Category Archives: Jobs

Crunching the numbers…

Posted on 2012/04/26 by

The flailing Obama economy is pretty much self-explanatory. Unemployment and manufacturing numbers today are evidence enough that our fiscal condition has only been prolonged by way of this Administrations academic “solutions” to complex economic problems. But what is more interesting of late, are the unorthodox “techniques” President Obama is using to deflect attention away from the alarming statistics.

Casting his policies (and results) against those of Reagan’s was laughable to say the least. But more recently, the POTUS has taken to the college circuit to promote a crisis that does not even exist. Now one cannot ignore the debt being

I mean the man is walking the "runway"...

acquired by young people making their way through higher education these days, and the potential for disaster if the issue goes unaddressed. But any hike in college loan interest rates was never and is never going to happen, and the President knows that. Still the crowd cheers his statements of the obvious, and Mr. Obama basks in the praise of those who still believe in his damaged “Hope and Change” banner. But in reality he has given up trying to convince the opposition, instead channeling all of his energies to special interests and class warfare techniques to put him over the top in November. Ironically, even his numbers with the under 25 groups have plummeted, not to mention “Independents” heading for the exits as fast as their conscience will carry them.

The truth is the promises were too lofty for problems too significant. But even worse, the President’s response to failure has been to lower the bar beyond the bottom to make his efforts seem somehow worthy.

 

Posted in "Patriot64", America, Campaign 2012, Economy, Education, Fred Comella, Jobs, Media, Politics, Rhode Island Local, Right vs. Left, Socioeconomic | Tagged , | Comments Off on Crunching the numbers…

Let the record show…

Posted on 2012/04/24 by

I think it’s pretty obvious Team Obama won’t run on their record in 2012. Let’s face it, the “real” numbers, and dramatically low standards this Administration has put forth as evidence of recovery, don’t exactly spell slam dunk re-election for Barack Obama. Moreover, if you believe the polls, this President has succeeded in at least one area, and that is ensuring our nation will be divided and polarized like never before on Election Day.

Let’s have a look at some facts.

The crushing national debt threatens our children’s future in ways we cannot even fathom as yet. The “student loan debt bomb” will certainly explode sooner rather than later regardless of any Election Year Band-Aid the POTUS proposes and/or applies. The chain of collapse for Medicare and Medicaid, which will culminate with the complete and total failure of Social Security by 2033, is downright frightening. It takes 3 working stiffs to support 1 Social Security beneficiary, who on average will collect for more than 20 years with 25% of seniors living to age 90. American States, cities and towns are on the verge of bankruptcy, pummeled by an elitist and unrealistic union hierarchy bent on taking their membership over the edge. The true picture of unemployment, home prices and foreclosures are dirty little secrets most Obama sycophants choose to ignore. Some others might be that the federal government spent over a Trillion dollars on entitlements last year and reported some of the highest levels of food stamp and related assistance in U.S. history. To put this in perspective, one must understand that (feel good and so-called “means tested” entitlement spending) in this country, has risen by an unbelievable 5500% since 1975, (not a typo). Nearly 150 million Americans are currently receiving some sort of government assistance today. Consequently, anyone who says we are not on the fast track to a European style economic “Slip and Slide”, is simply not in touch with reality, or worse yet actually wants such a future for America.

Now for all of you “it’s all the other guys fault” folks, I have never suggested this is entirely the fault of President Obama alone. To the contrary, the problem has roots dating back to the 1930’s. However, I do liken his approach to “fixing” it, (not his motivations which I believe are even more ideologically driven than I originally thought) to putting a gallon of gas in a jetliner, Boston to LA. Look, the facts are simple and daunting. America will fail if we don’t take action to change course. It is clear this President has a plan that is not working, at least not in a way discernible or identifiable by any cognizant and realistic citizen.

