Should people be allowed to by cupcakes with food stamps?

A Florida legislator is sponsoring a bill which would prevent individuals from purchasing junk food with food stamps. As you can imagine, liberals and the poverty pimps are up in arms. Not surprisingly, food stamps are one of the few things Democrats don’t want to regulate.

I’m against government interference in the personal lives of its citizens, but I strongly favor this legislation. Why? Because the government pays for the food! If individuals who receive food stamps don’t agree with the government restricting their choices, then they are free to stop receiving food stamps, and have full freedom to purchase what they want. Of course, they could also buy healthy food with food stamps and Twinkies with their own money, but I guess they don’t taste as good when they’re not government subsidized.

We need to face facts: The federal government is not only encouraging dependence, but it is also subsidizing obesity.

The obverse of the Eisenhower Dollar, which was minted from 1971 to 1978.

Lately, there has been a lot of talk about making changes to U.S. coinage. Some think making changes to the standard line-up of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters is unfathomable, but I think it’s long over-due, and certainly not without precedence. Let’s not forget that at one time, we had 3 cent and 20 cent coins.

I’ve heard several proposals, so I figured I would throw out my own. First, I would get rid of the penny. Inflation has increased prices exponentially over the past several decades, yet we still cling to this miniscule denomination that is a drain on mint resources, and normally ignored by the typical consumer. Think about it: Do you really value a penny?

Many proposals suggest getting rid of the nickel, since it costs so much to make in relation to its face value. I’d actually suggest eliminating the dime before the nickel, since two nickels can substitute for the dime. With that said, this isn’t one of the important changes we need to make. No, the most important change we can make is to get rid of the $1 bill.

Replacing the $1 bill with circulating coins would save money, since the coins last much longer than paper money. Some complain that $1 coins are cumbersome, but I’d argue that the opposite is true. Have you ever spent a day running errands, then suddenly end up with a stack of $1 bills? Good luck closing your wallet!

My only problem with the $1 coin is the manner in which the mint has handled them. Rather than seeing Presidential Dollars that change annually with five different portraits each year, I’d prefer a return to the Eisenhower or Susan B. Anthony Dollars (or something similar), which stayed the same from year to year, and didn’t vary in design.

This makes a lot of sense. It would save the United States money and simplify the currency. Unfortunately, making sense (or cents) essentially guarantees that it will never happen.

Rep. Eric Cantor leads talks to raise the debt ceiling.

Republican negotiators have walked out of talks to increase the debt ceiling. Why? Let me summarize: Democrats don’t want to cut spending, and Republicans don’t want to raise taxes. To this point, some cuts have been agreed on, but no tax increases are being considered by the Republicans.

These talks are taking place because the debt ceiling needs to be raised in order to avoid a bond default on August 2nd. Ideally, both sides would develop some common sense and use this as an opportunity to set the budget straight, to truly fix it, rather than just make temporary repairs.

If I had my way, I would eliminate the income tax and shrink the size of government. Unfortunately, this can’t be done responsibly until we eliminate the deficit, then the National Debt. Once those two things occur, then proponents of small government can accomplish some truly great things. The problem is that such a solution would require a multifaceted approach that both sides are too incompetent to see.

Democrats need to realize that we need drastic spending cuts, and a fundamental change in how we view government and its responsibility to its citizens. Republicans need to realize that they too helped raid the piggy bank over the years, and now it’s time to buckle down and get the bills paid. It’s probably possible to eliminate the deficit and debt with just spending cuts or tax increases, but it certainly isn’t easier. A combined approach is necessary.

If our elected leaders would start thinking past the next election and were afraid to make a tough decision, perhaps they would grasp the opportunity at hand, avoiding this problem in the future. Unfortunately, I don’t think any of them have the ability or courage to work toward such a solution.

Increased borrowing, here we come!

To me, there’s nothing worse than having taxes taken out of your income before you even receive it. Fortunately, there’s a movement to pass the Fair Tax. Check out the video above to learn more.

American Silver Eagle

In the past two or three years, there have been a lot of events that should have served as wake-up calls for politicians and public officials. Another one of these events happened recently when Utah passed a law to encourage individuals to accept U.S. gold and silver bullion coins for their weights, rather than their nominal value. For example, the American Silver Eagle is a one dollar coin, but with the current spot price of silver at $38 per ounce, it is also worth $38.

There are a lot of people concerned about the economy, from survivalists who are waiting for a complete economic collapse, to those expecting slightly greater than usual inflation. Personally, I’m not expecting a massive collapse, but I am expecting increasing inflation and an erosion of the dollar’s value as the presses keep rolling. Making it more convenient to use gold and silver is a good thing which might encourages individuals to diversify their wealth.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner wants the United States to keep borrowing.

Let’s say you have an individual that is in deep financial trouble. This person constantly uses their credit cards, spends their money as soon as they get it, and are generally irresponsible. If this person is having trouble paying their mortgage, electric, and grocery bill, what should they do? If you have common sense, you would probably suggest that this person stop nonessential purchases. By doing this, they’ll have enough for their bills, and hopefully, some left over to pay off their credit card balances, which will increase their monthly cash flow.

