Boulder is a Stoopid Place

Zero Hedge: “Right now we are living in a bubble of debt-fueled false prosperity that allows us to continue to consume far more wealth than we produce, but when that bubble bursts we are going to experience the most painful economic “adjustment” that America has ever gone through.”

75 Economic Numbers From 2012 That Are Almost Too Crazy To Believe

Here are a few highlights…

• Back in the 1970s, about one out of every 50 Americans was on food stamps. Today, about one out of every 6.5 Americans is on food stamps.

• For the first time ever, more than a million public school students in the United States are homeless. That number has risen by 57 percent since the 2006-2007 school year.

• The percentage of working age Americans with a job has been under 59 percent for 39 months in a row.

• Right now, approximately 48 percent of all Americans are either considered to be “low income” or are living in poverty. (Editorial note: Medicaid for these families under Obamacare)

• Back in 1950, more than 80 percent of all men in the United States had jobs. Today, less than 65 percentof all men in the United States have jobs.

• Right now, more than 100 million Americans are enrolled in at least one welfare program run by the federal government. And that does not even count Social Security or Medicare. Overall, there are almost 80 different “means-tested welfare programs” that the federal government is currently running.

• The value of the U.S. dollar has declined by more than 96 percent since the Federal Reserve was first created.

• U.S. taxpayers spend more than 20 times as much on the Obamas as British taxpayers spend on the royal family.

• During fiscal year 2012, 62 percent of the federal budget was spent on entitlements. (Ed note: How much is enough?)

• It is being projected that Obamacare will add 16 million more Americans to the Medicaid rolls.

• Thanks to our foolish politicians (including Obama), Medicare is facing unfunded liabilities of more than 38 trillion dollars over the next 75 years. That comes to approximately $328,404 for each and every household in the United States. (NOTE: This is Medicare, not Medicaid)

I, and many others, often refer to the city of Boulder as 24 square miles surrounded by reality. When it comes to the debt, deficit and entitlement spending, the entire United State is living in denial. It’s a 24/7 fantasy land when it comes to financial logic. What is it that Glenn Reynolds likes to say?

Things that can’t go on forever, won’t. Debt that can’t be repaid, won’t be. Promises that can’t be kept, won’t be.

Obama’s Four Horsemen: The Disasters Unleashed by Obama’s Reelection

Conquest, Famine, War, Death – the four horsemen are coming, in the form of the national debt, widespread dependence on government, turmoil in the Middle East, and the expansion of the bureaucratic state.

In Obama’s Four Horsemen, syndicated columnist David Harsanyi takes a provocative look at how the Obama Administration allowed four big problems to mushroom into looming disasters we can no longer avoid or postpone. In his famous conversational, fact-driven, and humorous tone, Harsanyi argues that President Obama’s handling of both domestic and foreign crises has set the stage for a disaster of Biblical proportions.

Under Obama, America has become a land of more dependence, more hand-outs, more federal programs, and more government agencies. The great danger is that Americans have gotten used to it. Many people today expect, as a matter of fact, that the government will hand them health insurance, student loans, birth control, and anything else they might need or desire – while they are increasingly numb to the pernicious creep of the bureaucratic state and the alarming escalation of unsustainable spending and debt.

Meanwhile, powerful forces abroad seek to destroy American and Western culture while Obama has sat on his thumbs and looked the other way, tossing out politically correct platitudes when asked about his response to their open threats and aggression. America is facing a time of great upheaval, domestic and global – Obama’s Four Horseman is a provocative expose on how we got here, and a chilling prediction of what’s to come.

From the 2nd paragraph, “Under Obama, America has become a land of more dependence, more hand-outs, more federal programs, and more government agencies.”, which is exactly the world Progressives want to create. “Of course the great danger is that Americans have gotten used to it.” No Kidding.

Remind me again, how much of our budget is borrowed?

And how much are we presently borrowing?

The current fiscal cliff negotiations and posturing, that’s simply amateur hour. As Glenn Reynolds likes to say…

Why, oh why is this so very hard to understand?

John Hinderaker on doing nothing. He concludes…

I believe we should start expecting our Government to look into “doing nothing” as a viable alternative much more frequently.

Scientists link obesity to gut bacteria(registration required)

Peer reviewed research. I expect anti-obesity crusader Erika Stutzman from the Boulder Daily Camera to pick up on this bacteria hypothesis and share it with her readers. That said, it doesn’t fit the nanny state narrative of having the government control what we consume does it?

From Wikipedia’s page on narcissism…

Moving on…

Obama Uses Funeral Service to Talk About Himself

Perhaps Wikipedia should change the defition of narcissism in everyday speech to “President Obama”. Inquiring minds want to know if Obama writes his own speeches? If not, what direction are the speechwriter’s given? Are they told to turn every speech into an opportunity for Obama to talk about himself, or are they simply as narcissistic as he is so it comes naturally?

Wow, woulda thunk it?

Tax migration.

Female US cop caught on tape giving two women body cavity search during routine traffic stop… and ‘using the SAME gloves on both’

The Texas Rangers and the Texas Department of Public safety better get their checkbooks out.

Green Energy Corruption: This fiasco only brings one question to our minds: Is there anybody in the world of tax-funded green energy who isn’t a sleazy thief or an incompetent idealist? The green agenda is hardly helped by these kinds of stories, though the greens are constantly telling us that everything will be fine if we just let them run the world.

Well? Abound Solar anyone?

Complicity of Silence in Michigan: Media Condones Violence, Racism

It’s just not a sensational story with all the elements that usually sets the media ablaze, it’s also a legitimate story. This black man who lost his hot dog stand to a mob as racial slurs are hurled at him, was not only a victim and a completely innocent bystander, he was also an institution within the Michigan political world. ..

…and yet, the media won’t cover it.

But of course the only reason the media won’t cover it, is, you guessed it, The Narrative.

Because the suspected thugs are pro-union protestors and not Tea Partiers, this act of racial violence is not considered a story. You see, the media doesn’t really care about racism or thuggery or violence — what it cares about is The Narrative — and The Narrative demands that unions must always be the good guys. (emphassis added – Ed)

Unfortunately, this is all way too easy to believe.

Jonah Goldberg: So, to Sum Up Our Day

NOW: Democrats urge delay for ‘job-killing’ Obamacare tax

How exactly do the Democrats propose funding Obamacare if they cut the sources of funding?

Of course, if you want to see an outcry, just wait until our younger generation finds out how much their health coverage is going to cost. When a $100 premium suddenly becomes $250 or $300. Of course, they WILL be eligible for a tax credit, HOWEVER, don’t we need tax revenue to cover the cost of a tax credit?

Inquiring minds want to know how many young people will decide to pay the penalty to the IRS instead of pay higher premiums for health coverage?