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Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Cashing Out: What happens to your 401K during the debt ceiling crisis and other pertinent matters

Besides Social Security benefits being delayed Baby Boomers are wondering whether or not to get out of the market all together. Although anyone involved would hate to see a run on banks and the resulting disaster many retirees, 60 and older feel as if they would not recover financially if their nest eggs took yet another hit like in 2008. One even timetabled his cash out at the 14th or 15th of October.

According to Market Watch of the Wall Street Journal:
The government is expected to hit the current federal debt limit on Oct. 17.  If the debt ceiling IS NOT increased, the government will be limited to spending only cash on hand and coming in the door.  The Treasury Department will have to decide who gets paid and who gets left in the lurch. (It's looking like the poorest, most defenseless are targeted).

Interest payments on the existing federal debt will get top priority. According to the site, a Social Security spokesman said that the agency will began issuing its warning to retirees and other inquiring parties after consulting with Treasury officials.

Similar warnings could be issued to recipients of just about any kind of federal benefit, of course. But the roughly 46 million people who receive Social Security retirement and spousal benefits represent a large, often vulnerable and particularly politically active slice of the citizenry.

Stop fighting the president and Obamacare through the pocketbooks and wallets of the poor. We do not have the financial cushion of the rich. They can afford to take the hit, we cannot. But, while we fight this good fight, apparently another good fight awaits.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations are considered controversial in that no one can be told the details of said agreements and negotiations because they are deemed classified. In the past, member nations who tried to get similar trade agreements together would publish a draft of what they are working on but the TPP decided not to do so because, again, when a draft of a work-in-progress is published the people who are affected by the agreements complain or want input. So goes the decision to keep the TPP secret. Because of the current government shutdown, Pres. Obama could not attend the latest rounds of negotiations and discussions in Asia this month.

“We very much view stakeholder input, whether through our cleared advisers or other stakeholders, as absolutely critical. We’re at a stage in TPP where we’re going to have to make difficult decisions. I imagine that not everyone will be 100 percent pleased with every decision, but we can guarantee that we will seek your input, we will consult with you. We won’t make these decisions in isolation. And we will be proactive about getting your participation in this process," said Michael Froman, a U.S trade representative.

I understand that inclusiveness can be viewed as bogging down a fluid process in that we all have different learning speeds and some people intend to push their agenda using deception and lies. The biggest problem with the TPP outside of the secrecy of it is that it allows global corporations to sue the federal government if it does not stick to the TPP agreement. Furthermore, there are said to be enforceable rules and laws against the American People lest they decide to exercise their right to free speech—that these people may be detained indefinitely without trial.

So far there are 12 (and growing?) nations involved in the international trade agreement and in order to ratify this agreement all parties must be in agreement. I hear some of the leaked portions of the agreements will force the employees of global corporations to accept the rule of the corporation (do what massa say do) and will have the force of an international court and U.S. government on the side of the corporation. Currently, if a big corporation impedes on the rights of the little people, the U.S. government could be called upon to intervene and make a decision whether or not rights were trampled or if laws are being broken in the form of a U.S. Attorney's Office or another regulatory agency inquiry.

The country's other trade agreement partnership, the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is "a proposed bilateral free trade and investment agreement between the United States and the European Union," according to the website fairworldproject.org.

Because trade between the U.S. and E.U. has already been liberalized over the years and accounts for one third of global trade and nearly half of the world’s GDP, many of the contentious debates of TTIP will revolve around the non-tariff barriers (sometimes called “trade irritants” by big corporations). Non-tariff barriers include many laws and public safety measures designed to protect a country’s citizens but which make trade between countries more complicated. Negotiations on TTIP or (Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Agreement) TAFTA began in July 2013.

A comment by "Chuck" on October 7 sums up the issue of controlling U.S. laws.


"I have read bits here and there about the TPP. From what I gather it's far more about control than trade. Other nations will have say on laws here in the USA that they do not like, like 2nd ammendment/cap&tax, mining/drilling rights. Corporations will have the ability to make laws( like they are doing with this corporate boondoggle called tpp) It involves internet controls, ending free speech the corporations and Gov don't approve of and to a point eliminating borders including free travel for just about any person or terrorist out there. That is a "small" part of it."


The whole agreement is unclear to me and others because it is a secret to but a few and they are sworn to secrecy. This secret trade agreement  is upsetting to congressional committee members. I will provide links so that you can think this matter through for yourself. If it seems one-sided against the TPP, it is because the TPP has yet to bring its details to light for public debate so I am limited in what information I provide. I found an old Democracy Now! video from last June and a very suspect and crazy website (in my opinion) that may shed some light on the debate at hand.









Thursday, October 3, 2013

The Pale Horse has a rider - the Koch Bros. AND THEIR GOP ROBOT SLAVES (they are the reason we don't have)

Veterans, seniors, orphans and widows, face service disruptions due to the government shut down. And, it will worsen if debt ceiling legislation isn't very soon passed. President Barack Obama during a speech Thursday morning at a Rockville, Maryland construction company, said an "economic shutdown will delay" benefit checks in November.

