Disastrous Ramifications of Government Intervention

From Obama To Parkland: Remembering Eric Holder, Arne Duncan And The New Public School Policy? by Denise Simon

Speak Forcefully

A Restrictive Economic Idea

Quite an interesting deep dive from Rich Hoffman on why rich liberals, with incredible brilliance in a particular arena, step outside to attempt to curtail our freedom by advocating more governmental control using manipulated economic data.

"Even though they are part of shaping tomorrow technologically, they are still liberals who don’t understand the nature of productivity properly—thus they have nothing to contribute on the really big philosophical issues of our time."

ELON MUSK AND MARK ZUCKERBERG HAVE LOST THEIR MINDS: THE FLAWED FACEBOOK DATA AND ADVOCACY OF UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME

It is commonplace for those who have achieved at a very high level to forget that items that partnered with their own ambitions, work ethic and intellect to find fame, fortune, and perhaps, fulfillment.

You have to wonder why?

Did they not recognize their ideas fueled by incentive, along with the freedoms that allowed them to test, forecast and most importantly, fail, to reach their goals?

Their ideas about Universal Basic Income are all incorrect.

This effort is not a fix all, or even a band aid. It is another level bureaucracy that place individuals, committees, boards and governing bodies as a restriction on your goals, choices and incentive.

With UBI, rules set forth by the issuers will be put forth, more than likely placing recipients in a box, a box that fits an overlying political agenda of those running the governance.

And without question, as Mr. Hoffman accurately notes, productivity will be lost, taking a whole host of other positive economic byproducts with it allowing government to fill the void, gaining control.

But, isn't that the elephant in the room

Minimum Wage Motivation

The ripple effect of a minimum wage raised by government intervention rather than by market forces are easily predictable.

Therefore, reasoning for the government to continue to intervene creating market inefficiency must reside outside of promoting gainful employment and the betterment of our economy including business owners, workers and consumers.

Wonder what the motivation could possibly be?

A. Attempting to increase the voter base of the Democrats
B. A cog in the wheel of the road traveled to socialism
C. Control of a large faction of the citizenry
D. All of the above

I'll take D, with B most weighted. What say you?

The Coming Minimum-Wage Tsunami Will Wash Away Millions Of Minority Jobs @ Investors.com

Don't Eat The Apple

The government fight against Apple (AAPL:NASDAQ) regarding the San Bernardino terrorist case is much more significant than a quick glance would indicate.

In fact, "The San Bernardino fight didn’t come out of nowhere. The government thought it could use a terrorism case to set a precedent to get whatever it wants going forward.

Fortunately, Tim Cook said enough is enough and very publicly took his case to the people." Our government is flat out of control. I am not an Apple user and do not generally agree with Apple CEO Tim Cook on political and social issues, but I stand in firm support of Cook and Apple in this case. This case is not about catching terrorists, it is using terror as a mechanism to gain further control of the America people.

If Apple loses here, American privacy and liberties will be lost as well.

As the Apple vs. FBI Debate Rages, Congress Plots to Mandate Encryption Backdoors by Micahel Krieger

FEDeral Protection

Janet Yelln/ FED Chair

Trump fires a torpedo at the ruling class, suggesting the FED, who lost their independence some time ago, is keeping rates low to protect Obama. Trump is marginally accurate, for the ruling class would like nothing more than to dump the massive recession coming our way on a newly elected GOP president.

More aligned with the truth; however, is that rates need to rise to pull back the excessive money currently in the system, but there is heightened fear even a 0.25 basis point raise in rates will send our fragile economy spiraling downward. This would expose Obama's claims of a great recovery as false.

In addition, due to Obama's economic policies and lack of independence of the FED, few tools remain in the toolbox to counter shocks to the system, which are coming very soon.

It is important to note that in the aftermath of the housing crisis of 2008, virtually every economic decision from bailouts to excessive regulation was the wrong choice.

Government Seeks Ultimate Nudge

While this has been in the works for quite some time, The Daily Caller reported Tuesday that President Obama has signed yet another executive order,operating outside the peoples representatives, "which authorizes federal agencies to conduct behavioral experiments on U.S. citizens in order to advance government initiatives."

