From the Wahington Post:

Analysis: Perry’s criticism of money-printing may portend more political pressure for Fed 

Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s broadside against Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Monday night was a remarkable departure from the usual approach of major presidential candidates toward the Fed, which has been to make any criticism delicately and politely.

Perry was neither delicate nor polite. “If this guy prints more money between now and the election, I don’t know what y’all would do to him in Iowa, but we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas,” Perry said. “Printing more money to play politics at this particular time in American history is almost … treasonous in my opinion.”

More…

COMMENT: Bernanke calls printing more money “quantitative easing”. This is sort of like my calling my yard filled with weeds a “carbon sequestration project”.

I never understood how the government can just print money. Heck, there’s no gold to back it up. It is just paper.

The really interesting question is where does the money the government prints actually go? Are truckloads of $100 bills and $20 bills sent to Federal Reserve banks?

I read somewhere that the US government sent $6 billion to Iraq in cash to “stabilize” that country.

Back when Obama and Congress were trying to figure out how to simulate the economy I suggested send every American some money instead of bailing out the banks.

Obama decided to bail out the banks and we can all see how much good that did.

So now the Fed is thinking about printing a whole bunch more money.

How about this idea…print it up and send every American $500,000.

A whole lot of mortgages would get paid off.

New cars would be purchased.

Kids student loans would get paid off.

Credit cards would get paid off.

Unemployment wouldn’t matter because we would not need to work to pay our bills…and by spending the money we’d be creating lots of jobs.

And we’d still have some cash left over to stick into the stock market or run down to the nearest Indian casino and blow it.

I doubt if anyone would be calling that treason.

Heck..if big corpoprations and rich people can buy Congressmen, why can’t the federal government buy votes?

Mail my money in smalll denomination bills to P.O. Box 4773, Tubac, Az 85646.
I won’t take a government check because it might bounce.

____________________________________________

From the Frumious Bandersnatch November 2008:

BANDERSNATCH ECONOMIC RECOVERY PLAN

The first premise of our proposed economic recovery plan is that we must understand money.

Money, many think, is cash. It is not. “Money” is an electronic system where computers add and subtract balances from accounts. There is no real “cash” associated with this.

What is associated with “money” are beliefs.

These beliefs include:

– that the same amount of “money” tomorrow will have the same purchasing power as today.

– that we will all have access to “money” via our paychecks tomorrow like we did last week.

– that as a consequence of having access to “money”…whether by selling our stocks or receiving a paycheck, we will be able to pay all our bills.

– that if we put our “money” in a bank, it will be there tomorrow if we need it.

The core problem in today’s financial crisis is that our beliefs about “money” have been shattered. We have lost faith in our “money”. We woke up one morning and realized “money” wasn’t real at all. It was just gone.

Since “money” is essentially a belief system, to solve our problem we need to recreate that belief system.

Our proposal starts with a concept of starting all over as though nothing happened in the past.

This is very important because the more time and energy we spend blaming someone for what’s happened, that time and energy is wasted in going forward into the future. Sure, there were bad people. And bad policy. If we had a time machine we could back in fix the stupid or criminal decisions. Problem is we don’t have a time machine.

The next step is the clean slate new start.

This clean slate includes the following:

– all debt would be wiped out. Whatever any of us…personal or corporate…would be wiped clean. None of us owes anyone anything. Our mortgages are paid off. Our business debts are paid off.

– and everyone owed money would be paid off. 100% face value, (no prepayment penalties allowed).

How do we do this outrageous thing, you ask.

Simple, we all agree to believe that the government, which invents money, can invent enough money to pay all debt off with “new” money.

The second step of the clean slate is every adult (over age 18)  in the country is given $500,000 of the “new” money. To do whatever he or she wants to do with that “new” money.

