wilson96   Economy, Politics, and More…

President Barack Obama will need to act fast to begin his plans for a set of more drastic measures to extricate the United States from its present weakening economic condition. This is what Newsweek International Editor Fareed Zakaria wrote in his February 2 Newsweek essay entitled “I Got It Bad (And That Ain’t Good)”. “The American financial system is effectively broken. Major banks are moving toward insolvency, and credit activity remains extremely weak. As long as the financial sector remains moribund, American consumers and companies — who collectively make up 80 percent of GDP — will not have access to credit, and economic activity cannot really resume on any significant scale. We have not turned the corner. In fact, we can’t even see the corner right now,” Zakaria writes.No relief in sight – yetUnder normal conditions, the presidency of Barack Obama would bring a lot of great benefits for your billfold. During his campaign, he promised to transfer the tax load toward the moneyed sector, provide the uninsured with health coverage and subject financial products to more stringent rules.The country, however, is not under normal conditions, not by a long stretch of the imagination. The big financial establishments have virtually vanished overnight. American carmakers are just about ready to follow suit. Retirement funds are nearly depleted and last year alone, job losses have run into the millions. There is no relief in sight as yet for the current economic crunch which is getting worse by the day.Runaway trainObama’s “change you can believe in” should more likely be “change we hope that Obama can sustain”. President Obama and a Congress controlled by the Democrats will have to roll up their sleeves as they have more to do, and more taxpayer money to spend, than anyone would have foreseen several months back.Former International Monetary Fund chief economist Kenneth Rogoff in a statement said that the current recession is like a runaway train and Obama’s effort is all about preventing it from running off a cliff. According to Zakaria, President Obama “faces a terrible dilemma. He needs to act quickly and on a massive scale.”Massive scale action neededLarge scale action is needed to keep the financial system from bleeding to death. The general American public, however, believes that far too much money have already been spent on bailing out the ailing banks. Zakaria believes that the U.S. has not spent enough. According to him, the present economic crisis has caused an extreme degradation of American power. Even during the Iraq war, when much of the global community was infuriated by ex-President Bush’s unilateral stance, it was highly held that America possessed the world’s most advanced economy and its financial system were the most advanced and developed. That system is now perceived globally as a fraud, and the reactions of political and business sector range from utter disbelief to rage at the image the U.S. now projects.Senior Editor Daniel Gross writes of how an alarming number of firms and companies are giving up their finance-restructuring work and instead sell off their inventory and shut down. “Rather than soldier on, many operators have opted to simply fold, returning money to investors. Companies, homeowners and money managers willing to quit rather than fight is both a symptom of the nation’s deep economic woes and emblematic of the challenge the Obama administration faces,” Gross writes. “Our ‘Yes, We Can’ president is going to have to fix a ‘No, We Can’t’ economy.”

EDUCATE YOURSELF! Then ask yourself what we are prepared to do to stop Obama from stealing America right under your feet? To stop these progressive-communist inspired Federal government from stealing the future from us and our children? America: Freedom To Fascism video.google.com No, the title does NOT mean we’re in FREEDOM and heading towards FASCISM. Do you think you are free? Free like the founders of America? Or are you like the Soviet people, who didn’t know what freedom was like until they watched American TV programs and saw how we lived? Watch this video and you will never be the same again. Nobarack08 Weblog (all about Obama’s US frauds) nobarack08.wordpress.com from DREAMS OF MY FATHER: “I ceased to advertise my mothers race at the age of 12 or 13, when I began to suspect that by doing so I was ingratiating myself to whites. … I found a solace in nursing a pervasive sense of grievance and animosity against my mothers race. … I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.” The Obama File (all about “The Man Who Never Was”) theobamafile.com “Obama has had the finest possible education. Nobody knows how it was financed or what his grades were. His academic records are all sealed and he has an army of lawyers making sure they remained sealed.” “Barack Obama was born of Marxists; mentored by a communist writer and activist during his formative years; spent his college days hanging around radical activists; worked as a …

Beyonce AT LAST Barack Obama & Michelle First Dance BEYONCE ” Barack And Michelle Obama’s “First Dance” President Obama’s First 100 Days Speech Susan Boyle’s 2nd Performance Is Also On This Channel Tea Party Republicans Sean Hannity Oscar Awards “Chris Brown” “Rihanna” “Etta James” “AT LAST” HD OBAMA’S DANCE “NAACP” “HALO” “TO DREAM THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM” “JENNIFER HUDSON” , DWTS MAKING MAJOR CONTROVERSY Because Etta James Disses Beyonce’s Performance Michael Jackson RIP

The current economic crisis has stirred up much controversy amongst businesses in the US.  Some companies feel that President Obama’s Stimulus proposal will jeopardize their future and thus only lead to further economic problems on top of the mess we’re currently in to begin with.  The biggest topics of these controversies are Emissions, Health Care, Foreign Tax, Income Tax, Drilling, and Farm Subsidies.  There are many factors to be considered surrounding these topics, but if there is one thing these companies and President Obama can agree on, it is that something must be done.

