Category Archives: Budget

Gabriel Sterling GA election official ass covering to Trump: “there’s not a path”, Why has he covered for Dominion?, Blamed poll workers, How does he know??

Posted on December 2, 2020 | 3 comments

Gabriel Sterling GA election official ass covering to Trump: “there’s not a path”, Why has he covered for Dominion?, Blamed poll workers, How does he know??

“we did have a problem with one of the vote scanners.”…Tom Rees, chairman of Floyd County’s Board of Elections

“We discovered that these systems are subject to different types of unauthorized manipulation and potential fraud,”  “There is a reason that Texas rejected it,”...Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton

”They’ve got to be outcome determinative, but I will tell you, the Lt. Gov. [Geoff Duncan] in Georgia, the Secretary of State in Georgia [Brad Raffensperger] in Georgia, they’re in for quite a shock on Monday and Tuesday about how poorly they run and they ran – there’s going to be a proof – of how poorly run they ran the elections in one of their major counties,”…Attorney Jordan Sekulow

 

Something smelled rotten in the state of Georgia early in the election cycle.

Citizen Wells began reporting on the smell weeks ago with 2 prominent problems sticking out from the onset:

  1. Just months after the State of Texas tested the Dominion Voting Systems package for the third time since 2012 and reported it in Feb. 2019, the State of Georgia purchased it for $ 107 million.
  2. “Eric Coomer, an executive with Dominion Voting Systems, was involved in a software change in GA on Sept. 29, 2020. He has been quoted as saying “Trump’s not gonna win. I made f*cking sure of that!”

All along Gabriel Sterling has been defensive about the Dominion Voting Systems package they were using.

Why?

He also has been less than honest about vote count results and procedures.

Why?

He claims that he and others are receiving threats.

If so that is clearly wrong and counter productive.

He is blaming President Trump and others.

Why?

His position and his behavior are subject to scrutiny.

From The Daily Caller December 1, 2020.

“Georgia Voting System Implementation Manager Gabriel Sterling tore into President Donald Trump for continuing to make claims about the 2020 election that are “inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence.””

““Mr. President, as the secretary said yesterday, people aren’t giving you the best advice what’s actually going on on the ground,” Sterling said in closing. “It’s time to look forward. If you want to run for re-election in four years, fine, do it, but everything we’re seeing right now, there’s not a path.”

Read more:

https://dailycaller.com/2020/12/01/gabriel-sterling-election-fraud-donald-trump-georgia-voting-official/

Blaming Trump for your bad decisions, apparent incompetence and less than honest reporting?

Citizen Wells articles:

November 15, 2020.

“Eric Coomer, an executive with Dominion Voting Systems, which sold the state its new election system last year for more than $100 million, said the problem has to do with the way the voting machines communicate with the underlying Android operating system. He told Totenberg a minor software change will address the issue.”

““In a written declaration filed by the activists, J. Alex Halderman, a University of Michigan professor and a leading expert on election security, said “in complex computerized systems like Georgia’s election equipment, last-minute changes, even seemingly small ones, can introduce serious and difficult-to-foresee consequences.””

https://citizenwells.com/2020/11/15/eric-coomer-georgia-sept-2020-software-change-installation-reprogramming-of-dominion-voting-systems-software-trumps-not-gonna-win-i-made-fcking-sure-of-that/

November 16, 2020.

“WHY DID THE STATE OF GEORGIA SIGN A $107 MILLION CONTRACT WITH DOMINION VOTING SYSTEMS IN 2019 MONTHS AFTER TEXAS TESTED AND REJECTED IT AGAIN?”

https://citizenwells.com/2020/11/16/georgia-107-million-contract-with-dominion-voting-systems-in-2019-months-after-texas-test-and-rejection-bribes-kickbacks-eric-coomer-sept-2020-software-change/

November 18, 2020.

“Georgia election disturbing pattern emerges, Third county Walton ballots not counted, Poll workers or Dominion error/fraud?, Officials protecting themselves or Dominion?”

https://citizenwells.com/2020/11/18/georgia-election-disturbing-pattern-emerges-third-county-walton-ballots-not-counted-poll-workers-or-dominion-error-fraud-officials-protecting-themselves-or-dominion/

November 20, 2020.

“Earlier today, Citizen Wells revealed big swings in the vote tallies for President Trump and Joe Biden in the Georgia recount:

Dekalb          +560 Biden

Fulton           +345 Trump

Cobb              + 315 Biden

Gwinnett      +285 Trump

Rockdale      +241 Trump

Clayton         +145 Trump

Dougherty    +117 Biden

Henry            +117 Biden

The above are just the counties with a variance of +100.”

“Next examine counties with vote count changes greater than +- 100.

Floyd           2,464

Gwinnett    1,642

Dekalb          732

Fulton           634

Hall               120

Fayette          117

Cobb           –  301

Clayton       – 360

We were told about some of the counties.

That ballots were not rescanned or that the memory card was not uploaded.

That is still a big problem and makes it difficult to trust the results.”

https://citizenwells.com/2020/11/20/georgia-recount-major-ballot-count-issues-ballots-not-counted-and-some-over-counted-net-5262-votes-can-georgia-be-trusted-for-a-fair-election/

November 21, 2020.

“DeKalb County GA vote smells, Something rotten in the state of Georgia, Trump % and vote rate fail reasonable check, Fraud and incompetence apparent, Trump ballots not counted?”

https://citizenwells.com/2020/11/21/dekalb-county-ga-vote-smells-something-rotten-in-the-state-of-georgia-trump-and-vote-rate-fail-reasonable-check-fraud-and-incompetence-apparent-trump-ballots-not-counted/

November 22, 2020.

“Georgia election more screwed up and misrepresented than first apparent, Devil in details, Floyd County example, Want your small town to be off by 61 votes?”

https://citizenwells.com/2020/11/22/georgia-election-more-screwed-up-and-misrepresented-than-first-apparent-devil-in-details-floyd-county-example-want-your-small-town-to-be-off-by-61-votes/

There are plenty more at Citizen Wells and you are urged to read them.

Finally, Gabriel Sterling would have been part of the decision making when Dominion Voting Systems was purchased in 2019.

December 27, 2018.

“Sterling Named Secretary Of State’s Chief Operating Officer”

“Georgia Secretary of State-elect Brad Raffensperger has tapped former Sandy Springs City Council member Gabriel Sterling to serve as chief operating officer for the agency.

The COO is the overall director of budgetary, human resources and administrative operations within the office of Secretary of State. Sterling is president of SSH, Inc., a business and political consulting firm. He served on the Sandy Springs City Council from 2006 to 2018 where he was an advocate for neighborhoods and small businesses.”

https://patch.com/georgia/sandysprings/sterling-named-secretary-states-chief-operating-officer

Is Gabriel Sterling merely compensating for the bad decision to purchase Dominion?

Is that why he is blaming others?

Or is there another reason?

And why did he state:

“but everything we’re seeing right now, there’s not a path.”

How could he possibly know that???