President Barack Obama/Photo The Daily Caller

Under the direction of Cass Sunstein, author of "Nudge", the program, as noted by The Daily Caller as titled "Strengthening Federal Capacity for Behavioral Insights", reports "The federal government is currently creating a new team that will help build federal capacity to experiment with these approaches, and to scale behavioral interventions that have been rigorously evaluated, using, where possible, randomized controlled trials."

Stretching far beyond behavioral economics, the government intervention and experimentation of the citizenry is most Orwellian in nature and a violation of our tenants of freedom and liberty.

What else is new with Obama and his anti-American intellectual arrogance?

The program, although presented as a mechanism to benefit the citizenry (aren't they always), was accurately described in the article in The Daily Caller. "The desired choices almost always advance the goals of the federal government, though they are often couched as ways to cut overall program spending."

As you may suspect, “Ultimately, nudging…assumes a small group of people in government know better about choices than the individuals making them.”  Sunstein's Obama directed small group is the "little intellectual elite in a far-distant capital" Ronald Reagan referred to in his "A Time for Choosing" speech in 1964.

That time is now.

Folks Are Placed In A Stranglehold

An article turned up on CNBC today that seemed to catch many economists and pundits by surprise, although it has been painfully obvious to anyone not slanted with Obamavision for over half a decade.

Please see the following pull quotes from the piece, which notes a what can only be described as increasing economic issues that are not only delaying millennials from purchasing a home, but from fully achieving milestone of life.

"The typical first-timer now rents for six years before buying a home, up from 2.6 years in the early 1970s, according to a new analysis by the real estate data firm Zillow. The median first-time buyer is age 33—in the upper range of the millennial generation, which roughly spans ages 18 to 34. A generation ago, the median first-timer was about three years younger.

The delay reflects a trend that cuts to the heart of the financial challenges facing millennials: Renters are struggling to save for down payments. Increasingly, too, they're facing delays in some key landmarks of adulthood, from marriage and children to a stable career, according to industry and government reports".

The greater majority of the issues plaguing the millennials, and the entire economy, are due interactions of the government.  Among the negative governmental influences have been the flooding of the market with money, which devalues assets and is inflationary, increasing taxation and regulation, attacks on small businesses and increasing infiltration in markets creating inefficiencies.

Due to these improper, and in many cases illegal decisions, the economy has been in an orchestrated decline. Our opinion for the reasons the administration would engage in such activity centers around the administrations effort with regard to the transformation of wealth, both an a micro domestic and macro global level.

At any rate, there have been scores of negative byproducts from these efforts, and for those seeking home ownership and unable to make that jump and boxed in the rental market, it should not come as a shock that rental rates are skyrocketing, hitting "crazy levels".  As such, escape from this viscous circle becomes increasingly more challenging, and folks are placed in a stranglehold.

As, professionally, we operate in this space, we so appreciate those that have chosen one of our properties to make their home over the years, but we note with sadness the increasing degree of difficulty faced by those who seek to climb the latter and purchase a home.

The economy is a wreck, and expenses and inflation are outpacing rises in income for those who do have meaningful full time employment, which decreases monthly with 94 million Americans underemployed or unemployed.

We know who is responsible for placing hard working Americans in this status, although many do not given the propaganda put forth by a complicit media and outright lies being told by Obama administration officials (unemployment rate is top example).

Elections have consequences, and we are paying a heavy price for 2012.

Appraisal Risk Exceeds Reward

The National Appraisal Congress recently announced the formation of the Society of Young Appraisal Professionals, described by DS News as an NAC subcommittee focused on addressing the declining workforce in the residential valuation space.

It is hard to imagine this story was not printed on April Fools Day.

They need a subcommittee to investigate the increasing shortage of residential appraisers?

Are the reasons not obvious?

Much, if not all, of the fault for the destruction of this industry, of which I am a professional in, stems from the passage of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct, a piece of punitive legislation spearheaded by the former Attorney General and now New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D).  This is a big government piece of legislation, heavy on regulation, most notably forcing those who order appraisals for lending institutions to utilize Appraisal Management Companies.  These AMC's, most of which are partially owned or have fiduciary relationships with the banks, dictate the appraisal process, and sometimes the content, while "confiscating" half the fee.

As Ronald Reagan so eloquently stated, "I hope we have once again reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited. There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: as government expands, liberty contracts."

