Big Spenders

The Marxist/Socialists/Communists Poobahs in California gave way the taxpayer dollars at every chance on vote buying programs. What they didn’t do was act responsibly and apply those ripped off monies to the pensions they so lavishly bestowed upon the public unions. Now those flapping wings coming to roost aren’t chickens, but buzzards lining up to pick the bones of California’s pensioners.

This is the end game, the only end game possible in a Socialist milieu. It never varies.

California’s Brown Raises Prospect of Pension Cuts in Downturn

California Governor Jerry Brown said legal rulings may clear the way for making cuts to public pension benefits, which would go against long-standing assumptions and potentially provide financial relief to the state and its local governments.

Brown said he has a “hunch” the courts would “modify” the so-called California rule, which holds that benefits promised to public employees can’t be rolled back. The state’s Supreme Court is set to hear a case in which lower courts ruled that reductions to pensions are permissible if the payments remain “reasonable” for workers.

“There is more flexibility than there is currently assumed by those who discuss the California rule,” Brown said during a briefing on the budget in Sacramento. He said that in the next recession, the governor “will have the option of considering pension cutbacks for the first time.”

That would be a major shift in California, where municipal officials have long believed they couldn’t adjust the benefits even as they struggle to cover the cost. They have raised taxes and dipped into reserves to meet rising contributions. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the nation’s largest public pension, has about 68 percent of assets needed to cover its liabilities. For the fiscal year beginning in July, the state’s contribution to Calpers is double what it was in fiscal 2009.

Across the country, states and local governments have about $1.7 trillion less than what they need to cover retirement benefits — the result of investment losses, the failure by governments to make adequate contributions and perks granted in boom times.

“In the next downturn, when things look pretty dire, that would be one of the items on the chopping block,” Brown said.

The smart money left California over the past few years, tired of being taxed to the point of stupidity. What’s left are the welfare crowd, illegals, die hard Progressives and the Public Service worker Union members.
This is going to be fun to watch. Liberals hate to spend their own money. Sooner or later however, they run out of OPM. Oh the pain, the pain.

Big Spenders

Once more a Blue State shows us how to put on the Ritz and then pass the buck to the next sucker in the line.

Billions in Illinois bills not sent for payment

Illinois is chasing a moving target as it tries to dig out of the nation’s worst budget crisis, and a review obtained by The Associated Press shows $7.5 billion worth of unpaid bills — as much as half the total — hadn’t been sent to the official who writes the checks by the end of June.

Although many of those IOUs have since been paid, a similar amount in unprocessed bills has replaced them in the last three months, Comptroller Susana Mendoza’s office said Monday. That’s in addition to $9 billion worth of checks that are at the office but being delayed because the state lacks the money to pay them.

The mound of past-due bills tripled over the two years Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democrats who control the General Assembly were locked in a budget stalemate, which ended in July when lawmakers hiked income taxes over Rauner’s vetoes.

In some cases, agencies were waiting to send their receipts to Mendoza because lawmakers haven’t approved the spending. For example, the Department of Corrections had $471 million in unpaid bills on hand as of June 30 largely for that reason.

“Ascertaining the precise nature of the state’s past-due obligations and liabilities is an essential component of responsible cash and debt management,” the Democratic comptroller wrote in a letter to Republican Rep. David McSweeney, a budget hawk from Barrington Hills who requested the review.

Mendoza and McSweeney plan to use the findings to urge lawmakers to override Rauner’s veto of legislation that would require monthly reporting of bills not yet submitted for processing. The measure, authored by Mendoza’s office, would include a breakdown of how old each bill is and which ones have received legislative approval to be paid.

“The governor supports more transparency on the state of our finances,” Rauner spokesman Hud Englehart said in an email to AP. “He vetoed this bill because the State does not have adequate technology in place to cost effectively provide this information monthly.”

The age of bills is important because many that are 90 days or older face a 1 percent-per-month late-payment fee; about $5.5 billion of the current $15.9 billion backlog is subject to the penalty. Mendoza estimates the state will ultimately pay $900 million in late-payment fees on the existing pile of debt. [snip]

The way the Jackass Party members look at this is we shall just raise taxes more to pay the late fees. It isn’t our money anyway. The taxpayers will foot the bill like they have in the past.

