Mitchell’s laws:
●The more federal budgets are cut and taxes increased, the weaker an economy becomes.
●Austerity is the government’s method for widening the gap between rich and poor, which leads to civil disorder.
●Until the 99% understand the need for federal deficits, the upper 1% will rule.
●To survive long term, a monetarily non-sovereign government must have a positive balance of payments.
●Those, who do not understand the differences between Monetary Sovereignty and monetary non-sovereignty, do not understand economics.
●The penalty for ignorance is slavery.
●Everything in economics devolves to motive.
=====================================================================

As readers of this blog know, the primary goal of the super-rich is to widen the income gap between them and the middle, so as to increase their power.

Readers also know federal taxes do not pay for federal spending. The federal government is not like state and local governments, and not even like euro-nation governments.

State and local government taxes do pay for state and local government spending. These governments are not Monetarily Sovereign. By contrast, the U.S. government is sovereign over its currency, the dollar.

Being Monetarily Sovereign, the U.S. government has the unlimited ability to pay any bills and never can run short of dollars. If all federal taxes fell to $0 or rose to $100 trillion, neither event would affect by even one penny, the federal government’s ability to pay its bills, forever.

What then, should one make of the following?

For Immediate Release:
Contact: John Kartch, jkartch@atr.org, 1 april 2013 202-785-0266

Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway investors will voluntarily pay “Buffett Rule” tax

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett today announced he had written a donation check to the U.S. Treasury in order to personally comply with “The Buffett Rule.” In addition, all investors in Berkshire Hathaway will have 30 percent of their capital gains and dividends withheld by the company and sent directly to Washington.

After which, those Buffett investors are free to file amended tax returns, and get all their money back. We call that the “Romney Ruse,” commemorating Mitt’s fake income tax returns, in which he claimed not to have taken all his charitable deductions, but was free to file amended returns.

Championed by President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats, the Buffett Rule is a proposed 30 percent tax on all income over $1 million.

Translation: A “donation check” would have only one economic effect: To remove dollars from the U.S. economy, and thereby be recessionary. Mr. Buffett’s “heroic” effort would hurt America, while making him seem like a hero, which presumably would be the purpose.

But why would Obama be thrilled about it? Because there would be another effect. Read on.

The Oracle of Omaha will personally unveil a three-foot by six-foot donation check at an afternoon press conference on the Treasury steps. According to a statement released in advance of the event, Buffett said, “As I wrote in the New York Times, ‘My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It’s time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice.’ Today, I, Warren Buffett, am personally getting serious about shared sacrifice.”

The White House praised Buffett’s action. “Let me be clear,” said President Obama. “This puts to rest any GOP-driven allegations that Warren Buffett was a hypocrite on the tax issue or was just engaging in a bit of moral preening.”

Translation: Standing in front of reporters, bragging about a big check he has written, is not “moral-preening” in Obama-world. It alludes to a clever scheme. Keep reading.

Because the federal tax code is already steeply progressive, the Buffett Rule, if enacted, would raise just $31 billion in tax revenue over the next decade, according to the Joint Tax Committee. To put that in context, that is less than one-tenth of one percent of federal spending over the next ten years.

Translation: The self-aggrandizing publicity would be priceless. But this whole “pay my share” idea is more than publicity.

Americans for Tax Reform is a non-partisan coalition of taxpayers and taxpayer groups who oppose all tax increases. For more information or to arrange an interview please contact John Kartch at (202) 785-0266 or by email atjkartch@atr.org.

Translation: Actually, this act by the Oracle (and we use the word “act” in all its meanings) is a tax increase, albeit tiny, but Americans for Tax Reform hasn’t yet figured that out.

You might think the Oracle doesn’t understand the difference between Monetarily Sovereign and monetarily non-sovereign. You also may think the President, Congress, the Counsel of Economic Advisers — not one of these 1000+ experts — understands fundamental economics.

But don’t be deceived. Something deeper actually is happening.

Buffett’s apparently heroic surrender of dollars to the government would allow Obama to rationalize his desired cuts to Social Security, Medicaid and all the dozens of benefits to the middle class.

That is what Obama’s incessant urging for “balance” means: Take a bit from the rich and a lot from the middle, the purpose being to widen the gap between them.

Bottom line: Buffett would get the saintly public relations he craves, while giving up the relatively few dollars he wouldn’t miss. Obama could cite this great sacrifice by the rich to justify an even greater sacrifice by the middle. The rich would be thrilled that the gap widens, giving them even greater power over the rest of us.

One day, Buffett and his super-rich pals will give Obama that big Obama library in Chicago, great speaking gigs, and lots of money for his family. Think: Bill Clinton.

