Pork

March 3, 2010 - Tomorrow morning, the latest job numbers are due to be released by the federal government. They are expected to be bleak and the White House is now in full-on finger pointing mode. But they aren't pointing the finger where you might think. They're not blaming those pesky Republicans or tea baggers. They're not singling out individual members of Congress that they consider to be obstructionist. No, they are blaming the weather; specifically the snow fall that has blanketed much of the country. Who would have thought that with global warming being such a big problem that snow could possibly result in an additional 100,000 or so job losses? Maybe we should track down Al Gore to explain how this all works!

All kidding aside, the White House is running as fast as it can to distance itself from the latest job numbers and they are blaming the weather. Larry Summers, an economic advisor to the President told CNBC that, "The blizzards that affected much of the country during the last month are likely to distort the statistics."

February 23, 2010 - Two weeks ago today, I wrote an editorial titled Why Does The Government Need To Know If Your Oven Is On? It was picked up by a variety of other websites; many of which are focused on consumer activism. The piece was about the federal government's plan for incorporating smart-grid technology in all home appliances (as described in the Federal Register on February 9^th). The technology has the potential to be highly intrusive and end privacy in your home as you know it today. Since the notification published in the Federal Register asked for comments, I suggested that readers respond by telling the government that any data collected should belong to them and that use by third parties should not be allowed. I can only assume that the government didn't like the comments it was receiving since the White House published a new Federal Register notice on February 19^th and any comments submitted prior to today are nowhere to be found. Is this just a mistake or is it sleazy government in action?

When the original Federal Register notice was published regarding the incorporation of smart grid technology in home appliances, I immediately tried to comment. The first surprise that I ran into was that the website for comments was not actually online. No worries though. Comments could also be submitted by e-mail. Eventually, those comments should have been posted on a working government website; something that doesn’t appear to have happened yet.

February 22, 2010 - Every ten years, the Constitution mandates a federal Census. The data collected in the Census is used by the federal government to allocate resources to the states and to change the make-up of Congress. States that gain a lot of new residents will gain congressional seats and those that lose a lot of residents will lose seats. But what would happen if conservatives in liberal leaning states said that they didn't want to be counted in the Census? Could a targeted effort shift the House of Representatives to the right and actually reduce the size of the US Government?

This month, the US Census Bureau kicked off a massive - some would say stupid - advertising campaign with a Super Bowl Commercial. The campaign continues with advertising in print and even during the Olympic Games with nonsensical commercials that make a rather lame attempt at being comedic as they spend millions of tax dollars for air time and production. They are also running a bevy of radio ads. The goal is to have everyone fill out a Census form; something that we are all required to do by law.

February 19, 2010 - The American people want jobs and a booming economy. They have been making that point known to all who will listen. But the point appears to be lost on the White House even in light of the recent election results in Virginia, New Jersey, Massachusetts and most recently in New York where a TEA Party candidate has apparently won a state assembly race this past week. If you are wondering what the White House considers more important than the economy, the answer appears to be overweight children… yes, you read that correctly. And based on a Presidential Memorandum published yesterday, the President appears to be ready to put considerable financing and resources behind a push to make all children fit and trim. Is this really what we need to have our government focused on right now?

If you have a fat child, it is no longer just your personal business. It is now a federal issue! Why? Well, because the President says so! So there!

February 17, 2010 - Investors have viewed US issued bonds as safe investments for years. After all, the US Government stands behind them and the money raised through their sale helps pay for government programs. What could be safer or more patriotic? We're just investing in ourselves. Well, not so fast. Bond sales are now the primary way that the government is funding its recent massive spending, and it is using accounting tricks to continue to sell them. The current trend is unsustainable. Within ten years, the amount of money being spent on bond interest alone will be significantly larger that the budget for the Defense Department.  By purchasing bonds, we continue to help fuel this spending spree. Although individual investors make up a relatively small part of the bond market, (governments and institutional investors make up the bulk of it) it is time to send a message to Washington that the wild spending has to stop and that the American people will not support a government that appears to be speeding towards insolvency.

Bonds have a long history within the United States. The first government bonds within the US date back to 1776. During World War II, the United States sold War Bonds to the public to help fund the war effort. And since 1935, the government has had the current US Savings Bond Program in effect.

February 9, 2010 - Given the myriad of problems facing the United States right now, you can be forgiven for not worrying about what information your water heater is sending to the US government. The fact of the matter is, right now, it is not sending the government any information. But the Obama administration wants to change that. In fact, it wants to know just about everything you are doing with major appliances in your home on a real time basis; an announcement which it made in this morning's Federal Register. More importantly, it wants to control how you use those appliances. If you think about it, the prospect of this is downright frightening and it would mean the end of privacy in your home as you know it.

The Federal Register isn't exactly the publication that most people read every morning. That fact may be exactly what the Obama administration is counting on. It is however the publication in which new government proposals, rules and regulations must be published prior to the time they can be put into effect. In this morning's issue, the Science and Technology Policy Office which reports to the President published a request for public comments that is quite revealing. The request concerns "Consumer Interface With the Smart Grid", which is what the administration is calling the new electric grid for United States.

February 2, 2010 - By virtually any standard, the economic stimulus package passed last year has failed to pay dividends in the form of jobs. Unemployment remains at 10% and while many economists are claiming that the worst is behind us, there is little evidence of this on Main Street. If we are in recovery mode, it is a jobless recovery. Yet the Obama administration continues to push for additional government spending - supposedly to create or maintain jobs even though there is no evidence that the first spending package has created any dividends. At the same time, in the administration's new budget, it is cutting funding for NASA's Constellation program. And the immediate effects of those cuts will be thousands of layoffs.