Observations

With the upheaval in European Union; you saw the voter strike back in Italy. They wrapped Renzi in a jester outfit and point him down the road. The shakeup continues as gold firms up; those bozos who have played with notional gold which is the ETF’s. The big boys are trying to salvage their metal from the paper. LOTSA LUCK!

Toast-The Status Quo Strikes back…From Rico

The Italian referendum vote means the EU and the Euro are effectively toast.
– The results prompted an entirely rational flight to safety in the Gold market.
– It also prompted an entirely irrational bit of vengeance from the Status Quo, who monkey-f**ked the spot price downward in two huge $3.5 billion notional Gold dumps [read: nonexistent Gold].

These are the wild thrashings of a dying beast…
– Many who manage to stand clear of these death throes will be enjoying some tasty ‘beast pate’ on their toast.

If you haven’t rid yourself of that paper gold, you might be too late. Paper gold is overextended about 30 to 1. That means there is slim hope of getting gold from the EFT; more than likely you will get US dollars back. Those may be worthless which is why you bought the EFT’s to start.
All this rushing around now is what the poobahs are doing, trying to salvage their wealth.

Climate Foibles

The biggest question about Climate Change is “How does one explain the changes in annual temperature?” so that Obama doesn’t have to turn inside out trying to sound sane talking about it. It is actually rather simple. LIE!

Top University Stole Millions From Taxpayers By Faking Global Warming Research

A global warming research center at the London School of Economics got millions of dollars from UK taxpayers by taking credit for research it didn’t perform, an investigation by The Daily Mail revealed.

The UK government gave $11 million dollars to the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy (CCCEP) in exchange for research that the organization reportedly never actually did. [snip]

“It is serious misconduct to claim credit for a paper you haven’t supported, and it’s fraud to use that in a bid to renew a grant,” Professor Richard Tol, a climate economics expert from Sussex University whose research was reportedly stolen by CCCEP, told The Daily Mail. “I’ve never come across anything like it before. It stinks.”

Researchers whose work was misrepresented were furious. One professor said CCEP’s actions were “a clear case of fraud – using deception for financial gain.” [snip]

Studies that receive financial support from the public sector don’t have to disclose it as an ethical conflict of interest, even when that support is in the millions of dollars. Recent studies in the U.S. — which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses to support the scientific case for its Clean Power Plan — saw the agency give $31.2 million, $9.5 million, and $3.65 million in public funds to lead authors, according to EPA public disclosures.

The author who received $3.65 million, Charles Driscoll, even admitted to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the result of his study was predetermined, saying “in doing this study we wanted to bring attention to the additional benefits from carbon controls.”

Universities typically received about 50 percent of the money their researchers get in public funds if their investigations find positive results, making them deeply dependent upon federal funding and likely to encourage studies that will come to conclusions the government wants.

One can always bet that the end goal is money; for the government, a means of demanding more taxes and the go between, some fast loot for a touch of fraud.

Pecuniary Profligacy

Perhaps a reader can enlighten us as to how the Obama and his departments can take in so much in taxes and then spend even more all the while the country’s infrastructure, schools, health care, the VA and the military are falling apart.
There has to be an answer. Hope they have a good one for squandering all that money.

Government Collects $3.27 Trillion in Taxes in Fiscal Year 2016

The federal government collected $3.27 trillion in taxes in fiscal year 2016, according to the latest monthly Treasury Department statement. The federal government ran a deficit of $587 billion despite the record revenue.

Treasury receipts include tax revenue from individual income taxes, corporate income taxes, social insurance and retirement taxes, unemployment insurance taxes, excise taxes, estate and gift taxes, customs duties, and other miscellaneous items.

After adjusting for inflation, the amount of taxes collected by the federal government in fiscal year 2016 is slightly lower than the $3.3 trillion the government collected in fiscal year 2015. The 2016 fiscal year begins on Oct. 1, 2015, and runs through Sept. 30, 2016.

The federal government collected $3,266,688,000,000 from October through September in fiscal year 2016. Most of the $3.27 trillion came from individual income taxes, which comprised almost half of that total at $1.55 trillion.