So everyone would be happy — except for the 99% who are not among the rich, and who will see their federal benefits fall. But who cares about them? They aren’t the big campaign donors and they won’t provide Obama and his family with the big library he wants and with those six-figure speeches.

The Buffett Rule; the Romney Ruse; the Clinton Con; the Obama Obfuscation. The American people are taken with these guys. Yes, that’s the word: “Taken.”

H.L. Mencken: “No one . . . has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.”

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Monetary Sovereignty

====================================================================================================================================================

Nine Steps to Prosperity:
1. Eliminate FICA (Click here)
2. Medicare — parts A, B & D — for everyone
3. Send every American citizen an annual check for $5,000 or give every state $5,000 per capita (Click here)
4. Long-term nursing care for everyone
5. Free education (including post-grad) for everyone
6. Salary for attending school (Click here)
7. Eliminate corporate taxes
8. Increase the standard income tax deduction annually
9. Increase federal spending on the myriad initiatives that benefit America’s 99%

No nation can tax itself into prosperity, nor grow without money growth. Monetary Sovereignty: Cutting federal deficits to grow the economy is like applying leeches to cure anemia. Two key equations in economics:
Federal Deficits – Net Imports = Net Private Savings
Gross Domestic Product = Federal Spending + Private Investment and Consumption – Net Imports

#MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY

Mitchell’s laws:
●The more federal budgets are cut and taxes increased, the weaker an economy becomes.
●Austerity is the government’s method for widening the gap between rich and poor, which leads to civil disorder.
●Until the 99% understand the need for federal deficits, the upper 1% will rule.
●To survive long term, a monetarily non-sovereign government must have a positive balance of payments.
●Those, who do not understand the differences between Monetary Sovereignty and monetary non-sovereignty, do not understand economics.
●The penalty for ignorance is slavery.
●Everything in economics devolves to motive.
=====================================================================

The MSBs (Mean Spirited Bastards) of the public, the politicians and the Supreme Court have been wallowing in the shit pit of “cut-Social Security,” “cut Medicare,” cut Medicaid, “cut aid to the poor,” “cut federal employee’s salaries,” “cut anything that benefits the middle class and the poor.”

Today, MSBs turn full leer to gay marriage, an institution that provides happiness to thousands of our fellow citizens, while harming . . . uh, while harming . . . Hmmm . . . while harming no one.

Even Justice Scalia, king of the nonsensical arguments for anything MSB, is having difficulty expressing his usual bigotry about why our gay people should not be allowed the many legal benefits of marriage.

Same-sex marriage can’t be stopped by courts
By Dana Milbank, Published: March 26

Justice Antonin Scalia led a rearguard action among his conservative colleagues, who attempted to establish that traditional marriage is distinct because of its procreative potential — a quaint notion in this era of adoption and artificial fertility.

Justice Elena Kagan quizzed Charles Cooper, the lawyer defending California’s Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage, about his contention that homosexual marriage is inconsistent with “society’s interest in responsible procreation.”

“Suppose,” she said, “a state said that, because we think that the focus of marriage really should be on procreation, we are not going to give marriage licenses anymore to any couple where both people are over the age of 55.”

Cooper said that was different because, in the case of old folks, “it is very rare that both parties to the couple are infertile.”

The audience broke into laughter at Cooper’s apparent misunderstanding of the birds and the bees.

Translation: There is no misunderstanding. It is a typical MSB lie — a last resort when faced with his own inconsistencies. Politicians do it all the time.

“When did it become unconstitutional to exclude homosexual couples from marriage?” Justice Scalia asked Ted Olson, the former solicitor general for George W. Bush’s administration.

“When did it become unconstitutional to prohibit interracial marriages?” Olson retorted.

Ooooh, Scalia got out-smart-assed this time.

This poor excuse for a Justice, finds those gay people to be icky,” so he tries to invent clever reasons why they should not be allowed to be happy. This is what passes for intellect on the Supreme Court.

And so it was that Antonin Scalia, the ultimate MSB, was left without his usual careless wisecrack about people’s suffering. He just sat there, both feet planted firmly in his mouth (we could only wish), hoping to be rescued by the bigotry of his right wing peers.

But, all phony MSB arguments against mercy and common sense, eventually are understood by real Americans as distasteful and wrong, long before the Supreme Court comes to the same conclusion. To doubt the the right wing Supreme Court is far behind the tide of history is to doubt, for instance, that politicians are liars.

One needs only to look at these pompous asses in their dark robes, sitting high on their bench, and know these people are divorced not only from reality, but from the decency of middle class of America.

Gay marriage helps millions, hurts no one, and ultimately, only a few. remaining MSBs will oppose it. The Supreme Court will be last to follow.

