Good Government isn't about the Property Tax Rate Folks!!!

We constantly hear this notion pushed forth by local officials that they have done us a favor by maintaining the Property Tax Rate. Within Catawba County that tax rate will be 53 cents per $100 of property value for the upcoming 2011-12 fiscal year, which is down from the 53.5 cents/$100 this fiscal year. In Hickory, the property tax rate will remain at 50 cents/$100 for the 17th straight year. In Conover, the property tax rate will remain at 40 cents/$100. In Newton, the property tax rate for the upcoming year will remain at 48 cents/$100 valuation.

What I have spoken of before and what my colleagues push forth in trying to bring the public to understanding is that the property tax rate doesn't tell the whole story. Yet, we have local officials that look at that rate as the local third rail of politics, just as we see with discussions about Social Security on the National Level. Local elected officials seem to believe that raising the property tax rate is a death sentence that will render them unelectable and City and County Managers seem to think that an increase in the rate will ultimately cost them their jobs. And on the other end, when they keep the rate at the same level, they seem to be pushing a notion that the maintenance of "The Rate" is the be all, end all of fiscal restraint and prosperity. Look at the City of Hickory where they may as well place it on a flag as a motto, "The City of Hickory has maintained the same Property rate for Umpteen Years."

I know what I am proposing is blasphemy to the Good Ole Boys who run the show around here and their Flock of Seagulls, but if you critically look at the numbers, then you will realize that "The Rate" really needs to be placed in a proper context. Let me ask, When one looks at the specific issue of property taxes and critically thinks about the issues that I have put forth above, then one realizes that the tax rate is the least of our problems. I doubt anyone who has owned a home could say that they aren't paying a lot more property tax now than they were 17 years ago. If "The Rate" is the Holy Sacrament of Taxes, then how could that be? Real Estate values escalated during the Real Estate bubble and the local governmental entities reassessed the value of your home over that time up and up and up and now they are reluctant to deflate those values to truly reflect the current resell level. They are reluctant to do this because so many people are basically financially illiterate and the local governments have fostered and taken advantage of that financial illiteracy through political hyperbole.

Once again let's get back to the bottom line. That's what local officials tell you they are all about. Mayor Wright, here in Hickory, constantly points to the fact that the John Locke Foundation rankings show that Hickory has tumbled to No. 15 in local tax burden ranking, which is seven spots below its No. 8 ranking in 2008, the largest drop of any city in North Carolina's largest population group. The list ranks 34 municipalities with at least 25,000 residents. At the beginning of the millennium, Hickory ranked 3rd in tax burden in 2000 and 2nd in 2001. So it appears that we are headed in the right direction when one looks at the taxes and fees. But, let's look at the cities who were ranked as one through five;; Charlotte, Chapel Hill, Asheville, Mooresville, and Wilmington topped the rankings of combined city and county costs per person. When one looks at the Economic Output and rankings of economic success, those five communities are frequently brought to attention by national studies and publications.

Can you see that those John Locke rankings show just one aspect of the economic dynamics of a community. They show the static cost of government per individual within specific municipalities in the State of North Carolina. This doesn't show the Standard of Living or the Cost of Living of those specific communities. And this definitely does not reflect an individual's Economic Opportunity within those communities either.

You see folks, it isn't all about cutting taxes. It is all about management. The money is not the Government's money. It is the people's money. It needs to be managed in the interests of the people of the community. We have so many local government officials that obsess about the unfunded balance in their communities that they aren't only cutting the fat, they have gotten to the point that they are basically cutting into the bone. Yes, there most definitely needs to be a rainy day fund, but when there is a surplus, then that means that the people of that community are being overtaxed. If there is a surplus, then in my opinion, it is OK to use it towards dynamic investment that can lay a foundation towards the creation of jobs or improving the community's quality of life. Letting that Unfunded Balance sit and rot at 2% interest, while the Nation is facing 10% inflation is not a savvy economic move. It means that that money is losing its value.

The final issue that I would like to summarize is the need to bring integrity back to the property tax system. Yes, local governments need monies to run governmental functions. Yes, we can argue all day long about what that entails,. But, the biggest issue is being square with the citizens. That is where the issue of Revenue Neutrality comes to the picture. We need to see a frank discussion with the public. The public needs to be told that the assessed value of their home is going to be reduced, but the Tax rate is going to rise so that the current level of governmental services can be maintained.

I don't necessarily agree with Catawba County Government's Real Estate Assessments and they are in charge of the assessments utilized by everyone in this County. I believe that they have seen such a drastic reduction in Commercial and Industrial Property viability and value, along with the loss of assessed equipment in those structures, that they have felt forced to maintain the burden on residential property owners. Residential Property values increased by 3%, while Commercial Property values fell by 3% and Industrial property values fell by 5%. The State mandates that revaluations are to be as close to 100% of market value as possible and Catawba County met this criteria. This is factored by a random sample of actual real estate sales that took place during the previous year at what is considered "Fair Market Value." But "Fair Market Value" does not take into account foreclosed properties sold by Banks at cut rate prices. We see a lot of this going on and in the end Residential Property Owners are having to compete with these properties when/if they attempt to sell their home. This honestly needs to be looked at and reevaluated by the NC General Assembly. Leaving the Banks in charge of the Hen House allows these home values to be overvalued.

