anymore. Today, mechanics are highly paid and sought after because they require extensive computer training and certification to work on cars that have become computers on wheels.

How does our economy create low-skilled but adequate wage jobs for the growing number of low-skilled or no-skilled American workers? Solving that dilemma is the key to lifting half of our population out of poverty.

Innovative programs must be developed to help create a new middle class to supplement the current one that is shrinking fast. If we are unable to do that, then continued decline is the economic forecast for 2012 and beyond.

[promoted from the diaries-- streiff]

As part of the Left’s ongoing quest to make every attempt at welfare reform look like the opening scene from Oliver Twist, Susie Madrak of Crooks and Liars has written a profoundly misleading and wrong-headed piece that might better have been entitled “Please Sir, Can I Have Some More Cash?”

Relying heavily on unimpeachable sources such as FightBack!News (“News and Views from the Peoples’ Struggle”) Ms. Madrak weaves a tale in which Minnesota has surpassed Fascist Arizona in sheer villainy with its now infamous “Show Me Your Paper Money” law. On the off-chance you haven’t heard of this law, and aren’t already vibrating with outrage, Ms. Madrak is quick to enlighten you.

Read More →

[promoted from the diaries-- streiff]

As part of the Left’s ongoing quest to make every attempt at welfare reform look like the opening scene from Oliver Twist, Susie Madrak of Crooks and Liars has written a profoundly misleading and wrong-headed piece that might better have been entitled “Please Sir, Can I Have Some More Cash?”

Relying heavily on unimpeachable sources such as FightBack!News (“News and Views from the Peoples’ Struggle”) Ms. Madrak weaves a tale in which Minnesota has surpassed Fascist Arizona in sheer villainy with its now infamous “Show Me Your Paper Money” law. On the off-chance you haven’t heard of this law, and aren’t already vibrating with outrage, Ms. Madrak is quick to enlighten you.

Read More →

I am going to dare to venture deep into a topic that few white males dare to dive into… race. I am sure that I will be blasted by many on the left for my remarks as this blog gets more exposure, however due to the recent news controversy regarding Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, I feel that I owe it to our readers to delve into this subject matter.

The History of Race and Federalists

On the issue of Federalism, there are two lines of thinking when it comes to racial equality and the role of the government. There are Federalist who believe that a strong Federal government is essential in protecting the rights of minorities. They evidence Supreme Court cases such as Brown vs. BOE and Roe v. Wade in their arguments. These Federalists bask in the light and the glory of the role Affirmative Action played in promoting the interests of minorities in the work place. Generally Anti-Federalists are painted as the sexist/racist villains because they question the wisdom of such a strong central government. The masses jump on this bandwagon, never stopping to questions things.

I believe there to be well intentioned Federalists and maniacal Federalists. I believe that most of the masses are well intentioned Federalists who believe that a strong Federal government will protect them and their rights. The maniacal Federalists on the other hand use the well intentioned masses to demonize Anti-Federalists and garner more power for themselves. I must state the obvious here, that but for cases like Plessy v. Ferguson, Dred Scott v. Sandford, and Koremotsu v. United States where liberty and justice are NOT for all, there would have been no need for cases like Roe v. Wade and Brown v. BOE. Federalists marvel at the Federal government’s ability to “give” rights to the people; the problem is that these Federalists overlook the fact that it was the same strong central government which took those rights away in the first place. The flaw with Federalism is that the government givith, and the government taketh away. This runs contrary to the principals of inalienable rights which state that our rights are granted to us by GOD… NOT some temporary institution called government.

Federalists: The modern day racists?

You may be asking yourself: “How does this relate to race and Harry Reid?”. I must refer you to two quotes:

President Barack Obama: “Just because you have a right does not mean that the state or local government cannot constrain that right”.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “A right delayed is a right denied”

You see here that one man believes that rights are inalienable, the other man believes otherwise. The Supreme Court, as explained above, believes that IT has the final word on your rights, the same as the man on the left pictured above. I will not go so far as to say that Dr. King was a Conservative, a Republican, or an Anti-Federalist, but he certainly understood the incredible power that a strong Federal government could wield over an entire race of people. Dr. King certainly understood what inalienable rights were. Neither will I go so far as to say that President Obama is a racist, only that the policies he supports lend themselves to restricting liberty and fairness.

At the core of our inalienable rights is the principal of fairness. However, there is a double-standard in this nation. If a Republican or Conservative says something idiotic regarding race he is immediately labeled a racist in the court of public opinion. This man or woman is not judged by the content of his or her character as Dr. King would call for, but instead is run out of town on rails. If the same happens with a Democrat, all that is needed is an apology and things are made okay.

I submit to you that President Obama is weak. Here an incredibly accomplished, intelligent, revered leader was demeaned to what Senator Reid would call a “negro”, and instead of showing this nation his strength, and that that racism will not be tolerated, regardless of political party, he instead opted to cow tail for the sake of beltway party politics. This is the same kind of crap that Republican Federalists do.