 

More here:

https://citizenwells.com/

http://citizenwells.net/

 

 

 

 

 

 

Advertisement

3 Comments

Posted in Accountability, Board of Elections, Budget, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Civil rights, Election 2020, Election Boards, Election Law, Election update, Electoral College, Electors, fraud, Secretary of State, Voter fraud, voters

Tagged , , ,

Obama hustles and lies in state of union speech, Obama the hustler, Obama devastates US economy, middle class young and students, Rush Limbaugh nails it, More businesses failed during Obama 6 years

Posted on January 21, 2015 | 151 comments

Obama hustles and lies in state of union speech, Obama the hustler, Obama devastates US economy, middle class young and students, Rush Limbaugh nails it, More businesses failed during Obama 6 years

“I didn’t like Obama from the beginning, I thought he was a hustler and I think he still is.”…Bartle Bull, lifelong Democrat and civil rights activist, July 1, 2010

“I mean, yeah, he’s got a lot to brag about here, doesn’t he? Is he gonna brag about 92.8 million Americans not working? Is he gonna brag about the absolute mess that HealthCare.gov has been from the get-go? Is he going to brag about all the states he has sued who have attempted to pass legislation in those states to enforce already existing immigration laws? Is he gonna brag about how he has stopped deporting almost anyone except the most hardened criminals? Is he gonna brag about getting to the bottom of the IRS targeting of the Tea Party? Is he gonna brag about getting to the bottom of what happened at Benghazi? Is he gonna brag about finally finding out what happened with the VA scandals and straightening that out?”…Rush Limbaugh January 20, 2015

“And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed
–if all records told the same tale–then the lie passed into
history and became truth. “Who controls the past,” ran the
Party slogan, “controls the future: who controls the present
controls the past.”…George Orwell, “1984″

 

I did not watch the State of the Union speech for the same reasons that Rush Limbaugh didn’t watch.

Obama is a hustler and a liar.

He has destroyed the US economy, health care system, businesses and jobs.

From Rush Limbaugh January 21, 2015.

“Why I Didn’t Watch the Obama State of the Union Show”

“I never thought, I mean, I thought I might get close to it. I never thought the day would come where I did what I did last night. I did not watch. I did not turn it on. I didn’t have the State of the Union on with the sound down. I didn’t have a channel on where you could see the State of the Union. I today am a proud member of the low-information crowd. I didn’t watch it.”

“And now look. Look at how far Obama has actually fallen, just in that measure alone, how many people have no interest in listening to what he has to say. And that was it for me. I literally had no interest, because I knew what was gonna be said, and more than that, I knew how it was going to be said. I knew that I was gonna be insulted. I knew the things I believe in are gonna be insulted, with a gloating air about it, and I just didn’t want to put up with it.

I’ve got enough other things going on in life now that are far more deserving of my attention than that, particularly when I knew there wasn’t gonna be any real news in this thing last night. There wasn’t gonna be anything unexpected. There wasn’t gonna be anything brand-new. There wasn’t gonna be anything real meaningful as far as that concerned, other than continued obfuscation.”

Read More:

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2015/01/21/why_i_didn_t_watch_the_obama_state_of_the_union_show

From Rush Limbaugh January 20, 2015.

“Now, you know presidents, when they go to the State of the Union show, they try to list and rattle off their accomplishments from over the last year or during their presidential terms. So what will Obama point to as his accomplishments since the last State of the Union show? Is he gonna brag about the rise of ISIS? Is he gonna brag about how we’ve lost Iraq and we’re the on brink of losing Afghanistan?

Did you see that ISIS killed 13 young boys because they watched a soccer game? Yeah, so is Obama gonna talk about how he has stopped the rise of ISIS? Is he gonna brag about how we’ve lost Iraq, gonna brag about we’re on the brink of losing Afghanistan? Is he gonna brag about freeing dozens of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay? Is he going to brag about trading five of the worst of them for a man who may have deserted his post, that would be Bergdahl? Is Obama gonna brag about swapping five Cuban terrorists, a couple of whom were actually convicted of murder, for some American hostages the Castros were holding for bargaining chips?

I mean, yeah, he’s got a lot to brag about here, doesn’t he? Is he gonna brag about 92.8 million Americans not working? Is he gonna brag about the absolute mess that HealthCare.gov has been from the get-go? Is he going to brag about all the states he has sued who have attempted to pass legislation in those states to enforce already existing immigration laws? Is he gonna brag about how he has stopped deporting almost anyone except the most hardened criminals? Is he gonna brag about getting to the bottom of the IRS targeting of the Tea Party? Is he gonna brag about getting to the bottom of what happened at Benghazi? Is he gonna brag about finally finding out what happened with the VA scandals and straightening that out?

Or is he gonna skip listing all of these accomplishments and just move on to listing even more ways he wants to buy votes for Democrats in the future? Again, a study out today by a couple of scholars that reports that Obama actually has the second worse State of the Union success rate for any president over the last 50 years, and that would be Gerald Ford, who wasn’t even elected.

Look at what Gerald Ford faced. Gerald Ford faced a country and a media still wallowing in Watergate. Ford’s success rate was 28%, Obama’s is 30, 30% of what Obama has proposed has actually happened, and it’s going to be probably more of the same tonight. And don’t forget that for two years of his tenure, Obama even had a Democrat-controlled Congress, which makes this 30% success rate somewhat unimpressive. ”
“This is an interesting. I’ve been holding this story for couple of days. It’s a Reuters story. “Barack Obama enters the final two years of his presidency with a blemish on his legacy that looks impossible to erase: The decline of the middle class that he has promised to rescue.” What is this from Reuters? A little truth here? Right here, that open is exactly why the State of the Union is being done the way it’s being done tonight and why all of these talks of tax increases on the rich are taking place.

Obama has fixed it so that the only way the middle class benefits is via the redistribution of wealth (and that means government benefits) instead of going out and working and getting jobs. “Barack Obama enters the final two years of his presidency with a blemish on his legacy that looks impossible to erase: the decline of the middle class he has promised to rescue.” In reality, it is impossible to erase. It is what it is. But that’s what tonight’s gonna be about: erasing this and making it look like things have never been better.

Frankly, folks, I don’t want to be lied to about it. Things are not looking better than ever. There’s nothing Obama has done that sets this country up for vast growth and improvement. It’s the exact opposite. “The revival of middle-class jobs has been one of Obama’s mantras since he took office in 2009 fighting the worst economic crisis in generations. It was a major theme of his last State of the Union address and is expected to feature in the one scheduled for [tonight].”

Read more:

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2015/01/20/who_cares_about_the_state_of_the_union_it_s_just_lies_and_empty_promises

From Jim Clifton Chairman and CEO of Gallup

“The U.S. now ranks not first, not second, not third, but 12th among developed nations in terms of business startup activity. Countries such as Hungary, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Sweden, Israel and Italy all have higher startup rates than America does.

We are behind in starting new firms per capita, and this is our single most serious economic problem. Yet it seems like a secret. You never see it mentioned in the media, nor hear from a politician that, for the first time in 35 years, American business deaths now outnumber business births.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the total number of new business startups and business closures per year — the birth and death rates of American companies — have crossed for the first time since the measurement began. I am referring to employer businesses, those with one or more employees, the real engines of economic growth. Four hundred thousand new businesses are being born annually nationwide, while 470,000 per year are dying.

Until 2008, startups outpaced business failures by about 100,000 per year. But in the past six years, that number suddenly turned upside down. There has been an underground earthquake. As you read this, we are at minus 70,000 in terms of business survival. The data are very slow coming out of the U.S. Department of Census, via the Small Business Administration, so it lags real time by two years.

Net Number of New U.S. Firms Plummets

Business startups outpaced business failures by about 100,000 per year until 2008. But in the past six years, that number suddenly reversed, and the net number of U.S. startups versus closures is minus 70,000.

My hunch is that no one talks about the birth and death rates of American business because Wall Street and the White House, no matter which party occupies the latter, are two gigantic institutions of persuasion. The White House needs to keep you in the game because their political party needs your vote. Wall Street needs the stock market to boom, even if that boom is fueled by illusion. So both tell us, “The economy is coming back.”

Let’s get one thing clear: This economy is never truly coming back unless we reverse the birth and death trends of American businesses.