I do appreciate that the County Manager and the County Commissioners have reduced the property rate to 53 cents to maintain Revenue Neutrality at the same time that they have aimed to make their budget more efficient . We have not seen the same from the local municipalities, who did not lower their tax rate to lower the burden. When we look at the City of Hickory, we also see that they are going to see a surplus in their budget, which will be used to increase the unfunded balance again and there is no stated purpose for what that excess capital is there for. If they aren't going to use the money, then they need to lower the rate.

I can appreciate local budgets being cautious. It is easy to see that the economy is not growing and local governments do not want to chase revenues that could lead to huge losses. But, we are going to have to spend money to make money. The Conover Station and the Eco-Complex are trend setting investments in these hard times that will pay huge dividends when the progression of those investments fall into place. These investments, in my opinion, will flourish under better economic circumstances. These tax revenues are the people's money. The people should be educated on this process and it should always be a transparent process. We should never hide the cost of government by increasing fees or overvaluing assets in an economic downturn. Level with the people and build trust. Don't underestimate their intelligence. In most cases it isn't that the people aren't intelligent enough to understand. It is that the government officials don't want to break the numbers down into terms that the public can understand. Maybe that is because they don't understand them themselves.

Obama, You are not one of us. You are not the 99%!!!

I come home and get on the Internet to check out the news. I go to ESPN to check out football scores and see the results of the Indycar racing finale for the 2011 season. And the cold hard slap in the face is that Dan Wheldon died in a horrific crash 11 laps into the race. Indycar Open Wheel is a perilous sport and I have now seen more than a handful of athletes die racing on the cutting edge.

Then I can't read anymore sports so I go check out the Drudge Report and I am about as sick as I can be. Sometimes I don't think after what I have seen over the last year my heart can go any lower. The front page of the Drudge Report has Czar Obama trying to co-opt the Occupy Movement and turn the class issue in his favor by talking about the 99%. Now, what I say here is going to raise the ire of the World Wrestling Federation Political Junkies, but Obama represents the one-tenth of one percent not the 99 percent.

Look at what Obama has done for the Wall Street Cronies and the Federal Reserve. He reappointed Ben Bernanke after Bernanke's complete mismanagement of the Banking Crisis. The Federal Reserve inflated the Real Estate Bubble through its artificial low interest rates. This hurts people who have retirement accounts, because it lowers what they can make on money market funds. Thus it hurts senior citizens. Then at the same time his Obamacare debacle looks to gut Social Security and Medicare at the same time it enriched the banking cartel's who own the Health Insurance Industry. Do you think the Health Insurance Industry represents the one-percent?

I have seen the lack of care afforded by our healthcare industry in my dealings with it through the health issues that my late grandmother had and my mother is now experiencing. I don't expect perfect care. I expect people to be treated with dignity and not looked at as revenue generators. The corporate medical machine looks at people for money, when they have found a way to exhaust people's money then they are left to fend for themselves. Folks, you better understand that from the get-go, because that is the dynamics of the game. The reason why healthcare costs have spiraled out of control is because of the convoluted system created through the marriage of Corporate Ponzi Insurance, the Corporate Ponzi Medical Industry, and the United States Federal Ponzi Bureaucracy.

Back to our President, look at how he represents himself in this tough economy. He gets to play golf all the time. His biggest face time is picking NCAA brackets and talking about sports. He and his wife are jetsetting everywhere on the public's dime and this is a man who has never held a job in the private sector. He is so far out of touch, he may as well be walking on the moon. He is certainly not the right man for the circumstances we currently find ourselves in. He is twiddling, while this nation's prospects are going up in smoke.

I have seen it all and frankly I've had enough. Everything in this country revolves around paper money and nothing revolves around the substance of empowering people and working to help them build and maintain a good quality of life. We can't build efficiencies into the system, because we have some money hungry jerks trying to screw people and not deliver on service and quality. You see all of these business owners, especially Corporate America including the Governmental Corporatocracy, looking to cut corners and give the minimum amount of service necessary to meet their legal obligation. You see the people at the top looking to deliver big bonuses to themselves at the expense of the consumers who purchase their products, while the viability of the middle class continues to be diminished, because they have offshored the productive capacity of our economy.

And I know you can't blame it all on Obama. Hell, he's just a puppet. In my opinion, he is the weakest President in the history of the United States. We always hear about Hoover, well this is your modern day Hoover. His administration  can't get out of the way of itself, which makes many of us wonder if they are doing this on purpose.

Obama's constant speaking out of both sides of his mouth has to make one wonder about his emotional and mental stability  How can one be that two faced and look at themselves in the mirror. I understand that he is just reading words off of a teleprompter, but let me ask you, who is writing what he reads on the teleprompter? And would you endure representing something you don't believe in? Would you not rebel?

The article from the Financial Times ( Obama extends support for protesters -Financial Times - Shannon Bond - October 16, 2011) states that Obama "offered more support for protesters against the global financial system after a weekend of demonstrations in cities around the world, but called on them not to “demonise” those who worked on Wall Street."