The third step is to establish a very tight system of financial regulation based on truth. Anyone who lies or schemes to suck money away from someone else to accumulate more while someone has less, is subject to the death penalty. Lets increase the risk premium for manipulating money at other people’s expense. Whether the culprit be a con man or a Wall Street banker, they commit fraud to steal your money, they die.

The fourth step is to weed out of our system greed. A reasonable rate of return is fine, but excess profits just so some shareholders get fat dividends while other people lose their jobs…no way.

The fifth step is to completely revise the tax system so its fair. Fair means no deductions or loopholes. Everyone pays 15% on their income, however they earn it. We can no longer afford the corrosive belief that some people get way without paying taxes because they can afford lobbyists. Our tax system should simply collect money to pay for government functions, not to induce behavior or investment in someone’s pet schemes.

The sixth step is to regulate the credit market. Put usury laws back on the books. Oversee the risk assessment system to make sure lenders tie their loans and rates to appropriate risk levels.

The seventh step is to regulate the debt and bond and stock rating systems. He who rates insures the outcome if people rely on the rating.

The eigth step is a serious effort at energy independence and development of renewable energy. If Brazil can eliminate the importation of foreign oil, we can to. And we don’t have to wreck our environment to do this.

But this all comes down to believing it can work.

Of course people will note that vastly increasing the money supply will set off inflation. That is a belief itself. Why would everyone suddenly want to buy everything and push prices up?

Elimination all debt lifts an enormous burden off the  economy. Everyone is free and clear. Income is now available to invest, to build, or to save.

Will this work? In the short run, sure. In the long run, we’re probably going to go back to our old, foolish, greedy ways believing that some people are more entitled to money than others, that a sucker is born every minute, that government is evil and should not mess with the free market, that there’s no such thing as excess profits, that shareholders are more important than working people…and if that’s the case our economy and system deserves to die.

But think about what is going to be like when you lose your job, and can’t buy food or pay for your electricity. Because all the “money” evaporated and no one could pay their bills or their wages.

Would you like to eat the squirrels living in the trees near your house?

Let us all get together and believe in some new form of money, and start over.

Fire up the printing presses.

Tucson used to be cowboy country. The Code of the West still applies out beyond the subdivisions and shopping malls. A lot of us Boomers grew up wih these from the days when cowboys were still heros, and then forget them.

Here are some versions of the Cowboy Code and the Code of the West.

More people, especially our politicians, ought to follow these:    

Gene Autry’s 10 Commandments:

The Cowboy must never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage.

He must never go back on his word, or a trust confided in him.

He must always tell the truth.

He must be gentle with children, the elderly, and animals.

He must not advocate or possess racially or religiously intolerant ideas.

He must help people in distress.

He must be a good worker.

He must keep himself clean in thought, speech, action, and personal habits.

He must respect women, parents, and his nation’s laws.

The Cowboy is a patriot

Lone Ranger Code of Conduct.

I believe…..

That to have a friend, a man must be one.

That all men are created equal and that everyone has within himself the power to make this a better world.

That God put the firewood there, but that every man must gather and light it himself.

In being prepared physically, mentally, and morally to fight when necessary for that which is right.

That a man should make the most of what equipment he has.

That ‘this government of the people, by the people, and for the people’ shall live always.

That men should live by the rule of what is best for the greatest number.

That sooner or later…somewhere…somehow…we must settle with the world and make payment for what we have taken.

That all things change but truth, and that truth alone, lives on forever.

In my Creator, my country, my fellow man. 

Hopalong Cassidy

r

 Hopalong Cassidy’s Creed for American Boys and Girls

 1. The highest badge of honor a person can wear is honesty. Be truthful at all times.

 2. Your parents are the best friends you have. Listen to them and obey their instructions.

 3. If you want to be respected, you must respect others. Show good manners in every way.

 4. Only through hard work and study can you succeed. Don’t be lazy.

 5. Your good deeds always come to light. So don’t boast or be a show-off.

 6. If you waste time or money today, you will regret it tomorrow. Practice thrift in all ways.

 7. Many animals are good and loyal companions. Be friendly and kind to them.

 8. A strong, healthy body is a precious gift. Be neat and clean.

 9. Our country’s laws are made for your protection. Observe them carefully.

 10. Children in many foreign lands are less fortunate than you. Be glad and proud you are an American.

And you wonder why the Boomer Generation is sort of strange….