Dead-Wrong Thinking

It is catastrophic to be dead wrong on the biggest issue of the last 50 years — the issue of where jobs come from. Our leadership keeps thinking that the answer to economic growth and ultimately job creation is more innovation, and we continue to invest billions in it. But an innovation is worthless until an entrepreneur creates a business model for it and turns that innovative idea in something customers will buy. Yet current thinking tells us we’re on the right track and don’t need different strategies, so we continue marching down the path of national decline, believing innovation will save us.”

Read more:

http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/180431/american-entrepreneurship-dead-alive.aspx?utm_source=WWWV7HP&utm_medium=topic&utm_campaign=tiles

And sending more Americans to college will not help either.

We do not have sufficient jobs for current graduates.

151 Comments

Posted in 2009 Stimulus Bill, Barack Obama, Budget, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Economy, Employment, George Orwell, Hustler, Jobs, Lies, Obama, Obama administration, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, ObamaCare, Orwell, Orwellian, Speech, The Case Against Barack Obama

Tagged , , , , ,

CBO report 2013 Long Term Budget Outlook, September 17, 2013, Debt trend unsustainable, Between 2009 and 2012 largest budget deficits since 1946, Federal debt 73 percent of GDP higher than any point in US history except World War II

Posted on September 17, 2013 | 58 comments

CBO report 2013 Long Term Budget Outlook, September 17, 2013, Debt trend unsustainable, Between 2009 and 2012 largest budget deficits since 1946, Federal debt 73 percent of GDP higher than any point in US history except World War II

“What do you think a stimulus is? It’s spending – that’s the whole point! Seriously.”…Barack Obama

“…and Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They [socialists] always run out of other people’s money. It’s quite a characteristic of them.”…Margaret Thatcher

“Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.”…George Orwell, “1984″

From the CBO September 17, 2013.

“The 2013 Long-Term Budget Outlook”

“Between 2009 and 2012, the federal government recorded the largest budget deficits relative to the size of the economy since 1946, causing federal debt to soar. Federal debt held by the public is now about 73 percent of the economy’s annual output, or gross domestic product (GDP). That percentage is higher than at any point in U.S. history except a brief period around World War II, and it is twice the percentage at the end of 2007. If current laws generally remained in place, federal debt held by the public would decline slightly relative to GDP over the next several years, CBO projects. After that, however, growing deficits would ultimately push debt back above its current high level. CBO projects that federal debt held by the public would reach 100 percent of GDP in 2038, 25 years from now, even without accounting for the harmful effects that growing debt would have on the economy (see the figure below). Moreover, debt would be on an upward path relative to the size of the economy, a trend that could not be sustained indefinitely.

Federal Debt Held by the Public Under CBO's Extended Baseline

Budget Projections For The Next 10 Years

The economy’s gradual recovery from the 2007–2009 recession, the waning budgetary effects of policies enacted in response to the weak economy, and other changes to tax and spending policies have caused the deficit to shrink this year to its smallest size since 2008: roughly 4 percent of GDP, compared with a peak of almost 10 percent in 2009. If current laws governing taxes and spending were generally unchanged—an assumption that underlies CBO’s 10-year baseline budget projections—the deficit would continue to drop over the next few years, falling to 2 percent of GDP by 2015. As a result, by 2018, federal debt held by the public would decline to 68 percent of GDP.

However, budget deficits would gradually rise again under current law, CBO projects, mainly because of increasing interest costs and growing spending for Social Security and the government’s major health care programs (Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and subsidies to be provided through health insurance exchanges). CBO expects interest rates to rebound in coming years from their current unusually low levels, sharply raising the government’s cost of borrowing. In addition, the pressures of an aging population, rising health care costs, and an expansion of federal subsidies for health insurance would cause spending for some of the largest federal programs to increase relative to GDP. By 2023, CBO projects, the budget deficit would grow to almost 3½ percent of GDP under current law, and federal debt held by the public would equal 71 percent of GDP and would be on an upward trajectory.”

“Looking beyond the 10-year period covered by its regular baseline projections, CBO produced an extended baseline for this report that extrapolates those projections through 2038 (and, with even greater uncertainty, through later decades). Under the extended baseline, budget deficits would rise steadily and, by 2038, would push federal debt held by the public close to the percentage of GDP seen just after World War II—even without factoring in the harm that growing debt would cause to the economy.

By 2038, CBO projects, federal spending would increase to 26 percent of GDP under the assumptions of the extended baseline, compared with 22 percent in 2012 and an average of 20½ percent over the past 40 years. That increase reflects the following projected paths for various types of federal spending if current laws generally remain in place (see the figure below):

  • Federal spending for the major health care programs and Social Security would increase to a total of 14 percent of GDP by 2038, twice the 7 percent average of the past 40 years.
  • In contrast, total spending on everything other than the major health care programs, Social Security, and net interest payments would decline to 7 percent of GDP, well below the 11 percent average of the past 40 years and a smaller share of the economy than at any time since the late 1930s.
  • The federal government’s net interest payments would grow to 5 percent of GDP, compared with an average of 2 percent over the past 40 years, mainly because federal debt would be much larger.”

Read more:

http://www.cbo.gov/publication/44521

Entire report:

http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/44521-LTBO_0.pdf

58 Comments

Posted in Barack Obama, Budget, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Economy, News, Obama, Obama administration, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, ObamaCare, The Case Against Barack Obama, Washington DC, white house

Tagged , , , , ,

Obamacare sticker shock, Skyrocketing health care costs, Job killer, Millions to pay 20 to 100 percent more in January 2014, Obamacare set to implode

Posted on March 15, 2013 | 20 comments

Obamacare sticker shock, Skyrocketing health care costs, Job killer, Millions to pay 20 to 100 percent more in January 2014, Obamacare set to implode

“The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)[1] imposes numerous tax hikes that transfer more than $500 billion over 10 years—and more in the future—from hardworking American families and businesses to Congress for spending on new entitlements and subsidies. In addition, higher tax rates on working and investing will discourage economic growth both now and in the future, further lowering the standard of living.”…Heritage Foundation

“About two-thirds of the hospitals serving Medicare patients, or some 2,200 facilities, will be hit with penalties averaging around $125,000 per facility this coming year, according to government estimates.”…NE News Now

“Can we stop calling ObamaCare the Affordable Care Act now?”…Guilford College student

 

From the Minneapolis Star Tribune March 13, 2013.

“Insurers warn of sticker shock due to health care law’s new taxes”
“The nation’s big health insurers say they expect premiums — or the
cost for insurance coverage — to rise from 20 to 100 percent for
millions of people due to changes that will occur when key provisions
of the Affordable Care Act roll out in January 2014.

Mark Bertolini, CEO of Aetna Inc., one of the nation’s largest
insurers, calls the price hikes “premium rate shock.”

“We’ve done all the math, we’ve shared it with all the regulators,
we’ve shared it with all the people in Washington that need to see it,
and I think it’s a big concern,” Bertolini said during the company’s
annual meeting with investors in December.

To be sure, there will be no across-the-board rate hikes for everyone,
and there’s no reliable national data on how many people could see
increases. But the biggest price hikes are expected to hit a group
that represents a relatively small slice of the insured population.
That includes some of the roughly 14 million people who buy their own
insurance as opposed to being covered under employer-sponsored plans,
and to a lesser extent, some employees of smaller companies.

The price increases are a downside of President Barack Obama’s health
care law, which is expected to expand coverage to nearly 30 million
uninsured people. The massive law calls for a number of changes that
could cause premiums for people who don’t have coverage through a big
employer to rise next year — at a time when health care costs already
are expected to grow by 5 percent or more”

http://www.startribune.com/business/197791231.html?refer=y

From WND March 14, 2013.

“EXPERT: OBAMACARE SET TO ‘IMPLODE'”

“The House Republican budget plan assumes the repeal of Obamacare, and
while the political votes may be hard to find, a leading health-care
expert told WND the flaws of the system will likely lead to its
implosion in the near term.