Now you WWE Democrat types looking to buy into what Obama reverbs off of his teleprompter tell me how that is possible. We look at the scandals that have beset this administration like Solyndra (not to mention the Fast and Furious Gun Running Scheme). We look at the Fraudclosure issue involving the MRSA robosigning issue and how government officials want to sweep this under the rug after all of these banks have illegally foreclosed on people after utilizing predatory lending practices, including zero down/ARMs, to put them in houses they couldn't afford. We see how rating's agencies such as Standard and Poor's and Moody's were rating junk assets as AAA for Investment Bank favors, such as Goldman Sachs, and Goldman Sachs is pumping and dumping this stuff on both ends. Hmmm... Now who were 2008 Presidential Candidate Barack Obama's biggest contributors?

We see all of this corruption on Wall Street in conjunction with the Federal Reserve and Government at all levels from this President and administration right down to Congressmen, Senators, Governors, Mayors, City Officials, and the Bureaucracy and no one goes to jail, but we aren't supposed to get upset or "Demonize" anyone.

Why do you think they are speaking out of both sides of their mouths? Because they don't want to be held accountable, because at the least they are incompetent, but more likely they are crooked.

We're going to see some justice. There always comes a time where the darkness of corruption is met head on with the equal and opposite light of justice. The events are never pretty. The people who caused this mess and have benefited from it are going to try to control the outcome. If they were smart, they would plead mea culpa and fork over what they have stolen and try to restore the health of our economic system, but I honestly think their greed far outstrips their intelligence. They are going to continue on speaking out of both sides of their mouths, not doing anything meaningful to restore the system they have corrupted, and trying to buy time. But, time will continue to move along and the economy will continue to worsen, because what we are seeing is not a normal business cycle. It is a breakdown crisis and what has broken the system is fraud and corruption and that must be addressed in order to move our economy and society forward.

Economic Stories of Relevance in Today's World -- October 16, 2011

Student banned after debit card/student ID card complaint is reinstated - NBC - Bob Sullivan - October 14, 2011 - A North Carolina community college student who was banned from campus after complaining about being forced to use a school-branded debit card has been reinstated. Reversal of the decision leaves a critical question unanswered, however: Why are schools around the country forcing students to get into bad financial habits by using MasterCard-branded debit cards laden with booby-trap fees?.....      Catawba Valley Community College student Marc Bechtol was suspended for two semesters earlier this week after complaining about the debit card on the school's Facebook page, according to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. Bechtol's Facebook complaint included a suggestion urging readers to find "good viruses" to send to the school or register it for porn sites. On Oct. 4, Bechtol was pulled from class and told he was no longer allowed on campus.....      After the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) intervened, Bechtol was reinstated. The school viewed Bechtol’s post as a threat, but FIRE argued that it was protected free speech and not a serious threat.



US budget gap widens, tops $1 trln for 3rd year - Reuters - Pedro Nicolaci da Costa - October 14, 2011 - The U.S. budget gap widened slightly in fiscal 2011, staying above $1 trillion for a third straight year and providing fodder for a political battle over taxes and spending ahead of next year’s presidential election. The Treasury Department report on Friday comes just over two months after an epic showdown over the nation’s debt ceiling that pushed the United States close to a debt default and led to a downgrade of America’s prized AAA credit rating. The shortfall in September, the final month of the fiscal year, widened to $64.57 billion compared to the same month a year earlier, although it came in at a few billion dollars less than economists had projected. The annual deficit was $1.299 trillion, up from 1.294 trillion in fiscal 2010.


Energy firms' profits per customer rise 733%, says Ofgem - Terry Macalister, Dan Milmo and Lisa Bachelor - October 14, 2011 Energy regulator proposes 'radical reform' of energy market and simpler tariffs as it reveals net margin for typical customers has risen from £15 in June to £125 in October - The Guardian - Terry Macalister, Dan Milmo and Lisa Bachelor - October 14. 2011 - A furious row has broken out today between the energy regulator and the "big six" power companies after Ofgem in effect accused the utilities of profiteering by increasing their profit per dual-fuel customer by 733% – from £15 to £125 – through a slew of price rises.....



“It’s Going to Get a Lot Worse”: ECRI’s Achuthan Says New Recession Unavoidable - Aaron Task - Yahoo - Daily Ticker – Fri, September 30, 2011 - Weakness in leading economic indicators has become so pervasive the Economic Cycle Research Institute now predicts a new recession is unavoidable. "The vicious cycle is starting where lower sales, lower production, lower employment and lower income [leads] back to lower sales," co-founder Lakshman Achuthan declares in the accompanying video. Whereas Achuthan said the jury is still out in late August, the weakness in leading economic indicators — and ECRI uses a dozen for the U.S. alone, he notes — has become a "contagion" that is spreading like "wildfire."


U.S. Collapse Predicted - GoldSeek - October 14, 2011 - Casey Research Chief Economist Bud Conrad believes the United States is acting as a late-stage empire, acting aggressively on the world stage, lowering its moral standards and debasing its currency. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report at the Casey Research/Sprott Inc. "When Money Dies" Summit, he explains the options for how the inevitable collapse will occur. The Gold Report: At the Casey Research/Sprott Inc. Summit, you gave a presentation called, "A Crisis of Confidence." After all the government stimulus from the U.S. and the rest of the world aimed at injecting liquidity and keeping interest rates low, why didn't any of it work? Why is the economy still hurting? Bud Conrad: First, printing money doesn't create wealth. Putting bits in a computer doesn't create wealth. When politicians hand out money, they are the ones who get powerful and the banks get wealthy. The middle class with savings gets hurt. What creates wealth is people working and creating things. Internationally, the Chinese are papering over their slowing growth rate by providing liquidity, but paper money systems will collapse. That is the reality. The global financial system is supremely unstable. When people wake up to the fact that this is a "king ain’t got no clothes" economy, we will see a run to the exits.