And here are some other additions to the Code of the West…

Code of the West (from “Cowboy Ethics: What Wall Street Can Learn from the Code of the West” by James P. Owen)

1. Live each day with courage.

2. Take pride in your work.

3. Always finish what you start.

4. Do what has to be done.

5. Be tough, but fair.

6. When you make a promise, keep it.

7. Ride for the brand.

8. Talk less and say more.

9. Remember that some things aren’t for sale.

10. Know where to draw the line. 

An Old Cowboy’s Advice

 * Keep your fences horse-high, pig-tight & bull-strong.

* Keep skunks & bankers & lawyers at a distance.

* Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.

* A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.

* Words that soak into your ears are whispered…not yelled.

* Meanness don’t jes’ happen overnight.

* Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.

* Don’t corner something that would normally run from you.

* It doesn’t take a very big person to carry a grudge.

* You cannot unsay a cruel word.

* Every path has a few puddles.

* When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.

* The best sermons are lived, not preached.

* Most of the stuff people worry about is never gonna happen anyway.

* Don’t judge folks by their relatives.

* Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

* Don’t interfere with somethin’ that ain’t botherin’ you none.

* Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

* Sometimes you get, & sometimes you get got.

* Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke.

* Always drink upstream from the herd.

* Good judgment comes from experience, & a lot of that comes from bad judgment.

* If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around.

* Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

The Cowboy Libertarian’s Code  

by Patrick Dorinson

• Live by the golden rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

• There are only two things you can count on in this world. The sun coming up in the morning and setting at night. Everything else is a crapshoot.

• Citizenship is not a passive activity. Get informed and stay informed. And if you don’t vote, don’t complain.

• Don’t go looking for trouble. You’ll get your share in life.

• Right is right and wrong is wrong there are no shades of gray.

• Never interfere with something that ain’t bothering you none.

• Never drop your gun to hug a grizzly bear.

• Never forget a kindness and repay it in kind.

• If you don’t believe in something you will fall for anything.

• Face your problems head-on. They won’t look half as bad if you do.

• Wisdom comes from experience, most of it bad.

• Help the less fortunate and defend those who can’t defend themselves. It is not an option but an obligation.

• If you looking for a helping hand, start by looking at the end of your own arm.

• Play the hand you were dealt. In life there is no second draw of the cards.

• A penny saved is a penny earned.

• Life is not fair and it is not the responsibility of the government to make it so.

• We will all fall down at some point in our lives. It’s how you pick yourself up that counts.

• Hollywood should be just as concerned about the “mental pollution” of our children as they are about the environmental pollution of the planet.

• Parents are parents and kids are kids not friends and buddies.

• Any government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you got.

• When you’re wrong admit it and when you’re right stand by it.

• Courts are not casinos or the lottery.

• Life has risk. We can’t litigate, legislate or regulate our way out of every problem.

• Not every problem is a crisis. But if you watch television you would think so.

• We all have two ears and one mouth. Listen twice as much as you talk.

• You can disagree with someone without being disagreeable.

• Nothing is free. Somebody always pays.

• If it sounds too good to be true, chances are it is.

• Keep a safe distance from skunks, lawyers and politicians.

• The Ten Commandments are not the Ten Suggestions.

• Sorry looks back. Worry looks around. Faith looks up. 

Another cowboy

The New Cowboy Code

If you give a man a horse, a rope and a tree, and if he’s so inclined, he’ll hang himself.

If God intended us to fly he’d a given us luggage racks.

Judge your accomplishments not by the names of your friends, but by the list of your enemies.