Grace-Marie Turner is president of the Galen Institute and one of the
leading policy-based critics of Obamacare.

She said House Republicans are right to keep pushing for the repeal of
Obamacare because of the myriad ways it afflicts the nation’s fiscal
health.

“When you look at the overall impact of this law on the economy, we
know that it’s hugely important in depressing job creation,” she said.
“It’s forcing companies to put people on part-time when they need
full-time workers. The incredible number of new taxes, a trillion
dollars in new taxes in this law just in its own right. It is one of
the major factors that is depressing economic growth. When you have
economic growth depressed, you don’t have the tax revenue that you
need.””
“Turner is still optimistic that state rejection of Obamacare will help
bring about its demise. She noted that only 17 states have agreed to
the exchanges, and some state legislatures may overrule their own
governors on expansion of Medicaid. Turner also noted that even
liberal states like California and Connecticut are pleading with the
federal government to stop the stream of new regulations that may well
prevent exchanges from opening on time in those states.

The bureaucracy is not only impacting state governments, but
individuals as well. Americans used to a couple of pages worth of
paperwork to enroll in a health plan are now forced to fill out dozens
of pages to comply with the government requirements to join the
exchanges. Turner said the amount of federal prying could turn off
many people from the program.”

http://www.wnd.com/2013/03/expert-obamacare-set-to-implode/

From the Greensboro News Record March 4, 2013.

“Guilford workers could see cuts to health benefits”

“The county has cut costs for the past two years by increasing co-pays,
deductible amounts and out-of-pocket maximums for employees.

“Over the last four years, no merit increases have been awarded to
Guilford County employees,” Fuller said Friday in an email. “However
… health insurance rates and benefit coverage plan costs have
continued to increase. As a result of those increases, county
employees have experienced a pay decrease that has grown larger each
year.””

““It looks to me like Obamacare is causing prices to go up and will
continue to make prices go up,” Henning said. “That’s something we’re
going to have to deal with, like everyone else in this economy.”

http://www.news-record.com/news/826898-91/costs-could-erode-county-benefits

From the Raleigh News Observer November 24, 2012.

“The patient – decked out in non-skid footies, a loose hospital gown and a breathing tube – prays she’s finally on the mend. At age 81, Juanita King had logged nearly five weeks at WakeMed Hospital since October after her breathing became so labored she had trouble walking.

The Clayton grandmother, weakened by a failing heart and obstructed lungs, wasn’t home even two weeks after the first hospital stay before returning to WakeMed earlier this month for another round of needles, meds and tests.

WakeMed, along with hospitals across the country, is scrambling to keep patients like King from coming back. Under federal penalties that kicked in Oct. 1 as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, hospitals lose Medicare reimbursements if their patients are readmitted at an excessive rate.

WakeMed officials, for example, estimate that the 15 readmissions since 2010 that Medicare deemed excessive will cost the Raleigh health care company more than $400,000 in the coming year.”

“In North Carolina, a half-dozen hospitals were levied either the maximum Medicare penalty for excessive readmissions or a penalty very close to the 1 percent max. The hospitals are in Ahoskie, Lumberton, Eden, Williamston, Hamlet and Rocky Mount, according to an analysis by Kaiser Health News. Hospital officials note that areas where hospitals get hit with high penalties are typically in economically depressed areas with limited access to therapists, specialists and other resources essential for preventing hospital readmissions.”

http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/11/24/2502095/hospitals-scramble-to-limit-readmissions.html#

From the Greensboro News Record November 25, 2012.

“Hospitals feeling the pinch”

“Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center launched a distress signal in a gathering storm when it said on Nov. 14 that it will cut 950 jobs.”

“He said layoffs are sweeping the industry. Graban referred to a report from the American Hospital Association that says hospitals will cut 93,000 jobs during 2013.”

“The coming changes could cost North Carolina’s hospitals up to $7.5 billion over the next 10 years , Dalton said.”

https://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2012/11/25/obamacare-forces-93000-hospital-job-cuts-in-2013-nc-hospitals-costs-up-7-5-billion-the-next-10-years-medicare-and-medicaid-reimbursements-mass-layoffs/

From Citizen Wells September 26, 2012.

“Health Insurance Costs Skyrocket For College Students Due To ObamaCare”

“Can we stop calling ObamaCare the Affordable Care Act now?

A Young America’s Foundation activist forwarded an email from the Vice President for Finance at his school, Guilford College (Greensboro, NC), informing him that, “For the 2012-13 academic year, the annual cost of the student health insurance is increasing from $668 to $1,179. This insurance premium has been charged to your student account.”

Why the increase? “Our student health insurance policy premium has been substantially increased due to changes required by federal regulations issued on March 16, 2012 under the Affordable Care Act.”

“Guilford joins a long list of colleges raising their premiums. Virtually all current student insurance plans do not meet ObamaCare’s mandates, and Forbes reports colleges have been forced to drop their plans or raise their premiums rates as much as 1,112% (and no, that’s not a typo).”

“Health Premiums Up $3,000; Obama Vowed $2,500 Cut”

“During his first run for president, Barack Obama made one very specific promise to voters: He would cut health insurance premiums for families by $2,500, and do so in his first term.

But it turns out that family premiums have increased by more than $3,000 since Obama’s vow, according to the latest annual Kaiser Family Foundation employee health benefits survey.

Premiums for employer-provided family coverage rose $3,065 — 24% — from 2008 to 2012, the Kaiser survey found. Even if you start counting in 2009, premiums have climbed $2,370.”

https://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/health-premiums-up-3000-obama-promised-2500-cut-student-health-care-doubles-triples-and-more-obamacare-another-obama-lie-kaiser-survey/

20 Comments

Posted in Barack Obama, Budget, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Economy, Employment, Government, Health Insurance, Healthcare bill, Hospitals, Jobs, Lies, Medicare, Medicine, News, Obama, Obama administration, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, Obama taxes, ObamaCare, The Case Against Barack Obama, Unemployment, Washington DC, white house

Tagged , , , ,

Obama sequester lies reported by Washington Post, Obama false claim of Capitol janitors receiving pay cut, Obama gets 4 Pinocchios, Post receives 4 Murrows

Posted on March 3, 2013 | 38 comments

Obama sequester lies reported by Washington Post, Obama false claim of Capitol janitors receiving pay cut, Obama gets 4 Pinocchios, Post receives 4 Murrows

“Starting tomorrow everybody here, all the folks who are cleaning the floors at the Capitol. Now that Congress has left, somebody’s going to be vacuuming and cleaning those floors and throwing out the garbage. They’re going to have less pay. The janitors, the security guards, they just got a pay cut, and they’ve got to figure out how to manage that. That’s real.”… Obama news conference, March 1, 2013

“dedicated his life as a newsman and as a public official to the unrelenting search for truth.”…Lyndon B. Johnson

“The function of the press is very high. It is almost Holy.
It ought to serve as a forum for the people, through which
the people may know freely what is going on. To misstate or
suppress the news is a breach of trust.”…. Louis D. Brandeis

Hats off to the Washington Post for reporting the truth about Obama sequester lies.

From the Washington Post March 1, 2013.
“Sequester spin: Obama’s false claim of Capitol janitors receiving ‘a pay cut’”

“This column has been updated with a new Pinocchio rating

This was a pretty evocative image the president offered at his news conference Friday on the sequester — janitors sweeping the empty halls of the Capitol, laboring at less pay.

When we first heard his remarks, we thought he was perhaps overstating matters. Even at federal agencies that have planned furloughs, none are expected to begin on Saturday; such actions are weeks away at many federal agencies. But that’s perhaps a minor rhetorical overreach.