Then there is the logic of President Obama, the same man who said that a Cambridge Police Officer “acted stupidly” without knowing the facts of the case, dismisses Senator Reid’s comments without equivocation. This isn’t “Change You Can Believe In”, this is more of the same insider party politics.  I believe that Trent Lott was RIGHTFULLY run out of D.C. for his remarks, and so too should Senator Reid. OUR public servants should be held to a higher standard. Yeah, and Kanye West is the “jackass”? Kanye’s got nothing on Reid. Please, share your thoughts.

This concludes Anti-Federalist No. 3

The Divided States of America:

I will not start this blog off with a bunch of rhetoric about what this nation was founded upon. Instead I want to impress upon my readers what this nation does not stand for as of THIS date. Because we can go tit for tat about all of the bad things the U.S. government has done, and while it may be true that those things have shaped us as a people, but I argue that it has shaped us into a better people who do not wish to repeat the mistakes of the past. This is where we must go:

On Abortion:

I personally am the exact opposite of John Kerry on this issue. Religiously, I am pro-choice because I believe that every person on earth is endowed by their creator with free will. However, legally I believe that it is the responsibility of the government to protect those least capable of protecting themselves.

No serious thinker is PRO abortion or ANTI choice. We must stop demonizing those who do not agree with our ideology on this issue. Let it suffice to say that abortion will never be outlawed, but neither should it ever be allowed to be “abortion on demand”. There is no such thing as an absolute right to do anything. Even rights which are explicitly stated in our Constitution have been limited by the Federal Government (the right to bear arms for example). Why then would a right that is implied, and not explicitly stated in the Constitution not have limitations? The fact remains that no “right to privacy” is explicitly stated in the U.S. Constitution, and even if it were explicitly stated, every right that is explicitly stated has been limited by our Federal Government; why would “privacy” be any different? Instead of running on a platform to outlaw abortion or to make it free and available “on demand”, we should strive to bring common sense limitations on the practice and end the divisive rhetoric on this topic once and for all. It’s time to stop the politicians from dividing us on this issue. If we discuss things long enough, I believe we will find that we agree on more than we disagree on. Keep in mind that with every right comes responsibility.

On Race and Poverty:

I’m not going to say that people should vote party line. I despise political parties, and if it were up to me I would do away with them completely and force people to be educated on the issues before they cast a vote. Ignorance causes poverty and it is this ignorance that war must be declared on. That being said, the American people MUST stop voting party lines based on race or financial disparity.

I find it ironic that all of the cities with the top 10 poverty rates in America have been run by Democrats 92% of the time since 1965. This isn’t saying that the new Republicans who act like little Democrats are any better, but we must see this for what it is. This is ironic because it is usually the poor who vote Democrat, and statistically, it is the Democrat that keeps the poor people poor.

I refuse to back one party over another, but I MUST point out that on this issue, history has been forgotten and misrepresented in order to foster political gains. Keep in mind that it was the Republican Party (GOP) that was founded on the premise of eliminating slavery. During the Civil Rights movement, it was the Democratic Party (DNC), and not the GOP which was responsible for racial oppression, especially in the south. I will not even go into how many Democrat leaders were members of the KKK. Yet somehow, we have allowed the DNC to paint the GOP as the party of racists because of a few people that have been allowed within the ranks of the GOP. Never mind that the DNC has statistically had more racists among their ranks than the GOP has had.  Again, I must stress that the house isn’t clean for Republicans either, but I believe it necessary to point out a lie when I see one.

On Homosexual Marriage

We must define this issue in legal terms rather than emotional terms. Those on the left have argued for years that there exists a “wall of separations between church and state”. Now, never mind that neither these words, nor this language exist anywhere in the Constitution; I recommend however that we allow those on the left to win this argument for the sake of discussion. If there exist a separation between church and state, why would the state recognize ANY marriage, straight or homosexual? If this separation exists, shouldn’t the state ONLY recognize civil unions and leave the business of “marriage” to the church?

The Constitution does give every one of us the right to contract, and civil unions are protected by that right to contract. This solution allows the government to step aside and let the church leaders fight this battle. This would allow us to get down to real issues rather than allowing career politicians to divide us and guarantee themselves life long careers in Congress.

On Economics:

While “trickle down” economics is a viable principal, there exists a certain way in which to maximize returns to the public with regard to the way that capital trickles down. With Barack Obama bailing out every corporation from GM to Bank of America, and now perhaps even the New York Times, we must be aware that it is now the Democrats who have turned over a “Pro-Big Business” leaf. Instead of being Pro-Big Business, should we not focus on being “Pro-Free Market”?

Americans believe in FAIR competition and STRONG economic growth. If liberal economic policies work so well, then why is California on the brink of bankruptcy while Texas has experienced below average unemployment and wasn’t hit as hard as the rest of the U.S. economy. The American people must ask themselves: “Economically, would I rather live in California or Texas?”.

Conclusion:

Our leaders have divided us on economic lines, religious lines, racial lines, and along the lines of sexual preference for one reason and one reason only, power. The party leaders divide up the states and draw lines in the sand to dictate political districts. How do you think they come up with those lines? You guessed it, the lines are based on economics, religion, race, and sexual preference, although the party leaders will never admit this. We MUST stop buying into their rhetoric. It is time for We the People to lead on these issues and let our Representatives know that we will no longer stand for these distractions.

This concludes Anti-Federalist No. 1