That solution makes sense, but I have another suggestion. What if the person called up the credit card companies and asked for a credit limit increase? If the banks agreed, they could keep spending lots of money, then use the borrowed funds to take care of their monthly expenses. Eventually, they would reach their credit limit, but they could just make more calls to the credit card companies, and continue to have their credit limit increased. Problem solved!

Does this sound like a stupid idea? I think so, but the U.S. Government seems to think it’s a great idea. After reaching the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, the Obama Administration and many in Congress are trying to get the limit increased, so they can borrow more to spend more.

Proponents of an increase paint a gloom and doom scenario and insist it must be increased to avoid fiscal armageddon. Many Republicans are insisting on spending cuts in return for increasing the debt ceiling. Here’s what I don’t understand: If failing to raise the debt ceiling would be such a catastrophe, then why don’t the Democrats agree to the cuts that would ensure passage of a debt ceiling increase?

I’m also wondering why both parties approved a budget that relied on a level of borrowing that wasn’t legally permissible at the time. Is is because most members of Congress love to buy votes with the pet projects and programs their constituents, supporters, and donors want, without regard for the big picture?

I’m extremely pessimistic about things being “fixed” any time soon. All we are going to see are some short-term fixes that will get us through a few months, or a few years, if we’re lucky. The can will be kicked down the road to become someone else’s problem. This is what happens when people without courage common sense are elected.

Many of those who are protesting Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s attempt to reign in state spending should be ashamed of themselves.

So many teachers have called in sick, that several cities and towns had to close their schools. Since there are tens of thousands of union protesters complaining outside the state capital, it’s pretty easy to figure out where those teachers are spending their days. Ideally, these teachers would be fired. Of course, they won’t be. As a matter of fact, there’s allegedly a doctor outside the capital giving teacher’s notes to excuse them for being out of work due to their “illnesses.”

Throughout this spectacle, we’ve heard a lot of talk about the hard working labor unions, and calls for democracy. These calls are rather inconsistent with the situation being created by organized labor and their supporters. After all, many members are calling out of work to protest. That doesn’t seem like someone with a strong work ethic, or someone who cares about their students. As for Senate Democrats, they left Wisconsin. How can Democracy work if the people elected to do a job refuse to do it? Voters chose the Senators and Representatives they wanted in November. Ladies and gentleman, democracy will occur if the Democrats get back to the work they swore they would do.

The union members and Democrats won’t accomplish anything of note. All they are doing is delaying the inevitable. If they come back the bill will be introduced. If they don’t, the legislative process will grind to a halt and nothing at all will be accomplished. That just goes to show how much power the unions have in Wisconsin.

Finally, fire the teachers, recall the Senators, and take the doctor’s licenses away.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker should be commended for helping usher sweeping change in his state. Legislation supported by Walker would strip many collective bargaining rights from nearly all public unions. The legislation would save the state money and jobs in the long-run, but you would never know it from the reaction.

Union members are saying the Governor should be recalled, and so many teachers have called in sick, that some schools needed to be shut down. For them, it looks like the children’s well-being isn’t their top priority. As for these teachers, maybe some of them need to go back to school. Taking a logic class might be helpful.

Without this legislation, it will be necessary to lay-off 6,000 employees. The bill also doesn’t rule out salary increases, it just states that the raise cannot exceed the Consumer Price Index. Besides salary, it also requires a health insurance copay of 12.6%. For those of you in the private sector, how much do you pay toward your health insurance? Personally, I would love it if I only had to pay 12.6% percent of my current monthly health insurance bill, which costs me $445 per month for an individual plan.

This bill will almost certainly pass, and with any luck, it will embolden Governors and legislatures throughout the country to get serious about their financial situation. Most importantly, it will encourage them not to cower to the labor unions.

Barack Obama

Democrats are criticizing Barack Obama for cutting money for heating assistance in half. In the President’s defense, is this money really necessary? After all, according to them, global warming is gradually raising the temperature of the Earth. If this trend continues, as many liberals say it will, we would hardly need to have the same level of heating assistance.

Of course, many liberals would rightly point out that we have faced one of the coldest winters in recent history. I wouldn’t disagree with this point, but it is going to warm up a lot, isn’t it?

Republicans Vs Democrats

Barack Obama is being criticized for a budget proposal that some see as being harsh toward low and middle-income Americans. Critics say it cuts too much from heating assistance, summer Pell Grants, and community block grants. Count me as a critic, but not because he cuts too much, but because he doesn’t cut enough.

I’m one of those people who believe we could completely eliminate the budget deficit in a year or two, not five, ten, or twenty. Of course, that would require massive cuts that go far beyond what President Obama, and even the G.O.P. are proposing. In addition to these cuts, the Bush tax cuts should have been allowed to lapse, at least temporarily. Ladies and gentlemen, we are drowning in debt, and the solutions aren’t pleasant.

Draconian steps are needed to immediately end the deficit. It can’t be done without whining and complaining by those who don’t want their taxes raised or their programs cut, but make no mistake, it can be done.

One of the things preventing the tough decisions from being made is fear among our elected officials. The majority of them know what needs to be done, but won’t do it because they are afraid of losing their next election. I’ve never been a supporter of term-limits, but a situation like this really shows their value.