But then our colleague Ed O’Keefe obtained the sequester plan released by the Architect for the Capitol, which employs Capitol Hill janitors on the House side. (The Sergeant at Arms employs the janitorial staff on the Senate side.) UPDATE: Obama’s remarks also prompted a warning from AOC officials that his comments were “not true.”

The Facts

We have embedded an image of the first AOC document below. Stephen T. Ayers, the  architect of the Capitol, listed a number of steps being taken to reduce expenses, including limiting new hiring and postponing repairs. This line jumped out at us: “We do not anticipate furloughs for AOC employees as a result of Sequestration.””

“(The White House officials’ aggressive pushback of this column ended after we sent a copy of this email to them.)

On the Senate side of the building, Sergeant at Arms Terry Gainer said the cleaning technicians are his employees–not contract employees, except for setting up rooms for meetings and events.

“None of my employees will have their pay cut nor will they face furloughs assuming the cost saving strategies initiated months ago (hiring freeze, overtime reduction and delayed in equipment replacement etc.), in conjunction with a very aggressive early retirement program we began two weeks ago, reap the savings anticipated,” he said in an e-mail.

As for security guards at the Capitol, Gainer, who is chairman of the Capitol Hill Police Board, added:

“Our Centurions will face neither pay cuts nor furloughs; they are standing tall through sequestration and all. (We are saving $ by reducing overtime which is accomplished by closing doors of convenience, safety will not be compromised but health improved for visitors and staff by longer treks. )”

The Pinocchio Test

Obama’s remarks continue the administration’s pattern of overstating the potential impact of the sequester, which we have explored this week. But this error is particularly bad–and nerve-wracking to the janitors and security guards who were misled by the president’s comments.

We originally thought this was maybe a Two Pinocchio rating, but in light of the AOC memo and the confirmation that security guards will not face a pay cut, nothing in Obama’s statement came close to being correct.

Four Pinocchios”

Read more:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/sequester-spin-obamas-incorrect-claim-of-capitol-janitors-receiving-a-pay-cut/2013/03/01/3407535c-82a9-11e2-b99e-6baf4ebe42df_blog.html

In the spirit of Edward R. Murrow and his never ending search for the truth, I award the Washington Post 4 Murrows.

Murrows4

38 Comments

Posted in Barack Obama, Budget, character, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Deficit, Government, Jobs, News, Obama, Obama administration, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, The Case Against Barack Obama, Washington DC, Washington Post, white house

Tagged , , ,

Obama lies March 2, 2013, Obama lies hypocrisy exposed in NC, John Hammer Rhino Times, Sequester Bob Woodward, Does Obama have any Chicago friends not in prison?

Posted on March 2, 2013 | 16 comments

Obama lies March 2, 2013, Obama lies hypocrisy exposed in NC, John Hammer Rhino Times, Sequester Bob Woodward, Does Obama have any Chicago friends not in prison?

“If the Bush tax cuts were only for the wealthy, as the media has been telling us now for years, why, if the tax cuts are allowed to expire, is it going to be disastrous for the middle class? Tax cuts for the wealthy are not going to affect the middle class whether they expire or not. Is it possible that the media has been lying to us all this time and the Bush tax cuts were for the middle class as well as the wealthy? It seems like even the Democrats would have to admit that is the case, if they were honest.”…John Hammer, Rhino Times

“I believe I’m more pristine on Rezko than him.”…Rod Blagojevich

“There is enough corruption in Illinois so that all it takes is someone who is serious about finding it to uncover it. If a U.S. attorney is not finding corruption in Illinois, they’re not seriously looking for it.”…Northwestern Law Professor James Lindgren

 

In print in NC.

From John Hammer of the Rhino Times February 28, 2013.

“I can’t believe the level to which President Barack Hussein Obama has
sunk with this whole sequester mess. First of all it was his idea. He
can blame it on the Republicans all he wants but this was his idea.
Even noted liberal writer Bob Woodward has written that it was Obama’s
idea.”

“The federal government is on line to spend $3.8 trillion this year.
The sequester will limit the federal government to spending $3.715
trillion, so apparently the only thing in that entire budget that can
be cut are air traffic controllers, Transportation Security
Administration agents at airports, Border Patrol agents, education
funding and other services that directly affect people.

The truth is that nobody is really talking about cutting anything. For
one thing the federal government doesn’t have a budget. It has not had
one since the first year Obama took over as president. There is no
budget, so federal agencies just keep growing. All the sequester does
is cut back on the rate of growth a little bit.

Why should the federal government grow every year? If all the federal
services that were provided in 2012 were provided at exactly the same
level by employees being paid exactly the same amount of money would
that cause massive problems for the people of the country?

The sequester doesn’t even come close to doing that. It just calls for
across-the-board cuts that reach a level of $85 billion. Last year the
federal government spent over $2 billion providing cell phones to
people who could not afford them. I didn’t know that owning a cell
phone was an inalienable right like life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness, but evidently it is important enough for the federal
government to spend $2 billion on Obama-phones. Of course, that was an
election year. The federal government might not have to spend quite as
much on Obama-phones since all those votes have been cast.

Imagine for just a moment if the sequester meant that the Air Force
One pilot would be furloughed and the Obamas could not fly anywhere
they wanted at any moment. Imagine if just one week a month the Obamas
couldn’t fly anywhere because they didn’t have a pilot.

Or what if the sequester caused Obama’s favorite golf course to be
closed on Sundays. Or isn’t it possible that with the sequester the
White House chef would be laid off?

In fact, it is somewhat amazing that the American people are going to
be so inconvenienced by the reduction in anticipated spending that
this sequester brings, but the president will not be inconvenienced at
all.

Imagine – according to Obama the federal government can’t survive on a
mere $3.715 trillion without making drastic cuts to services that many
Americans use.

In 2008, the last budget of the George Walker Bush administration
total federal spending was $2.9 trillion. Obama has increased spending
during his four years by nearly $1 trillion. If the federal government
went back to the 2008 budget that would cut almost $1 trillion from
the current spending pattern (as noted, there is no budget). But were
things really so bad in 2008? I remember flying in 2008 and there were
no long delays because of a lack of air traffic controllers. The
national parks were open, and children were being educated. So four
years ago Bush was able to run the country on $1 trillion less, but in
2013 Obama can’t run the country on $85 billion less?

If Obama wanted to he could cut $85 billion from projected federal
spending and no one would notice except for the overpaid, underworked
administrators who would be laid off. The federal workforce is a huge
pork barrel. You have employees who work really hard and do an
outstanding job, and you have entire departments who do nothing
useful. Obama doesn’t want to eliminate the entire departments who do
nothing useful because that would be evidence that the federal
government doesn’t need to raise taxes. He is going to do everything
in his power to make the reductions in projected spending as painful
as possible.

One report said that although Air Force One will not be touched by the
reduction in the rate of growth that the Air Force might stop
providing planes for congressional junkets.

It is extremely hard to write about the sequester without writing
about cuts, but in reality there are no cuts. Imagine a child who
really wants a pony for Christmas and begs and pleads for a pony for
months. Christmas morning comes and there is no pony. Now can that
child say that she lost a pony? Can she say that she had a pony and it
was taken away from her? Not according to most people. But if a
federal department is expecting an increase and that increase is
reduced that is considered a cut.

Only in government can someone get 10 percent more than the previous
year and call it a cut in spending.”

“Most people in the country don’t read Under the Hammer, and far too
many simply take what is presented in the mainstream media as fact. It
is a sad day for journalism but, just like ABC editing Michelle
Obama’s comments, the reporting on the Obama administration is as much
fantasy as fact.

Even Bob Woodward felt the need to step up and remind primarily
reporters that Obama was the one who came up with sequester idea and
supported it.”

“Jackson was co-chairman of the Obama presidential campaign in 2008,
but if you are reading articles about Jackson going to prison you
don’t often see that job mentioned or any reference to what a close
relationship Jackson and Obama had at one time.