With the implementation of extensive government regulation of appraisers through the HVCC, the reduction of fees through mandatory use of AMC's and restrictions placed on the subjectivity of the appraiser, the risk of appraising in many cases has grown to exceed the reward.

It appears the free market has just officially informed us of just that.

The Health Trap

As many of us accurately predicted, Obamacare as passed was unsustainable and would create such dysfunction cries for a quick fix would roar. It has begun, and the end game of a single payer plan, always the goal, is coming our way quicker than first thought, limiting choice and reducing quality of care for paying consumers, placing your health care in total control of the Federal Government.

Zero Hedge, citing a Wall Street Journal report, produces a thorough and scathing post detailing how the passage of Obamacare will permanently limit the efficiency of deliverance across the board, raising the costs, reducing competition and limiting accountability, quality and safety for the consumer.

Costs and premiums are rising, while you cannot actually keep your doctor.  Choices of plans are diminishing, and flexibility of coverage for the insured is being reeled in. Your relationship with your physician is no longer paramount, as he relationship that counts is between the company providing you with your plan and their biggest customer, which is the federal government rather than you.

In addition, Sarah Palin was quite correct.  There is the formation of death panels, which will become an unwanted intrusion into the relationship between the physician controlled by the government and you.  Sadly, the less the government values your contributions to society, perhaps indicated not by action but by age, the more cost prohibitive the necessary procedure becomes, significantly limiting the odds the patient receives the procedure.

President Obama, at a very minimum, misrepresented health care legislation to the American people. Elections have consequences, and sadly, thanks to idiots drunk on a sea of irrelevance who were fooled once again, we are about to pay up, and in a most punitive way.

Congratulations.

Voters sent GOP representatives to the Congress and Senate in droves in 2010 and 2014, sending a strong message they wanted this signature and partisan legislation defeated.  However, when the GOP presidential candidate was himself an advocate of government health care, just ran by smarter people than Obama, the conservative base shrugged.

It has gotten so bad, these politicians from both sides intoxicated with power, that many in the GOP, while publicly expressing opposition, quietly worked behind the scenes to help Obamacare limit across the finish line.  A weapon, the power of the purse, was never seriously considered. Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are very weak and need to be defeated, and as Mark Levin says, "Let them fight for their political careers as our response to their disgusting and pathetic behavior.”

The legislation was not about health care.  It, with a hidden concern of global warming, is about control of the people.  Progressive elites are concerned about population control and the effect the everyday habits of private citizens have on the earth. Obamacare has many tentacles within the legislation nobody has read, which leaves decisions to "the secretary" or to panels assembled with unelected  bureaucrats who are untouchable  by the electorate.

In addition, these panels may be globalized, and fall under the jurisdiction of the United Nations, again, with the main concern of global warming and population control.  Activities will be taxed, as the progressive elite utilize media partners in the promotion of health conscious lifestyles, whether you wish to be involved in them or not.  Budweiser will not be considered a healthy lifestyle.

When the dust settles on this new trade agreement, and it becomes clear America is taking direction from a global governance, health care will be spread across the globe to those who are not as fortunate. While this may be a wonderful thing to be involved in, the taxpayers will foot the bill whether they want to or not.

Bottom line is that you were lied to about Obamacare, inclusive of  its true objectives, the costs associated with it and the benefits, or lack thereof, you will receive from being enrolled.  The same big health care companies previously in charge are still in charge, except they answer to the federal government rather than to you. And the price to get in bed with the federal government, which comes from loss of directional control and financial freedom, will be steep, paid for at the end of the day by the end consumer; you.

Idiots voting have dire consequences, and we will soon learn that lesson the hard way.

Devastation of the Family Home

In the field of economics, one of the most difficult items to estimate is the ripple effect associated with major events that significantly affect the economic and social welfare of a community. The recent housing crash, for which our economy is still reeling from, is a classic example.

In my estimation, the entire response from our federal government was in error, as government intervention took the place of free market capitalism to create devastating economic consequences which continue to this very day.  While some may conclude the government was attempting to help in a time of "crisis", I am reminded of another of the timeless quotes from Ronald Reagan: "The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help".

