President Obama's Monetary Policy

Recently, President Obama signed into law The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act to help alleviate some of the pain that has been associated with this recent economic crisis. Nearly 800 billion dollars that will be handed out to assist in helping our economy recover, create growth, and numerous other things. I truly hope that this money goes to good use and will provide Americans with the help that they need and to also jump start our economy. However, my hopes are probably just that, hopes.

Every bill that comes out of congress is filled with wasteful spending by both democrats and republicans. The finger pointing can go on forever and it will. One side always blames the other, and vice versa and nothing ever gets accomplished. The loser in all of this waste and bickering is the American taxpayer. Our elected representatives don't care; as we have seen some of them choose not to pay their taxes anyway.

A new budget is making its way into congress and it is somewhere in the range of 4 trillion dollars. America cannot afford to keep existing in the red for much longer before someone calls in our debts and we won't be able to cover them. Citizens overextending themselves is what caused the economic meltdown that we are currently in and it is no different with our country's finances. It is time for our country to start living within our means and stop all this bureaucratic waste.

According to President Obama, our federal deficit will be halved by the end of his first term. This has been laughed off by some economists, and there seems to actually be some humor in this ambition. It is being claimed that this can be achieved by cutting the fat in the budget and by letting tax cuts for the rich expire. This all sounds wonderful, as do many of President Obama's speeches. We need to get the rich they don't pay enough, with their houses and fancy cars they can afford it. Right? I hate to be the bearer of bad news ladies and gentlemen, but this method of solving our financial issues is very wrong.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal actually ran the numbers and found that the government would have to take every dime from every American making over $75,000 per year. That is quite a far cry from the extra 4.6% that Americans making over $250,000 are being asked to pay. What is probably the most disturbing is that even if the government did manage to get everyone making over $75,000 to give everything else to them, it would only cover the spending in the current budget and wouldn't even begin to reduce the deficit. You might say that the trimming of the fat in the budget will help make up some of the difference, but I'll believe that when I see it. If President Obama talks congress into giving up their pet projects and spending for their districts, then I will consider his presidency a success regardless of what else happens.

Another thing that is hard to believe is that with earners like Warren Buffet, Bill Gates and other billionaires being taxed how did we get this far into the hole? Most wealthy individuals don't have a salary which means they don't have to pay income taxes. These men are worth billions yet they don't have any income, how can that be you ask? Much of their worth is in stocks of their respective companies. When one of these men needs money they sell stocks to cover their expenses. These stocks are taxed at the capital gains tax rate of 15%. This rate is probably the lowest rate that they can get away with and they laugh all the way to the bank while doctors, lawyers, and small business owners get taxed at nearly 40% because their "income" is too high because they get a paycheck and not stock options.

It is time for Americans to wake up and stop letting our government fill our heads with fairytales that everything is ok and everyone will be ok. The truth is that some companies are going to fail, some people are going to lose their jobs and things are going to get worse before they get better. It is in our best interest as Americans to get informed on the facts and take an active interest in this country. We have let things go too far and they have now gotten out of control. It is time for Americans to take America back and return this great country to its rightful place and the most powerful country in the world, and stop rolling the dice on our futures.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/23/obama.deficit/index.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123561551065378405.html?mod=djemEditorialPage