Jackson’s sister and Michelle Obama were good friends when they were
growing up. Jesse Jackson Sr. has said Michelle was over at his house
all the time as a teenager.

Does Barack Obama have any friends left in Chicago who aren’t in
prison? Obama’s close friend Tony Rezko, who was kind enough to help
Obama buy his house in Chicago, is in jail for fraud. Former Gov. Rod
Blagojevich is also in prison. Obama claimed credit for getting
Blagojevich elected governor. He used to say that he ran the campaign.
However, now Blagojevich is just some guy from Chicago that Obama may
have bumped into a few times.

Really, you look at Obama’s friends and you have to wonder what kind
of man we have elected as president. One of his best buddies is Bill
Ayers, who is an unrepentant domestic terrorist. Ayers participated in
bombings in that killed people and got off on a technicality. Back
when Ayers was running from the law, I’m sure he had no idea that one
day he’d be a good friend with the president of the United States.

Consider also that Obama’s brother, George Obama, lives in abject
poverty in Kenya. George Obama lives in a hovel made of old pieces of
metal and cardboard. In an interview he said he lived on $1 a month.
His brother is the most powerful man in the world and privately worth
millions of dollars, yet Barack Obama won’t send his brother George
$10 a year to double his income. It’s frightening to think of what
kind of man is running the country.”

Well worth reading more:

http://greensboro.rhinotimes.com/Articles-Columns-c-2013-02-27-214943.112113-Under-the-Hammer.html

16 Comments

Posted in 2009 Stimulus Bill, Barack Obama, Budget, Chicago, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Congress, corruption, Deficit, Financial crisis, Government, Lies, media, NC, News, Obama, Obama administration, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, Rezko, The Case Against Barack Obama, Tony Rezko, Washington DC, white house

Tagged , , , , ,

European record unemployment, 11.9 percent in 17 nation euro zone, Spain 26.2 percent, January 2013, Euro zone forecast to shrink 0.3 percent

Posted on March 2, 2013 | 24 comments

European record unemployment, 11.9 percent in 17 nation euro zone, Spain 26.2 percent, January 2013, Euro zone forecast to shrink 0.3 percent

“What do you think a stimulus is? It’s spending – that’s the whole point! Seriously.”…Barack Obama

“We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times … and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK,”…Barack Obama May 2008

 “…and Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They [socialists] always run out of other people’s money. It’s quite a characteristic of them.”…Margaret Thatcher

 

From the NY Times March 1, 2013.

“Euro Zone Unemployment Rises to Record”

“The unemployment rate in the euro zone edged up in January to a new record, official data showed Friday, as the ailing European economy continued to weigh on the job market.

That, and new data showing a decline in inflation in the euro zone, could prompt the European Central Bank to take steps to stimulate the economy when its Governing Council meets this week, analysts said.

Unemployment in the 17-nation euro zone climbed to 11.9 percent in January from 11.8 percent the previous month, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

For the 27 nations of the Union, the jobless rate in January stood at 10.8 percent, up from 10.7 percent in December. All of the figures were seasonally adjusted.

A separate Eurostat report showed price pressures easing in February. In the euro zone, the annual inflation rate came in at 1.8 percent, down from 2 percent in January and below the European Central Bank’s 2 percent target.

The jobless data “suggest that wage growth is set to weaken from already low rates” and further depress consumer spending, which has already been damped by government austerity measures, Jennifer McKeown, an economist at Capital Economics in London, wrote in a research note.”

“In absolute terms, Eurostat estimated Friday that 19 million people in the euro zone and more than 26 million people in the overall Union were unemployed.

Spain’s unemployment rate in January was 26.2 percent, and Portugal’s was 17.6 percent. Austria, at just 4.9 percent, had the lowest rate, followed by Germany and Luxembourg, both of which had 5.3 percent unemployed.

Greece’s unemployment rate in November, the latest month for which Eurostat has figures for the country, was 27 percent.

France, with the second-largest euro zone economy, after Germany’s, had a 10.6 percent jobless rate in January. In Britain, not a euro member, the jobless rate stood at 7.7 percent.”

Read more:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/02/business/global/euro-zone-unemployment-rose-to-new-record-in-february-as-inflation-eased.html?_r=0

Do not be fooled by the Obama controlled media reports. With the millions of people dropping out of the US labor force, unemployment here is much closer to that of the Euro zone.

24 Comments

Posted in Barack Obama, Budget, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Economy, Employment, Europe, Financial crisis, Government, News, Obama, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, Orwellian, Unemployment

Tagged , , , ,

Sequestration begins, March 1, 2013, Congress fails to reach agreement, More Obama failure and blame, $85 billion spending sequesters

Posted on March 1, 2013 | 38 comments

Sequestration begins, March 1, 2013, Congress fails to reach agreement, More Obama failure and blame, $85 billion spending sequesters

“Because I’m capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, you know, natural gas, you name it — whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, uh, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers.”…Barack Obama 

“What do you think a stimulus is? It’s spending – that’s the whole point! Seriously.”…Barack Obama

“…and Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They [socialists] always run out of other people’s money. It’s quite a characteristic of them.”…Margaret Thatcher

 

More Obama spending failures and blaming others.

From the Washington Times March 1, 2013.

“Sequestration process begins: Congress fails to reach agreement on budget fixes before deadline”

“The federal government careened into the $85 billion spending sequesters Friday, embracing some of the biggest budget cuts in American history — though it will take weeks for most of the pain to be felt.

Most lawmakers said they had hoped to avoid the across-the-board cuts but couldn’t come to a consensus on how to do so. Senators defeated two last-ditch efforts Thursday and then House members skipped town for the weekend, leaving it to President Obama to begin carrying out the cuts, which he said he would do just before midnight.

He has scheduled a Friday morning meeting with congressional leaders to talk about the situation, but no action is expected.
In the short term, the White House has directed federal agencies to curtail travel, cancel any bonuses they aren’t legally obligated to pay, and begin writing plans for how to furlough employees.

Those furlough notices will go out in coming weeks, and federal contractors and state and local governments will have to adjust to lower federal funding.
It’s pain that few in Washington wanted. But lawmakers were unable to settle on a more palatable alternative, making the sequesters, in effect, a bad idea whose time has come.”

“Mr. Obama chastised senators for failing.

“Instead of closing a single tax loophole that benefits the well-off and well-connected, they chose to cut vital services for children, seniors, our men and women in uniform and their families,” he said. “They voted to let the entire burden of deficit reduction fall squarely on the middle class.””

“Some of the pain the administration has warned about may not be true.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan, speaking in the White House briefing room this week, pointed to a school district in West Virginia that he said was laying off teachers because of the sequester. But school officials there said it had nothing to do with the sequester.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/feb/28/sequester-imminent-after-senate-fails-act/

38 Comments

Posted in 2009 Stimulus Bill, Barack Obama, Budget, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Deficit, Economy, Financial crisis, Washington DC, white house

Tagged , , , , ,

Sequestration impact on Federal Education Programs, Automatic across the board reductions in discretionary programs, Obama stimulus and failed energy spending helped create huge deficit

Posted on February 26, 2013 | 10 comments

Sequestration impact on Federal Education Programs, Automatic across the board reductions in discretionary programs, Obama stimulus and failed energy spending helped create huge deficit

“Why was Obama in constant contact with Tony Rezko in 2004 when Rezko was conspiring with William Cellini to use TRS, Teacher Retirement Fund, assets for political gain and personal enrichment?”…Citizen Wells

“What do you think a stimulus is? It’s spending – that’s the whole point! Seriously.”…Barack Obama

“…and Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They [socialists] always run out of other people’s money. It’s quite a characteristic of them.”…Margaret Thatcher

Much is being said about the impact of sequestration on federal education spending.