Being thrown by a horse is not the worst thing that’s gonna happen to you. Its when you hit the ground.

There’s always one horse that ain’t never going to be rode. Figure that out before you saddle up.

A gun and three of a kind always beats three of a kind.

The reason God is all powerful is He invented stink bugs, scorpions and mosquitoes. We just created Government.

Always understand the difference between belief in a religion and belief in God. The former will cost you money and may get you killed.

You don’t always have to be first. But being best is a whole lot better.

Hard work makes you live longer.

The Government keeps trying to make us better people. They’re wasting their time and our money.

Keeping a friend is more important than making a deal that may comne back to bite your friendship.

There are always at least three versions of the truth…wait until you hear them all before making up your mind.

A closed mouth gathers no feet.

The more hurried you are the more accident prone you will be.

God invented time so everything can happen at once.

There will always be more buttons on your electronic equipment than you will ever know what they are for.

A little humor from the Frumious Bandersnatch for a hot summer day….

A Modern Noah’s Ark

….And the Lord spoke to Noah and said: “In six months I’m going to make it rain until the whole earth is covered with water and all the evil people are destroyed. But I want to save a few good people, and two of every kind of living thing on the planet.I am ordering you to build Me an Ark,” said the Lord.

And in a flash of lightning He delivered the specifications for an Ark.

“OK,” said Noah, trembling in fear and fumbling with the blueprints.

“Six months, and it starts to rain” thundered the Lord. “You’d better have my Ark completed, or learn how to swim for a very long time.”

And six months passed.

The skies began to cloud up and rain began to fall. The Lord saw that Noah was sitting in his front yard, weeping. And there was no Ark.

“Noah,” shouted the Lord, “where is my Ark?” A lightning bolt crashed into the ground next to Noah, for emphasis.

“Lord, please forgive me,” begged Noah. “I did my best. But there were big problems. First I had to get a building permit for the Ark construction project, and your plans didn’t meet Code. So I had to hire an engineer to redraw the plans.

“Then I got into a big fight over whether or not the Ark needed a fire sprinkler system.

“My neighbors objected claiming I was violating zoning by building the Ark in my front yard, so I had to get a variance from the city planning commission.

“Then I had a big problem getting enough wood for the Ark because there was a ban on cutting trees to save the Spotted Owl. I had to convince U.S. Fish & Wildlife that I needed the wood to save the Owls. But they wouldn’t let me catch any owls. So no owls. Guess the owls will end up like the unicorn.

“Then the carpenters formed a union and went out on strike. I had to negotiate a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board before anyone would pick up a saw or a hammer. Now we got 16 carpenters going on the boat, and still no owls.

“Then I started gathering up the animals, and got sued by an animal rights group. They objected to me taking only two of each kind.

“Just when I got the suit dismissed, EPA notified me that I couldn’t complete the Ark without filing an environmental impact statement on your proposed Flood. They didn’t take kindly to the idea that they had no jurisdiction over the conduct of a Supreme Being.

“Then the Army Corps of Engineers wanted a map of the proposed new flood plain. I sent them a globe.

“Right now I’m still trying to resolve a complaint from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over how many Croatians I’m supposed to hire, the IRS has seized all my assets claiming I’m trying to avoid paying taxes by leaving the country, and I just got a notice from the state about owing some kind of use tax.

“I really don’t think I can finish your Ark for at least another five years,” Noah wailed.

The sky began to clear. The sun began to shine. A rainbow arched across the sky. Noah looked up and smiled. “You mean you’re not going to destroy the earth?” Noah asked, hopefully.

“Wrong!” thundered the Lord. “But being Lord of the Universe has its advantages. I fully intend to smite the Earth, but with something far worse than a Flood. Something Man invented himself.”

“What’s that?” asked Noah.

There was a long pause, and then the Lord spaketh his Last Word, “Government.”

Copyright 1989 by Hugh Holub

Visit the Frumious Bandersnatch

A summer joke…..