            To start, Obama is enacting a “cap and trade” system on certain companies to cut emissions that are believed to be contributing to global warming.  It is estimated that enacting this system will require companies to pay up to $646 billion in the next eight years to buy tradable rights (permits) to emit these pollutants.  Companies are not against the concept of these permits, but are more concerned in the sense that selling all these permits right away could bring a huge burden to the companies that are both selling and buying, resulting in an even farther economic downturn.

            Another topic is that of health care.  In his stimulus, Obama provided $634 billion to help pay for health care reforms for the next ten years.  Half of that amount provided, is being funded by tax hikes, as well as medicare payment cuts to insurance companies, drug companies, and hospitals.  The companies involved in health care think this will have a number of effects.  For one, some insurance companies feel competing with rival government-backed insurance companies will hurt their profits, and in turn, will result in an increase in job unemployment.  Also, hospitals and drug companies fear their costs to consumers will decrease, and thus have the same effect as that of more job unemployment due to the cuts they will receive in their revenues.

            Foreign Tax is another issue.  Multinational companies can currently defer U.S. taxes on their generated revenues abroad until the funds are brought back into the U.S.  Obama presented this in an attempt to bring more jobs back to the U.S. as well as earn up to $210 billion by abolishing the tax deferral boundary.  The argument multinational companies make is that they will be at a competitive disadvantage against their rivals if they are paying U.S. taxes and their rivals are only paying low local taxes.  They also stated that if they begin to lose revenues the first jobs hit will be U.S. jobs, not foreign jobs, which will have a worsening affect on the economy.

            Obama is also enacting a raise in Income Taxes in order to fund more money to the economy.  Families tax rates who earn more than $250,000 will jump from 33% to 36% and those who earn more than $370,000 will go to 39.6%.  Dividends and capital gains will also go from 15% to 20%.  Finally, tax deductions for mortgage interest and charitable giving will drop to 28%.  Companies fear that by reducing annual net earnings of consumers, it will have a crippling affect to companies trying to keep investors in the market (home builders, mortgage brokers, etc.).

            Relating to the emissions pollution example as stated previously, drilling for oil will also become a problem for oil companies.  Obama is very focused on diminishing pollution, due to the ever growing environmental problems we are beginning to see.  The government is determined to convert the economy to a cleaner energy resource, which is a threat to oil companies.  If cleaner energy resources are developed, it will be easier for Obama to tax oil companies drilling off the coast of the U.S., since there won’t be such a dire need for oil.  The oil industry’s argument that they plan to relay strongly is that the taxing could jeopardize jobs and energy security.  They also stated that by making drilling more expensive off the U.S. coast could encourage more oil companies to move their business abroad.

            Lastly, agricultural subsidies have also become a topic of argumentation.  President Obama feels there are too many wasteful agricultural subsidies in the market.  He plans to cut this down by capping payments to farmers whose gross annual incomes do not exceed $500,000.  The cap will stand at $250,000, which he projects will save $9.8 billion in ten years.  Agricultural lobbyists argue that farmers will not be able to stay in business due to our current economic situation and with such a low cap on payments.  They contest that farmers need the crops to stay in business, that Obama contests, are wasteful farm subsidies.

            To conclude, Obama’s economic stimulus seems to have its own pros and cons to everyone.  Unfortunately, in order to rid ourselves of this current economic situation, risks must be taken.  There is no way to predict ahead of time if the stimulus will prove to be a success in the future or if it will cause more problems for the economy that companies argue will; that is the nature of the of the situation.  We do know however that something must be done, and no matter the terms of the stimulus, there will always be dispute over it.       