From the NEA.

“Impact of Sequestration on Federal Education Programs – State-by-State

Across-the-board cuts known as “sequestration” are scheduled to go into effect on March 1, 2013 unless Congress acts.  These cuts – nearly $3 billion for education alone —  would result in:

  • Services cut or eliminated for millions of students.
  • Funding for children living in poverty, special education, and Head Start slashed by billions.
  • Ballooning class sizes.
  • Elimination of after-school programs.
  • Decimation of programs for our most vulnerable—homeless students, English language learners, and high-poverty, struggling schools.
  • Slashing of financial aid for college students.
  • Loss of tens of thousands of education jobs—at early childhood, elementary, secondary, and postsecondary levels.

http://www.nea.org/home/52610.htm

Sequestration defined.

From Idea Money Watch.

Q. What is sequestration? (Pronounced se″kwes-tra´shun)
A. Sequestration is a fiscal policy procedure adopted by Congress to deal with the federal budget deficit. It first appeared in the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Deficit Reduction Act of 1985.

Simply put, sequestration is the cancellation of budgetary resources — an “automatic” form of spending cutback. (Learn more here.)
 Q. Why is sequestration important now?

A. The Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA) established a 12 member Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction  (or “super committee”)  charged with reducing the deficit by an additional $1.2 – $1.5 trillion over ten years. The BCA also included a sequestration hammer should the super committee fail, a provision intended to “force” the super committee to act.

Despite the threat of sequestration, the super committee failed. Announcing its inability to reach an agreement on November 21, 2011, the members of the bipartisan committee stated  that “after months of hard work and intense deliberations, we have come to the conclusion today that it will not be possible to make any bipartisan agreement available to the public before the committee’s deadline.”

So, as established in the BCA, sequestration was triggered when the super committee failed to reach an agreement. Sequestration generates automatic cuts for each of nine years, FY 13-21, totaling $1.2 trillion. Sequestration was originally scheduled to take effect on Jan. 2, 2013. However, it was delayed for two months – until March 1, 2013, by the deal struck on New Year’s Eve, called the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012.

Now, without Congressional action to prevent sequestration, the first round of cuts will take place on March 1, 2013.

The 2013 cuts apply to “discretionary” spending and are divided between reductions to  defense ($500 billion) and non-defense ($700 billion). 

Q. What must occur in order to avoid sequestration?  


A. Sequestration can only be avoided if Congress passes legislation that undoes the legal requirement in the BCA and that President Obama will sign before March 1, 2013.

While advocacy efforts to prevent sequestration are beginning to spring up, the strongest efforts focus on preventing the deep cuts to defense spending.


Q. Can the Executive Branch reconfigure sequestration cuts?


A. No. The cuts are automatic, across-the-board reductions to all discretionary programs unless exempted by the BCA. (A list of exempt programs is available here.) The Executive Branch will have no authority or ability to redistribute the cuts.

http://www.ideamoneywatch.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=60&Itemid=72

$ 3 billion in education cuts because our spending is out of control.

How did that happen?

Here is part of the reason.

A $840 billion Obama stimulus program.

From The Foundry October 18, 2012.

“The 2009 stimulus set aside $80 billion to subsidize politically preferred energy projects. Since that time, 1,900 investigations have been opened to look into stimulus waste, fraud, and abuse (although not all are linked to the green-energy funds), and nearly 600 convictions have been made. Of that $80 billion in clean energy loans, grants, and tax credits, at least 10 percent has gone to companies that have since either gone bankrupt or are circling the drain.”

“So far, 34 companies that were offered federal support from taxpayers are faltering — either having gone bankrupt or laying off workers or heading for bankruptcy. This list includes only those companies that received federal money from the Obama Administration’s Department of Energy and other agencies. The amount of money indicated does not reflect how much was actually received or spent but how much was offered. The amount also does not include other state, local, and federal tax credits and subsidies, which push the amount of money these companies have received from taxpayers even higher.

The complete list of faltering or bankrupt green-energy companies:

  1. Evergreen Solar ($25 million)*
  2. SpectraWatt ($500,000)*
  3. Solyndra ($535 million)*
  4. Beacon Power ($43 million)*
  5. Nevada Geothermal ($98.5 million)
  6. SunPower ($1.2 billion)
  7. First Solar ($1.46 billion)
  8. Babcock and Brown ($178 million)
  9. EnerDel’s subsidiary Ener1 ($118.5 million)*
  10. Amonix ($5.9 million)
  11. Fisker Automotive ($529 million)
  12. Abound Solar ($400 million)*
  13. A123 Systems ($279 million)*
  14. Willard and Kelsey Solar Group ($700,981)*
  15. Johnson Controls ($299 million)
  16. Brightsource ($1.6 billion)
  17. ECOtality ($126.2 million)
  18. Raser Technologies ($33 million)*
  19. Energy Conversion Devices ($13.3 million)*
  20. Mountain Plaza, Inc. ($2 million)*
  21. Olsen’s Crop Service and Olsen’s Mills Acquisition Company ($10 million)*
  22. Range Fuels ($80 million)*
  23. Thompson River Power ($6.5 million)*
  24. Stirling Energy Systems ($7 million)*
  25. Azure Dynamics ($5.4 million)*
  26. GreenVolts ($500,000)
  27. Vestas ($50 million)
  28. LG Chem’s subsidiary Compact Power ($151 million)
  29. Nordic Windpower ($16 million)*
  30. Navistar ($39 million)
  31. Satcon ($3 million)*
  32. Konarka Technologies Inc. ($20 million)*
  33. Mascoma Corp. ($100 million)

*Denotes companies that have filed for bankruptcy.”

http://blog.heritage.org/2012/10/18/president-obamas-taxpayer-backed-green-energy-failures/

WE warned you.

Obama is doing to the US education system what he and his cronies did to Illinois.

From Citizen Wells March 29, 2012.

“Obama, Blagojevich and their cronies used the citizens of Illinois, Teachers Retirement System, hospitals and taxpayer dollars for their own benefit.”

“2003: “Of the five funds, the one in the sorriest shape is the Illinois Teacher Retirement System, which provides the pensions for suburban and downstate teachers. Its ratio of assets to liabilities stood at a mere 52 percent last year, so poor that it was considered among the five worst-funded plans in the country.”

“In 2002, the year after Obama made the pitch, the Illinois Teacher Retirement System reported an 18% increase in assets managed by minority-owned firms. Ariel’s share grew to $442 million by 2005.

In 2006, after the federal investigation became public, the teacher pension board severed its relationship with Ariel, concluding that Ariel’s investment returns were insufficient.”

“In addition to lining their own pockets, the money gained through the scheme was funneled to the campaigns of Blagojevich and Obama. Prosecutors have identified two $10,000 payments that were made to Obama’s US Senate campaign through straw donors Joseph Aramanda and Elie Maloof, which originated from a kickback paid by investment firm, Glencoe Capital, to secure approval for a $50 million deal.
Aramanda and Maloof also each gave Obama $1,000 for his failed run for Congress in 2000. Once Obama became a US Senator, Aramanda’s son was granted a coveted intern position in Obama’s Senate office in Washington during the summer of 2005, based on a request which the Obama’s camp has admitted came from Rezko.”

“Mr. Obama also recently pointed to his work on the Illinois pension issue as a model for what he would do as president to promote minority-owned companies.”