Saint Peter had a lot of people whose Book of Life was a coin toss as to whether to send them to Heaven or Hell. So he decided to send the doubtful cases to Hell for a week and then to Heaven for a week and let them decide where to spend Eternity.

Except that everyone he sent to Hell refused to come back.

So Saint Peter went down to Hell and found out it had been transformed. It was filled with condominiums and homes, golf courses and lakes. Hell even had major league football, baseball and even ice hockey sports teams. Sure, it was still extremely hot, but the residents of Hell had redeveloped the place into a Paradise…even though it was still hot.

Saint Peter was then heard to mutter “got to quit sending people from Phoenix to Hell”.

From the Frumious Bandersnatch Satirical Newspaper:

A lot of effort is going on to try and get people in the US to understand the reality of migrants crossing into America. Most recently a 75 mile walk from the border was staged by immigrant rights groups.

But one way to get a lot of  people’s attention in the US is to put the issue into a TV Reality Show.

Hence the proposal for “Sneaking into America”…

Note: This is satire :

New Reality TV Show proposed: Sneaking into America

While the crossing of the border between Mexico and the US by illegal aliens and drug smugglers gets a lot of news and political attention, few people actually know very much about how this is actually done.

Herewith is a Treatment / Proposal for a new TV reality show called “Sneaking into America” :

Ten contestants  for each series will be selected randomly from applicants. There would be 3 series of Sneaks into America.

Each of the 3 series will have 4 episodes… for a total of 12 one hour shows.

The first episode of each ”Sneak” series is titled “staging for illegal entry”, the second being “crossing the line”, the third being “the overland journey of death” and the final episode “arriving in the promised land”.

The last scene in each series will be the winner starting his or her new minimum wage job in the United States.

Winners get to pick lettuce

Contestants who are captured, killed, die or give up with be eliminated from the contest for the winning prize.

All contestants will be required to pass a rigorous physical examination and sign a hold harmless agreement that if they are kidnapped, murdered or die or are injured in any way they will not be able to sue anyone involved in the program. All contestants will be afforded a $100,000 life insurance policy for the benefit of their family. US citizenship will not be required for contestants except for “Going to Washington DC”  run. Contestants for that series will be required to provide proof of US citizenship to be a contestant, but will not be allowed to show such proof while competing in the show.

Each contestant will be accompanied by a cameraman who will not be allowed to provide any assistance whatsoever to the contestant during the “Sneak”.

The first series will be called Sneak to Phoenix.

Contestants en route to Phoenix

The ten contestants will be taken to town of Altar in northern Sonora and left there with $1,000 in cash, one gallon of water, one cell phone, and the clothes on their back. They will not be allowed to carry any documentation confirming they are United States citizens if in fact they are. Each contestant will be able to guarantee payment to a “coyote” of an additional $2,000 upon their safe arrival at the destination within 14 days of starting out.

Their goal is to reach the State Capitol building, Senate Wing in downtown Phoenix and try to meet with state senator Russell Pearce.

In order to achieve this goal contestants will have to:

–decide which “coyote” to hire to transport them to the US-Mexican border and get them across and negotiate the terms of their relationship.

–purchase dark  ”crossing” clothing and supplies such as a back pack,  food and water.

–decide whether to work together as a team or go their individual ways.

– then walk for 3 or 4 days through the desert to a point where they would be picked up and driven to Phoenix.

–they will have to successfully avoid being captured by the US Border Patrol.

–they will have to successfully avoid being robbed by border bandits.

–they will have to avoid dying of heat prostration or dehydration while crossing into the United States to the point where they would be picked up by their coyote transportation deal

–they will have to avoid being kidnapped in Phoenix.

All contestants reaching the destination in Phoenix will be considered “winners”. Each winner will receive a minimum wage job in the Phoenix area cleaning hotel rooms,.