The Officials in New York are out of Control - These protests will not stop!!!

The Real Herman Cain says "We didn't need to Audit the Federal Reserve"

Herman Cain Lies to Ron Paul's Face About the Federal Reserve at GOP Debate



Always falling back on the old "You can't believe everything you read on the internet, yada, yada, yada... Mantra. I agree you can't believe everything you read on the internet, but you can believe even less from the Conditioned Programming Lame Stream Media. The Internet is a resource receptacle just like a library. You go there to find information. If you have a couple of well-rounded resources with in-depth research of information, then it is as good as gold. It all depends upon the researcher, not upon the resource. Antone who doesn't understand this is intellectually lazy and I doubt they have done much research themselves.


Many of the lazy reporters covering the debate went along with Mr. Cain's response that you can't believe everything you read on the internet and then called Ron Paul out as though he didn't have his facts straight? As was pointed out on the United Liberty Blog. by author Jason Pye:

Well, there’s a problem with this. Herman Cain wasn’t misquoted. While filling in for Neal Boortz back in Decembert 2010, Cain was very dismissive of calls to audit the Federal Reserve (you can hear it in his voice) and did in fact say that people were calling for such a statutory measure “don’t know enough about [the central bank]” (emphasis mine):

[T]he Federal Reserve already has so many audits, it’s ridiculous. I don’t know why people think we’re gonna learn this great amount of information by auditing the Federal Reserve. Now, I no longer serve on the board of the Federal Reserve. I’m not being defensive of the Federal Reserve; in fact, some of the policies and some of the actions of the Federal Reserve, I don’t agree with because the attitude and the non-politization in the 90’s when I served is totally different than what’s going on today. But that’s another matter.

But people who say, “we outta audit the Federal Reserve because we don’t know enough about it.” Well, here’s the advice I’ve given to people who ared worried about an audit of the Federal Reserve; call ‘em up, and ask ‘em if you can stop by and have one of their PR people or one of their Public Relations people explain to you how the Federal Reserve operates.

I think a lot people are calling for this audit of the Federal Reserve because they don’t know enough about it. There’s no secrets going on in the Federal Reserve, to my knowledge. And I tell people, we’ve got 12 Federal Reserve banks, find out which district you’re in, call ‘em up and go from there.

We don’t need to waste money with another commission, or an audit that’s not necessary, because, folks, we’ve gotta lot of other problems we need to worry about.

Cain’s TARP talk, praise of the Fed could hurt him with conservative voters - The Hill - Cameron Joseph - October 13, 2011 - Businessman Herman Cain has shot to the top of the polls with support from Tea Party members, but his backing of the Troubled Asset Relief Program and opposition to auditing the Federal Reserve could hurt him with those same voters... “Among the Tea Party audience, the TARP bailout is something they’re adamantly against, and they’re going to absolutely need to hear more from him on this issue to be comfortable with him,” said Russell. “I don’t know one Tea Party activist who’d say it’s a bad idea to audit the Fed, that’s not a popular position for him to be staking out.”... Cain served as chairman of the Kansas City Federal Reserve in the mid-1990s and, in Tuesday’s debate, expressed his admiration for former Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. “The way Alan Greenspan oversaw the Fed and the way he coordinated with all of the Federal Reserve banks, I think that it worked fine back in the early 1990s,” Cain said.


Tax group: 9-9-9, a 'major tax cut' for the rich, 'substantial' increase on others - NBC - Domenico Montanaro, Political Reporter, NBC News - October 13, 2011 - The non-partisan Tax Policy Center is readying a report on Cain’s plan, though it is waiting for more details from the campaign. But it has come to some conclusions already.    Cain’s plan "cuts taxes for the rich and raises taxes on the poor,” Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the center, tells First Read. He added that it would create a "much more regressive tax system.”    The plan would represent a “major tax cut” for the rich and raise taxes “substantially” on the poor and middle class, Williams said. "Given that a big chunk doesn’t pay any income tax, this would be a big tax increase on people at bottom end. At the top end, the opposite happens."    The top end would go from about a 35% income tax rate to 9%. "That's a big, big drop," Williams said, adding that the capital-gains tax would be another added benefit for the wealthiest. "People at the top would see far and away the largest share of the gains. Those people are going to see a huge tax cut."    Currently, there is no federal sales tax. There are state sales taxes, however, and Cain’s plan would add 9% to those. So, in Iowa, for example, where there is a 6% sales tax, that would mean a 15% sales tax.

Huge Victory as Morganton endorses Mayor Cohen coasting to 30 year reign

Sent to me by my informant in Morganton:

Well you guessed it ! Mel Cohen sailed to a HUGE victory over challenger Robert Griner on Tuesday. Newcomer to city council Sidney Simmons - hand-picked by Mel Cohen also won BIG on Tuesday. Tuesday's Vote brought out 1,457 voters, 919 during the early absentee period and a whopping 547 on Tuesday. 35 provisional votes will be added to the overall total, but even with about 1,492 votes, the turnout percentage will still be less than 15% !