Although the federal government brought in approximately $3.27 trillion in revenue in fiscal 2016, according to the Treasury, it also spent approximately $3.85 trillion, leaving a deficit of approximately $587 billion.

Let me see you make a hash of your check book like that and tell me what happens.

Pecuniary Profligacy

One thing we do know is the the “Clinton Foundation doesn’t have a large language teaching component. Otherwise, the misunderstandings that have occurred should never have appeared in any news reports. Read the Money deals here.

The Clinton Foundation’s Legacy in Haiti – “Haitians are more than upset…”

The Miami Herald has a video of Haitian activists protesting the Democratic National Convention, primarily because of the “Clinton Foundation’s spending in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.” According to The Nation in a piece titled The Shelters That Clinton Built, the Clinton Foundation provided Haiti with trailers “structurally unsafe and laced with formaldehyde” that “came from the same company being sued for sickening Hurricane Katrina victims.” Pertaining to the Clinton Foundation’s legacy in Haiti, The New York Times writes writes “the Clintons have become prime targets of blame for the country’s woes.”

As a result of the Clinton Foundation’s controversial involvement with Haiti, The Huffington Post reports that Florida’s Haitian-American community might have a profound impact on Election Day. Ryan Grim explains the influence of Florida’s Haitian-American community in a piece titled With All Eyes On Haiti, Its Diaspora In Florida Could Swing A Close Election. With a sudden shift in U.S. immigration policy dividing Haitian families, alongside the Clinton Foundation’s role in Haiti, Florida’s Haitian community’s discontent might impact other ethnic groups on Election Day.

It’s this backdrop that motivated me to interview Harvard-trained investor and financialanalyst Charles Ortel. Dady Chery, Co-Editor in Chief of News Junkie Post refers to Ortel as “one of the world’s finest financial analysts” and Mr. Ortel has spent over one year investigating the financial peculiarities of the Clinton Foundation. He’s also researched extensively on the Foundation’s involvement with Haiti and other countries around the globe. [snip]

As you have witnessed from the infighting among the individuals involved, when it comes to money with the Clinton Foundation, there is a discrepancy in how words are translated even in the same language.

When dealing with the Marxist/Progressive terminology concerning money, one has to understand Hillary and Bill’s concept:

 

IT’S NOT

 

YOUR MONEY!

 

We don’t need…

…no stinking Yanqui dollars!

Some Poobahs in the Mexican Government say that, but many others don’t care to hear that said with the exchange rate close to 20 pesos to that yanqui dollar. The price of oil is but one cause, the government itself is the major problem.
Here is how they see it.

Fears for Mexico’s economy grow as the peso nears the 20 to the dollar mark

The battered Mexican peso has tumbled to historic new lows in recent days, nearing a psychological barrier of 20 pesos to the U.S. dollar and causing anxiety on the streets, at businesses and in the halls of government.

Among other factors, many point to the recent rise in U.S. presidential polls of Donald Trump, the Republican nominee who has vowed to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and has been widely accused here of Mexico-bashing. [snip]

Peña Nieto, already facing record-low approval ratings, lamented that many Mexicans view a falling peso as “synonymous with a crisis.”

But the president told Radio Formula, “This cannot be associated with an economic crisis.”

He blamed external factors for the current “volatility,” singling out the “enormous uncertainty” of the upcoming U.S. presidential elections and polls showing Trump gaining ground.

Economists cite a number of other causes, including the drop in oil prices since mid-2014, Mexico’s generally sluggish growth and predictions of a U.S. interest rate hike.

Whatever the reasons, the plummeting peso has generated considerable concern. As the president noted, many here inevitably link a decline in the currency’s value in relation to the dollar as an indicator of economic distress — even an impending economic meltdown.

The peso has dropped almost 14% in value against the dollar this year and nearly 50% since September 2014.

“This is worrying because in Mexico, history and experience tell us that very strong economic crises follow when the peso weakens against the dollar,” said Pedro Mendez, 63, a retiree. “Of course the government says not to be concerned. But they rob with open hands!” [snip]

The flood of illegals coming here are sending money home; they send dollars which make a huge difference in how their families live.

While inflation officially remains low — beneath the central bank’s 3% annual target—many here complain of fast-rising prices of food and other basic items, stretching already strained family budgets.

