Barackracy

[bonnie]

Barackracy

Ed Lasky

I was talking with my wife about the newest wave of rules and regulations that Washington is imposing on us, such as this doozy:

"An all-but-overlooked provision of the health reform law is threatening to swamp U.S. businesses with a flood of new tax paperwork," reports CNNMoney.com:

Section 9006 of the health care bill--just a few lines buried in the 2,409-page document--mandates that beginning in 2012 all companies will have to issue 1099 tax forms not just to contract workers but to any individual or corporation from which they buy more than $600 in goods or services in a tax year.

The stealth change radically alters the nature of 1099s and means businesses will have to issue millions of new tax documents each year.

This means more work for corporate accountants. Much worse, though, is the demand on small businesses, including freelancers:

Under the new rules, if a freelance designer buys a new iMac from the Apple Store, they'll [sic] have to send Apple a 1099. A laundromat that buys soap each week from a local distributor will have to send the supplier a 1099 at the end of the year tallying up their [sic] purchases.

The bill makes two key changes to how 1099s are used. First, it expands their scope by using them to track payments not only for services but also for tangible goods. Plus, it requires that 1099s be issued not just to individuals, but also to corporations.

Why did they do this? Simple greed: "The idea seems to be that using 1099 forms to capture unreported income will generate more government revenue and help offset the cost of the health bill."

I had a slip of the tongue: I meant to say that the bureaucracy was going to choke the growth out of America.

But it came out as "Barackracy".

We started laughing and I thought -what a great idea for the title of an article. I googled the term and discovered -- yet, again -- that other people had beat me to the punch.

Here are the Urban Dictionary definitions of Barackracy, in increasing order of clarity and honesty:

A combination of Barack Obama and bureaucracy. To be used when discussing his political agenda.

The bureaucratic policies, emphasizing excessive layers of non-elected government officials (Czars), as put forth by the administration of President Barack Obama.

A regime of governing that does everything backwards to the detriment of the citizenry.

The surplus of government jobs that will be created with Barack Obama as president. Used to describe the large government that will result.

The systematic dismantling of the United States of America's Constitution.

Anyone think that this word will be taught to children at our public schools?

[Dr. Shane]

So will Republicans ride in on a white horse and save the Republic?

[bonnie]

So will Republicans ride in on a white horse and save the Republic?

Who knows.If they don't change their ways,the ways that make them look like democrats they very well may end up riding out on a jackass.

[karl]

Originally Posted By: Shane

So will Republicans ride in on a white horse and save the Republic?

Who knows.If they don't change their ways,the ways that make them look like democrats they very well may end up riding out on a jackass.

If they are acting like Democrats they are already riding a donkey.

[Woody]

Barackracy is a major problem for this nation. Thanks for this article.

[Dr. Shane]

I am not too concerned. First, because I trust in God and believe God placed Obama in the presidency. Second, I believe the Republicans will win control either this year or in two years and fine tune the problems out of the great programs Obama has started.

[karl]

Second, I believe the Republicans will win control either this year or in two years and fine tune the problems out of the great programs Obama has started.

Just lost my lunch.

[bonnie]

Originally Posted By: Shane

Second, I believe the Republicans will win control either this year or in two years and fine tune the problems out of the great programs Obama has started.

Just lost my lunch.

Got to wonder don't you?

[phkrause]

I am not too concerned. First, because I trust in God and believe God placed Obama in the presidency. Second, I believe the Republicans will win control either this year or in two years and fine tune the problems out of the great programs Obama has started.

Just ate another vegeburger and had 2 chocolate milkshakes Shane, excellent post.

pk

[Woody]

I'm feelin' sick to my stomach.

[phkrause]

I'm feelin' sick to my stomach.

I doubt that.

pk

[doug yowell]

I am not too concerned. First, because I trust in God and believe God placed Obama in the presidency. .

Apparently God placed Pharoah in charge of his country, but that didn't work out for Egypt very well.Do you think a little concern here might be appropriate?

[karl]

Originally Posted By: Shane

I am not too concerned. First, because I trust in God and believe God placed Obama in the presidency. .

Apparently God placed Pharoah in charge of his country, but that didn't work out for Egypt very well.Do you think a little concern here might be appropriate?

Nah, not with a liberal in the Whitehouse. Shane is ecstatic, aren't you, Shane? Just think of all those WONDERFUL programs Obama has foisted upon his unsuspecting acolytes and their unfortunate fellow citizens. Ahh, just contemplating it makes us want to transcend reality and enter.... the Twilight Zone of the Republic.

[Dr. Shane]

Not all of Obama's programs have been wonderful but his bailout of the banks seems to be paying off with interest. That a hi-5 for the Prez.

Cash for clunkers was a great success. Another

Looks like GM is on the way of recovery. That's a

Doing SOMETHING about health care was better than the do-nothing Republicans did so that is a

[karl]

Not all of Obama's programs have been wonderful but his bailout of the banks seems to be paying off with interest. That a hi-5 for the Prez.

There are seven ways in which the TARP failed, according to The Congressional Oversight Panel's Audit Report issued in December.

Getting Credit Flowing

No matter how red-in-the-face Congressmen got during hearings, they just couldn't get the bailout banks to lend more. This is probably good, because by forcing banks to lend more in their fragile state, such a strict lending requirement could have endangered the very capital cushion that the TARP sought to create. But it falls far short of what the American people were promised.