Like we have discussed, this low turnout problem is something that apparently affects our entire area, especially when we look at what is at stake.At 547 votes divided by 13 hours (6:30 am - 7:30 pm), about 42 votes an hour or 21 per hour in the two precincts designated for the October 11th vote. Considering Morganton has 10,153 registered voters this number is really infinitesimal. I heard more than 500 people tell me that they did not support the Mayor prior to this election, but the majority of those people apparently sdidn't even care to leave their home to vote on Tuesday.

So now Mayor Cohen gets his wish to complete 30 years as Mayor of Morganton Sidney Simmons replaces Larry Whisnant, who recently authored a letter in the Morganton News Herald endorsing Sidney Simmons by saying he had known Sidney....the entire of his life, using this incorrect grammer in his letter.

Larry Whisnant didn't finish high school, but managed to work for Morganton Public Safety for 30 years and then get elected to City Council in 1994. He served 17 years as Morganton City Councilman...without a high school diploma. Betcha can't say that about Hickory City Council !!!

Mr. Simmons opponent in  District 1 was Candidate Ron Lewis, the retired County Manager of Burke County having served as county manager in (6) NC counties with more than 30 years of experience.

The Hound: Good to see that the percentage turnout in Morganton was double what we saw in Hickory during the last go around in 2009. Yes I am being sarcastic, because this is pathetic. The even sadder thing is that I am sure that those numbers will dwarf what we see in the upcoming coronation of the three unopposed candidates here in the city of Hickory. During the 2009 election, we saw an 8.5% turnout when less than 2,300 of Hickory's 27,000 registered voters cared to vote. I also notice that it appears that Morganton also has the Modified At large electoral system.

I don't know much about the Morganton's governance, but it sure seems to be indicative of the political system in our area. This is a symptom of a big problem. But as has been pointed out, "The people get the form of government that they deserve." If they choose not to participate in the system, then they really shouldn't expect much from their leadership. Although this isn't an endorsement of support for the leadership of Morganton. It is an endorsement that they can do whatever they please, because apparently nobody cares.

Herman Cain is a Tool for the Federal Reserve -- DoGood and the Hound

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/10/02/ftn/main20117827.shtml

On October 9th, Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich appeared on the ‘Face the Nation.’ Some of you reading this may already know that. You may likewise know parts of the conversation coming from that show. In part, here are some excerpts from the transcript of that show, as broadcast (You can magnify the text below by pressing Ctrl and +):

Schieffer: “…---there are thousands of protesters camped out on Wall Street and around the country. Mr. Cain, you suggested they might be there just because they're jealous of people that have good jobs. Here's a little of what you said:”

"And to be angry at somebody because they're successful is anti-American in my opinion. Secondly, this is a distraction from the failed policies of the Obama administration. Why be made you don't have a job at the bankers on Wall Street? They're the ones that help create the jobs."

Cain: “The proof is quite simply the bankers and the people on Wall Street didn't write these failed policies of the Obama administration. They didn't spend a trillion dollars that didn't work. The administration and the democrats spent a trillion dollars. They're not proposing another 450 billion dollars, the administration is proposing another 450 billion dollars wrapped in different rhetoric so it's a distraction so many people won't focus on the failed policies of this administration. So I stand by that.”

Schieffer: “I don't want to interrupt so you're saying that these people all got together up there to draw attention away from Barack Obama. That's why they're there?”

Cain: “They were encouraged to get together.”

Schieffer: “Who encouraged them?”

Cain: “We know that the unions and certain union related organizations have been behind these protests that are going on on Wall Street and other parts around the country. It's coordinated. To create a distraction so people won't focus on the failed policies of this administration.”

Schieffer: “And why is that anti-American?”

Cain: “It's anti-American because to protest Wall Street and the bankers is basically saying that you're anti-capitalism. The free market system and capitalism are the two things that have allowed this nation and this economy to become the biggest in the world. Even though we have our challenges, I believe the protests are more anti-capitalism and anti-free market than anything else.”

Schieffer: “What's your take Mr. Gingrich?”

Gingrich: “I think the sad thing is, this is the natural product of Obama's class warfare. And Ronald Reagan used to tell the story about the British worker who stood by the road with his sign as a Rolls Royce went by and said someday we're going to get that guy out of that car. And the Americans stood by the road as a Cadillac went by and he said someday you're going to buy that car. Now Reagan represented the real American tradition which is that you and your children have a chance to go out and work hard, the Steve Jobs experience. You can create a better future. You can do something better. We have had a strain of hostility to free enterprise and frankly, a strain of hostility to classic America starting in our academic institutions and spreading across this country and I regard the Wall Street protesters as a natural outcome of a bad education system teaching them really dumb ideas.”

Schieffer: “Well do you agree with Mr. Cain who says they're just jealous of people who have jobs?”

Gingrich: “Well I'm not even sure that the people actually protesting..look, there are a lot of people in America angry. I was with 35 realtors in Buford, South Carolina on Wednesday who are looking at a disaster in housing but they know that it's the Dodd-Frank bill, it's the Obama administration, it's Bernanke and Geithner and they're focusing their anger on the people who are causing them pain. They're not angry about other people being successful, they're angry about an Obama administration stopping them from having the chance to be successful.”

Schieffer: “Well did you really mean that literally, you think they're just jealous? You think that's the driving force? Couldn't it also be that these people don't have a job, they don't know where to turn, they don't see any answers to the problems they have and you think it comes down to jealousy?”

Cain: “Bob, yes I do.”