Now get this: benefit checks are not welfare. They are the social security dollars pulled from your earnings each time you get a check. The government takes that money and saves and invests it in the Social Security Fund. My late ex-husband earned each one of those dollars. AND I KNOW THAT HE DID BECAUSE I WAS THERE. I suffered there right along with him as we raised our disabled daughter. We were hospital parents because she was a hospital baby. It's a tough road, ask someone about it. Apparently this means nothing to the Koch Brothers and the Tea Party they fund. They want to kill me and my kids because they don't like President Obama's politics. Really?

Anyway, President Obama said a government shutdown is different that economic shutdown in that, the economic shut down is worse. A budget must be passed by October 17 or benefit checks will be delayed in November. Call your congressmen and women and bank now.

"I want to spend a little time on this- raising the debt ceiling...it is paying for things we've already bought. This time they are forcing the United States to default on their obligations. If the shutdown doesn't work we will put a laundry list of consessions (forward) and if we don't get it well let the country default. As reckless as a government shutdown is, an economic shutdown that results from default is worse. Social Security checks go out on time (this month) but in an economic shut down, they don't go out on time. The same for disability payments. Everybody faces real economic hardships. It will affect companies and workers. Every economists out there is saying the same thing. We've never done it before. People outside of congress are saying do not do this," Pres. Obama said.

The longer the government is shut down the worse economically it will be for the People of America. Without money to spend on everyday items, stores will lose business. Think about where you shop. You won't have money to go there. If that big box chain doesn't get your dollar as it always has, then it will cut its budget as well. Budget cuts go deep.

 First, hours are cut, then people, then positions. Middle management is next. District and regional managers will feel the cut—that is about $60 to $80,000 or more per year. They won't go shopping. Then, the advertising budget will get slashed for these stores we can't patronize anymore. Television and radio stations will cut the the cost of their airtime in order to stay afloat or they may cut personnel or both. All media outlets get money to fufill personnel contracts from ADVERTISEMENT BUDGETS. When that budget goes America will be in horrible shape.

The whole bottom wrung of society will begin with the upper middle class. Any one below that rung would have become homeless long ago. And we all know homeless people aren't cable television viewers who count. They watch at the library where they sit all day before going back to their spot on the sidewalk, alleyway or other dark corner.

So what though, huh? The old and disabled and the orphan and the widow can go jump in the lake for all we care. We work for a living.

Again, where you work depends on operating costs. A company has to cover daily, weekly, monthly operating costs—like payroll and insurance premiums for employees. These costs are covered by extended bank credit and loan usually. Like before, if the banks say no to loans to cover operating costs, your employer will close shop. Why should he take a financial hit. Good luck finding work at the big box chain because they aren't hiring anymore because we didn't get our benefit checks on time and had to pay a lot of fees et cetera. We do not live linear lives People. We live circular lives in that one thing depends on another. If too many of us fall way we will destroy society as we have come to know it.

The president said the longer we have the government shut down the worse it will become economically. On Thursday, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew released a report stating that the economy is dangerously close to the debt ceiling and action must be taken.

"I want you to understand what is happening: I passed a budget that cuts deep but we will take the Republican budget level as proposed, The Senate passed it no strings. Democrats were unhappy with it but we went along. There are enough Republicans and Democrats today to pass the bill on an up or down vote. The shutdown will end today. The only thing that is keeping the government shut is U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R), won't allow a yes or no vote as to not anger extremists," Pres. Obama said.

According to news reports, House Republicans recently changed a House rule disallowing a motion for a vote on the budget.

Relaying what he heard with his own ears, President Obama said, "one House Republican said, 'We're not gonna be disrespected! We have to get something out of this— and I dont even know what that even is!'"

Pres. Obama continued by saying the current government shutdown is unlike the ones past in that it has nothing to do with deficits, spending or budgets only the Obamacare healthcare law.

Okay, now back to the dubious Koch Brothers. Here is what I found on Wikipedia about their political activities:

The brothers contribute to a variety of conservative, libertarian, and free-market individuals and organizations. They have donated more than $196 million to dozens of free-market and advocacy organizations. Tax records indicate that, in 2008, the three main Koch family foundations contributed to 34 political and policy organizations, three of which they founded, and several of which they direct.

David H. Koch was a Libertarian Vice-Presidential candidate in 1980. He advocated the abolition of Social Security, the FBI, the CIA, and public schools.

Citizens for a Sound Economy was co-founded by David Koch in the 1980s. According to the Center for Public Integrity, the Koch Brothers donated a total amount of $7.9 million between 1986 and 1993. In 1990, the brothers created the spinoff group Citizens for the Environment.

 In 2004, Citizens for a Sound Economy was renamed FreedomWorks, while its affiliated Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation became Americans for Prosperity (AFP). Since then the Koch brothers have given more than one million dollars to AFP.