 

The housing crisis established a house of cards, pun intended, where lending institutions gave mortgages to anyone with a pulse, packaged the loans into mortgage backed securities and sold them as A rated to investors.  With the leverage unsustainable, bank failures emerged and the devastation began.

Rather than letting the market cleanse itself out, where those who invested in error or without proper due diligence, or both, paid the price, the government initiated bailouts of the major lending institutions. These government investments in the banking sector have come with a heavy price for the lending institutions, including appraisal regulation that has significantly impaired the industry.

The government now has an embedded regulatory mechanism within the banking sector, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue to run inefficiency, with these government sponsored enterprises possibly needing more bailouts.  The housing market, although now seemingly stabilized and improving slightly in some markets, remains a shell out itself.

Home ownership is at historically low levels, in large measure to stagnant wage growth, with the worker actually losing ground annually. Many former homeowners are joining the millennials, where a majority unable to purchase a home are forced to rent, pushing rent levels to historic highs.

Much of the government interaction in the aftermath of the potentially orchestrated housing crash has limited free market principles, prohibiting the market from returning to optimal health.  Perhaps it is part of the war the progressives have on suburbs, maybe a vehicle in the transformation of wealth or quite possibly it is Orwellian in that gave the government an a prime opportunity to seize control over a large portion of the economy, and the citizenry.

Most in the economic world who embraces free market principles knew the path of quantitative easing and government interaction and control in markets was most problematic. While we await the next crash, which we forecast to come right around the presidential election, the devastation the crash has left on families across the nation is troubling and sad.

Many feel the great American dream is no longer obtainable.  Without question, if you have yet to obtain wealth, the degree of difficulty in achieving it has risen sharply under President Obama due to the infiltration of government regulation and taxation.

It seems 99 Homes may focus on the trial and tribulation of a family whose life was turned upside down at the drop of a hat as the housing crisis placed a stranglehold on the US economy back in 2008.

My professional activities, involving residential real estate appraisal, rental property management and as collateral risk analyst have given me a front row seat throughout.  When 99 Homes hits theaters, I will be there to grab a front row seat.

Hiding Outside The Window

I read with interest the following piece from Brian Kofage and his Wounded American Warrior site.

While the author of this piece celebrates the reaction of the corporation against government regulatory intervention in the form of the raising of the minimum wage, as do I, in the macro, hiding outside the window it should be seen that this is the objective of the progressive left in the unemployed citizenry ultimately being beholden to the government.

These agents of socialism are three steps ahead of the actions taking place, and certainly the events reported in the news media.  To thwart them, it will take forward and critical thinking, opposing every movement they attempt, with comprehension of the Overton Window Theory.

Counter Security

Lt. Col. Allen West, former republican Congressman from Florida, recognizes some very troubling facts regarding President Barack Obama and his leadership of the United States of America.  Back in August, West published on his website six examples of the Obama administration "purposefully enabling the Islamist cause".

It is unfortunate a large contingent of our citizenry is, as Aldous Huxley so brilliantly predicted, drunk on a sea of irrelevance; unwilling and/or unable to recognize the damage being done to our system of government.

With the media criminally negligent in failing to report the actual events taking place in various arenas, inclusive of the monetization of the debt, real unemployment numbers and engagements in international relations, it is increasingly difficult for the average citizen to make heads or tails of the going on.

As such, the citizenry relies on reported rhetoric rather than being able to decipher actions undertaken.   A determined examination of the actions of the Obama administration foreign policy in the middle east would lead the examiner to ponder decisions seemingly against previously established relationships, and as West noted, counter to the security of the United States of America.

Discarding the many false premises presented by the propagandist media and President Obama and his representatives, a non-biased look at the facts would find the conclusions drawn by Lt. Col Allen West as reasonable, credible, and sadly, true.

Governmental Behavior Bump

With Congress increasingly irrelevant, the Obama administration is gaining control of our lives in a frantic and terrifying pace; and you may not know hardly anything about it.

Probably the most widely known example of this would center around regulations on energy imposed through a series of executive order. For example, Cap and Trade was shut down by Congress but elements of the proposed legislation are being enacted through regulation by the EPA.

The regime is not actually taking property over per se, but controlling without ownership by imposing high regulation and taxation. Limits on permitting unless stringent environmental standards are met, with HVAC and lead based paint being two examples, nudge, or force your compliance.