So as I cast my ballot for Mitt Romney in the Rhode Island Republican Primary today, I have this to say to my Liberal friends. I was not sleeping when Barack Obama ran for President in 2008. I listened closely and heard everything he had to say. I paid attention when he was speaking from the teleprompter and off the cuff, and I for one have no illusions about his abilities, stated intentions, motivations and vision for our country. For this reason I will take to the keyboard as often as I can and try my level best to make Americans think very carefully about their vote in 2012. Much is at stake…

Posted in "Patriot64", America, Campaign 2012, Economy, Education, Fred Comella, International, Jobs, Media, National Debt, Politics, Rhode Island Local, Right vs. Left, Socioeconomic | Tagged , | Comments Off on Let the record show…

Factual Hurricane…

Posted on 2012/04/11 by

There are 1 million fewer (jobs available) in the job market today than there were in January 2009. The unemployment number is ticking down at a rate that would not see pre-Obama levels until 2018. Jobs created last month were an anemic 150,000, and manufacturing has been revised down yet again to reflect the Obama “new norm”. (Note: Average Job creation under Clinton was 240,000, Bush 20,000, Obama -53,000 that’s right, negative), and this is allowing an extra 6 months to accommodate trickle down “stimulus” spending. Median income levels are down 2.3% and poverty is up 1% since 2009. Gas prices are headed North of $4.00 per gallon. The federal government has spent an unprecedented $6 Trillion dollars it did not have since 2009 making the national debt nearly $16 Trillion. There are more people receiving some sort of government assistance today than at any time in U.S. History. 45% of Americans pay almost 94% of all income taxes while over 50% pay nothing at all. Our enemies are salivating as we crumble from within, and expectations are to say the least pitifully un-American, as we are fast losing site of the country our parents entrusted to us.

This is just a glimpse of a factual hurricane that will eventually devastate and change the United States forever. And President Barack Obama’s answer? – Blame Bush, more taxes on job creators, class warfare, and a level of political division unprecedented in American history. The “great uniter”, I think not… Please wake up America. It’s time to save our nation from this failed academic and elitist experiment.

Oh, and I should mention that the POTUS’s “fairness” tax will raise a mere $700 billion dollars over 10 years, against a deficit projected to be over $23 Trillion by then at our current rate of spending, (“Affordable” Care Act not included). Election year politics as demonstrated by a masterful demagogue? Absolutely…

Posted in "Patriot64", America, Campaign 2012, Economy, Fred Comella, Health Care, Jobs, Socioeconomic | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Factual Hurricane…

High Gear…

Posted on 2012/03/18 by

I happened on MSNBC and the President’s re-election campaign commercial with “orator” and Obama sycophant Tom Hanks, a man who seems so ready to hail the greatness of our nation on the silver screen, yet understands little of its true history. That aside, it seems the POTUS and company will continue the mantra of “blame the other guy” and except absolutely no responsibility for our anemic national posture. So let’s have a look at those ugly facts, shall we.

I get a lot of guff from the Left attacking me for being a “FOX Fanatic”. The trouble with this analogy is that I actually get much of my economic info and such from the federal government itself. Moreover, it would be impossible for me to make the case I do without using (all) of the media outlets, to include the international folks. How else would I highlight the Left Wing Media hypocrisy? Nonetheless, I have looked at trending lines of “economy’s past” and can clearly see that the GDP growth rates and subsequent hiring markers we are seeing today are consistent with an economy that would have chugged along at the same pace had the Administration went on a three year vacation after the 08 Election and returned this week. Now say what you will about the condition of things when President Obama took office, but the numbers simply do not bear it out. None of the banks, who are being “stress tested” today, were any better off 20 years ago if we really want to look at their bottom line structure and government mandated mortgage lending practices. And the big three auto makers, despite coming about to build the best cars in the world today, were poorly managed money pits 10 years before GW took office. What I’m getting at here is that this “blame Bush game” is nothing more than a well-orchestrated (and funded) distraction, designed entirely to keep Americans from focusing on and Ideologue President who has governed true to his word to change America, and certainly not for the better.

