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By Findalis
Monkey in the Middle

Stolen From Wake Up America (With Permission)



One difference between those that voted for Obama and those that did not, is that those that did not vote for Obama are not surprised in the least that in the fiscal cliff deal, taxes went up, not only for the so-called rich, but for 77 percent of all American workers.

Via Bloomberg:

The budget deal passed by the U.S. Senate today would raise taxes on 77.1 percent of U.S. households, mostly because of the expiration of a payroll tax cut, according to preliminary estimates from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center in Washington.

More than 80 percent of households with incomes between $50,000 and $200,000 would pay higher taxes. Among the households facing higher taxes, the average increase would be $1,635, the policy center said. A 2 percent payroll tax cut, enacted during the economic slowdown, is being allowed to expire as of yesterday. 

One percent of households, or those with incomes over $506,210, would pay an average of $73,633 more in taxes.

80 percent of households making between $50,000 and $200,000 will pay an additional average of $1,635 in taxes withheld from their paychecks.

Also, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center in Washington, the tax burden will increase more for someone making $30,000 a year (1.7 percent) than it does for someone earning $500,000 annually (1.3 percent).

Conservatives making  $50,000 and $200,000, that are now seeing smaller paychecks, are suffering as much as liberals making equal amounts, but the conservatives are definitely not surprised. On the other hand, Obama supporters, are expressing anger, shock and outrage over Washington's fingers snatching more money from their paychecks.

Obama supporters believed the statement below, conservatives did not.

“I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.”---- ” Barack Obama, September 2008. “

 Joseph Curl over at Washington Times visited one of the most liberal websites on the Internet and reports on some of the shocked outrage by Obama supporters.

“What happened that my Social Security withholding’s in my paycheck just went up?” a poster wrote on the liberal site DemocraticUnderground.com. “My paycheck just went down by an amount that I don’t feel comfortable with. I guarantee this decrease is gonna’ hurt me more than the increase in income taxes will hurt those making over 400 grand. What happened?”

[...]

“My boyfriend has had a lot of expenses and is feeling squeezed right now, and having his paycheck shrink really didn’t help,” wrote “DemocratToTheEnd.”

Now of course, some obamabots can't bring themselves to blame Obama because they reelected him despite the fact that Mitt Romney and Republicans warned them Obama was going to raise their taxes, and they cannot cast the blame on Republicans because the GOP has been extremely vocal in the battle to extend all tax cuts, but they lost.

So those Obama supporters found someone else to blame:

“BlueIndyBlue” added: “Many of my friends didn’t realize it, either. Our payroll department didn’t do a good job of explaining the coming changes.”

It is the payroll departments fault.

More:

Some in the thread argued that the new tax — or the end of the “holiday,” which makes it a new tax — wouldn’t really amount to much. One calculated it would cost about $86 a month for most people. “Honeycombe8,” though, said that amount is nothing to sneeze at.

“$86 a month is a lot. That would pay for … Groceries for a week, as someone said. More than what I pay for parking every month, after my employer’s contribution to that. A new computer after a year. A new quality pair of shoes … every month. Months of my copay for my hormones. A new thick coat (on sale or at discount place). It would pay for what I spend on my dogs every month … food, vitamins, treats.”

Now, even before Obama is inaugurated for his second term, to which these very people are completely responsible for, they are already expressing buyer's remorse:

“Really, how am I ever supposed to pay off my student loans if my already small paycheck keeps getting smaller? Help a sister out, Obama,” wrote “Meet Virginia.” “Nancy Thongkham” was much more furious. “F***ing Obama! F*** you! This taking out more taxes s*** better f***ing help me out!! Very upset to see my paycheck less today!”

“_Alex™” sounded bummed. “Obama I did not vote for you so you can take away a lot of money from my checks.” Christian Dixon seemed crestfallen. “I’m starting to regret voting for Obama.” But “Dave” got his dander up over the tax hike: “Obama is the biggest f***ing liar in the world. Why the f*** did I vote for him”?

A quick note to Obama supporters, those that ran to the election polls and pulled that lever for Barack Obama.

Sit down and STFU, you voted for this, you got what you voted for and have absolutely no right whatsoever to complain about it now.

Deal with it... the rest of us have to because of your uninformed decisions.

Preppy, preppy, preppy!!! Yes! I finally decided to wear again skirts; actually I made this decision last month (this post is a old one and the last one from last year).
1. Color combination: Black/ Neon/ Green
2. Accessories: Nowhere booties, Proenza Schouler for Target &Neiman Marcus clutch, Forever 21 ring,
3. Prints: Polka dot sleeves and shirt
4. Conclusion: I should wear more often skirts because are such a fun/ feminine piece :)
5. what do you think?