Schieffer: “Really?”

Cain: “Because it's class warfare. Some of them are there because they don't have a job. Yes. But the fact of the matter is, why aren't there jobs? Go and picket the white house. Demonstrate in front of the white house. The thing that this administration does not get is that the business sector is the engine of economic growth. That's key. They don't get that. So this president and administration wants to continue to try to spend our way to prosperity. Part of it is jealousy. I stand by that. And here's why I don't have a lot of patience for that. My parents, they never played the victim card. My parents never said that we hope the rich people lose something so that we can get something. No. My dad's idea was I want to work hard enough so that I can buy a Cadillac, not take somebody else's. And this is why I don't have a lot of patience for people who want to protest the success of somebody else.”



Silence DoGood
I guess that I could have shortened the transcript above by redacting certain parts of the conversation that didn’t support what I want to write about, but that conveys precisely what it is I loathe about what goes on in this City, County, and Country, so I left it all in and gave you the link to read the entire transcript if you so choose.

Herman Cain has spunk, I’ll give him that. Where he’s wrong in entirety, is comporting to the notion that it is “un-American” to protest. It is entirely American to do so. Now, there are certain things you can’t engage in while so assembled, but you have that right to assemble and speak. To pronounce otherwise, as Cain so vehemently does, demonstrates either an ignorance of the Constitution or disdain for what it says. And he is wrong to suggest that one man can change the unemployment situation and then, proposes that people should engage in picketing the White House. Something he is entirely against. Not that I think he is the only one that thinks that way. I’m sure if all candidates were truthful, at any level of government service, it would be shocking how many comport to the notion we have too many rights. Not unlike some employers thinking workers have too many benefits.

Let me go on however. Yes, this President spent one trillion dollars, using the number from the transcript, in true Keynesian economic fashion, to get the economy moving again. It is my rebuttable presumption that money was placed with the financial institutions of this nation to loan, put into circulation, and finance projects, which in turn would serve to put people back to work and thus, get their money back into circulation, allow them to buy things. The big economic wheel goes round and round. From my discussions with others, this isn’t what happened however. The banks either sat on the money or lent it out for things other than what it was intended. Was that the fault of the President? Probably, as a lawyer he should have known better than to give cash to bunch of Wall Street types carte blanche and trust them to do the right thing with it.

Both candidates in their conversation with Bob Schieffer eluded to “class warfare” being waged by the President. I think that a war of sorts is brewing in this country. Whether or not it will be a bullets and bombs affair or merely a social ‘revolution’ remains to be seen. But the fact is, this President didn’t start it. I sometimes wonder if he is even aware of it himself. This class dispute has been brewing for quite some time and for an operative illustration of how class works in this area, I’ll refer you back to ‘The Hickory Hound’ on Monday, October 10th, 2011 about Burke County. This is how it works folks. If a class war is building, it isn’t the fault of this President, or unions, or anything else, it is because those in the under classes are tired of being used and then cast aside as those who reside atop the socioeconomic scale continue to amass wealth, even in this time of severe economic downturn. Right here, let me say this to you if you reside in the upper elevations. I don’t want a thing you have nor am I jealous or envious of you. By the same token, the folks not within the confines of that elite circle are tired of seeing everything they’ve worked and scraped to provide themselves in that capitalistic reflection of you being taken away. Crude oil is down per barrel, but the gas price is still way over $3.00. Right now, gas in Denver, NC is $3.12 a gallon. Look at what it’s selling for in Hickory. Bank of America has added a $5.00 per month fee because the CEO of BOA has a responsibility to the stockholders to provide a dividend. Duke/Progress Energy wants a 17% pay hike to fund future projects. Food has increased by around 30% in the past 18 months. Who pray, tell, is taking from whom? And what the folks in the small business community fail to realize is, they are in the same boat as the blue-collar skilled workers and lower scale white-collar workers.

The Occupy

I like to refer to these parameters as ‘blissful ignorance.’ As long as the under classes could go out to eat every Friday night, had something to do like watch NASCAR or football, and money to make all those installment payments, life, as they say, was good. But that came to a screeching halt, didn't it? People finally began to look around and say, “What the heck is going on here?” They began to question what they had taken no prior interest in. The classic mantra used to be, “if you work hard, you too will succeed.” And in a generalized manner of speaking, that was true. It isn’t true today however. Think about this, I along with others, have talked for months and years, here and elsewhere, about how money buys you access and influence and how political power attracts money. Look at the billions of dollars spent on lobbying and PACs (Political Action Committees) as a means of garnering that influence. Look at how many companies in this City and County alone fled when the door opened to China. Do you think that your legislators were just sitting around one day twiddling their thumbs and one said, “Hey, in the interest of free trade, lets open up trade agreements and allow our companies to off shore jobs and their businesses, because it will be good for everybody.” They didn’t propose the concept and no one ever paused to ask who was within the use of the word ‘everybody’. While the workers here were hardly making a fair wage for what they did, they were left high and dry just as soon as cheaper labor became available after decades of working for less than median wages. So don’t try and hand me this ‘family’ company atmosphere in business for workers. It got penciled, papered, and stamped for the benefit of those other than the common everyday people. We are now living the result.