Read more:

https://citizenwells.wordpress.com/tag/obama-doing-to-us-what-he-did-to-illinois/

10 Comments

Posted in 2009 Stimulus Bill, Barack Obama, Blagojevich, Budget, Chicago, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Congress, corruption, Deficit, Economy, Education, Energy, Financial crisis, Government, News, Obama, Obama administration, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, Schools, The Case Against Barack Obama, US House of Representatives, US Senate, Washington DC, white house

Tagged , ,

Obama Democrats do to US what Obama et al did to IL, Illinois credit rating downgraded, Worst in the nation, Obama Democrats and corruption cronies hurt pensions

Posted on January 27, 2013 | 86 comments

Obama Democrats do to US what Obama et al did to IL, Illinois credit rating downgraded, Worst in the nation, Obama Democrats and corruption cronies hurt pensions

“Why did the Illinois Senate Health & Human Services Committee, with Obama as chairman, create and push Bill 1332, “Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act,” early in 2003, which reduced the number of members on the Board from 15 to 9, just prior to rigging by Tony Rezko and Rod Blagojevich?”…Citizen Wells

“Why was Obama promoting Capri Capital and other investment firms at the same time that Rezko, Levine and Cellini were shaking them down?”…Citizen Wells

“I believe I’m more pristine on Rezko than him.”…Rod Blagojevich

From WGN TV January 26, 2013.

“Illinois’ credit rating downgraded; state drops to worst in the nation”

“A warning came Saturday morning from state treasurer Dan Rutherford (R) IL State Treasurer. The Standard and Poor’s downgrade from A to A-minus puts Illinois last on the list– and means a higher cost to borrow money.

On Wednesday, the state will issue $500 million in new bonds to pay for roads and other transportation projects. Rutherford says the credit downgrade will cost taxpayers an additional $95 million in interest,
When compared to a perfect triple-a bond rating enjoyed by other11 states including neighboring Indiana, Iowa and Missouri.

“Our problem in Illinois is that we have not substantively and fairly addressed the state public pension issue.”

Rutherford points to Governor Quinn and the democratically controlled general assembly for making matters worse in the last two years– raising taxes but not acting on pension reform.

“This problem didn’t come along just now it’s been accumulating for actually decades. Each time the governor set a deadline and didn’t meet it there was some negative reaction,” he said.

“It’s become quite evident to me that the general assembly has not registered what these negative impacts are to be enough to cause a change in the public pensions.”

Rutherford says reform should come in the form of new cost of living adjustments and sliding healthcare costs based on pension income, all of which is a hard sell in Springfield– but would put the state back on better financial ground.

“Illinois is a very good place and we can turn this place around– but the first thing we need to do is fix this in a fair way, our public pensions.””

http://wgntv.com/2013/01/26/illinois-credit-rating-downgraded-state-drops-to-worst-in-the-nation/#ixzz2J8v3aGUj

From above:

“Rutherford points to Governor Quinn and the democratically controlled general assembly for making matters worse in the last two years– raising taxes but not acting on pension reform.

“This problem didn’t come along just now it’s been accumulating for actually decades. Each time the governor set a deadline and didn’t meet it there was some negative reaction,” he said.”

From Citizen Wells March 29, 2012.

Connecting the dots.

What do Obama and John Glennon have in common aside from associations with Stuart Levine and other Chicago corruption figures?

Involvement with the IL TRS, Teachers Retirement System.

What else do they have in common?

They were both involved with the TRS in 2002 and 2003.

What is significant about these years?

2003: “Of the five funds, the one in the sorriest shape is the Illinois Teacher Retirement System, which provides the pensions for suburban and downstate teachers. Its ratio of assets to liabilities stood at a mere 52 percent last year, so poor that it was considered among the five worst-funded plans in the country.”

http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/The-312/March-2011/Illinois-Teacher-Pensions-Always-in-Distress-Mode/

From the LA Times April 7, 2008.

In 2002, the year after Obama made the pitch, the Illinois Teacher Retirement System reported an 18% increase in assets managed by minority-owned firms. Ariel’s share grew to $442 million by 2005.

In 2006, after the federal investigation became public, the teacher pension board severed its relationship with Ariel, concluding that Ariel’s investment returns were insufficient.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/04/obamarezko.html

From the Common Conservative October 1, 2008.

“On Feb. 10, 2007, Senator Barack Obama launched his bid for the White House in Springfield, setting himself on a course that has become one for the history books. But Obama might not have made it even to the Old State Capitol Building that frigid day if not for a private meeting he had with friends and advisers in late 2002 as he was mulling a run for the U.S. Senate. In a South Side high-rise overlooking the lake, the junior state senator vetted his lofty political ambitions with a group of Chicago’s African American business elite that included Frank M. Clark Jr., Valerie B. Jarrett, Quintin E. Primo III, James Reynolds Jr., and John W. Rogers Jr.”
http://thecommonconservative.com/?p=161

From Citizen News June 15, 2010.
“Today, Tuesday, June 15, 2010, testimony in the Rod Blagojevich trial continues. Joseph Aramanda, with ties to Blagojevich, Rezko and Obama is expected to testify soon.”

“Rezko’s partner in the Rezmar development company, Daniel Mahru, is referred to as “Individual Z” in the indictment, and according to court filings, Rezko told Mahru that “$500 million” of TRS money was earmarked for their company. Mahru is reportedly cooperating with federal investigators.”

“In addition to lining their own pockets, the money gained through the scheme was funneled to the campaigns of Blagojevich and Obama. Prosecutors have identified two $10,000 payments that were made to Obama’s US Senate campaign through straw donors Joseph Aramanda and Elie Maloof, which originated from a kickback paid by investment firm, Glencoe Capital, to secure approval for a $50 million deal.
Aramanda and Maloof also each gave Obama $1,000 for his failed run for Congress in 2000. Once Obama became a US Senator, Aramanda’s son was granted a coveted intern position in Obama’s Senate office in Washington during the summer of 2005, based on a request which the Obama’s camp has admitted came from Rezko.”

https://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2010/06/15/blagojevich-trial-joseph-aramanda-testifies-soon-aramanda-linked-to-blagojevich-rezko-obama-open-thread-june-15-2010/

Perhaps you have not seen this.

“Glencoe Capital Partners

On a motion by Cynthia O’Neill, seconded by Stuart Levine, it was resolved:

To invest $25 million in Glencoe Capital Partners III, L.P. and invest up to $25 million to Glencoe Capital Institutional Partners III, L.P., subject to the satisfactory completion of contract and fee negotiations. Source of funds will be the TRS Cash Flow account.
Minutes – Board Meeting

August 15, 2003
Page 6

Roll call resulted in affirmative voice votes from Trustees Bruner, Cleveland, Glennon, Klickna, Leggett, Levine, O’Neill, Phalen, and Schmidt. Motion CARRIED.”

For more information about Obama’s impact on the TRS:

“In 2000, after losing a Congressional race, Barack Obama was looking to revive his political fortunes. And he soon found a springboard — a group of black entrepreneurs also trying to break out.

Month after month, Mr. Obama, then an Illinois state senator, showed up at the Chicago group’s meetings, listening to members’ concerns about the difficulties they faced in getting government and corporate business, and asking them what he could do to help.

And help them he did. Members of the group, the Alliance of Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs, say Mr. Obama checked into their problems and helped start a drive that enabled minority investment executives to win millions of dollars in business from the state’s giant pension funds.”

“Mr. Obama also recently pointed to his work on the Illinois pension issue as a model for what he would do as president to promote minority-owned companies.”

https://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/obama-john-glennon-both-damaged-il-trs-teachers-retirement-system-glennon-on-trs-board-glencoe-capri-capital-obama-doing-to-us-what-he-did-to-illinois/

 

Thanks to commenter bob strauss

86 Comments

Posted in Barack Obama, Budget, Chicago, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, corruption, Crime, Democrats, Illinois, News, Obama, Obama administration, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, Obama taxes, Rezko, Senator Obama, Stuart Levine, The Case Against Barack Obama, Tony Rezko, Washington DC, white house

Tagged , , ,