I’m not very political nor American, but how the US presidential race is shaping up could really affect all us investors. Republican John McCain looks like he is losing on most fronts and we could see Barack Obama as the new President of the United States. Barack Obama has been quite vocal about his tax and alternative energy stance and this could shake the market right up.As of right now tax on dividends is only 15% and with Obama looking to raise this to 39.6% we could see a sell off of high yielding stocks. If that wasn’t bad enough Obama is also looking to raise the capital gains tax, making it harder for people to make money from investing in the stock market. Obama has also promised a “Robin Hood” tactic by taxing lower income earners less and higher income owners a lot more. In some cases someone making a 150,000$ dollars a year will be taxed 7% more. Can America afford all these taxes, especially with the mess already in the financial markets already? People are losing their homes left right and center and Obama is looking to create a tax on selling your home at 28%. The problem with this, not only for investors but for everyone in America, is that this will not solve the deficit problem at all! In the US currently 38% of all households pay no tax at all. With Obama’s new tax plan this would be up to 50%. If half of America is paying no tax, the economy could be in for a rocky ride even longer. What Obama has proposed is nothing more than a wealth transfer, or an attempt at one anyway. On election day I will be looking for falling stocks to pick off! Although there is a big push for alternative energy I’m realistic oil is not going to get pushed out anytime soon, even if Obama is against drilling more and with the pull out of Iraq I would be watching both “Lockheed Martin” and “Halliburton” for some crazy lows. Visa and Mastercard could pull back with Obama’s tough stance on credit card companies that are making too much money.Look for the opportunities out there!

 

 

Kelly Parks

www.wealthforinvestors.com

With the world now scrutinizing his every move, President Obama continues to carry himself in the self-assured manner for which he is known. He has displayed the aura and demeanor of a leader since day one of his campaign, and has exhibited powerful lessons on leadership which have been exemplary. This article touches upon those lessons and the virtues that effective leaders must uphold.HAVE A VISIONThe presidential election was not won by playing the status quo game of politics. It was won based upon the fervent articulation of a vision which was intertwined with the visions that Americans have for their lives and their children’s lives. It was a vision which showed that President Obama was able to recognize, appreciate, and understand the needs of his followers. He knew that the American people had lost trust in the country’s leadership; his vision spoke to restoring it. He knew the American people were overcome by a tidal wave of hopelessness that was causing many to drown in despair; his vision offered hope. Every leader must have a vision which offers tangible benefits for those that they lead.EMPOWER OTHERSAccording to John C. Maxwell, one of the nation’s foremost authorities on leadership and author of Leadership 101, leaders don’t delegate; they empower people. When you empower people, you work with and through people. You enable others to reach the highest levels in their personal and professional development. The main difference between management and leadership is that leadership is about influencing people to follow, while management focuses on maintaining systems and processes.Faced with a daunting list of tasks including the ending of a war, tangled foreign policies, fragile international relations, mounting health care concerns, and a weakening economy on the verge of collapse, President Obama expressed early on the importance of not only hiring, but empowering the right people (i.e., most qualified). He knows that his brilliance must reflect on others, who in turn will reflect their brilliance upon him. This is said to be the best collection of brilliant minds ever assembled for a White House administration that’s dedicated to creating plans, finding solutions, and managing the details of bringing President Obama’s vision for America to life. Leaders must employ the same strategy and empower the right people.HAVE CHARACTEROn this subject of character Maxwell writes: There are three qualities that a leader must exemplify to build trust: competence, connection, and character. Character is the only effective bulwark against internal and external forces that lead to a country’s disintegration or collapse. Standing up for your beliefs in the face of adversity shows tremendous character. It’s often when true character – or lack there of – is revealed. While you can assign someone to a leadership position, you can not assign trustworthiness. That has to be earned over time and through the demonstration of character that’s consistent of a true leader.HAVE A MESSAGEAll leaders should have a message – a message they deliver consistently. In public relations the primary emphasis is on the development and consistent delivery of the message. Good PR entails and thrives upon positive communications and interactions between a person, organization, or company and the public on whom its success or failure depends.Effective leaders establish a personal relationship between the message and their target audience. In other words, they make sure their individual followers care enough about that message so they are emotionally influenced to respond it. President Obama’s successful influence is due in large part to this basic PR tenet.KNOW EXPECTATIONS & PRIORITIESLeaders also thrive on expectations and know how to prioritize in terms of importance and urgency. Mark McKinnon, a consultant who worked for a time for Senator John McCain, Mr. Obama’s Republican opponent in the presidential election was quoted as saying: “People are going to give Obama more time than they would any other new president because they know he is dealing with unprecedented challenges. The economic crisis President-elect Obama faces may in some ways help him – it is taking some of the helium out of what would otherwise be stratospheric expectations.”After being in office less than two weeks he won House approval for an $819 billion stimulus plan to aid the nation’s ailing economy “with no time to spare,” and signed his first bill into law, The Lilly Ledbetter Pay Restoration Act which is a new law that makes it easier for employees to sue their employers for discrimination in paying them and effectively nullifies the legal limitations.”It is fitting that the very first bill that I sign — the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act — that it is upholding one of this nation’s founding principles: that we are all created equal, and each deserve a chance to pursue our own version of happiness,” Obama said upon signing.LANGUAGE & DEMEANORWords like integrity, values, ethics, responsibility, and principles belong to the lexicon of effective leaders who choose their words felicitously. They are aware of the influence that their messages, demeanor, and actions communicate. When President Obama was seen “dusting off his shoulders” while campaigning against Hillary Clinton and “exchanging pounds” with his wife, he subtly communicated his blackness to both whites and blacks.Taken out of context or ill-timed they would not have registered as positively, but after then Senator Obama established himself as the front-runner for the presidency and a bona fide leader, these two little gestures received big reactions and cemented his status as a politician with personality. It also illustrated his emotional intelligence (awareness of how others feel) and tacit knowledge (street smarts) which have been intangible traits of the greatest leaders.FULFILL REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCCESSGreat leaders have a profound reverence for their role. They don’t revel in power, but in their ability to affect change. They are possessed and obsessed with their greatest responsibility: fulfilling the requirements for success in their every endeavor. They know that their success is not their own, but the success of their followers. Yes, being a leader is a difficult task in which your effectiveness is measured by the results you get, and your legacy is determined in the aftermath of your reign. President Obama summed it up in his inauguration speech which I will use to sum up this article:”What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task.”