The second Sneaking into America series  is called Vamos al Chicago  and will start in Oaxaca, Mexico and end in Chicago, Illinois

In order to achieve that goal contestants will have to arrive alive in the vicinity of Brownsville or Laredo, Texas without being kidnapped and murdered by the Zeta cartel, cross the Rio Grande, avoid being captured by the Border Patrol, and travel across the country to downtown Chicago.

Winners of this contest will have the choice of a minimum wage job in Chicago, Detroit or New York City.

The third series in Sneaking into America  is called Going to Washington DC and will feature state and federal politicians as the contestants.

The starting point for this series will be Guatemala and end at the US Capitol building in Washington, D.C.

In addition to all the risks and challenges of the other series, the “Going to Washington DC” contestants will also have to sneak through Mexico and avoid being captured by that country’s law enforcement authorities for illegal entry.

The winners of the “Going to Washington DC”  “Sneak” will be allowed to hold a press conference about issues such as securing the border and immigration law reform, and then return to their elected official jobs.

It is hoped that one or more Presidential candidates would participate in the “Going to Washington DC” Sneak series.

Sneaking into America could be a top rated show.

Viewers will experience at ground level some of the most remote and beautiful country in America ranging from burning deserts to rugged mountains.

Each episode will be filled with suspense as each contestant tries to avoid being killed by bandits or captured by law enforcement. Viewers will experience hiding beneath bushes as helicopters circle over head and masked men carrying automatic weapons hunt for them to steal their money and shoes.

Interspersed with eye-level video of the ordeals of the contestants, “Sneak” will also include real-time footage shot from Border Patrol aircraft and vehicles searching for the contestants,. The  “Sneak” series would also include commentaries from all sides of the border security and immigration law reform debate and interviews with real  illegal aliens who have survived the journey into the United States themselves.

Viewers can pick their favorite contestants and follow their dangerous journeys on Twitter.

At the conclusion of each series viewers will have as close to a first-hand experience as possible of what thousands of illegal immigrants experience daily as they cross the border for jobs in the United States.

And the question will be asked at the end of each episode “would you try and do this?”

SELL THE STATUE OF LIBERTY

 

Satire: There are all sorts of proposals floating around on how the US could get out of debt.

The more interesting ones involve schemes like selling off the gold in Fort Knox (you mean we still have gold stored at Fort Knox?) , and selling off the interstate highway system and some federally owned land.

Republicans Plan To Pay Off The Deficit By Literally Selling America

But these don’t go far enough. Like we do not have $14 trillion in gold sitting in Fort Knox.

The country is in need for a serious yard sale.

Everything must go !

INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM: Absolutely sell off the interstate highway system and let the private sector run them as toll roads. What better way to raise a few billion and really piss off millions of Americans about private sector abuse.

NATIONAL PARKS: These are obviously valuable sales items.

Can you imagine what Disney could do with Yellowstone? Folks dressed up as bears giving guided tours of the park. The bidding ought to be really intense for the Statue of Liberty…with some folks wanting to buy it and tear it down.

The Grand Canyon would be a world class sale item. And don’t forget Mount Rushmore….the buyer could add his favorite presidents to the mountain.

FEDERAL OFFICE BUILDINGS: Do what Arizona has done…sell off all federal office buildings and let the buyers charge the feds rent. Can you imagine what the White House would lease out for? Lease subject to cancellation without notice….

NATIONAL FORESTS: Who needs millions of acres of bark beetle infested trees and all that cost to fight wildfires? There are billions to be made selling off the national forests for summer homes, logging, and whatever. Environmental groups that want to save forest lands would have to buy them instead of litigating to protect them.

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT LANDS: There are millions of acres in the West full of solar energy development opportunities, mineral rights, oil and natural gas just waiting to be sold to the highest bidders.

OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS RIGHTS: Why lease for pennies when these assets could be sold for billions of dollars outright. Trust the oil companies to drill safely.