“Prices have been rising for months,” said Rosa Maria Tellez, a nurse and mother of three. “Now you go to the supermarket and pay double, or leave with half the products you could have bought a year ago. This business with the dollar will only make it worse. … Everyone raises their prices and says it’s because the dollar increased in value.”

Alberta Torres, 56, who sells food from a street stand, says customers are purchasing less these days, complaining that their salaries are not sufficient.

“The economic situation is worse every day. We don’t have enough money in our pockets,” said Torres. “One has to go in debt and borrow to finish off the month.”

But not everyone here is bemoaning the peso’s decline.

For the multitudes of Mexicans who depend on remittances — dollars sent home by expatriate Mexican citizens residing in the United States and elsewhere — the devaluation has represented something of a windfall. The stronger dollar means they receive more pesos for every buck sent home.

“In the last few months since the dollar increased in value, we are doing a lot better,” said Maria Rosa Beltran, 45, who spoke in front of a Mexico City Western Union outlet, destination of many who regularly collect money wired from the U.S. [snip]

Also pleased with the higher payout is Georgina Torres, 44, a domestic worker and mother of three whose husband sends about $600 home each month from a job waiting tables in California.

“Now with the extra money I can buy my kids clothes, sneakers, school uniforms — things that I couldn’t purchase for them normally,” said Torres, who also spoke outside the Western Union outlet.

“But we also have to save: We don’t know if this is going to continue or not. My husband says if Trump wins, things will likely get more difficult, and he may have to come back here.”

Which means Americans will have those jobs. They might not want them but if the welfare/disability fraudulent claims are cut off, those are work, honest work, as good as playing piano in a whorehouse.

I’ve done all sorts of work, never thought a job was beneath me and some of those jobs were pretty tough and dirty. One does them until better comes along.

You have an obligation to society to take care of yourself. There are exceptions, the subject here is able-bodied individuals.

Collectivist Banking

What a fine mess you gotten us into this time Ollie!

Ollie never managed to get a screw-up the likes of what the bankers have managed to concoct. Now they have no idea of how to unravel the mess or if they can come up with some solution, how long it will take to implement it and what will happen to the weaker members of the group if they do. One thing is sure to occur: Pain.

Anxiety Spikes Among G-20, An Analysis of UN Speeches Shows

Words like “fear” and “uncertainty” are more common than last year amid competing global crises

Syria’s civil war. North Korean nuclear tests. Brexit. Turkey’s failed coup. A volatile U.S. election. This jarring backdrop was hard to miss as world leaders stepped up to the familiar green marble dais during this week’s United Nations General Assembly.

Heads of state and government representing the world’s largest economies used words like “fear,” “uncertainty,” “risk,” and “terror” 87 percent more often on average than during last year’s gathering, according to an analysis by Adam Tiouririne, a leadership communication adviser at Logos Consulting Group.

Researchers classify this kind of language into a category of “anxiety words” that they use to analyze health outcomes and even business management. This analysis focuses on variations of 13 such words in 22 speeches covering the 10 G-20 countries whose head of state or head of government spoke the past two years, plus European Council President Donald Tusk.

Academic research has also found that such words reflect people’s actual underlying levels of stress, which may explain why U.S. President Barack Obama — who will no longer be troubled with the world’s problems after next January — is the only G-20 leader to use anxiety words less often than last year.

On the other hand French President Francois Hollande, whose country has been rocked by terrorist attacks from Paris to Nice in the past year, notched the biggest uptick, from seven anxiety words in his 2015 General Assembly speech to 30 this year. [snip]

All this money shuffling is for show. Look at who has been buying metals as a hedge against the coming currency troubles. All the big boys at the G-20, that’s who.

Pecuniary Profligacy

Many of the Millennials believe that Socialism will bring wonders to their lives, enrich them with all sorts of good things such as fine health care like ObamaCare, excellent housing like they have in Detroit and Baltimore and jobs paying a minimum of $15/hr.

Please enlighten those looking for such golden life styles, where to begin that search.

Or perhaps the idea is to run for Office.

You too can learn the patter necessary to have such wealth bestowed upon oneself.

Hillary