In fairness, I will not rant on about what I believe the Presidents true agenda is. Instead, I will simply state some facts for the record and ask all of you to rate Mr. Obama with the same scale we have rated all of our Chief Executives, beginning with the question, (Are you better off today than you were three years ago?).

GDP growth – consistently revised to under 2% post 2008

Inflation index – off the charts and across the board for non-durable goods and food stuffs

Gasoline – $1.84 per gallon in 2008, $3.84 per gallon today (And it does not matter what it rose to during the Bush years!)

Unemployment at the same period during the Bush Presidency – 4.7%. Unemployment 2012 – 8.3% with over 20 million Americans unemployed or underemployed, and 2 million less jobs for the finding as well.

Americans on food stamps – 31.9 million in 2008 vs. 46.5 million today

And most importantly – Federal Deficit 2008 – $10.6 trillion, Federal Deficit 2012 – $15.6 trillion and projected to hit 20 trillion or more by 2017 (most likely more as the CBO is now projecting the “Affordable” Care Act will cost double what was promoted by the Obama Administration.

Now unlike the pundits on the other side, I will not lay all the blame on this President or any other President specifically. The road to this economic and un-Constitutional nightmare we are living was paved over many Administrations and with the help of many complicit Congress’s. With that said however, President Obama’s ideological approach to our nation’s woes is ill-timed and dangerous to say the least, and while I’d love to sit and swap books and “factoid sheets” with Libs living in an alternate universe, these numbers are real and will not just go away. They present a direct challenge to the notion that we may leave a better country to our posterity. Consequently, we need action based on sound principle and proven application, and we need it now. We need things that make sense for our free market economy in the short-term, not utopian pipe dreams dreamt and fostered in the classroom only.

So as he “kicks his campaign for re-election into high gear”, and goes on par to spend more money doing so than any incumbent President or candidate in American history, and as the Republican field are vilified by the cut throat “main stream” press for a vetting process not unlike that of Obama / Clinton in 08,  Americans will be faced with a choice this Fall, stay the course and gamble our children’s future on broken promises and green algae, or elect a businessman for the times who will collect the books, read the spread sheets and not run from economic reality? That’s right, I have made my decision and I am supporting Mitt Romney for President… I hope everyone had a safe and “Happy St. Patrick’s Day”.

 

 

 

Posted in "Patriot64", America, Campaign 2012, Congress, Constitutionality, Economy, Fred Comella, Green Energy, Health Care, Jobs, Media, Politics, Right vs. Left, Socioeconomic | Tagged , , | Comments Off on High Gear…

What is “Acceptable”???

Posted on 2012/03/10 by

The U.S. created 227,000 jobs in the month of February. Once again, anytime we see job creation as opposed to job losses, it is a good thing. People are finding work and going about the business of making their way through these difficult times, and it is right that we recognize any betterment in terms of the job market. Now for some qualifying news:

Unemployment remains at 8.3% and has been above 8% for three years now. Almost 45% of those unemployed have collected benefits for longer than at any time in U.S. history. Approximately 13 million Americans are still without work and we have lost 2 million tangible and “countable” jobs since 2007. The number of jobs added is now trending down and those jobs are mainly service sector (temporary) positions and lower paying, which is never a very good sign for long-term growth. Consequently, when you hold up these numbers against a devastating foreclosure rate and skyrocketing gas prices/inflation, it’s hard to jump that “recovery” train with any real enthusiasm.

Look, I have said and will say again, do not be lulled into the “new norm” where 7.5% unemployment will somehow be  viewed as “acceptable”, and $4.25 gasoline along a $6.50 box of corn flakes are our economic future. By and large this may very well be our short-term future based on inflationary trending numbers, but our actions this year will determine whether that will be $5.75 gasoline and $7.00 Cheerios moving forward.