Is that the fault of the wealthy? I read a letter to the editor a couple of years ago written by someone from the Northwest in response to a letter written by a citizen. I don’t recall the exact words but the gist was, my father worked hard and did this, that, and the other and don’t blame me because I’m wealthy. Ok, Daddy worked hard. Others have likewise worked hard and not enjoyed that apparent level of success. The implication that one has not worked hard is like a slap in the face. To be perfectly candid, that is the same attitude that has brought about some of the problems that we face. Conceit and arrogance are not valid replacements for grace, class, and being humble. Luck has a little bit to do with success, along with work ethic. Either way though, your fault or not, that isn’t going to stop you from being blamed.

So while this infernal finger pointing continues, lives continue to falter and deteriorate as well as the status of this nation. People are fed up and the number of protests is growing, if you haven’t noticed. Frankly, I’m not all that interested in assigning fault or blame. I’m interested in right and I’m interested in fix. One man can’t do it. One group alone can’t do it. It will take everyone working together. Business, labor, republican, democrat, I don’t care what label you choose to identify with. We’re all Americans. It’s time we came together as Americans.

The Hound: I agree with a good portion of this. Herman Cain is a tool. He was the head of the Kansas City Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve is the Central Bank and the conduit of the Mega Bank Cartel that today rules this country. If you buy into Cain's 9-9-9 tax scheme, then you haven't paid attention. This is just a scheme to get their foot in the door by introducing a Federal (VAT) sales tax.  Can you afford a new tax? Oh, they talk about reducing the income tax and they might reduce it by a few percent, but the goal is to drastically increase the taxes paid by the middle class at the same time they implement their austerity measures. And Cain is a Republican?!?!?

Where I hugely disagree with DoGood is in his assessment of Obama. While he is completely correct about the fact that the Unemployment situation should not be laid at Obama's feet, Obama has been foot to the floorboard on the schemes of the Federal Reserve and the Crony Social Capitalists. Look at his Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner who was the head of the Federal Reserve's largest branch -- New York. He has worked in conjunction with the Fed to print the Monopoly money and continue offshoring our economy. The issue of offshoring has developed for a couple of generations. I, myself, am not against foreign trade. What I am against is the American workforce having to compete against Third World Slave Labor, which is essentially a form of Corporate Mercantilism. The Mega Corporations (Fortune 100) are the only people who have benefitted from this scheme.

Obama is a tool of the Federal Reserve just like recent Presidents. The monies for the Economic Stimulus package of 2009 went to specific packages that were, for the most part, given to local governments and went mostly to Democrat Party cronies as part of the Democrat wave that was elected in 2008. The money was definitely spent. It isn't sitting somewhere in a reserve vault. It was a pay off to cronies, such as Jeffrey Immelt and George Soros. Monies have gone to projects that have allowed GE and GM to increase factory capacity in China, to hand over Chrysler to Fiat, and for offshore exploration of oil in Brazil. How is that operating in the favor of the little people who Obama said he would bring Hope and Change to?

It isn't only the stimulus money, but you had the revolving door of TARP money that was passed during September 2008. I wrote about this in the articles The Federal Government's Ponzi Scheme and Let's Add this up - $1.979 trillion in bailouts and counting. This has gone on and on and on... The money of the citizens of this nation thrown at a black hole. Nothing has changed in the last three years and this went on during George W. Bush's administration, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon, Johnson, and all the way back to 1913. All Democrat and Republican alike. The only President who took any action to rein in the Federal Reserve was John Kennedy and we all know how that ended.

I can't get people to move away from their loyalty to WWE style party politics. Herman Cain is telling people to buy lock, stock, and barrel into Party identity and Politics. It is all about divide and conquer. He's preaching a notion, as Republicans do, that anyone who is struggling is doing so because they are lazy. Tell that to the people who still have factory jobs and are basically making the same wage or less than what they were making years ago. Herman Cain's words show that he doesn't respect the people who are struggling in this economy. As DoGood points out, the prices keep escalating and he wants to 9-9-9 us. Flip that one upside down and that is where these shills are taking us. There is very little difference between the Party Republicans and the Party Democrats. The differences people see are convolutions spinning in their minds related to the frustrations of their personal lives and the corruption and greed they see associated with the marriage of Big Government and Transnational Big Business. Both Parties support and foster that marriage, because it personally empowers them. There is no loyalty towards this nation and its people or founding principles. What I define above should not be mistaken for Capitalism. It is a controlled form of socialist economy.

It is time to make our representatives prove themselves. It is time to start voting FOR candidates, instead of AGAINST others. It is time for some real choices. I am a Republican, but I am not considered a Republican by the establishment. You Democrats aren't considered a part of the Democrat Party establishment, so at the end of the day the decision makers aren't listening to you. TARP should have proven that. TARP proved who the politicians are working for. The reappointment of Ben Bernanke, after years of colossal failure, proved who the politicians are working for. The Presidential Nominees who have been marketed by the Parties show what the Parties are all about. Smaller Government, Cutting Spending, and Lower taxes are lip service issues for the Republicans and ending the wars and investing in the Middle Class are lip service issues for the Democrats. The governmental leadership in this nation does not identify with Registered Voting members of their respective parties. They are only loyal to those who give them campaign contributions and the lobbyists that pay for their perks and privileges.

These people who are today in positions of power are Vampires looking to suck the life force out of us. They aren't looking to empower the people. They are looking to empower themselves through us. They will spend our energy and once they are through with us, then they will discard us, because we have no value to them. People need to take the blinders off and understand what is happening all around them.