During his “White House to Main Street” tour today in Savannah Georgia, President Obama makes a surprise lunch stop at the famous Mrs. Wilkes’ Boarding House restaurant. Turns out, he prefers wings to drumsticks.

by Josh Greenberger(October 17, 2008) Barack Obama to Joe the Plumber on October 13: ” … I’m gonna cut taxes a little bit more for the folks who are most in need. And for the 5% of the folks who are doing very well — even though they’ve been working hard, and I appreciate that — I just want to make sure they’re paying a little bit more in order to pay for those other tax cuts. Now, I respect the disagreement. I just want you to be clear, it’s not that I want to punish your success, I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you — that they’ve got a chance at success too.”If this statement doesn’t worry you, you haven’t looked at it too closely. It’s been proven over and over that taking from those who’ve earned and giving it those who haven’t, doesn’t help those who gave or those who received — it ruins everybody! The mortgage crisis we’re currently experiencing was about exactly that — giving “opportunities” to the less privileged, by taking (undeserved loans) from the banks. We all know how that turned out. It did not spread the wealth. It spread disaster. Social promotion does not help underachievers, it only reduces overall achievement. What Obama is proposing is another form of Affirmative Action. But, instead of giving a job that you qualify for to a less qualified person, he wants to give money that you’ve earned to someone who has not. This is absolutely outrages. Institutionalized handouts do not make people do better; it only makes them expect more. Obama’s plan would turn the entire U.S. into an “inner city.” Can you think of a more counterproductive plan? Why does Obama’s plan for giving people a “chance at success” revolve around taking from others, to begin with? It does not produce more goods and services, it only (unethically) reshuffles what we have. There are options that take from no one and give to everyone. A reduction in fuel costs would put money in the pocket of every American by reducing the price of a long list of other goods and services — and we wouldn’t have to take money from anyone. All we have to do is lift all oil drilling restrictions. But Obama’s answer to lifting oil drilling restrictions, as Senator McCain pointed out, is he’ll “look at it?”Let me see if I understand this correctly. To take money from one person and give it to another, that Obama doesn’t have to “look at,” he “knows” it’ll work, despite the fact that other such programs have failed miserably. But lifting drilling restrictions, which has absolutely no drawbacks, no downside, it takes money out of no one’s pocket, it’ll produce jobs, it’ll stimulate the economy even before gas prices drop drastically — that he has to “look at?” Is he kidding? It’s almost as if Obama’s working for an enemy country and trying to bring us down. And this nonsense about how well Obama carries himself in debates is idiocy. There’s no question Obama came off calmer and “cooler” than McCain in the presidential debates. (Maybe Obama wouldn’t be so calm and cool if he had gone through in life what McCain has gone through, but that’s a whole other discussion.) But the notion that Obama would do better as a president because he debates better or comes off better is foolish. Who’s he going to debate as president; bin Laden, Achmedinejad, OPEC, the Caribou reindeer in Alaska? And do we really want a president whose going to look calm and cool while we’re being nuked by Achmedinejad, or would we rather have a president who knows how to deal with brutal regimes? Obama being plagued with allegations of links to shady people and activities — from associating with a terrorist to ACORN’s election scandals to threatening legal action against people who criticize him — should give you pause for thought. McCain, on the other hand, who’s been reviled by a media that is no friend of republicans and attacked by Obama, has not had one credible accusation of unethical behavior lodged against him that even needed defending. Doesn’t this alone tell you something about the character of the two candidates? It’s difficult to understand why even blacks would want to vote for Obama. Sure it would be nice to have a black president, but doesn’t the character of the person mean anything? If we had a respectable black candidate running against a shady white candidate, the majority of whites, I believe, would not vote for the white candidate simply because he’s white. What good is a president of your ethnic background if he serves no one’s interest? Essentially, what we’re faced with is a saint who doesn’t come off very well and a devil who wants to sweet talk you out of your soul. Which one do you think is in your interest to vote for? by Josh Greenberger