Free market economic recovery after a down turn comes in many forms and at varying degrees of speed. It can be affected only at certain times by the policies of a representative government. That is to say there is usually a very small window for politics to have an effect on free market economics. We must also take into account that there will always be a certain amount of what I like to call “natural” recovery, that being the strength of the free market to advance in spite of every effort made by an incumbent Administration or Congress, (and which they will take credit for, you can be sure). With this in mind I submit to my readers that while it does my heart good that anyone benefits from any upswing in the economy, this particular Administration has been nothing but a hindrance to real recovery. Furthermore, until he is either removed from the WH by vote or term limit, President Barack Obama will continue to govern outside and around everything necessary to bring about that real recovery.

Posted in "Patriot64", America, Congress, Economy, Fred Comella, Jobs, Military, Politics, Socioeconomic | Comments Off on What is “Acceptable”???

Green energy farce…

Posted on 2012/02/23 by

Yesterday:

Make no mistake oh faithful of the blogosphere; rising fuel costs will have a dramatic and undoubtedly negative impact on an already struggling economy this Summer. Whatever anemic improvements and trumped up media hype surrounding any so-called recovery, as framed by this White House, will be consumed by massive inflation brought about by the price of oil and massive debt. It appears to be just one more nail in the coffin of the grand Obama experiment.

Ideology aside, it remains difficult for me to understand the mindset of “We the People” inthe face of such economic Armageddon. How can so many be so easily manipulated by the failed tactics of class warfare and division, spun by those who claim to champion the poor yet have done little but to keep them in a state of perpetual entitlement while enabling a George Soros funded and massive effort to secure their generational vote? How can so many of my time accept the watered down Obama version of our father’s American dream, and be content no less, to make that the foundation for their posterity?

I was debating these and other questions with a political rival recently at a Campaign 2012 event and we landed where we usually do, agreeing to disagree. But putting aside idealistic stuff for a minute, I asked him one more economic question at the end of our discussion which seemed to catch him a bit flat-footed. I asked: even if one were to subscribe to “Obamanomics”, how could one ever reconcile what has been spent these past 3 years against what has been gained? How will we ever pay it back? And how do we explain to our children that we’ve mortgaged “their children’s” future? Before he could answer I answered for him. “We can’t”.

The facts are simple. Unless we dramatically alter our national course, and move to fix what’s broken with a purpose and expeditious diligence, rooted in a common desire to leave a better country for our kids, all will be for not. Anyone, Republican or Democrat, Liberal or Conservative, who claims to love this country and yet refuses to recognize the perils of proceeding with ideological blinders firmly affixed, must be guilty of at the very least gross complacency and generational neglect. (I made those up for effect, but I’m serious…)

In the vein of intellectual honesty I will tell you, this is about change from the lowest to the highest levels, from your city councilman to the President of the United States. And at the risk of being accused of melodrama, do your homework and choose wisely this Fall. The vote you cast will have significant implications which are sure to affect you and your family directly.

Today:

I can’t think of a President who so effortlessly contradicts himself and does so with such emotional conviction. As if it makes it any less disingenuous. This fact is exasperated by modern media where his contradictions live eternal. Take for instance the many times then Senator Obama slaughtered the Bush Administration for $1.89 gasoline. Today we here the same man attacking Republicans for raising a similar issue,,, must be an election year… And get this, he wants to “double down” on green energy spending and promote the use of “algae” as alternative fuel… Yikes, what are they smoking over at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?

Look, the problem is things are far worse today when taken in context, and yet the “main stream press” is devoid of (equal opportunity questioning “bashing”). Not once did gas prices come up in last night’s debate. Come on CNN, at least make some effort to look objective. Sadly, as we are finding out that the Keystone project would in fact generate millions of barrels of added oil productivity directly into the Midwest for U.S. consumers, and merely entertaining (broadcasting) the idea of drilling the vast resources available to us right here in our own country would scare the Saudis and company back down to about 70 bucks a barrel, we must acknowledge a simple truth. This Administration could care less about what you pay for gas. The tactic is obvious, that being to use inflated fuel prices as a means to promote their energy plan which will contribute readily to the downfall of America as we know it, and quick. Sigh…

NOTE: Clean green energy has a place in America’s future to be sure, just not next week…

 

Posted in "Patriot64", America, Campaign 2012, Economy, Environment, Fred Comella, Green Energy, Jobs, Politics, Right vs. Left, Socioeconomic | Tagged | 4 Comments

Inflation trigger…

Posted on 2012/02/14 by

I heard the President make a stunning assertion today claiming that gas prices were rising because of global demand and our “economic recovery”. He said this is the reason we must extend the payroll tax cut immediately. Now that extension and the measly $20.00 it attaches to your pay check every week is an entirely different argument all together. And in spite of the wheel barrel full of class warfare hate mail I’ll get on the matter I will move on.

Mr. President, gas prices are rising because of our dependence on foreign oil and your lack of will to do much of anything about it. Moreover, demand is actually down and supplies are up in February. Ya know, I seem to remember Nancy Pelosi chastising President Bush for $2.00 per gallon gas, yet your solution Sir, is an extra 20 spot for our troubles? Inflation is poised to rear its ugly head this summer unlike at any time in American history, and our leaders are flat-footed and clueless.

The nonchalant and frankly scary way this POTUS frames the critical issues of our time is truly unsettling and smacks of complete indifference and elitism. Even in the face of one of the most significant shovel ready energy projects to come down the pike in the last 20 years (Keystone Pipeline), President Obama has embraced the ideological wing of his party yet again by coming down on the side of the environmentalist nut jobs. Subsequently, as we look as his budget overall and the fact that most members of his own party won’t even vote for it, then we throw in the national debt, and unprecedented food and fuel prices coming to a city or town near you this summer, it is difficult to embrace our Presidents rosy assessment of our condition.

Truth “and” consequence are very often difficult medicine…

Posted in "Patriot64", America, Economy, Environment, Fred Comella, Green Energy, Jobs, Politics, Socioeconomic, The Middle East | Tagged | 3 Comments

Good news…

Posted on 2012/02/07 by

Still stinging from the Patriots embarrassing loss to the Giants Sunday night, I have decided to move past my disappointment with Mr. Brady for the moment and do some news.

The jobs report is on the tongues of every pundit out there, so I’ll throw in yet another two cents. Republicans are going to have to accept the reality that the latest jobs numbers are damn good news in some ways. If we analyze the Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers for the last quarter, and extrapolate out the trend going back to about the fall of 2009, we can clearly see some movement in the right direction in the areas of Science and technology, engineering, construction and services, to include a pretty good uptick in retail for fiscal 2010-2011. It is noteworthy that in a recovery that has muddled along at what can only be described as a snail’s pace, these types of “numbers inside the numbers” do show improvement. What I mean by this, is putting aside for a moment that the work force has shrunk considerably, and that 24 million Americans remain significantly “underemployed”, the U.S. economy is doing what the U.S. economy always and eventually does, rolling over and coming about, despite whatever Washington is doing to “muck it up”. Some of my readers may recall my writing on this very notion around the time of the great “stimulus debate”.

Appropriately however, I think the Republicans should do their own homework and not get caught bad mouthing any good we can take from very bad times. There is plenty to focus on in the areas of inflation, fuel costs, European financial chaos, our own debt here at home, and how these factors will inevitably impact future jobs reports. But the fact remains that many who have struggled to find work to feed their families and hold on to their homes have found it, and this is absolutely good news…

Posted in "Patriot64", America, Campaign 2012, Congress, Economy, Fred Comella, Jobs, Right vs. Left, Socioeconomic | Tagged | Comments Off on Good news…

Read between the numbers…

Posted on 2012/02/03 by

I think it’s important for those on the Left side of the argument to understand they may not count me among those who refuse to see any good for simple hatred of the opposition.

Today’s unemployment numbers are truly something to be happy about. They reflect a trending in the right direction and come with internal statistics indicating higher rates of pay. This is all good news, and frankly long overdue. The stock market responded accordingly and it was truly refreshing for this Capitalist to see the engine that is our economy at least running.  Happy?

Now for the qualifier:

While we should embrace any good news coming out of this economy with open arms, it is important to apply the proper context. Using yesterday’s post as a benchmark, nothing has really changed. I would add that any employment uptick must first be balanced against the factors of a shrinking work force, those no longer looking for work, and the ratios of months on unemployment for workers in 2008 vs. 2012, (Obama’s “new norm”). When you figure in the CBO’s projections for the next two years, which are partly based on the separate but applicable economic factors of debt and spending, it is very clear that real recovery is not yet around the corner.

As a caveat, it is important to understand our economy and what makes it tick. As I have written many times, the Obama entitlement spending spree and stimulus did little to stimulate anything, but rather created a few government jobs that cost on average $175,000.00 per employee. What we are really seeing in this jobs report is the natural ebb and flow of an economy that will come back on its own “in spite of” any efforts on the part of Washington.

So while I’m happy to know there are folks who have finally found work and can now get back in the game, and that the American economy is as resilient as I knew it was, I remain realistic and even a bit skeptical in my appraisal of this little employment number nugget today. The road to lasting and meaningful recovery that will promote long-term hiring and an “expansion” of the work force to at least what it was pre-recession, is a long one to say the least.

Posted in "Patriot64", America, Economy, Jobs, Media, Politics, Right vs. Left, Socioeconomic | 2 Comments

My fellow Americans…

Posted on 2012/01/24 by

The President of the United States is sure to tell Congress tonight that the “state of the union” is improving. He’s done this several times already. But here’s what he will really be saying:

Now here's what I really mean....

My fellow Americans, I believe that our nation must be one with other nations and that we have enjoyed far more success than we are rightfully entitled to. Our exceptionalism has come not as a result of hard work, sacrifice and entrepreneurial initiatives born of God-given freedom and liberty, but rather at the expense of the rest of the world, and it is high time we pay the price. My intention is to transform our nation using the European model of big government and featuring entitlement as the primary mind-set of the people. I will continue to push for “reforms” which create a larger and more vocal entitlement class who know only protest and class warfare as answers for their lot in life, and who have little or no interest in success based on diligence and effort. I will tell Americans that $48,000.00 in debt to each and every child born this day, and a “real numbers” national debt of $202 trillion is a small price to pay for our place in the world, and I will demonize Capitalism as the root of all evil and the free market enterprise as merely a tool of the rich. I will re-write history to convince the impressionable youth of our nation that we are the problem and must suffer for all of our transgressions. I will reach into the classrooms of the youngest of them and use manipulated, inconclusive and false data to make them cry about that which in many cases we are powerless to control. I will tell them there is no God and that if they believe there is, they must keep it to themselves for fear of offending. I will explain inaccurately that Columbus was a murderer and that he brought only disease to the continent, and I will teach them that Communism is just another form of government and not responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of innocent people.

And finally my fellow Americans, I will do all of this under the banner of “hope and change”. I will ostracize and vilify all who oppose me as bigots, racists, homophobes, and out of touch. I will deny the very intent of the Framers and finally wash away all remaining memories of a government “of the people, by the people, for the people…

NOTE: This is merely an attempt to invite the broader debate. But it is also a reminder that to continue down our current  path with the proverbial/ideological blinders of either side of the argument firmly affixed, is tantamount to slamming the door in our children’s faces. We need to return to searching for the things which bind us…

Posted in "Patriot64", America, Congress, Economy, Education, First Amendment, Fred Comella, Green Energy, Health Care, Jobs, Political Correctness, Politics, Religion, Right vs. Left | Tagged | 4 Comments