                                                                           Booties: Nowhere/ great ones Here
                                                                           Coat: vintage
                                                                           Shirt: Jones New York/ option Here
                                                                           Neon top: H&M/ similar Here
                                                                           Skirts & Ring: Forever21
                                                                           Sunglasses: thanks to zeroUV/ Here
                                                                           Polka dot sleeves: thanks to Ch-Armz/ Here
                                                                           iPod sleeve: Proenza Schouler for Target & Neiman Marcus/ Here

Ok, I know. I'm a little late to the party. And you are probably rolling your eyes to have to look at yet another New Year's list, but I've got to create some accountability here people. If I don't put this list out into the great big interwebs, it will become part of the long list of things that never get done. I need to be able to look you in the eye after all.

After my success with my 2012 goal list I find it best to keep this suckers short manageable. So I'll keep this short and sweet.

1. Entry refresh. It is really too small to be considered a foyer and "entry" is even pushing it, but whatever it is it needs a kick in the pants. The hubs and my dad hung the wallpaper the first summer we were in the house and it is pretty beat up. I also need more storage...somehow. A head scratcher.


2. Sew something. Anything. I've got the sewing machine, it's the whole using the sewing machine thing that is getting in my way. Just to figure out how to spool the thread is a challenge for me. Don't judge. I'm just not a patient person. So the goal is to sew myself a pillow at the very least. 12 months to sew a pillow. I'm pushing myself for greatness, aren't I?

source

3. The girls' room. It's almost time for Eve to move into her big girl bed, so it is the perfect time to start from scratch. Hopefully I can make these bossy clients happy.


4. Bathroom redo. All cosmetics. Not the lipstick kind, but the paint kind. I'm over the color(s) in there and something needs to change. Pinterest and I have been consulting on this already. Now if I could just narrow it down to one idea...

source

5. Open my little black door a little more. Did you know I have a growing design business? Of course you don't, how could you? I don't talk about it much. That will change, in a good way. More to come.

So there is my top 5 for the year. Officially out there. And I already feel behind. No turning back now, you've read it after all. Have you planned for any big changes this year? Any new adventures?

Embracing Slavery in America
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
****************

Well, here we are.  I honestly thought, indeed, I HOPED, I'd not live long enough to see my country, the USA, become a dictatorship.  But, as I said, here we are.

For those of my generation, who actually remember what freedom was like, what America was like as a truly free country, it has been stunning at how quickly America transformed from a constitutional representative republic to, well, whatever form of Marxist dictatorship we are  suffering under today.  The speed of America;s devolution has been absolutely remarkable.

Even more remarkable, for me at least, was  the lack of resistance.  None!  We just sat back and allowed it to happen.

And then I saw a couple of young Americans on a cable news channel just the other day debating whether the US Constitution ought to be scrapped.  Again, I was stunned, blind-sided, by the utter stupidity of the conversation in which those young Americans -- with all their college degrees and a string of alphabet letters attached to their names -- were engaged.  It was mind-blowing!

My father used to tell me, "Son," he'd say. "There is NO FOOL like an educated fool!"  How right Pop was.

I looked at them and thought:  "These are mere children!  What do they know of life?  What do they know of taking up arms in defense of the constitution?  What do they know of freedom?  They have never experienced the freedom I have as an American.  And yet, there they were postulating their theory that the constitution was too old, outdated, it no longer fit the modern American people, and it just had to go. 

These, I thought, are the people who voted for Obama.  Dumb as a post -- unable to locate their own posterior with both hands, a GPS -- AND -- a bird dog! 

I slid forward, onto the edge of my chair, and watched and listened with rapt attention to the noises emanating from those day care drop outs.  The more I listened the more I became convinced that all is lost.  There is no hope when America's future is to be placed in the hands of such incredibly ignorant people.

How is it possible to even think America could exist without our the constitution?  Heck, it's all we can do to exist WITH the constitution.  Remove it, and the country collapses into something unrecognizable. 

That, I am willing to bet, is exactly what those who would dump our constitution want.

You DO see where they are headed with their argument, don't you?  I am convinced they are a part of the global governance movement. These are the folks who want a one-world government.  No countries -- just one great global community ruled by one great world dictator -- preferably the United Nations. 