At an AFP rally in 2009, David Koch said "Five years ago, my brother Charles and I provided the funds to start the Americans for Prosperity, and it's beyond my wildest dreams how AFP has grown into this enormous organization."

 AFP is the political arm of the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, for which David Koch serves as chairman of the Board of Trustees. Americans for Prosperity created Patients United Now, which advocated against a single-payer health care system during the 2009-2010 healthcare reform debate. Both FreedomWorks and Americans for Prosperity have provided support for the Tea Party movement.

An organization with ties to the Koch Brothers, Freedom Partners, gave grants worth a total of $236 million to conservative organizations, including Tea Party groups like the Tea Party Patriots and organizations which opposed The Affordable Care Act prior to the 2012 election. A majority of Freedom Partners board of directors is made up of long-time employees of the Koch brothers, and has been called "the Koch brothers' secret bank" for its function as a vehicle to provide large donations to external organizations that advance causes supported by the Kochs.

Koch Industries describes itself as being committed to free societies and free market principles and as supporting those who champion these things. As of 2011, Koch Industries' political action committee has donated more than $2.6 million to candidates.

BUT WHERE DO THESE GUYS GET THEIR MONEY? YOU AND ME. LOOK AT WHAT THEY OWN:
Koch Industries, Inc. /ˈkk/ is an American multinational corporation based in WichitaKansas, United States, with subsidiaries involved in manufacturing, trading and investments. Koch also owns InvistaGeorgia-Pacific, Flint Hills Resources, Koch Pipeline, Koch Fertilizer, Koch Minerals and Matador Cattle Company. Koch companies are involved in core industries such as the manufacturing, refining and distribution of petroleumchemicalsenergy, fiber, intermediates and polymersmineralsfertilizerspulp and paper, chemical technology equipment, ranching, finance commodities trading, as well as other ventures and investments. The firm employs 50,000 people in the United States and another 20,000 in 59 other countries.

The Koch brothers support primarily Republican candidates, who received over 80% of their political donations from 2005-2009, and in 2010 they supported California Proposition 23 (2010). The brothers pledged to donate $60 million in the 2012 election season to defeat President Barack Obama.

And they are still chasing, fighting the President of the United States and no one has explored arresting these gentlemen for acts of treason and sedition against the U.S. government. But I have to suffer, become homeless and starve. Me and my kids. Really?

Want to help me help you? Call these 15 robots controlled by the Koch Brothers—of which I am sure they are afraid:

CALL THEM!

October 17 is Day of Destruction | Call these Congressmen and women

 If there is no budget passed by October 17, Orphans and Widows will be homeless and starving, seniors will go without. Anyone who gets any kind of government benefit will go wanting. 

What? You don't care because you work for a living? Do your elderly parents work? What about grandma and big ma? I'm glad you work cause they will be at your house - all of them!

What happens to your employer if the government is still shut down? You get laid off or fired. Your owner can't get operating costs to fund payroll—he's not taking the hit financially and you wouldn't either if you had to decide.  He or she will close where you work. You won't get any unemployment benefits. No money means no money. There are children right now on the picket line in Washington D.C. because their daycare is closed. (I wonder how mommy and daddy dealt with that if they had to work?) There are pregnant working women who receive Women Infants and Children vouchers for milk, cereal, juice and formula who are under threat that they won't get those vouchers anymore. An article quoted said infant formula in Wisconsin is $15 and last three days (no you cannot water down formula).

Still don't want to march on the faction of garbage or raise your voice in your own defense? Okay. Well.  Guess what your life will be like when you are not able to escape it everyday by running off to work. Think about it. Relatives have been living with you for several weeks now. Things are getting crowded and tense and everybody is worried.

If you have anything of value, you will have to fight to protect it. Violence will visit your household. Scarcity drives people to do desperate things. What about people managing habits? No strip clubs, chick on the side, basketball, live or televised sports events, gym, childcare, food, video games, electricity, running indoor water, ability to flush one's toilet etcetera on top of no cigarettes, beer or whiskey (we know the other hard drugs exist but shall remain nameless. Detox is ugly). Imagine living in a household with a person going through withdrawal, fits and shakes. 

Oh, and to get Obamacare, you still have to pay insurance premiums. If you cannot afford it, then there is state-based insurance, maybe. Each state gets federal dollars to defray the cost of state-based health insurance. Every aspect of our life is touched by the federal government— even the indigent who visit the hospital emergency room in lieu of a regular doctor visit. So, good luck with the shakes and all and diabetic comas and convulsions. Some of us are chronically ill and need on-going medical attention.

These people will touch your lives. Get it? Bad times may not see you but bad times will see someone you have to be around, so this tomfoolery with the government will affect you.

If you live in any of these states, please reach out and call these congressmen and women and tell them enough already. Stop asking about Obamacare Law - that horse has left the gate. It cannot be defunded unless you take the money out of the hands of the People who need it—like the garbage faction is now doing. Restore our government to us and raise the debt ceiling. You can google any of these people to get phone numbers and other contact information.


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Telegraph Barack Obama

Video - CNNMoney.com

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