If you are not familiar with Cass Sunstein, Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs under President Obama, you better get yourself acquainted promptly. As Obama sets to transform America, it is Sunstein, author of the book Nudge, who is "nudging" you to make decisions the regime finds favorable.

While our media is complicit in the production of propaganda in support of Obama, an eleven year old girl from Scholastic America had to call Michelle Obama on the carpet. In response to the exchange, over on the wonderful GBTV, Glenn Beck cover in alarming detail the answer provided by our First Lady and the actions taking place now that are efforting, fairly successfully, to modify your behavior by nudging you into making choices the administration prefers.



Remember; they know better than you about how you should live your life. As such, your freedom is being taken from you right before your eyes. Before you know it, the removal of choices will knock you right on the head. You better get yourself together on this or pretty soon, or you will be asking, as John Lennon put it, What in the world were you thinking of?

Before we wonder how we lost our freedoms, lets get ourselves together now and stop this unlawful encroachment. Time is running out.

Lifetime Lessons Learned on Gridiron

Fairness. During the 2008 Presidential campaign, then candidate Barack Obama talked about fairness, and how he would work tirelessly to make things more fair. I assume, in all his scholarly aptitude, he would be the decision maker as to what is fair.

The Dictator in Chief would determine how much money you could make, what you will be allowed to eat, what type of cars you can drive, when, where and with whom you can seek health care and God forbid, how many touchdowns your team can score.

Now them are some fighting words here in the deep south! Think I am kidding? Meet Demias Jimerson.



Jefferson, obviously quite a young man on and off the field, is being tackled by government intervention. After scoring three touchdowns in a game and if his team leads by two touchdowns, Jimerson is sidelined by "The Madre Hill Rule". Hill, a superstar player from the area who back in the day before turning heads at the University of Arkansas, torched defenses around the area, prompting the thinkers in governance, in the name of fairness, to limit his effectiveness.

Certainly, we cannot have him dominate and leave his opponents having to deal with failure.

In the piece, Principal Bryant says other players are just left out, with it being all Demias. Ms. Bryant is quite ill informed, and would be typical of those who will be happy to make decisions for you, as they know better.

First of all, many of the lessons we should learn in life are found on the gridiron. These lesson include but are not limited to discipline, responsibility, desire, leadership, work ethic, aggressiveness, execution, defeat, preparation, compassion, commitment, performance, class and teamwork. After all, there is no "I" in team, and unbeknownst to Principal Bryant, football is a team sport. Not forgotten is sportsmanship, and as former Florida State football Coach Bobby Bowden said, “Sportsmanship to me is going out and playing as hard as you can within the rules.”. That's exactly right.

What Ms. Bryant, and countless other champions of socialism fail to understand, that lessons learned in defeat and failure are invaluable to developing the mentality and intestinal fortitude to succeed. Success comes with a price, and that price is commonly paid through lessons learned.

Unfortunately, the slow creep of socialism is gaining speed in all facets of our lives. Free market capitalism is the best path to prosperity, and as former Georgia Bulldog and Minnesota Viking and NFL Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton points out in a tremendous article in The Wall Street Journal, as a comparison between the Teachers Union and the NFL drastically points out.

When Demias Jimerson signs a scholarship to attend a major college program, I hope he joins the long list of other phenom backs, from Eric Dickerson to Marcus Dupree, from Herschel Walker to Bo Jackson and from Barry Sanders to Earl Campbell in tremendous success. I would love to have him on one of my teams, but if he plays for an opponent of one of my teams, I hope my guys can rise to the challenge of stopping him. Most would be lucky to stop him, but luck is where preparation meets opportunity in the color and pageantry of college football, and life.

Washington Smothering Working America

Painter Jon McNaughton describes his telling painting of Presidents past and how the current administration is thwarting the opportunity of the American workers and entrepreneurs with smothering governmental intervention, regulation and taxation.



Washington is filled with an elitist attitude, full of corruption, governing from a position of arrogance, where those in power are superior intellectually to those of us in flyover country.

Those voices don't speak for the rest of us, and their time is coming. America functions best as a land of opportunity, where free market capitalism is the best path to prosperity.

The restoration takes a big step soon.