The 4 categories of people who live in our area in relation to Politics and Power

The following is a message that was left as a comment at the BurkeEd blog in relation to an e-mail that was sent to me a couple of days ago. The information is laid out succinctly in this blog article entitled Taped Conversation with the Former Superintendent. I have to be honest about the fact that I really did not know about what was going on with the Burke County school board a few years ago not wanting to renew the contract of then Superintendent David Burleson.

Our local media made a point of covering the issue, but it seemed to be very nebulous at that time. No one here in Catawba County seemed to understand what the vitriol was about, when it was purported that Mr. Burleson was an outstanding Superintendent and a few rogue School Board Members were behind his non-contract renewal/dismissal. The BurkeEd blog has more in-depth information than any of us ever received from our local media. This issue has long since left the radar of the people in Hickory or the coverage it received from the media in Charlotte.

The BurkeEd Blog is very thorough and lays out a lot of issues that definitely weren't relayed to the public a few years ago by the media. One of the comments posted relating to the Taped Conversation article hits the nail on the head and so I am going to repost it here on the Hound. It relates to the 4 classes of people who live in Burke County (but I think it relates perfectly to the whole area) in terms of understanding and action towards Power Politics. I could not have written the following any better. It defines the issues that we face when it comes to the Powers That Be in our area's control of our governance versus the average working class citizens who mostly don't participate in the political process, because of the complexity and murkiness of the dynamics in which it operates.

Burke County is an odd place. We are segregated into four distinct groups: 

a) There's the Elite Viewpoint held by those whose noses are firmly planted in the clouds; most of them are condescending, high-maintenance, snooty people who simply do not associate with the under-educated "rednecks" of Burke County. They're religious, but not overly-so (not your Holy Roller types at all). They're more your Sunday-only County Club Christians. These people are also known as "Townies". They expect and almost always receive the edge of favoritism from our local governmental entities. Money talks. Loudly. And so does the old family name. They managed to get two new high schools built for their children, and they can attend them whether they live within that school's boundaries or not. Their children are allowed to transfer to the elem-middle-high schools of their choice regardless of where they live and how overcrowded the school is (Patton High and Forest Hill Elem), their spouses/relatives/friends are given cushy local gov't jobs they may/may not be qualified for, etc. Of course, these special people are a small minority of people in the county. Superintendent David Burleson was at the beckon-call for this group, as are the SWAT board members. With their mouths they say they're for "all children"; with their actions they show their true allegiance.

b) Then there are the people who believe everything that those in category (a) say without verifying the facts. Even if they knew the truth, it appears they wouldn't even care. This is the majority of the county's population. They'll take the short-end of the stick without questioning it; it's just always been that way. (Of course they have the voting power to overrule those in category a; they simply choose not to recognize or use it).

c) Then there are the people who know the truth about how things work around here - and about the corruption - but are too afraid to do anything about it. Reason? See item d.

d) Then there's the regular guy who has wised up and does publicly speak out about it. I'd say that's where I fall. People in this category are "persecuted" or vilified for their beliefs' retaliation is the name of the game. Those in category (a) will, without mercy, make up rumors about the category (d) people (affairs, "open marriages", financial problems, say we threw a fit in a library about a book, say we called a politician on the night of the election at 11pm, waking up her children, to gloat about her losing the election, etc.) they'll boycott our businesses, send letters to our franchisors (those of us who have one), refuse to do business with us - even to the point of not selling us products we'd like to buy (hint: cutting their nose off to spite their faces), remove us from receiving band parent notifications (shun them), etc. 

So those in category (d) above do try to avoid the repercussions of speaking out by remaining as anonymous as possible. Hence, no author names on burkeed.

And there you have it! This isn't from a "Conspiracy Theorist," this is something that a lot of us have witnessed. But, we need to ever vigilantly shine the light.

Do you understand the symbology of Vampires and why they operate at night under the cloak of darkness and are fearful of the day and light. Vampires stalk their prey and increase their energy level by sucking the blood (life force) out of their victims. They do this through deception and they always operate in the shadows, not out in the open. When light is shined on them (ie they are exposed) it destroys them.

We aren't out to destroy people. We are seeking understanding through truth and love. We are out to give people freedom. The Vampires complain that we don't talk about positives, which means that they don't want us to talk about the Powers That Be and accountability. They want us to talk about hyperbole and fluff like they do. They are the ones always trying to bring others under their control for their personal benefit. You pay the taxes. They reap the rewards. All anyone is doing by operating Blogs is bringing you a message. It is what the media used to do -- investigative Journalism and Opinion. Now the mainstream media has become a propaganda arm for governments at all levels.

If you don't agree with the commentary on blogs, then you are free to move the dialogue forward and give reasons why things were done in a certain manner. I know that all I want to do is ensure Freedom of thought and expression -- Critical Thinking. That is what this country was founded upon. We have lost that to a great extent. The Vampires want to control us and operate in the shadows. Their worst fear is when anyone uses their tactics against them. That is why they always complain about anonymous comments. They can govern anonymously, behind closed doors; but you are supposed to do everything out in the open, while they sit behind the mirrored glass spying on you. When you accept the way that they operate, then you are doomed. There are way too many people who accept this Shadow Governance. It is not the way that this country is supposed to operate. Shine the light!!! Our Freedom is at stake!!!