Senate budget pounds Perdue staff | newsobserver.com projects

I agree, keep the Office of the Governor cuts in place, and cut the General Assembly's budget at the the same percentage as most other agencies, anywhere between 7 and 15 percent.

In general, let agencies cut all services in meeting their spending cut goals of 10 percent. Then let's start talking about where the other 90 percent of the budget is being spent.

A financial tsunami is about to hit in terms of the federal government's ability to borrow money. If our state's fiscal house is not in order, it will get swept away by the ensuing flood. The biblical reference, for those of you keeping score, is Matthew 7:24-27.

We're witnessing the end of the socialist revolution on a global scale, and possibly the fall of western civilization. How we respond to the absolute necessity to reduce federal deficit spending will determine our fate as a society. A reduction in federal deficit spending necissitates a reduction in state spending, that cannot be made up for in increased taxes.

The coming year will see states and local governments declaring bankruptcy, with the the feds doing everything they can to prop them up and maintain status quo. When will the emporer realize he's wearing no clothes? Perdue should be working with the majority in the General Assembly to cut spending, instead of protecting her sacred cows.


Senate budget pounds Perdue staff | newsobserver.com projects

Perdue rips into Republicans' budget - Politics - NewsObserver.com

Governor Perdue is fighting a losing battle, which, even if she wins, the war is lost. The large trend across all states is rising budget gaps. The next two years will see municipalities and states declaring bankrupt, while an already bankrupt federal government will attempt to bail them out. Perdue should be working with the majority leadership in the General Assembly to reduce the size of State Government across the board, as quickly as possible.

The surest and quickest way to cut payroll, the largest single cost factor in State Government, is to early retire all retirement eligible employees. This serves two purposes, immediately reduces the payroll by the largest margin possible, without reducing services, and makes room for new and entry level hires to fill in the gaps, thereby raising the State's employment rate.

Instead, Beverly "do as I say, not as I do" Perdue seems intent on iterating the worn out mantra of the socialist welfare state, which is crumbling on a global scale, and willing to go down fighting, instead of helping to brought about a new world order. The survival of our state depends on getting our fiscal house in order, or there will be a new breed of carpet bagger coming to call, global corporatists. Another risk is the confiscation of the State's pension fund.

Cowell should be buying physical gold and silver, like the university of Texas has done. We'll need it to back our own currency, like Utah is preparing to do.

Cooper should be pursuing mortgage fraud, instead of looking the other way, as the other 49 state attorneys general are doing.

The collapse of the US Dollar is no small matter, and our state should be doing everything it can to extricate itself from the grasp of the federal government, the most bloated and corrupt government in the history of the world, instead of Perdue's complicity.

Rising food and fuel prices, and sovereign debt is causing a global epidemic of civil unrest. We can avoid it in our own communities by eliminating socialist welfare spending, cutting taxes in order to create jobs in the private sector, and reigning in power of government. The other alternative is a police state. Which will you choose? There are those who would prefer a police state, most of those participated in the civil rights movement, and would support a police state as a means of furthering their own agenda. Most reasoning people would choose individual liberty, which means limiting the power of the state, and is the basis upon which the US Constitution was written. The TSA is allowed to violate the 4th amendment prohibiting unreasonable search and seizure, now the State of Illinois allows police to enter a person's house without probable cause. As a nation and a society, we must reverse the tide of the police state, and assume responsibility for ourselves, including the elimination of the welfare state. Welfare and Police state go hand in hand, again, which will you choose, as the choice is each person's individually, and collectively at the ballot box. You and I decide, and in the immortal words of Patrick Henry spoken in 1775, "Give me liberty, or give me death".

The power of government resides not in the states, as was decided by the war between the states. It remains to be seen whether it will reside in the people.

Perdue rips into Republicans' budget - Politics - NewsObserver.com

Registers of Deeds as Unexpected Foot Soldiers Fighting Mortgage Abuses? « naked capitalism

AA, very good point. Registrars are public officials and should be notified, if they haven't been already.

The other point I wanted to make is a big thank you to Yves for her unwavering commitment to uncovering mortgage fraud. Easy credit driving caused the housing bubble, and if that's all there was to it, that would be the end of it. Instead our global financial system is in havoc, the US federal government owns 46% of all foreclosed property, federal deficit spending has been increasing exponentially since the end of WWII, we have an inequitable tax code where corporations pay little or no taxes, and 10% of income goes to the top 1% of households.

Gas prices were the tipping point to the mortgage fraud. Mortgage fraud may very well be the tipping point to the collapse of the dollar. The inability of federal regulators to prosecute fraud only means that maintaining status quo is more important than the law. Perhaps the states attorneys general can wield a bit more influence.

I'm proud that a North Carolina Registrar is one of those fighting the good fight, and I intend to send this article to my local and national elected representatives. If the Attorney General of North Carolina published an e-mail address, I would send a copy to his office, as well.

Registers of Deeds as Unexpected Foot Soldiers Fighting Mortgage Abuses? « naked capitalism

The New York Fed Working to Bend Real Estate Law to Suit Needs of Banks « naked capitalism

I tend to agree with the crisis not ending until "rule of law" is restored. However, the defenders of the status quo, our current monetary system, will gladly change the law to suit their purposes. Not only did the Fed inject $T's in liquidity to banks all over the world, but toxic mortgages were bought from these banks, leaving the public holding both end of the bag.