As long as we bumpkins in America insist on holding onto our founding documents, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, they cannot collapse America and fold it into that amorphous Pangea-like blob of Terra bound humanity. 

These youngsters, having already learned to embrace slavery to the state, are the "Useful Idiots" of the one-worlders, the global governance crowd.   The gray beards in the movement are dispatching the kids out into the minefield to explode the ordinance and clear a path for their wisen heads to advance their plans for what would amount to a slave planet.

For decades our public education system in America, up to and including our colleges and universities, (which we laughingly refer to as institutions of "higher learning") have been indoctrinating our young in the way their masters would have them go.   The scriptures tell us that " ... as the twig is bent, so growth the tree."  Look at all the bent, warped, trees around us today, in our schools, in our universities, in our government, and yes, even in our churches. Get 'em when they are young, indoctrinate 'em when they are young -- and you've got them forever!  Works every time.

For half a century, America's schools have been indoctrinating our young in the ways of a "global citizen."   That differs mightily from the way schools taught when I was a young student.

We were taught "good citizenship" as AMERICANS. 

Each classroom had a US flag and at the beginning of each day we all stood and faced that flag, placed our hands over our hearts, and recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.  We were citizens of America.  We couldn't have cared less for Pangea, Laurasia and Gondwanaland, or some kind of one-world government held together by ignorance, fear,  and armed force.

Today we are told that was all wrong.  They tell us now that we were taught "nationalism" and nationalism is dangerous.  That, dear reader, is total "bovine scatology!"

Heck, yeah, I'm a nationalist.  I am an AMERICAN nationalist. 

Look.  Nationalism is love of country and the willingness to sacrifice for it.  Nationalism, for me, also means that I believe that America's national culture and the interests of America are superior to any other. 

My nationalism explains why I despise the United Nations.  You see, nationalism is the doctrine that nations should act independently (rather than collectively) to attain their goals.  I believe that. Therefore, I have absolutely no use for the United Nations, NONE.  I make no apologies and no excuses for it.

Nationalism has also been described as the aspiration for national independence felt by people under foreign domination. 

Yeah, I'll put my American nationalism up against their one-world, global governance, "citizen-of-the-world" nonsense any day of the week.  I have no intention of surrendering the national identity of America and constitutional authority of my fellow American citizens to a world government. 

But first they must make us believe that our Constitution and our Bill of Rights are both irrelevant and dysfunctional.  How do they do that?  By brain washing our kids in those indoctrination centers we refer to as public schools.

Embracing slavery is so simple and so easy for millions of America's young today because they -- ONE:  have never been free (in comparison to earlier generations of Americans) -- and TWO:  it's what they have been taught.  Plus, they have been taught it is their duty, their obligation, to proselytize, to convert others to their warped sense of adoration for "involuntary servitude" to the state.

I agree with Kurt Nimmo's comments in a recent article in which he said:  " ... the average American knows almost nothing about the Constitution and certainly nothing about republicanism, liberty and inalienable rights.

Far too many Americans know virtually nothing about classical liberalism, the ideal of limited government, and the unbridled liberty of individuals including freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and free markets."  SOURCE:  http://theintelhub.com/2011/06/22/fareed-zakaria-dump-the-constitution/

Those of us who still love America, and place her first amongst all the nations of the earth are being leaned upon, coerced, if you will,  to learn to love the new slavery, the cradle to grave government intrusion into our lives, every waking (and sleeping) moment.  To them -- this IS  freedom! 

The learning curve is far too steep for this old conservative curmudgeon and it will be a cold day in warmer climes when they break down my heartfelt, and to-the-core, nationalism for America.




© 2013 J. D. Longstreet

Click to enlarge.

Hey! I actually found an exponential trend chart that hasn't ended in abject failure yet. Although we did get a bit ahead of ourselves in recent years, we're pretty much right on trend!

This is why professional money managers are no doubt paid the big bucks. Sure, as retail investors we could park the money directly in money funds ourselves. Or better still we could also just buy short-term treasury bills directly from the government and hold to maturity. At least there aren't any fees! That would cut out the parasitic institutional middle man though. Where's the fun in that?

Money Market Funds - Risks and Benefits


Decent return? Relatively safe? Seriously?


And do what with it? Buy stocks AFTER they have doubled yet again? Seriously?


Take advantage of rising interest rates? Seriously?