Regional Bank Failures

While the TARP did a great job in healing the big banks very quickly, the same can't really be said of the smaller regional banks. As the report said, since January 1, 2008 there have been 149 bank failures. As commercial real estate struggles, there may be more to come. So while Wall Street is stabilized, regional banking is hardly out of the woods.

Removing Toxic Assets

The original purpose for the TARP was to purchase toxic assets from banks, as its name indicates. For whatever reason, former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson couldn't make that happen, so it used the fund as a blunt instrument to recapitalize banks instead. In the long-term, these bad assets continue to plague bank balance sheets.

Preventing Foreclosures

The homeowner bailout, a sub-bailout within the TARP, hasn't done particularly well. Foreclosures continue to soar.

Slowing Job Losses

Didn't happen.

The Market Still Reliant On Government

This is THE problem. TARP made it worse. (See below.)

Created An Implicit Government Guarantee Of Big Banks

This is one of the most serious problems resulting from the TARP. Markets will not repsond appropriately to signals because if big banks appear to run into trouble again, the market won't worry. TARP is seen as an implicit guarantee of big financial institutions.

[karl]

Cash for clunkers was a great success. Another

[karl]

Looks like GM is on the way of recovery. That's a

Nope. GM is using taxpayer money to pay back taxpayer money.

But it is typical that liberals would think this is worthy of accolade.

GM received $50 billion in TARP funds (never mind that TARP was only supposed to cover financial institutions). About $7 billion of that came in the form of a straight-up, low-interest loan. And about $13 billion came in the form of an escrow account.

So how has GM, which lost $38 billion in 2007 even as it sold 9.4 million cars, paid back its debt? It took money from the escrow account to "pay back" the $6.7 billion loan.

GM has not actually recoverd to the point that it can contribute ANYTHING other than simply giving back a small portion of what it was given in the first place.

How's that for success? Makes you want to hug the next liberal politician you see, doesn't it? Those of you who aren't receiving your paychecks either directly or indirectly from government may want to look at this a bit more closely.

It seems to me that as long as liberals get away with robbing the productive sector for larger amounts of hard-earned money in order to subsidize slackers, they will be shouting, "SUCCESS!!!"

High Fives all around, libs.

[bonnie]

Let's not forget the mortgage bailout mess.

If you lied on your original mortgage,no sweat.You are the ones they want to help.

Seems history does repeat itself,a very large number of those that lied are in default again. Others that were just plain stupid and bought more than they could afford are defaulting at a rapid rate.

You just have to love that definition of success

[Dr. Shane]

Quote:

There are seven ways in which the TARP failed

Wall Street Journal was less than impressed.

GM is using taxpayer money to pay back taxpayer money.

Let's not forget the mortgage bailout mess.

Get it while its cold. Drink it down deep.

[karl]

Hmmm. Nice graphic, Shane.

Now for something more substantive:

Obama failures

1) Failure to understand basic economics. He advocated demolishing the foundation of our economy when he called for financial institutions to be banned from taking risks. Risk is part of the free market! Eliminating risk requires government control of the economy, including private property and capital, and correspondingly the abolition of liberty.

2) Failure to understand responsibility. He decried the deficit he inherited. It is now far worse because of the trillions of dollars in new spending that Obama signed into law. Yet, to him, the resulting deficit is solely the responsibility of his predecessor. Conversely, he took responsibility for what he did not do. He claimed responsibility for the bank bailout, which his predecessor signed into law.

3) Failure to understand that, to paraphrase President Reagan, too much government is in itself a tremendous problem. He claimed that Americans are upset that “Washington has been unable or unwilling to solve any of our problems.” The responsibility of government is to safeguard our liberty, not to solve our problems.

4) Failure to be truthful. He profoundly shamed himself when he not only lied about the Supreme Court’s free-speech ruling, but also publicly humiliated and embarrassed the justices for daring to defy him. Presidential? This was the stuff of a petty tyrant.

5) Failure to shoot straight with us on taxation. It is a lie that no one’s income tax was increased, unless you take Obama's claim at the strictest meaning of “a single dime on a single person.”

6) Failure to implement the government spending freeze he promised. On the face of it, a freeze would be to his credit. But freeze it where? At the massively expanded level to which he’s taken it? What difference would it make if he saved billions – after spending trillions, more than all his predecessors combined.

7) Failure to make any plan for his deficits to be paid for on his watch, as promised. Our grandchildren will be paying for his deficits. His idea to “invest in our people without leaving them a mountain of debt” was laughable.

8) Failure to respect and obey the Constitution. When Congress does not do his bidding, he threatens an Executive Order.

9) Failure to appreciate the intelligence and determination of the American people. Popular opposition to health care demolition had become so virulent that even Congressional Democrats were standing down for fear of their political careers. Yet Obama called on them to do the suicidal and support it for the sake of their Leader’s agenda.

He rightly identified what he called a “deficit of trust.” But it’s not because of lobbyists, such as those who populate his administration in droves. Americans are angry, but most certainly not because we don’t understand what’s happening in Washington. It’s because we understand it all too well.

[Dr. Shane]

Hmmm. Nice graphic, Shane.

Well, of course. It is red, not blue.