AP: Report shows government's liabilities surging

Yahoo Finance and Associated Press;

Annual report shows government's financial position hit

 $11.46 trillion deficit in 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The federal government fell further into the red in 2009, with its financial position hitting a deficit of $11.46 trillion.

That figure is 12.3 percent higher than the previous year, according to a new report issued by the Treasury Department on Friday.

The annual report shows that the government's big entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare are facing a deficit over the next 75 years of $45.88 trillion, an increase in that deficit of $2.9 trillion in just one year.

This is disastrous fiscal condition our blowhard politicians have created because of their innate cowardice, lack of principle, and addiction to the priviliges of being in office. Throw all the bums out and try again. Vote against all incumbents.

Oh the times they are a changing

Gateway Pundit:

Al Gore Mocked at Shareholder’s Meeting (While He Sat in the Front Row)

You need to follow the link just for the picture of Gore if nothing else.

Like the Tea Party this is one more sign of the dissolution of the Kumbaya vote that put Obama in office.

Donald Coxe Weekly conference call

Mr. Coxe feb 26 remarks

A priceless quote ongovernment healthcare

From John Goodman's Health Policy Blog:

“I did not sign away my right to get the best possible health care for myself when I entered politics.”

– Canadian Premier Danny Williams

This was his response when asked about having heart surgery done in Miami even though it was available under the Canadian governments universal health care system. It seems he wanted to avoid the wait times imposed in Canada.
I suppose the government can reduce costs of heath care by imposing long waits so a few people die off and reduce the number who need to be treated.

Hendry up 8% on Short Greek Debt

Clusterstock has the following headline:

Hugh Hendry's Fund Is Up 8% YTD Because Greece Collapsed

Hugh Hendry is betting on the unsustainability of world's debt.

“Our portfolios are structured around a deflationary thesis," he told City AM. "There is too much debt in the world.”

go to the Clusterstock link to read more.

 Here is a youtube video of Hendry and Joseph Stiglitz discussing Greece and the coming collapse of the Euro.

"All Governments Lie " Herbert's first law operating in the State Governments

Frank Herbert the author of the sci-fi great DUNE once declared Herbert's first and second laws: 1. All government lie. 2. Never forget the first law.

Well the state are proving him right in spades. Read this short article from Bloomberg. I quote a sample:

 Pension Gap of $1 Trillion Is ‘Daunting’ Bill to U.S. States

U.S. states must contend with a more than $1 trillion gap between what they have saved and what they have promised to retired workers for pension and health-care benefits, the Pew Center on the States said in a report today.

States have saved $2.35 trillion of the $3.35 trillion owed to workers as of mid-2008, the center said. The Washington-based group expects the deficit to grow because of investment losses states sustained in the second half of 2008, the report said.

Illinois,Connecticut and New Jersey were among the 16 lowest-ranked in terms of funding pension and retiree health care, according to Pew. The gap reflects “states’ own policy choices and lack of discipline” in failing to set aside enough money and expanding benefits without deciding how to pay for it, the report said.

I live in the state of Illinois and this is just one more example of the corruption and cowardice regularly on display in state and local government here. The legislators who have played along with the charade of fiscal probity that has allowed this situation to be hidden from the public eye are all guilty of moral crimes if not actual crimes. Furthermore if this is not illegal why not?

Throw the bums out of office, all of them, both parties.

Don Coxe Feb 19 call

Don Coxe: First of the Titans Tightens

Your Congressman Should Read This Article

A Greek bail-out would be a disaster for Europe

This article is by Dr Otmar Issing in the FT.
The remarks he makes could just as easily be applied to the US and the individual states.
Particularly these:

Participation in Emu brings huge advantages. The benefits of joining a stable economic area are greatest for countries that were unable to deliver such conditions before. Thanks to the euro, Greece has enjoyed long-term interest rates at a record low. But instead of delivering on its commitment at the time of entry to reduce public debt levels, the country has wasted potential savings in a spending frenzy. The crisis with which it is now confronted is not the result of an "external shock" such as an earthquake, but the result of bad policies pursued over many years. Bailing out Greece would reward such behaviour and create moral hazard of a dimension hardly seen before.

We may not have Greece's problem right this minute but it is just a short time before we do. Write your representative and tell them to fix the fiscal situation or get out of office.  Throw out any incumbent unwilling to face the difficulty of putting our National or State finances in order.

Chanos on China

link to a video of Jim Chanos comments on China

 Update 2/28/2010
document at SCRIBD outlining much of the information Jim Chanos mentions in the video above.

CNBC: Barney Frank Named " Porker of the Year"

Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank has earned the
distinction of "Porker of the Year" from
the group Citizens Against Government Waste. With 49 percent of the
votes, Frank beat out Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Calif. Rep.
Maxine Waters, who came in 2nd and 3rd,

article found here

Donald Coxe on Feb 05,2010

Coxe conference call link.