See Also:
Weighing the Consequences of a Money Fund Overhaul

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

An Economic Doomsday IS Coming
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
**************
Deep within the temporal lobe of the brain is this tiny little limbic system structure in roughly the shape of an almond.  This little mass of nuclei has its tiny little hands in most of our emotions and survival motivations.  It is from this teensie little clump of "stuff" that the signal is sent to either fight, or -- "get the heck out of Dodge." 

The amygdala does a lot more, but as I am most certainly NOT a brain surgeon, or a shrink, I'll stick to what I can look up on Wikipedia or Google, or some other search engine.

For the purposes of this tome, the above information will do just fine, thank you.

Here's the thing, as they say.  If there IS such a thing as a gestalt, and that gestalt has an amygdala, then it is most certainly working overtime.   

There seems to be a growing feeling, all over the world, that humanity is starring down the barrel of a cosmic gun.  We are waiting for something to happen, something rather unpleasant.  What it is exactly, we don't know.  But our collective amygdala is screaming at us to "beware."

There is much speculation (most subdued, it seems to me) about the form in which the coming disaster will arrive: famine, pestilence, war, economic, or something else.  Frankly, I suspect it will entail all of the above and then some. I don't see how a world-wide cataclysm could not.

Those whose expertise is in economics tell us that, without a doubt, the world is heading for economic doom.  The welfare states (nations),  and that includes the US, are going to collapse -- and soon.  When it begins it will resemble dominoes tumbling over, one right behind the other, until we have a total collapse of the world's economic system.

No one, repeat -- NO ONE -- has any idea how to stop this collapse.

In an article at Monty Pelerin's World the writer says the following:  " The US and other modern industrialized nations are headed for economic collapse. Political excesses created unwieldly and insolvent social welfare states in every modern democracy. The notion of providing for those who cannot or do not provide for themselves has limits. As Lady Margaret Thatcher expressed the problem:

    The trouble with Socialism is, sooner or later, you run out of other people’s money.

The writer goes on to explain:  "Those dependent on the welfare state are unaware that their benefits are not sustainable. Most believe tomorrow will be like today and the checks will keep coming from Mother Government. Political power was gained based on promising these benefits. No politician will risk his position by trying to reduce them. No democratic society has ever rolled them back via peaceful political means."

And the the writer says THIS:  "The financial hole dug by most social welfare states is too deep to get out of. The finest turnaround manager in the world, unconstrained by politics, would be unable to remedy the problems. The mathematics of the problem are just too far gone. Radical cost-cutting and proper economic policies can no longer work. Hope and change may work in a political campaign, but slogans carry no weight against the iron laws of arithmetic.

The world is on the verge of massive sovereign defaults."

So much for the US avoiding the so-called "fiscal cliff," huh?   We may have avoided the cliff only to plunge head long off the lip of the economic Grand Canyon!

The writer at Monty Pelerin goes on to say:  "Welfare states have become zombie economies. These “walking dead” are shells of what they once were. A failure in one probably produces a domino effect that dooms all."

He/she offers the following as solutions: 

"The Economic Solution

This solution requires that government spending be brought into line with revenues and held there (or below) for a lengthy period of time. That requires reneging on many social promises and possible sovereign debt defaults. A depression would occur. Homes would be foreclosed and businesses closed.

Wealth, defined in terms of physical assets, would be re-allocated. New owners and uses of assets would result. So, too, would a complete cleansing of the cancer that prevents economic growth. The economy would be traumatized, but recover rather quickly so long as government refrained from intervening. Pain and suffering are inevitable. Civil unrest is probable and so is the risk that government(s) could be overthrown.

This solution is horrible in every sense but one — it is the better of two alternatives."

So, what then is the worst solution?  The political solution.  But according to the writer there is NO political solution.  Here's what he/she says:  "There is no political solution, although that will not stop politicians from pretending there is. “Pretend and extend” is all they can do. Intervening with additional stimulus and more printed money buys some time, but worsens the economic problems. Problems and distortions are made bigger, requiring even more adjustment when they inevitably occur. Pursuing this strategy flirts with currency destruction which would destroy the savings and fixed incomes of the middle class.

The end result is the same as the economic solution — a complete and total collapse of the economy. The difference is that the collapse is more severe and that many may be destroyed in a hyperinflationary blow-off."

WOW!

I found this article to be awesome and I recommend you go over to the site and read it in its entirety.  You will find it here:

http://www.economicnoise.com/2013/01/03/economic-armageddon-is-coming/ 

(By the way -- "Monty Pelerin" is a pseudonym derived from The Mont Pelerin Society.  Just thought you'd want to know).

Smart people make me feel so, well, inadequate, you know?  But then, I think about what the writer has said and, slowly, I realize he/she is just expressing what so many of us feel but have been unable to articulate.  This writer just did it -- and did it extremely well.

It would appear the people of earth (with apologies to science fiction writers everywhere) have just passed the "point of no return."  We haven't enough fuel to return to our point of origin, and we have just discovered that we haven't enough fuel to reach our planned destination.  In plain English:  "We're screwed!"

Could THIS be what our collective amygdala has been trying to warn us about.  It explains the global feeling of "unease" felt by so many across the globe.

It is information presented in such a way as this that compels one to look upon the "preppers" with a new sense of respect.  Could it be they have been right all along?  It is certainly beginning to look that way.

Now,  if you think I am taking this a bit too lightly, I assure you,  I AM whistling past the graveyard!  For,  you see, I share that feeling of tip-toeing along the precipice of something unknown. And I have suspected for rather a long time now that many more of my species feel the same nagging worry of impending doom. The recent end of the world non-event was evidence of a sense of something ending permeating our human society.

What do you do when there is nothing you can do?  What do I do when it is the worst of bad nightmares for a control freak like "yours truly."  May we be so bold as to suggest the following:  "1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. 3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber . 4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep . 5 The LORD is thy keeper : the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. 6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night."   ...   Psalm 121:1-6 

There comes a time in the lives of all of us when we have zero control over events affecting us.  The unavoidable is, well, unavoidable.

A remnant will survive to carry on and embrace whatever the future may hold.  So, do humanity a favor, and take notes!  To avoid the unavoidable in the uncertain future depends totally -- upon not repeating our history of mistakes.

See you on the other side?

J. D. Longstreet © 2013

  Another day, another story... another colorful outfit in my book..
Back to my everyday outfits and my comfort zone: vivid colors & stripes. This is another pick-me-up color mix that is dearly to me: delicious shades of mint and mellow. Voila! A fun and fresh result that will brighten up those gloomy winter days.






                                                                                Coat: vintage/ another favorite Here
                                                                                Top: Jones New York/ option Here 
                                                                                Jeans: B hermosa/ similar Here
                                                                                Bag: Joe Fresh/ similar Here 
                                                                                Ring: Vince Camuto
                                                                                Heels: Shoemint/ on SALE Here 

Click to enlarge.

Let me guess. In the name of prosperity, we've outsourced this to China too? Or perhaps this is proof that our recovery has solid [bicycle tire] traction?

Hey, just theories!

Special thanks to the person who sent me a private email that included a link to this refiner data. It is his believe that bicycle tires might be a good investment. It is not an idea that I can readily discount, lol. Sigh.

See Also:
Global Transportation Rebalancing Underway
CMCTABIFA!

Source Data:
EIA: U.S. Total Gasoline Retail Sales by Refiners
St. Louis Fed: Population

Long-Term


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@#$%!


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@#$%!


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@#$%!

Short-Term


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@#$%!


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@#$%!


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@#$%!

Let's take it back to 1984 yet again.


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@#$%!

Those who miraculously can't believe in "new normal" theories ought to at least brace for the old normal theories. As seen in the chart above, we're at the top of the old normal's frickin' channel. It therefore seems incredibly unlikely that the job market is on the verge of spewing candy mountain goodness.

Put another way, got kidney? I believe with every fiber of my being that we will not see 4% year over year payroll growth again in my lifetime. In fact, I'd be pleasantly surprised if we ever hit 2% again (unless we got there through a massive employment crash first of course).

As a side note, what kind of denial drug must one be taking to not believe in new normal theories? And how did I miss out? I can't say it would help my financial health but perhaps I'd at least be sleeping better. They say ignorance is bliss!

I dare the optimists to come up with one reasonable scenario which returns us to the long-term employment trend that spans from 1939 to 2000. It's just not mathematically possible without incredible leaps of irrational faith. A quadrillion in national debt *and* cheap energy? Not reasonable. Each worker has two jobs in an increasingly automated world? Not reasonable. The Fed has permanently put a stop to recessions? Not reasonable.

The old normal theories are about as provably dead as anything in economics could possibly be. Over the long-term, we cannot grow like we once did. In fact, we can barely grow during this economic expansion. How much will the next economic contraction undo? I suspect it will be more than most are willing to believe. And let's not even talk about our massive trade deficit and the sucking sound it is making. Sigh.

See Also:
41.0 Million Missing Jobs

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: All Employees: Total nonfarm