HOOVER DAM AND OTHER FEDERAL ENERGY FACILITIES: Why keep trying to have cheap power via federal ownership of energy projects? Hoover Dam is also a great tourist atraction.

ELECTRONIC BANDWITH: What do you mean “public” airways…sell off the entire bandwith for electromagnetic communications.

SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE: Obvious candidates for sale….sell the rights to collect Social Security taxes and Medicare taxes and let the buyers actually provide pensions and health care to senior citizens. This is worth trillions.

MILITARY BASES: Again…another opportunity sell and lease back just the bases we really need.

MILITARY HARDWARE: Fighter jets and bombers, cruise missles, aircraft carriers., tanks, machine guns, grenade launchers…easily could raise a few trillion here and arm the rest of the world’s hostile governments, Al Qaeada, the Somali pirates and the Mexican drug cartels. I’d hold onto the nukes just in case.

NASA: Not only sell all the rockets, but rights to the Moon and Mars.

THE SMITHSONIAN AND ALL OTHER MUSEUMS: Can you imagine the scene with turning all federally owned museums into a yard sale extravaganza? What would you bid for an original copy of the Declaration of Independence or the US Constitution? For the Spirit of Saint Louis?

FEDERAL ARCHIVES: We probably can’t even imagine all the valuable stuff in federal archives that could be sold…secrets….the Nixon Tapes…..

SO…. if we keep cutting taxes for the rich and for corporations and we want to get rid of the deficit and pay off the national debt….do you really think we can keep having a federal government doing all of whatever it does? Not hardly.

From the Frumious Bandersnatch

From the Washington Post:

U.S. should sell assets like gold to get out of debt, some economists say

Gold at Fort Knox

With the United States poised to slam into its debt limit Monday, conservative economists are eyeballing all that gold in Fort Knox. There’s about 147 million ounces of gold parked in the legendary vault. Gold is selling at nearly $1,500 an ounce. That’s many billions of dollars in bullion.

“It’s just sort of sitting there,” said Ron Utt, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation. “Given the high price it is now, and the tremendous debt problem we now have, by all means, sell at the peak.”

More….

And this from Politicus USA:

Republicans Plan To Pay Off The Deficit By Literally Selling America

If Republicans are unwilling to raise taxes to increase revenue, it appears the country is doomed to perpetual deficits and eventually, economic collapse. However, conservatives have floated an idea that this column suggested is the primary goal of Republicans for the past 60 years and the idea has support from ultra-conservative think tanks with tacit approval from Republicans. Conservatives and libertarians think it is a grand idea to sell off America’s assets to pay down the deficit and they suggest starting with the gold reserves in Fort Knox. Ron Utt, a Heritage Foundation senior fellow said that since the price of gold is high, the gold should be sold off to give more tax breaks to corporations and the wealthy.

Buy this interstate, set up your toll booths and charge through the nose

The American Enterprise Institute economist Kevin Hassett said the federal government should sell the interstate highway system to bring in cash. Hassett’s plan is for motorists to pay tolls to the private owners so the roads would be in better shape. The Republicans’ masters at the Heritage Foundation released a budget proposal that calls for no tax increases but includes a proposal to sell federal assets over a 15 year period, and although there were no specific assets mentioned, the plan suggests selling property, real estate, mineral rights, and energy-generation facilities worth $260 billion. If the Heritage Foundation and American Enterprise Institute can get enough Republicans elected, they will eventually sell America to the highest bidder to transform the government and country into a private enterprise.

More….

But the Republicans do not go far enough ! Consider the real solution…
Click Here for the Great American Yard Sale.

The Frumious Bandersnatch has the answer for saving social security….encourage Baby Boomers to die younger.

NEW PLAN TO SAVE SOCIAL SECURITY — GET BABY BOOMERS TO DIE YOUNGER

The Center for Saving Social Security  has put forth a plan to save Social Security.

 ”The core problem with the Social Security system is all those Baby Boomers who probably will live into their 90′s, bankrupting the program,” said Allen Loospan, economist at the General Delivery University who has been advising the  Save Social Security effort.