$6.5T lost in housing equity, and $T's more in public debt. This isn't going to end well. A balanced budget amendment and tax reform will go a long way. Let the big banks have their way, as long as everyone pays their fair share of the tax burden, and our federal government quits spending more than it takes in in tax reciepts.

The New York Fed Working to Bend Real Estate Law to Suit Needs of Banks « naked capitalism

Budget Whack a Mole | newsobserver.com projects

Holy Cow, I wish this much attention was being paid to the budget when it was being doubled in the ten years leading up to 2008. As was the case last year, it doesn't matter what budget is passed, tax revenues will likely fall short, and even more spending cuts are going to have to be made.

Gov Dumpling is going to be hard pressed to get her education agenda in there without offering up offsets in spending somewhere else. Can't raise taxes and can't blame it on the Republicans. We're in the worst economy in seventy years, and I would advise the state to start planning for further cuts.

As energy and food prices continue to climb and stimulus spending trickles upward, wages remain flat, and it's highly likely the wheels come off the economy before 2012 elections. Barry Goldwater said that federal pensions and interest on the national debt will freeze federal spending by 2020, and we may arrive at that destination sooner than anyone realizes when federal deficit spending collides with a sell off in US treasuries.

A federal balanced budget amendment is what is needed now, as well as tax reform for both individuals and corporations to counter accumulation of wealth in the top 1% of US households, who aren't paying their fair share. Federal pensions will continue to garner their automatic COLA, while everyone else except the the wealthy suffer, and the poor suffer the most. No, Progressive Pulse, that doesn't mean spend more :), it means balance the federal budget, and reform tax policy. It will take an act of God to accomplish, and God help us all.

Budget Whack a Mole | newsobserver.com projects

WASHINGTON WILL DO NOTHING UNTIL CRISIS HITS « The Burning Platform

Geithner has stated he needs a $2T line of credit by May 15, giving himself 4 weeks before runaway federal deficit spending burns through April's tax receipts. The debt ceiling will be raised, after much debate, because no one in Washington has any interest in cutting spending, only maintaining status quo. Unfortunately for them, the current status quo is unsustainable. As the economy continues to flat line, and each additional deficit dollar spent continues to trickle up, and people begin feeling the cuts in State spending, Muni and Pension defaults, or any of a myriad number of unpleasant scenarios, and the backlash against Washington will come in 2012. That is if we even have elections in 2012, and a national state of emergency doesn't exist. There are too many vested interests that stand to lose too much to allow a Constitutional Convention, or whether one would even produce workable reform. It may be, too, that things will have gotten so bad, that a Constitutional Convention will be the only viable option. It's hard to say whether things will get bad enough to topple the current government, but it's painfully obvious the TPTB will sacrifice all before conceding defeat. Hence, even though "utter damnation and chaos are not pre-ordained," that may very well be what it takes to reverse course and end deficit spending.

The social problems facing our nation can be addressed through tax reform, but not without a balanced budget amendment. One could even go so far as to suggest levying a one time wealth tax to pay off the national debt, given that those who have accrued the most, bear the larger responsibility for the burden, but again, not without a balanced budget amendment.

There are many problems facing our society, but the largest and most immediate threat is runaway federal deficit spending, hidden behind the guise of quantitative easing and stimulus pork spending. If Washington can't or won't do anything to end it, the people will, and with the same abandon by which this crisis was thrust upon us, whatever it takes.

Gates and Buffet have threatened to take their $B's and run if reform is enacted. Let them, but their tyranny will not stand.

WASHINGTON WILL DO NOTHING UNTIL CRISIS HITS « The Burning Platform

Naked Capitalism: Jamie Dimon Says Banks Are Being Nice to You When They Take Your House

"Why not just go old school with “let them eat cake”?" LOL

Since our government relieved the banks of toxic loans, and nearly 100% of all new loans are underwritten by Freddie and Fannie, as I understand it, then the banks aren't on the hook for the loans they're servicing. Most likely, the owner of the note is Freddie or Fannie, or some other entity.

These obligations have already been discounted by the markets.

As QE winds down, and the economy resets, foreclosure rates can be expected to increase in a big way. If QE3 is enacted, then the end of the dollar is near. There is no clear way out of this mess without stabilizing the economy, which begins with addressing wealth and income disparity and corporate tax reform. Status quo is unsustainable, and we ignore the causes of the instability at our own peril.

Naked Capitalism: Jamie Dimon Says Banks Are Being Nice to You When They Take Your House

Statement from the Budget and Tax Center on HB 200 Passing the House

First off, we're not in a recovery, not by a long shot, and not until the fraud and corruption that caused it is rooted out and uncovered.

Second, what discredited economic theory? Cutting taxes and cutting spending will invite private investment, which is the one thing that will revive the economy, minus the fraud and corruption that caused the collapse in the first place. Neoliberalism is what is discredited, or will be, if we survive the Fed.

The rest of your piece hinges on the first two points, and there's no point in further discussion. "History bears out the value of public investment"? Not when it crowds out private investment. The problem is federal, the symptoms are local and state.

The middle class is an endangered species, unless wealth and income disparity and corporate tax reform is addressed.

Statement from the Budget and Tax Center on HB 200 Passing the House