If you are an MSB opposing gay marriage, get over it. Once it’s legal, you’ll see that it won’t hurt you a bit.

Then you can return to to your shit pit of invented rationales (like “America is broke”) for cuts in food stamps, Social Security, healthcare and your other ways to torture the poor.

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Monetary Sovereignty

====================================================================================================================================================

Nine Steps to Prosperity:
1. Eliminate FICA (Click here)
2. Medicare — parts A, B & D — for everyone
3. Send every American citizen an annual check for $5,000 or give every state $5,000 per capita (Click here)
4. Long-term nursing care for everyone
5. Free education (including post-grad) for everyone
6. Salary for attending school (Click here)
7. Eliminate corporate taxes
8. Increase the standard income tax deduction annually
9. Increase federal spending on the myriad initiatives that benefit America’s 99%

No nation can tax itself into prosperity, nor grow without money growth. Monetary Sovereignty: Cutting federal deficits to grow the economy is like applying leeches to cure anemia. Two key equations in economics:
Federal Deficits – Net Imports = Net Private Savings
Gross Domestic Product = Federal Spending + Private Investment and Consumption – Net Imports

#MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY

Mitchell’s laws:
●The more federal budgets are cut and taxes increased, the weaker an economy becomes.
●Austerity is the government’s method for widening the gap between rich and poor, which leads to civil disorder.
●Until the 99% understand the need for federal deficits, the upper 1% will rule.
●To survive long term, a monetarily non-sovereign government must have a positive balance of payments.
●Those, who do not understand the differences between Monetary Sovereignty and monetary non-sovereignty, do not understand economics.
●The penalty for ignorance is slavery.
●Everything in economics devolves to motive.
=====================================================================

Low-Income Tennesseans Resort To ‘Health Care Lottery’ For Coverage
By Tara Culp-Ressler on Mar 25, 2013 at 12:15 pm

Twice a year, Tennessee holds a “health care lottery” that gives some hope to the uninsured residents in the state who can’t afford health coverage. Tennesseans who meet certain requirements — in addition to falling below a certain income threshold, they must be elderly, blind, disabled, or a caretaker of a child who qualifies for Medicaid.

A lottery? Really? A lottery?

You live in the world’s richest nation, but you need to win a lottery to get good health care?! Why? Obama, the Republicans and the Democrats all agree America, despite being the world’s richest nation, is “broke” (John Boehner’s word) — though not too broke to pay for Boehner’s health insurance.

State residents who have high medical bills but would not normally qualify for Medicaid, the government health care program for the poor, can call a state phone line and request an application. But the window is tight — the line shuts down after 2,500 calls, typically within an hour — and the demand is so high that it is difficult to get through.

“It’s like the Oklahoma land rush for an hour,” said Russell Overby, a lawyer with the Legal Aid Society in Nashville. “We encourage people to use multiple phones and to dial and dial and dial.”

This is how the world’s richest nation, a nation that never can run short of its sovereign currency, the dollar, copes with a shortage of dollars: Multiple phones and dial and dial.

Some warn us that if the government “prints” dollars, we’ll have inflation. They are responsible for this phony shortage of health care — in the world’s richest nation. Oddly, other nations that are not so rich as our rich nation, have far more inclusive health care — and amazingly have avoided that dreaded inflation. (They must never have heard of Germany and Zimbabwe.)

Apparently, in those nations, the inflation hand-wringers are somewhat less influential.

The phone line opened at 6 p.m. on Thursday for the first time in six months. At 5:58, Ida Gordon of Nashville picked up her cordless phone and started dialing. She is uninsured, with crippling arthritis and a few recent trips to the emergency room haunting her.

“I don’t ask for that much,” Ms. Gordon said as she got her first busy signal, hanging up and fruitlessly trying again, and then again. “I just want some insurance.”

If Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslan (R) opted to expand Medicaid under Obamacare, more than 180,000 people would be able to be added to the TennCare rolls by 2019. Haslan has not yet decided whether Tennessee will accept Obamacare’s optional expansion of the Medicaid program.

Hey, Governor Haslan, who cares about the poor and crippled? They should learn to be more self-sufficient. And remember, the richest nation on earth can’t afford health care for all its citizens. Zimbabwe, you know.

Many Republicans still aren’t willing to cooperate with the health reform law whatsoever — even going so far as to suggest that Obamacare will “degrade” or “destroy” what is already the “best health care system the world has ever known.”

Yes, the best healthcare system, if you’re not sick, poor or aged.

Yes, in the richest nation in the world, we have “the best health care system the world ever has known” — except for a few other “less-great” nations that provide care for all their citizens.

But that would be socialism, or cause inflation, or turn people into sloths, and anyway, the debt is too high and the U.S. is broke. Simply pick your excuse for widening the gap between the rich and the middle class.