“The number of working people supporting the system will decline while the number of beneficiaries increases,” noted Loospan. “Unless we can legalize 11 million illegal aliens and tax them for Social Security, the system is going to go bankrupt.”

The  Center to Save Social Security’s new plan is  named “Die Younger” according to Loospan.

“If the life expectancy of the baby boomers were to drop to say 75, that would save over a trillion dollars,” Loospan noted.

The solution for reducing Baby Boomer life span is to quit encouraging Boomers to lead healthier (and thus longer) lives.

“The whole thrust of our current health care system is to try and convince people to quit smoking, eat less fatty foods, exercise and so forth,” said Loospan. “The problem is this is actually working, thus people are in fact living longer.”

The Die Younger plan aims to encourage Baby Boomers to smoke, eat fatty food, drink excessively, not exercise, and to generally burn the candle at both ends.

“We also suggested that the retirement age constantly be raised, so the Boomers have to keep working, and live under stress,” said Loospan.

Extension of excessive amounts of credit to Boomers is also incorporated into the Die Younger plan.

“The more debt the Boomers carry, the more stress there, too.”

The Save Social Security group is requesting that reverse mortgages be generously offered to Boomers, with federal loan guarantees for lenders. “If we can tap all that equity Boomers have in their homes, and they don’t live for another 30 years, we can jump start our economy,” said Loospan.

The Die Younger proposal is supported by America’s tobacco industry, who would get immunity from law suits for deaths caused by smoking if the Die Younger plan is adopted by Congress.

“While the initial reaction to promoting bad choice lifestyle will probably be initially very negative,” added Loospan, “the moralistic objections of  Republicans will evaporate when studies show that Democrats are more likely to avail themselves of the bad lifestyles needed to save Social Security.”

In addition to encouraging Baby Boomers to live recklessly, the Save Social Security group is asking Congress to allow tax credits for Boomers who purchase fast sports cars, and who take up sky diving or scuba diving or some other activity noted for shortening lifespans.

“We are also planning a media campaign showing Boomers the choices they have,” said Loospan.

 ”In one scene you will see a 90 year old Boomer hooked up to tubes and wires  in a hospice surrounded by strangers talking about taking vacations in the South Pacific  and in the other scene you will see the Boomer swimming amongst sharks in the South Pacific and having a great time.”

“The effort to ration Medicare so Boomers would not be able to get all the expensive health care to extend their lives ended up being trashed by Sarah Palin’s Death Panel claim,” said Loospan, “so that approach to reducing the exposure of the taxpayers to aging Boomers went out the window.”

“We have to make it socially acceptable for Boomers to shorten their own life spans,” Loospan added.

Other elements of the Save Social Security by Dying Younger campaign is a proposed forgiveness of student loans for kids who pull the plug on their Boomer parents when Boomers are soaking up vast quantities of tax money by lingering on heroic medical treatment to extend their lives.

“It is estimated that a typical Boomer will consume around $300,000 of Medicare money in the last few months of their lives being kept alive by greedy hospitals and doctors who see the dying Boomer as their ticket for a vacation home,” noted Loospan. “If we offer the children of Boomers a $150,000 forgiveness of their student loans, you can guess what they will do when faced with the choice of watching their parents waste away expensively or getting rid of their college debt.”

The Die Younger campaign will seek to get Boomers to encourage their kids to pull the plug. “We really don’t want Boomers to die resenting their children, so we will have a campaign to get Boomers to see shortening their lives as their patriotic duty to protect the prosperity of the next generation of Americans,” Loospan said. “We will make sure every Boomer who dies before the age of 75 gets a flag for their coffin.”

We asked a Boomer what he thought about the Die Younger proposal.

“I might even consider this,” said the Boomer, “if we get smoking sections back in bars and restaurants.”

About as realistic is the Obama and Ryan plans….