Obamas first 100 days, Democrats Celebrate and scream of the accomplishments this Administration has performed in such a short time. Obama takes to the air for an Hour long Press Conference remarking on the moves the Prez. has made. Once again, if nothing else, Obama has proven that He is indeed a Brilliant spokesman, and there are indeed multitudes of individuals who are willing to celebrate “Nothing”!.

Exactly what is it that this President has achieved in his first 100 days that sets Him aside from the rest? Surely anyone can see that the support and praise Obama is receiving is worthy of an individual (President) who has made a great impact on the Nation and the People. What impact, other than the ability to “Swoon” the people has He achieved. Set aside the laughable nominees that this President has chosen for various positions, nominees that came with certain “Problems” I.E.–Taxes. Set aside Obamas promise to “Eliminate” lobbyists having power to sway decisions in Washington-remember Lynn? Obama condemned excess spending by the Government “Pork”, yet pushed a Pork “All You Can Eat” Stimulus Package. The brilliant plan to bailout the auto industry (Take Control) has proven to be little more than a joke. Billions given to G.M–yet they are still are asking for more, laying off personel, and talks of Bankruptsy. The abuse of the Bailout Program and Stimulus Package can be read Daily, was there no control outlined in this–but then do they care. Obama is spending money at an alarming rate, and is not protecting the peoples investment with a little something called RULES–see A.I.G.!! It is to soon to state the impacts that the Presidents Economic Hope Package will have, as it has only been 100 days, but given the speed implemented, and what seems to be the lack of carefull planning–one can only believe that this President and His Administration will fail, and just as his speaches are on a Grand Scale–so will be his Failure!

Obamas plan for a united world–don’t kid yourself, there are those that hate us, and no amount of beautifull words, handshakes or hugs will change that. Obama has made himself a welcomed American President–How? He has given numerous Nations what they want–The Apology Tour. Yes folks–We are the problem in Mexicos mounting Drug Lord killings. You see–they would not be having such a problem with Illegal Drugs if the American People did not have such a “Thirst” for them, nor would they have such a violence problem between these honorable drug lords if we didn’t supply 90 percent of their guns to them–which I might add is “BULL”–Hillary and President Smiley need to do their research before spewing their bull–at the cost of the people. Given Obamas need to Put Down, Blame, and apologize for actions our nation Has not committed, leads me to believe that Obamas need to be the “Man of the World”, a true World Leader is more important to him than the people who put him in office. Obamas Foreign Policy?–He apologizes for the U.S., and shows Weakness–Obama will be “Seen Thru” by the American People, and other Nations over the course of a couple years–Failure.

Well, there are a couple of my thought’s. I would be interested in hearing why we have so much to celebrate this Political Messiah, and what has He done or placed into operation that will yield this “Hope and Change”

[We are experiencing audio sync issues on YouTube; this speech can be viewed properly at Vimeo Uwww.vimeo.com On January 20, 2009 President Barack Obama was sworn in as 44th President of the United States and delivered his Inaugural Address. (This video is public domain per White House copyright policy)