The millions of poor, sick, suffering, aged, indigent people, who cannot afford health care, should be thankful they live in the richest nation in the world (The one that’s “broke”).

Remember, no one is better than the U.S. at . . . er, uh . . . avoiding inflation, increasing the gap and lying to the public about the need to cut the deficit.

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Monetary Sovereignty

====================================================================================================================================================

Nine Steps to Prosperity:
1. Eliminate FICA (Click here)
2. Medicare — parts A, B & D — for everyone
3. Send every American citizen an annual check for $5,000 or give every state $5,000 per capita (Click here)
4. Long-term nursing care for everyone
5. Free education (including post-grad) for everyone
6. Salary for attending school (Click here)
7. Eliminate corporate taxes
8. Increase the standard income tax deduction annually
9. Increase federal spending on the myriad initiatives that benefit America’s 99%

No nation can tax itself into prosperity, nor grow without money growth. Monetary Sovereignty: Cutting federal deficits to grow the economy is like applying leeches to cure anemia. Two key equations in economics:
Federal Deficits – Net Imports = Net Private Savings
Gross Domestic Product = Federal Spending + Private Investment and Consumption – Net Imports

#MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY

Mitchell’s laws:
●The more federal budgets are cut and taxes increased, the weaker an economy becomes.
●Austerity is the government’s method for widening the gap between rich and poor, which leads to civil disorder.
●Until the 99% understand the need for federal deficits, the upper 1% will rule.
●To survive long term, a monetarily non-sovereign government must have a positive balance of payments.
●Those, who do not understand the differences between Monetary Sovereignty and monetary non-sovereignty, do not understand economics.
●The penalty for ignorance is slavery.
●Everything in economics devolves to motive.
=====================================================================

Opponents mark Obamacare’s third anniversary with lobbying surge
By David Morgan, Reuters

Medical device makers, health insurers, retailers and restaurants are waging what lobbyists call a coordinated effort to gain Senate Democratic support for overturning $130 billion in taxes that will be used to fund the new law, and repealing a mandate requiring employers to provide insurance coverage for full-time workers or pay a fine.

In one short paragraph, we see the decline and the fall of the American empire.

In a Monetarily Sovereign nation, government taxes do not fund government spending, so do not fund the health care law. ” . . . taxes that will be used to fund the new law. . . ” is a lie, paid for by the rich and promulgated by the politicians and the media — both owned by the rich.

Further, no nation should require the private sector to pay for health care. Health is the most fundamental need of a population. What good is a government that cannot provide it?

A nation that refuses care to all, the rich and the poor, cannot claim the respect of history. This generation’s legacy will be of ignorance, meanness and failure. For lack of health, we will descend into a “Dark Ages.”

Thus, does the gap widen. Even now, there is a mad rush among doctors to switch to boutique practices, requiring annual flat payments, often unaffordable to the masses.

Soon, only the wealthiest will have effective health care. The rest will see their health decline to poverty levels. We and our children will live sicker and die sooner.

At issue are a 2.3 percent tax on medical devices valued at $30 billion over the next 10 years, a $100 billion health insurance premium tax and the employer mandate, which opponents say could cripple many small business with costly fines.

The federal government easily can and absolutely should provide Medicare for every man, woman and child in America — a Medicare that pays for drugs, doctor bills and hospital bills as well as long term care.

Like elementary education, this care should be free to everyone, not just to the rich.

No only is this the only civilized approach to America’s health, but the payments would stimulate America’s economy.

It is a lie, a dirty lie, a monstrous lie that our Monetarily Sovereign nation, which has the unlimited ability to pay any bill of any size, cannot “afford” to provide health to its citizens.

The rich have poured dollars on the politicians and the media, who in turn have poured flaming gasoline on the public. America burns while the rich call the tune, and fiddle.

Shame!

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Monetary Sovereignty

====================================================================================================================================================

Nine Steps to Prosperity:
1. Eliminate FICA (Click here)
2. Medicare — parts A, B & D — for everyone
3. Send every American citizen an annual check for $5,000 or give every state $5,000 per capita (Click here)
4. Long-term nursing care for everyone
5. Free education (including post-grad) for everyone
6. Salary for attending school (Click here)
7. Eliminate corporate taxes
8. Increase the standard income tax deduction annually
9. Increase federal spending on the myriad initiatives that benefit America’s 99%

No nation can tax itself into prosperity, nor grow without money growth. Monetary Sovereignty: Cutting federal deficits to grow the economy is like applying leeches to cure anemia. Two key equations in economics:
Federal Deficits – Net Imports = Net Private Savings
Gross Domestic Product = Federal Spending + Private Investment and Consumption – Net Imports

#MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY