I had started the article on governance before the Bobby Lutz article so it is chronologically listed before that article, because I did not cut and paste it into a new form. So that this article is easier for those to find who have come straight to The Hickory Hound, I have listed it in the link that you can click below.
April Rant - Governance
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Catawba County's Bobby Lutz helping restore basketball Tradition at NC State
I think in reading this blog that most of you understand that it was no secret that I wanted Hickory's own Rick Barnes to take the challenge of bringing NC State's rich basketball tradition back from the doldrums. Well as most everyone knows, it wasn't meant to be and Coach Barnes decided to stay in Texas. The chances of Coach Barnes ever coming back to our state to coach have finally been extinguished, but I hold no animosity towards him and I wish him the best of luck at the University of Texas, except when his team faces the Wolfpack in the future.
Coach Mark Gottfried decided to accept the challenge of becoming NC State's next basketball coach and it is a feel good story. Coach Gott was a freshman All-American basketball player at Oral Roberts where he met Debbie Yow, NC State's current athletic director and a North Carolina native, who was the women's basketball coach there at that time (She is the sister of NC State legendary women's coach, the late Kay Yow). Due to a coaching transition, Mark Gottfried transferred to Alabama where he led the program to three consecutive Sweet Sixteens as a player in the mid-1980s. Gottfried was an All-Southeastern Conference competitor, but he just didn't make it as a professional.
Coach Gott began his assistant coaching career at UCLA. Everyone understands that UCLA has won the most national basketball titles of any school in the nation and during Gottfried's time as an assistant under Jim Harrick they won their last National Title in 1995, which was their 11th. Coach Gottfried has long stated the importance of the wisdom that he attained from the Legendary John Wooden during his years in Los Angeles. He went on from that National Title team to become the Head Coach at Murray State for three years before joining his Alma mater Alabama.
Gottfried had success at Alabama, but he himself admits to making mistakes during the latter part of his tenure; he was named the Coach of the Year in the SEC in 2002, he led Alabama to five consecutive NCAA tournament appearances (2002-2006), he took the team to an Elite Eight appearance in 2004 (the furthest an University of Alabama Basketball team has ever been in the NCAA Tournament), and he had the team ranked Number 1 in the nation during the 2001-2002 season. Alabama is first and foremost a Football school and basketball has always been an afterthought, but through most of his tenure there Coach Gottfried drew attention to that program. Towards the end that attention became negative; with team goal underachievement, NBA defections, and others walking away. This led to Coach Gottfried's awkward resignation in the middle of the 2008-2009 season.
Coach Gottfried was given a second chance by NC State and he has fully acknowledged that at his introductory Press Conference and in the subsequent articles written in local and national publications. During his press conference he stated that he learned a lot of things from the end of his tenure at Alabama and during his subsequent two years away from college basketball coaching that he spent with ESPN as a color analyst. One of the issues that he addressed was his desire to bring in the best assistant coaching staff in America to help with his weaknesses and strengthen the overall basketball teaching and fundamentals of the players in the program.
One of the hires was made today. It is Bobby Lutz from right here Catawba County. This should be an exciting prospect for the people of our area, especially those from Sherrills Ford, because this gives us a high profile tie-in to a program that is marketed and branded nationally. It may not have the savoir faire that the hiring of Rick Barnes would have brought to the area, but it is something that Catawba County and Bandys High School can definitely hang its hat on.
Bobby Lutz was a very solid coach at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He played basketball under the late Bill Bost at Bandy's High School in the mid 1970s, graduating in 1976. At one time Bill Bost was the winningest Boys Basketball Coach in terms of total wins in the State of North Carolina. And Bill Bost not only coached the Boys team into being a powerhouse, he also coached the girls team to the same stature.
Bobby Lutz was named the coach at Pfeiffer College at the age of 28 in 1986. During his nine years there, he won right at two-thirds of his games, made the NAIA tournament every year, and took the school to one NAIA National Championship game. From there he went to coach as an assistant at UNC-Charlotte under Jeff Mullins and Melvin Watkins before becoming the head coach in 1998.
Lutz was the head coach at UNC-Charlotte for 12 years, appearing in 5 NCAA tournaments and 1 NIT in his first seven years. The University also won two Conference USA championships and a Regular Season Championship during that time. In 2005, UNC-Charlotte was forced to move to the Atlantic 10, because so many top quality basketball programs left Conference USA (University of Cincinnati, Depaul University, Marquette University, and Louisville University) and moved to the Big East Conference. The Charlotte program has struggled making the transition and has since only made two National Invitational Tournament appearances in the subsequent years. It is my opinion that UNC-Charlotte should have stayed in the Conference USA or moved to the Colonial Athletic Association where they would have endured much less traveling and had UNC-Wilmington as a natural rival. But because of the struggles, Bobby Lutz took the fall for the programs lack of success.
I just think it is exciting that Bobby Lutz will represent our State and our area as a part of the largest University in the North Carolina system's basketball program. He is someone who has always represented our area well. I think he will be an aggressive recruiter in the North Carolina area and help keep many of these guys home here in the State, whereas Duke and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill concentrate on being national entities and looking outside the state for talent first. As the North Carolina State press release states:
Hey, it's only college sports and in the tumultuous times in which we live it isn't life and death; but even if you aren't a Wolfpack supporter, it should be exciting times for the State of North Carolina. The Atlantic Coast Conference isn't what it once was in basketball and this has pretty much coincided with the demise of North Carolina State's program a generation ago. Those of us old enough to remember, truly know what ACC basketball was all about. Today's brand is an emperor who wears no clothes. Duke, Carolina, and the dwarfs has not worked.
It used to be that an ACC with 7 or 8 teams would have five teams in the top twenty in the nation. The last several years it has been hard to fit in two and that is with twelve teams in the conference. It has become hum-drum and television ratings and revenues prove it. My prediction is that the resurrection of NC State's basketball program would go a long way towards the resurrection of the Brand that we all grew up with and cherished in the 1970s and 1980s and the kids today don't really have a clue about. Wouldn't it be something to have ACC basketball back. Wouldn't it be something to have the Big Four mean something again. One can only hope. One can only hope.... A Saga... To Be Continued
Coach Mark Gottfried decided to accept the challenge of becoming NC State's next basketball coach and it is a feel good story. Coach Gott was a freshman All-American basketball player at Oral Roberts where he met Debbie Yow, NC State's current athletic director and a North Carolina native, who was the women's basketball coach there at that time (She is the sister of NC State legendary women's coach, the late Kay Yow). Due to a coaching transition, Mark Gottfried transferred to Alabama where he led the program to three consecutive Sweet Sixteens as a player in the mid-1980s. Gottfried was an All-Southeastern Conference competitor, but he just didn't make it as a professional.
Coach Gott began his assistant coaching career at UCLA. Everyone understands that UCLA has won the most national basketball titles of any school in the nation and during Gottfried's time as an assistant under Jim Harrick they won their last National Title in 1995, which was their 11th. Coach Gottfried has long stated the importance of the wisdom that he attained from the Legendary John Wooden during his years in Los Angeles. He went on from that National Title team to become the Head Coach at Murray State for three years before joining his Alma mater Alabama.
Gottfried had success at Alabama, but he himself admits to making mistakes during the latter part of his tenure; he was named the Coach of the Year in the SEC in 2002, he led Alabama to five consecutive NCAA tournament appearances (2002-2006), he took the team to an Elite Eight appearance in 2004 (the furthest an University of Alabama Basketball team has ever been in the NCAA Tournament), and he had the team ranked Number 1 in the nation during the 2001-2002 season. Alabama is first and foremost a Football school and basketball has always been an afterthought, but through most of his tenure there Coach Gottfried drew attention to that program. Towards the end that attention became negative; with team goal underachievement, NBA defections, and others walking away. This led to Coach Gottfried's awkward resignation in the middle of the 2008-2009 season.
Coach Gottfried was given a second chance by NC State and he has fully acknowledged that at his introductory Press Conference and in the subsequent articles written in local and national publications. During his press conference he stated that he learned a lot of things from the end of his tenure at Alabama and during his subsequent two years away from college basketball coaching that he spent with ESPN as a color analyst. One of the issues that he addressed was his desire to bring in the best assistant coaching staff in America to help with his weaknesses and strengthen the overall basketball teaching and fundamentals of the players in the program.
One of the hires was made today. It is Bobby Lutz from right here Catawba County. This should be an exciting prospect for the people of our area, especially those from Sherrills Ford, because this gives us a high profile tie-in to a program that is marketed and branded nationally. It may not have the savoir faire that the hiring of Rick Barnes would have brought to the area, but it is something that Catawba County and Bandys High School can definitely hang its hat on.
Bobby Lutz was a very solid coach at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He played basketball under the late Bill Bost at Bandy's High School in the mid 1970s, graduating in 1976. At one time Bill Bost was the winningest Boys Basketball Coach in terms of total wins in the State of North Carolina. And Bill Bost not only coached the Boys team into being a powerhouse, he also coached the girls team to the same stature.
Bobby Lutz was named the coach at Pfeiffer College at the age of 28 in 1986. During his nine years there, he won right at two-thirds of his games, made the NAIA tournament every year, and took the school to one NAIA National Championship game. From there he went to coach as an assistant at UNC-Charlotte under Jeff Mullins and Melvin Watkins before becoming the head coach in 1998.
Lutz was the head coach at UNC-Charlotte for 12 years, appearing in 5 NCAA tournaments and 1 NIT in his first seven years. The University also won two Conference USA championships and a Regular Season Championship during that time. In 2005, UNC-Charlotte was forced to move to the Atlantic 10, because so many top quality basketball programs left Conference USA (University of Cincinnati, Depaul University, Marquette University, and Louisville University) and moved to the Big East Conference. The Charlotte program has struggled making the transition and has since only made two National Invitational Tournament appearances in the subsequent years. It is my opinion that UNC-Charlotte should have stayed in the Conference USA or moved to the Colonial Athletic Association where they would have endured much less traveling and had UNC-Wilmington as a natural rival. But because of the struggles, Bobby Lutz took the fall for the programs lack of success.
I just think it is exciting that Bobby Lutz will represent our State and our area as a part of the largest University in the North Carolina system's basketball program. He is someone who has always represented our area well. I think he will be an aggressive recruiter in the North Carolina area and help keep many of these guys home here in the State, whereas Duke and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill concentrate on being national entities and looking outside the state for talent first. As the North Carolina State press release states:
A native of Catawba, N.C., Lutz led Charlotte to a school-record five 20-win seasons, averaged over 18 wins a year and won three league titles (1999, 2001, 2004) in his tenure with the 49ers. He had four top-20 national recruiting classes and tutored 10 players who earned first-team all-conference honors. Five times in his career a Lutz-coached 49er squad knocked off a top-10 opponent, including a win over No. 3 Cincinnati in 1999. Five of the eight wins over top-10-ranked opponents in Charlotte’s history came under Lutz's watch. In 2005, Lutz was a finalist for the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award.It will give me extra pleasure seeing someone from the area work diligently to bring North Carolina State's basketball program back to prominence. These kinds of connections and stories are important to our area or any area. Success breeds success. Coach Gottfried and Coach Lutz are already working hard in Raleigh and building a rapport with the locals, before long they will be appearing here in Catawba County and the surrounding area to meet and greet the Wolfpack faithful.
Hey, it's only college sports and in the tumultuous times in which we live it isn't life and death; but even if you aren't a Wolfpack supporter, it should be exciting times for the State of North Carolina. The Atlantic Coast Conference isn't what it once was in basketball and this has pretty much coincided with the demise of North Carolina State's program a generation ago. Those of us old enough to remember, truly know what ACC basketball was all about. Today's brand is an emperor who wears no clothes. Duke, Carolina, and the dwarfs has not worked.
It used to be that an ACC with 7 or 8 teams would have five teams in the top twenty in the nation. The last several years it has been hard to fit in two and that is with twelve teams in the conference. It has become hum-drum and television ratings and revenues prove it. My prediction is that the resurrection of NC State's basketball program would go a long way towards the resurrection of the Brand that we all grew up with and cherished in the 1970s and 1980s and the kids today don't really have a clue about. Wouldn't it be something to have ACC basketball back. Wouldn't it be something to have the Big Four mean something again. One can only hope. One can only hope.... A Saga... To Be Continued
April Rant - Governance
I remember about a year and a half ago sitting in a meeting of some very cutting edge people that live in Hickory and Catawba County and having a discussion about how we go about changing the mindset of the people who live in the area. The discussion turned in the direction of Horse Race politics and how you go about making changes related to changing officials in elected office and how the same people hold their positions for lengthy periods of time and how those people hold no accountability because empirical evidence shows that no matter what they do or how we continue in an economic and social malaise in this area that these people will be reelected anyway, because they will always have someone else to blame and there are very few people who have the intestinal fortitude to hold their feet to the fire.
After listening to the people talk in circles about this subject, I had to interject that it isn't about the Horse Race, because what these people were saying was obvious and frankly it is time to move on from constantly bemoaning the obvious. It just isn't constructive to keep preaching to the choir. The message has to be taken to the people who are clueless as to the way our governance works in this area.
Evidence has proven that Mayors in Hickory stay in office for a generation. We have a Mayoral position that has a four year election cycle and in the last 52 years we have had 4 mayors and only one served a single 4 year term. Julian Whitener was in office from 1959 to 1977, George Murphy served the single term from 1977 to 1981, Bill McDonald was in office from 1981 to 2001, and Mayor Wright has been in office from 2001 to present. Compare that to the United States Presidency where there have been 10 office holders during that same subsequent time period.
What I pointed to that day was that the Horse Race is fine and dandy, but in the end it is about governance. We have people that get so entrenched in political ideology related to the Horse Race that they just walk away from the situation once the election is over only to come back when the subsequent terms are up to the wash and rinse repeat cycle. What about what goes on between the four year terms and the decisions that are made and the consequential implications of the decisions that have been made?
I am not only speaking about Hickory's Mayoral race. Too be fair, the same goes on in every local decision making race that is held from City Council to County Commission to State House and State Senate and that doesn't only go for Hickory. It also goes for all of the Metropolitan area of Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton. I don't believe in Trickle Down Economics and I don't believe in Trickle Down Governance. The most important decisions that are made that effect this area are made right here by our local officials either by action or inaction.
Elected officials will play it off and blame everyone else, but they are who we elect to hold office. They have no right to abrogate their authority to any part of the bureaucracy, whether that be government or quasi-government agencies. They are the people who hire the local City and County Managers and they empower all forms of decision making bodies. This is supposed to be done for the sake of public interests, but all too often we see it done for personal self interest and for their associates without taking into account the effects that it will have on the big picture. They have no right to cry about Raleigh and Washington, when the State and Federal Government sends them millions of dollars in grants and usually lets them decide how to spend such monies or they are allowed to request and apply for such grants of their choosing to be directed towards interests of their choosing.
The bottom line is that our local officials are responsible and accountable for the decisions that they make. But, it is the responsibility of the citizenry to keep up with what is going on in their local government and hold their elected officials accountable. This is not done by less than 10% of the people showing up for a local election. This is not done by not following the decision making process of local government officials. This is not done by not participating in the processes of governance. This is not done by only complaining when something directly effects you and walking away when it's your neighbors issue that has taken the stage. We are all supposed to be looking out for the welfare of the entire community. If we are only going to look out for our own interests, then why even have a City Charter?
To be successful we need to grow the pie. We need a local economy that is growing. In order to do that we have to be in this thing together, but it seems way too many people are out for themselves and their own short term interests. Mayor Wright has constantly stated that our local decision making body, "the Hickory City Council" is non-partisan. As I have stated in the past, nothing could be further from the truth. If someone is thinking in regular pop culture Democrat or Republican terms, then they are only fooling themselves with such a simple context. What we have in our area is the Downtown Development Association Party and the Northwest Hickory Party and everyone who does not conform to those interests is getting routed. I mean they are getting their A Double Esses handed to them. Those interests are not non-partisan. Check out the agendas of the Hickory City Council and see what they relate to. See what the issues on the agenda are directed towards. And maybe you just might get my point.
I constantly hear people from the Republican Party who espouse the notion of competition. That is one of the reasons why I can claim to be a real Republican and most of the people around here are one dimensional thinkers playing charades. All they can talk about is low taxes and small government. They want "My Taxes" to be low, but they also want goodies sprinkled all over them by the government. They don't care about other people's taxes or the common interest services that should be provided by a viable community that will help a community prosper.
You might say that I am not for competition, because I don't support Free Trade. I disagree, I don't support the Laissez Faire, "Free for All," Battle Royale trade policies that are currently going on that have scarred the American Industrial System. These policies are devastating the middle class and thus that is what is hurting our local area. The question is what are our local officials doing to help the working class people in the area? It seems that their policies are always geared towards the upper class. What about the tens of thousands of people in our area that have been adversely effected by what has been going on for the last decade?
I believe in fairness and each side playing by the same rules of justice. This does not mean that there will be equal outcomes and I do not believe in forced outcomes, but I do believe in equal opportunity, because I believe this allows the best ideas and the best entrepreneurs and the best leaders to rise to the top. It isn't all about investing capital and physical money into the middle class. It is about investing time, energy, and ideas into helping the interests of the majority of the people in our region, instead of focusing everything towards the same old stale ideas fostered by the closed circuit club that runs in the same circles and is not open to new ideas and the realization that we can't tweak around the edges to change the negative economic momentum of our area.
The people at the top of Hickory's Food Chain may like it here, because of their status. They may not want the area to change. They may not want to invite people here that have different ideas than their own, because they are afraid that it will change what they have deemed Hickory is supposed to be; but I guarantee that these people are anxious, because they see the economic writing on the wall. They know the economy isn't good and this isn't a normal downturn of the business cycle, but they are stuck in a paradox of wanting to control Hickory towards their own will by trying to firm their grip and steady their position, while at the same time they continue to see the local economy become more and more irrelevant in this 21st century world. They are in denial about the fact that what Hickory was is not going to come back and making a transition towards a new future is not some sort of fantasy, it is imperative for the viability of the community.
Maybe certain people don't care if the population implodes. Maybe certain people want a downsized Hickory. Who does this benefit? Do you want to participate in such a process? Do you understand the implications this will have on your personal finances and the quality of your life? Do you know what this will mean to your property value? Don't you want to know what the vision of our leaders is? Don't you care about the direction in which we are headed? Don't you want to be in the loop on this decision making? It doesn't worry you? You don't care what relevance this has to you and your family? Are you giving up? Is this some sort of long term slow suicide pact that I don't know about?
Put down the Chicken Wings dripping in Ranch, push back the Pabst Blue Ribbon, push the off button on the Remote to the Boob Tube, lower the lever to the foot stool of the La-Z-Boy, and start getting involved in your lives; because if you don't, then you aren't going to be able to afford all of those poor man luxuries. Our Forefathers busted their butts so that our lives could be easier and we are headed to the point where we are going to have to start over from scratch, all because people didn't care to play a role in their own lives and their own destiny. People may not like what I am saying or what I am doing. Well to that I say it is time for YOU to SAY SOMETHING and DO SOMETHING!!!
After listening to the people talk in circles about this subject, I had to interject that it isn't about the Horse Race, because what these people were saying was obvious and frankly it is time to move on from constantly bemoaning the obvious. It just isn't constructive to keep preaching to the choir. The message has to be taken to the people who are clueless as to the way our governance works in this area.
Evidence has proven that Mayors in Hickory stay in office for a generation. We have a Mayoral position that has a four year election cycle and in the last 52 years we have had 4 mayors and only one served a single 4 year term. Julian Whitener was in office from 1959 to 1977, George Murphy served the single term from 1977 to 1981, Bill McDonald was in office from 1981 to 2001, and Mayor Wright has been in office from 2001 to present. Compare that to the United States Presidency where there have been 10 office holders during that same subsequent time period.
What I pointed to that day was that the Horse Race is fine and dandy, but in the end it is about governance. We have people that get so entrenched in political ideology related to the Horse Race that they just walk away from the situation once the election is over only to come back when the subsequent terms are up to the wash and rinse repeat cycle. What about what goes on between the four year terms and the decisions that are made and the consequential implications of the decisions that have been made?
I am not only speaking about Hickory's Mayoral race. Too be fair, the same goes on in every local decision making race that is held from City Council to County Commission to State House and State Senate and that doesn't only go for Hickory. It also goes for all of the Metropolitan area of Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton. I don't believe in Trickle Down Economics and I don't believe in Trickle Down Governance. The most important decisions that are made that effect this area are made right here by our local officials either by action or inaction.
Elected officials will play it off and blame everyone else, but they are who we elect to hold office. They have no right to abrogate their authority to any part of the bureaucracy, whether that be government or quasi-government agencies. They are the people who hire the local City and County Managers and they empower all forms of decision making bodies. This is supposed to be done for the sake of public interests, but all too often we see it done for personal self interest and for their associates without taking into account the effects that it will have on the big picture. They have no right to cry about Raleigh and Washington, when the State and Federal Government sends them millions of dollars in grants and usually lets them decide how to spend such monies or they are allowed to request and apply for such grants of their choosing to be directed towards interests of their choosing.
The bottom line is that our local officials are responsible and accountable for the decisions that they make. But, it is the responsibility of the citizenry to keep up with what is going on in their local government and hold their elected officials accountable. This is not done by less than 10% of the people showing up for a local election. This is not done by not following the decision making process of local government officials. This is not done by not participating in the processes of governance. This is not done by only complaining when something directly effects you and walking away when it's your neighbors issue that has taken the stage. We are all supposed to be looking out for the welfare of the entire community. If we are only going to look out for our own interests, then why even have a City Charter?
To be successful we need to grow the pie. We need a local economy that is growing. In order to do that we have to be in this thing together, but it seems way too many people are out for themselves and their own short term interests. Mayor Wright has constantly stated that our local decision making body, "the Hickory City Council" is non-partisan. As I have stated in the past, nothing could be further from the truth. If someone is thinking in regular pop culture Democrat or Republican terms, then they are only fooling themselves with such a simple context. What we have in our area is the Downtown Development Association Party and the Northwest Hickory Party and everyone who does not conform to those interests is getting routed. I mean they are getting their A Double Esses handed to them. Those interests are not non-partisan. Check out the agendas of the Hickory City Council and see what they relate to. See what the issues on the agenda are directed towards. And maybe you just might get my point.
I constantly hear people from the Republican Party who espouse the notion of competition. That is one of the reasons why I can claim to be a real Republican and most of the people around here are one dimensional thinkers playing charades. All they can talk about is low taxes and small government. They want "My Taxes" to be low, but they also want goodies sprinkled all over them by the government. They don't care about other people's taxes or the common interest services that should be provided by a viable community that will help a community prosper.
You might say that I am not for competition, because I don't support Free Trade. I disagree, I don't support the Laissez Faire, "Free for All," Battle Royale trade policies that are currently going on that have scarred the American Industrial System. These policies are devastating the middle class and thus that is what is hurting our local area. The question is what are our local officials doing to help the working class people in the area? It seems that their policies are always geared towards the upper class. What about the tens of thousands of people in our area that have been adversely effected by what has been going on for the last decade?
I believe in fairness and each side playing by the same rules of justice. This does not mean that there will be equal outcomes and I do not believe in forced outcomes, but I do believe in equal opportunity, because I believe this allows the best ideas and the best entrepreneurs and the best leaders to rise to the top. It isn't all about investing capital and physical money into the middle class. It is about investing time, energy, and ideas into helping the interests of the majority of the people in our region, instead of focusing everything towards the same old stale ideas fostered by the closed circuit club that runs in the same circles and is not open to new ideas and the realization that we can't tweak around the edges to change the negative economic momentum of our area.
The people at the top of Hickory's Food Chain may like it here, because of their status. They may not want the area to change. They may not want to invite people here that have different ideas than their own, because they are afraid that it will change what they have deemed Hickory is supposed to be; but I guarantee that these people are anxious, because they see the economic writing on the wall. They know the economy isn't good and this isn't a normal downturn of the business cycle, but they are stuck in a paradox of wanting to control Hickory towards their own will by trying to firm their grip and steady their position, while at the same time they continue to see the local economy become more and more irrelevant in this 21st century world. They are in denial about the fact that what Hickory was is not going to come back and making a transition towards a new future is not some sort of fantasy, it is imperative for the viability of the community.
Maybe certain people don't care if the population implodes. Maybe certain people want a downsized Hickory. Who does this benefit? Do you want to participate in such a process? Do you understand the implications this will have on your personal finances and the quality of your life? Do you know what this will mean to your property value? Don't you want to know what the vision of our leaders is? Don't you care about the direction in which we are headed? Don't you want to be in the loop on this decision making? It doesn't worry you? You don't care what relevance this has to you and your family? Are you giving up? Is this some sort of long term slow suicide pact that I don't know about?
Put down the Chicken Wings dripping in Ranch, push back the Pabst Blue Ribbon, push the off button on the Remote to the Boob Tube, lower the lever to the foot stool of the La-Z-Boy, and start getting involved in your lives; because if you don't, then you aren't going to be able to afford all of those poor man luxuries. Our Forefathers busted their butts so that our lives could be easier and we are headed to the point where we are going to have to start over from scratch, all because people didn't care to play a role in their own lives and their own destiny. People may not like what I am saying or what I am doing. Well to that I say it is time for YOU to SAY SOMETHING and DO SOMETHING!!!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Economic Stories of Relevance in Today's World -- April 10, 2011
The following is a link to high resolution photos of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant taken by an aerial drone on March 20, 2011 - http://cryptome.org/eyeball/daiichi-npp/daiichi-photos.htm - You can even download a zip file that will allow you to enlarge the pictures in much greater detail.
Ron Paul to probe US Mint Coin shortage - Kitco - By Daniela Cambone - April 2, 2011 - Paul wants competition in currencies, and to do so, he said the tax on coins needs to be done away with. “Money shouldn’t be taxed with sales taxes or capital gains taxes, that would be my goal,” he said.... In March, Paul introduced H.R. 1098, the Free Competition in Currency Act of 2011, which would repeal legal tender laws in order to prohibit taxation on gold, silver, platinum, palladium and rhodium bullion. The bill has been referred to the House Committees on Financial Services, Ways and Means, and Judiciary.... A staunch critic of the Federal Reserve, Paul said that instead of arguing his case for the Fed to close down tomorrow, he’s arguing the fact it should not hold a monopoly. “They have a monopoly on a type of money that isn’t even constitutional,” he said.... “We would use no force, nobody has to use gold and silver coins,” said Paul. Rather, he said the Fed does use force. “They are a cartel and they make us use Federal Reserve notes,” he said.
Foreclosure crisis: Fed-up judges crack down on disorder in the courts - Palm Beach Post - By Christine Stapleton and Kimberly Miller - April 4, 2011 - Angry and exasperated by faulty foreclosure documents, judges throughout Florida are hitting back by increasingly dismissing cases and boldly accusing lawyers of "fraud upon the court."... "This case should have never been filed," said Lando, who referred to the firm's work on the case as "shoddy" and "grossly incompetent." She called Ben-Ezra a "robot" who filed whatever the banks sent him, and held him in contempt of court. She then gave the homeowner the home - free and clear - and barred the lender from refiling the foreclosure.... Ongoing scrutiny by the FBI, the Florida attorney general, the Florida Bar, the media and defense attorneys has uncovered countless examples of forged signatures, post-dated documents, robo-signing and lost paperwork.... The combined impact will clearly be to change practices and to reduce the amount of corner-cutting the banks and their lawyers are engaged in," White said. "It could mean foreclosures get slower. It could also encourage banks to pursue alternatives to foreclosure."
March Madness: U.S. Gov't Spent More Than Eight Times Its Monthly Revenue - CNSnews.com - By Terence P. Jeffrey - April 4, 2011 - During the month, according to the Treasury, the federal government grossed $194 billion in tax revenue and paid out $65.898 billion in tax refunds (including $62.011 to individuals and $3.887 to businesses) thus netting $128.179 billion in tax revenue for March. At the same time, the Treasury paid out a total of $1.1187 trillion. When the $65.898 billion in tax refunds is deducted from that, the Treasury paid a net of $1.0528 trillion in federal expenses for March. That $1.0528 trillion in spending for March equaled 8.2 times the $128.179 in net federal tax revenue for the month.
The federal government’s cash-flow situation was summed up pungently in Senate Budget Committee testimony by Erskine Bowles, who served as chief of staff to President Bill Clinton and is now the co-chair of President Barack Obama’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility... “I'm really concerned,” Bowles told the committee last month. “I think we face the most predictable economic crisis in history. A lot of us sitting in this room didn't see this last crisis as it came upon us. But this one is really easy to see. The fiscal path we are on today is simply not sustainable.
U.S. Corn Supply Shrinking as Meat, Ethanol Demand Send Crop Price Higher - Whitney McFerron and Jeff Wilson - Apr 7, 2011 - Corn stockpiles in the U.S., the world’s largest grower, are plunging to a 15-year low and may be smaller than the government forecast last month as rising demand from makers of feed and ethanol drive prices higher... About 40 percent of the crop is used to make ethanol as the government subsidizes the fuel additive and retail gasoline nears $4 a gallon. Corn futures have more than doubled in the past year to the highest since July 2008, as rising pork and beef prices encouraged demand from livestock producers and as U.S. export-sales expanded at the fastest pace in three years.
Is America Becoming The Land Of The Part-Time Job?: Most Of The Jobs That Are Being Created Are Part-Time Jobs And Some Companies Are Going To A “Part-Time Only Policy” - Before It's News - Thursday, April 07, 2011 - But isn't the employment situation supposed to be getting better? No, it really is not. Yes, the U.S. economy added 216,000 jobs in March. However, the truth is that approximately 290,000 part-time jobs were created and about 80,000 full-time jobs were actually lost. This is all part of a long-term trend in America. Good jobs are rapidly disappearing and they are being replaced by low paying service jobs that do not pay a living wage. In many American households today, both parents have multiple jobs. Yet a large percentage of those same households can't even pay the mortgage and are drowning in debt.
Tax the Super Rich now or face a revolution - Market Watch - Paul B. Farrell - March 29, 2011 - Here’s how one savvy insider who knows described this Super-Rich Delusion: “The top 1% live privileged lives, aren’t worried about much. Families vacation at the best resorts. Their big concerns are finding the best Pilates teacher, best masseuse, best surgeons, best private schools. They aren’t concerned with the underlying deterioration of America or the world, except in the abstract, because they aren’t directly affected by it. That’s not to say they aren’t sympathetic, aware, or don’t talk about the issues you bring up. They are largely concerned with protecting and enhancing their socio-economic positions, ensuring their families live well. And nothing you write about will change things.”... Warning, in 2011 that attitude is delusional, deadly, yet pervasive in America... They believe they’ll continue living just fine in a depression. But you won’t. Nor will your retirement. Neither will the rest of America. And still the Super Rich don’t care, “except in the abstract, because they aren’t directly affected.”
Gerald Celente on the beginning of the First Great War of the 21st Century
Ron Paul to probe US Mint Coin shortage - Kitco - By Daniela Cambone - April 2, 2011 - Paul wants competition in currencies, and to do so, he said the tax on coins needs to be done away with. “Money shouldn’t be taxed with sales taxes or capital gains taxes, that would be my goal,” he said.... In March, Paul introduced H.R. 1098, the Free Competition in Currency Act of 2011, which would repeal legal tender laws in order to prohibit taxation on gold, silver, platinum, palladium and rhodium bullion. The bill has been referred to the House Committees on Financial Services, Ways and Means, and Judiciary.... A staunch critic of the Federal Reserve, Paul said that instead of arguing his case for the Fed to close down tomorrow, he’s arguing the fact it should not hold a monopoly. “They have a monopoly on a type of money that isn’t even constitutional,” he said.... “We would use no force, nobody has to use gold and silver coins,” said Paul. Rather, he said the Fed does use force. “They are a cartel and they make us use Federal Reserve notes,” he said.
Foreclosure crisis: Fed-up judges crack down on disorder in the courts - Palm Beach Post - By Christine Stapleton and Kimberly Miller - April 4, 2011 - Angry and exasperated by faulty foreclosure documents, judges throughout Florida are hitting back by increasingly dismissing cases and boldly accusing lawyers of "fraud upon the court."... "This case should have never been filed," said Lando, who referred to the firm's work on the case as "shoddy" and "grossly incompetent." She called Ben-Ezra a "robot" who filed whatever the banks sent him, and held him in contempt of court. She then gave the homeowner the home - free and clear - and barred the lender from refiling the foreclosure.... Ongoing scrutiny by the FBI, the Florida attorney general, the Florida Bar, the media and defense attorneys has uncovered countless examples of forged signatures, post-dated documents, robo-signing and lost paperwork.... The combined impact will clearly be to change practices and to reduce the amount of corner-cutting the banks and their lawyers are engaged in," White said. "It could mean foreclosures get slower. It could also encourage banks to pursue alternatives to foreclosure."
March Madness: U.S. Gov't Spent More Than Eight Times Its Monthly Revenue - CNSnews.com - By Terence P. Jeffrey - April 4, 2011 - During the month, according to the Treasury, the federal government grossed $194 billion in tax revenue and paid out $65.898 billion in tax refunds (including $62.011 to individuals and $3.887 to businesses) thus netting $128.179 billion in tax revenue for March. At the same time, the Treasury paid out a total of $1.1187 trillion. When the $65.898 billion in tax refunds is deducted from that, the Treasury paid a net of $1.0528 trillion in federal expenses for March. That $1.0528 trillion in spending for March equaled 8.2 times the $128.179 in net federal tax revenue for the month.
The federal government’s cash-flow situation was summed up pungently in Senate Budget Committee testimony by Erskine Bowles, who served as chief of staff to President Bill Clinton and is now the co-chair of President Barack Obama’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility... “I'm really concerned,” Bowles told the committee last month. “I think we face the most predictable economic crisis in history. A lot of us sitting in this room didn't see this last crisis as it came upon us. But this one is really easy to see. The fiscal path we are on today is simply not sustainable.
U.S. Corn Supply Shrinking as Meat, Ethanol Demand Send Crop Price Higher - Whitney McFerron and Jeff Wilson - Apr 7, 2011 - Corn stockpiles in the U.S., the world’s largest grower, are plunging to a 15-year low and may be smaller than the government forecast last month as rising demand from makers of feed and ethanol drive prices higher... About 40 percent of the crop is used to make ethanol as the government subsidizes the fuel additive and retail gasoline nears $4 a gallon. Corn futures have more than doubled in the past year to the highest since July 2008, as rising pork and beef prices encouraged demand from livestock producers and as U.S. export-sales expanded at the fastest pace in three years.
Is America Becoming The Land Of The Part-Time Job?: Most Of The Jobs That Are Being Created Are Part-Time Jobs And Some Companies Are Going To A “Part-Time Only Policy” - Before It's News - Thursday, April 07, 2011 - But isn't the employment situation supposed to be getting better? No, it really is not. Yes, the U.S. economy added 216,000 jobs in March. However, the truth is that approximately 290,000 part-time jobs were created and about 80,000 full-time jobs were actually lost. This is all part of a long-term trend in America. Good jobs are rapidly disappearing and they are being replaced by low paying service jobs that do not pay a living wage. In many American households today, both parents have multiple jobs. Yet a large percentage of those same households can't even pay the mortgage and are drowning in debt.
Tax the Super Rich now or face a revolution - Market Watch - Paul B. Farrell - March 29, 2011 - Here’s how one savvy insider who knows described this Super-Rich Delusion: “The top 1% live privileged lives, aren’t worried about much. Families vacation at the best resorts. Their big concerns are finding the best Pilates teacher, best masseuse, best surgeons, best private schools. They aren’t concerned with the underlying deterioration of America or the world, except in the abstract, because they aren’t directly affected by it. That’s not to say they aren’t sympathetic, aware, or don’t talk about the issues you bring up. They are largely concerned with protecting and enhancing their socio-economic positions, ensuring their families live well. And nothing you write about will change things.”... Warning, in 2011 that attitude is delusional, deadly, yet pervasive in America... They believe they’ll continue living just fine in a depression. But you won’t. Nor will your retirement. Neither will the rest of America. And still the Super Rich don’t care, “except in the abstract, because they aren’t directly affected.”
Gerald Celente on the beginning of the First Great War of the 21st Century
Friday, April 8, 2011
April 8, 2011 - Silver breaks through $40 an ounce - Gold $1465
Silver
Gold
This morning in Hong Kong trading Silver has broken through $40/ ounce, Gold has broken through $1465/ounce. The Gold/Silver ratio now sits at 36.53.
Silver is now only 20% below it's all time nominal level set in 1980. As I have stated before, this is not speculation. This is inflation and a flight to quality. The dollar and fiat currencies are not worth investing in. This is not financial advice. This is empirical evidence and observation. Quantitative Easing has been a total bust and has only further increased speculation in commodities and thus driven up inflation. You need to prepare, because we aren't far from the time when the curtain hiding this mess falls revealing all of the machinations and contortions that the economic policy makers have been weaving. They have failed and we are living through the effects of a Ponzi scheme economy.
Commodities will climb further from here. We are to the point where those who hold short positions in precious metals are going to have to start paying the piper. The short squeeze is on. You won't believe where this will go, especially if you haven't been paying attention or you are in denial. If the central banks try to suppress these tangible assets, it will further drive a stake into fiat currencies such as the dollar and momentum will feed off of itself and move towards even higher inflation until it spirals out of control. It is time to demand a stop to these poor economic decisions. It is time that our government take back the reins of the dollar and get control of our money supply (our currency - the Dollar)!!! Where is the accountability?
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